40 Attractions to Celebrate My 40th Birthday! ***6 days to go PTR update and how many emails?***

[Elandon]

February 11: Epcot afternoon & attractions 31-34​

We left off in Mexico and heading to meet my favorite character: Alice in Wonderland (attraction #31). My family wasn't overly disney=field when I was growing up but during the summer after third grade I did a summer theater workshop and was cast as Alice. Ever since then, I have loved her. We don't get to meet her a lot so I was ridiculously happy!

IMG_1665 by Emily Landon, on Flickr

IMG_1664 by Emily Landon, on Flickr

Can you see how childlike I am? I just love feeling that way. Nothing at work makes me feel like that.

After Alice, we headed over to a new restaurant for us which is also attraction #32: Le Cellier. I don't know how we have never eaten there before. I think it had something to do with the fact that I never considered a steak restaurant in the middle of the summer and I was worried my mom wouldn't like the "Celler" atmosphere. She usually doesn't like darker and closed in spaces. So how would it go? Well, we loved it. All of us. I had filet and so did my mom. I think alex just ate French fries or something silly like that. We got two fancy desserts and mine was all done up for a birthday. I didn't get pictures of all the food (sorry, guys) but I did get some.

IMG_1667 by Emily Landon, on Flickr

IMG_1668 by Emily Landon, on Flickr

No pictures of Alex for some reason. Grandma Missie looks pretty happy, huh? At the end of our meal, we paid the check and then they brought something else over..... what is that?


IMG_1250 by Emily Landon, on Flickr

An anytime fast pass for anything but Forozen Ever After! They overheard Alex asking if there was any way we could go on Test Track for our 40 attractions list and I told him we just wouldn't be able to wait in that kind of line and still make it to our next fastpass. Apparently, they wanted to help out! More pixie Dust!!!! So we were off on our way to attraction #33: test track.


IMG_1251 by Emily Landon, on Flickr

Here is our very fancy purple car. We actually did pretty well.

IMG_1252 by Emily Landon, on Flickr

And our picture:

PhotoPass_Visiting_EPCOT_7946491266 by Emily Landon, on Flickr

Now, Grandma Missie doesn't usually go on this one but Alex really wanted her to go so he made his little puppy dog eyes and told her he wanted her to sit by him because he loves her so much. Obviously, that worked like a charm but she was so worried about her hair getting messed up with all the wind.... Well, you can see how that turned out.

After Test Track, it was almost time to head to Norway to use our fastpass but Alex requested that we stop by his favorite place: Club Cool. My allergies make me wary of trying fruit flavored things (although I realize they are highly unlikely to contain any actual fruit) but I do love a frozen coke. So while alex tried his mixing and matching with foreign soda flavors to creat even more new flavors, I went over to get a slushy. They made it up for me but when I went to pay for it, they told me it was free! Turns out you can always get a free slushy here for your birthday! How awesome! Even more pixie dust!

We enjoyed my frozen coke (Grandma Missie declared it to be "Gross") while we walked over to Norway because we were going to a winter summer party with a lovely Nordic queen. You know- Frozen Ever After (attraction #34)

IMG_1256 by Emily Landon, on Flickr

PhotoPass_Visiting_EPCOT_7946518996 by Emily Landon, on Flickr

I guess I don't really know where the camera is for this ride yet but apparently Alex does!

I haven't mentioned it yet and I don't have any pictures but we decided earlier that day to do the little figment hunt in each country. Basically, there were famous pieces of art in each pavilion and you had to search them for figment. You buy a map (like for the Easter egg hunts) and it has stickers of paintings and blank spots next to each country. You search the art work in each pavilion for figment and when you find the picture with him in it, you put that sticker in the correct place on your map. Once you are done, you take the completed map to the front of the world showcase and they give you a little prize. So Alex got his map all finished this day and we got a great figment magnet. I wish I had a picture but I don't. The whole thing was perfect for kids and a great addition for the festival of the arts.

On our way back this afternoon, we found another painting missing some subjects and joined in the fun.

PhotoPass_Visiting_EPCOT_7946202307 by Emily Landon, on Flickr

After a long afternoon exploring the countries and getting our figment magnet, it was time to take a little rest before our evening activities. I lucked out in obtaining a FPP for a ride at another park that we really wanted to add to our attractions list and you'll find out what that is in the next update.

