Day 6: All Good Things Must Come to an End

Well, we're nearing the end of our last day at Disney World. It's been a good week filled with lots of laughs and sore feet. If you've been reading all along you've already had the running commentary so I won't repeat it in this post.

Today we enjoyed a few highlights of the trip. We started the day at Animal Kingdom. Dan was desparate to go ride Dinosaur again (twice actually), and we went on the new roller coaster we missed earlier in the week. The roller coaster was good. It stops mid-way, reverses course going backwards, then reverses again for the final drops and turns.

After Animal Kingdom we caught the bus back to the transportation center and rode the ferry to the Magic Kingdom. Somewhere on the lake Shari and Dan decided we weren't going to the Magic Kingdom but rather headed back to the hotel for lunch and swimming.

After swimming we started the task of packing up and getting read to hit the road tomorrow. We're planning a two day death-drive back to Illinois. We're scheduled to spend the night somewhere in the middle of Tennessee. This will likely be my last post from the road so I'll sign off from the "Happiest Place on Earth."

Day 5: Update two

Bonus update.

We started our day with some shopping at Downtown Disney. I was given a gift card by my employer for surviving 5 years. The gift card is not for use at "airline, hotel, car rental, telecom, gasoline and ATMs." That pretty much leaves restaurants and retail shops. So we went and got some "stuff." More importantly, we had ice cream sundaes at the Ghirardelli Chocolate shop. Shari and I spent a weekend in San Francisco many years ago and enjoyed a visit to Ghirardelli Square on the pier. Godiva may be one of my clients but Ghirardelli is my favorite chocolate since that visit.

We went to the pool this afternoon. Dan and Shari swam, I enjoyed the shade of the trees by the pool, reclining on a chase lounge, catching up on some reading. Last time around Dan didn't want to go down the water slide but this time we couldn't keep him off the slide. We took some pictures with Dan's camera but unfortunately we forgot the cord so I can't download them until we get home.

That's all for now. I think we're going back to the Magic Kingdom tomorrow morning and Dan wants to go back to the pool tomorrow afternoon.

Later.

Day 5: Breakfast with Mickey

Breakfast with Mickey Mouse and other characters is a hoot. They have a special celebration for the birthday kids as well. We got to see and get autographs from Mickey, Goofy, Pluto, Chip and Dale! Dale scared Shari when he snuck up on her and touched her shoulder. Goofy gave Dan a good noogy.

Well, off to Downtown Disney for some shopping on Mr. Fry.

Later.

Day 4: Employee Payday Comes On Thursday

Every Parent Comes Out Tired.
Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow.
Every Pocketbook Comes Out Thinner.

Which is the actual expansion of the acronym EPCOT? According to the monorail driver we talked to and Wikipedia it is the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow.

We enjoyed many of the rides at EPCOT including Soarin', Living with the Land, Journey into the Imagination, Spaceship Earth and Test Track. This year we also went through a few of the different country exhibits.

Unlike 2004, we didn't ride Mission Space. Dan wasn't interested in the attraction and following the death last year of a 4-year old boy on the ride we weren't all that cracked on it ourselves. In fairness the boys death was apparently caused not by trauma but rather an undiagnosed heart condition.

Anyway, not to be a downer, it was a good day. The Soarin' ride is excellent. The rider is suspended from a seat as if sitting in a glider. The seats are then moved close to an IMAX-like move screen which then takes you swooping around California. At one point in the presentation the "glider" flies down the length of the aircraft carrier U.S.S. John C. Stennis (CVN-74). As we left the deck Dan asked if that was my ship. It felt good to know he is aware of our Navy and my service.

We're enjoying ourselves more this time around because Dan is better able to deal with the crowds and has more patience than he did in 2004. But inevitably our trip is winding down. Tomorrow is Breakfast with Mickey and Friends followed by a trip to downtown Disney for some shopping and playtime at LegoLand. We may play some miniature golf in the afternoon. Friday's schedule is still tentative. Right now we're just calling it "Do Whatever You Want" day. Dan said he wanted to stay in the room which we're interpreting as the need for some decompression time. We may spend some time around the pool relaxing prior to the drive back.

That's all for now.

Later.

Day 3: Animal Butts and Other Excitement

Well, if you haven't figured it out from the picture we were at Animal Kingdom today. We enjoyed the Dinosaur ride, Kilimanjaro Safari, and Kali River Rapids ride. Well, I'm not sure we enjoyed the Kali River Rapids ride the second time through. All three of us came out soaked to the bone.

