April 2026 Vacation Part 4

Disney isn’t the only way we experience a bit of magic on our vacations…hehehe We have something that no one else in the world has! Cherendipity has become a bit of a tradition for our last day of vacation…LOL We had plans to go check out San Juan Capistrano that day. But as it turned out, the mission there was closed on Mondays…LOL So we shifted to another idea that led us to another amazing day!

But before that, we had…BREAKFAST 🤩 I tell the chef, “I’ll take it all! Even a couple of pancakes!” LOL I also have my coffee and apple juice, of course…hehehe And like always, we take communion and pray together. These breakfasts are so special and I love each and every one of them.

After breakfast on our last day, Cherie checks out of the hotel and has her luggage stored at bell services. And then we are off to Downtown Disney District! Well, sort of. We park, go through security, and now we take a left turn over to Disneyland Hotel for my Joffrey’s coffee…LOL And then our gazebo 🤩❤️ I still think it’s our own little secret garden. No one else is ever there. It’s a little one. There is a much larger one around the corner. But this little one is so sweet and very special.

After our traditional chat at the gazebo, we made our way back to DTD. One of our first stops was World of Disney. This time, it was me doing the shopping…hehehe I needed to pick out my coffee mug. And I had a birthday gift card from Cherie burning a hole in my pocket…LOL For that, I picked out a Toy Story button up shirt. I had help picking it out…hehehe Cherie was the main person, besides me. But there were a few people walking by that made comments about me picking out the shirt…LOL The fact that Cherie and I both loved the shirt was enough. But it was fun that other people made comments too…hehehe

I have a small correction from part 2 about Grand Californian. I don’t think we went to the lobby after we did the Dapper Day Boutique. I think we only did that on Monday. That’s where we went after I did my shopping…hehehe What I said about it back in the part is actually what we did on Monday instead…LOL

After that, we had our churro toast! Meaning, a shared churro that we cling’ed together…hehehe We had to find a new spot to enjoy our churro, though. They have completely removed the area we traditionally sat at. They are going to be building a restaurant there…LOL It might be a place we check out in the future? They have some bakery things and sandwiches, I think? It looks like it will be lovely. Cherie knows all about it as there is a location near her…hehehe

Before we left DTD, we dropped by the art gallery for Cherie to pick up some new prints of artwork. And then we hit up pin traders. Cherie got me a Stitch pin 🤭 She had been doing a Stitch voice during our entire vacation that made me laugh every single time…LOL She wanted to give that pin to me to commemorate the trip 🥰

Now back to the Cherendipity…hehehe We visited a pair of zoos! First, the Santa Ana Zoo. And then the Orange County Zoo. Both zoos were lovely. But I think I liked the OC Zoo a little better. The Santa Ana Zoo is tucked away near the freeway in a city neighborhood. The area was nice. The zoo was filled with kids on field trips.

The highlight at Santa Ana Zoo was Earless…hehehe He was a goat that didn’t have any ears 🤭 He was hanging out in the little relief area past the black rope. But as soon as Cherie came up the fence, he walked right on over to her. It was as if he was going home by being with her ❤️ Him not having any ears made him oddly cute 🤭 Alas, remember those kids? Well, they rudely came over and crowded Cherie. And poor Earless ran off. I don’t blame him! We left too! LOL

The OC Zoo was tucked away in Irvine Regional Park. It was a little more chill than the other zoo with less children running about…LOL It seemed as though all of the animals there were rescued in some way. Most of them had some sort of ailment that they were being cared for. These animals were a comfort to me. The week after, I got to thinking about why I loved that zoo so much. All of the animals were “less than” in condition. The big zoos would never have them on display. And in many cases, those animals would have otherwise been put down. But here they were being cared for. I sometimes feel like those animals. So that zoo has a special spot in my heart now 🥰

A few of the other notable things there was a black bear that couldn’t use its hind legs, a wildcat that was either missing a front leg or couldn’t use it, and the butterflies that kept flying around Cherie 🥰 There was also a crow at this zoo. It was strange to see that. But there was a sign and everything for it. So it must have been a rescue! And the peacocks 🤩

After the zoo, we explored Irvine Regional Park. We found a little lake that’s about the size of the one I have here at home. We walked around it. I’ve taken Cherie on many walks around my lake, in spirit. This time, we got to take the walk in person, together 🤩 After we got all the way around, we sat on a bench by the lake and had a lovely time. It was amazing to not hear the world. Instead, we could hear the wildlife. It was amazing 🤩

On our way out of the park, we drove around just to see what all else was in the park. We found a little pioneer village area. She recognized it from events they hold there. It was one of the items on her bucket list to see that someday. Well, she got to mark that one off the list!

We made our way back to the hotel to get her luggage and headed over to ARTIC to await her first train home. This is always a bittersweet moment. It’s hard to say goodbye. But it was also a “see you real soon!” This time, we knew that our next adventure was only a month away; which is coming up this weekend, actually! Trex and Trexina said goodbye and turned their 2 fingered short arms into hearts as the train pulled away 😭

While she was on her journey home, I went to Pick Up Stix. It was another one of her food recommendations. We don’t have them here in Florida or back in Indiana. It’s a fast food style Asian restaurant and I really loved how the food turned out. She made it home safely and our vacation was over 😭

I’ve already written about the “welcome home” the next day. But overall, the travel wasn’t bad. It was just the end of my journey that had trouble…LOL

Well, that’s a wrap on our April Vacation! Up next! Our May Vacation coming up this weekend! I’m so excited 🤩

I think I say this at the end of most of these…hehehe Thank you, Cherie, for our amazing adventures 🤗❤️ Having a best friend is great. Having you as my best friend is something a cherish 🥹