Grandpa Mohawk & BroganMc Blogging Begins

[BroganMc]

Hi everyone!

Ok, we're live. I believe I have exactly 4 hours to get some sleep then it's time for the mad dash packing and drive through DC.

900 miles, 2 days, one car, and just GM and I. We'll either arrive in Orlando tomorrow night (Sunday) ready to play, really exhausted or perhaps ready to throttle one another (was a near miss today... some men can be soooo anal). ;)

If you're of a mind to follow blogging, I've reactivated the Grandpa Mohawk blog (http://www.grandpamohawk.com). Just go to the main page and you'll see whatever happened recently.

I'll try to be better about my regular posting this time. If things get too busy, just take a gander at my Tweets. I've been getting better at tweeting photos along with text. Feel free to tweet me back if you have a question. I'll get them on my cell.

[Mickey'sApprentice]

Thanks BroganMc!

I'm so addicted to your blogs!!

Have Fun!!

[5forDiz]

Have a safe drive & looking forward to your next update :goodvibes

[ccigliano]

Safe drive - and hope you enjoy your trip.

[DMKEDM]

It's almost as good a trip for myself to WDW! BroganMc and GM, you rock!

I concur w/the sibs: no more broken legs! Be healthy, drive safe, have a blast, and thanks for taking us along for the ride!

PS: I'm in DC (northern VA)--will stay off the road tomorrow, so there will be one less car for you to share the byways with! Be careful if you use the Beltway...all sorts of construction, especially around Tysons...and where the Beltway and 66 intersect...

[BroganMc]

Hey everyone!

We have arrived... in true 21st century techie style. If you've been following my Twitter feeds (www.twitter.com/broganmc also as a widget on the blog) then you've gotten some of the highlights for our journey South.

At the moment, GM and I are settling into our offsite place for the week... Marriott's Harbour Lake (formerly Horizons). This place has an LCD TV in every room and WiFi. So I've hooked up one of my travel laptops, fired up the slingbox at home and we're watching the replay of the Ravens vs. Browns game from this afternoon.

3rd quarter and Ravens are up 27 - 0. My sympathies if you're a Browns fan.

Tomorrow we head to the Grand Floridian and Magic Kingdom. GM has orders from everyone back home (my sibs, coworkers and Ravens employees) to get his purple glitter cut pronto. With the way the team is playing, I think the purple may have to stay for the season.

I'll post my full trip update on the blog tomorrow.

BTW, if you want to reach us mid-day with a question just Twitter "@broganmc".

[BroganMc]

Hey gang,

apparently something broke on my blog (technical snafus always happen at the worst times). While I have my technical guru looking into it, I'll cross-post here.

.......

