California Adventure

 After a late night and early morning - who sleeps well in a hotel? - we headed back to the shuttle Thursday to tackle Disney California Adventure.

Thankfully, the weather had cleared up, and it still wasn't overly crowded. We had another great day, taking in the sights and the attractions (and the pin-trading). Cora and Violet found many employees to trade pins with, much to their delight.

Cora also had a great time on California Screaming, the big coaster you see behind Sue here, in the Paradise Pier section of the park.

It was her first time in that ride, and later in the evening, she went with me and Stace on the Hollywood Tower of Terror, a truly fun and exhilarating ride.

She and Violet also loved the Radiator Springs Racers, as we all did. Stace and I were the only ones who'd been on it before, as the lines are always long and the fast passes all gone when the girls normally come.

Since we were at the park so early, I made sure we got our fast passes.

 We all had a fun time in the Redwood Creek area of the park, completing the challenge activities so the girls could earn their "badge." The girls also had fun with Nan and Pop in Bug's Land.

 We enjoyed just walking around, taking in the sights, shopping in the (many) stores and going on the rides. We also had a good time in the animation gallery, where you can draw characters and put the paper in a spinning cylinder to watch them come to life.

It was another fantastic day together. Since we were very tired from our late night, we left California Adventure around 7 to go to the Downtown Disney shopping district. Then, we got the shuttle back to our car, found a Wendy's for dinner, and then headed home.

Thank you, Disney, for some wonderful memories we'll always treasure!