ABCs of Trip Reporting, Pt. 2-Life Can Be Crappy and Then You Move On (3/7)

[MEK]

What a great ending to a very full day and a very long dinner. I must confess, I have never been in the MK that late with so few people. I bet it is really cool. And how great to only have to hop the monorail to the Poly. Convenience at its best.

 

[FauntleroyFAN07]

sweet i picked my favorite color and it paid off...easier to get points here than on marvs.

 

[glennbo123]

sweet i picked my favorite color and it paid off...easier to get points here than on marvs.

You ain't kidding. Marv's questions are like "what one-in-a-million thing happened on this particular day?"

 

[FauntleroyFAN07]

You ain't kidding. Marv's questions are like "what one-in-a-million thing happened on this particular day?"

and when i reveal the answer you will slap your head because you didnt get it right.



but somehow i am still beating you, but not after this round when you go ahead of me since you have insider knowledge.

 

[ladylyons]

I'm with you, Kathy!! Brocolli is icky unless smothered in something!

Sorry no matter what Broccolli is covered in it's still icky!!!

Yay! for finding the camera!

I won't be on much either for a bit... there are some things going on personally in my family that need some careful attention. Wish I could say more, but really need to focus here for a bit.

Another vote for chicken! (It was chicken, right?)

My mom was a little bummed the camera was found cuz she wants a new camera and my dad is a cheap skate and told her she could buy a new one when this one dies.

We had lots of drama this weekend with the family. I was glad to be there to see everyone but I wish the drama could have been left behind. Let's just say with it was a very, very eventful weekend. We were supposed to come home on the 5th but instead came home on the 6th cuz I needed to be there for moral support for my sister due to some things that happened.

I really, really hope I can get on here later today, and get to replies; on my laptop that was finally found!! I do have the next chapter written and ready, and now I hear Mary is sick. So in the interest of keeping this Tr going and all, I will just go ahead and continue- she can catch up when she can.

Was going to post and say so sorry about the lap top but then read you found it!!! That's awesome news!!! So glad you still have the pictures to go along with the memories that were made during this special trip!!

Now off to unpack and then repack cuz we're leaving on Sunday for Disneyland!!!!!!

 

[MAGICFOR2]

You ain't kidding. Marv's questions are like "what one-in-a-million thing happened on this particular day?"

I thought I was the only one who couldn't guess!

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Sorry no matter what Broccolli is covered in it's still icky!!!



My mom was a little bummed the camera was found cuz she wants a new camera and my dad is a cheap skate and told her she could buy a new one when this one dies.

We had lots of drama this weekend with the family. I was glad to be there to see everyone but I wish the drama could have been left behind. Let's just say with it was a very, very eventful weekend. We were supposed to come home on the 5th but instead came home on the 6th cuz I needed to be there for moral support for my sister due to some things that happened.

I really, really hope I can get on here later today, and get to replies; on my laptop that was finally found!! I do have the next chapter written and ready, and now I hear Mary is sick. So in the interest of keeping this Tr going and all, I will just go ahead and continue- she can catch up when she can. QUOTE]

Was going to post and say so sorry about the lap top but then read you found it!!! That's awesome news!!! So glad you still have the pictures to go along with the memories that were made during this special trip!!

Now off to unpack and then repack cuz we're leaving on Sunday for Disneyland!!!!!!

Glad you are home safe, Sandra. I'm sorry about the drama. Yay
Disneyland - that should help you feel better!

 

[ladylyons]

Glad you are home safe, Sandra. I'm sorry about the drama. Yay
Disneyland - that should help you feel better!

Mentally I'm ready for Disneyland but I do still need to pack and I only have 1 day to really pack. We have my DH Union Picnic on Saturday so no packing will happen that day so it all has to be done tomorrow. Don't know how I'll get it all done but it will happen some how.

Yeah our drive home took a little longer than planned. We left my parent's house at 10 am hoping to be home by 5 pm and that was with us stopping to eat but we didn't get home until about 7:30 pm due to road work and traffic the whole way home!!! Thank goodness my kids do great when traveling!!

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

This was important stuff because the answer to that has some very high stakes! Many of you put in your guesses, and the color that pulled into the station to whisk us away high above Reality below was

Blue!

Not lime, as we had hoped, but blue. Which is great because a few of you actually guessed that! Hmmm… consulting my (occasionally) trusty Excel spreadsheet, I can say that Rosie, Jenb1023, Vanessa and Dan scored a point for question #3! Hooray for you 4!

Awesome! I now suck at prediction games on 2 different threads!

We made many comments about how cool it was to be in such an empty park. Little did we know that there would be MANY days and evenings with such conditions!! September is a great time to go!

SShhh!! Not so loud! You'll give it away!

I love it there in September. I wish we could have done the nighttime EMH more, but even during the day the crowd levels aren't bad at all.

Bear with me as I present- “WAY Too Many Pictures In and Of the Castle”, brought to you today by Chevron- “We’ve got gas!”

I suspect most of us have a similarly-titled photo file on our computers. Regarding the castle, I mean.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

You ain't kidding. Marv's questions are like "what one-in-a-million thing happened on this particular day?"

I'd have a better chance if he asked what the average air-speed of an unladen African swallow was.

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Mentally I'm ready for Disneyland but I do still need to pack and I only have 1 day to really pack. We have my DH Union Picnic on Saturday so no packing will happen that day so it all has to be done tomorrow. Don't know how I'll get it all done but it will happen some how.

