Disneyworld

A long-ago planned trip to Disney World almost didn't happen because of my suddenly scheduled surgery.  But, after a lot of careful thought and an o.k. from my surgeon, we decided that we simply must keep our plans.   Since Nana and Grampa were coming with us, the girls would have someone to ride the faster, bumpier rides that I was not allowed on, and for the fastest, they could just ride alone.  And I would get some much needed fresh air.

Thursday, just after noon, I gathered both girls from school and headed up the coast.  We were walking through the Hollywood studios arches before 4:30 pm and spent some time riding the Rock 'N Roller Coaster, wandering through the new Star Wars area (didn't ride the rides as I couldn't) and had a quick dinner before heading out to rest up for Friday.

The next morning we were off bright and early as we were hitting up the Food and Wine Festival at Epcot.  First stop, getting the girls Hide and Squeak game (which we played last year also).  This is where they have to go to 15 different locations and find where Remy is hiding.  Once they find them all, they turn in their cards for a prize.  This year, they got official Disney water tumblers.  And while we were all searching for Remy, we also did what we really came for - ate our way around the world.

Pulled Pork Poutine from Canada.

Mini cupcakes from Norway (Frozen themed) and a Frozen Mezzo Mix from Germany (her favorite).  We also had sausages (Germany), Tacos (Mexico), Cheese filled pastries (Carribean), and various other snacks I just forgot to take pictures of...

A quick stop to chat with Mary Poppins.

And we finished just in time for dinner in France!

Another fabulous day at Epcot.  That ended in pouring down rain.  Thankfully we were already home by then.  But the rain continued into the morning, so we switched up our plans.  We had been headed to the Magic Kingdom, but with it raining cats and dogs, we figured it would be better to take it slow and head off to the Animal Kingdom instead.  

Fast passes all switched; we made it to the park at the crack of 11.

One perfectly placed bow on her shirt!

And I even ran into my college roommate!  Who I have not seen in almost 20 years!!!!

The rain did let up (only sprinkled a few times), but the day did stay overcast and gray.  Which was fine with me because it was still hot.

Lunch included Chilean wine flights - with wines that I have not been able to source outside of Chile but are some of our favorites.  Trust me on that, Sauvignon!

We pet a bunch of animals at the Conservation Station.

And then tried our hands at drawing like the pros - 

Stinkerbell's

Nana's

Grampa's

MadHatter's

Mine

And what it was supposed to look like.  I think we did just great.

And after that, we were off to ride some rides (Avatar, Dinosaur, Expedition Everest) and head home to rest up for our final day at the Magic Kingdom.

Sunny and blue skies all day.  So thankful we switched days as the Magic Kingdom is and always will be my favorite park!

And with that, we called it a trip and headed back home, happy and tired and a bit Disneyed out.  Until next time Walt and Friends.

Labor Day and a Hurricane

When we moved to Florida, we knew that Hurricanes were going to become a part of our lives for about 6 months of the year.  Luckily, at the tail end of that season and didn't encounter any activity last year.  But this year has seen warm temperatures, low pressure, and very wet conditions all-around which is a trifecta of perfect storm conditions.  And of course, with a long weekend looming and plans to be out of town, Dorian reared his head.

Yep, we had made plans to head to Nana and Grampa's house for Labor Day weekend to spend some time and celebrate Nana's birthday a week late.  Which meant that I had to prepare the best I could in case Dorian decided to make landfall while we were gone.  On Friday morning, with Dorian heading straight for us, albeit, at a plodding pace, I cleaned off the outdoor furniture and brought it all inside. Then went back out for the pool toys, the decorative elements, and the pool cleaner.  Basically, anything that wasn't nailed down and could turn into a projectile was brought in to the garage or the living room.  It got a bit crowded...

 It was a bonus that all of the covers for the patio furniture got a proper washing.

 When we left, this was the view from my bedroom window.  It didn't look like a storm was coming, and now that I had spent a few hours cleaning everything out of my yard, I could almost guarantee that Dorian would not be visiting us.

 In the car on our way to Nana and Grampas.  Dulce is back there in her bed all snuggled in for the ride.  Pepper has assumed her usual place on MadHatter's lap.  That cat loves to look out the window as we ride.

Less than 2 hours later, we settled into the house and turned on the TV to see what was happening with the Hurricane.  And quickly found out.  Nothing.  Nothing was happening.  Dorian had to be the slowest, and most powerful storm, in history.  It slowed its forward motion to about 5 miles an hour, then sped up to 9 and then entirely stalled over the poor Bahamas for 24 hours straight.  At a category 5!  And then started its slow crawl toward Florida.  The projection of where it would hit changed almost hourly it seemed.  And when, and if, it would make landfall was a toss of the dice.  It was maddening.  And funny.  Oh, I don't mean that Hurricanes are funny.  I just say that my facebook feed with all of it's Dorian posts and memes were keeping me in stitches.  See for yourself; I copied a few of my favorites...

 We were on the other side of the state and out of Dorian path, so we just went about our business of having fun...

 MadHatters chalk flower on the driveway.

 

 A little too short for the wings at the movie theatre, but just right for the pig.

 A crazy round of mini-golf...

And then schools were closed for an extra day just in case, so we also added some shopping to the mix.  And then Dorian decided that he would finally start moving again, this time North.  I make light of it, but we were fortunate to have dodged this one.  As I said, he was a Category 5 storm and inflicted damage beyond belief on the places he hit.  As I write this, he is still making his way up the eastern seaboard and just continues to cause destruction.

Suddenly, the weekend was over, and the girls had school on Wednesday, so we said our goodbyes, packed all of my creatures into the car and set off for home.  Where I got to put everything back outside again.  Well, until the next hurricane comes along...

 This time they shared Dulce's bed.  And she isn't mad, just talking to MadHatter as always.