When we were here in 2004 we started our day earlier in the morning with the Safari. That year the animals were still having their coffee and talking about what they watched on TV the night before. This year we were on the Safari in the early afternoon and had much better viewing of the animals. Here are a couple of my favorites.

Hey, where else do you get to see pictures of elephant butts? I aim to please.

It was much warmer today with a high in the mid-80s. This was the first day on our trip that shorts were comfortable and even required attire. We're supposed to have mid-80s and sunshine the rest of the week. That said we are a SPF30 kind of family so don't expect any bronze tans on our return.

We called an early end to the day this afternoon. I enjoyed a Cohiba on the balcony this afternoon, sitting inthe sun, reading the newspaper. I can't remember the last time I did that. I think we're going to go explore around the resort this evening before the fireworks.

Tomorrow, Epcot.

Later.

Day 2: Everything Old is New Again

Well, this picture sums up the excitement for today. We spent the day at MGM Studios. The only reason to go to MGM according to Dan was to see the Power Rangers. Quite by accident we managed to arrive just before the first Power Rangers show so Dan got to see all 5 Rangers, Red SPD, Lunar Wolf, White Dino, Green Samurai, and Pink Mystic (if you have to ask, check out Wikipedia). As soon as we had the autographs Dan was ready to head back to the hotel. We managed to keep him interested by going to the new Xtreme car show attraction. After that we went to a few other attractions in the park before we ended the day at the Rock and Roller Coaster featuring Aerosmith (yes, that Aerosmith). It is a wicked roller coaster featuring multiple inversions all inside an enclosed (and of course dark) building. When we came off the ride the first time Dan was murmuring to himself, "no more rides, no more rides." Before we hit the bottom of the ramp though he looked up at me and said in an excited voice "can we go again dad?"

So why title this post "Everything Old is New Again?" In the opening of the ride there's a mock recording studio with a video of the members of Aerosmith supposedly "behind the glass." The music being played was popular when I was in high school. Ahead of us in line (the first time I think) were a group of kids that hadn't even been born when the song was released dancing and acting like it was the best music they'd ever heard! I wanted to shake them and tell them to stop stealing my generation's music! I stopped however because I was afraid their baggy pants would probably fall down.

Well, tomorrow we're off to Animal Kingdom. Until then, "ROCK ON DUDE!"

Day 1: The Magic Kingdom

We enjoyed our first full day in WDW today by visiting the Magic Kingdom. As I noted yesterday Dan had a whole list of rides, in order, that covered random corners of the park. His overly linear dad talked him into running them in some order around the park.

We started on Splash Mountain which lived up to its name. For some unknown reason (I blame Shari) Dan and I ended up in the front of the first car and completely soaked.

From there we made our way around the park riding most all of the coasters and rides. For reasons that can only be explained by my own stupidity we made a second trip through Splash Mountain in the front of the front car. This time Dan asked to sit there but you think I'd have had the sense to put Shari with him this time.

Dan wasn't as thrilled this time with Space Mountain as he was two years ago. It's funny, he's two years older and suddenly more aware of his fear.

Well, that's all for now. We'll be off to supper here in a bit. I think we're headed over to MGM Studios tomorrow so we can catch the Power Rangers in the parade.

Later.

Success! We arrived!

We arrived this afternoon around 3:15 after a fairly uneventful drive with two exceptions. Some where north of Valdosta we came to a dead stop. While we were sitting we realized there were no cars on the other side of the road. When we finally got through we saw the accident. It was being picked up but a Land Rover and a truck were both burned out hulks of steel.

In Gainesville an old man in a land yacht was honking at us while sitting at the front of the line in a right turn lane at a stop light. He whipped the yatch around me because I was clearly delaying him from his shuffleboard tournament. He damn near hit the pedestrians I was waiting for in the cross walk. Beyond that it was just 6 hours of flat.

We only had a few goals for the day after arrival:

- Get checked in and all our stuff delivered to the room.
- Get through customer service for Dan's pass.
- Go ride Stitch's Great Escape.
- Get to dinner at Chef Mickey's.

Mission accomplished.

We saw Dan blush for maybe the first time in his life. While we were at dinner he announced that the characters running around were "just people in costumes." Later at dinner Minnie Mouse came up to the table and pretended to lay a bunch of kisses on his check. Dan about melted and turned as red as a tomato. For the record, she kissed the old man first and I blushed too!

