The "Mainers" spend a week!

They're heeeeeeeeere!

Angela and Bill's kids, Dawn and "Little" Bill and their kids, Cody, Chase and Jordan that is.
They pushed their long drive south and arrived Friday evening. Pat and I (strategically) arranged their sleeping quarters by various requirements, i.e. most needy, distance from the refrigerator and silence. Of course the above "requirements" most benefited our needs!
Dawn and son Cody drew the camper. Bill and son Chase, the air mattress and the Princess, (Bill's daughter) Jordan the spare bed room. Which somehow switched during the week. Suddenly, Jordan is on the air mattress and Bill and Chase are in the spare bedroom. I think the Coo Coo clock drove "Little" Bill out.

Angela was working so Bill and the kids settled in at Denny's for a late evening meal and vent off their long ride boredom and confinement. Then it was off to Dave and Pat's. Everything was staged, greetings exchanged and Taps echoed through the halls.

Thinking they drove out of the cold, they were in for a surprise. A cold northeast wind followed them to central Florida. The short lived mild temps they enjoyed the next day were driven out and they will be dealing with a day or two of unseasonably cold temperatures.

However, they're in Florida and nothing is going to deter their exploration. But first, Dawn needed to visit a local Wal-Mart and then we'd all go see what ESPN Wide World of Sports looked like.

Dawn ventured onto Rt 192 in front of Encore Lake Magic and turned right in search of the mile away Wal-Mart... which was to the left!

 

Dawn, ever the explorer...

...was more than willing and determined to find the Wal-Mart store (just around the corner).

 



She drove and drove all the while the kids were thinking shouldn't the Wal-Mart be closer? 

After more than a few phone calls and some nail biting, the errant explorer returned. We all managed to visit and tour the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex and yes, Angela was on time for work.
The kids didn't realize they were actually inside the stadium and home of the Atlanta Braves Spring Training. For an added treat, we made our way to the batting cages for the Braves and all the kids got autographs from a couple of the Braves players.

Once settled in, Bill and Angela's children, Bill and Dawn began their attack on Disney World.

We got to watch the Goodyear Blimp fly over our home....

They started out in Disney's Hollywood Studios.

I figured I'd leave the crowds to them and bid them adieu! They were on their own.

And that's how their week went. Out in the morning, return sometime in the evening, reminisce about their day and do it all over again the next day. The next day was Gatorland. There, Bill met a long time friend and together the group enjoyed the day amongst the gators.

Our hardy group of Northerners had a long day at Animal Kingdom watching all the wildlife. With visions of trekking about in the Magic Kingdom they realized "elbow to elbow" with nearly a capacity crowd wasn't for them. Except for Space Mountain, they spent most of the day in EPCOT.

 

Now the last day and they're "kicking back," buying gifts and taking a dip in the Lake Magic Pool.

The adults on the other hand are taking a nap!

It'll be interesting to see what each of them consider to be the best part of their week in Florida.

I think Dawn was most happy just watching the 5' gator that inhabited the retention pond behind our house. Here's Dawn, Cody and Jordan "exploring" the retention pond.

Though they tried hard the gator had nothing to do with any of them. But the fun was trying to get as close as they can. But, that never happened. This guy couldn't be bothered!

 

 

At least they all got to act like kids for a few days....

 

 Just before dawn we could hear rustling, groaning and moaning as one by one our guests reluctantly began to prepare for the trip north. We bid farewell as the mini van backed out of our drive and out of site. A brief stop to "tank up" at McDonald's, and one last visit with "Ma" and "Pa" they leave for home. 

Now they have that long dreaded trip back to Maine, especially with a weekend storm expected to move in Sat. or Sun.

We wish them a safe trip home.

Stay tuned for our next Blog and a report on Judy's (Jim and Judy) Disney's Princess Half Marathon run!

A couple of bike rides and a little magic

The "Palm Tree Bikers" split in two this past week. We didn't "break up" we simply realized the group was getting very large so we split up and one group headed to the Van Fleet Trail and the other group set out for a meandering, sightseeing tour of Fort Wilderness.
Thanks to Judy and Steve we have a couple of photos of the Van Fleet Trail riders to show you.
First off, Steve "hunted" down a couple of the "locals."

I've been told that Steve made his way through the "jungle" to stand over this gator!

