It is 5:18 a.m. I am getting ready to head back to work after a week’s holiday. I guess I must be a little anxious about heading back to work because I could barely sleep all night. I kept waking up to see how much longer I had to sleep.
How I dislike alarm clocks.
My body naturally wakes up around 8:00 a.m. It used to be closer to 9, but now I seem to do well with waking up an hour earlier.
I think I’m going to take a nap. I don’t have to be work until 7.
Tonight we are celebrating Earl’s birthday! It seems like it always snows on this joyous occasion, but nevertheless, it is here and there is much cheering.
For the occasion, I share one of my favourite photos of us. It’s from 2003. We look younger.
After returning from Orlando we promptly went to Red Robin, where Earl enjoyed the free hamburger for the birthday boy without much fanfare. Tonight it’s about finishing the laundry and watching the snow fall.
We need to relax after our vacation.
So I am sitting on JetBlue 668 headed back home after five days and nights at the House of the Mouse. I hear it’s snowing like crazy at home. I am ready for the end of winter. We are almost there. Thank goodness for the trip to Oklahoma next month, it’ll give me another much needed boost to my psyche.
I need a gig where I travel a lot. I would be a happier person.
I found myself in a pondering state of mind between attractions at Disney. I won’t write about everything I thought about here; my thought processes are my own and are probably long and boring to read. Suffice it to say that I have a few adventures up my sleeve that I’m making plans for.
Quick aside – I must have a thing for flight attendants and Christian apparently enjoys redheads with big moustaches. Just sayin’.
I have begun meditating again. It’s about time that I practiced what I learned all those years ago. I have added the exercise to my daily quiet time. I am also using the MindWave program on my iPhone. I think meditating quiets my mind much more than the MindWave does. I sort of think of the MindWave as the saccharin way of getting to a meditative state. It’s artificially induced and not quite the same. I’ll probably discontinue that for a while in a week or two so I can compare and contrast.
I have given up alcohol completely as of last Monday night. My last drink was a Mojito at Bongos at Downtown Disney. There are a couple of reasons that I stopped – one of them being that with the way I play I should be sober at all times; the other reason has to do with my health. My forever existent beer gut does not need encouragement. I have no issues with those that enjoy a drink, it’s just not for me right now.
I also gave up pop and eating meat. Well, at least I am trying on both accounts. This will be my third serious attempt at giving up meat. I’m planning on the third time being a charm.
Yesterday we ventured over to Disney’s Animal Kingdom for the day. The timing was good, it was the warmest day this week and the park was open for extended hours for resort guests so we were able to make a day of it without feeling rushed.
I mentioned earlier that Epcot is my favorite park here at Walt Disney World, but I no longer think that’s the case. Animal Kingdom takes top billing for me now. There are a number of reasons for this: there are no french fries available (to maintain the safety of the animals), which keeps me a little healthier, I love the layout of the park and the whole jungle theme (it doesn’t feel like a theme park, it feels like you’re in a really busy place in the woods) and most importantly, I think there are some very valuable lessons to be learned amongst all the fun and animals and games and such and even if only 10% of the visitors ‘get it’ after they leave the park then the world will be a better place.
I love animals. I have always loved animals. I’d work with animals but I can’t fathom to see an animal hurt and I’m really bad at biology so that was never an option for me. And while I don’t enjoy a zoo, I really enjoy the way that the animals appear to be living at the Animal Kingdom. They seem happy. There are no monkeys behind bars in an abnormally small cage throwing their poop. There are no guests trying to feed the monkeys a neon coloured circus peanut. Instead there are seemingly authentic and large, expansive areas where the animals are spending much of their daylight hours doing things that make them content. Yes, they are probably sick of hearing every caravan that goes through on a safari playing the same tape over and over and over again, but the area is big enough that they can hide behind some rocks or turn their back and not partake in the showbiz angle of their life if they don’t have to.
The folks at Animal Kingdom say that they train their animals to come in and out at night and such through natural behaviour. Not once did I see an elephant in a hula skirt trying to dance on their back legs to “Surfin’ U.S.A.” What I did see were some beautiful birds at the “Flights of Wonder” show doing some great things but more importantly, just being birds.
