Mystery at Smugglers Cove

So have you missed me?   I know it's been a few days since my last post, but the days have been pretty similar.   Wake up, eat breakfast, put on sunscreen, go to beach/pool, retreat to condo due to thunder/lightning shower, eat lunch/snack to tide us over to dinner, wait for rain to stop, back to the beach for as long as there's sunlight, eat a late dinner, watch lightning show on our balcony, hit the hay.  Repeat the next day.  True there might be a few things to add, like take a nap, run to the store for groceries, reapply sunscreen, go for ice cream, but for the most part pretty similar and after last week's adventure at Walt Disney World, that's quite fine with me (and I'm pretty sure with everyone else).

The last couple days have been a little different.   Wednesday was a typical day in Vancouver in November, as it rained for pretty much the entire day.  Just a very different temperature, which allowed us to sneak down to the beach/pool briefly, but it poured and the streets flooded up pretty good.   Yesterday, we ventured out to the Parrot's Key for dinner, a Caribbean Restaurant that had some amazing food.  Nothing was too out of the ordinary.

Today brought some change to that.  First off, it was another beautiful morning with tons of sunshine and a threat of rain as black clouds loomed in the horizon.  After being at the beach most of the morning we saw the black clouds coming preceded by a haze that could only signify a big downpour.  We quickly scrambled to move all our stuff under cover as we started to feel raindrops falling.   But that was it, the clouds shifted and blew out to sea and as quickly as the haze and black clouds came in they disappeared.

After lunch, David had a great idea to walk to the pier for ice cream with the kids.  We had tried doing that one of the first days we were here, but got about half way and then turned around and drove to the ice cream parlor because we ran out of daylight.   Today would be different as we'd start after lunch and have ample time to make it there and back.

So just after 230pm we set out on our trek along the beach, a round trip of 10km with ice cream being the lure to get the kids to the half way point.  It was a good enough lure for all of the kids save one.  Why it couldn't have been one of David's kids I don't know (it was his idea), but it wasn't.  After about 15/20 minutes of walking Abby turns to me and said "I'm done walking".  I looked at the pier and then back at the condo and figured I could bribe her with the ice cream.  It worked for the next few minutes, but while every minute that passed brought us closer to ice cream, it also took us farther away from the condo ... there was no turning back.  

The other issue Abby had was with her legs.  A combination of a few mosquito bites (they're doozies down here, totally puff up in little goose eggs) and the salt water from the ocean equalled extreme itchiness.  She would have to stop on numerous occasions to itch.  It was still okay and her attitude was passable, until we passed the halfway mark.  From that point on, it was less than fun, infact pretty much torture.  I felt bad because her uncle made her go on this long walk just to get ice cream and on top of that she truly was itchy and extremely hot.   It soon reached the point of hilarity.  "Why didn't we take the van? It's crazy to walk this far."  "I'M ITCHY! ITCHY! ITCHY! ITCH ... CHEEEEEEE!"  "It's like a thousand billion walks (she means steps) to get to this place."  "I don't know why I'm even going on this walk cause I DON'T like ice cream."  (She loves it, but at this point she didn't care anymore.)

It got so bad that she was in tears complaining about being so itchy, that a woman on the beach came up to us and gave us 2 bottles of water.  "It's the salt that makes her so itchy, just pour this water on her and it will help ease the itching."   She was very sweet and kind.  (The lady not Abby.)  Abby's first response?  "I'm getting all wet.  And I'm still itchy!!!"  In the end it worked though and we finally made it to the ice cream parlour where we all got a nice big scoop of ice cream. 

The one problem with eating ice cream in Florida is that you have to lick at a record pace or it melts far too quickly.  Abby is a slow licker.  She likes to enjoy her ice cream and make it last.  With no seats in the store, we had to eat outside, which was not good for Abby.  Her ice cream started to melt faster than she could lick and rather than fight it, she stood with it over my toes and let it drip.  Josh was kind enough to grab a bowl that she could flip her cone into so that it stopped dripping on the ground (and my flipflops) and let her eat it at her pace.  That brought more sobbing as she was so upset over why she never got to eat her ice cream in a cone.  Why did it always have to be in a bowl?   Somewhere in that brain of hers something clicked;  I think it was the sugar rush from the ice cream because all of the sudden she went from being downtrodden and inconsolable to being totally happy and loving her ice cream in a bowl.  I wish I could figure out exactly where that switch is, but that's going to be for some lucky guy to figure out MUCH LATER in her life.   Did you know that Abigail means father's joy?  ... Just asking.  :)

Emily definitely won the award for the messiest eater.  She enjoyed that ice cream so much she wore it all over her face.  It looked like she had a green and brown (mint chocolate chip) goatee and she loved every minute of her ice cream eating experience.

We finished our ice cream and it was time to walk back.  Abby's answer ... "pfft, no way I'm walking back."  Pause.  "Why didn't you bring the van?"   Thankfully there was a trolley service that ran from the pier right back to our place and only cost 50 cents!  I quickly got 3 takers to go on the trolley.  Abby, Emily and Caleb.   As we were walking to the corner we saw the trolley go by and figured that we'd just catch the next one.  Around the corner it was still sitting in the pickup zone so we hurried to try and get it before it left, but it pulled away seconds before we could get there.  Figuring the next trolley would be by sometime soon, we went to sit down to wait, only to see that the next one was scheduled to come an hour and 10 minutes later.  It was boiling hot and there was no way we were waiting that long for the next one to come so we started the long walk back, this time along the sidewalk.  Long story short, we made two stops at different 7/11s, one for drinks, the next for a bathroom break.  Almost got Caleb run over crossing the street ... people don't like stopping here for people walking on crosswalks.  As for Abby?  She was tremendous!  No complaining ... as long as we didn't venture towards the beach.  In order to keep my sanity we stuck to the sidewalks and Emily was a trooper, going the whole way with no shoes!  Caleb barely made it.  I thought we were going to have a repeat of Josh's WDW puking, but he survived.   About 15-20 minutes from the condo the trolley mercifully pulled up (not coincidentally about 15 seconds after I prayed that God would help us get Caleb back to the condo without passing out) and we paid our $2 and had a very enjoyable final leg's ride home.  Once we hit the parking lot it was straight to the pool where we stayed until dinner.  It was so refreshing and really worked wonders on cooling us off. 