Immediately after the gator heard the shutter "click" he turned and gave Steve a "warning" hissssss and snap! No one was fast enough to get the gator making its way back to his knoll with a piece of Steve's riding shorts in its mouth!

After that experience Steve thought it best to photo a critter that wasn't quite as quick on its feet....

Ahhhhhhh, that's better.

 

After their trek on the "flattest bike trail in the world" it was time to sit and give thanks that Steve wasn't lunch! Instead they went to lunch!

Luckily, Steve is always prepared. He had another pair of shorts with him!

They circled their wagons at Miller's Ale House and maybe that's how all these "tall tales" get started!

In the mean time, a dozen of us left the parking lot of the Fort Wilderness Campground for some sightseeing.

There were lots of campers and rigs to take in. Kathy says its like a huge RV show.

There were some empty sites but by and large many people hit the parks. Fort Wilderness, unusually quiet made for an enjoyably slow pace ride.

We welcomed (Jack's) Alice to our ride and she had an awesome time.

 

Jack was a super host and gave Alice an in depth guided tour as we wound our way through the maze of loops. I can still hear Jack, "Whoa, Stop, No, left, watch the kid, Look out," you know how it went! Alice took all this in grace and style.

 

After a fine lunch, what else is there time for but a photo op....

Both our groups enjoyed an incredible day of riding, lunch and friendship.

 

Now we had some business to tend to. We've got to use up some Disney perks!

 

February 13 is the deadline! The deadline for all Disney Cast Members to use up their 2012 Celebration tickets, free photo and Popcorn and Soda coupons! Six of us piled into Bill and Angela's truck and were on a mission. First stop, PhotoPass. The park was packed and we had all we could do to get a photo with out other people in it. From there we checked out the New Fantasyland. Darlene guided us to the Haunted Mansion for our "Dooms buggy" view of the haunted world.

At last, let's find the nearest Popcorn and Soda Cart! Yummy! Our group handed the server a fist full of coupons, we needed munchies! that quieted us down for...... about..... ten minutes! What's next?

The "Electric Light Parade!"

We haven't seen this parade for some time and it seems some of the floats are different. Overall, the show was super.

The final float is a long American flag...

 

It was time for "Wishes."

 

And,

Oh yeah, the new Castle show, "Create the Magic."

Through the Magic of Disney, Tinkerbell flew about the Castle sprinkling "Pixie Dust" bringing an eclectic sample of the Classic Disney movies to life. The Castle was bathed in HighDef color and all your favorite Disney Movie Characters. It's a show worth seeing.

 

We hunkered down amidst the other 50 or 60 thousand people waiting for the show in front of the Castle. Each of us took our "shots" at the guests trying to invade our space. Darlene and another guest were side by side in wheelchairs and we had all we could do to keep the "standees" from moving into the 3'X3' space we struggled to clear so they could see the show. Angela took on a 6' x 5' guy and got him to retreat to the rear. Pat took on some Asian guy behind yours truly. The guy had some sort of gigantic camera and he kept bumping my back with the thing. He knew she meant business... he left! After the show the mass of humanity in unison began doing the "Penguin" walk to the exits. One guy drove his stroller into my right ankle three times. I didn't mind the first two times but the third time got to me. When I tried to turn and say something the stroller caught my sneaker and nearly knocked me down. Luckily Pat and Darlene were close and stopped my fall.

Another short story: "The Lost Blankie" About two weeks ago you may recall we spent an evening at EPCOT. When leaving from the park that night we scurried Darlene and the wheelchair to the parking lot. We forgot the blue blanket that we gave Darlene to sit on for the evening in the wheelchair. Darlene was devastated. The next day we called "Lost and Found." Nothing! A couple days later, still nothing. When entering the Magic Kingdom we pass by the "Lost and Found" and Pat
thought she'd try once more! Pat couldn't remember if the blanket had a stitched border on it. I was called in to check it out........ voila, it was the blanket!

Ahhhh, just another day in the parks! Oh, by the way the new show is excellent!

So much fun, so little time!

What just happened? Did I loose a week somewhere? It seemed like just yesterday we picked Ashley up at the airport and before we knew it, we were dropping her off at the airport. Our heads are still spinning.
Just who is this "whirling dervish," Ashley? Grand daughter of Bill and Angela and Pat and yours truly's great niece. Our "Little Peanut" can stretch time as if you were in a "time warp." It felt like we crammed two weeks into one. In some ways we may have overdone it. Bill and Ashley came down with a "bug" the day she left and are still fighting to get over it.

