On the Road - Travelin - Quick Update

Away from my computer... three days travelin [Orlando to Lake Ridge]... quick setup... another day travelin [Brandi's and the grand girls]... staying two weeks with Brandi and visiting friends I grew up with and haven't seen for 35 years, visiting family in Baltimore, and enjoying local seafood and Crab Cakes, cream of crab soup, crabs, etc. Return to Lake Ridge and start work on May 4th. Detail entries and photos to follow. Second best Crab Cakes I ever had... a 9.7 on the scale of 10.0. Closed my eyes and enjoyed every bite. Yall have fun... catch ya later.

Final Week at Disney Finale

The Grand Finale… Its was our final week at Disney! Six friends from Sunset King Resort came down to visit! What a great time, great friends, great food, and great fun… certainly a great way to finish up this season’s Disney visit. Four Parks, four days together. Three days in the parks… what an adventure. Park attendance was lower, weather was perfect, and nothing could have made a more perfect vacation if you could planned perfection to the last detail.

Of course, we had to do all the usual things that make Disney vacation, well, … a Disney Vacation. Like posing in front of the castle… and there is always …The iconic symbol of Epcot… Spaceship Earth.

We got to stay at The Wyndham at

Bonnet Creek… right at Disney.

The first Day started at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge

and breakfast at Whispering Canyon Cafe.

Into the Parks for fun… and someone got a little too much into the crowd interaction with the street performers at Studios.

Just in case you didn’t recognize her… that’s the studios… Va-Va… Va-Voom Girl & Doug.

but where was Lois? … Idoeno !

Happy Smiles All Around!

Yep… Happy Smiles…

30 seconds of Fame.

Busy weeks… I’m bushed…

We came to Disney with Brianna in March and wore ourselves out trying to get her to see as much as possible. It was a great time that I will remember forever… and I we have lots of photos to do just that. So many precious moments and memories… than Brandi came down for a couple of days and the whirlwind adventures continued… again, another highlight in my life’s memories… it was so nice to have them here and see Brandi so happy. With a short break in between we had tried to get a little rest and to see friends here in the area… just couldn’t get around to see everyone. Wish we had more time. This, our last week here, and we have planned another whirlwind adventure with 6 friends from the Sunset King Resort in the Florida panhandle. Not much rest in sight but lots of good times and good memories to be made. The plan is for four days, four parks, Disney dining reservations, pontoon boat ride, lots of great fun, lots of Pixie Dust… and maybe even a surprise balloon flight above Disney. Great friends, great food, great fun…sunrise to sunset and than some. I think we all need 36 hour days and 10 day weeks. This will all be followed by one day of rest and prepping to travel for 3 days to get to Virginia…. and a 2 week visit with Brandi and the girls before we start work at Lake Ridge. I think I need to get to work… so I can get a rest. lol. Sorry we missed seeing some of our friends in Orlando, you are still in our thoughts & hearts. Sure seems like life is more busy after you retire…and time passes so quickly… gets away from you fast… go figure. Sometimes it seems that even though the clock & calendar keep time, in reality, time passes by almost twice as fast, and there is really only 16 hours in a day, 5 days in a week, and 20 days in the month. Yall have fun, be good, and we will see you again in Life Travels and Adventures. Happy Trails.

Buttons, buttons, everywhere a button…

I always loved buttons… they proclaim to others at a glance… something about you.

Perhaps even start a conversation about a similar interest… or give a jovial warning as it were. Here are some of my favorites…

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Now here’s one that lets others know what I enjoy doing… pretty simple… just smile and say cheese.

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This one may be considered funny, but may also conveys a warning to others. So at the end, you can always say…

“You were Warned”

“Now It’s all on You”

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This one says something about what you like to do. It also invites others that enjoy Camping to perhaps start a friendly conversation about a mutual interest & swap stories.

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It may simply express some of the things that you live for…

My three favorite things… all on the proper order… gotta have priorities!

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It might say where you like to do some of your favorite things… like eat, sleep, and Travel!

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or something that you miss from your old favorite place, while you are at your new favorite place… eating, sleeping, and traveling.

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or why your new favorite place…

helps you forget about the things you love from your old favorite place.

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or what’s so special about it… what created the Magic. and yes, it is a small world isn’t it after all.

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and there are those quirky little things that help define your new favorite place.

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and than there’s the light hearted funny warning that no one really takes serious… until it’s too late for them. Did they think you were kidding?

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and the other warnings that seem to go unheeded.

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no one quite gets the whole picture… and sometimes an explanation is a good start… just so you know where I’m coming from.

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still yet… this lets others know what you don’t want to hear or talk about… this too mostly… is not taken seriously either.

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Ah… here’s a goody, the proud Grandfather…

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and the proud Grandmother…

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and something that defines a part of our life… something that you are known for… like the Duck Races.

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and one of my favorite buttons… conveys a warning that you have to draw your own conclusions about… but, nevertheless, a ominous warning.

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and expresses your intentions… should something not go as planned…

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and last but not least… the rare serious button that expresses what needs to be done… but will never be taken serious either.

