Remember the Disneyland candy store?

Do you remember the candy store Marceline's Confectionery in Downtown Disney? It usually was our last stop before leaving Disneyland!

The candy store was conveniently located directly across from the bathrooms and an exit we could take to a sidewalk that led to the parking ramp. When you were in a stroller, I'd usually push you along in it, rather than take a tram, from the tram to Disney.

The store carried water and milk, a necessity for our drive back home. Sometimes we'd also pick up some treat for the ride back. You liked the Minnie Mouse cookies, and I usually got a pretzel stick with some caramel/chocolate/nut candy wrapped around it!

Your love of great water fountains

June 26, 2009, in Ojai, Calif.

It seems that wherever I go, something there reminds me of you! Yesterday I was at a concert where there were water fountains - and lots of kids were playing in them just like you used to do!

While you found any water fountain fun to slash in when a toddler and a preschooler, two of them come to mind.

One was in Ojai, Calif., behind the arcade area. The fountain had a flower pattern in the middle of it and the water came right up to the lip, where it flowed over into a basin below.

The other was in Downtown Disneyland. The fountain was shaped like a flower petal and shot water upward like a geyser. You always wanted me to take you over to it so you watch it!

Taken back to our Disneyland plants

Bird of paradise flower

While visiting a local nursery (a place where plants are sold), I was taken back to the many times that we visited Disneyland. One of the beauties of that place is its great landscaping with all of the wonderful flowers and plants.

The nursery had those cool shrubs that spiral around and can be cut into shapes like there were at the It's a Small World ride. It also had white gardenias (a staple of the Los Angeles landscape), the herbs that grow in the Storybook Land ride, and bird of paradise that lined the sidewalk each walk we took from the parking ramp to the park entrance.

Do you remember the distinctive fragrance that filled the Disneyland night, especially in Downtown Disney as we neared the exit gates or the trams? That was midnight jasmine, which blooms in the evening.

Are the Beatles still your favorite band?

Sunday, June 19, 2011: Kieran dances to the Beatles tribute band's final number, "Twist and Shout" at Downtown Disney. He thought they were the real Beatles!

Listened to "Breakfast with the Beatles" radio shows this morning, Kieran. Remember how we always used to catch them on Sunday mornings when you were with me in San Diego? The Beatles always were your favorites, and whenever tribute bands appeared in the area, I'd take you to their concerts. Your favorite Beatles album always was "Please Please Me" - you'd always ask me to play the CD when we were driving somewhere, with "Boys" your favorite Beatles song ... well, your favorite one most of the time, for if you heard a Beatles song for the first time, you'd ask for me to play that one over and over! This morning's breakfast shows were about the making of the album "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" and the movie "A Hard Day's Night". Wish you were here to listen to them with me...