So Gay.

So happy it was.

 

Mom and I lucked out at Disneyland yesterday. I had forgotten that the first weekend in October is Gay Days at the Disneyland resort. Had I remembered, I would have for sure picked the same day I did to visit, just would have looked forward to it even more. Disneyland is a happy, loving, neighborly place most of the time but never more so than when the folks in red show up en masse.

 

Each year red takes over the Mark Twain for a ride.  Yesterday there were so many people they filled the Mark Twain and while they were loading, cast deberthed the Columbia so that it was ready for loading when the Mark Twain disembarked.  It looked to me like they had at least a third full boat load as well.

Says it all for me.

Gay Days is not an "official" Disney sponsored event, but their support, while subtle, is unmistakable.  I got the best rainbow Mickey shirt.  I call it my new Ally shirt.

It was a gorgeous fall day in California.  The weather was mild enough that I was comfortable in my black turtleneck with short sleeved tee over it all day.

HalloweenTime is my favorite season at Disneyland.  I love the decorations and the costumes and the fun. 

So much detail to enjoy.

We had breakfast at our usual spot, then headed over to Frontierland for the morning.  The Jamboree at Big Thunder Ranch that we had enjoyed so much has been transformed into a Halloween Carnival.  It attracted a much bigger crowd than we ever saw over the summer, but was still a relaxing place to enjoy the morning.

My alter ego.

 

Frontierland detail.  Frontierland has the most Halloween decor.

Halloween Carnival fun.

I didn't stand in line to check this out, but apparently in the tent is a cauldron where you can conjure up one of the Disney villains for pictures.  I would have enjoyed this if the line hadn't been so long.

Pumpkin Carver

Never a detail missed.

Billies doing their "Devil Went Down to Georgia" routine.

After our morning at Frontierland, we met the Disneyland Band at Town Square for their noon concert, then settled in at the Coke Corner for Musical Chairs with Ragtime Patrick, Alice and Mad Hatter.  No little kids seemed to want to play, so Hatter hosted an adult game.  That was fun.  After that we picked up some salads at the Pizza Port and took them to the Plaza Inn where we bought a fried chicken dinner to split.  I just can't eat that stuff anymore, but my mouth loved the flavors (even if my tummy protested for several hours after the meal).  From now on I'll stop at the salad.

Afte linner we decided to go see some of the new entertainment at California Adventure.  How delightful!  The first act we saw was Five and Dime.  A full band with chanteuse - all fabulous - was first.

And then came my favorite, the Red Car News Boys.  I've ended my school year with Disney's Newsies for years so have a special fondness for the theme.  Add great choreography and energy and it was a winning act start to finish.

I'm adding this video I took of the finale number but will apologize ahead of time.  I made a last-second decision to record this, then spent some time fumbling around with my purse and tote and camera and ended up with a pretty shaky video.  Should give you a general idea of how much fun this was, though.

 

After this show we went down to see the new Cars Land.  I think you have to have either 1) seen the movie Cars multiple times or 2) have actually driven and still remember the old Route 66 to really enjoy this land.  It's cleverly done, but not your typical "cute" Disney effect unless you know the story.

We went back to Disneyland where I parked Mom at Coke Corner.  We had some ice cream, then I wandered off toward DCA with a detour to see the Soundsational parade in the twilight.  Twilight is my favorite time at Disneyland, and I enjoyed the lighting on the floats.

 

There were two things I particularly wanted to do on this trip.  Several friends had exclaimed over the neon display in Cars Land, so I wanted to return to DCA at night to see that.  And I wanted to ride single rider on the new Cars Land Radiator Springs Racers.

 

I was not disappointed in the neon display, although I was not able to photograph it decently to share here.

I was also not disappointed in ...Racers, but the highlight of that experience was  not the ride, but the conversation in the queue.  I noticed that one of the men in front of me in line was wearing a GMCLA tee-shirt.  I've posted several videos here in the stitchery about the Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles.  I'm a huge fan, so had to ask if he was singing with the Chorus.  Not only is he currently singing with the chorus (for his twelfth year),  he is also a member of the cast for their new It Gets Better traveling program.  We were able to talk about all of my favorite numbers, including the It Gets Better video they did of Cyndi Lauper's "True Colors."  It was because I loved that number (I still cry when I watch it) that I bought my first season of concerts.  I had decided I couldn't afford a season this year, but after talking with this delightful young man I'm determined to find a way to buy a season after all. 

It was kind of a cool "coincidence."  Or rather, a very cool affirmation that there is no such thing as a coincidence and that the Universe is always taking care of me.  As I had walked across the Esplanade from Disneyland to California Adventure, I was struck by a feeling of lonesomeness.  I'm not lonely.  Loneliness is deep and profound and frightening and - for me anyway - usually associated with hopelessness.  I rarely feel that deep loneliness anymore.  But I am often lonesome.  Lonesome for someone to talk with about the things that interest me:  music or writing or gardening.  Honestly, sometimes I think if I have to sit through another lunch conversation about Fantasy Football or Fantasy Basketball or Fantasy Baseball (what's next?  Fantasy golf or pingpong) I'm going to hurt someone.  So what a delight to enjoy this hour at my favorite place in such a conversation.  I walked across the Esplanade lonesome, and returned across grateful.

No better way to end such a nice day.