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Yep, I like buttons, they just need to be taken more serious. Is that a bit of an oxymoron of sorts. A button that wants you to take the message serious… about how I am never serious about almost anything. Now there’s something to think about… but not too much… over thinking can be harmful and sometimes dangerous. That’s why I always stop thinking before it’s too late. Seriously!

But, more one buttons later.

Great New Place to Eat!

This is for Everyone that is lucky to be in the Disney Area. We found a great New Place to Eat… and you know how I love to eat. Southwest side… one mile south (on the left) on Hwy 27 from I-4…directly in front of Deer Creek… the mini shopping center with the big bank building… So as you turn into Deer Creek, take the first right and go to the end of the shopping center.

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“The End Zone!”

42605 US HWY 27 – Davenport – 863-420-6569

I got the Big Mouth Double-Double Burger… 2 huge beef patties, lettuce, tomato, fried onions, pickles, sauce, and your choice of cheese… I got the provolone. No kidding… it was 5-6 inches high.

Best french fries I’ve had for a long time… and great service. Great atmosphere and very clean. They feature an all you can eat wing night, all you can eat shrimp night & all you can eat fried fish night. My kind of place! The burger was very good, tasty and flavorful… and much more than I could eat. I had to bring 1/2 of it home… and I never bring anything home. So it’s a good bet that you seniors out there could split it and have a great meal. It was $7'.99 and came with fantastic fries.

It’s a touch-down in my book!

If you are a Disney Cast member, they currently have a 10% discount with your Disney ID.

Yep, a great place, I’m going back there today to have the AYCE Wings for $9.99 which includes those great fries.($8.99 with my Cast Discount).

4 pm can’t come soon enough…

More to follow…after my meal… later…

Now for the rest of the story…

We are back home after eating.

Dinner was everything that was expected and than some. The wings were big… really big and meaty, the fries were again great, and even the homemade iced tea seemed extra special. Just wonderful!

I had the regular buffalo wings and Shelly had the teriyaki wings. We did, to say the least, ate our fill. Shelly had 18 of those meaty wings…wow! Followed by a scoop of Mint Chocolate Chip.

I had 22 wings, 1-1/2 orders of fries & 2-1/2 glasses of iced tea… and NO room for Ice Cream!

Everything was great!

Now… here’s the Plan…

Now here’s the plan…

but first things first…

1. Use a bigger box

2. Use overnight shipping…

3. Poke some holes in the box…

4. Use strong tape…

5. Pack some treats inside…

6. Seal with a Kiss…

Yep…. that about covers it…

Seeya real soon…

See… if we were years into the future…

like Star Trek… just “beam” her over…

now wouldn’t that be nice.

Sure miss the Grand Girls!

But it won’t be long now…

11 More days & we’ll be there!

April 5th Space Shuttle Launch

Wow… just in case you haven’t visited the Disney Blog, here’s a example of what you could be missing… nice photo’s of the Shuttle take off as seen from Cinderella’s Castle.

If you’re heading to Walt Disney World today, you’ll see some amazing things – but nothing like this. This morning, photographer Kent Phillips captured Space Shuttle Discovery as it soared over Cinderella Castle on its mission to the space station. After the shuttle’s climb to orbit, Kent also photographed Discovery’s exhaust trail catching the first rays of sunlight.

Visit the Disney Blog at:

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2010/04/space-shuttle-discovery-soars-over-cinderella-castle-at-walt-disney-world/

Here’s a few closer shots, a bit closer…

I can almost hear the roar…

Just a throw in photo… Hot Air Balloon… “Shuttle”

Now that’s more my speed!

Could you just imagine seeing this fly over head.

Noises in the Night

I’m usually an early riser anyway… and this morning was no exception. I usually try to be quiet so as not to wake Shelly… but you know… I’m a guy, and my version of being quiet is something less than perfect… and becomes more imperfect with each passing year. Six forty five this morning and it was still dark with a dead silence. Which is to say is the expected norm when you live around older retired folks, but I guess I do need to be a bit more careful using the word “dead” even when describing the nature of the silence around here. Maybe quiet as a cemetery… well… that really doesn’t work too well either. Lets just say it was very quiet and leave it at that. Except for the thumping. Very lightly at first… thump… thump…thump… than silence ( see I didn’t use the word “dead” )… than again lightly… thump, thump, thump. A quick glance out the window… but I saw nothing. Back to the computer… than a few moments later… thump, thump, thump… another look out the window… still nothing… than I hit the light switch… and what to my wondering eyes did appear ( starting to sound familiar )… a six foot tall Rabbit with a long grey beard. He was thumping along and carrying an Easter basket filled with goodies I suspect. As he came closer I could begin to see into the basket. I had visions of Chocolate, jelly beans, and those marshmallow chicks that I like so well. Much to my surprise I didn’t see any treats… no chocolate, no jelly beans, no tasty marshmallow chicks… just an assortment of pills, vitamins, skin creams, elbow braces, knee braces, and other assorted stuff like ben gay, Metamucil, fake salt, fake sugar, and lots of boxes of dried prunes. Not quite the Easter surprise I expected. But than I thought where I was… no kids here… and no one here needed any of those sweet treats anyway. What was I doing here… and than it hit me… oh…no… I’m old! I just crossed the line from Easter Sweet Treats to the Geriatric Easter Basket Crowd… hence the Rabbits long gray beard.

