Be careful what you wish for...

SIGH.

My closest, oldest, and dearest friends all live so very far away. And I really wanted to spend time with someone to de-compress from all the frantic let-me-show-you-the-highlights-of-California activity of the past few weeks. (This is a perfect example of my whiny prayer life, but that's not important right now.)

My very favorite stress-escape is to go for a walk in The Park.

The Park, as we like to refer to it, is Disneyland. =D
I think it's a local law that if you live in South Orange County you must have a Disneyland pass. Seriously. I don't know anyone locally who doesn't. It's just a natural part of living in this sweet, squeaky-clean, ~~white~~ whole-wheat bread bubble that is The O.C.

So, yesterday I had to drop my car off for maintenance, which meant that:
1) I was already out of the house and on the road.
2) I was heading north on I-5.

I know. It's a total rationalization. But keep reading...

My niece and Park-buddy, Helen, agreed, not only to follow me while I dropped off the car (thanks, Helen!), but that we were already half-way to Anaheim and it would be a shame to waste the trip. (See? I'm not the only one. =D)

On a side note, my very dear friends, Pam and Gene, who live way up in the Central Valley, also love Disneyland. In fact, that's where we always meet them when they visit, and I was still in that my-friends-live-so-far-away-woe-is-me zone. Thank goodness we have cell phones that can send photos and texts, because we've come to rely on that as the very best way to share our lives.

They often send me videos or photos of the time they spend with their sweet granddaughter, CJ, or we exchange photos of what we're having for dinner. And, of course, Gene sends us the daily Train Report. Thanks to the beauty and convenience of electronic communications, I sent Gene a text sharing what I was up to: "It's a Disney day!"

He responded quickly, as usual, asking which land I was in and what we were up to, followed by - "Where are you exactly? Send a picture."

So I did.....