Dinner was steak which was cooked magnificently by Shane. It was a great dinner and the company was terrific (kids at one table, adults at another). We then enjoyed a terrific sunset and this time had the cameras to prove it. However, the highlight of the day was what came after.   Last night Josh was up extra long writing a movie/play script which he put the finishing touches on this morning.  We had a good laugh watching him act out the parts inside the condo while we sat outside on the balcony.  He was very emphatic and played each part to its fullest while he constructed the script.  He eagerly waited all day in order to have everyone act it out.  Everyone had a part, some had a couple parts and he was stoked to put it all together.  Tawny was the videographer and Josh the director/writer/extreme motivator.   He also had a key role in the opening scene as Gangster Bro 1.   His passion was amazing and he really got into the role.

Shane and Becky were Mr & Mrs Muscles, vain people concerned about their hair and muscles.  David & Cara Lee were Mr & Mrs Rose, fashion models.   The Keatings were Mr & Mrs Quaker, old people with English accents.  Tawny & I were Mr & Mrs Nerd, nerds who, well we should be able to figure it out pretty easily ourselves.   I was also a cop (no name given).  David Jonathan was Gangster Bro 2.  Caleb was Dr. Green, a professor and then also played a pirate, along with Emily.  Abby & Connor were Mr & Mrs Black.  Not sure the background on them.

There were 6 or 7 scenes that we did, and one even needed a retake.  Josh was very particular about what people needed to do, how they should act, and what they should sound like.  He ran around shouting out directions and thoroughly enjoyed yelling "ACTION" at the beginning of every scene.   I'm pretty sure I even heard a few times, "quiet on the set".   It was awesome.  Everyone had a great chuckle, and I'm pretty sure there are a few people still laughing.   All that's left now is for the final editing to be done (he was very concerned about how and when this would be done).  I have a feeling this isn't the last movie he's going to write/direct/star in.  Make sure to stay tuned for the release date.

It was a great end to a great day.   

Bye Bye Walt Disney World

Yesterday was our last day at Walt Disney World and then we had a good drive from Orlando to Fort Myers Beach and by the time we got to our condo in Fort Myers there was no time or will to write.  So here's a recap of our last day at WDW.   We debated between going to another park to get a few last rides in, or trying out the other water park.   We, meaning Tawny & I, had our fill of long lines and battling through the crowds at the theme parks, so we figured that the water park would be a good way to end things.

We had our usual morning pace and got to the park just before 11.   When you walk into Typhoon Lagoon, you're greated by a massive wave pool.   As we were looking for a place to set up base a horn went off and a gigantic wave was released.   It came all the way through the pool and up onto the beach.  It was impressive and the kids were in awe.  They immediately discarded their flip flops and ran for the waves.   We spent a good chunk of time fighting the waves (my own flip flops had an adventure of their own before being retrieved by another swimmer) before we headed for the slides.

Typhoon Lagoon was different from Blizzard Beach in that it had more middle of the road runs rather than the extremes of BB which had some crazy slides and some kiddie slides.   This made it easier to stick together.  The boys weren't too bored with the lesser slides while Abby wasn't too scared by the bigger slides.  We split up a bit because Abby & Josh preferred the wave pool (so did Tawny) and Caleb preferred the slides (as did I). 

After a while we headed over to the Shark Tank grabbed our snorkels and went for a swim.  Yes, we got to swim with fish, sting rays and sharks.   It was really cool.   First, we got a mask and a snorkel and then got our instructions from one of the attendants.   Then we climbed into the tank.  It was a salt water tank and considerably colder than the pool.  At least 20 degrees colder.  This put the kids on edge.   I think Josh was a little nervous as he swam pretty close to me but he was okay with the adventure.   Caleb was totally fine with it and went off on his own.  That left me and Abby.  (There was no way Tawny was going in the tank.  She doesn't want to go near a fish let alone a shark.)  Abby was so excited and pumped to go in the tank.  When she got in she was not impressed with the cold water and started to squirm a bit.   My mistake was telling her that she should put her facemask into the water so that she could see the fish and the sharks.  Her response was a high-pitched shriek and then an incredulous "THERE'S SHARKS IN HERE?"  And then panic set in.  She wanted nothing to do with the water, and wanted out ASAP.  After almost drowning me a couple of times, she finally let me hold her hand and pull her through the pool.  I'm pretty sure she screamed most of the way through the water.  The funny thing is she bragged to Uncle David today telling him that she swam with the sharks and it was awesome.  Funny girl indeed.

We then went on some more slides, including the Crush 'N Gushers, which were partner tube rides that went down and then back up again a few times throughout the slides.  They were a good way to end the day.   At about 4pm we left the park and headed for Disney Quest.  We noticed that the kids were a little red in the face and our arms felt a bit crispy, but while it was fairly hot, it wasn't scorching like it had been, and there was adequate shade (or so we thought).   A few hours later everyone was considerably redder, and yours truly took the cake.  I hate getting burned and we make sure that everyone has enough sun screen on each day, but a combination of a good cloud cover and a lot of water to wash away the sunscreen (even though we reapplied too) left me with a good burn.   I'm happy to say that for the most part the redness subsided for the rest of the family.  I'm still a little red today, but a lot less pink.