Each time we visit the Animal Kingdom we always take the train ride over to Rafiki’s Planet Watch, where they have exhibits on conservation and an area where you can mingle amongst the gentler animals and visit with them. Earl had a conference call for work so I went in alone and had a nice chat with a couple of animals. When the animals aren’t in the mood to chat with the guests they can hide under a pavilion out of reach. Several goats went in and out while I was in there. One sniffed through my pockets to see if I had any goodies in there. I also made a goal to do something constructive with an area of the backyard this year. I have a couple of bird feeders already; I need to do something more to give back to the folks that are living in the woods around the house.
It wouldn’t be a theme park without at least a couple of rides, so later in the day we rode Exhibition Everest. We actually rode it twice. As we were approaching the “standby” line three very nice looking ladies gave us their FastPass tickets for an hour later, so we waited the 60 minutes in standby and then got in the FastPass lane and rode again two minutes later. Exhibition Everest is a very impressive roller coaster and I HIGHLY recommend that you ride it. It’s not so violent that you’re going to feel sick afterwards but it will boost your pulse rate for a bit and it’s a really good time. The first time I rode, a young girl from the ‘single riders’ line joined me and she told me it was her seventh time riding that day. She was a pro, didn’t scream once (I might have screamed once or twice but I didn’t sound like her) and impressively wrapped her Minnie Mouse ears around her leg to hold them in place whilst we were whipped around the ride.
All in all yesterday was my favourite day thus far here at Disney. I’d be content to go back again today, but there is one more park for us to visit.
Today we spent the day at Epcot. The first thing we discovered is that Disney is no longer doing the “Leave A Legacy” etched pictures at the entrance. Existing photos are still up but they’re not taking any new ones. Earl and I have two different photos on the walls; the first is from 2000, the second is from 2007. The guide that looked up our location showed the full colour photo from 2000: I was a lot bigger (and clean shaven) and Earl had red hair and a big red beard! Good times.
Our first stop was Spaceship Earth, which has been completely updated and totally appeals to my geek side. The presentation has to do with communications through the centuries. I like that a lot.
The minimum wait for “Soarin!” was 160 minutes, so we didn’t make that ride today. We ended up spending most of the day in the World Showcase. I was pleased to see that they updated the “O Canada!” Circle-Vision 360 film. They kept elements from the original film but updated the music and many of the scenes. The song (“Canada [You’re A Lifetime Journey]” remains the same but is now sung by Canadian Idol winner Eva Avila. The “O Canada!” presentation makes me teary every time I see it. I needn’t go into the reasons why this is so. I’ve said it many times.
The France presentation was experiencing technical difficulties (and they were kind of haughty about it), but outside of that we went to the show that each country offered. I recognised some of the singers in the “Voices of Liberty” a cappella group at the “American Experience”. They are amazing vocalists and it’s good to hear traditional vocals without crazy runs and/or electronic augmentation. During one of their songs it hit me why I feel the way I do about “God Bless America” and my revelation is going to be a separate blog entry that will appear next week.
The one disappointing part of World Showcase was in Norway; they were having a very hard time managing the crowd and lines for their Viking Ship attraction. I don’t know if it’s the layout of the waiting area or guests being goofy or what but it seemed very chaotic and uninspiring. Out of all the attractions in World Showcase, and since the updating of “O Canada”, Norway now seems the most dated. Mexico was a little weird too; the sites and sounds of Mexico now have Donald Duck and a couple parrots hootin’ and hollerin’ all over the brilliant cinematography. I don’t know why they added this to the mix – probably to make it a little more fun.
Overall I was impressed with the updates to “World Showcase” since our visit in 2007. It was an enjoyable afternoon.
Afterwards we went to “The Land” and took the boat tour through Living With The Land. I really enjoy the educational aspect to the attractions at Epcot. I think this is what makes it my favorite park here at Walt Disney World.
Tonight we went back to Downtown Disney for supper. We enjoyed a late meal at the Rainforest Cafe. The jog this morning and the jog tomorrow morning will make up for the calories, I suppose.
Today was spent at The Magic Kingdom, which is now apparently called “Magic Kingdom Park”. Since we conquered Tomorrowland last night, we spent most of our time in the other themed areas of the Magic Kingdom.
We went on our usual selection of attractions: Space Mountain, Splash Mountain and Thunder Mountain Railroad. We also hit the Country Bear Jamboree, Philharmagic, Pirates of the Caribbean, the Haunted House and It’s A Small World. The Hall of Presidents was closed, I have a feeling they’re adding President Obama to the mix.
