Extremes

We have been at both extremes at Disney in the last month. As I wrote about last month, we took my 94 year old dad to the Animal Kingdom for his birthday. Now the opposite - we took our 2 great-nieces (ages 10 and 5) to the Magic Kingdom on Friday. We had an absolute ball!! We have been to the MK with them before, but their mom and dad were with us on previous visits. This was the first time we had them there by themselves!!!

Our day started out by taking a monorail ride from the Ticket and Transportation Center down to EPCOT and back (the girls wanted a LONG monorail ride first). We then took the ferry across to the Magic Kingdom. While on the ferry, we met a family from Poland, who now live in Colorado. Their little girl looked to be about the same age as our younger great-niece, so I asked how old she was (we also found out this was their first time at Disney). They told me she was 5. I asked them when her birthday was and they said July 2nd. I couldn't believe it! I told them that was Ashley's birthday also and they asked me what time she was born. I couldn't remember, but after a call to Ashley's mom, I said 1:40 AM which would have been 9:40 AM Poland time. Their little girl was born at 8:30 AM Poland time, so she was just an hour older than Ashley! What are the odds of that happening with all the people on the ferry!

The first thing the girls wanted to do was ride the train, so we took the train around to Frontierland. I was thinking we would eat at Pecos BIll's, but they didn't have chicken and fries (which the girls wanted) so we walked over to Colonial Harbor House where we ate lunch. The girls had never eaten there so it was a new experience for them. Both girls ate VERY well (in fact, they finished my lunch!).

After lunch we headed to Fantasyland on our way to Tomorrowland to ride the Speedway. However, on our way through, the girls decided they wanted to do some rides in Fantasyland. We hadn't ridden Small World since they refurbished it and I wanted to do it to see the changes. Initially, the girls were resistant, but once assured we would do what they wanted after Small World, they were all for it. As it turned out, both girls thoroughly enjoyed the ride. Ashley didn't know where to look and kept telling Taylor to look here, look there, etc. Taylor had fun naming all of the countries that the different rooms represented. There were only two that she didn't recognize. As the ride was coming to an end, Ashley said she wanted to do it again!

After Small World, we started to head to Pooh. While on the way, they saw the carousel, which both girls wanted to do.
After a ride on the carousel, we started to head to Pooh, but then Ashley saw Dumbo, so we did Dumbo. We can't remember the last time we did Dumbo, if we've ever done it at all! After Dumbo, we finally got to Pooh which of course both girls thoroughly enjoyed. We then headed to the play area where we spent time just letting the girls be little girls. They played in the water and got soaked! After 45 minutes or so, we got the girls dried off and changed and headed over to the Speedway. We got off the Speedway and headed back to Toontown to go through Mickey and Minnie's houses. After leaving Toontown, we took the "quiet walkway" on our way out of the park which was through Tomorrowland where we wanted to ride WEDWAY (also known as the TTA). After getting off WEDWAY, we headed for the exit on our way to meet their mom, who was getting off work (she works near Disney). On our way down Main Street, they announced the flag retreat ceremony which Taylor immediately asked if we could wait for. We said of course. The flag retreat ceremony is very patriotic and musical and was a wonderful way to end the day. We then headed to the monorail for one last ride to the TTC and our day with the girls was over :(.

We drove the 2 hours home reliving the day and though we were exhausted, we were so glad we had the opportunity to have spent the day with our precious great-nieces!!

Dad's Birthday at Disney

When we were in Tennessee, the beginning of September, Dad and I were talking about his trip south the end of the month. He wasn't going to come down for his birthday, but the more he thought about it, the more he liked the idea of spending his birthday with us. The week before he came down, Rick and Csilla were visiting and Csilla made the suggestion of going over to Disney for his birthday since he would get in free as part of Disney's promotion for this year. I broached the subject with Dad and he loved the idea and asked if we could go to the Animal Kingdom since he had only been there once before (we had gone to EPCOT when he was here in January). I wasn't sure how tired he would be after driving down the previous two days, but he was game to go.

