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

[MEK]

Beautiful flower and Garden pics! I wish they had those flowers in the water all the time too.

Aren't they such a nice touch? I love floating flowers. I say we start a petition to keep year round floating flowers in Epcot!

I am another fan of the France Movie, it was one of the places we sat out the deluge of rain that we had during our trip in September. I love the scenes with that garden in your pictures

It's a fun movie, isn't it? It makes me want to go to France on my next vacation. I don't know if its the music or what it is, but there's sort of a mystery to that movie. Not sure if that makes sense.

Happy Birthday!!

Thank you!

Happy Birthday! I hope you did something fun to celebrate it!

Well, it was not nearly as exciting as your amazing birthday celebration, but Denny and I took off from work on Wednesday and we drove to the Delaware beaches. We only live a little over an hour away, so its an easy day trip. We did some shopping, checked out a beach house we are renting for a few days in September, went out to lunch, drank some beer, walked on the beach, and took a nice long walk on a newly refurbished trail that connects a couple of the beach towns together. It was a great day!

Nice update MEK! I love the F&G pics. I'm looking forward to our 1st F&G trip April, 2016.

Thanks! You will love it. It's not quite as cool as F&W, but seeing all the flowers and topiaries is really very cool.

It's been 3 years since we ate there but we weren't that impressed. It's been a while so it could have changed. I'll put it this way...we were able to get 7:00 dinner reservations last minute about 5:00pm that day but like I said, it was 3 years ago.

Like I said, I haven't heard much about it and this could definitely be an ADR I cancel, but I really wanted to try one new restaurant and I'm running out of new places to try. Not such a bad problem to have if you ask me!

 

[MEK]

Technically, it is still your birthday (here in CA) and I can still wish you a VERY Happy Birthday!

Yes - technically you can! Thank you!

I'm so hopelessly behind but I want to comment that I love how you've forged such a beautiful friendship with Cynthia and can share in your love of Disney AND now running together. (And that photo of you crossing the finish line was such an incredible moment - I was cheering you on!)

Thanks Brenda. There was nothing easy about running the PHM, but if you are going to be in pain that is the way to do it - at a Disney race. I'm so glad I had that experience. And having Cynthia as a friend is so awesome. We don't have any trips on the books right now, but I am sure we will come up with something. I love traveling with her. She's so energetic and she loves to uber plan which makes it easy for me to just show up and go!

Just a few comments from catching up on your TR....now I'm craving a Beaches & Cream burger... funny how one moment you don't even know you're hungry and then bam! You see a photo and you must have it.

Happens to me all the time. That was an enjoyable meal. Well...all except for those stupid alarms.

I really enjoy the France movie, it so beautifully captures the landscape. Those Test Track photos are great action shots. I'm always nervous about having my camera out since I fear one wrong move and there goes my camera sailing overboard.

The France movie just puts me in a peaceful mood.

As far as the camera - I think I perfected the "hold on tight" method while taking pictures on EE.

So glad that our dates will sync up in Dec.

I am thrilled. I am really looking forward to getting together. It's going to be a great evening.

Happy Birthday MEK.

Thank you! I had a great day - well, we actually celebrated the day before which was lots of fun!

 

[MEK]

It's your computer challenged friend! Photobucket has not been kind to me this week! As a result, while I will try to get an update up tomorrow, the brutal reality is Monday is far more likely.

Ugh - sorry you are still having issues with your computer AND photo bucket. I have to renew my account and I didn't pay with it on paypal so now I have to stop my account and reactivate with paypal. I pretty worried about that.

Just update when you can. No rush. I'll be working on another update this weekend that I'd like to get posted by Monday morning as well, but hopefully tomorrow.

I'm finally caught up!

I'm surprised you even have time with your trip looming on the horizon. You must be getting SOOOOOOO excited!

Sounds like you two had a great sushi-filled night at Splitsville - your sushi looks yummy!!!

I loved that place. It was super fun! So glad we just happened to stumble in there. The sushi was great!

OMG you two managed to go into the men's room?! Totally something I would have done! (and have... trust me!)

See - I totally blocked that out. What does that say about ME????

Ahhh, Beaches N Cream. I haven't yet been but it's really a place I want to visit someday soon.

I've been waiting to go there for quite awhile. I actually had my first visit there in October 2013, about 4 years after I first wanted to visit. It took me awhile, but that place is so wildly popular that pre ADR it was tough. Now I need to try some ice cream there.

Ugh, I know - I wish they'd leave the flowers in the water all year long too!

I said this before, but I think we need to circulate a petition. The flowers are just so festive so maybe they could just keep them through summer. I'm willing to compromise!

Sounds like a great day at Epcot, despite the rain.

Epcot is always a great day and we were lucky to not be overly affected by the rain. It basically looked worse than it really was.

