Funroecation 16/17

We just returned from a great trip with lots of family!

Here are some random thoughts from our trip to Orlando

If you go to Disney and or Universal please make a plan.  It broke my heart to see frazzled parents and children at 1230 every single day trying to decide what they wanted to eat and by then the places were all so packed.

Pack snacks.  Alicia and Marisa and Kaitlin did this so well.  Your children and you will be hungry so throw in some cereal and peanut butter crackers etc.  William and Alicia had big carabiners on their stroller to hang snack cups on plus other necessities.

If you can read the newspaper through your stretch pants, don't wear them to Disney.  I was in a wheelchair and I saw lots of folks and I am so sorry I can't unsee some of those things.

There is a dragon on top of Gingotts in Harry Potter World and when he goes off and roars and the fire comes out, you will jump.  I jumped so high I scared the folks standing near me.

The child swap at Universal is usually a room to wait in which is nice.  At Disney it is a fast pass given which is a different kind of nice.

We were there the same weekend as the Disney marathon.  There is a 5K, 10K, a half and whole marathon.  The folks that wore their medals after the 5 and 10K cracked me up.  I got the feeling from them that they felt like they had beaten Usain Bolt at the Olympics.  Seriously.

Mr W loved watching the monorail.  We had no need to ride it.  Fairest had us ride it from EPCOT to MK one night so he could ride it. Heaven.  He was in heaven.

We rode the bus back to our motel one night with a group of runners from New Hampshire.  When the canned bus music played Sweet Caroline and they all sang with gusto, Carl and I joined in with them.  Thanks to Andrew we knew how the Bosox fans sing it!

We have lots more pictures!  Just ask if you want to see them.

Below is our Florida trip crew.  Several folks wondered how John could be in two places in one picture- John in the front and William is in the back.  William is John's cousin and they are often mistaken for each other.  They decided that for our next trip they will dress more alike to really mess with your mind!


Our first stop was to Atlanta to see Mr Precious and his parents.  Fairest enjoyed all the time she had playing with him.  The boy loves his vehicles!  We had a great time.  Lots of laughing and visiting and reading to Mr P.

My brothers came over with their wives and we celebrated Christmas.

We met up William and Alicia and ARose and Pandi and John and Marisa and Mr Wonderful and Miss Adorable at Universal.  We all loved the Butter Beer.

Some folks loved embracing their Slytheriness!  We bought wands and owls but no house robes.  Some of those folks take things real serious.

The Hogwarts ride was amazing.  You are sitting on a bench and Hermione casts a spell on it and you go for a ride.  Going through Dumbledore's office was too cool.  I closed my eyes lots so ask Kaitlin about the spiders and the dementors.

You get a marauders map with your wand purchase.  Here is Miss A checking it out.

We rode lots of roller coasters a Universal and ate lots of fun food then we headed to Animal Kingdom.  I took this pic as we were on the Safari ride and yes those guys are running right at us.  Our guide stopped our vehicle and they decided to go on the curved path----whew!  We all loved this ride.

My friend, Kathy Sawyer, made all the amazing Disney dresses for all the little girls and next time she may be making us all princess dresses.  If you need some sewing done contact me and I'll give you her info!

Anna and Elsa were due on the same day born two weeks apart two and 1/2 years ago.  It is fun to see their  cousin friendship grow.

The sheer joy that Mr W is feeling was so catching that I cried.  He loves Goofy and couldn't wait to have his picture made and to talk to him!

Our Fairest of them all got to meet another Fairest of them all.  Miss A loved her magic band which is your Disney room key, ticket into the parks and your fast pass.  In the picture below she is showing it to Snow White.  She showed it to everyone!

This was taken on our last day and it was very chilly and rainy.  Please notice my fashion statement of the socks and sandals.  My feet were so cold.  It was in the high 60's to start the day and after the rain it dropped to the 40's.  Marisa is holding Pandi in the carrier to keep them both warm.  That is the Beast's castle behind us.

French fries and hot dogs- yum!

 

 

Natchez Trace Day Two

We began our day in Clinton, MS.  We drove back to the spot where we got off the Trace and continued north.  The green line is the Trace.  Each black dot is a site on the Trace, some are just a sign telling about an event or a house that stood there, some are walking paths and some are overlooks.  This day was our longest.

At the end of day two we got off the Trace just west of Alabama and stayed the night near Pickwick Dam in TN.  I have a nest of cousins in Savannah, TN and I remember eating at a restaurant near this dam when I was younger.

Our trip started with very flat terrain and near the end of day two we are in rolling hills.

We started Day Two in the fog.

I promise you that Carl really is happy.

Along the Trace many of the restrooms and information sites are built to look like a building from times past.  Here is The Parkway Information Cabin near Jackson.

The Mississippi Craft Center was such a fun stop near Jackson.  The very kind lady who opened 15 minutes early just for us could not have been nicer.  I should have written down her name so I could tell you to go see her!  We bought several souvenirs and admired lots of art.  They also have wonderful bathrooms.