We got up Wednesday morning and headed over to Disney. We stopped at a Burger King before arriving at Disney so we could eat lunch and not pay the exorbitant food prices at Disney. With our stomachs full, we drove the few miles over to Disney.
Upon arrival, we went and got Dad his "birthday button" which had his name on it. He thoroughly enjoyed all of the many "happy birthday's" that were wished him. When people asked him how old he was, they couldn't believe him when he said 94. Most of them thought he was in his 70's!!!

The first thing we did was go to the "Festival of the Lion King" show. He enjoyed the show, but the main thing he wanted to do was see the animals.
After the show, we headed for the Kilamanjaro Safari. We anticipated having to wait a short time, but the park was so uncrowded, we were able to "walk" right on to the safari vehicle. Among the animals we saw on the "safari" were lions, elephants, giraffes, hippos and rhinos.




After the safari, we walked the Pangani Jungle Exploration Trail where we saw more animals - gorillas, meerkats and okapi.

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From the Pangani Trail, we started to walk to "Asia" to explore the Maharajah Jungle Trek to see more animals. However, Mickey's Jungle Jammin' Parade was occurring and the way over to Asia was blocked for the parade. We did not intend to stop and view the parade, but since we had no choice, we stood and watched. Many of the performers in the parade stopped and wished Dad a happy birthday. He was just thrilled!
Once the parade passed, we continued over to Asia. The tigers were magnificent and the birds were geautiful.

After taking the safari one more time and seeing more animals, we headed for the gate as the park was closing.

We had made previous arrangements to meet Rick and Csilla for dinner at Giordano's Restaurant. We had a wonderful dinner together and after a full, wonderful day, headed home.

Scrapbook Moments

Well, so much for my good intentions to blog more often. Somehow life has a way of getting in the way (also Facebook ;-) - spending more time there than here).

Bible study started September 10th. We are thoroughly enjoying Beth Moore's study on the book of Esther. We are midway through the study and the time has flown by. We'll be doing Beth's "Patriarch's" study starting in January.

My dad came down September 29th and stayed for 2 weeks, getting home this past Tuesday. While he was here, we made a trip to Disney for his birthday (he got in free because it was his birthday - we have annual passes) and also Sea World (he had purchased a pay for a day come back all year pass in January and he wanted to use it one more time - we also have annual passes).

I had an e-mail from my Uncle Don (mom's youngest brother) about a week before my dad came down. He said he was in Milton (a town near Pensacola in the panhandle of Florida) for the winter and wanted to drive down and see us. I wrote him back that my dad was coming down so his timing was perfect. Long story to say he came for 4 days the middle weekend of my dad's stay. The following weekend I hosted (at the Olive Garden) a birthday party for my aunt who turned 99 and my dad who was 94. While Uncle Don was here, we spent time at the nature preserve near us and also the DeSoto National Memorial which is also near us. Afte rthe party, our nephew, his wife and our 2 great nieces came to spend the night which made for a very full house!!!

I will do separate posts on each of the above occasions. If I tried to do it all in this post, it would make your eyes water reading it!!!

Has it been a month?

Again, time seems to fly and I haven't blogged in a month. Nothing much has been going on, thus not much to write about.

The main happening over the past month is we made a quick trip to the Chicago area and Indiana to visit our children and grandchildren. Our Indiana grandchildren are getting so big. Both are teenagers now and our oldest grandson has his own car and is driving. Where has the time gone? It seems like only yesterday he was starting school and now is in his junior year in high school. He is almost as tall as his dad was. His younger brother is now taller than me and is almost finished with middle school. It was also wonderful to meet E's new husband. Our Chicago area grandchildren are also getting big. Again where has the time gone? It is so hard only seeing them once a year (or less) but we know we're where the Lord would have us right now for this season of our life. On the way home, we were able to stop and have lunch with friends that moved from Florida to Indiana 3 years ago. The trip also included overnight stays at my dad's in Tennessee.

The only negative thing about the trip is somewhere along the line, I managed to pick up a cold which has kept me pretty much sidelined this past week. We were supposed to go down to Bonita Springs (about 2 hours south of us) today to visit friends, but I just wasn't feeling well enough to go. We have a busy rest of the week and I just felt it wouldn't be wise to overextend myself today. Tomorrow Aunti Vi has a doctor's appointment (follow-up) and Thursday Bible study starts. Right now there are 14 ladies signed up for the morning session and 12 for the evening session. I also know there are at least 2 that have called me about attending and haven't signed up. If everyone comes, I will have to make a trip to the bookstore to pick up more books - a wonderful problem to have!

