Oh Florida! An East Meets West Girl's TR: 8/9 p56 & 8/17 p57

[Pinkocto]

I'm so sorry about your Jewel

 

[Pluto0809]

So sorry to hear about your baby. I've been there and know how hard it is to go through that.

 

[glennbo123]

Sorry to read about your cat Mary Ellen.

Congrats to you and Cynthia on the race!

 

[dizneeat]

Welcome back, Mary Ellen!

Congratulations on our run!

So sorry to hear about your precious furbaby. It's so hard to lose one of those purring little charmers.

 

[Dugette]

So sorry to hear about your cat! I hope you have been getting in all the snuggles you can. So sad.

 

[englishrose47]

Mary Ellen, I am so very sorry to hear about your cat. Pets are precious members of the family. Please know I'm sending you a .

On a more positive note, a huge congrats on finishing the race! You get huge points from me for doing it to begin with!

I second that!!! My pets are my family, I talk to them and answer for them and they never disagree with my answer , they just know they are loved !! That makes it both hard and easy when they pass , because they were loved your heart is breaking but you know you gave them a happy loving life !

 

[jenseib]

Welcome home...so sorry to hear about your cat

 

[LuvEeyore]

So sorry about your Jewel. It is tough!! Glad you are home safely. Hope to hear more about your trip soon.

 

[Nermel9]

I'm so sorry to hear about your poor kitty, it's the absolute worst thing in the world when you know your pet is dying.

 

[eandesmom]

I'm home! I've been back since late Sunday night. Of course, I went right back to my work schedule which has given me no free time. Plus one of my cats is very ill. She is dying and my kids did not want me to put her to sleep. She is slowly fading and I don't want to wait much longer. We had snow today, so everything came to a grinding halt. I am going to try to make an appointment for her after work tomorrow. I will get to replies over the weekend.

I am so so sorry about Jewel, we are close to that point with my Hank and it breaks my heart.

I had a great trip. The race was really hard for me (not so much for my co-writer Cynthia who set a PR). I am glad I did it and I am going to book for the same time next year with the attention of running again. My race pictures are all terrible. I really do look like the walking dead in a lot of them. But I was up the entire night before the race (long story).

.

I think you did amazing! You had a rough rough start to the trip and did really well. I think you should be hugely proud of yourself!!!!! I'm proud of you and thrilled to have shared the experience with you.

I don't know that anyone is ever thrilled with their performance, we are all our own worst critics and wish we'd done better.

Welcome home!


Spoiler alert...

And PR or not, congratulations to you both for running the race!
.

Lol, yep, spoiler alert

 

[glaserjm]

So sorry to hear about your kitty...it's one of the hardest things to go through!

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Oh Mary Ellen, my heart just breaks for you. I know the pain that comes with losing a pet and they absolutely are family. Please know you're in my thoughts.

 

[teekathepony]

Welcome back Mary Ellen!

I am so sorry, again, to hear about poor Jewel. There really isn't much worse than losing a precious pet.

 

[KatMark]

MaryEllen, I know I said it on FB, but I'm so sorry to hear about Jewel. It is so hard losing a member of the family.

 

[MEK]

Beautiful Resort pics from your run! I just love those Treehouses.

Thanks. The tree houses are sooooooo cool. I think all of Saratoga Springs is so beautiful. We stopped there on our departure day last trip and it was so relaxing.

Fun pics from Epcot so far. Beautiful flower displays. I love all the topiaries from the Flower and Garden Fest. Looking forward to the next update.

They do such a lovely job with the topiaries. I promise there will be more. That is - if I ever get around to doing my next update!

Good luck to both of you in the Princess HM.

Thank you! Obviously we lived to tell about it, although there were a few moments when I wasn't completely sure.

Good luck with the Princess Half Marathon! Here's to you all getting the run time that you're aiming for.

Thanks! Personally, I wanted to do a little better than I did, but I'm not completely dissatisfied. I "may" go back and try it again. We'll see...

