Why Not Just Queue Up Another Disney Trip? Link to New TR 6/24 p136!

[MEK]

Originally Posted by Roxychica7

SALISBURY!!!

I love it!! The tulips in front of Fulton are SO pretty in the springtime! And MAN OH MAN, look at the Seagull Square! We're talking about visiting SU this weekend, I have to go check it out and get my fill of commons food

We had some extra time when we first arrived to go exploring, and I had my camera for a soccer game that night, so taking pictures seemed in order. I posted them just for you! Seagull Square does look very cool. They had a dedication ceremony in the afternoon, but I missed it because we took Brian out to get a few nice shirts at the mall. He said he wanted to look "nice" when he had to stand up to do a presentation. Shocking, I know!

Enjoy your visit this weekend. I do wish they would paint that trellis though. It looks a little beat up. I didn't take any pictures of it this time.

Originally Posted by Roxychica7

Busch Gardens definitely is fun..but Water Country is better! Glad you could at least get some type of discount! As a VA resident we had passes last year and they really are a great value especially with the price of parking, one visit pays for itself! Hoping the park wasn't too crowded!

The park was awesomely uncrowded, but we will get to that soon enough. I visited water country when we took the kids and it really was a fun park. I would rate it equivalent to the disney waterparks!

Originally Posted by KatMark

MaryEllen, your photos of Salisbury are great -- they shows the viewer a beautiful campus.

It is a very pretty campus and I'm glad I had more time to look around this visit!

Originally Posted by KatMark

Glad you were able to get a discount on the tickets for Busch Gardens, but sorry the Imax film was not working.

Yorktown is very pretty.

I do love Imax films, but honestly, there are so many hours in the day, so it worked out fine. But the time we finally did get back to the resort we didn't get to the pool until about 4:30pm.

Yorktown was lovely.

[DWGal210]

What lovely pictures!!! It looks just gorgeous there. I would live to make it to that part of the country.

[jeremysdisneymom]

What a beautiful college campus!

Love all your pictures of Yorktown. We need to get to Williamsburg and the area some time. We would love it.

I forgot to mention to you in my long post about Savannah. There is an "official" bookstore in Savannah regarding Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. They sell the book there however the "autograph" copy is a label the author signed they stuck in the book. However, if you want some ghost experiences of Savannah go there without doing the night tour. The woman who runs the shops is a ghost fanatic and is sure the shop is haunted. She will do things the entire time to get you to start talking ghosts with her. For instance, I did buy the "autograph" book and when she rang it up she said, "Boy the spirits must be happy today, they usually ring this book up as Paula Deen's cookbook." I never said a word as I had enough ghosts the night before. She did this to everyone and it was quite comical.

[glennbo123]

Beautiful pictures as always MEK.

I'll be interested to read what you thought about Busch Gardens, I haven't been there in about a decade. We thought it was okay, but we kept thinking "nice try, but you're no 'Disney'".

[Mndisneygirl]

OOOOH I know who is in that statue!! It's Washington and the French commander de Grasse!!! It was after their victory over Cornwallis which led to the end of the revolutionary war!!!

Okay, I cheated a little. I knew it was Washington and a French leader. I looked up the rest.

We LOVE Yorktown too - it's so cute! We've been on that beach, on that sidewalk, in the Stars and Stripes store, eaten ice cream from that shop, I think we ate lunch at that pub too. They do have cute shops there. We've toured the battlefields and went to the Victory Center (which is where I learned all that history!!).

I have driven/ridden across that bridge many times. It's the main way from my SIL's to all the fun stuff!

Love your Salisbury pictures - what a pretty campus! The water pictures are cool!

So what do you do with all these gorgeous photos you take? You must have 100GB on hard drives somewhere or lots of albums!! They are often frame-worthy, and the flower ones make me think they belong on a calendar or in a magazine! You should submit some!

[Captain_Oblivious]

Fantastic pictures! I don't have time to comment on everything since I'm woefully behind on everyone's TR's and need to update my own, but I really love the shots you took. Looks like you got to see quite a bit in all of your tours.

[MEK]

Originally Posted by Roxychica7

Oh it's so fun seeing all these updates of familiar things! That is one BIG family..too bad they all don't have the Disney ears on!

It is cool to see pictures of places you know well.