I'll try to be more diligent about updating more frequently.

Been Awhile

Sunset on Anna Maria Island 8-10-09

As usual, it doesn't seem possible it's been three weeks since I last posted. We haven't done anything out of the ordinary, just life in general.

Some of our time has been taken up trying to get my aunt settled again after her stroke May 29th. She was discharged from the rehab center the end of July. We thought she would be going to the assisted living unit, but she has made such great progress that she has been able to go back to her independent living apartment with just 2 hours of companion help a day.

We've gone for walks on the beach and rides on our bikes. Bible study is just finishing up "Knowing God by Name - A Personal Encounter" by Mary Kassian. The last session is next week (August 20th). We start "Esther - It's Tough Being a Woman" by Beth Moore September 10th.

After two very stressful months, life is blessedly normal again!

A First

This past weekend we had the joy of having our 2 great nieces come and stay with us without mom and dad. The girls had been talking about coming over alone, but we didn't know if it was just talk or if they were serious. They had never been away overnight before.

Friday we met Rick and the girls at Fantasy of Flight which is about midway between our homes. After a leisurely lunch, we transferred the girls and their "luggage" to our car and headed home.

Once we got home, the girls changed into their swimsuits and we spent the next 2-1/2 hours playing in the pool. By now it was time for dinner so we asked the girls what they wanted. Both said fried chicken from the local grocery store. We brought it home and both girls ate well.

After dinner, we headed out to the beach for playtime and sunset. Both girls enjoyed playing in the sand, which is fine like powdered sugar, and also playing in the "waves." The gulf's waves are much gentler than the ocean's so the girls could really enjoy them without getting knocked over. Making "sand angels"

Much to the girls' chagrin, it was time to head home after showers at the beach. After showers again at home, the girls climbed into bed. When I checked on them 45 minutes later, they hadn't moved from the positions they laid down in!!! Between sun, sand and the late hour, they were exhausted!

Saturday morning we woke up and headed to the beach again. We had breakfast on the beach with our Sunday School class and then headed down towards the water for more sand and playtime. We stayed at the beach for several hours until we heard thunder and saw lightning bolts. Dan headed for the car and I took the girls over for quick rinse off shower. As we were getting in the car, we heard the lifeguards' whistles signaling everyone needed to clear the beach. Dan and Taylor in the waterHaving fun in the water

By the time we got home and got the girls cleaned up, mom and dad were here and our time alone with the girls was over. We weren't sure how the girls felt - whether they enjoyed it or not, but 2 days after they got home we got a call from Csilla saying the girls want to know when they can come back and stay with us alone again. So I guess the "experiment" was a success. I know we sure enjoyed it!!

Another Disney Mini Vacation - Day 3

We woke up today knowing our time at Disney was ending. We drove over to Centertown and ate breakfast and took some pictures. The main pool area at the Caribbean Beach Resort is modeled after Old Port Royale. The children's play area is modeled after a pirate ship and includes a HUGE barrel that fills and then dumps. When we finished taking pictures, we went back to our room to finish packing.

After leaving the resort, we headed over to Disney Westside. Since we had about 6 hours to fill until we met friends for dinner, we decided to see the movie Ice Age 3 in 3D at the AMC theater. However, we were early and had about 1-1/2 hours before the movie. We walked down to the lakefront and saw there is now a water taxi between Disney Westside and Disney Marketplace. We didn't know how long a round trip would take, but since we love to ride the boats at Disney, we thought it would be a nice way to fill the time. It was fun seeing the Westside complex and the Marketplace from the water. The Characters in Flight balloon was not "flying" due to strong winds from the storms in the area. In fact, while we were there, they lowered the balloon even further to keep it out of the wind.It was also fun seeing Fulton's Crab House (which used to be named the "Miss Lillie" - after Walt's wife) "stern wheeler" from the water side.After the movie (which we think is the best of the three Ice Age movies), we headed to the restaurant where we had a lovely time eating and visiting with friends. Once we finished dinner, we headed home and our mini vacation was now officially over :-(.

