Cruising!!!

Our final night in LA was spent near the port where we would be boarding our ship at Long Beach.

There was a bit of time for rest and reflection.

I had been hoping for a scenic evening stroll along the ocean, but there were far too many huge buildings and busy roads so we satisfied ourselves with a glimpse of the beach from afar and then went off to find some supper at the supermarket across the street from our little hotel room. 

Our taxi never showed up to take us to the ship however a sweet girl at the front desk popped us in her car and chauffeured us herself.

We were introduced to her life as an illegal alien from Mexico and the difficulties that has created for her family.  Oh there are so many stories to be told and people to be loved on...

The ship we were about to embark on was MASSIVE, but thankfully seeming to float effortlessly despite it's bloated size. 

Perhaps it was a little omen of what could potentially become of us if we spent too much time on it!  

While we were waiting to embark we took advantage of the little outside shop and purchased some inexpensive holiday hats.

I also got a pair of sunglasses as I had forgotten mine along with a key fob that promptly broke.

How cute are we?

Eager with anticipation and giddy with delight!

We found our rooms and and waited for our luggage to find us.

The benefit of wheelchair accessible accommodations was apparent with the spacious room and ginormous, bar-laden bathroom.

Always a huge relief when that end of things work out for me.

And rather essential.

The Carnival Logo suited us just fine! 

We would end up spending lots of quality time in our room since the ship we chose happens to be more of a "party cruise-line" so it was a very happy thing for us to have such a big window opening out to the balcony and the oceans beyond.

This towel art was a good representation of the majority of our trip!  

We loved retreating to this peaceful clean space to read, pray, journal and meditate. 

We came well prepared to enjoy God's beautiful presence as we floated along.

It only seemed right to celebrate the Lord's supper at the outset of our journey.

The Lord painted a gorgeous sunset for us as we floated away from the coastline and towards our sunny destinations.

Oh the fun of going to a fancy three course dinner and getting to choose from several selections each evening!

Early on in our trip we decided to forgo the bread offerings at the beginning of each meal.

Far too dangerous calorie-wise and there were so many other tempting goodies to fill us up.

We were greeted by this spectacular sight our first morning at sea. 

And even though we decided not to go to shore that day there were PLENTY of things to keep us busy on-board. 

with cozy corners to take in the setting sun.

The pictures are not in order (as I happen to be putting this all together in the middle of August) but they are a beautiful representation of hours of fun, food, games and sight-seeing!

I did take a little shuttle to some shops while we stopped at Mazatlan and was able to purchase some vanilla and other goodies. 

I've travelled enough over the years to realize that I am not interested in buying many souvenirs as they generally lose their "sparkle" soon after arriving home. 

But vanilla is delicious long after its purchase!

 

A Day at Disney!

January 15th dawned bright and beautiful and exceedingly cold.

A perfect day to leave for a warm holiday with my dear friend Leanne!

She opted to sleep at my place the night before we left as she had  previously been frozen INTO her house due to the frightfully cold weather and we didn't want to miss our flight.

We were giddy with excitement to be able to fulfill this beautiful dream.

Before going through customs in Calgary,  Leanne found a banana that needed to be consumed rather than wasted, so she settled in to fortify herself before our next flight.

We left the frozen landscapes behind and descended into a gorgeous sunset over the busy metropolis of Los Angeles. 

There was a learning curve involved for both of us as we navigated the LA airport and figured out how to get to our Lyft drive. 

What a crazy place!  

It was all a little overwhelming, but before we knew it we were getting ourselves tucked into our comfortable and very accessible room right across the street from Disneyland! 

Our joy was palpable and Leanne eagerly went through the brochures planning our next day's adventures at the "happiest place on earth".   She is a true-blue Disney fan which made the experience that much more enjoyable for me.  

The next day a couple of bright-eyed and bushy-tailed overgrown girls arrived at the gates, ready for fun.

I was happy to visit the Tiki Room as I remember going here as a small girl. It was also one of the few places that are accessible so I thought I'd take advantage of the opportunity to revisit my past. 

The grounds are so delightful and I found a multitude of places to park myself to "people-watch" and sit in the sun as Leanne began to make her rounds to the more exciting rides.  Thankfully line-ups were very short!

I was inordinately proud of the picture below, because I just "happened" to lift up my camera at the right time to capture Leanne shooting down Splash Mountain!

I was watching for her purple cap which she wasn't even wearing as you can see by her blond hair standing straight in the air. 

After that excitement we headed over to Critter Country to check out some of our favourite Disney characters.

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There was a little kiddie-ride through Pooh's Corner that we made two rounds on simply because we could. 

Winnie the Pooh was very eager to spend some time with Leanne and I.

Well, it was actually me that he was interested in as can be seen by our loving gaze and tender embrace...

Tigger made sure to make us both feel special.

What a hoot!

The fun continued with a castle visit and some delightful fun on the merry go round.

The atmosphere is so joyful and we wandered about listening to theatre musical productions and other singing groups that were stationed around the grounds.

Lunch was comprised of two kids meals near our hotel which was rather fitting.

After an afternoon rest I re-joined Leanne for some more fun and fashion adventures.

It was fun to see the evening descend on this happy place as the rides were lit up and the sky was a beautiful backdrop.

We went to Toon Town which was dark and almost deserted and much to our amazement we ended up meeting Mickey!

Leanne could not contain her excitement and meanwhile Mickey and I were having some very special moments holding hands.

Then, lo and behold the photographer sternly instructed Leanne to stand at attention.  No hovering allowed while Mickey was sharing a special moment with me!

When I saw this picture later I pretty much laughed my head off. 

Leanne, being the obedient Disney patron that she is, immediately rose up as a soldier and kept her distance, giving Mickey and I all the space we needed.

Everyone needs a friend like Leanne!

All in all it was a spectacular day! 

I don't think I could have found a better companion to do Disneyland with.  Leanne was exceedingly happy to run about enjoying the rides and I was content to watch and wait, participating in what I could.

Next time I'll have to bring an autograph book for Leanne now that I know how meaningful all these encounters were for her.  And I'll step back so that she will have her own special moments with all of the characters! 

Farewell Walt and your magical place!

That was fun.