Yeah - that family cracked me up. I was thinking...where's the 9 passenager van?

Originally Posted by Roxychica7

If you ever get a chance to go back to Yorktown, the Riverwalk Restaurant there is amazing! Great authentic MD style crabcakes, we ate there for Blake's sister's rehearsal dinner last year. And there's a great wine store..let me google it for you...called the River Fruit Wine Company..and they have the BEST homemade wine. Like Pineapple, Watermelon wine, YUM!

Actually, we walked right by it and don't think I didn't consider going in there for an adult beverage. I actually thought about eating there one evening, but it just didn't coincide with our visit time. Plus - it got very mixed reviews on trip advisor, which goes to prove that you shouldn't always pay attention to what people write.

I saw the Wine complany and I considered going in there. In fact, if I had known the store was there ahead of time I would have planned a wine tasting visit. It looked interesting. The whole town was dead. I wasn't even sure if it was open.

Originally Posted by IheartDDuck

I have always wanted to go to Williamsburg. We actually had a trip lined up to go there several years ago, but a hurricane came through hitting Virginia directly, so in two days time, we had to change our plans and ending up going to WDW.

Well - I know all too well that a hurricane can really screw up plans! I guess you can't be too upset about missing Williamsburg for WDW.

It is a very fun place to visit. I definitely hope you get the chance soon.

Originally Posted by IheartDDuck

Everything just looks so beautiful! I can't wait to see about your trip to Busch Gardens! That's the one place that I wanted to visit for sure when we were there.

There were just so many things to photograph. I must have been getting a tad tired by the time we got to Yorktown because I usually take more pictures than that.

Not to get ahead of myself, but I really did enjoy this visit to BG much better than my last one. Not surprising, since this visit was late August and the last one was a weekend in June.

It is a gorgeous park in terms of landscaping. Nothing compares with Disney parks, but this really was a nice alternative. And if you like coasters, well they have some great ones! Super clean. Easy to negotiate and the lockers with cheap - $1 I think! The customer service people were very nice as well.

Originally Posted by KatMark

That ice cream shop building is so cute...love it.

It was and I kept wishing I was hungry. That's what happens when you pack your own lunch and you bring the WHOLE bag of cookies instead of just a few!

Originally Posted by dawnbu40

Your pictures are beautiful! The campus looks lovely and Yorktown looks like a fun place to explore

Thanks Dawn. The campus is very pretty. Compact, but lovely. I took about 20 pictures of just the water fountain. I'm like that, you know! Yorktown was a cool town, for sure!

Originally Posted by Stringbean&Wingnut

That stinks that the power affected so many parts of your trip!! Hopefully everything at BG was up and running!

The thing I was most bummed about was the ghost tour. I really, REALLY wanted to do one. I couldn't understand why you can't have a ghost tour with no lights???? I thought it would make it more authentic.

The power was back on in BG on Sunday, actually. I bet they get that park up and running ASAP!

Originally Posted by Stringbean&Wingnut

Wow...that is one huge window decal family!

Definitely must be a record. Well, at least until Kate plus 8 or that other family with 19 kids put decals on their windows!

[MEK]

Originally Posted by DWGal210

What lovely pictures!!! It looks just gorgeous there. I would live to make it to that part of the country.

Thank you! I actually really liked that part of Virginia. I liked all the residental areas. The thing I liked best - no or very few strip malls. The bigger shopper centers were surrounded by shrubs and very aestheically pleasing. Everything looked nice, neat, and manicured.

Originally Posted by jeremysdisneymom

What a beautiful college campus!

It's a small campus, but it really has so lovely features and landscaping.

Originally Posted by jeremysdisneymom

Love all your pictures of Yorktown. We need to get to Williamsburg and the area some time. We would love it.

Well, I hope by the time I am done I will have given you enough information to start planning a trip. You can get some great deals and lodging and if you want the name of the gentleman I used, just pm me anytime!

Originally Posted by jeremysdisneymom

Williamsburg and the area some time. We would love it.