Back to Disney Quest.  We headed there as our last stop at Walt Disney World.  It's billed as an interactive theme park, which in reality is a really big arcade with some extras thrown in.  The kids ran around in there for a few hours, although I'm pretty sure they would have stayed right until closing if we let them.  Josh's pick of a "ride" to go on was a Pirates of the Caribbean simulator.  I'm not really sure exactly what it did, but he enjoyed it thoroughly.   Abby and Tawny joined him on that ride, while Caleb and I went to a roller coaster creator.  Aided by Bill Nye, we created a 10,000 foot long roller coaster with twists and turns and loopdeloops, figure 8s, jumps and hyper speeds.  After doing that, we then climbed into a pod which had the typical roller coaster seats, pulled down the shoulder bars and tried out the roller coaster.  On the loopdeloop we actually came out of our seats and were pressed up against the shoulder straps hanging in mid-air.  It was an impressive ride and fun to experience.  Like I said, the kids could have stayed there for hours, but both Tawny & I knew that we were done.  I'm sure you know the feeling where even the smallest detail grinds you the wrong way ... 7 days of parks and we were finished.   So we went to go to the car and whaddya know?  There's a torrential downpour yet again.  Unlike the last time we got caught in one, this time we weren't overheating and didn't have time to dry off, as we were going to be in the car for a few hours.  So, I ran to the car through 3 inches of really warm water and drove as close as I could to pick everyone up.  It turned out okay but it was funny to see really sunny weather with rain just pouring down and pooling up on the roads.
It turns out this was foreshadowing for the first part of our drive.  As we headed out of town we ran into the storm and it was impressive.  Cars were crawling on the highway, hazard lights flashing and rain just pelting the car.  Thunder rolled in the background to add to the scene and we travelled like that for a good half an hour or so.  Eventually, we managed to outdrive the storm and made it to Fort Myers just before midnight.  We were totally exhausted.

That brings us to today.  Today is day 1 of Fort Myers Beach.  We woke lazily and wandered around the condo for a while.  The kids went for a swim in the ocean, then the pool.   We had a great scavenger hunt (Abby & Emily are currently in the lead ... it was suspended due to dinner) and then went for a stroll along the beach, first admiring the sunset then admiring the thunder and lightning storm that was coming towards us.   The whole way back from our walk Emily kept asking David if we were in danger of being struck by lightning.   He would calm her fears for about 30 seconds or so, then she'd ask again, worried that it would get too close.  I'm happy to report that we all made it back safe and sound.  We finished the night off with some ice cream and a walk down the pier.  

I can definitely handle another week of that.

Better than Mickey

Day 6 at Disney World.   First let's start with the good news.   There was a phone call to the house this morning and someone had turned in David's bag.   On top of that, everything was still in it, including the iPad and cash.   Altogether now ... Hallelujah!  Great news to start the day.  So with that start to the day, everything else was gravy.   And you know how good gravy tastes.

We started off a little slow, still feeling the effects of a late night last night.   Abby & Emily were going with Grandma and Papa Bear to Magic Kingdom, and we decided to head back to Hollywood Studios to get a couple rides in before going to Magic Kingdom.   Two rides turned into 5 but that's quite okay because they have stellar rides, as reported in past blogposts.

We hit Toy Story Mania (yes, I'm the champ), Star Tours (an even better adventure than the last time we went on it), Aerosmith's Rock 'N RollerCoaster (twice for Caleb), and The Tower of Terror.   The Tower of Terror was especially important, as Caleb had stubbornly refused to go on it the last two times we were at the park.  We asked him again today and got the same response, no way.  We tried to bribe him with ice cream but that didn't work either.   The thing that caught his attention was a deal to have Josh not talk for an hour if Caleb went on the Tower.   Caleb was all for that, although Joshua wasn't too happy (and like that could ever happen anyway).   As we went into the hotel Caleb started to get nervous.  It hit its peak when the Twilight Zone movie started.   Caleb purposefully turned away from the TV screen so as not to see anything.   Every 20 seconds or so, he'd get up enough courage to have a quick look, but the looks didn't last more than a couple seconds at most, then he was back to staring the opposite way.   He was totally fine once we left that room until we sat down in the elevator and the story started again.   Once again he buried his head until the story was done.  Finally the ride started and he loosened up.   He even put his hands up for a portion of the ride.   When we were finally finished, he turned to me and said "that wasn't too bad at all" but just like his sister, when asked if he wanted to go on it again, he gave a resounding "NO!"

After Hollywood Studios we made our way back to Magic Kingdom.   The monorail wasn't working so we had to take the ferryboat over and Tawny absolutely loves doing that.   Cramped quarters, hot & sweaty (not to mention stinky) people stepping on her toes and invading her personal space.   It's truly one of the highlights for her.

When we arrived in Magic Kingdom we had a few minutes to spare before getting Abby, so we went on Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin (aka AstroBlasters in Cali) and yes, I'm the champ of that too.

When we picked up Abby, we also met up with Shane & Becky and Declan and the rest of our night was about the rides.   Try and get on as many as we could.   And because of Declan, we got parent passes, or switch tickets or as they're now dubbed "Declan Passes" which allowed 3 riders to go on at a time.   This, combined with effective Fast Passing, allowed us to get on a slew of rides.  Space Mountain (2 times), Buzz Lightyear, Speedway (2 times), Splash Mountain (2 times), Thunder Mountain (2 times), Pirates of the Caribbean & Aladdin's Magic Carpet Ride.   We pretty much closed the park down.   It was a blast and a ton of fun and a great way to end Magic Kingdom.

While everyone went on Space Mountain, I volunteered to take Declan. We were walking around and I happened to glance over my shoulder and who was there but none other than Alain Vigneault. I gave him a quick "Hey Coach" and he turned gave me a big smile and I said to him "Great season!" He shook my hand, said thanks and added that we needed just 1 more game.  This will be the year!

Even though Declan didn't get his picture taken with any of the Disney Characters, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to get our picture taken with Coach V. He happily obliged. While Declan won't understand this for a few more years, it was better than meeting Mickey Mouse.

Hitting the Wall

You may have noticed that I missed a day of blogging.   I know there must be at least a half of a half a dozen people out there waiting with great anticipation to read what we've been up to, but try as I might, there was no way I was getting a blog done yesterday.   And today's will probably be shorter than normal too.

It's official, we've hit the wall.  5 solid days of Disney World is a lot of work and we're all pretty tired.  Throw in the sweltering heat and there's even less energy to go around.  Don't get me wrong, we're having a blast, it's just we need to conserve energy whenever we can.