See you soon!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

An anytime fast pass for anything but Forozen Ever After! They overheard Alex asking if there was any way we could go on Test Track for our 40 attractions list and I told him we just wouldn't be able to wait in that kind of line and still make it to our next fastpass. Apparently, they wanted to help out! More pixie Dust!!!! So we were off on our way to attraction #33: test track.

That is amazing! and the best kind of pixie dust!

I guess I don't really know where the camera is for this ride yet but apparently Alex does!

ha! That is what I thought too, did he know where the carmen was.... I know where none of the camera are... Ha.

 

[Elandon]

ha! That is what I thought too, did he know where the carmen was.... I know where none of the camera are... Ha.

This trip I am determined to try to do funny poses for all the ride pictures. Now I just need to think of some funny poses....

 

[KathyM2]

Diameter for everyone! Stay in touch and we can meet up somewhere if possible!

PM me your number and we can try to figure out a time/place that works! I won't be using the Dis on my phone while there because Canadian = ridiculous data roaming fees so texting is better if we want to try to get together! Hoping to meet with @chunkymonkey as well.

This is me! I just found your TR today and read it all the way through. I am enjoying it.

Hey cool!!

While we were there, we hopped on Attraction #30: The Gran Fiesta Tour!

You are gonna laugh, but I've never been on this and it's one of my "must do's" for our upcoming trip lol. But I have to ask, are there any drops in this or on the Frozen ride? My DD (and to be honest) me too...are scared of anything unexpected like that and she won't go on Pirates because of that...

Apparently, they wanted to help out! More pixie Dust!!!! So we were off on our way to attraction #33: test track.

That is super cool!! How awesome that you got to have FP+ for two Tier 1 rides!! Hate that tiering nonsense at Epcot!

They made it up for me but when I went to pay for it, they told me it was free! Turns out you can always get a free slushy here for your birthday! How awesome! Even more pixie dust!

That's a great treat for your bday!

 

[Elandon]

February 11: An evening out... Attractions #35 & #36
​

Here we are at our last night of the trip and we still have quite a few attractions to fit in. Will we do it? Only I know the answer. Unless my mom is reading this. Hi, mom!

We left off at the end of a long and awesome pixie-dusted day at Epcot. We headed back to our super amazing suite at the Beach club and I did some preliminary packing. Avatar was playing on one of the channels (I think it's playing around the clock now) and I had never seen it before so I watched a bit while we packed. Somehow I managed to get most things into the suitcase and left out clothes for the night and the next day (which would be our departure day). We grabbed some dinner snacks at the club lounge around 6:30 (right before they put them away) because we had such a big lunch! Then we were out the door to go to Hollywood Studios! While we were finishing up at Epcot, I got us fast passes to one of my favorites: Rockin RollerCoaster (attraction #35) and we figured we could watch the fireworks too. So off we went on the Friendships hoping we wouldn't miss our fast pass (it was getting a little tight). But, we made it with a bit of time to spare. So we got a photo pass picture. Wouldn't you?

PhotoPass_Visiting_STUDIO_7946695810 by Emily Landon, on Flickr

Then Alex and I went to rock it out while Grandma Missie went to ride the Great Movie ride. Incidentally, that is the last time any of us will ride GMR since it will be closing on our first day of our summer trip and we have to go to magic kingdom that day. I'll be sad to see it go but I am really excited about having a mickey ride. It looks really cool and I've always wanted to have something mickey themed.

IMG_1261 by Emily Landon, on Flickr

IMG_1263 by Emily Landon, on Flickr

IMG_1264 by Emily Landon, on Flickr

PhotoPass_Visiting_STUDIO_7946725662 by Emily Landon, on Flickr

It looks even cooler at night, right? I don't remember what song we had but it was rocking as usual. Can you tell how much we love the launch? And we waited for front because, well, that's what we do. We didn't have time to do it again though because it was getting close to star wars galactic spectacular time. And that is attraction #36: star wars: a galactic spectacular. We decided to stand further back because we had seen it before and none of us wanted to deal with the crowds on the way back to the boat after the fireworks. Guess who is excited?

IMG_1284 by Emily Landon, on Flickr


Not the best view but we got the idea...

