Mel's Unflashy June 2008 TR: Funnel cakes have fewer calories in FL. Updated 12/2!!

[jcc0621]

OMG...JIm Dandy

Jim (My Dh ) worked at Friendly's while he was in college. He said for his breaks in the summer he would make himself one and go sit in the walk in becasue it was so freaking hot in the kitchen (he was a cook)

 

[DisneyJo]

Not a Nascar fan Mel but that place looks so interesting if you are, how great you could combine a visit there with WDW

 

[englishrose47]

Morning Mel!!

 

[PrincessV]

We settled on Sticky Fingers.

Uh yeah - this doens't even sound good!

They were delicious but right after we ate, I felt bad.

Uh-oh...

I barfed.

D'OH!

I was not sick AT ALL the whole rest of the trip.

Oh good!

I recall him saying that they had the seats in the stands redone so that when they take publicity shots it looks full.

Wow, it's very effective! Very cool idea.

We left the museum and went to this TINY little, hole in the wall BBQ place called Welcome BBQ.

Oh no you DI'INT?!?! Taking your chances on BBQ again?!

WTH is in a "Super Boy" I wonder?


Okay, I'll admit I'm not a Nascar fan. But. My cat is. Really - if I turn car racing on the TV, she'll sit in front of it with her head moving back & forth watching the cars go by.

 

[Muffinygood]

OMG...JIm Dandy

Jim (My Dh ) worked at Friendly's while he was in college. He said for his breaks in the summer he would make himself one and go sit in the walk in becasue it was so freaking hot in the kitchen (he was a cook)

Ah, the walk in. Had a few "steamy moments" there myself....with the cook! Don't worry Janet. His name was Dennis.

Not a Nascar fan Mel but that place looks so interesting if you are, how great you could combine a visit there with WDW

Thanks Jo. It was FUN!

Morning Mel!!

Hi Rosie!

WTH is in a "Super Boy" I wonder?


Okay, I'll admit I'm not a Nascar fan. But. My cat is. Really - if I turn car racing on the TV, she'll sit in front of it with her head moving back & forth watching the cars go by.

I don't know, V...never did ask them. It must be a burger of some sort. Sounded yucky though....I don't want my food to be "super" or "rama". That's my rule.
Ha! My cat liked Nascar too. *When I had a cat* The boys are both allergic but I miss him every day....

-----------------------------

Ok guys! I'm beat. Too much for this girl today. I am going to shower and get a Light Mike's Hard Lemonade and sack out on the couch. I had my points for today but I'm having one anyway.

I'll type up the first day at Disney
tomorrow morning, OK? See you guys later!

MEL

 

[dismom9761]

Hi,Mel! Great so far,looking forward to reading all about it.BTW,glad the sickies didn't last long.

 

[whogirl'smom]

Hi, Mel! You should really do the Richard Petty Driving Experience. I arranged for my DH to do the ride along at WDW track for his birthday and he loved it! You can actually schedule it at any of the Nascar tracks. I didn't know you could tour the Charlotte track, that was pretty interesting.

Every Dec. they have the Speedway in Lights here at the Bristol track, where you drive through the property to see all the Christmas lights made into different scenes; it's very cool. You even get to drive down the drag strip and on the actual track for a short ways. You can really tell how steeply banked Bristol is when you're sitting there in an Expedition with your SIL screaming at BIL to slow down!

Love Feasting on Asphalt!

 

[lazydoxy66]

Hey Mel, I forgot to tell ya', Dh and I are NASCAR fans. DH's driver is Jr. and mine is J. Gordon. You can talk about it all you want.

We've got a drive-in called Dog-n-Suds. My typical order: Foot-long coney cheese dog, onion rings and a large rootbeer - Awesome!! They shut it down in the winter. When it opens up in March, they have police direct traffic it's so nuts!

 

[jcc0621]

Ah, the walk in. Had a few "steamy moments" there myself....with the cook! Don't worry Janet. His name was Dennis.

Note to self...watch Mel around Jim in August

 

[rachel3]

sound like a great time, mel!!!! those onion rings look so tasty, i'm salivating!! can you tell i'm back on my diet!!

