The new role is certainly keeping me busy and Pat is getting busier as the ESPN summer sports events gear up. I work through the weekdays and Pat works weekends! Fortunately, my new role will not alter our plans to head north this summer.
It seems like just yesterday we were saying so-long to all of you. I think the last couple to leave was Angie and Rico.
We lost a fellow DisneyQuest Cast Member a couple of weeks ago. Muriel and Art began with us in late 2007. We were all part of the "A-Team." (It sounds cool, but I think the person who gave us that name was thinking it's the "Aged-Team!") About five months ago Art was having severe stomach pains. Sadly, it turned out to be a large tumor. The doctors had a difficult time identifying the exact type of cancer he had. He had surgery but when another inoperable tumor developed all they could do was keep him comfortable. He passed away last week. Muriel and Art purchased a mobile home in Kissimmee a few years ago and just this year they moved into a double wide in the same park. They recently sold everything up north and moved down hear this past spring. Muriel will be staying down here and will continue on as a Cast Member. Art and Muriel both have a very strong faith and it carried both of them through this sad time of their lives. Their family will visit often and Muriel's Disney family will continue to be a big part of her life and Art's memory.
Soon after you all left, Pat and I talked John and Grace into joining us for a day at EPCOT.
We were all taken by surprise as a dolphin zipped by us in the "Living Seas" Aquarium. (Here's a fun fact for you. The "Living Seas" Aquarium is large enough to fit "Spaceship Earth" inside it and drive a Disney bus around it!)
We were rained out but we managed to see several shows and enjoy a great day together.
Glass flowers
Pat remembered hearing about the (over) 10,000 roses that adorned the Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe for Mother's Day.
And finally, we got to take our (new to us) Winnebago Access Premier out for a weekend. We fired up the Triton V10 and headed to Daytona. We camped in the Daytona KOA across the street from the huge flea market just off I95.
... and we forgot lots of stuff! Coffee, and lots of little creature comfort things that we carried in our Journey! But we survived. We visited with Don and Anne who lives in Palm Coast. Anne was up north with a new Grandson and Don was headed up there later in the week.
All went well in spite of the fact that we now have to get used to a 55 gallon gas tank instead of a 95 gallon fuel tank! We started out with a few miles on the coach but it appears we used up 27 gallons of gas in 200 miles. We're learning that our mileage may well be less with the gas engine in lieu of the fuel sipping Cummins of our Journey but we wanted to downsize and so we did. I guess one consolation is that gas is cheaper than diesel! Everything worked well and I'm sure we'll get accustomed to tighter quarters. One big difference is driving this thing. Oh not the handling, its the driving quarters! We feel like we're sitting in a VW Beatle compared to our Journey Class A front end!
I'll leave you with this little cutie. This guy parked himself next to a young female in our pond across the street. It's mating season and he was doing his best to court one of our pond's residents. Funny, he's not been around lately..... must've been a one night stand!
He was over 6'.
We wish everyone a safe and fun-filled summer.
