I Kicked it I Played it and now..Wheeling & Dealing at the WL final 9/9 p87/88

[dawnbu40]

Oh Mary Ellen how awful! I'm so sorry to hear how sick you were! I really hope it didn't strike again during your trip!

I think someone was missing their driver's license?

[Lady Lallie]

Oh my goodness! That all sounds AWFUL! Really awful. I can't even imagine. I'm so glad you are feeling better, I hope it stayed that way through the trip.

[SoonerGirl]

Oh my, I'm so sorry to hear about your illness! Makes perfect sense why you decided to skip the Cinco de Mayo meet, no reason to put that temptation in front of you!

[klacey1]

Oof, that does NOT sound like pre-Disney fun! I'm glad you're alright now-- thank God it didn't happen while you were at Disney! No need to spend more time in the (albeit LOVELY) Disney bathrooms than on the rides!
We're actually doing a split stay between Disney and US/IOA this summer, and then NEXT summer we're doing our WL stay! It'll be our first time there and we're incredibly excited! I can't wait to hear what you thought about it!!

[manntra]

Ooohhh I know what was missing So sorry for all of the mishaps before your trip so glad they are all being worked out.
Sorry it took me so long to get over here!! I kept checking!
Your pictures are great!!! I can't wait to see the rest of them!!

Tracy

[Charleston Princess]

As Scooby-Doo would say, rut-roh! Please tell me you didn't have another resurgence of this horrible illness while you were at Disney!

[MEK]

Originally Posted by KatMark

Not sure if that is a good thing or not.

Oh. I think its a good thing!

Originally Posted by KatMark

Ooooh...that does not sound fun or pleasant at all. I'm so sorry you got so ill, but glad you recovered before your trip. Okay, without knowing a lot of history here, I'm going to guess that Denny was missing.

It was not fun. I tend to be a hypochondriac, but I stayed pretty calm when I was actually really sick. The doctor I had in the hospital was great and it really helps when you work at the same hospital. Everyone is super nice to you!

As far as Denny being missing - you are close, very close!

Originally Posted by dawnbu40

Oh Mary Ellen how awful! I'm so sorry to hear how sick you were! I really hope it didn't strike again during your trip!

Thanks Dawn. Right after I got the dreaded, evil "D", I came down with a vicious cold. I remember thinking, "If I had to leave for Disney now, I don't know what I would do".

Originally Posted by dawnbu40

I think someone was missing their driver's license?

Perhaps!

Originally Posted by Lady Lallie

Oh my goodness! That all sounds AWFUL! Really awful. I can't even imagine. I'm so glad you are feeling better, I hope it stayed that way through the trip.

It wasn't very fun and completely unexpected. I was fine one minute and hugely ill the next. I was certain I had some type of food poisoning.

Originally Posted by SoonerGirl

Oh my, I'm so sorry to hear about your illness! Makes perfect sense why you decided to skip the Cinco de Mayo meet, no reason to put that temptation in front of you!

Thanks! Sometimes I think I sounded like a lush when I couldn't drink. All I could think about was a tall, cold, delicious, yummy drink. Seeing people's TRs was just torture. How could one small drink hurt? Right? But after already being deathly ill, I sure wasn't going to take a chance.

Originally Posted by klacey1

Oof, that does NOT sound like pre-Disney fun! I'm glad you're alright now-- thank God it didn't happen while you were at Disney! No need to spend more time in the (albeit LOVELY) Disney bathrooms than on the rides!

I hear ya on the Disney bathrooms, although they are cleaner than a lot of public restrooms. I can think of a lot worse places to be sick than Disney. Much worse!

Originally Posted by klacey1

We're actually doing a split stay between Disney and US/IOA this summer, and then NEXT summer we're doing our WL stay! It'll be our first time there and we're incredibly excited! I can't wait to hear what you thought about it!!

Oops - I read your tickers incorrectly. Well - you are still lucky to have two trips planned. I miss IOA and could use a trip there. And the WL - spectacular. It really is a beautiful building with so many nocks and crannies and so much detail in the planning.

Originally Posted by manntra

Ooohhh I know what was missing So sorry for all of the mishaps before your trip so glad they are all being worked out.
Sorry it took me so long to get over here!! I kept checking!
Your pictures are great!!! I can't wait to see the rest of them!!