 

[Muffinygood]

Hi,Mel! Great so far,looking forward to reading all about it.BTW,glad the sickies didn't last long.

Thanks Amy! I'm so glad you're here!

Hi, Mel! You should really do the Richard Petty Driving Experience. I arranged for my DH to do the ride along at WDW track for his birthday and he loved it! You can actually schedule it at any of the Nascar tracks. I didn't know you could tour the Charlotte track, that was pretty interesting.

Every Dec. they have the Speedway in Lights here at the Bristol track, where you drive through the property to see all the Christmas lights made into different scenes; it's very cool. You even get to drive down the drag strip and on the actual track for a short ways. You can really tell how steeply banked Bristol is when you're sitting there in an Expedition with your SIL screaming at BIL to slow down!

Love Feasting on Asphalt!

Jamie, that sounds so cool! I wanted to scream at the guy driving but he was really old and I might have given him a heart attack!

Hey Mel, I forgot to tell ya', Dh and I are NASCAR fans. DH's driver is Jr. and mine is J. Gordon. You can talk about it all you want.

We've got a drive-in called Dog-n-Suds. My typical order: Foot-long coney cheese dog, onion rings and a large rootbeer - Awesome!! They shut it down in the winter. When it opens up in March, they have police direct traffic it's so nuts!

Hi there! Gordon is a great driver. The other night I actually found myself yelling at whoever spun him out on the last lap!!!
That place sounds like the Black and White in Brookfield, MA!! It's sort of like that in the summer! BUT, omg, the fried clams......YUMMMMMM

Note to self...watch Mel around Jim in August

If he's holding a Jim Dandy, you better come armed.

sound like a great time, mel!!!! those onion rings look so tasty, i'm salivating!! can you tell i'm back on my diet!!

Great, me too! There is way too much yummy summertime food. I'm dying over here. I totally wigged yesterday and ate out twice! But, I had salad both times and my points were actually only 30 for the day! Even so, diets suck. I want fried clams now.

------------------

Update this am, unless I have to go to the lake.

Mel

 

[englishrose47]

Mormimg Mel!!

 

[jcc0621]

Update this am, unless I have to go to the lake.

Mel

Ummmm, excuse me? Aren't we more important than going to the lake

 

[Muffinygood]

Sunday morning we woke up at 8 am and showered. I had everything packed up and ready to go in the car the night before, so no delays there. We managed to grab breakfast at the buffet downstairs before we left. This hotel does automatic check-out so I didn’t even have to stop at the desk!
I have to add something funny to me here. For the two days that we spent at this hotel, we were surrounded by a Southern Baptist convention of some sort. It made for lively breakfasts. The room was PACKED both mornings with men in amazing suits and women in BIG hats. They were all carrying bibles. The children were well behaved but numerous. I told Bob that was the way to make sure that no tornados hit your hotel. Stay with the preachers!

I wish I could add some interesting details about the drive ahead of us. We drove through SC, then GA, then FL. No excitement. That has to be the most boring drive in all the world. When you get to FL you get all excited....then it’s HOURS till Disney.
There was alot of this:

OOH There’s Florida!!! Oh, wait....still hours till Disney.....

Well, anyway. We drove and drove and drove. And finally around Daytona, FL it started raining. Pouring, really. This trip has been punctuated by some fierce downpours.

At 7:30 pm we arrived home: Boardwalk Villas!!! I didn’t snap a picture. How awful is that? Well, fortunately, someone else did so I’ll steal theirs.

That’s the front door people! Yay! I was impressed right from the start. As soon as you enter the foyer you are under this gorgeous chandelier.

This is the lobby.

I wish now that I had photographed the LONG LONG LONG walk to our room like V did. She was right. It couldn’t have been farther away. It was down THREE long hallways. We walked those hallways several hundred times during our week there. I cannot believe you can walk for that long and still be inside the same building! And though the walk was long, the room was gorgeous. I really liked it alot. Did I photograph it? Nope. Don’t know why.