Here's a quick recap of the last couple of days.

Day 4:  Blizzard Beach.   We headed to the Blizzard Beach Waterpark in the morning and it was quite a park.   It had something for everyone, including a chairlift that took you up the mountain to the "expert" rides.   There was the Summit Plummet (a 120ft drop straight down), the Slush Gusher which has a couple of bumps, (the second gives you a couple of seconds of air before you finally come back down onto the slide again) and Teamboat Springs (a 6 person tube ride which gets going fairly fast).   There are also "intermediate" rides which still go quite fast, but maybe aren't as death-defying as the first three.   The best of these slides was the Snow Stormers which was like a slalom course for water slides, winding its way down the hillside.  And there was the bunny slopes, aka Tike's Peak for the under 4' crowd.    

It was a wee bit crowded though, as some of the rides had lineups in the 45min to an hour range.   Standing that long in the blistering heat for a ride that took less than 30 seconds was too much.   But everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, especially the kids.  There were all these daring slides to go on and yet the most enjoyable part of the day was the Cross Country Creek.   There was a creek that wound its way throughout the park that you could take a tube on and you would be propelled by the "current".   There were jets every so often that kept your speed up.   It was relaxing to be in the water and to not have to work very hard to go anywhere and also nice to get some shade in places.   Everyone agreed that time in the creek was well spent.

After getting crispy in the sun and waterlogged from the slides, we headed over to Disney's Hollywood Studios for the evening.  One of the issues here is that Abby isn't tall enough for the Aerosmith Roller Coaster and some of us have differing viewpoints on the Hollywood Tower of Terror.   So to keep the peace, we went to The Voyage of the Little Mermaid which was a play that told the story of the Little Mermaid in about 15 minutes.   This was a huge hit with Abby.   Ariel has long been her favourite Disney Character (although she now seems to have been replaced by Pluto, although I think Ariel is still her fave human) and Abby couldn't take her eyes off the stage.  We also did the new and improved Star Tours 3D.   The upgrades were terrific and the 3D effects quite good.   They even have more than 1 scenario (apparently it's 54 scenarios) so when you go to see it again, it's not the same show.

Josh and I got to go on the Aerosmith Rollercoaster while Tawny was off hunting Fast Passes with Caleb & Abby.    We took Steve's advice again and went single riders.   The <15min wait is the way to go.   The ride was spectacular.  The scenery and build up gave you a bit of an idea what Aerosmith is all about.   Our only complaint is that it's too short.   A couple more loopydeloops would have made it better.   For those of you who've been to Disneyland, it's a combination of Thunder Mountain and California Screamin' which is a terrific combo.

We then went to Fantasmic which at DisneyWorld has an entire stadium area dedicated just for it.   In all our years at Disneyland we had never actually watched it.   We saw bits and pieces as we'd walk through Fronteirland, but never the whole show.  Even Josh, who wanted no part in watching the show, enjoyed himself.  After that we had time left for 1 last ride.  Tawny, Caleb & Abby headed over to Toy Story Mania while Josh and I went to Tower of Terror.   It has a few different twists and turns to its California counterpart, which made it only better.  It's one of, if not my favourite ride.   I love the build up before hand, and then the adrenaline rush during the ride of getting tossed up and down while getting to see Disney lit up at night at the pinnacle of the ride.   We hurried over to meet Tawny and the kids and on the way Josh mentioned to me that he had a headache.   This wasn't surprising because we spent a lot of time in the sun without much cover and because he never drinks enough water.   I gave him some water to drink and we continued on to meet the others.  

It didn't get any cooler out, and about 15 minutes after the first time he said he had a headache he informed me that he was needing a bathroom.   As any loving caring dad would do, I quickly asked him "You gonna puke?"  He responded with a nod of his head and I took off like I was shot out of a cannon (we had a buggy from Fantasmic that he could ride in).   We made it to within 10 feet of the bathroom before he tossed his cookies.  (Yes I'm going to have to change the tag line of this blog)

Poor kid.  Puke everywhere and he was concerned that he was making a mess.  He even asked if he should go get an attendant to clean it up.   It had a remarkable affect on him though, as he barely spoke for the next 35 minutes.   I knew he was going to be okay when all of the sudden he was back to his 200 words/minute talking, just before we arrived at home.

Day 5 we went back to Disney's Hollywood Studios.   Caleb & Connor went with the Keatings today, so there was just 4 of  us for most of the day.  There was a lot of unfinished business to take care of.  Hollywood Studios doesn't have a lot of rides, but it has a lot of high quality shows.   Today we saw Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular, Lights Motors Action! Extreme Stunt Show, A Studio Backlot Tour and Beauty & the Beast.   They were all good, with Indiana Jones and the Extreme Stunt show standing out as spectacular.   The Stunt show involves a bunch of cars and they give you an indepth look at how they perform different stunts.   I can't believe how fast they go and how close they come to hitting each other, but never touching.  It's impressive.   The Indy show was a favourite for everyone and the kids really got into it.   David J was especially animated watching the show.  Sometimes he would jump right out of his seat and other times he would hide behind his map ... the suspense was too much to take.

We did some more rides as well, and Abby would like everyone to know that she did The Hollywood Tower of Terror.  I'm pretty sure her eyes were closed the whole way through and that she screamed for the entire ride.   When it was done she turned to me and said, "That's wasn't so bad Dad."   Then shortly after, she wanted to know where Auntie Cara Lee was so that she could tell her Auntie all about how brave she was.   This will be a bragging point for weeks to come, especially seeing as Caleb has balked at going on the ride, for now.   (Good luck trying to get her to go on again though.)

