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Went down to Florida for a week or so. Had a little memorial by the beach last Friday.We had a toast, some wine, cheese, and such, and a lot of good company.
Beautiful weather for the whole week, except that Friday was windy, cool, grey, and overcast. We were worried about the memorial. Getting ready to hold it indoors. But just as everyone gathered and we poked our heads out to see how things were outside, the sun broke free of the clouds. We had perfect weather for the toast, and one of the best sunsets on the beach that anyone in the building had ever seen. Amazing.
(Actually, it was like my oldest sister's wedding. Grey and overcast and worrisome. Until she opened the door and stepped out, ready to go down the aisle. The clouds parted, the sun shone down, and it was just a gorgeous day from then on.)
Went to Disney Sunday night. (We had a credit from when we had to cancel last year, and it was about to expire.) Saw a movie, went to sleep. Monday, we'd decided to go to Animal Kingdom in the morning/afternoon, and then EPCOT for the evening and dinner. We usually spend a day or two in Disney every year, on the way to or from NJ. We've done it a good number of years by now, so we know our way around and don't feel rushed to go do everything.
Lines were longer than we'd planned, though, and I didn't think of getting a FastPass ticket until too late. So we went through the Jungle Trek (walking path, with a wide variety of animals in good-sized habitats), shared some frozen banana, and then headed out to MGM (which we hadn't seen in a while). Did the animation tour there, but it turns out they've seriously gutted it. Real shame. But we got to meet Mr. Incredible and Elasti-Girl, who were standing around for pictures (really great costumes on them). Walked around the park a bit more, then went back to the hotel (via ferryboat) for a break.
Rested up, then out to EPCOT, where we did Soarin'. It was brand new two years ago (when we were last there), and the lines were too long to go see it. But we got in this time, and it was beautiful. Supposed to be a hang gliding adventure, but it's very calm and gentle. You sit in rows of seats, they lift the whole thing up, hang it over a giant curved panormaic IMAX screen, and gently tilt you with the movements of the camera. The scenes (which cover your whole field of vision) are gorgeous shots of various parts of California. Mom says it's now her favorite ride in the park.
Walked some more, saw Mom's favorite movie (France), had dinner in a French restaurant, and timed it so that we could see the closing fireworks show through the plate glass windows of the restaurant.
Meantime, though, I'd spoken to my brother-in-law on the phone. He was in NYC, but he's a huge Disney fan. And he knew off the top of his head that Monday is the day for extra hours in the Magic Kingdom for those staying at a Disney hotel. Park closed at 10pm for everyone else, but for us, it was open until 1am. So we took a monorail over, walked some more, went through the castle (breathtakingly beautiful in blue and white lights), rode on the carosel, did It's A Small World (remembering how my niece, just shy of 2 years old, had been afraid of the animatronics), walked around some more, had some ice cream, saw the new Monsters, Inc. show, and finally took the bus back to the hotel.
We left the park at around 12:30. Didn't get to sleep until after 1am. And we had a flight home the following morning. But it was worth it. Our first four-park day (all four of Disney World's theme parks). Amazing. And really memorable. And also very, very tiring.
Tuesday, Dad picked us up at the airport and took us in to my oldest sister's place (picking up my youngest niece on the way). We had dinner, Hanukah candlelighting, and a birthday cake for Dad. Took the little one back to her place, Mom put her to bed, and stayed until her parents got back from the airport. So we got to spend time with all four sibs and all three of the kids.
Been resting up as much as I can, and also getting stuff ready for my next trip. I've unpacked from Florida, but now I need to repack. I fly out to Arizona on Thursday!
Oh, and for those of you who have seen Enchanted... Much of it was filmed on location in NYC. And the apartment is literally two blocks from where my oldest sister lives. We were looking at each other when he told the cabbie where to go and when they showed the building face (including the street address). Very cool.
Beautiful weather for the whole week, except that Friday was windy, cool, grey, and overcast. We were worried about the memorial. Getting ready to hold it indoors. But just as everyone gathered and we poked our heads out to see how things were outside, the sun broke free of the clouds. We had perfect weather for the toast, and one of the best sunsets on the beach that anyone in the building had ever seen. Amazing.
(Actually, it was like my oldest sister's wedding. Grey and overcast and worrisome. Until she opened the door and stepped out, ready to go down the aisle. The clouds parted, the sun shone down, and it was just a gorgeous day from then on.)
Went to Disney Sunday night. (We had a credit from when we had to cancel last year, and it was about to expire.) Saw a movie, went to sleep. Monday, we'd decided to go to Animal Kingdom in the morning/afternoon, and then EPCOT for the evening and dinner. We usually spend a day or two in Disney every year, on the way to or from NJ. We've done it a good number of years by now, so we know our way around and don't feel rushed to go do everything.
Lines were longer than we'd planned, though, and I didn't think of getting a FastPass ticket until too late. So we went through the Jungle Trek (walking path, with a wide variety of animals in good-sized habitats), shared some frozen banana, and then headed out to MGM (which we hadn't seen in a while). Did the animation tour there, but it turns out they've seriously gutted it. Real shame. But we got to meet Mr. Incredible and Elasti-Girl, who were standing around for pictures (really great costumes on them). Walked around the park a bit more, then went back to the hotel (via ferryboat) for a break.
Rested up, then out to EPCOT, where we did Soarin'. It was brand new two years ago (when we were last there), and the lines were too long to go see it. But we got in this time, and it was beautiful. Supposed to be a hang gliding adventure, but it's very calm and gentle. You sit in rows of seats, they lift the whole thing up, hang it over a giant curved panormaic IMAX screen, and gently tilt you with the movements of the camera. The scenes (which cover your whole field of vision) are gorgeous shots of various parts of California. Mom says it's now her favorite ride in the park.
Walked some more, saw Mom's favorite movie (France), had dinner in a French restaurant, and timed it so that we could see the closing fireworks show through the plate glass windows of the restaurant.
Meantime, though, I'd spoken to my brother-in-law on the phone. He was in NYC, but he's a huge Disney fan. And he knew off the top of his head that Monday is the day for extra hours in the Magic Kingdom for those staying at a Disney hotel. Park closed at 10pm for everyone else, but for us, it was open until 1am. So we took a monorail over, walked some more, went through the castle (breathtakingly beautiful in blue and white lights), rode on the carosel, did It's A Small World (remembering how my niece, just shy of 2 years old, had been afraid of the animatronics), walked around some more, had some ice cream, saw the new Monsters, Inc. show, and finally took the bus back to the hotel.
We left the park at around 12:30. Didn't get to sleep until after 1am. And we had a flight home the following morning. But it was worth it. Our first four-park day (all four of Disney World's theme parks). Amazing. And really memorable. And also very, very tiring.
Tuesday, Dad picked us up at the airport and took us in to my oldest sister's place (picking up my youngest niece on the way). We had dinner, Hanukah candlelighting, and a birthday cake for Dad. Took the little one back to her place, Mom put her to bed, and stayed until her parents got back from the airport. So we got to spend time with all four sibs and all three of the kids.
Been resting up as much as I can, and also getting stuff ready for my next trip. I've unpacked from Florida, but now I need to repack. I fly out to Arizona on Thursday!
Oh, and for those of you who have seen Enchanted... Much of it was filmed on location in NYC. And the apartment is literally two blocks from where my oldest sister lives. We were looking at each other when he told the cabbie where to go and when they showed the building face (including the street address). Very cool.