IMG_1265 by Emily Landon, on Flickr

IMG_1290 by Emily Landon, on Flickr

The only issue with this nighttime spectacular is that you either need to arrive really early or do the dessert party if you want to see both the projections and the fireworks. We did the dessert party last summer and it was awesome except that Grandma Missie was a little bit afraid of the storm troopers. I think they thought she was playing it up to get more attention so they just kept bothering her but she was really honestly pissed at them and a little afraid. It was pretty funny if you weren't her. She kept swearing under her breath at them and trying to scoot away from them. Alex had an idea though. He said, "Grandma, let me handle this next time they come over" and, sure enough, they headed right for her a few minutes later. He stepped in front of her and swept his hand in front of himself (like he was using the force) and said "this is not the grandma you are looking for". The storm troopers just looked at each other, turned, and walked away. So perfect. It was hilarious. My mom, who is not much of a star wars fan, was flummoxed. She says to Alex "how did you do that?" and he shrugs and says, "it's what the Jedis say in the movie so I figured it would work." I wish I had gotten it on video. It was truly priceless. Anyhow, that was a different trip. The night we were in the back and we took off for the boats as soon as the show ended. We hadn't necessarily planned on doing this but I'm glad we did. It was fun.

Back at the Beach Club, my last super special dessert was waiting for me and it was pretty amazing. It was a play on chocolate, peanut butter, and pretzel. Now I have eaten at some pretty fancy restaurants in my life but this was truly one of the best desserts I have ever seen or eaten. Chris said they would get better every night but I didn't expect this!

IMG_1297 by Emily Landon, on Flickr

What birthday pixie dust! I was so lucky to be able to have this trip. I still feel all warm and fuzzy just thinking about it.

The end of the last full day was upon us. Time to review our attractions...

1. Beaches & Cream
2. Storm Along Bay
3. Town Square Talking Mickey
4. Peter Pan
5. BTMRR
6. Small World
7. Carousel
8. Wishes
9. TSMM
10. Goofy
11. Minnie & Sorcerer Mickey
12. Star Tours
13. Muppetvision
14. Indiana Jones
15. Boathouse
16. Flights of Wonder
17. expedition Everest
18. Tiffins
19. FotLK
20. Finding Nemo the Musical
21. Figment
22. The Land
23. Soarin
24. Mission Space
25. Acrobats in China
26. Nemo ride
27. Baymax
28. Joy & Sadness
29. Spaceship Earth
30. Gran Fiesta Tour
31. Alice
32. Le Cellier
33. Test Track
34. Frozen Ever After
35. Rockin rollercoaster
36. Star Wars Fireworks

Phew- almost there. Do you think we can get four more attractions in at Magic Kingdom tomorrow morning? I bet we can do it.

 

[Elandon]

But I have to ask, are there any drops in this or on the Frozen ride? My DD (and to be honest) me too...are scared of anything unexpected like that and she won't go on Pirates because of that...

There is no drop on the gran fiesta tour. there is a small drop on FEA but it's really nothing special. Not even as big as pirates. Your daughter will be good. Watch a ride through on youtube first so you know what to expect.

 

[mustinjourney]

He said, "Grandma, let me handle this next time they come over" and, sure enough, they headed right for her a few minutes later. He stepped in front of her and swept his hand in front of himself (like he was using the force) and said "this is not the grandma you are looking for". The storm troopers just looked at each other, turned, and walked away. So perfect. It was hilarious. My mom, who is not much of a star wars fan, was flummoxed. She says to Alex "how did you do that?" and he shrugs and says, "it's what the Jedis say in the movie so I figured it would work."

I've got to come out of lurker mode for this one! That's hilarious!

 

[mustinjourney]

There is no drop on the gran fiesta tour. there is a small drop on FEA but it's really nothing special. Not even as big as pirates. Your daughter will be good. Watch a ride through on youtube first so you know what to expect.

My kids made the best faces on FEA...you'd think it was EE.

 

[KathyM2]

He stepped in front of her and swept his hand in front of himself (like he was using the force) and said "this is not the grandma you are looking for". The storm troopers just looked at each other, turned, and walked away. So perfect. It was hilarious. My mom, who is not much of a star wars fan, was flummoxed. She says to Alex "how did you do that?" and he shrugs and says, "it's what the Jedis say in the movie so I figured it would work." I wish I had gotten it on video. It was truly priceless.

That is seriously awesome. One to tell at his wedding lol

 

[Elandon]

I've got to come out of lurker mode for this one! That's hilarious!

It was one of the best Disney/Star Wars moment ever.

 

[Elandon]

My kids made the best faces on FEA...you'd think it was EE.


View attachment 254804

Oh dear! That's not how it was for us.