Traveling with Dave
Weekend, September 26-27, 2009
"After 500 feet turn left then turn right."
Are we the only ones who have at least 5 projects due before a trip, with at least 3 throwing unexpected obstacles that delay their finish? Friday was one of those days best summed up by Grandpa Mohawk's three (yes three) trips to the pharmacy to get all those medicine refills. Just when we think we've finished and are ready to pack for that escape to somewhere fun, another snafu gets in the way.
Fortunately, we're getting better with age. My suitcase layed packed on the living room floor, still holding most of my summer clothes. Grandpa Mohawk (aka GM) left his two bags ready upstairs. So all we needed to do Saturday morning was throw all those bags in the van, remembering the selection of costumes for the Halloween Party and the other 15 zillion odds and ends we always find we need. You'd think after making this trip a dozen times, we'd have it down to a science?
One thing you learn as you travel is there is always something new to experience, even in some place old. This trip, I decided it was time to invite a 3rd wheel to our trio. His name is "Dave", he's great at barking orders and fits in the palm of your hand. Yes, he's my spanking new techie toy... GPS navigator TomTom 130s running in his best computer voice "Dave" mode.
We plugged in our destination, the first leg of our journey (Springhill Suites in Florence, South Carolina) and told Dave to find us the fastest route. Right from the start we got off on the wrong foot. A quick stop for gas had Dave urging us to get back on the road pronto. When he suggested we take the Western route of the Capitol Beltway, we laughed. Silly Dave. Obviously he's never had to try driving around the I-270 spur on a busy weekend. We blithely ignored him and he spouted out another suggestion... the Parkway. Again we ignored him. Ok Dave readjusted and let us have our way over the Wilson Bridge. He passes his first test. One of our requirements of a travel companion is the ability to adapt with minimal complaint.
By the time we whizzed by the mixing bowl and were solidly Southbound on I-95, Dave settled down into our rythm quite nicely. He counted down the miles to go, pointing out sights along the way and even kept track of our ETA. Sure he dinged whenever GM dared to push the speed limit (something that required a little technical surgery to relieve Dave of his anal retentiveness) and he didn't like when we stopped for a bite to eat at that Rock-nRoll McDonalds, but he got us to our beds safely that first night.
By day 2 on the route, we were comfortable trusting Dave as sole navigator. That's usually my job, but I had other things on my mind. Sunday was football time. We gave up prime seats to watch our Baltimore Ravens play Cleveland Browns. By 2pm, as we drove through Georgia, I was dying for some football news.
Check the radio? Nothing. Dave? "After 62.5 miles stay straight." Ok you're no help.
In desperation I twitter for help. Surely someone out there will pity me with at least a score? Apparently all my friends and family are too busy watching the game. What to do, what to do?
Then I remember my cell phone has an internet data plan. It's not much, but at least maybe I can get a score. So I queue up ESPN.com.
"WOOHOO!"
GM startles, assuming I just noticed that big honking truck trying to pass us in the middle off a construction zone. No, I got a gander of the score... 23 - 3, Ravens over Browns.
What's more, there's a little automatic refresh button on my screen. So I "watch" the game on my cell, play by play, counting down the score and time all the way through Georgia. In my mind, I can picture the screaming fans, knowing my brothers are proudly representing the family in the stadium.
By the time we reach the Florida Welcome Station, my friiends finally hear my tweets. One friend is on his way home from Clearwater while I'm on the way in. Even my brother notices my urgent phone please for info. He's got news of his own. Are we watching the Steelers game? No, we're on the highway, but I'd read they were winning. They were, my brother tells us. Now Cincinnati scored a last minute touchdown and there are just seconds left in the game. He does a play-by-play over the phone while we stop for gas. Pittsburg looses, Ravens are 3-0 division leaders, and the thermometer reads 86 degrees in Florida. Life is good.
I guess Dave started to feel a little left out at this point. I mean, he had led us through 800 miles, day and night, sunny and rainy. Did we forget how cool he was sitting on the dash? I guess it was time for a reminder. Dave calls out, in the midst of all the highway construction in Jacksonville:
"Ahead 500 feet then take the exit left."
Exit left takes us directly off I-95 into the heart of the city. Uh oh. Dave what are you doing?
"Stay right then left."
Dave, this is a traffic light. There are buildings, tall empty office buildings. What happened to the interstate?
"Stay straight .2 miles then turn left."
Dave, why did our ETA suddenly jump 2 hours? Surely it doesn't take 5 hours to go 100 miles.
"After left, stay straight on Francis Street."
Dave, we don't want a tour of Jacksonville. We're going to Orlando, remember? Mickey, Minnie, that cute whale named Shamu? You like Shamu, don't you?
"Stay straight .6 miles."
I'm ready to pull Dave's plug. Clearly he's gone HAL on us, but GM insists we follow this through. After all, Lord only knows where we are or how we get back.
I guess Dave is happy with that vote of confidence for his next words are "Ahead, turn right to Interstate 95 Southbound." GM excitedly points out the sign at the corner. And there off to the right is an on-ramp.
A few more turns and we're back to familiar territory. I guess my lesson is learned. One doesn't take any tech for granted. Neglected gadgets and gizmos have a way of exacting revenge by going haywire.
All in all, Dave proved his worth enough to keep his place on the dashboard. He even pointed out a quicker route through Orlando that takes us right past the Walmart. By the time we arrived at our home for the week (Marriott's Harbour Lake Villas), we were glad to here Dave loudly announce:
"You have reached your destination."
Our night ends with a pleasant surprise of LCD TV's in every room and a quick hook up of a laptop. We unpack while watching the plaback of the Ravens vs. Browns game live via Slingbox and DVR recording from Maryland. Of course, I made sure to lovingly stroke and compliment my little hard working laptop so we could catch all the important highlights.
Tomorrow: Our first day in Disney, welcoming the Autumn season in style.

