Everywhere you look, folks smiling either on the way to or while at the Downtown Disney District, Anaheim, California

If you ask me, it's great to have such a good reason for a trip to Disneyland. The back story: My work friend Sharon has twin daughters, Amy and Jenna. Jenna, smiling for the camera along with her Mom, walks half marathons, which means 13.1 miles, y'all! The three of us had more than just a fun time at Disneyland on our minds when we flew to John Wayne airport on Jan. 16. The goal we held dear--a successful Tinker Bell Half Marathon for Jenna! We arrived on time, got a shuttle to our hotel, checked in and set out by bus for Downtown Disney seeking food and, eventually, race central at the Disneyland Hotel. A bit I found about Downtown Disney online: The Downtown Disney District is a lively walking promenade featuring shopping, dining and entertainment at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. To tell you the truth, I had never heard of Downtown Disney, but I am glad that it exists because it gave me a chance to get some first-day walking accomplished which helped get me ready for our four-days at Disneyland and/or Disney's California Adventure. I couldn't resist asking Sharon to take what turned out to be the first of many character photos of me. I promise that I'm not getting familiar with someone in a costume. It's a statue. These two look much cuter on the bench than I do! And I'm glad that you can see the entire sign for the place where we walked and walked and walked (I'm exaggerating a little bit here) to get to for what turned out to be a really delicious late lunch. Thank you, Rain Forest Cafe for not only the food, but for the fabulous service, too. We left the cafe and walked over to the Disneyland Hotel so that Jenna could pick up her race packet and to go to the running/walking vendor expo. By the time it opened at 3 p.m., all three of us had been awake for almost 12 hours, with many more to go before we would hit the hay.
Checking in for the big event, that's our Jenna! I think we were inside a parking garage--we walked down a ramp to get inside and up a ramp to get outside, but it did have carpet everywhere, thankfully for our feet and legs and, more importantly for the feet and legs of all of the race competitors. Over several days, folks had come to either run or walk in races for kids, a family fun run 5K (4,500 participants), the Tinker Bell 10K (10,000 participants) and the Tinker Bell Half Marathon (15,000 participants). Here she is after she had picked up her race packet--that's the giant plastic bag it all came in that she's holding between her thighs so that she could hold up her pretty pink shirt. In this photo you can see the carpet and a few people--believe me, lots and lots more folks than you see here had to pick up race packets over the next few days--I just wanted to give you an idea of the massive space set aside for this important part of the events. We walked through the area in the Disneyland Hotel set aside for the expo that goes with the running events--a huge area filled with vendors of all kinds. Jenna saw these wings and asked me to take a photo. Turned out to be a great photo! One of the busiest, most popular vendors on site--SparkleSkirts, known as the world's most comfortable athletic skirt! A bit from their Web site: SparkleSkirts, The Ultimate Running Skirt. Comfortable and cute! Three huge pockets. Guaranteed anti-ride undershorts featuring moisture-wicking Spandex.