Another Mini Disney Vacation-Day 2-Evening

As I mentioned before, our trip was to celebrate our 43rd wedding anniversary. This trip we wanted to do some different things rather than the routine and one thing was to eat in restaurants where we hadn't eaten before or hadn't eaten there in a long time. Thus our selection of Shutters' Restaurant to celebrate our anniversary.

Shutters' is the table service restaurant at the Caribbean Beach Resort. We had never eaten there so before arriving at the resort, we had reviewed the Shutters' menu on allears.net and found a number of appealing entrees'. When we checked in at the restaurant podium, we were immediately greeted with a "Happy Anniversary." That started our evening. I should mention when I made the reservation, I did note the fact that it was our anniversary. We also had on the "Happy Anniversary" buttons we received when we checked into the resort - again I had noted the fact we were celebrating our anniversary on the resort reservation. We had a short wait before being shown to our table where we were once again were wished a Happy Anniversary by the hostess seating us. As soon as we were seated, Dan asked our waiter, Oskar, to take our picture. As soon as he had snapped our picture, he grabbed the hostess who had seated us and who was walking through the restaurant and told her to take this picture. After the picture taking, he said he would be right back. After 5 minutes or so, he reappeared with glasses of champagne. We were totally surprised! However, the problem is neither Dan nor I drink. We told Oskar our preference and he immediately corrected it. While Shutters' does not have a non-alcoholic champagne or sparkling grape juice, Oskar very graciously brought us champagne flutes filled with apple juice which we thoroughly enjoyed. While we were sipping our "champagne", Oskar took our order. Both of us had the same thing - char-crusted New York Strip steak - medium, Shutters' potatoes (mashed, seasoned yams), and seasonal vegetables.

Our food was served by someone other than Oskar, but he was right there to check on it. He immediately realized Dan's order was not correct. While we had both ordered Shutters' potatoes, Dan's order had fried plantains instead of potatoes. Oskar immediately went back to the kitchen and brought out a serving of potatoes. Our steaks were done perfectly and were very tender. The seasonal vegetables were stir fried and still crisp (sometimes, stir fried vegetables can be overdone and mushy). We couldn't have had any better an anniversary dinner. We really didn't want dessert, but since it was included (we had the Disney Dining Plan), we both ordered Key Lime Tarts. The only negative thing I can say is the crust was a little tough, but the filling was flavorful and the tarts were covered with whipped cream and blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries cascaded down off the tart and completely covered the dessert plate. We each managed to finish about only half of the tart - our tummies said "NO MORE"!! But it was SOOOO good!!!!! Oskar brought us the check and as he delivered the check, he gave us an anniversary card signed by him and the rest of the culinary team at Shutters. As we were leaving the restaurant, all we could think of was a favorite saying of my uncle's when he had eaten too much, "Put me to bed, but don't bend me!"

This is one anniversary we won't soon forget.

Another Mini Disney Vacation-Day 2-Afternoon

We woke up about 10:00 Tuesday morning (we're known for not waking up before there's a "1" in front of the number - the joys of being retired!), and headed over to Centertown for breakfast.