Here's a recap.

In the cool weather we headed out to Disney's Art of Animation.

The movie themed compilation of resorts put us all in a "child's frame of mind."

Ashley got to spend a few minutes with many of her childhood favorite "characters."

She just had to send a few photos of herself and a couple of very special movie stars to her beau.

We walked the four resorts marveling over the many "larger than life" Disney friends.

 

From there we headed to Downtown Disney.

While there, Ashley sought out a few more of her "friends!"

 

We all needed to stretch our legs so our Monday bike ride filled the bill.

Celebration was the venue and our guest donned her "colors" and we hit the saddles.

Our bike group gathered in down town Celebration.

Along our route, Ray sacrificed the lead to put his foot down on something...

The errant sprinkler had a few "victims" but Ray kept us dry. Although, none of us found out how Ray got away without getting wet.

Thanks to a passer-by we all managed to get into the picture.

Our (normally) ten mile ride ended up being just over eleven miles. Along our trek through the residential area of Celebration our leader, Pete, seemed a tad (shall I say) lost! Just returning from a cruise, Pete and Joan just weren't up to par for their positions. (Pete in the lead and Joan the "tail-ender.) We tried to make lite of our predicament but Pete, ever the optimist, had little to come back with...

We ultimately made it back to the Celebration Town Tavern for lunch.

 

On with Ashley's visit.

Ashley confronted "Wreck it Ralph" as DisneyQuest.

She challenged the Jungle rapids. Fought off hoards of pirates and shot at Astroblasters.

She couldn't resist Dance Revolution.

This kid was just getting started! EPCOT here we come!

Fast Track!

Mission Space.

"Off Kilter."

A moment in Paris.

Time out for a treat!

We check out a new wrap...

We sat by the "fire!"

And we ended the day with a bang!



But Ashley wanted to see EPCOT by day.

 

Back we went to meet the people and experience the customs of all the countries.

We dined in China.

Had some fun in Norway.

...and got into trouble in Italy!

Above, the "Ziti Sisters" were up to mischief!

Yours truly and Ashley were dragged into the show.

Pat and I even got married.... again!

It was a fun fest... at our expense!

All the while Ashley "hid" in the background!

At least we didn't get snagged for this "photo op!"

Leaving Italy, we'll never be the same.

It's off to France!

The Chef and Waiter went to "new heights" for the crowd.

England was a short hop away and we sat in the sun while the "British Revolution" entertained us.

(Ashley has the sunburn to prove it!)

 

But the Canadian Rockies beckoned!

We came full circle as we ended our "world" tour in China.

We caught up on the history of Norway.

 

Leaving EPCOT we had to pass by the Boardwalk and check out the ESPN Bar.

Ashley's beau, Nick is a huge sports fan so we thought a few sports photos were in order.

On the Atlanta Braves Spring Training field.

We toured the sports complex and were humbled by the story of a young boy named Scott Carter.

The HP Field House is the home for an extraordinary collection of sports memorabilia this young boy

amassed during his short life. It is a must see if you plan a visit to the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.

 

Darlene and Buzz introduced us to Nitrogen chilled ice cream. Yep, that's super chilled air flowing out and over the bowl as the worker mixed up our ice cream... and it was rich!

During her stay, Ashley tried in vain to "hit the pool." She did manage to get in the water but her visit to the pool was brief. It just wasn't warm enough to stay very long.

 

And, we're not done yet!

 

Ashley saved the last day to spend the day in Disney's Animal Kingdom.

Seven of us scurried around the park from morning to closing.

We certainly managed to see many of the "locals!"

Ashley and Bill got up close and personal with the "Yeti."

 

We took a ride on the train Bill was the "Engineer" of last year.

Ashley got to meet an "old friend"....

"Rafiki"

 

Whew, it's been a busy week!

But what a grand time.... for all of us.

Ashley's early flight was bitter sweet. She was heading back to the cold and we will surly miss Ashley.

 

Perhaps Ashley's visit was graced by the "Fingers of God" as we began our week long adventure.

 

This is the sky that greeted us one morning and guided us through this awesome week....

Thin remnants of early morning clouds in an open hand gesture.

(The dark spot is a dirty lens!)