The Happiest Place on Earth

I doesn't matter how warm or cold the day.  It doesn't matter on your mood when you arrive.  There is something special about this wonderland.  The minute I step inside the gates, walk through the tunnels under the railway, something just clicks into place.  I'm back.  This is where I should be.

I don't know why I feel this way.  I don't know when I started feeling this way.  Maybe it was at my first visit at four years of age. Maybe it was during those 11 years when my family lived 20 minutes away.  Maybe it was when I visited for my high school grad night.  Was it when I first went with Mike?  With the kids?  I'm not sure when it was, but this place holds a special place in my soul.

We arrive in Anaheim around 8:30 in the morning and checked into the best non-Disney hotel ever--Candy Cane Inn.  I remember seeing this hotel as a girl and wishing we could stay there.  How could you not want to visit someplace called Candy Cane Inn?  It's a real storybook kind of place, absolutely beautiful.  I've never seen it in spring, but there are flowers blooming everywhere.  GREAT accommodations.

We walked through the turnstiles just past 9am.  We went where we needed to go, saw what we needed to see, and experienced all we needed to experience.  The temps rose into the 80's--a bit on the warm side, but somehow that didn't matter (lots of trees, cool places, air conditioning).

Mike and I went back to the hotel during the hottest of the day while Jenni visited California Adventure (she could with her annual pass).  We went back to the magic around 6 and explored some more.  Disneyland is most magical at night.  While Mike & Jenni experienced Star Tours, I walked over to Main Street and visited every shop.  I sat near the flag pole and soaked in the lights, sounds, and smells of the park.  Enchanting.

We left at closing at 9pm.  It was really sad to go, but what a beautiful day.