[Mickey'sApprentice]

I'm still loving every minute of your trippie!


I'm curious. What is this slingbox you speak of? It sounds very interesting. Please tell us more.

[BroganMc]

I'm still loving every minute of your trippie!


I'm curious. What is this slingbox you speak of? It sounds very interesting. Please tell us more.

Slingbox is a device you buy to make your cable box (or cable) viewable over the internet. It costs around $160 for a standard def box and $260 for a high def box.

Mine is connected to (1) my coaxial cable and (2) my HD-DVR from Comcast. Using a program on the computer (Slingplayer), I can sgn in and watch whatever's on my coaxial cable or cable box at home.

Since I have a DVR (hooked up via HD component cables), I can also access Comcast OnDemand programming and all my saved DVR programs. I can even set a program to be DVRed for later viewing.

I just set it up this month so my brother could catch Ravens games (he's in a Washington viewing area) and my sister could watch some HGTV (she has no cable). It also comes in handy for us to watch TV down here in Florida or wherever we have internet. I used it quite a bit just to watch TV on the office computer where no TV or coaxial outlet is available at home.

It's easy to setup and works amazingly well. Our connection speed here is just shy of 1mbps so we're getting a little fuzzier picture but still very viewable. The coolest thing about our setup is that one of my travel laptops (a little 12 inch MSI) has an HDMI port. With the LCDs at our Marriott resort, I just hooked up one cable, turn on the computer and queue up the video in full screen. Video and sound are sent to the TV. And the computer keeps a 60 minute buffer of whatever it's streamed. It makes instant replays dead simple.

We met several Ravens fans today. All were annoyed they couldn't get the game on TV here and envious we managed it.

The downside to Disney next week is that SSR does not have LCD TVs. We'll have to use my cousin's laptop with S-Video out and some external speakers instead. We tried this out last Fall with GM was recuperating at SSR. My cuz knew Disney had crappy TV service and made sure he had everything needed to make GM feel like he was at home.

All you need is a laptop with way of connecting to a TV, a slingbox hooked up at home and a cable for the TV. I also brought along a router (we'll be setting up a wireless network in our SSR villa next week) and a WDTV media player (plays video from hard drives). With that we can access hundreds of TV channels at home and my entire library of movies and TV shows. We techies are prepared for just about anything.

You can find out more about Slingbox at www.slingbox.com and/or buy it at Amazon. Slingbox also has players for mobile phones and a standalone player (Slingcatcher) to replace your computer. People use it to play their home TV in Ohio while living/working in Japan. Totally legal and cool.

[BroganMc]

BTW next updated is posted and my tech guru fixed me code. I love a guy who can program.

[flyingcat2003]

Love the blog. Great work. I saw your urgent request for the Ravens score on Sunday. I tried to direct tweet you but I couldn't do it for whatever reason. I'm flyingcat2003 on your tweeter followers. We might see a match-up of the Ravens and my beloved Falcons for the Super Bowl. Have a wonderul trip. The crowds from your pictures look very manageable.:thumbsup2

[flyingcat2003]

Love the blog. Great work. I saw your urgent request for the Ravens score on Sunday. I tried to direct tweet you but I couldn't do it for whatever reason. I'm flyingcat2003 on your tweeter followers. We might see a match-up of the Ravens and my beloved Falcons for the Super Bowl. Have a wonderul trip. The crowds from your pictures look very manageable.:thumbsup2

[wildernessDad]

Have a great time at WDW! I look forward to reading more about your adventures!

