Goths at Disneyland

I used to have a MySpace account. I started my blog there. But after I had a few too many technical difficulties, I moved the blog here. I have since closed the MySpace account. I hate to lose all of my blogs from that time, so from time to time I'm going to repost them here.

I wrote this a few days after the repost from yesterday. I couldn't resist--originally posted on August 21, 2006.

Disneyland. Sunday.

It was forecasted to be 84 degrees. I wore cropped pants and a light, sleeveless top. I made sure to remember my sunscreen and plenty of water. It was not a day to go in costume.

We noticed a couple at first. Wondered. Why would anyone wear a full-length black coat on a day like this? A latex dress?

They were everywhere, travelling in packs. Goths. The first few that we saw we thought were crazy. But eventually we figured out that it had to be a theme. It was Goth Day.

Now, this sort of thing would make more sense in October. November. Maybe January or February when it's cooler out. Summer sun and black are not the best in combo. But at least we got some entertainment out of it.

It was late afternoon before I realized I had a camera. I mean, I knew I had it--I had been taking pictures of my party all day. But late afternoon was when I started my Goth Scavenger Hunt.

I didn't want to be too blatantly obvious about it. They were there to have fun, not to be stared at like freaks. So, I tried to surreptitiously capture them on (digital) film. Unfortunately, I was not terribly successful.

I got a few as they walked by. My camera has that delay that the digital cameras have. I would press the shutter and long seconds would pass, during which time the subjects would walk out of frame (or worse--some kid would dart through). If they were still, then they were paying attention, and I couldn't get away with it.

I had my camera out many times, waiting. Not a one would be around. Then I'd put the camera away, and boom, the place was packed with three or four groups going by. At one point I got a group that was almost still, and I pretended to be taking a picture of the scenery. But one noticed me, and she courteously moved her group out of the way so I could shoot said scenery.

I guess that's what I get for my little "game". I probably should have just asked them to pose. I guess I just wanted "proof". But it was fun, and that's what amusement parks are for, right?

I've seen cameras now that don't have that delay. And this summer has been so mild here. 84 degrees? We've barely seen the 80s.