 

[mdsouth]

It's prime time for attractions so off we went to a big family favorite... Spaceship earth (attraction #29). Alex rode with me and Grandma Missie rode by herself so she could listen in french (see was a French teacher for 30 years).

This is a great photo of your mother. I love her genuine smile! You can tell she is excited to listen the the ride in French!

An anytime fast pass for anything but Forozen Ever After! They overheard Alex asking if there was any way we could go on Test Track for our 40 attractions list and I told him we just wouldn't be able to wait in that kind of line and still make it to our next fastpass. Apparently, they wanted to help out! More pixie Dust!!!! So we were off on our way to attraction #33: test track.

What a nice gesture on Disney and a special birthday treat for you!

Now, Grandma Missie doesn't usually go on this one but Alex really wanted her to go so he made his little puppy dog eyes and told her he wanted her to sit by him because he loves her so much. Obviously, that worked like a charm but she was so worried about her hair getting messed up with all the wind.... Well, you can see how that turned out.

The amazing power of grandkids and their cuteness! Smart one he is that Alex as Yoda would say. I normally do not quote Star Wars but I have already read ahead about Alex and the Stormtroppers so I figured it fit.

On our way back this afternoon, we found another painting missing some subjects and joined in the fun.

I just love these painting photo ops! I especially like this one because I teach American History. It would be so cool to do something like this in my classroom for my students. I will have to work on doing something a bit simpler but on the same idea.

So we got a photo pass picture. Wouldn't you?

What a great family photo on your last night at WDW. It is great and your mother's hair looks great, even after Test Track.

I think they thought she was playing it up to get more attention so they just kept bothering her but she was really honestly pissed at them and a little afraid. It was pretty funny if you weren't her. She kept swearing under her breath at them and trying to scoot away from them. Alex had an idea though. He said, "Grandma, let me handle this next time they come over" and, sure enough, they headed right for her a few minutes later. He stepped in front of her and swept his hand in front of himself (like he was using the force) and said "this is not the grandma you are looking for". The storm troopers just looked at each other, turned, and walked away. So perfect. It was hilarious. My mom, who is not much of a star wars fan, was flummoxed. She says to Alex "how did you do that?" and he shrugs and says, "it's what the Jedis say in the movie so I figured it would work." I wish I had gotten it on video. It was truly priceless.

I wish I would have been there to see this! TOO FUNNY and so perfect! I bet the audience loved it!

Back at the Beach Club, my last super special dessert was waiting for me and it was pretty amazing. It was a play on chocolate, peanut butter, and pretzel. Now I have eaten at some pretty fancy restaurants in my life but this was truly one of the best desserts I have ever seen or eaten. Chris said they would get better every night but I didn't expect this!

OH my! My three favorite snacks all together in such a beautiful sculpture! I love it.

My kids made the best faces on FEA...you'd think it was EE.


View attachment 254804

This is hysterical! I am so glad you came out of lurkdom to post it! Too funny and definitely one you can have fun with years from now!

I can see you showing this in a presentation at their wedding rehearsal or reception. You can first post it with a caption with a question about what terrifying ride you took them on as children and then the next slide can be a photo of the actual simple little ride. Make sure you find a current photo of the ride, the name and inside it to save so you can pair it with your photo later. You never know if and when Disney may change rides.

 

[Elandon]

February 12 (departure day): Magic Kingdom Morning (attractions 37-40)​

This is it! The last update for my trip report.

SW and I were supposed to go to Wisconsin for a weekend getaway but a family emergency for his ex-wife means that he is driving his kids to sleep away camp (ironically also in wisconsin) today and we will have to reschedule our getaway! Oh well, it's giving me time to make some candles and catch up on this trip report. So I've got about 14 candles cooling in the kitchen (it smells pretty awesome in here right now) and I'm settling down to my last trip update.

We left off going to bed on our last night in the magical suite at the beach club and we pick up waking up on our last morning. I packed up the last of our stuff and Grandma Missie called to get a bounce back for her solo trip to F&G in May. Then we grabbed some breakfast and said goodbye to our friends in the club lounge. We stopped back in the room to get our suitcases and said goodbye to our suite. Lovely, lovely suite, we will miss you forever . Let's look at another picture of the view from our room on that perfect morning...