Great pictures around the resort and at Epcot. Love Flower and Garden! It always looks so colourful.

Thanks. F&G is so lovely. I'm glad we got a chance to see some of the topiaries during our last trip. They really are a work of art.

There is a design station at the end of TT near where the display cars are. You can design your car at those stations and load it on the MB. Then if you do go on single rider again, you can scan your MB and your designed car should come up.
Love the Dis-ser pictures!

I did NOT know that. Very cool. Can you believe I never road TT once during this past trip? *sigh* I guess I'll put it on the list for August!

I know you ladies are leaving soon....how do I get alerts to updates? I thought it odd I hadn't heard anything with your trip being so close....

I have to be honest with you - I am not even sure how the alerts work on the new format. But we also haven't been talking that much about the trip, so perhaps that's part of it.

Good luck with the Princess Half to you both!

Thanks!!!!!

Loving all the pictures! Sounds like a wonderful morning at EPCOT.

Thanks! It really was a great morning in Epcot. Always a great park to start a trip with!

 

[MEK]

Haha, I'm behind already!

I would hardly call you behind when I haven't responded to my own TR in two weeks.

Fun time at DTD, MEK! And your surprise was awesome! Haha, I can't believe that person who couldn't take your picture! I admit though, whenever someone asks me to take their picture, I always feel like that's going to be me, struggling to figure out the camera!

I hear ya. I make them give me very explicit instructions before I take a picture. I much prefer when they hand me a phone. I did feel sorry for that lady who just couldn't take our picture. I know she felt foolish.

Cynthia, I love travel day too! It's always crazy, but so much fun! Did you have your cronut? OMG those are the best things ever!

spoiler alert......next update...... Just kidding - OF COURSE we did!

Love all of your Epcot pics, MEK, such a beautiful morning! I am so excited to be going to Disney during Flower and Garden again, and I'm definitely going to have to check out the festival center now, after seeing all of your flower pics!

When is your next trip? So excited for you. I love F&G. If I could I would be there right now. I'm sure you are going to have a wonderful time!

Good luck at the Princess Half!!

Thanks! We lived to tell about it!

Safe travels ladies!

Thanks Jenny!

Great pictures! I can see how the nice scenery can motivate you to run - very pretty.

Scenery definite motivates me. I love seeing what is around every corner. My only problem is I feel compelled to take pictures of my run which doesn't always allow me to get the best workout!

Love all the Flower & Garden shots at Epcot! It's the one major seasonal thing we have not yet attended at WDW and I'm so excited to see it in May!

You are going to LOVE it! It's really a great time of the year! The topiaries are great this year.

Good luck with the Princess Half!

Thank you! We did it!

I used to dislike the single rider line, too, but then I tried it on RNRC and never went back. Sure, you occassionally get those funny looks from guests who don't understand why you're sitting next to them, but they are worth it for the time you save.

Totally worth it! I get the weirdest looks on TT. Those people totally don't get the single rider line. They look at you like you're crazy when you get in there care. Oh well. Get used to it.

Love the shot you took on Test Track right before the bank! Really made me feel like I was back on the attraction.

Thanks. that's actually the first time I tried taking pictures outside the attraction. It was fun!

For what it's worth, we all love your Spaceship Earth shots...

Awwwww....thanks!

The Flower and Garden Festival is beautiful. I loved looking at your WS pictures.

LOVE that festival. And thank you!

 

[MEK]

I totally understand that! So much easier and more relaxing.

Traveling solo is definitely much more relaxing than having the kiddos. Which reminds me - I'll be traveling with mine this summer.

Yuck... I can only imagine how irritating that must be. A red eye wouldn't be so bad if you can sleep the whole way... but having a layover. Yuck.

I agree - double YUCK!

Yeah, given the circumstances, I don't blame you at all!

Well, it isn't bacon, but I approve.

But IT could be consumed with bacon? Didn't someone else just suggest that?

