Happiest Day on Earth

Happy Veterans Day!!! I appreciate all who served ❤️

After my day on Friday, I thought to myself, this was my favorite day. I was mostly thinking about it for the year in that moment. After the amazing weekend I had, I now realize Friday was the best day of my life. Since it relates to my Disneyland day with Cherie, I can call it my Happiest Day on Earth because it happened at the Happiest Place on Earth...hehehe

The entire weekend was full of time with Cherie, actually. We spent the day together on Friday. But we also did our weekly video call with our Bible study fellowship and regular friendship experience on Saturday. And then on Sunday, I brought her along on my travel journey in spirit. After I got home, we chatted over text until I went to bed. This was the best, and my favorite, weekend of my entire life. And that's saying a lot! Although I sometimes talk about some of the bad circumstances I've faced, I've actually had some really amazing things happen in my life. To say this past weekend was the most amazing weekend I have ever had means so much ❤️

For me, the day started off pretty much as it did the Sunday before for my first ever visit to Disneyland. The main differences were that I started in Disney's California Adventure and that I knew I'd be meeting up with Cherie later. Other than that, I was still dressing up dapper for a day at the Disney parks in California...hehehe I arrived via Lyft and started my day!

DCA's opening was more memorable than DL's. I don't even remember anything special about rope drop at DL...LOL But at DCA, they did an amazing presentation over the speakers that talked about Walt Disney coming to California in 1923 to begin his adventure. That felt quite special.

As I was waiting for the day to begin, I was able to get a few PhotoPass opportunities in. I'll likely be posting some of those PhotoPass photos on my socials in a week or two. I'm never in a rush to post these days...hehehe I like how they turned out. I think it is fun to get those photos. Especially when I'm all dressed up...LOL

Once the park officially opened, I made my way over to the Monster's Inc. ride. It is basically the story of the first movie. I really liked it. It is more geared to the little ones. But that's one of the things I love about Disney rides...hehehe They are mostly calm and immersive. They don't have to include Disney IP to feel fun. But I'm also okay that they seem to be converting everything into IP themes.

After Monster's Inc, I rode Mickey's Death Wheel, the swings, the zephyr, Incredicoaster, and Toy Story Midway Mania. While going on those rides, I was getting updates from Cherie on her travel from home to Disneyland. She had quite an adventure getting there. But I'm glad God provided for her and got her to Disneyland Resort safely.

Once we were together to officially start our Disney Day, we prayed. That felt like a very special moment. We do pray together often. But it is always more special when we get to do it in person. Although we could have started at either park, we decided to start with DCA. One of the first things we did was recreate a special photo she had made from her trip back in May. That was so much fun!

As far as rides go, we did Toy Story Midway Mania and Radiator Springs Racers. This was the first time she had ridden either of those two. So that was special too! I love to go on rides with people for their first time...hehehe We got the ride PhotoPass photo from the Racers ride and had a good laugh...LOL

When it was time to grab a small snack, we ventured over to DL to go to Jolly Holiday Bakery Cafe. Neither of us had been there. So, yet another special moment for both of us. I'm so glad we were able to share in these special moments...hehehe I went with a croissant. It was incredible. It was a nice little break and the table and chairs reminded us of one of the scenes from the chalk drawing...hehehe That makes sense considering the Jolly Holiday song is in that scene.

Next, we made our way over to Tom Sawyer Island. This was a fun little island! It isn't quite the same as the one in WDW. I think I like the DL one a little better. There is a tree house area that we went up to and could see so much of the park. We had a great view of the sun in the western sky ❤️ We both love sunsets...hehehe

After that, we made our way over to Toon Town. It was nice to see some of the Christmas decorations up back there. There weren't any when I was there on Sunday. It's fun to feel like we were in a cartoon...hehehe I was hoping to ride the Roger Rabbit ride. But the wait was too long. We still had to make it over to DCA for Cher Boom...LOL

From Toon Town, we made our way back to DCA for Cher Boom. That was so much fun! And we danced!!! I had the best dance partner...hehehe It was so special to me to dance with Cherie. I dance alone often. I love to dance. But I hadn't danced with a partner in like 20 or so years. I'll always cherish this moment ❤️

Actually, I'll always cherish all of the moments of the day...hehehe

I think the next thing we did was getting me a corn dog. After that, we went over to DL to see if the castle was lit up for Christmas. They apparently didn't have all of the Christmas ready at DL. The stuff at DCA was all lit up and was so beautiful.

That brings us to the end of our time at DLR. We made our way to the ARTIC so Cherie could catch her train back to LA. From the moment we first saw each other until the time she boarded the train, we had 6 wonderful hours together. To some, that doesn't sound like a long time. However, for me, it meant the world.

I imagine I'll speak of this day more. I wanted to give a quick overview today while it is still fresh in my mind. But I think about the day constantly. I actually have a lot more to say about the last 3 days...hehehe I also have more to say about the entire week I was in California. So I'm likely going to write more journal entries about it all. We'll see...hehehe

After re-reading the entry just before publishing, I realize it is really just an overview. I didn't write much about the joy I felt all day. My joy was especially full for those 6 hours with Cherie. She's my deerest friend. She is so special. And I'm so glad I was able to spend that time with her at Disneyland Resort. Our meeting for the first time in person in July will always be special. Our time on Friday, though, feels even more special. Cherished memories ❤️ from my Happiest Day on Earth!