I forgot to mention to you in my long post about Savannah. There is an "official" bookstore in Savannah regarding Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. They sell the book there however the "autograph" copy is a label the author signed they stuck in the book. However, if you want some ghost experiences of Savannah go there without doing the night tour. The woman who runs the shops is a ghost fanatic and is sure the shop is haunted. She will do things the entire time to get you to start talking ghosts with her. For instance, I did buy the "autograph" book and when she rang it up she said, "Boy the spirits must be happy today, they usually ring this book up as Paula Deen's cookbook." I never said a word as I had enough ghosts the night before. She did this to everyone and it was quite comical.

Wow - that's great information. Is the bookstore on the trolley tour? I know they give you a map and there's a ton of stops. If its on the tour I will definitely stop. I love ghost stories. Sounds like a hoot!

Originally Posted by glennbo123

Beautiful pictures as always MEK.

Thanks Glenn!

Originally Posted by glennbo123

I'll be interested to read what you thought about Busch Gardens, I haven't been there in about a decade. We thought it was okay, but we kept thinking "nice try, but you're no 'Disney'".

I actually had a really good time in the park and I will do a good update on it. We stayed from park open to close. I didn't bring my camera in initially and just relied on cell phone pictures, but around 4pm I went out to get it and then I looped the whole park again taking pictures.

My first impression when I took the boys (and this was probably in 2003) was that it was no Disney and I didn't like the way the queued their lines. Well, actually they didn't queue them at all. But going there with minimal wait times, low crowds, and on a gorgeous day proved to be a far better experience.

As far as I'm concerned there are no parks like Disney. Even Universal falls a bit short in some aspects. But compared to our local parks like Dorney and Hershey Park, this was WAY better. I've also been to Kings Dominion and BG was much better.

Originally Posted by Mndisneygirl

OOOOH I know who is in that statue!! It's Washington and the French commander de Grasse!!! It was after their victory over Cornwallis which led to the end of the revolutionary war!!!

Okay, I cheated a little. I knew it was Washington and a French leader. I looked up the rest.

You go girl I really wasn't sure who was with Washington, so I was going to look it up! Thanks - now I don't have to!!!!

Originally Posted by Mndisneygirl

We LOVE Yorktown too - it's so cute! We've been on that beach, on that sidewalk, in the Stars and Stripes store, eaten ice cream from that shop, I think we ate lunch at that pub too. They do have cute shops there. We've toured the battlefields and went to the Victory Center (which is where I learned all that history!!).

I have driven/ridden across that bridge many times. It's the main way from my SIL's to all the fun stuff!

I didn't even mention the Victory Centers because, again, I knew we couldn't even consider those. That is why I absolutely have to go back for a longer trip. I need to tour both battlefields and both Victory Centers. Two full days was not enough. I need at least 4 real days there!!!!

Such a pretty bridge.

Originally Posted by Mndisneygirl

Love your Salisbury pictures - what a pretty campus! The water pictures are cool!

So what do you do with all these gorgeous photos you take? You must have 100GB on hard drives somewhere or lots of albums!! They are often frame-worthy, and the flower ones make me think they belong on a calendar or in a magazine! You should submit some!

Thank you!

At this point I have most of my pictures in photobucket. I also have a good number backed up on an external hard drive. Soon I will have to start deleting them out of my iphoto. I will start by deleting the soccer pictures because they are all on photobucket. But I like to keep my Disney and my scenery pictures accessible for when I make videos. So - yeah - I am always on the edge of filling my hard drive to capacity and I'm always doing the photo shuffle to make more room. I am seriously worried for the amount of photos I could potentially take next week.

Originally Posted by Captain_Oblivious

Fantastic pictures! I don't have time to comment on everything since I'm woefully behind on everyone's TR's and need to update my own, but I really love the shots you took. Looks like you got to see quite a bit in all of your tours.

Thank you! We really did have a wonderful first full day and there's more!!!!!

I am trying to update a lot this week before I go to HHI, so I am afraid I am going to get behind on everyone's TRs too. I am off from work tomorrow, so I am going to try to catch up!

[DisMomAmy]

Amazing pictures Mary Ellen!! I'd love to take up photography when my kids get a little bigger & I can take my eyes off them for more than two seconds!

[MEK]

Originally Posted by DisMomAmy

Amazing pictures Mary Ellen!! I'd love to take up photography when my kids get a little bigger & I can take my eyes off them for more than two seconds!