We were going to watch the fireworks tonight, as a family, from the balcony. I was enjoying a Cohiba before the festivities. Before the fireworks started Shari was asleep. Dan came out to watch but decided he was afraid of heights so he watched from inside the room through the sliding glass door. He got in bed before they ended and was asleep before I came back inside. I enjoyed them.

I think we're headed to the Magic Kingdom tomorrow. Dan has a list of rides he wants to hit. Of course they are all in opposite corners of the park. Promises to be a busy and fun day. I hope to have a post tomorrow plus some additional pictures.

Later.

The Adventure Continues....

Friday March 24th dawned a cloudy and cool day in Marion, IL. We woke fresh and eager to get on our journey. Our goal for the day, 500 miles and a date with the Quality Inn, Macon, GA. We got off to an inauspicious beginning and ended up stopping the car every two hours or so. It was a long day across the board.

I'll share my day with the following Haiku-like prose.

City of Nashville
You rise from the hills of Tenn.
Where are the Suburbs?

Chattenooga bound.
Six percent downgrade ahead.
Try not to burn brakes.

Orange traffic cone.
Traffic crawling, tempers flare.
Workers on a break.

My Dear Atlanta,
Traffic sucks. I hate the Braves.
Jane is a Commie. (Alternate ending, Ted is a weenie)

Downtown or By-pass?
Car sick kid in the back seat.
How far to Macon?

The sign says merge left.
You race ahead in the lane.
I hope your tires blow.


Statistics:

512.6 miles
20.7 mpg (could have been a bad pump on one fill)
11 hours, 46.6 mph average

The Adventure Begins

Well, we're on our way to Disney World. I had a 1/2 day at work, we gathered the family into the family truckster and headed south. Our target, Marion, IL; a humble city in southern Illinois.

The drive was relatively uneventful. There was still a fair amount of snow on the ground through central Illinois. These guys got the short end of the weather stick over the last few weeks. Several rounds of thunderstorms with tornados followed by a mid-March blizzard.

We got to Marion in good time and decided to stop for dinner at the Cracker Barrel. We were seated, ordered, and started to wait. Roughly 20 minutes later our waitress arrived with our meals, only my meal was only 1/2 there. The waitress informed us then that the rest of my meal wouldn't be ready for another 20 minutes. So not only did I get to wait for too long to get 1/2 my meal, I had to change my order so as not to be in the restaurant for longer than the drive to get there.

After our fine dining experience we drove across the street to the hotel (a Holiday Inn Express). Shari went into the hotel to check in. Roughly 10 minutes later she returned and tells me that there is nobody at the front desk! I went to get gas while she continued to wait. After returning from the gas station we finally made it up to the room, directly across the hall from the elevator. I guess it could have been next to the equipment room so I should shut-up.

I think I hear music in the background. Wait, it's coming clear.....

"The sun will come out, tomorrow. Bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow, there'll be sun." Given the price of gas, that bottom dollar may come sooner rather than later!

Signing off from the road. Your humble correspondent.

Oh, BTW, for those of you who are interested in these things (dad).

323.4 miles
18.6 gallons of gas
5 hours travel time
17.4 MPG; 64.7 MPH on average

Bumper Stickers

I've been reading some interesting bumper stickers lately I thought I'd share. The first bumper sticker I saw a few weeks ago went something like this:

"My kid fought in Iraq so your kid could go to college"

Anybody feel like we're back in the draft era? During the Viet Nam War there were clearly young adults of privilege who didn't have to serve (e.g. President Clinton and Vice President Cheney) and those who "served" by getting rare National Guard positions (e.g. President W and Vice President Dan Quayle). That said, the draft ended decades ago. We have an all volunteer armed force. The bumper sticker seems disingenuous at best. Now, if we want to have a debate about the socio-economic makeup of the armed forces that's another question. This bumper sticker however is trying to lay a guilt trip on one group of people because this person's kid volunteered for service. I'm a vet and I volunteered in the 80s. So those of you reading this who think I don't understand can bug off.

The next bumper sticker is nothing new, but fun none the less. This was on the back of a Ford Explorer:

"Made by, driven by, and paid for by an American."

According to the U.S. Stuff Product web site (http://www.usstuff.com/cars205c.htm). The 2005 Ford Explorer is only 75% U.S. and/or Canadian parts (which could be all Canadian). It has a German Engine and a French Transmission. Granted, it is assembled in St. Louis but the major components have nothing to do with being "made by an American." I found a couple of references suggesting the Kentucky-assembled Toyota Camry has 55% American parts. So, what is an American car anyway?