First visit to Disneyland! Day One, Post No. 1

12:32 p.m. and I have walked through the gates at Disneyland for the first time in my life. Automatically, I feel like a kid again. Well, mentally at least. I know my body is the age that I am, but who cares. I know that there will be benches and low walls and rides and such to allow me the chance to rest when I need to. My friends Sharon and Jenna have been here before, so they are my aces in the hole, so I know they'll keep me from making too many missteps as we spend lots of time here over the next four days. I bought those sunglasses at the Rain Forest Cafe the day before so that I could deal with that bright sun. Sharon and Jenna remembered to bring theirs from home--see what I mean about experienced travelers to Southern California? Our hotel sells not only bus passes but also Disneyland tickets! By getting our four-day-hoppers before we left the lobby, we avoided one line at the park. Eyes glued to the flower-filled Mickey Mouse on the slope that led up to the Disneyland Railroad depot, I would have missed seeing my first characters. Thanks, Sharon, for pointing out princesses! Belle and Cinderella? Yes! I Googled to check my answer. Not bad for an ol' lady! We rode the train around the park, twice, at my request. I just kept looking and looking and looking. When we got off at the station, I looked across the street and saw a few folks in line, looked to the left to see what had grabbed their attention. Mickey Mouse! I took off across the street and got in line. Yes, my first character photo is with the greatest mouse ever! What a good hugger he was, too! One photo I took while we were on the train--Minnie Mouse being so sweet with a little girl. Wow. My face had started to ache a bit from the full-time grin plastered on it. And I'm certain that the excitement level in every word I spoke, every thought I had soared to the stratosphere, just like a rocket in a Disney cartoon! P.S. I apologize for the fact that the photos may be loading slowly--I think it has something to do with a change made at Flickr. There is nothing that I can do about it. I hope you'll still visit the blog and enjoy the photos. Thank you.