IMG_1672 by Emily Landon, on Flickr


We brought our suitcases down to the front and checked our big bags using airline check-in. I love that service. Mom drove her car around the front and we loaded up her bags (she would be driving back to her winter home in Venice, FL) and our carry ons. After that we drove over to the magic Kingdom for our last morning. It's almost always MK on the first day for us and then either Epcot or MK on the last day too.

We parked in Simba (when we drive, we always take a picture of the sign on the ground telling you which section and row you are in so we don't forget). The time stamp on my phone shows that we were walking down mainstreet at 10:07 so the park probably opened at 9 that day. We usually like to make rope drop but my joints were just not cooperating this trip so I threw that out the window and decided to just take it as I could. I know that we picked up new Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom cards before we took this picture and then we were off.

IMG_1313 by Emily Landon, on Flickr

It looks busy for a sunday morning in february but we only needed a few more attractions to complete our quest. You might think that we would head directly for an attraction but, no, we headed for another favorite: the raspberry lemonade slushy at the Cheshire Cafe.

IMG_1327 by Emily Landon, on Flickr

See the Alice topiary in the background? I love this drink and the cheshire cafe because it's all Alice-y there. Perfect.

Now it's time to get to some attractions. First up, Under the Sea with the Little Mermaid (attraction #37)

IMG_1331 by Emily Landon, on Flickr

IMG_1332 by Emily Landon, on Flickr

IMG_1335 by Emily Landon, on Flickr

I think Eric's castle is woefully underrated as a castle. It's so cool looking. And I love this ride. I was about 12 when this movie was released and it changed everything in terms of disney movies. Disney movies were hard to get VCR tapes of old cartoons and then all of a sudden it was fresh and everyone was singing ariel's song. I remember belting out "Part of that world" while getting ready in the mornings. It started the second renaissance of Disney animation and every year after that while I was a teenager there was a new movie. At that time, I really wanted to be the voice of a disney character. Love Jodi Benson!

Next up, more water-themed attractions: Pirates of the Caribbean (attraction #38)

IMG_1342 by Emily Landon, on Flickr

IMG_1339 by Emily Landon, on Flickr

Oh, the redhead . It's change and that's always hard but selling women is the wrong message to send regardless so I'm okay with it.

Speaking of water-focused attractions, my very favorite is Splash Mountain but we didn't do that this trip because it was never really warm enough for me to want to be wet all day, plus we were only at MK on the first evening (too chilly) and the last day (need to fly home later) so it just wasn't in the cards but we have a few FPP for it this summer. Even Grandma Missie goes on splash mountain (despite her phobia of having wet hair). We have so many pictures of her trying different ways to protect her hair. We never know what she is going to do until we go up the dark hill and she pulls something out of her bag. You have got to see the summer trip report because I promise some good ride photos. Sorry, mom.

Next up, another watery ride: Jungle Cruise! (attraction #39--almost there!)

IMG_1344 by Emily Landon, on Flickr

IMG_1346 by Emily Landon, on Flickr

Our skipper was pretty funny this time. I was impressed.

IMG_1347 by Emily Landon, on Flickr

IMG_1349 by Emily Landon, on Flickr

The backside of water! This is on my phone's background right now. I wonder if anyone notices what it really is.

At this point, it was time for a little break for lunch! We went to Skipper Canteen and I didn't even count it as an attraction. We have eaten here twice before and love it. I don't think the food is adventurous but, then again, I live in a big city and eat all kinds of things. In fact, when Alex got home from his Montana trip with his dad this summer, he said he really wanted to eat real American food....like Sushi or Indian. We sat in the big mess hall (I think) and shared appetizers for lunch.

IMG_1352 by Emily Landon, on Flickr

IMG_1353 by Emily Landon, on Flickr

IMG_1673 by Emily Landon, on Flickr

Full from our awesome lunch, we were headed to fantasyland for our last attraction of the trip. But first, a great picture of the castle.

IMG_1354 by Emily Landon, on Flickr

And then attraction #40: Seven Dwarfs Mine Train! I talked Alex into not sitting in the front this time because it's better from the back. Grandma Missie likes this one too so we all rode together.

IMG_1358 by Emily Landon, on Flickr

IMG_1363 by Emily Landon, on Flickr

PhotoPass_Visiting_MK_7947152579 by Emily Landon, on Flickr

We love this ride. It's too short but it's really fun and smooth which didn't make my joints hurt.

After achieving our main goal (40 attractions), it was time to head home from this magical trip. We stopped in the emporium for some last minute shopping. I think we bought some snacks to bring home with us to ease our post-disney depression. We also got one last castle picture to commemorate our trip.