[LSchrow]

broganmc ~ what are your plans for next week?

i've been meaning to tell you: this past may, i was leaning over the balcony rail at our BWV room, soaking in the sights & sounds.
suddenly, i noticed you, GM, & your cousin meandering along, heading into BRG.
DD thought i was nuts running toward the elevator, scooting toward BRG. i saw that incredulous look again when i asked at BRG if they had seen a group of 3, including a man with purple mohawk come in (the look said "sure, & i saw little green men, too").
they allowed me to search BRG, to no avail. i saw "the look" again, when the gentleman asked if i found you, & i unwittedly responded, "no, they just disappeared....". :confused3

DH & i will be at the BWVs on sat (thru the following sunday). let me know if you'll be near the BW anytime next week & i'll make sure to say "hi". :)

[MOM POPPINS]

I am looking foward to more on the website. Thanks for posting! :)

[BroganMc]

Don't ya just hate tech problems? The blog admin won't let me in now. So here's another cross-post. I'll fiddle with it at the pool.

Life at Harbour Lake
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
We've decided to shake off the itinerary, proving yet again that it isn't always best to plan ahead on vacation. You're on vacation, dang it! Doesn't that mean freeing yourself from schedules and obligations?
Lunch at Captain's Grille is out. Instead we've decided to try the bar & Grill here at Marriott's Harbour Lake Resort. They left an enticing menu in the villa. Today is Mai Tai Tuesday with 2-for-1 Tequila Sunrises.
So the plan now is for GM to head for the hot tub (his legs could use a rejuvenating soak) and me to head for the bar with laptop & book in hand. Not the mention the camera.
Tonight there's Halloween fireworks at Magic Kingdom and we've made a last minute dinner reservation at Kona's. Assuming I'm not enjoying a Tequila Glow later, it sounds like a good plan.

[BroganMc]

broganmc ~ what are your plans for next week?

i've been meaning to tell you: this past may, i was leaning over the balcony rail at our BWV room, soaking in the sights & sounds.
suddenly, i noticed you, GM, & your cousin meandering along, heading into BRG.
DD thought i was nuts running toward the elevator, scooting toward BRG. i saw that incredulous look again when i asked at BRG if they had seen a group of 3, including a man with purple mohawk come in (the look said "sure, & i saw little green men, too").
they allowed me to search BRG, to no avail. i saw "the look" again, when the gentleman asked if i found you, & i unwittedly responded, "no, they just disappeared....". :confused3

DH & i will be at the BWVs on sat (thru the following sunday). let me know if you'll be near the BW anytime next week & i'll make sure to say "hi". :)

:rotfl:

Laurie that has us in tears with laughter. I just noticed your post here at the pool.

I think I remember that day. We stopped to look at the menu but decided against it. Our Tables in Wonderland discount doesn't work there. I believe we had pizza instead on the other side of the Boardwalk. Shame on BRG for not noticing us (or having the discount to entice to stay).

We'll be checking in to SSR on Sunday. Gonna take the first two days easy to entice my aunt into Disney love. (Hang out at SSR, DTD and MK resorts.) We'll be trolling the countries on Tuesday though. If you're plans call for us then, twitter me a text message "@broganmc". I'll tell you where we are at the mo.

As for the rest of the week, we'll be near/at whatever park has our meal reservation for the day.

[BroganMc]

Love the blog. Great work. I saw your urgent request for the Ravens score on Sunday. I tried to direct tweet you but I couldn't do it for whatever reason. I'm flyingcat2003 on your tweeter followers. We might see a match-up of the Ravens and my beloved Falcons for the Super Bowl. Have a wonderul trip. The crowds from your pictures look very manageable.:thumbsup2

Aww man, you coulda saved me $5 a month! No worries. It was worth it to call at the play-by-play as GM drove us through Georgia. Well once he realized my exclamations were due to the game and not the 50 miles of consctruction or speed demon Florida drivers.