Later this evening I commented to Earl that the human race isn’t disappointing me too badly on this vacation, cell phone use has been discrete and non-intrusive for the most part. I’m somewhat impressed.
The park was quite busy with it being a National holiday and all but enjoyable nonetheless.
On the recommendation of Greg in Connecticut we went to Bongo’s at Downtown Disney for dinner. I found it to be quite nice. I had my first cerviche (quite tasty) and I discovered Ironbeer Soda. It’s not quite birch or root beer or cream soda, but it was quite tasty. I highly recommend it.
There was recently an article on MSNBC proclaiming the return of beards and moustaches; the male population here at Disney supports that fact. I’ve been taking fan photos. I’ll have to share them once I sort them out.
No matter what time we arrive at Walt Disney World, we always go to the Magic Kingdom, more specifically Tomorrowland, first. This trip is no exception. Luckily, The Magic Kingdom was open extended hours until 3 a.m. We only made it to 12:30.
So I am currently sitting in seat 10F on JetBlue 665. I am watching “A Very Brady Sequel”. It’s a fun movie to watch.
The big guy is sitting next to me. To his left is Jamie, who is joining us on this trip. Jamie has never been to DisneyWorld and since we had a couple of extra tickets (due to a change in plans), we asked him to join us.
I love flying. I have always wanted to get my private pilots license but self imposed obstacles when I was younger prevented me from pursuing it. It’s never too late, I guess. Once the debt is paid off (very soon!) we’ll be able to afford the lessons. I’m thinking a Cessna 172 or bigger.
We are on an Airbus A320. This is my first JetBlue flight. It’s not my last. Though I love my job, I wish I had a position that called for more travel. I love traveling. I don’t like sitting behind a desk.
I am sitting in the exit row for the first time. I feel trusted. One of my best friends is a flight attendant. He is trusted like this very day. It’s a good feeling to be trusted.
As I look out over the clouds I notice that the flight tracker says we are over Savannah Ga. We’ll be starting our descent soon. The clouds are getting closer.
I’m thinking of putting together a birthday adventure in July. Perhaps it’ll involve flying.
So we are at Syracuse Hancock International Airport awaiting our JetBlue flight to Orlando. We leave in 90 minutes or so. I am taking a few moments to surf the internet because that’s what people do in the airport these days. I see quite a few Macs within eyeshot. That’s a good thing.
I am really looking forward to this getaway. It’s been two years since we’ve been to Orlando and we are pretty much repeating what we did before: flying in, no rental car, onto Disney property and then leaving in four days. No touring around, no scouting out other parks. It’s the total Disney experience for us. I like it that way.
I plan on updating the blog and Flickr account quite a bit. We have a couple of computers, cameras, a video camera and a router with appropriate cabling so we can have the total internet experience whilst in our condo.
I’m such a geek.
Going on vacation always inspires me to make further vacation plans for the year. I have a feeling there are several flights in my near future.
Earl and I are on our way to my Dad’s to drop off Tom in anticipation of our trip tomorrow. We were originally going to drive to Florida but we both love to fly so we are flying nonstop to Orlando tomorrow afternoon.
Even though I went to school to be a highway engineer, I’m really not feeling the “Happy Motoring!” vibe. Maybe I’m becoming crotchey, but it seems to me that people are becoming increasingly bad drivers and no one seems to give a damn. Drivers yak on cell phones, ignore traffic signals and any manner of discipline on the roads these days.
One thing I’m noticing is that people, in these parts at least, seem to be more and more terrified of “Right On Red”. It’s not a difficult concept, really, you stop at the red signal, assure that the coast is clear and then you make your right turn. It’s no different than a stop sign which, ironically, most people run.
Another issue that I have with drivers these days is that they’re terrified of winter driving conditions. Granted, if you live Corpus Christi you’re probaly not used to dealing with snow. But in these parts, where we get an average of 115 inches a year, snow is a given. However, no ice will be found on the road if it’s an early thaw and 50 degrees out, even if there is still snow on the ground. It’s physically impossible. There is no need to slow down to half of the speed limit.
So here I am. Sitting in the passenger seat. The cat is crying an average of one meow every 1.4 seconds and Earl is driving.
I think I might be a little crabby.
Just a guy with a husband. We’ve been together 28 years and he still makes me see fireworks on a daily basis. Hiker. Storm Chaser. Private Pilot. Tech Guy. Hackerish.
Weird? Eccentric!