Tracy

Welcome Tracy! You are right on time! Yeah - my pre trip events were not all that great! It almost felt surreal when I finally got to Disney, because I never thought I was going to make it there!

I hopefully will be posting more pictures soon! And Day 1 has a picture of you know who in it!

Originally Posted by Charleston Princess

As Scooby-Doo would say, rut-roh! Please tell me you didn't have another resurgence of this horrible illness while you were at Disney!

No one says it better the Scooby! It was totally a rut-roh moment! As far as a resurgence - well, you are just gonna have to wait to find out!

[PrincessCaitlin]

Hey! I am here!

Sorry I am on page 3!

Good to hear Brian is doing well! I know how hard it can be to deal with ADD and I am happy to know he is also overcoming it Also a for you I really believe one of the reasons I have been able to overcome it was because of my awesome support system and I know Brian has one so I believe you deserve a little recognition as well

The practice pictures you took are gorgeous!

Thank you for the pic of the five legged goat! Even though our TR is named after it we never actually saw it in person on that trip

Oh no I am so sorry about you being sick beforehand! I hope you stayed healthy throughout the trip!

[jenjolt]

Oh MEK! I'm so sorry you had deal with all that nastiness before your trip! I hope it didn't come back to haunt you during the trip!!!

I really am looking forward to hearing all about this trip!!!!!

[MEK]

Once I recovered from the Evil "D" I came down with a nasty spring cold. I always get a cold, every spring, like clock work. I am sure my immune system was in havoc and no amount of airborne was going to keep this cold in check. Imagine being on Flagyl (which produces a terrible taste in the mouth) AND having a cold! It pretty much SUCKED! But I learned a very helpful trick from a coworker. She informed me that chewing sugarless gum would take away the bad taste. And she was sooooooo right! So if you ever need to take Flagyl, just go out and buy a cartoon of sugarless gum. Presto - bad taste all gone!

As my trip grew closer I was feeling strong, healthy, energetic, and ready to go. I didn't spend a lot of time on the boards because the week leading up to the trip was just a frenzy of activity. The day before the trip was even more hectic. I kicked butt that day - cleaned, finished packing, and did countless loads of laundry, including folding and putting most of those clothes away. The night before the trip I finally allowed myself to drink a few pre-trip glasses of wine. I had been off the Flagyl for well over a week, so I figured it was safe.

Now I usually get the pre-trip gitters, but I stayed pretty calm right before this trip. I got a decent nights sleep and rose early enough to finish my last minute chores.

I almost forgot - Ellen (podsnel) left for her trip on Friday (we left Sunday). When I got up on Friday morning I sent her a "Happy Disney Day" text. She proceeded to send me (and Tracy/manntra) multiple picture texts throughout the day. I must say that when Ellen's friend Joan appeared in one of the pictures enjoying a GGS in front of France, I was ready to call SWA and change my flight to Friday night. Still, it was so much fun to receive all her pictures. It got me super psyched for my own departure.

On D Day Nick was due to ref a 3V3 tournament. He needed to be at the field at 815am. We were due to leave for the airport at 9am. Denny dropped him off while I put our luggage in my car. At 830 am I got a call from Denny saying, " You are not going to believe this, but I can't find my driver's license".

When he got home he went through everything he had removed from his wallet and still no driver's license. Strangely, I remained very calm. You see - I have been following this parenting course and it has taught me how to use my "poker face". I figured - whatever - if he finds his license - great! If he doesn't, well I'm still going to Disney. Selfish - yes. But I had made it this far and I wasn't turning back.

So while Denny was frantically looking through all his personal belongings, I calmly called SWA to see what to do in this situation. Since he doesn't have a passport, I couldn't imagine him getting through security. The SWA customer service person almost laughed at me. She said, "this happens all the time. Just bring other picture ID and everything else he has for identification and be prepared to spend more time getting through security".

Crisis averted, I calmly ribbed Denny on his lack of situational awareness. "Look who is situationally aware now" I chanted. This is a running joke between the two of us. Every time I do something dumb he ribs me for my lack of SA. Well, haha, who was lacking in SA now! But my joy was short lived when I realized I was the one who had to drive to the airport. Whaaaaat????? I am on vacation. I don't drive on vacation. But it was all good. Chuck and Cathy arrived at our house and we were on the road. I wanted to take pictures of the drive, but that was impossible since I was now the DRIVER!