 

[Pinkocto]

Happy belated Birthday!!! Sounds like you had a lovely day at the beach Now Denny needs to get you a cake

 

[MEK]

Happy belated Birthday!!! Sounds like you had a lovely day at the beach Now Denny needs to get you a cake

Thanks Pam! I had a great day at the beach. It was really fun going down mid week and not having to be around a lot of people. I love that!

I threatened Denny and told him he could NOT buy me a cake this week. I have been trying to track calories and take off the winter weight cane. Of course, I can still crave bakery goods!

 

[Pinkocto]

Thanks Pam! I had a great day at the beach. It was really fun going down mid week and not having to be around a lot of people. I love that!

I threatened Denny and told him he could NOT buy me a cake this week. I have been trying to track calories and take off the winter weight cane. Of course, I can still crave bakery goods!

It's hard after winter that's for sure. This time around I've decided to give into the cravings. If I don't I fear I'll end up binging like I've done in the past. If I indulge then I get right back in the groove instead of feeling like I've totally failed. It's slow going but I'm learning much more.

When is your next trip? You're going to Gettysburg again right?

 

[Tracy161]

I said this before, but I think we need to circulate a petition. The flowers are just so festive so maybe they could just keep them through summer. I'm willing to compromise!

I would totally sign!!!

I think I missed your birthday, Mary Ellen - so sorry! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[MEK]

It's hard after winter that's for sure. This time around I've decided to give into the cravings. If I don't I fear I'll end up binging like I've done in the past. If I indulge then I get right back in the groove instead of feeling like I've totally failed. It's slow going but I'm learning much more.

I hear ya. Winter sucks. Every winter I say I am not going to over eat and every winter I do. So I log calories 6 days a week and have one cheat day to eat whatever I want. That makes it SO much more reasonable.

When is your next trip? You're going to Gettysburg again right?

Williamsburg, although Denny would love to go to Gettysburg. He's such a history / battlefield geek. We are going the first weekend in June. We have 3 nights at the Marriott vacation village place there (I forget the name). If I can leave work early on Weds I am going to add another night there or stay somewhere in route so we can start our vacation first thing in the morning instead of having a 4.5 hour drive. I love Williamsburg. But now I am starting to toy with the idea of going to BG for the day. I've been there enough that I should skip it, but I just love theme parks. I can't help it. We'll see how it all rolls out.

I would totally sign!!!

Me too Tracy!

I think I missed your birthday, Mary Ellen - so sorry! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you! I had a really fun day pre birthday. Denny and I both had a day off mid week and we went to the beach. It was great!

 

[MEK]

Happy Mother's Day out there to all the moms. Probably a slow day on the DIS, but I have an update ready to go and Cynthia promises one tomorrow.
Soarin, Sipping, and getting my Paparazzi on!

In my last update we had just finished a whirl on TT, but interestingly my next picture is here.



Which doesn’t make sense because we couldn’t possibly have had FP’s to both attractions, so did we ride one standby?

So confused…..

After Soarin we headed to Nemo. I always find it a challenge to take pictures here, but I tried anyway.

Let’s see what I’ve got, shall we?











My pictures of Bruce are all blurry. Boo! Maybe I should check out my older pictures and find a better one. Nah - That’s not gonna happen today so this is all you get. Sorry.



I really wanted to get a good picture of Crush, but once again, it is a tad sub par. Darn Crush, could you just slow down a little?





Oh Yay - Here’s a picture that turned out!



Hey - I think he listened.
Thanks Crush!



And that’s a wrap folks. Back outside.



So who doesn’t love a butterfly?







Speaking of butterflies, out next stop was the Butterfly tent.





Denny and I made a quick trip to the Butterfly Tent during our brief visit in March. It was fairly cool that day and the butterflies were out for photographing. They were obviously more active today but I got this guy to pose.



Cute, but what is it?



Uhmmm, yeah, so I guess that’s all the pictures I took in the tent.



Because here we are - back outside.





This was an awesome picture opportunity. I wonder what they have there this year?





Continued In the Next Post....

 

[MEK]

Hey Mickey



I love this guy!



Apparently I hope you do too because here’s a close up



I do remember that we checked out the line for Maelstrom, but it was REALLY long and we didn’t want to wait. Unfortunately, I didn’t know at the time that it would be our last opportunity to ride maelstrom. Boo!

There goes that troll again!



We continued our trek around the World Showcase



And stopped for one of these, a Dark and Stormy. This bad boy was super strong. A good alcohol value for your F&G dollar. Just sayin...





I kept seeing this T-shirt. I thought it was so cute and debated whether or not to get it for Denny. He loves gardening and working outside, so I thought that aspect would be perfect. On the other hand, for some reason he HATES white T-shirts. So I was torn. But eventually the fact that it was on sale caused me to cave and buy it.



Now I pose this question - How many times do you think Denny has actually WORN this shirt???? I’ll give you a hint - the answer lies between 0 and 5.

I have no idea what time of day it was, but according to this picture the sun is setting.







The F&G theme was appreciated here.