Superbowl is a long way off. I hate to count my chickens (though I do have a cousin in South Beach who could offer a room). :D We face NE next. Hope we fare better than you. Brady scares me. Now if Ray Lewis and the defense can plant him in the ground a few times...

BTW I setup the DVR for the game on slingbox. Any orphaned Ravens fans find themselves down here next week and desperate to see the game, look me up. Maybe we can sweet talk SSR Community Hall into letting us commandeer the big screen for a viewing party.

[tomandrobin]

BTW I setup the DVR for the game on slingbox. Any orphaned Ravens fans find themselves down here next week and desperate to see the game, look me up. Maybe we can sweet talk SSR Community Hall into letting us commandeer the big screen for a viewing party.

Pssst----We will be at ESPN for kick-off.

[flyingcat2003]

How was Kona? I was a little dissappointed in our meal there on our last trip. Hope you have a wonderful time. Bye the way, has any construction started on the new Fantasy Land expansion yet?

[MOM POPPINS]

:) I love reading about your trip! Thanks for sharing!

[Tarheel Tink]

I'm following your trip with envy (but happy for you!). I'm the person who came up to you and GM at Olivia's at OKW this past May- my husband had nudged me and said "Is that the guy with the mohawk you showed me the picture of on the computer?". I squealed and rushed to you and got a photograph taken with you both! A brush with fame...:goodvibes

[BroganMc]

How was Kona? I was a little dissappointed in our meal there on our last trip. Hope you have a wonderful time. Bye the way, has any construction started on the new Fantasy Land expansion yet?

Not that we've seen, but I heard today Mickey's Country House was closed. We didn't explore that area Monday. Our log walk route went through Tomorrowland.

Did you get my tweet tonight? I got yours.

[BroganMc]

I'm following your trip with envy (but happy for you!). I'm the person who came up to you and GM at Olivia's at OKW this past May- my husband had nudged me and said "Is that the guy with the mohawk you showed me the picture of on the computer?". I squealed and rushed to you and got a photograph taken with you both! A brush with fame...:goodvibes

Hey Tarheel Tink! We remember you. You made GM feel like quite the celebrity that day. So how did the rest of your trip go and when are you back?

[BroganMc]

Heya guys,

I finished yesterday's entry so refresh your pages. I also included a teaser video from today.

We've been running since morning. I'll write that report up tomorrow. For right now, my laptop is churning on uploading some video to PhotoBucket.

Of course, if you've been following my Tweets, I have been tweeting like mad today. My routine goes: blog when I'm chilling at the resort and twitter when I'm out and about.

[Tarheel Tink]

Hey Tarheel Tink! We remember you. You made GM feel like quite the celebrity that day. So how did the rest of your trip go and when are you back?

We had a wonderful trip- we were with our dearest friends of over 30 years who also love Disney. We go back in the beginning of December.

[flyingcat2003]

Great blog update. PS... Happy Birthday!:cheer2:

[DMKEDM]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Are you gonna do one of Disney's "Celebrate" b-day present options?

Have a great day...

[Mickey'sApprentice]

Oh I Do hope you go by Guest Relations and get a birthday button!

That was the best part of my bday trip!!

[BroganMc]

Hey guys,

I know I'm a little behind on my days. At the moment I'm about 6 drinks south of my b-day celebration at EPCOT. (Thanks for all the b-day wishes!!!)

I did go to Guest Relations and got my birthday pin and FunCard. (They wouldn't let me apply it to the F&W wristband but my Dad gifted me one of those too instead.)

Had a bit of a rocky start. Just as we were leaving the resort today the power window on the driver's side blew with the window down. So we had to divert to the nearest mechanic to get it fixed. Then a client of mine called because they couldn't get into their website on their "biggest weekend" (news to me that last bit). I thought I'd never get to EPCOT to celebrate my birthday. But a stranger stopped and said a little prayer for me and things turned around. (Gotta love God sometimes.)