PhotoPass_Visiting_MK_7947163967 by Emily Landon, on Flickr

Grandma Missie drove us to the airport and we made our way to the gate. Our flight was on time and everything was good. We got some coffee at starbucks and got on the 5pm flight back to Chicago. Alex was feeling pretty gracious because he let me sit by the window this time (we both love the window seat) so I took one last picture of the sunset.

IMG_1365 by Emily Landon, on Flickr

We had such an amazing trip and we achieved our goal! 40 attractions for my 40th birthday in just over 4 days. We were missing one person from our party and my aching, swollen joints slowed us down a lot more than I wanted to admit (at the time or now to be honest) but we still did it. I can't believe how much pixie dust there was from the great weather to the super special desserts. You just can't beat disney for a true break from the negativity of every-day life and the chance to see everyone you love feeling real joy.


And only 22 days until our next trip......



Thanks for reading! And stay tuned because I think I'll just post a couple pre-trip updates on this thread since I have your attention already

Emily

 

[Secondgradememories]

Thanks for sharing this amazing trip with us! In November I am headed back to celebrate my 50th and my daughter's 18th, a promise I made to her on our last trip, 12 years ago! Our birthdays are a day apart and I share mine with Mickey! It's just a long weekend trip, but we are headed back to my favorite place to stay, club level at the Beach Club! I think requested the same suite you had. It is my favorite place in the world! You've inspired me to put together a wish list of fifty fun things I hope to do and have my daughter do 18. We'll compare lists and then make our plans. It will make our planning even more fun! Thanks again! I hope you and your son keep feeling the magic, even when he's a big 18 year old!

 

[Elandon]

Thanks for sharing this amazing trip with us! In November I am headed back to celebrate my 50th and my daughter's 18th, a promise I made to her on our last trip, 12 years ago! Our birthdays are a day apart and I share mine with Mickey! It's just a long weekend trip, but we are headed back to my favorite place to stay, club level at the Beach Club! I think requested the same suite you had. It is my favorite place in the world! You've inspired me to put together a wish list of fifty fun things I hope to do and have my daughter do 18. We'll compare lists and then make our plans. It will make our planning even more fun! Thanks again! I hope you and your son keep feeling the magic, even when he's a big 18 year old!

Thanks for reading! I know you guys will have an awesome time too! Let me know how your list works out.

 

[mdsouth]

Ah, the last day of vacation is always so bittersweet. As you progress through the day, you just feel the real world closing in on you. It looks like your last day was filled with lots of smiles and fun, even as you had to deal with your joint pain. I hope the pain eases for you as I know that must be very hard to deal with each day in your line of work as a doctor.

I will continue to watch for your upcoming posts about your pre-trip plans.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

We love Skipper Canteen! We skipped it on our last trip and I am looking forward to going back on this next trip.

Glad to hear you made it to 40 Attractions!

 

[KathyM2]

we headed for another favorite: the raspberry lemonade slushy at the Cheshire Cafe.

That looks delish. I also love their cupcake cups even though they are sickeningly sweet lol

I talked Alex into not sitting in the front this time because it's better from the back. Grandma Missie likes this one too so we all rode together.

Why is this better from the back? Speaking as a total ride wuss but hoping to go on this our first time this trip...so if it's less scary at the front...I want the front lol

You just can't beat disney for a true break from the negativity of every-day life and the chance to see everyone you love feeling real joy.

Totally agree which is why I can't wait to be there!!!

 

[Elandon]

Ah, the last day of vacation is always so bittersweet. As you progress through the day, you just feel the real world closing in on you. It looks like your last day was filled with lots of smiles and fun, even as you had to deal with your joint pain. I hope the pain eases for you as I know that must be very hard to deal with each day in your line of work as a doctor.

I will continue to watch for your upcoming posts about your pre-trip plans.

Life is much better with etanercept! I finally bit the bullet after failing plaquenil and mobic and went for the TNF inhibitor and life is so much better! Back to normal as far as I'm concerned and no infections so far. Thanks for thinking of me! Are you guys going this summer? Or early fall?

 

[Elandon]

Why is this better from the back? Speaking as a total ride wuss but hoping to go on this our first time this trip...so if it's less scary at the front...I want the front lol

The hills aren't tat big so the front goes pretty slowly over the top and slows at the valleys so you never feel like you are gathering much speed.