Good point! I didn't go anywhere near a camera when my kids were that age. Denny was always taking pictures, but they were usually of me chasing a kid! It is a fun hobby. I love it.

I saw this tour you can take in Hilton Head with a nature photographer. You go and shot together. It's like $90 for a 2 hour tour (group tour) and $200 plus if you go out by yourself. A bit pricey, but probably worth it.

[Nermel9]

Great update, amazing pictures! You're really making me want to take a trip to Virginia again, I haven't been there in years! I can't wait to hear about BG!

Oh, and guess what I'm doing this Saturday? A ghost tour in Boston! I'll keep an eye out for some ghosts for you, maybe I can get a picture of one or two!

[TanzUnited99]

Wow what awesome pics!

Love getting to see Salisbury and Williamsburg from my own living room!

It's strange to hear about how much of an impact Hurricane Irene actually had - I wouldn't imagine it affecting Imax.

[Queenofallthings]

I actually went back 4 times to look at all the pictures....wow....I don't know what else to say! I'm beginning to realize there are so many places to visit besides WDW Jasmine is trying to talk me into a winter vacation to Atlantis in the Bahamas to which I replied with a big ol

[Wicket's Mom]

Mary Ellen, that was not the place. Where we go is before you cross the bridge. It is near the Victory Center & past the old part of Yorktown. There is an old house there with a brick wall around it. It is open for visitation.

Jamestown has two places, one is a recreated village sort of like Plymouth Plantation. It was built in 1959 for an anniversary of the founding of Jamestown. The other site is the original Jamestown which has outlines of where the original buildings stood. They have a archeology center there.

As always great photos.

[MEK]

Originally Posted by Nermel9

Great update, amazing pictures! You're really making me want to take a trip to Virginia again, I haven't been there in years! I can't wait to hear about BG!

Do it! Just do it! I'm glad you are enjoying the pictures. I just finished editing my BG pictures so I can post those before I leave.

Originally Posted by Nermel9

Oh, and guess what I'm doing this Saturday? A ghost tour in Boston! I'll keep an eye out for some ghosts for you, maybe I can get a picture of one or two!

Cool! I bet Boston is a great place for ghosts! That sounds like a lot of fun. Enjoy!

Originally Posted by TanzUnited99

Wow what awesome pics!

Love getting to see Salisbury and Williamsburg from my own living room!

Isn't that one of the things that is so great about the DIS. You get to see other places you would normally not get a chance to visit. And I think because there is commentary you end up learning a little bit more. The pictures leave a greater impression.

Originally Posted by TanzUnited99

It's strange to hear about how much of an impact Hurricane Irene actually had - I wouldn't imagine it affecting Imax.

I guess it had something to do with the electricity going out. It probably didn't reset correctly, but what do I know?

Originally Posted by Queenofallthings

I actually went back 4 times to look at all the pictures....wow....I don't know what else to say! I'm beginning to realize there are so many places to visit besides WDW Jasmine is trying to talk me into a winter vacation to Atlantis in the Bahamas to which I replied with a big ol

So glad you are enjoying the pictures!!!!

Atlantis sounds wonderful. Do you think you can swing it? That resort looks/sounds amazing.

I agree, there are tons of places to see and my bucket list gets bigger (instead of smaller) all the time.

Originally Posted by Wicket's Mom

Mary Ellen, that was not the place. Where we go is before you cross the bridge. It is near the Victory Center & past the old part of Yorktown. There is an old house there with a brick wall around it. It is open for visitation.

Hmmmm - we did pass the victory center, but Sounds pretty cool. Just one more reason to go back.

Originally Posted by Wicket's Mom

Jamestown has two places, one is a recreated village sort of like Plymouth Plantation. It was built in 1959 for an anniversary of the founding of Jamestown. The other site is the original Jamestown which has outlines of where the original buildings stood. They have a archeology center there.

And then there's the battlefield, too?

I have to admit, I found reading about the different attractions very confusing. I know its just something I have to experience for myself. I haven't been to Jamestown since the early 1990's and I don't remember having to pay for each attraction. I remember most things as being free.

If I go back I want to do the battlefields, tour everything at Jamestown and hit the Yorktown Victory center (if time permits). I like to take a day for Jamestown, one for Yorktown, on for Williamsburg, and still get my thrill ride fix. That's why I need a week!