Here is a souvenir I bought for my fridge with the path of the Trace.

I loved all the history and science that we learned.  I had never heard of a water tupelo tree before this .

Kaitlin was usually our scout.  She would run ahead and see if I could make the trek or if they needed to go and bring me back pictures.  Kaitlin and Carl both got to 10,000 steps on their fitbits every day! Most of the paths I could walk.

Here is what the old Trace looked like in several places.

The view from the road we drove on differed all along the way.  Sometimes we saw wide open spaces, sometimes we were in a canopy of trees, and sometimes the road was hugging the side of a hill.

We saw some fall color but not lots because of the lack of water.

This is the half way point.  On Wednesday, Thursday and Friday we saw maybe 10 cars total but on Saturday we saw tons plus lots of cyclists, runners, and walkers.  We enjoyed having the road to ourselves so we could stop and take pics like this one!

Natchez Trace Day One

I have wanted to drive on the Natchez Trace since the 90's.  On one trip from Pine Bluff to Marietta, GA to take my mother home she requested that we drive for a few miles on the NT.  I remember the beauty, the quiet and the history and that I wanted to come back.

We left LR early on Wednesday and headed to Natchez, MS.  I really wasn't sure what all to expect on our trip up the NT but it was not like anything like I thought it would be.  The Trace is a 444 mile National Park.

Our first day plan was to drive from Natchez to Jackson.  There are over 100 stops on the entire Trace and we stopped by most of them.  I was struck by the diversity of things we saw- Indian Mounds, Meriwether Lewis' grave, waterfalls, swamps, Confederate graves, a phosphate mine, several overlooks, picnic areas and several 'stands'. Stands were places where, as you were walking the Trace, you could pay $0.25 to sleep in the yard of a house and possible get a warm meal.  What you don't see are traffic lights, commercial vehicles ( or rather you shouldn't), gas stations, motels, bill boards, or street lights.

We ate at all local restaurants starting with The Carriage House in Natchez.  That is where I noticed that Kaitlin had matching hair, buff, fitbit and sweater!

These were the only signs on the Trace.  We were able to walk on the original path in several places.

The Windsor Ruins in the next two pictures were just amazing.

A family built a house and it burned to the ground and all that was left at these columns.

Kailtin noticed the mile markers and suggest that we all mark our ages!

Here is some of the sunken Trace with Kaitlin getting in tuned with her inner Native America.  She thinks that the Park system should have guides walk the Trace in Native American costume.  She talks a good talk but if she had seen one she would have stayed in the van!

We didn't see much traffic at all from Wednesday -Friday so stopping was easy.

More pictures tomorrow!

29, 91 and 58

1- Today is my mother's birthday

2- If she were living there would be 91 candles on her cake
3- I miss her everyday
4- She died 20 years ago in March
5- That seems unreal
6- She loved her children and her grands well
7-She would love her great grands too.
8-She loved to write letters
9- She wrote me a letter every week unless we were together from the time I left for college until she died.
10- I plan to celebrate her today by writing a few letters
11-She loved to read
12- After I write a few letters I plan to read a little
13- I inherited many of her books
14- It is an eclectic collection
15- My mother was very well read
16- She loved to take pictures
17- How fun that she has a granddaughter that is a professional photographer
18- My mother laughed lots
19- By the time she was 50 she had buried two sons and her husband
20- She always said that when life give you lemons you just make lemonade
21- The longer I live the more I appreciate her strength
22- When I am in a hard, stressful, situation I try to picture what would my mother or Lara Croft do
23- I look more like my mother than Lara Croft
24- Google Lara Croft if you don't believe me
25-My mother loved Gilbert and Sullivan
26- Sir Arthur Sullivan wrote the music to Onward Christian Soldiers
27- Today is my 1/2 birthday
28- 29 is 1/2 of 58 (I'm 58)
29- I've decided that 29 is the new 58 1/2.

My 1/2 birthday presents

Food Fenway and Fun Part II

We had beautiful weather for our trip which was so nice because ...

I am a nervous flyer and my friend here fastens his seat belt and then does this!  He does hold my hand when I need him too.

In Atlanta Carl let Andrew have his seat and he sat a few seats behind us.  Andrew and I looked out the window- we saw NYC, we listened to my music and we visited.

Our first restaurant-

We got three different plates and shared the food.  The brisket was my favorite.

This is inside our motel.  It looked magical.                                                                                          

 

We ate Cannoli and Lobster Tail and Boston Cream Pie cupcakes- YUM

This restaurant is called Bogie's.  It is reservation only!  Ours was for 9:00 pm. There is room for about 12 folks in the place at one time.  It is in the back of another restaurant and they serve steak and sides.  It was one of the best steaks I've even eaten.  Andrew is not put off by what I consider shady places and this one looked shady to me and I was out of my comfort zone but the food was amazing. That was the end of our first day and I slept well that night!  Saturday we went to the Museum of Fine Art.  Pictures tomorrow !