I'm glad that you got into EPCOT with no issues! I'd have definitely been concerned about it too, especially given your circumstances. There were definitely some major issues with it back then.

That would have been terrible. I had no idea there were issues with it. Yikes!

Good luck and have fun!!!

Thanks! I had a great time and definitely used all the luck you guys sent me!

I can see why you both get along so well.

I'll take that as a compliment!

Well, that's a significant improvement. Everyone is well framed and not blurry.

HUGE improvement, but the daylight definitely helps!

Well, that's an interesting take on the selfie trend.

Glad you like!

Holy cow!!! That's crazy!

It really was. I suspect that doesn't happen too often.

All caught up! Love all the Flower and Garden pics! I cant wait for that to start again

You must be totally loving it right now! How awesome to be able to visit whenever you feel like it. I would love that.

Safe travels ladies! Looking forward to seeing both of you

We loved getting to see you. My only regret is that we didn't get to spend enough time together. But I'll be BACK in August and this time Denny will be there.

Have fun at your race! good luck!

Thanks Jen! It was a great trip and the race was fun, although it definitely had its moments. But like everything else Disney, it was really well run!

Haven't been keeping up well with the reading, but want to pop on in and say good luck with the race this weekend and have a great time at WDW!!!!

Thanks Sherri! I hear ya on not keeping up well. I am SO far behind right now. I had a great time. It was wonderful to see Cynthia again and the race was a great experience.

 

[MEK]

Cynthia remembered that it was building 55.

So glad I got to run into you for a few minutes and so glad you enjoyed OKW!

I hope the weather warms up a little for you. And I hope you have a great time at the race. Good luck.

The weather was near perfect on race day. No complaints there. I really did enjoy the race, but like I told you - it WAS hard.

You are going to do great, Maryellen. Hug all the girls for me.

Thanks Kat! I would have liked to finish a little stronger, but overall I am pleased that I took the challenge.

Have a wonderful trip! I can't wait to read all about it.

Thank you! It was a fun trip. However, unless I start a second TR its going to be awhile before I can right about.

Good luck to all of you runners! I know you'll do great.

Thanks Glenn! I appreciate the vote of confidence. It was a tough run, but overall a great experience!

Mary Ellen, I love this picture!:

Isn't it great when a random cell picture ends up looking great? I love when that happens.

Safe travel, MEK.

Thank you! Everything went well with traveling (well, for me....not so much for my poor DH - Denny......)

Wishing you both the best of luck! You're gonna do great! But more important than that is just to have fun!!!

Thank you! Cynthia did amazing. I wanted to do a bit better than I did, but overall I am proud of myself for running a half marathon and I am considering doing it again next year.

I totally missed the send off, sorry ladies. And I think the race is over too. I hope you had fun! Now to enjoy the rest of vacation

No worries. I think I missed my own send off. The race was really well run and I had a great vacation. Can't believe I just go home a week ago. I want to go back.

Great updates. Cronuts are super delicious! Sounds like you need a do-over Mary Ellen

I totally agree Pam. I definitely need a do-over and I will get one - darn it!

Gorgeous pictures of the F & G festival. That sink hole is scary though.

Thanks. Love the F&G festivities. So pretty.

I hear ya - I did not like looking at the sinkhole. Boo!

 

[Wood Nymph]

So glad I got to run into you for a few minutes and so glad you enjoyed OKW!

I was glad to have run into you, too, and Denny twice. OKW was very nice, although I think we would have enjoyed it a little more if the weather had been better. We were in building 35, room 3520, right across from the Turtle Pond bus stop. The 2BR villa was great for our extended family of 7, and we put the washer and especially the dryer to good use with the total rain out on Saturday.

 

[guestswobags]

The PERFECT solution.

The cronut!

YES!

Longtime DIS lurker, I just had to step out of the woodwork to voice approval for the cronut! YES! Awesome anytime, but especially after a red-eye.

Loving your report!