We had some time before dinner so why not take in the topiaries









hehe





Time for dinner. Where to?







Nope, not Tutto



Continued In Next Post...

 

[MEK]

Instead we were eating here.







I love Via. It’s one of my favorite restaurants.




I ordered a white sangria for my beverage. Usually these are really yummy, but tonights was just OK. I’ll be trying something different in August.



Clearly I felt the need to have a little green with my dinner.



Our pizza!





I think we decided to share because, really, who can possibly eat a whole one of these themselves?

Here’s our hot…err, I mean cute little waiter.



And because it was my birthday, I got the Via special birthday treat!



We were done dinner in time for Illuminations.

When we walked outside we hit bride-a-palooza pay dirt.

What?



I took SO many pictures of this couple. I mean, how could I not?



It was hard because I couldn’t get that close, but this couple was so “shiny” (that’s an adjective I use for overly attractive people) that I had to snap away.





I know, bride overload. Just humor me.



Her teeth were so white I could see them from a football field away.



And that dress. Totally from Klenfield’s “Say Yes to the Dress”.







That darn bridge is in the way of me getting a good shot of the dress.



Kiss, Kiss, hug, hug….





I mean they are not even watching Illuminations!





Continued In the Next Post

 

[MEK]

I warned you - picture overload!













I’m glad to see the happy couple is finally watching the show!











And then it was all over. I’m not sure if I had a better time watching the happy couple or Illuminations. I’m thinking happy couple.



On our way out I decided to turn my flash on and be bold enough to take another picture (or two) of the bride.



Seriously, aren’t they just way too shiny?



Awwwwwwwwww!



Good night happy newlyweds!

And we’re out....







I tried to get a few more pictures of the lighted topiaries on our way out.





Continued In the Next Post

 

[MEK]

Bye Epcot!






Up Next - A Laid Back Day with a two parks, pool time, a new restaurant and quite possibly the best breakfast sandwich EVER!

 

[PrincessInOz]

WOW! What a great set of topiary shots. Love them all.

And that shiny couple with the shiny Illuminations going off in the background. Love your shots of them and the fireworks.

My guess for how many times Denny has worn that t-shirt is 1. Guess I'll wait to find out if it's right or not.

 

[Tracy161]

I LOVE all your topiary pictures!!! And the ones of the "shiny" bride and groom - yep, loved those too!

 

[SimplyGoofy]

The seven dwarves topiaries are adorable.

VIA NAPOLI!!! The pizza you ordered looks SO GOOD - I love prosciutto and arugula!

I love all your pictures of the bridal couple! They really are quite stunning.

 

[marDgreen88]

Yall got on a lot of the headliners that day, good work!

Is it just me who feels like they're going backwards during the EAC part of the Nemo ride? I think it's all the bubbles but I'm always momentarily concerned.

I mean, at least you didn't back down from your bride and groom photo shoot. Too funny.

 

[cstorm65]

Great update!

What I find even harder to believe than you having both a TT FP and a Soarin' FP is that you walked from Test Track to Soarin' without taking any pictures along the way! That would not be like you!

Love your pizza pics and wedding pics!

 

[MEK]

WOW! What a great set of topiary shots. Love them all.

Thanks! The topiaries were so cool. I just couldn't stop taking pictures. Shocking, I know!

And that shiny couple with the shiny Illuminations going off in the background. Love your shots of them and the fireworks.

Thank again! They really were an attractive couple and they just had the most perfect viewing spot ever. I just couldn't get enough of those two.

My guess for how many times Denny has worn that t-shirt is 1. Guess I'll wait to find out if it's right or not.

You are 100% right. And I haven't seen that shirt in his drawers for a LONG time now, come to think of it. I should have known not to buy it. Next time I will go with my gut.

I LOVE all your topiary pictures!!! And the ones of the "shiny" bride and groom - yep, loved those too!

Thanks! Alway happy to keep my fellow DISers entertained with topiaries and my paparazzi moves.

The seven dwarves topiaries are adorable.

Aren't they the cutest things EVER? I love them. Looking back at those pics and posting them tonight just brought a BIG smile to my face.

VIA NAPOLI!!! The pizza you ordered looks SO GOOD - I love prosciutto and arugula!

That pizza was delicious. Loved it and its making me look forward to my August trip.


I

love all your pictures of the bridal couple! They really are quite stunning.

Aren't they? I mean, seriously? They are almost surreal looking ....and that dress....I bet that cost a fortune. I just love a Disney wedding!

 

[Dugette]

Just got caught up. Both good choices at Beaches & Cream - I've heard good things about the Grilled Cheese (and will likely have that on this trip), but I know the cheeseburger is tasty from past experience!

I love all the Epcot Flower & Garden pics - getting me really excited that I'll be there in FOUR DAYS!

Great pics of the shiny couple! Bet they didn't know they had a bonus wedding photographer there!

Oh - I hope you had a great birthday and fantastic mother's day!