After breakfast, we headed over to Typhoon Lagoon. When we renewed our annual passes, we noticed a strange code on the back and when we asked what it was, the cast member told us Disney was giving their annual passholders a free day at a water park (Typhoon Lagoon or Blizzard Beach). We like Typhoon Lagoon a tad better since the water is warmer than Blizzard Beach (Blizzard Beach's water comes off a "melting glacier" so it's "icy"). We had just started floating around Castaway Creek when one of Florida's infamous summer thunderstorms hit. We spent the next hour sheltered in one of the covered eating areas. After it stopped raining, we went back to Castaway Creek and floated around twice more.
We then decided to hike up Mt. Mayday and see how close we could get to Miss Tilly. We had been to Typhoon Lagoon a number of times before we moved to Florida, but had never hiked the mountain trail (we didn't even know it existed until we picked up the water park guide). The trail offers some spectacular views of the wave pool and other water features also. We were also able to get relatively close to Miss Tilly. Miss Tilly is the fishing boat that became impaled on Mt. Mayday when the typhoon blew through this area (the story is part of the fun at Typhoon Lagoon - a story only Disney could dream up). One of the neat things about Miss Tilly is she is also a clock - her whistle counts off the hours (for instance, her whistle will sound four times for 4:00 and will sound once on the half hour). Water also "erupts" from her smokestack when the whistle sounds. Many years ago when we asked about the counting whistle, we were told it was a way for children to know what time it was so if they needed to meet their parents at a specific time they would have no excuse! After hiking the trail, we decided to head back to the hotel and get ready for dinner. We were a little hungry and we wouldn't be eating for 2 hours so we stopped and got 2 pineapple banana smoothies. As we were heading to the car another thunderstorm engulfed Typhoon Lagoon, but this time we were prepared - Dan had gone to the car earlier and gotten our rain ponchos which we promptly put on. By the time we got back to the hotel, the rain had just about stopped.

Another Mini Disney Vacation - Day 1

Monday, July 6th, we headed over to Disney for a short 3 day vacation to celebrate our anniversary which was Tuesday. We stayed at the Caribbean Beach Resort which has become our second favorite Disney resort (Wilderness Lodge is still our first). We arrived about 3:00 and since we had used on-line check-in, we were in our room by 3:10. Our room was in "Jamaica" and overlooked the lake. It was lovely and quiet and the perfect "hideaway."
After unpacking, we walked over to Centertown, which is part of Old Port Royale, and had a bite to eat.After walking back to our room, we lay down and took a short nap. We had decided before going over that we were not going to race around and try to do too much, but just relax and enjoy our getaway. We had also decided we were not going to "do" the parks at all. Topiary outside Wilderness Lodge

When we woke up, it was time to head for dinner. We had reservations at the Whispering Canyon restaurant at the Wilderness Lodge. We had eaten breakfast there many years ago, but had forgotten how "whispering" does not fit the restaurant at all! The restaurant is noisy, rambunctious and FUN - and whatever you do, DO NOT ASK FOR KETCHUP!!! We had the all you can eat skillet dinner and we weren't even able to finish the original offering. It was just WAY too much food but all was delicious. Lobby in the Wilderness Lodge

We needed to walk off our dinner, so we headed for Fantasia Gardens and played a round of miniature golf. Fantasia Gardens is based on the original Fantasia movie - each hole is a depiction of a scene from the movie. It is a fun course and not at all easy. Dan beat me by 2 strokes, which is pretty good - he normally beats me by 10 or more!

By the time we finished our round of golf, it was 10:30, so we decided to head back to our room and call it a day.

Ashley's Birthday

July 2nd was Ashley's birthday and for her birthday this year, she wanted to go to the Magic Kingdom (she got in free due to Disney's promotion of getting in free on your birthday). Normally we don't go near the Magic Kingdom or any of the parks in the summer but Ashley wanted us there. Another reason to go over was Csilla's brother and his wife were down from Chicago and wanted to see us.

We got over to the MK about 2:00. It was hot and humid which is the norm for central Florida this time of year. We were careful to not get overheated by alternating outdoor rides with air conditioned shows/rides. After a last ride on Cinderella's carousel, we all decided we had had enough and headed home. One other guest (or he may have been an off duty cast member) offered to take our picture in front of the castle as we were leaving.

We're heading over to Disney tomorrow for 3 days to celebrate our anniversary. We have no plans to go to the parks, but are going to do other things around the resort. Most people think of the parks when they think of Disney, but the resort has many, many other activities including 2 water parks, 2 miniature golf courses, boating and other water activities among them.

Air Force Museum

Wednesday we drove over to Wright Patterson Air Force Base to the Air Force Museum. Dad wanted to go there because from 1946 to 1955 he worked at Curtiss Wright inspecting airplane propellers. One of the propellers he inspected was 108 inches long. No one seemed to know what plane it belonged to (or at least they didn't say) and Dad has wondered his whole life what plane this huge propeller belonged to. When he was here in February, I did research on the web and the only plane that has a propeller that big was the B-36. The Air Force museum in Dayton has one of the few remaining B-36's, so we started making plans then to get to the museum.