Anyway, it was a one bedroom villa. You entered the room and there was a small but more than adequate kitchen to the right. The main room had a queen-sized sofabed (it was VERY comfortable) and a tv. Also, a round dining table and chairs. The kitchen had a small eat-in bar with two chairs also. To the left was the laundry closet, a HUGE bathroom with separate rooms for the shower/potty/sink and then an addtional sink and jacuzzi tub with walk-in closet next door. Then our room. The bedroom was a good size. Had a balcony with french doors (which was also outside the living room) and a king sized bed. We liked the mattress, but the sheets were like cardboard! Dryer sheets, people!!!

Our luggage was delivered within minutes! The bell desk at this hotel must have their people running everywhere! I can’t imagine he made it that fast down those hallways without running. Our grocery delivery was actually made on Saturday because I waited too long to order them and they didn’t have a single time open to deliver them to us on Sunday or Monday. The bell refrigerated them for us till we arrived on Sunday. They delivered those quickly too! All the food was in good condition. I have nothing but good things to say about Garden Grocer. Very highly recommend them!!!

While we sorted out the food, clothes, beds and what-not, Goofy and Gus threw on their suits and made for the pool. We followed them in short order. The pool was still pretty busy for being 8:30 pm. I was surprised! The kids loved the slide and swimming! Being in a car for 11 hours will do that.

Bob and I decided to walk over to the gate at Epcot to purchase our tickets for the parks. Gus and I have a VERY early date at MK tomorrow, so it was a good idea to get them now. We left the boys and went for a walk. It is a quick jaunt over a bridge and then you are there. The gate was staffed by some Disney cops and one ticket agent. She was very nice.

We purchased our 2 DVC annual passes (for me and Bob, as we’re visiting for Fockerfest and in Xmas it made more sense), two adult (10 and 15 year old adults???) four day, non-hopper, expiring passes for the boys. We also purchased the Disney Dining Experience card. This costs $60 for annual passholders. We figured that it would pay itself back pretty quick. You get 20% off your meal (and booze) at most table service restaurants in the World. The grand total came to about $1200. Whew! Since we were (very recently) annual passholders with unlimited entry into parks....we decided to go right into UK and get a drink! The Illuminations show was just starting as we arrived.

Two Bass ales and two Strongbow Hard Ciders later, we ambled back over the bridge toward the exit with our drinks. The turnstile police (as we would come to call them...) yelled at us to finish our drinks. Why? You can’t take alcohol out of the park. Huh. Ok, so Bob made for the potty and I held the cups. If you are a stickler for the rules look away...
I hid them under my sweater and we went through. Yup. I broke the Disney Law. I’m a rebel.
Regardless, that’s only the FIRST time I will break the Disney law.....

As we walked back onto the Boardwalk we were surrounded by crowds. The people really come out of the woodwork when the sun goes down. We were cruisin’ along the Boardwalk and Bob says, “How do you know when you’ve seen a Focker?” I replied that most people wear a LGMH or shirt or something. Having said that, I saw TONS of lime green so that isn’t really an indicator. I asked him why he asks. He says, “I think I just saw one.” I ask him, “Did they ‘focker’ you?” Quizzical look.
He says, “No, but she was wearing a lime green shirt with a big Mickey-head outline on it.”
STOP
“Did she have blond hair?” “yes.” OMG.

I turn around. On the Boardwalk, surrounded by hundreds of strangers and start yelling at the blond lady and her husband who are walking away from me....
“JILL!!!!!!!!!!!!! JILL!!!!!!!!!!!” Her husband leans into her and is whispering something like, “uh, there’s a crazy woman screaming your name....”
She turns and I’m like, “Wait, wait, wait!!” And I’m shuffling over to her ***side note*** I don’t run. Not unless I’m being chased by zombies...maybe.

She waits for me and Bob to arrive and I say, “Are you Jill? From the Focker Board?” She says, “yep.” I say, “I’m Mel!!! Hi!!!” We hug. She introduced her hubby and I introduced mine. They were a cute couple. She said they were leaving on Tuesday. I really hoped to see them again, but we never did. Oh well. It was cool. Did I take a picture? Nope. Why? I don’t know.

I say to Bob as we walk away, “Wow! I can’t believe I’ve already had my first Focker sighting and we’ve only been here 2 hours!!” He says, “Uh, I had my first Focker sighting....not you.”
Ok, Bob. Jeez.