Getting through security proved to be a non-issue. In fact, I thought they were down right nonchalant, but I wasn't complaining. I was just happy to be in the terminal.



Our chariot awaits......



We flew out of BWI (Baltimore) and we departed right on time at 1230pm. I printed our boarding passes about three minutes late and Denny and I ended up with position B34 & 35. chuck and Cathy were about 10 people back. The flight was full and there must have been a ton of people who paid for early check-in. Denny and I were practically in the back of the plane. Cathy was in the last row and Chuck - I have no idea where he ended up. There were tons of kids on the flight and it was so strange to have them all over the back of the plane. But there was minimal crying and fussing and the flight was truly uneventful.

Once we landed Chuck and I headed to the rental car counter. Since denny could no longer be our designated drive, I asked chuck if he would do the honors. Chuck happily agreed, although he tried to upgrade to an SUV for an additional $25 a day. I halted that transaction right there with a "Are you freakin out of your mind???". OK - I wasn't that forthright with my thoughts. Let's just say, we did not rent that SUV.

The car we got was actually pretty spacious. It was some kind of Dodge with plenty of room for luggage storage. We fired up the GPS and set our coordinates for the Wilderness Lodge. Here are a few pictures taken from the back seat of the car.











We did make one quick stop for beer and wine on our way to lodge. When the lodge finally came into view I was giddy with excitement! I couldn't believe we had finally arrived. Oh what a feeling!

Next up...Dinner, a Dismeet, and a trip into the Magic Kingdom!

[Lady Lallie]

I just knew it was going to be Denny who was involved!

I guess it's good to know that you can bring other ID with you to the airport and be all set. I'm always checking and re-checking for my driver's license before I fly out.

Has the license been located sine then?

[MEK]

Originally Posted by PrincessCaitlin

Hey! I am here!

Sorry I am on page 3!

Good to hear Brian is doing well! I know how hard it can be to deal with ADD and I am happy to know he is also overcoming it Also a for you I really believe one of the reasons I have been able to overcome it was because of my awesome support system and I know Brian has one so I believe you deserve a little recognition as well

Welcome Caitlin! Thanks for stopping by and offering so much encouragement about Brian. I really appreciate it.

Originally Posted by PrincessCaitlin

The practice pictures you took are gorgeous!

Thank you for the pic of the five legged goat! Even though our TR is named after it we never actually saw it in person on that trip

Oh no I am so sorry about you being sick beforehand! I hope you stayed healthy throughout the trip!

Thanks! I have been having so much fun with this camera. My only problem is I take way too many pics.

What....No 5 legged goat picture? Well, please feel free to borrow mine as your mascot. He really is so cute. (or is it a she?)

Being sick was a bummer, but its all behind me now (I hope).

Originally Posted by jenjolt

Oh MEK! I'm so sorry you had deal with all that nastiness before your trip! I hope it didn't come back to haunt you during the trip!!!

I really am looking forward to hearing all about this trip!!!!!

Nastiness is truly the right word. I was ever fearful that it would come back! So glad you are looking forward to hearing about the trip.

[jenjolt]

WOOT you made to WL YAY!! Okay so Denny lost his DL but like you said the crisis was diverted and in no time you were in your happy place!! YAY!!!!

[MEK]

Originally Posted by Lady Lallie

I just knew it was going to be Denny who was involved!

I guess it's good to know that you can bring other ID with you to the airport and be all set. I'm always checking and re-checking for my driver's license before I fly out.

Has the license been located sine then?

LOL....Yes Denny strikes again! Although, I did a few really absent minded things this trip, too. One of them right after check-in. So I guess I can't rib Denny too much.

And the license...yes....we found it right after we got home. It had actually stuck to the back of Denny's Medco card. He originally thought he left it at DMV when he took his car in for registration. He was SURE the DMV clerk had forgotten to give it back to him. Sheesh!

[Mr. I Won't Rent Car]

Originally Posted by MEK

Once we landed Chuck and I headed to the rental car counter. Since denny could no longer be our designated drive, I asked chuck if he would do the honors. Chuck happily agreed, although he tried to upgrade to an SUV for an additional $25 a day. I halted that transaction right there with a "Are you freakin out of your mind???". OK - I wasn't that forthright with my thoughts. Let's just say, we did not rent that SUV.

Were you freakin' out of your mind?