The one ride we wanted to go on, and the one we got fast passes for when we first arrived, was Toy Story Mania.   It had some technical glitches around 2pm, and every time after that when we went to check, it was still not working.   We really wanted to do that before we left, so we hung around a bit waiting to see if they could fix it.  In the meantime, the heavens absolutely opened up and it poured for a good 20 minutes.   Now this was impressive rain.   We sought shelter from it for a brief amount of time, and pretty soon there were a couple of inches on ground.   But we were all getting hungry so we made a run for it to a restaurant.   It took us 4 minutes to get to the restaurant.  It took us 2 minutes to get completely drenched including underwear, as Abby would eventually point out.   It would have been nicer earlier in the day when it was scorching but we'll take the cooling off any time.   We had our dinner, doublechecked Toy Story (still broken) and then decided we'd try to go to Magic Kingdom to get a couple of rides in tonight.

We probably bit more off than we could chew tonight.  It takes a good half hour to get into Magic Kingdom from when you park, but we gave it a go.   Once in the park, we headed straight to get fast passes for Splash Mountain.  Yes we were still soaked, but Abby was totally stoked to go on it again, and she had got the short end of the stick when we were at Hollywood Studios.   After that we headed onto the Thunder Mountain Railroad.   We were in line for 5 minutes when an attendant came over the speaker to inform us that due to the inclement weather they were shutting down the ride for the time being.   That meant no Thunder Mountain, and no Splash Mountain.   We drowned our sorrows with a trip on the Pirates of the Carribean and afterwards Josh ventured into the Pirate store that you have to walk through before leaving.   He was given a bit of spending money by my parents to buy something at Disney World.  He can't decide for the life of him what he wants.   If he could, I'm pretty sure he' d buy the entire store.   We wandered around the store for a while, but still no decision.   Hopefully something happens tomorrow.

We finished the night off, with a ride on Aladdin's Magic Carpets and a spin on Buzz Lightyear.  I'm happy to report that I have reclaimed my crown with the high score on Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. 

Our ending of that ride coincided with the ending of the fireworks and it was a mad rush for the exits.   It's amazing how people conduct themselves at this time of night.   It's pretty much chaos.   I've often thought to myself, "Thank goodness for traffic lights cause if people drove like they walk we'd all be in trouble."  Tonight was no different.  But we made it back in one piece, no more puking and another great day at the parks.   Just 2 left to go.

That ride was awesome!

Day 3.   Animal Kingdom.  Today was an interesting day to say the least.  We got an early start to the day so that we could get to the Animal Kingdom which was open from 9am to 7pm.   By early, I mean we left at 930am.   Hey, we're on holidays and there are a lot of bodies to get up and going in the morning and it just takes a while to get everyone going, especially when they're up past 12 the night before.

Sometimes I think there are more giggles and laughs out of the kids when they're "trying to sleep" than there are at the parks.  Outside of Uncle Shane yelling at all the kids to go to bed, everyone's pretty easy going about things.  Just kidding, he doesn't yell.  That much.  It's his love language.  Or so he says.  :)

I know I mentioned a little bit about the heat the past couple of days, but today was crazy.  Within 15 minutes of being there I was completely soaked.  It looked like I went on a water ride but really it was all sweat.   And it didn't help that the Animal Kingdom didn't have as many places to duck into to get cooled off either.   By the time we got to our first ride Caleb was white as a ghost.   I didn't think he was going to make it.  I figured either he was going to pass out or puke, or both.   The good thing about him though is when you tell he should have some water, no questions asked, he drinks some water.   Between drinking water and then pouring some on him to cool him down, he recovered quite nicely and made it through the entire day, but it was close.

The one thing about the Animal Kingdom is that there aren't a ton of rides to go on, but the ones they have there are high quality.   Ride #1 was Expedition Everest - Legend of the Forbidden Mountain.  They did up the waiting room pretty good too, with a lot of info about the Yeti which the kids ate up.   So, we got on this ride thinking it was going to be a replica of the Matterhorn in Disneyland.   We were wrong.   It took the best parts of the Matterhorn, threw in some Thunder Mountain and California Screaming and then added a couple extra twists (don't worry, I won't spill the beans if you haven't been on it) that made it a thriller.   We got to the bottom with hands still in the air and lungs screaming for more ... the adrenaline was pumping.  For the first time today we heard a resounding "THAT RIDE WAS AWESOME!"   It wouldn't be the last.

We then made our way to Kilimanjaro Safaris where you take a ride on a safari vehicle through an African adventure.  It was impressive and it was a decent length ride.   Think of the Jungle Cruise.  Triple the time, maybe more, put it on wheels, add real animals and keep the corny joke-telling driver and you have the Kilimanjaro Safaris.  We saw lions, elephants, hippos, crocodiles, rhinos, giraffes, wildebeests, ostriches (Tawny's favourite) and a bunch more that I had strange names both difficult to spell and remember.   Everyone loved it.

Next it was time for DinoLand, USA.  They have a carnival type setting for DinoLand with a bunch of games, a few rides and big playground with a bunch of fossils in it for ambiance.   All that and we started with a Nemo Musical.  It was quite good.   The actors danced around with their character held above them attached to a pole and they acted out the movie in just over half an hour.   The best part about this was that we got to sit in some a/c for a good chunk of time.   When we came out of the theatre it was raining.  Not too bad, something like a mid-November sprinkle, except for it was 100 degrees out.  It was quite funny, almost pathetic really, to see people scramble to get undercover, or grab an umbrella or poncho to keep themselves dry.  Meanwhile we were jumping in the puddles, soaking up the rain cause we had a date with the Dinosaur.

We had Fast Passes (DisneyWorld really rewards the Fast Pass line much more than Disneyland does) which got us into Dinosaur in less than 10 minutes.   The ride is very similar to the Indiana Jones ride in Disneyland, and it switches out the IJ story line with one from the movie The Dinosaur.   As soon as Josh saw it, he said to me "I gotta a feeling this is gonna be my favourite ride Dad".   And it didn't disappoint.   When Josh was barely 3 he could tell you the name of pretty much every dinosaur and he even nicknamed his cousin Connor "Aladar" after the main character of the movie The Dinosaur.  