We made it to EPCOT around 5pm. Just enough time for us to get halfway around the world eating and drinking before fireworks.

Not exactly what I had planned for the day but a lot better than last year's. I even got calls from ym sibs back home wishing me Happy Birthday. (I think my brothers were a bit clueless about the exact year and date but the SILs reminded them.)

Since I only got a few hours at EPCOT today we're gonna go back tomorrow and finish up. CMs told me to wear my pin all week.

One more day at Marriott here then we move over to SSR Sunday. (And the in-laws arrive. Cross your fingers that goes well.)

[DisneyJen]

A belated Happy Birthday!!

I so love your blog! It's one of the first things I check while enjoying my morning coffee:thumbsup2

Looking forward to your next update:surfweb:

[BroganMc]

Hey folks!

I've caught up on the blog for the trip. It's incredibly hard to keep this up as I'd like while actually experiencing it.

With our guests coming in tomorrow I expect I'll have even less time. So you may just be seeing twitter posts and the odd message from me until I get home.

My aunt & uncle fly in tomorrow at noon. Talked to my cuz briefly today just to touch base. We both worried about my aunt overdoingg it on Tuesday at EPCOT. So we're renting her a scooter whether she wants it or not. (She's been relunctant but we figure at least my cuz or uncle will use it up to England when my aunt tires out and realizes she can't just walk Disney. Better to have one at hand then be caught in the middle of EPCOT.)

Weather forecast next week is hot. Low 90's all week. It's nice in the AM and later afternoon/evening, but mid-day is a bit too hot for walking outside. The 1-5pm time especially. We'll just have to see how things go.

[BroganMc]

Hey guys,

Quick note. We're all settled into SSR, Springs 3510. So far things are going better than we hoped.

My aunt and uncle are falling in love with SSR. They've already taken several walks around. This morning my uncle was up and walking all around Paddocks and Congress Park before we had even woken up. Both are eager to get to EPCOT for Food & Wine.

Weather is near perfect. A little hot & humid but not summer hot. We just need to moderate outside walking mid-day.

Today we head to tea at Grand Floridian (they're waiting on me). They want to see everything now! If anything it seems like GM & I will have a hard time keeping up with the 80 yo newbies. :scared1::lmao:

[BroganMc]

I want to check in very quickly. Again the group is waiting for me.

Yesterday turned out fantastic. The "old folks" loved the tea and ended up turning into a couple kids. We walked around the MK resorts a bit but with all the ferry and train whistles blowing, they suddenly got eager to go into the park. We ended up in MK watching Spectro and Wishes fireworks.

Didn't get home until near 11pm last night. My aunt was tired (Disney brain overload) but loved it all. She's up today and well rested and raring to go.

We head to EPCOT now for F&W. (Good cuz I missed breakfast. Took a long hot shower instead.)

I'll have lots of stories to tell when I do the blog up right. Just wanted to give the highlights.

Oh and my travel laptop power cord died. I've ordered a new one to be delivered here tomorrow.

Oh and one of the conversations overheard last night after fireworks... my dad and uncle talking about the year Snow White came out. My dad was 6 years old and his mom kept him home from the theatre because he was sick. My dad declared he never forgave his mom for that. It scarred him for life.

[kikiq]

I see we have 2 new converts to add to your family. How exciting! Looking forward to your updates!

[BroganMc]

Ok, I think we've finally met our match. GM and I have spent the last 3 days showing the family around the World. First MK resorts & fireworks and parade. Then EPCOT yesterday. Today we took my uncle on an early AM tour at MK (Mickey's Magical Milestones) then let him roam around the park all day. We did a parent handoff with me staying with the dad's in the morning then my cousin swapping with me at lunchtime. I did the floral experience with my aunt while the guys took over MK. We met up at DTD for a little shopping and dinner at Wolfgang Puck Express. (Met a fascinating CM named Hans who's also a lead role at Seaworld.)

