June 17

Today marked the final day of our Disney vacation, so we made the most of it. 

"Making the most of it" meant getting up at 6:45 AM so we could jet over to California Adventure in order to be in line for the Radiator Springs Racers ride before it became an hours-long affair. We succeeded and were among the first of the day to board, but only after waiting an extra 20 minutes as the crew tested out the cars. (Phew. If they'd closed it, I think we would've birthed a collective cow.) 

I was mulling it earlier and concluded that Cars Land is a very special place to me, mostly because Logan loved those cars-with-faces as much as he did, so I really like being there. I love Flo's V8 Cafe and Luigi's and the rock formations and the solitary blinking yellow light in the middle of town. I just love it all. And I love how it makes me feel to see those faces and hear those voices and see the scenes from that precious movie played out in front of me, in real life.  Although I don't believe that my sweet boy is truly there, I do believe that God lets me feel him a little more significantly when I'm walking those wee little streets. And I am so, so grateful for that gift; that little slice of Heaven.

From there, we did a lot. So much that I can't remember it all without looking back through my camera roll, but among others, we rode the Incredicoaster a few times (Brady hated the first time but loved the second. I can't figure that kid out sometimes), checked out the new Spiderman Web Slingers attraction (which is cool enough, but not worth the $20 or however much extra Disney wants for lightning lane access), took a selfie with Sully, and took on a non-swinging gondola on the giant Ferris Wheel on the Pier. We had Ghirardelli ice cream concoctions for lunch because we could. And Adam was delighted to purchase a loaf of fresh sourdough bread from a vendor, too. He loves that stuff. They all do, really. 

After a return to Cars Land to finish up with the other two such-themed rides, we skipped over to Disneyland to finish our day there. After trucking back and forth between a variety of rides, Abby announced that she wasn't feeling well so Adam ferried her back to the hotel while Isaac, Brady, and I waited in a "70" minute line to ride Space Mountain. Ha. Ha. Ha. Not even close. So not even close, in fact, that Adam had time to freshen up at the hotel, return to the park, and join us in line, and we still had another 20 minutes to go. But it worked out and I'm grateful for that. We dined at Pizza Planet and after a jaunt through the Haunted Mansion, we finished with Big Thunder Railroad, which was down most of the day. And we happened to board in the middle of the nightly fireworks display, so colorful bursts of light and color illuminated the sky as we raced along the track. It was unique and quite lovely.

So that's a wrap for our theme park excursion. Though my feet and back ache as I think about falling into bed, I'm thankful to have had this time with my people, and am grateful for the laughs and the funny tales that arose from the week. All of them are most definitely blessings.