***Spoiler alert***  To tell this story properly, I have to divulge a bit of the ride to you.   Right near the end  (this is the place in IJ where the rock starts rolling towards you and you go down under it) a carnatour jumps out at you and I mean jumps out.  It was pretty startling.  In fact have a look at the picture it snapped.

DinoLand, and went back to Dinosaur for round 2.   The picture from that ride was pretty much a carbon copy of the first, with Caleb with his head between his legs again, avoiding the carnatour.

When we got out we ran into Cara Lee and Becky and they had some bad news.  While they were in DinoLand somebody swiped David's bag and in it were his Ipad2, wallet, keys to the rental car and some cash.  Talk about a downer.   It was extremely frustrating, but I'm proud to say that he handled himself very well.  Under the category of not having anything nice to say ... whomever took his bag, will get what's coming to them, maybe even a little Patty Cake right Shane?  (sorry inside joke, ask Uncle Shane the new patty cake game he taught his nieces and nephews)

We then made our way to the Festival of the Lion King which was a live show with music, dancing, some trampoline work, and a bunch of the characters from the movie.  The kids loved it and really got into it.  DavidJ asked if that was like the Cirque Shows we see in Vegas.  I figure it was probably the guys who got cut from Cirque, but they still did a pretty good job of bouncing around the stage.  There was even a fire licker.  Maybe he was supposed to be a fire eater, but it looked more like licking to me.   He twirled his baton, balanced it on his feet and then started to lick it.   It drew some ooh's and aah's and a few what's?   And yes I still have the songs playing in my head ... Hakuna Matata and I Just Can't Wait to be King.   Wait a minute, they'll start playing for you too.

After Lion King, it was time for Kali River Rapids.   Emily was soooooo excited to go on this.  She's not a big ride fan, but she found her sweet spot with this ride.  She proudly marched us to the ride which was closed due to lightning.   We waited around for a bit, hoping it would reopen but when it didn't look like that was going to happen, we started packing up to leave and just like that, the ride was open.   The tagline for the ride is "You will get wet, you may get soaked."   We've often talked about the water rides and the key to ensuring dryness or less wetness is the dry seat.  Wherever the dry seat is from the ride before, avoid it at all costs, as that's the one which is going to attract the most water.  Well, Abby shared this with Emily and they sought out the two driest seats they could and you know what?   They definitely won.  If they had a dry spot on their body by the time we were done, I'd be surprised.  The rest of the crew got it good too, but the girls definitely won.   The funny thing is that there were 9 of us on the boat, with 2 guys we didn't know.  The 2 guys, barely got wet, while the 9 of us were completely soaked.  And yes, there was a resounding "THAT RIDE WAS AWESOME!"

Still dripping we made it to Everest for one last climb of the mountain and one more "THAT RIDE WAS AWESOME!" before heading home.   Once again, Everest didn't disappoint.

Shuffling the Deck

Day 2 brought us to Epcot. Today we mixed things up a bit.  Tawny's parents took the oldest boys and went off pretty much for the whole day together.  Leaving us with Abby & Caleb.   While we were leaving, we decided to steal Connor and bring him with us, so we had a new mix of kids which gave a fresh take on things.

We dragged our feet a bit getting up in the morning, a combination of the effects of adjusting to the Eastern Time Zone and staying up rather late the night before.  By the time we got to the park it was smoking hot yet again, but the clouds were rolling in, which typically helps take the edge off the heat.

The clouds decided to maneuver around the sun which kept it pretty stinking hot.   We started to make our way through the park, going through a few of the pavilions looking at different takes on technology.  We then walked into one pavilion where there was a Kim Possible exhibit.  She's a cartoon cheerleader by day, detective by night and one of the ways they encourage the kids to go around the park is to help her solve a "crime".   It sounded good at the time, so we picked up our instructions and headed off to catch the criminals.   The kids were ready to conquer the world and first on our stop was Norway.

We got to our rendezvous spot, picked up a cell phone and started to get more clues.   The kids were anxious to get more clues and start running around the park ... for all of about 4 minutes.   But the heat was sweltering and it soon sapped them of their energy plus we were distracted by the Maelstrom.  It was a ride which promised that we "may get wet", so we were all for it.  Unfortunately, we didn't get wet, but the time in a/c helped a ton, plus the phone got buried at the bottom of the backpack and finishing Kim's task became impossible.   (And I'm sure everyone was okay with that.)

Next we headed towards Test Track which looked like a pretty cool ride, but had a super long line.  However, the single rider line was quite short and I remember what renowned world traveler Steve Pratt once blogged/said/tweeted, "when in doubt, use the single rider line".   Putting Abby on a ride with a stranger wasn't going to happen, even if we were sitting right behind her, so Tawny, Conner & Caleb got in the single line and Abby & I went in hunt of Nemo.

Quite the opposite of the Disneyland ride which often had huge lineups and ridiculous wait times, with for Florida's version of Nemo we pretty much walked right on.   She loved it.  All the fish, getting to sit in a shell and all the characters of course.   We then made our way to Innoventions where we got to make our own video game with Abby and me as the stars.   We also played a "find the fire" game with flashlights and spent a lot of time there and had a blast.

Next we ventured outside and for the 3rd time today passed by the ice cream shop.  Well 3rd time was the charm and Abby "convinced" me that we needed an ice cream cone.  It was a perfect snack to cool us down and tide us over to dinner, but it left us thirsty.  No worries, Club Cool was right around the corner.  At Club Cool they have samples of soft drinks from around the world, so we went to do our research and sampled a bunch of different sodas.   Abby would later take what she learned and put it to use serving pops to Shane, Becky & Tawny.

Shortly after, we met up with the rest of the group and all was great.  Switching up allowed people to do some different things and spend time with different people.   For the rest of the time there we split up in different groups and went on different rides that met everyone's tastes. 

We then met up again to go on Mission: Space.  At the beginning of the ride, you had to go on either the Green Mission or the Orange Mission.   As Josh reminded everyone on numerous times, Orange was the brave mission.   The group split in half, with the Orange mission people being Josh, David, Shane, Becky, Abby, Tawny & me.  The rest went on Green while the grandparents watch Declan.