We made it back to the pool by about 9:15 pm. The kids were ready to go back to the room and have a snack so we gathered them up and returned. I don’t recall any details about this night. Just that I was exhausted and we had to get up very early.....5 a.m. Tune in next time.....


MEL

 

[jcc0621]

I wish now that I had photographed the LONG LONG LONG walk to our room like V did. She was right. It couldn’t have been farther away. It was down THREE long hallways. We walked those hallways several hundred times during our week there. I cannot believe you can walk for that long and still be inside the same building! And though the walk was long, the room was gorgeous. I really liked it alot. Did I photograph it? Nope. Don’t know why.

Uh oh, the Focker hallway curse bit you too

I have nothing but good things to say about Garden Grocer. Very highly recommend them!!!

Glad to hear it, I just placed my order for August. IT's the first time using them!

I hid them under my sweater and we went through. Yup. I broke the Disney Law. I’m a rebel.
Regardless, that’s only the FIRST time I will break the Disney law.....

I am shocked...just shocked

“Did they ‘focker’ you?” Quizzical look.

She waits for me and Bob to arrive and I say, “Are you Jill? From the Focker Board?” She says, “yep.” I say, “I’m Mel!!! Hi!!!” We hug. She introduced her hubby and I introduced mine. They were a cute couple. She said they were leaving on Tuesday. I really hoped to see them again, but we never did. Oh well. It was cool. Did I take a picture? Nope. Why? I don’t know.

Mental Note - Make sure to take lots of pics when we see Mel. Apparently she forgets...ALOT!

He says, “Uh, I had my first Focker sighting....not you.”
Ok, Bob. Jeez.

Just that I was exhausted and we had to get up very early.....5 a.m.

Why

 

[ncsjodi]

Okay, I guess I'm second....

Mel, I had the Focker hallway curse at AKV in December, so you're definitely not alone. That walk feels even worse after a long day in the parks, doesn't it? I'm excited to be staying at OKW in October and I shouldn't have to walk much at all. Plus, we've got a car, so we might be driving to the parks instead of using the bus. And we can park right outside our building at OKW!

That clown at the Boardwalk pool sorta freaks me out! Not sure I could go down that slide knowing that the clown is going to spit me out!

 

[PrincessV]

We drove through SC, then GA, then FL. No excitement. That has to be the most boring drive in all the world.

Nope. I-75 through GA takes that honor. Trust V.

I wish now that I had photographed the LONG LONG LONG walk to our room like V did. She was right. It couldn’t have been farther away. It was down THREE long hallways.

And the Focker Longwalk Villas Curse strikes again.

We liked the mattress, but the sheets were like cardboard! Dryer sheets, people!!!

Seriously - they need to lay off the starch already! That, plus did you have knife-edge creases all over? The new, high thread-count sheets are great, but they need to watch the ironing!

The turnstile police (as we would come to call them...) yelled at us to finish our drinks. Why? You can’t take alcohol out of the park.

I still don't get this. I mean, you can buy another as soon as you hit the Boardwalk - what's the difference?

He says, “No, but she was wearing a lime green shirt with a big Mickey-head outline on it.”

Jill!

She waits for me and Bob to arrive and I say, “Are you Jill? From the Focker Board?” She says, “yep.” I say, “I’m Mel!!! Hi!!!” We hug. She introduced her hubby and I introduced mine. They were a cute couple.

So cool that you ran into them!

Did I take a picture? Nope. Why? I don’t know.

Yet another fine Focker tradition.

 

[KatGarcia]

Not you too! Darn that Focker BWVs curse!!!!!!! What was your room #?

And why do the husbands always get to spot the LGMHs first? Weird. My friends were picking them out when we were there!

Great start!

 

[puggymom]

You too with hallway, geez, I have it on my ressie for Feb that I want something close to the elevators, we shall see, don't they know how I am. Or maybe they do and that' why.... um never mind.


So you cna't take a drink out of the park? Really? Focker festers take note!


So cool you saw a Focker or Bob did, whatevah.

 

[If U Had Wings]

Enjoying the report. Glad to hear good things about the Boardwalk. I'm hoping to stay there for my next stay.