We got to the museum and headed straight for the B-36. Dad was somewhat disappointed as the B-36 on display there has squared off tips and the props that Dad inspected had rounded tips. What we've since discovered was the B-36 at Dayton is a B-36J and the plane Dad inspected props for was an original B-36 (no letter after the designation). Again, I did some more research and found a picture of a B-36 prop with rounded tips.
Dad by the prop of the B-36J.

In spite of the disappointment in not seeing the prop he inspected, Dad had a wonderful time seeing all of the planes on display at the museum. After 6 hours though, Dad was tired and ready to head back to the hotel. (I spent the day in the restaurant at the museum studying for Bible study - 6 hours of quiet, uninterrupted time!)

Trip North and Catching Up

We left for Tennessee Friday, June 19 driving as far as Atlanta. We had a good night's sleep in a hotel where we had stayed multiple times before when we were traveling from Chicago to Florida (before moving south). We continued our trip north on Saturday, arriving at Dad's around lunchtime. The rest of the day was spent visiting and taking care of some matters.

Sunday was Father's Day. We went to church with Dad in the morning, coming home and relaxing for a little while before heading to Dale Hollow Lake for dinner. Mom and Dad loved to go to the lake for dinner. When we knew we were going to be in Tennessee for Father's Day, I asked Dad if he would like to go to the lake for dinner and he jumped at the chance. I wasn't sure how he would feel being there without Mom, but my fears were unfounded. He thoroughly enjoyed himself.

Monday, we got up and headed north to Ohio, arriving there around dinner time. We had no plans for the rest of the evening so we hung out at the hotel relaxing. Tuesday morning we left the hotel early to head over to the cemetery to check on Mom's grave, and the headstones we had ordered (Mom's, Dad's, and Aunti Vi's). It was 200 miles each way so we knew it was going to be a long day. We arrived at the cemetery and the stones were beautiful. The only problem is Aunti Vi's is in the wrong place! She wanted it next to Frank Knapp (my grandpa) and they put it next to Frank J. Knapp (my dad). We talked to the stone company and they are going to correct it.
After we left the cemetery, we drove over to the farm that Aunti Vi and Uncle Doug bought in 1947 and where Eileen and I spent many weeks growing up - helping with the haying, milking, raising calves, picking eggs, feeding pigs and many other farm chores. The people who bought it from Aunti Vi in 1995 were home and very graciously allowed us to take pictures. The owner even invited me in to see the interior. They have taken wonderful loving care of the house which was very comforting knowing it was loved and cared for.
Aunti Vi always said she bought the fireplace and the house just happened to come with it! The wood valence over the window is a sample of the woodwork my grandfather did. He was an unbelievable craftsman and electrician!!! This is a picture of the house that my grandfather completely gutted and rehabbed when he and my grandmother moved to Ohio after he retired. They lived with my aunt while he was working on the house. It was literally falling down, but Grandpa went in the basement and saw that the frame of the house was absolutely solid. The center beam of the house was a 12 inch beam and as solid as the day the house was built. The house had no windows or doors and the interior had been destroyed by water and weather over the years. I don't remember how long it took him to complete, but it was at least a year. The house was originally the farm house of the farm adjacent to Aunti Vi's. When she and Uncle Doug bought this adjacent farm, the house came with it. They didn't know what they were going to do with the additional house, but Grandpa immediately said that he and Grandma were going to move to Ohio and that was their house! (BTW, the house is not crooked, the picture is :-)!)

Unfortunately, the rest of the farm has not fared as well. The calf barn is about to fall down. The beautiful pole barns and Grade A milking parlor that Aunti Vi and Uncle Doug were so proud of are also about to fall down.

All in all, it was a wonderful nostalgic day. We headed back to Dayton again arriving back at the hotel right around dinner. A quiet evening ensued which was welcome since we had driven 400+ miles and were all tired.

Wednesday, we went to the Air Force Museum. I'll save that post for another time as this post is QUITE long enough :-)!!

(Double click on the pictures to see larger)