When you choose your colour, they give you a card with the corresponding colour and a set of instructions.  On the orange card there is a warning talking about high blood pressure, bad backs, motion sickness, etc and if you're worried to go on the green ride.  Most of the time, that's just a standard warning.  Well, when we entered our launching pad, they had the warning again.  And then a couple more times before we finally stepped into our spaceship.   So we're all thinking "It can't be that bad can it?   But if not, why the heck do they keep giving us the warning?"  We were in so far there was no turning back, so we all jumped in the spaceship and got locked in.   The ride simulates space travel from take off to landing and throws a few Gs at you along with some twists and turns.   Abby started off howling with laughter, then she got upset because her cheeks hurt so much, and then silence.   Tawny did a great job of comforting her, and I tried my best but about half way through the ride after my stomach did it's 15th flip I started thinking, I may have to use that barf bag right beside me.   It was all I could do to calm my stomach down and even thinking about the ride now makes it churn some more.  

Thankfully we all made it off the ride safely and without puking despite being dizzy and having our stomachs turned inside out.   It wasn't all good for one of the other riders though as she emptied her dinner into a garbage can at the exit to the ride.

A ride on the gentler Soarin' helped calm the stomachs and then we finished the night off with one last ride on Test Track (single riders again, thanks Steve!).   And it was all good until the thunder & lightning storm hit, along with a downpour.  Cara Lee, Caleb and I were stuck on the track, thankfully inside, David & Connor never made it on the ride, and Shane, Becky & Abby got shot out onto the track right in the middle of the rain.   It was an exciting end to a fun day.

The whole day made me think.  Epcot is a lot like Expo, with the pavilions and a few good rides that have ridiculously long lines to go on them.   As far as excitement goes, it's not on par with the other lands.  But the day was still terrific.   We're so lucky to have a great family who are also great friends.   While an activity can give you a fun time as long as it's a good one, great company gives you a terrific day, every time, without fail regardless of what you're doing!  (Cue the sentimental music and group photo.)

Someone turn on the Air Conditioning

Day 1 in Florida brought us to Magic Kingdom and was it ever hot!   Roll up the windows, shut the doors and turn on the a/c!!!!   From the minute you step outside you start sweating and you don't stop until you're back inside.  

This day was about two things, comparisons to Disneyland and the mountains!  Because MK is so close to Disneyland in what it offers, the comparisons are inevitable.  It started with the trip in on the monorail (which we had to wait inside for a good 15 minutes while they rebooted the system and the a/c was off) and continued through the different rides we went on.

The first ride was Pirates of the Caribbean of course, and it didn't disappoint.  While it was a bit shorter than its Disneyland counterpart it still was a great ride and offered up a good amount of piratey things.   We then did the Jungle Cruise which had the same poor dry humour as California and was pretty similar in what we saw.

After that, we headed to our first fast pass ride, Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin.  It had a different name and different guns and different targets, but the point was the same.  WIN!   Unfortunately, Tawny adjusted far better than I did and she came out the victor.   We won't discuss the kids' point totals as that could start a fight.

The rest of the day was about conquering the mountains.  Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Space Mountain & Splash Mountain were the resounding favourites of the day.   Splash Mountain was especially popular as getting wet provided some relief from the hot day, even at 11pm at night.

We went on some other rides as well, ones we knew in Dumbo, the Haunted Mansion & It's A Small World, and some new ones in Stich's Great Escape (not a favourite of Caleb's) & Monsters Inc Laugh Floor (some good giggles in there from the kids) but we kept coming back to the Mountains.

Space Mountain was terrific.  It was my favourite (I think it was #2 or #3 on everyone else's charts too).  It was a little different from DL as you sit by yourself, rather than in 2's.  This didn't sit so well with Tawny, as she prefers to have a good grip on Abby during roller coaster rides.  Instead she had to reach over the front of her car to make sure Abby wasn't going anywhere.  And sure enough in the picture they take, everyone's hands are in the air except for Tawny's which instead are stretched forward holding onto Abby's shoulders.

It was a great first day at the parks and it was so good that the kids needed some extra sleep this morning to recharge their batteries.

I can hear them stirring now, so time to get ready for another adventure.

Unleash the Beast

Today was travel day.  Up at 830am this morning from our palatial estates at Holiday Inn Renton, we scrambled like mad to make it to the 930 shuttle to SeaTac.   We made the last call for the shuttle and this would be a recurring theme today ... yes not much of a surprise to most of you who know our family.

We got to the airport nice and early and breezed thru security while the rest of the Buzzas/Keatings waited in a rather large line to do the same.   So, round 1 to the Douglases!  (Everything's a game with us don't you know.)

Once everyone got thru we headed down to our gate.  Actually it was more like sauntering.  We had about an hour to takeoff, so plenty of time right?   We got to the gate and found out that food was available for purchase on the flight.  Well airplane food isn't known for its quality or its low prices and with a 5 hour flight ahead of us we needed some food, so I headed back up to Quiznos where I found David inline with his kids.  Still had 40 minutes until take-off.  Well they didn't take my order until 30 minutes before takeoff and then the emails from Tawny started coming fast and furious.

"You guys close?" "Hurry please." "They just issued last call."  "Um the plane is gonna take off without you."  The Quiznos did their best to go as slow as possible and as soon as I got the food I sprinted to the gate, where we just made it on in time.   There were 3 people behind us so lots of time right?

The flight went pretty good, although the Buzzas and Keatings were scattered around the plane (I think they heard that they're troublemakers so they had to keep 'em apart) while the 5 Douglases were all in a row, and the 6th & 7th in our row just happened to be Becky and Declan.  Normally when you sit next to a baby on a plane you cringe, but not with our nephew.  He was awesome on the plane.  A little giggling, a little sleeping and overall super content the whole flight ... if he just could teach something to his cousin.

