Speedy time…

  Speedy Time… just a little catch phrase. When you are older then 50… you go into Speedy Time… and as you get older… Speedy Time gets even faster. A year can go by as if it was a mere 6 months. It certainly didn’t  go that fast when I was still working. Everyone that is older will all tell you the same thing… call it what you will… but Speedy Time hits us all. So where did 2011 go… and how did it go by so fast. One of the riddles of the universe, I guess.

 

We started out the year with 3 months of Disney. This finished up our 7 month winter vacation in the south. I’d say we worked, but 10 hours per month which really can’t be considered work. Since we are seasonal cast members at Disney World we got into the parks for free… anytime we wanted… just one of the perks. One of the best things was to have one of our grand daughters with us for a 3 month Disney Vacation. She saw everything, did everything, went everywhere, and saw more of Disney then most people do after years of vacation visits. This was the second time we had one of the girls for an extended Disney vacation. Such a treat! One of the best things is to see Disney all over again like it was the first time… through he eyes of a child… new and wondrous things… magical happenings… and making memories all over again… just like the first time. So that’s how the year started off. One of the best times ever.

 

After 7 months of play, it was time to get down to the serious issue of making some extra money. Lots of rv'ers seem to almost travel and plan things out almost by the seat of their pants… next month, unplanned until a few days before it’s time to travel again. We kinda hit the other extreme, and like to usually plan things out for the next several months, if not for a year in advance. It doesn’t mean that things can’t change, but we generally have a good idea of what we are doing and where we are going to next. Travels from late spring and summer took us to Texas, just northwest of Houston. Camp Resort were we did Activities and Arts & Crafts. Lots of good times at the resort right through Halloween weekends. We had a wonderful visit by Shelly’s brother and took trips to Galveston, Corpus Christy, and San Antonio. Very hot summer in Texas. Staying here for the winter until March.

Not a whirlwind year of traveling but still many memorable moments… especially those that shared with one of the grand girls… what could have been any better.

Here’s some memorable moments during the summer job doing activities. Since we were working at a Yogi Bear Park / Resort… part of the job was being “Yogi”. Now I know how much fun the Cast members at Disney have being “characters”. In the beginning it was really odd… when people were having their photo taken with Yogi, the most common thing said was “smile”… smile for the camera…and being inside the Yogi costume I’d find myself striking a “smile” too… natural reaction, right… ironically of course, no one can see me smile while wearing the Yogi head… they can’t see my face.  Being Yogi was pretty cool… all the kids shouting his name, running to him, hugs and photos…the smiles on their faces… yep, pretty cool. Pretty cool for the adults too. Once there were three young women in their early twenties that came for photos with Yogi. Two to pose with Yogi’s outstretched arms across their upper backs/shoulders (like everyone else) and one to take the photo. We all got the usual prompt… “smile”… ( I was smiling) then after not getting the smile the photographer wanted came the next prompt… “try to look excited”. Now I couldn’t see their faces but I did understand the “smile and look excited” part… did I mention that all three were very shapely and wearing bikini’s having just came over from the pool. I wasn’t sure about the two posting with Yogi… but I smiled and felt excited… snap the photo… that’s a take!

Another cool time was the Wednesday & Saturday night dance party… live, outside at the Yogi Stage. Originally started as only karaoke nights, it developed into something much more. I started pre-karaoke dance music 30 minutes early to attract and prepare for the karaoke that started at 7pm and ran until 8:30. As the interest in karaoke diminished I started having dance music both before and after karaoke. Eventually when karaoke diminished to less then 30 minutes, we eliminated it completely… and the dance party and contests that overtook the entire evenings program. Unlike having one person sing while everyone else just sits and listens… dance party gave everyone the ability to actively get involved in all the dance songs! We invited kids to come on stage to dance, had dancing on the lawn, and parents taking photos as if all the dancing kids were rock stars. We incorporated a “Twist” contest, “Air Guitar”Contest, and “Air Drummer” Contest and awarded prizes. What a hit… and a great high energy dance party where everyone that wanted to could get involved. But the must rewarding part of the dance party was not limited to everyone having a good time… but to have kids come up at the end of the party and say…. “Mr. Richard… you rock”. Not too bad for an old retired guy. Of course the music selection was a big hit… today’s dance music… high energy! Shelly was a great influence on the choices with songs like…. LMFAO – Party Rock… Lady Gaga, Black eyed peas, Outkast, Taio Cruz, Pitbull, Neyo, Hot  Chelle Rae, Spearhead, and group dance favorites like the Cha-Cha slide, Cupid Shuffle, and the Latin songs for the Conga Lines… plus some country dance songs to round it all out. Even some Big Bad Voodoo Daddy for the older generation. Yep… a great time every Wednesday & Saturday night 6:30 to 8:45… ended just in time for the nightly move at 9pm.

All in all… not much travelin’ … but a great year… filled with too many memories to mention here. So here’s looking back… and looking forward to another great year to remember. Hope the same is true for you. Hoping yall find good health and happiness with the new year. Always look for the best… and you will find it.