Than a moment of clarity… I must be Dreaming…. a quick look in the mirror… I wasn’t dreaming. All I can do now is use the knee brace, eat the prunes, and hope I don’t need the other stuff too soon, or too often.

Sure, there’s a moral to this story… don’t get too old… or at least not to quickly. You are only as old as you feel… only as old as you act… ( just stay away from those mirrors )… and spread those youthful feelings around… like laughter… it’s contagious.

Y’all have a Happy Easter and enjoy those Sweet Treats… I’ll have one of those Yellow Chicks Please!

Going to Red Lobster Today with my Sweetie, than a little visit to Epcot just to soak up the Beautiful weather, the Spring Flowers and the atmosphere.

Hey… wait a minute…

Going to Disney… Just wait a Minute. You know…I just can’t think of anything I’d like to do other than waiting in line. Just think about it. Ya just stand there and don’t have to do anything except to shuffle forward every so often. You don’t even have to pay attention cause the people behind you will tell you when it’s time to move. Don’t have to worry about finding things cause you’re already there and you don’t have to worry about making your way through the crowds either. Yep, long lines are the safest place to be, and you get to do your favorite ride at the end, kinda like a reward. You don’t have to fret over the long lines at the other rides cause you aren’t going to make it there anyway and if you have to wait in one line verses 8-10 short ones, all the better, besides there ain’t no short ones anyway on a holiday, and I already planned ahead a picked out my one favorite ride, so I’m set!

I can always catch them other rides next year. Yep, there ain’t nottin like just waiting in one line for 200 minutes to make the day go by quick and make the day go by with a lot less effort. Two or three rides like this and my whole day is done! and this is a lot better than waitin’ for hours at a time. Yep, just minutes is the only way to go, it’s like Magic!

I make all my plans to be here every Easter just so I don’t over do it, yep, it’s vacation time. And Easter week and Spring Break is the best and busiest time when the lines are the longest. So if I don’t see ya here this year, there’s always next spring! Come on down, the lines are fine! Most are inside, out of the sun and in a cool place too, yep, lines are great! Oh, one last thing, here’s another great concept, all summed up by one word… “spoof”. Yep, spoof is one good word, goes right along with sarcasm. Two of my favorite words. Y’all draw your own conclusions. Y’all come down Now! while it’s busy!… and the lines are the longest!

Oh…. and Happy Easter Too !

Dreams & Wishes…

Dreams & Wishes….

Here’s a photo of the Disney Dream Dancers… yep, that’s Shelly in the middle.

and no, I didn’t put her head on another person… That was really her in the middle.

see… I can tell the truth…

oops… gotta go…

get the rest of the story later.

Happy Easter…

Happy Easter to Family & Friends…

Wish everyone a safe & fun filled Easter.

Have Fun with the Eggs…

and enjoy what’s in your Easter Basket.

Got Disney?

Good Morning… for those of you that don’t or can’t get all the Disney you might like…

There’s the regular Disney World site:

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/disneyparks/en_US/index?name=HomePage

But did you know…

There’s also a Disney Blog…

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/page/1/

A Disney Twitter Page…

http://twitter.com/waltdisneyworld

A Disney Face Book Page…

http://www.facebook.com/WaltDisneyWorld

and a Disney You-Tube Page…

http://www.youtube.com/DisneyParks

Want more information?

How about Peak Park Days

( and the best days to visit or avoid )

Four Parks… One World

You need a Plan!

http://www.touringplans.com/tp2/UG2_index.php?PageID=14

and the Park Hours…

(including Extra Magic Hours)

[just change the date when you get there]

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/calendars/?hdndateDesc=Thursday%2C+March+04%2C+2010+-+Saturday%2C+March+13%2C+2010&asmbly_endDate=20100313&asmbly_startDate=20100304

Just a quick note…

If you are not staying at a Disney Resort…

Extra Magic Hours is a good indication of which Park to AVOID

that particular Morning or Evening since the Parks attendance

is generally boosted by +8,000 to +12,000 for that day.

( more on Holidays )

It’s also a good indication of where to go…

Example: if Epcot had extra Magic hours last night…

than it’s a good park to visit today!

Avoid the Crowds.

Of course, if you go during the summer, or on Holiday Weeks, especially Spring Break/Easter, you are doomed to very large crowds and long line waits… choose your weeks wisely!

I use to say that on a Holiday week it takes you twice as long to see half as much… I realize now that that was a very optimistic statement… Holiday Weeks are much worse plus aggravating.

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Disney Time-Line… what happened and when.

http://www.explorethemagic.com/disney-world-timeline.asp

or take a trip to Pixie Hallow…

http://disney.go.com/fairies/

So… if you haven’t been getting your

Daily Dose of Disney…

these sites should help you out.

Have Fun & Enjoy!