Tawny & I have a nickname for Abigail that we use affectionately ... The Beast.   For the most part she is super cute and super sweet, but there are times when The Beast comes out and look out!   This flight was no different.  She was awesome for a good 3 and a half hours but the last hour we were checking to see if there was any room in the overhead compartments.  Just kidding.  Maybe.

We made it to Newark with lots of time to spare before our next flight and then sat on the runway and ate up all that time so that we had just enough time to walk briskly to the gate for our next flight.  Along the way, Papa Bear managed to "steal" the pilot's luggage (honest mistake of grabbing the wrong bag but the pilot was none too happy).

Newark to Orlando was a much quicker flight and fairly non-eventful.  The Beast stayed hidden from what I could see and we got to Orlando all in one piece with all our luggage, well except for one of Shane's suitcases which made a detour to New Orleans.   I guess it's a good thing they know where it is, but how it went there, I'm not too sure.  Plus the car rental company wanted to charge Shane an extra $10/day to be able to drive the car, but that's a story for another day.

We then made our way to our rental house in Kissimee where all 15 of us are staying and took a little while to get settled.  The kids were all sleeping by 2:45/3am EST and the adults are slowly starting to nod off.  Glad that's over, cause the real fun starts tomorrow!

PS. I know we joke about Abby being the beast but she's just so darn cute most of the time, so when it turns it's quite the contrast.  I must have got a dozen hugs and kisses from her today always accompanied by "I love you Daddy", how can you get mad with that? 

Welcome to Holiday Inn Renton

It's 10:45pm and the kids have finally stopped talking.  They're still up but seem to have calmed down and are currently watching Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Rodrick Rules. I think they can relate with the craziness of the Heffley family.

They say a typical person uses between 7000 & 20000 words in a day.  I'm pretty sure Josh got a week's worth in today.   And the other two weren't far behind.   I underestimated how excited they are for this trip.

Anyway back to the trip.  The trip down went pretty smooth.  We flew thru the border with the only issue being that we weren't driving fast enough up to the booth.  Yup, the border guard gave me heck for not going fast enough after the car in front of me left.  True I went a little slow, but we had a moment of panic when we could only find 3 passports.  We found the other 2 and had no issues.  The rest of the trip went smoothly to Renton.  Only one emergency bathroom stop was all that was needed.

And we managed to avoid the dozen or so police cars that were out patrolling today too.   Way too many for my liking, but they were doing their job keeping speeders off the highway. 

We booked a hotel in Seattle for two reasons.  The first was so that we wouldn't have to wake up super early to get to the airport in the morning and the second was so that we'd have a place to park our van while we were in Florida.  Most places were around $10/day for parking, and the hotel/parking combos were pretty close in cost.  But not Holiday Inn Renton.  It was $124 for a night's stay and unlimited parking!  What a deal.   Plus Holiday Inn tends to bring a level of comfort knowing that they're typically of decent quality.

For every good company, there's still going to be a weak link and we may have found it.  The room is a little cramped, looks a bit rundown (even a fresh coat of paint would help) and the toilet makes a weird sound every time you flush it.  We took a dip in the pool (it's outdoors) and while the pool had a decent temperature to it, the hot tub was nothing more than a lukewarm bath.   There's no pullout couch for the 3rd kid to sleep on like they promised on the phone, so the 5 of us get to share 2 beds.  I guess you get what you pay for and it's not horrible, but it's definitely not a place you'd want to have an extended stay at.

The funny thing though is that the kids absolutely love it.  They love the pool and think it's so cool that they get to stay in this "terrific" hotel.   And that's all that matters, well as long as Tawny doesn't go and sleep in the van tonight.

From dinner to the end of the night we had our usual fill of games.  We played what's your favourite ride waiting for our dinner.   We played 101 ways to leave a hot tub (modelled after 101 Ways to Leave a Game Show).   And then we played "I'm glad I'm your buddy", made famous by Uncle Glenn  and Lucas McDonald.

We also got to witness an Abby meltdown as there was a fly near our table at dinner.  She is so afraid of flies.  Absolutely terrified.  She couldn't concentrate on dinner until Josh killed it, which he did with a packet of sugar and then he promptly put that packet under her chair.  I thought she was going to jump on the table.

Oh, I almost forgot the most important part of our trip down ... our code names for the Florida trip.  As you can see the blog is by Sprite Time and Big Squeezy.   (Those are Tawny and my code names.)  Joshua is Mr Charger (he's quite proud of his new LT Charger jersey), Caleb is Agent C (with the glasses to work it), and Abby is Rockstar (with her new pair of Converse shoes).   We're waiting to hear what the Buzza clan has worked out and we'll spring it on the Keatings tomorrow at the airport.

Hopefully everyone falls asleep soon (I think Tawny is the first to do so) and we get a good rest before a big day of travel tomorrow.

And just remember, sometimes things are inexpensive which makes them a good deal and other times they're just plain cheap.

Preparations for Florida

How crazy is this?  Two weeks ago we set out to go camping at Lincoln Rock in Eastern Washington.  We were there Sunday to Thursday, got home, did some laundry and then headed out to Las Vegas for another 5 days.  Also a Sunday to Thursday trip.  Again we got home, did some laundry and are now preparing to go to Florida for a couple of weeks.   What a whirlwind.   Somewhere in there I've tried to get a little work done and Tawny's cleaned the house, did a bunch of laundry and managed to pack everything (we hope).

Meanwhile the kids are bouncing off the walls.  Literally, they're bouncing off the walls.  They are way beyond pumped for this trip.  Right now I can hear them running around upstairs.   They haven't sat still for the past two days.  Thursday night it took a good half hour to get them in their rooms before bedtime and another hour before they finally settled down.  Last night, it was even longer.   They are ready to go and aren't afraid to show it.   I'm trying to get a few last minute emails out to clients and I have two kids yakking in my ears about a certain ride, or what's the hotel like, or when are we going?   As soon as I'm done ... and I need a little P&Q in order to get things done.

It's been a long time in the making and the trip is almost here.   Now we just need to make sure we have all 3 kids in the van and the passports.   Here we come FLORIDA!