Walking back home my power was on half, GM was half asleep and the 80 yo's were raring to go. They walked all the way back from marketplace to Springs. When I told my uncle it was EMH at EPCOT tonight he wanted to go!!!

So yes, I think we've met our match. Or else it's just all that newbie exuberance.

Weather-wise, it's turned into a hot & sticky week. Beware anyone who comes next few days. 90's during the day, humid and feels like 109. You do feel it in the sun. Shade is better. We've diverted a few times to take in AC. And I'm like a mother duckling making sure everyone has a drink and stays hydrated.

Now I and GM are exhausted. We're heading to bed before the folks get us into something else.

Tomorrow's MGM.

[Tarheel Tink]

:rotfl: Good luck to you and GM!

[tomandrobin]

I was nice seeing you guys at MK ....again.

Its nice to see the extended family taking in Disney, like a duck to water.

We'll see you guys in December.

Go Ravens!!!

[LCPOAPA]

Hi Brogan,

I have enjoyed following your trip. Any updates??

[Pixieflip]

:goodvibes Loving your updates, still. Your new tagalong guests sound like a real hoot!! Enjoy your time together and update us when you get a chance.

[Chellymouse]

Hi Brogan! Looks like you guys are having a wonderful trip! Can't wait to see the updates! DH and I are planning a trip about this time of year for next year! btw...Ravens lost to the Bungles today! (I was rooting for the Ravens...can't stand the Bungles!)

[BroganMc]

Our guests are safely tucked in their beds at home by now and we're about to tuck ourselves into our beds in Grandstand. 3 more nights here but I think just one more day in the parks to tie up loose ends.

It's still hot as Hades down here. Muggy nights and scorching hot days. The only real nice time of day is around twilight and dawn. Weatherman says it'll change by later this week (when we head home). Better happen soon. Everyone's suffering a bit.

It is never ever this hot down here in october and probably never will be again.

[kapeman]

Hi!

I am pretty sure I saw you at the Festival of the Lion King!

Great show!

[corinnak]

It was fun seeing you and GM (however briefly) in Epcot on the 10th - goodness, it was warm! Hope you're enjoying the rest of your trip!

[BroganMc]

Wow this thread did get buried fast on the forum. Down to page 5 already.

Sorry I kinda dropped you guys there. When we got home on the 18th (was that only 2 weeks ago?), it was cold and miserable. And the Ravens lost AGAIN! :eek:

I curled up in my bed for a few days, started on a trip report and made the mistake of telling my clients I was back in town (nah, I love 'em... they pay for my trips). Lots of work piled up, as you can imagine.

Then my bros started confirming that Dec trip I offered them last year. (They had till Nov 1 to accept or decline.) Between all the trip planning and adjusting (we're going a day earlier now), a SSR resale add-on I figured we'd need for future trips (I'm expecting more guests and we at least need a 1bedroom for ourselves), and work I've been just as busy this week.

But I'm up to Day 4 of the uncle/aunt leg out our trip. When I finish writing it up and gathering suitable pictures/video, I'll put it up for you guys to enjoy. My goal is to finish that by the end of next week.

It was great meeting the DISers we did (Corinne, who flagged us down Saturday at EPCOT and Pat from MD who kept stalking us through the F&W lines our last day in Disney, Thurs).

Grandpa Mohawk did make his stage debut at Festival of the Lion King. That was Wed (after we had sent the fam home). He really gets bummed if he doesn't visit AK once per trip. He's only kicking himself because he goofed. Instead of giving his famous nickname he used his boring real name (Bob). Still he was recognized later at EPCOT.

One tip for anyone thinking of going in October, do it. It was hot as Hades this year (mid-90's) but that's the first time it's been like that in the 4 years we've gone.

[dvc at last !]

subscribing to read tomorrow ( I love your tr's. )
-- time for sleep...

:cool1: