Swamp, Spring and Gators, oh my! - January 30th

In my research for free or cheap things to do in Orlando, I discovered that locals like to go tubing in the many natural springs in the area to cool off on hot days.  When the temperature hit 75 we decided  it was a hot day (not many locals would agree).  I was ready to hit the springs, but with the idea of gators lurking nearby, Andy requested that we visit on a weekend when there might be other families around.  A safety in numbers kind of thing.   Kelley Springs is a county park and during the non-nesting season (right now) the rangers are active to relocate gators out of the public areas.  Of course I kept thinking someone has to SEE the gator first.  I did not want to be that someone, but I was trying very hard to keep my fears in check.  Supposedly if you don't bother a gator, it won't bother you.  Another theory I was not anxious to test out. 

When we arrived there was nothing that would keep me out of that crystal clear water.  It looks like a real life "Jungle Cruise" and is a perfect 72 degrees.  Kristen, however, did not quite share my enthusiasm.  There are VERY large signs warning about gators at the entrance to the park.  After we walked up to the mouth of the springs Kristen was "seeing" gators around every river bend.  That first twenty minute trip down lasted an eternity with Kristen actually crying at one point because she was so scared.  We set her up on a blanket with a snack and Andy and I enjoyed a much more relaxing trip appreciating all of the plants and birds.

I must admit every once in awhile I imagined a log moving, but it was just that - my imagination.

Only 330 Days Until Christmas (January 29th)

David had been back at work for more than a week and we were growing restless from our daily routine of schoolwork and swimming. We decided it was time for Christmas... Christmas, Florida that is.

In Christmas it is...you guessed it...always Christmas.

Just outside of town is Fort Christmas, built on Christmas Day 1837, for use in the Seminole Indian Wars.  The Fort is now a museum within an Orange County Park.  This was our first experience at an Orlando area park and boy were we impressed.  The exhibits were great, the park clean and well maintained and admission was FREE. (perhaps Disney tax dollars at work) 

Next to the fort is a collection of historical buildings, including a pioneer village- Florida style.  It was fun to explore and look at the differences between these early homes and the homesteads we had seen in the Dakotas.  Most notably, mosquito netting, no explanation needed.  Plus, the homes were much larger with huge breezeways between rooms.  And no wood piled high to last throughout the long winter.  The lack of winter blizzards sounds appealing, but I can't quite get past that mosquito netting and these fine specimens in the mudroom.

Of course some things never change. 

Completely unrelated to Florida history, Christmas is also home to the worlds largest Alligator, "Swampy."

Water Fun

Apparently the Disney water parks can be as packed as the theme parks on a hot summer day.  I can assure you this is not the case when it is a sunny 75 degree January day. 

Blizzard Beach looks like a blizzard hit a water park. 

Maybe everyone thought it  was actually snowing and stayed away??

Typhoon Lagoon has the most amazing wave pool.  At random intervals a giant wave hits the shore.  Super fun if you can thread water and stay out in the deep water.  Not as much fun if you are Kristen and you keep getting pounded in the shallow water.  Still couldn't keep her away from the water. 

McDreamin' at Daytona

How to torture my wonderful husband--make him come to Florida knowing he has to leave for work before the start of Speed Week at Daytona.  Luckily, the drivers of the Rolex 24 (January 28th/29th) were practicing at the speedway on the 7th and 8th.  After three straight days at Disney I was ready to bail out and send my family without me.  David kept mentioning that Patrick Dempsey owned two of the competing teams.  Maybe I could see McDreamy drive his car...

Which I did.

Then David discovered that we could drive through the tunnel, park in the infield and hang out in the garages.

David and Andy were busy with all of the other race fans getting autographs from Juan Pablo Montoya and Jimmie Johnson. 

Kristen and I walked down to the nearly deserted end of the garages to Dempsey Racing.  A helpful crew member divulged that Patrick was having lunch and would be back in 30 minutes.  Sure enough a half hour later a golf cart honked at us and McDreamy said hello. 

Darn it all,  I might have to start going to races with David!

 

Later we met team owner, Chip Ganassi.  Weeks later his team won the Rolex 24.

I never thought I would see my little Corolla on the infield at Daytona. 

Four Parks..One World

The holiday travellers fled Orlando and we launched our Disney adventure.  I was armed with my Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World complete with touring plans. In contrast to Disneyland's compact theme parks filled to the brim with attractions,  each World  park boasts two super headliner rides and a couple of  minor attractions.  Then there is what David refers to as "filler."  There are few if any attractions in the Land that we do not love or at least enjoy.  That could not be said about the World.  As we excited "Stitch's Great Escape"  Andy saw the FastPass machines and said, "I would have loved a FastPass to get out of there."   Our best guess is that Disney has concentrated their time and resources to make amazing live entertainment, resorts and dining experiences and has neglected the park attractions themselves.  OK, enough negative, we had an incredible time and here is our        

 Disney World Top Ten:

10.  Expedition Everest

All about the details  This ride was just as much fun the first time as it was the sixth time Kristen dragged us on it in a single day.  I would like to say that if you are going to Disney World DO NOT watch the Disney World videos available on Netflix.  They got us very excited about the parks, but there were some surprises about Everest and other attractions that would have been more fun if they were left as just that -surprises.

9. Rock n Roll Coaster

Not a great picture, but this was my favorite ride of the trip.  Our only complaint- too short.  It is a wild roller coaster set to Aerosmith tunes.  AMAZING!

8.Live Entertainment

From street performers in Epcot's France..

to a stunt show at Hollywood Studios...

and a traditional Magic Kingdom parade.. Disney does not disappoint.  We saw every stage show, parade and live entertainment available and each time we walked away awestruck.

7.  Fireworks

I love Magic Kingdom fireworks and it closed out our first night in the World.  It was only dampened by the intermittent thunder storms in the afternoon.  Perfect for us Northwesterners.  Bring on the rain and thin out the crowds.  Worked like a charm.

6.  Characters

  I have always loved the whole character autograph/photo thing at Disney.  Since I was in charge of the touring plan, map, show schedule and food,  David completely took charge of all the character greetings with autograph book in hand and camera at the ready.  Nowadays it is a very structured- one more line kind of thing except sometimes:

you can have a chance encounter with a fun loving character or...

you find a character willing to help embarrass your almost teenager. 

 

5.  Illuminations

This was one of those things I wish I had known less about, so I won't tell you my favorite part, but it lights up the lagoon at Epcot in the most spectacular fashion.

 

4. Animals

A zoo- Disney style.  No animatronic Jungle Cruise here...  Disney downside- to get the most people through the safari ride they do not slow down for animal sightings.  Could have used my good camera this day.  Luckily, we had plenty of time to roam the trails afterwards and check out  the animals at our own pace.  

We could have spent the entire afternoon watching this baby gorilla.

Yes, I know this is not a real animal, but Andy thought it was funny. 

3. Fantasmic

Nothing will ever match the Riverboat finale at Disneyland, but Disney World has an entire stadium dedicated to Fantasmic, which means great seats for everyone.

2.  Campground

Halfway through our two weeks at Disney we moved into the Fort Wilderness Campground.   This is the way to do Disney!  I kept saying this was my favorite part of the whole experience, so David had to point out that for the price of our park tickets we could have stayed at the campground for over a month.  I will have to pretend that is not true.

 Every night there is  a campfire Sing a Long with Chip n' Dale.  Then you cuddle up under the stars to watch a movie on a huge outdoor screen.  No crowds, so peaceful. 

1.Employees

EVERYONE was so nice and helpful everywhere we went.  Seriously, do they put something in the water?  I know it is corny, but it is nice to have people greet you in the morning and say goodbye at night.  They interacted with the kids, smiled at everything and I was even approached with offers of directions when I was just looking at a map. Mind you, it was pretty quiet in the World that week and we were among the few guests that spoke English, but still customer service above and beyond. 

So proud.

Kennedy Space Center- January 4th

All of Andy's dreams came true- two days at the Kennedy Space Center and lunch at the World's Largest McDonald's.  I am sure there are some major repercussions for having all of your dreams fulfilled in one day, but still we soldier on....

 Words can not express how awe-inspiring this is- the Saturn V rocket is HUGE.

 NASA loves it's acronyms and after two days we could throw them around with the best of them.  For instance, the huge building on the right is the VAB (Vehicle Assembly Building) where they connect  the rocket boosters to an orbiter and an external fuel tank- Viola! a space shuttle.

One small step for man...

Our first alligator sighting- from the tour bus is close enough for me.

We finally found something with worse gas mileage than our motorhome.  The "Crawler" that transports the shuttle to the launch pad gets 47 feet to the gallon.

 Down the road from the Space Center is the Astronaut Hall of Fame.  In addition to the "Hall"  they have interactive games for the kids (and the kid in all of us), videos, and a G-force simulator. 

 

The kids were feeling great about taking on the 4Gs in the simulator until we read an astronaut's quote about the 16Gs they were exposed to several times a day in training.

What???  I can't hear you....

 

 

As the launch date keeps getting pushed back further and further, we have our fingers crossed we will see 

STS-133 before we leave Florida in March.

Sweet Home Alabama- December 27th

Since we are air show regulars we couldn't pass up the opportunity to visit the Home of the Blue Angels at Pensacola Naval Air Station.  After touring the free museum we drove around the base so David could show us what he remembered from his time there in the Navy Reserves.

We really can't take him anywhere.

On to Alabama...

  the kids were looking forward to airplanes, but I was looking forward to some "Thrown Rolls" at Lambert's Cafe in Foley, Alabama.

These rolls are absolute perfection, and yes they do throw them across the restaurant.  You order an entree off the menu and then they circulate with sides, like fried okra :) and a stuffed weasel in a pot to scare the kids (hilarious).  Plus they throw rolls at you.  We tried all evening to get a good picture of the rolls flying and then right before we left the kids got one more roll to slather in honey for dessert...

After all of the failed pictures I took with my camera, I snapped this with my phone.  No acting- Andy was actually shocked at how hot the roll was.