Yeah our drive home took a little longer than planned. We left my parent's house at 10 am hoping to be home by 5 pm and that was with us stopping to eat but we didn't get home until about 7:30 pm due to road work and traffic the whole way home!!! Thank goodness my kids do great when traveling!!

Wow, that's a long day. Have a great time at the Happiest Place on Earth!

 

[All7OfUs]

GB, lately you're on here about as much as myself!! And when you are, you really make an impression!

Yippee I scored a point!!!!! (Let's hope it is not my only one!)

Even though you got a later start than you had hoped for, it looks like you got a lot accomplished. Love the empty park photos and am glad to hear that was a theme for the week. Looking forward to see if Mary's wishes come true!

We did a lot of the "left side" of the park. When it's empty, you can crank stuff out pretty quickly!

I wonder if Mary even knows what her wishes were??

I agree with you. You can't really flash by yourself....it's like a "tree falling in the forest" kind of thing -- "If you flashed and no one saw it, did you really flash?" The answer is "no".

I really like that line of thinking! Guess it's the same with the Liesa Greeting.

I think this is the first time I've seen a picture of these buzzards. Nice job!

Thanks! A bit blurry, but I'll take it!


So it was like "ooo, it just changed colors....gotta take another picture"?


Yeah, basically, that was it exactly.

I would say I was brilliant in my BLUE answer ,but I just guessed . However I will take the point, thank you very much

You mean you meant brilliant blue??

 

[All7OfUs]

No worries, we connected, and of course I'll be praying.

Thanks for praying. Yesterday went well too...

I hate that you went through all of this, but as Capt.O said....this too shall pass...and it will, promise. In the mean time, we've all got your back. Call any time you need to vent, scream, cry or talk.
I knew if you could find your wedding ring after all that time, you'd find your laptop.

Thanks so much for your willingness to be there during this weird time. I'm really hoping things will normalize and I can get back to the things I love, not limited to, but including sleep and eating!!!

Told Ya!!!




exactly - I have done that soooo many times.

I was very, very relieved!! And yes, I've backed up!!

Dang, I got another wrong answer.

You got some great pictures, Liesa, and I'm surprised how long you all lasted considering the long day you all had.

Well considering they were taken from a moving boat, in the dark, after 2 lapus.... Yeah, I guess they are ok.

Yup! After everyone started leaving the park, I sat at the table next to Sleep Hollow with my funnel cake (that I made sure I got right before they closed) and camera taking oooooh, I don't know, maybe close to 20 pictures. All the while my daughter saying......"Mooooom! When are we gonna leave?!?" And me saying...."Oh! Look at that color! I don't think I took a picture of it in that color!"

Here are a few of my favorites.....

oooooooooooohhhh, nicely done!!!

Another amazing, ambitious day, full of great pictures. Love the return to the Mickeyhead wishes, too!

We had a great day- perhaps LeeAnn not so much, but it ended well, and that's what mattered!

Well, congrats to you point getters for BLUE!

You had alot of adventures, even though it was so late! I loved reading all the wishes -can't wait to see how many come true!

Sept. is my favorite time in the parks. I just read "The Kingdom Keepers" Sounds like weird things happen in an empty park....

Liesa, I'm glad you found our laptop and your mother-daughter time was fruitful.

Yes, I need to go back and zoom in on those wishes and see how many came true.

Oh! do tell.... what weird things????

Thanks Tammie; I know you were praying too, and things do seem to be mending. THANKS!

 

[glennbo123]

I'd have a better chance if he asked what the average air-speed of an unladen African swallow was.

I can tell you're shooting for "Monty Python and the Holy Grail"....but you're supposed to leave out the continent of origin and I'm supposed to reply with the question, "African or European?".

 

[All7OfUs]

What a great ending to a very full day and a very long dinner. I must confess, I have never been in the MK that late with so few people. I bet it is really cool. And how great to only have to hop the monorail to the Poly. Convenience at its best.

Late nights in the MK are the BOMB! I love the ambient lighting, the practically non-existent lines, and that second wind I always seem to get! WOOT!

It was so nice having a close resort! We certainly planned our trip to take advantage of it!!

sweet i picked my favorite color and it paid off...easier to get points here than on marvs.

You think so?? I don't know.... guessing is guessing.

Sorry no matter what Broccolli is covered in it's still icky!!!

Yeah, I guess you're right. A neccesary evil, veggies are.

My mom was a little bummed the camera was found cuz she wants a new camera and my dad is a cheap skate and told her she could buy a new one when this one dies.

I wished mine would die too, and I still have a POC.

We had lots of drama this weekend with the family. I was glad to be there to see everyone but I wish the drama could have been left behind. Let's just say with it was a very, very eventful weekend. We were supposed to come home on the 5th but instead came home on the 6th cuz I needed to be there for moral support for my sister due to some things that happened.

I can TOTALLY relate- it's been a load of poo-poo here too; but hey look on the bright side- drama is a great diet plan.

In all seriousness, I do hope your situation settles down and you can all rest in the blessings of peace and ease again!

Was going to post and say so sorry about the lap top but then read you found it!!! That's awesome news!!! So glad you still have the pictures to go along with the memories that were made during this special trip!!

Thanks, Sandra! I was so relieved, and the best part is that I can continue my TR- an update from which is ready to go right after replies!



Now off to unpack and then repack cuz we're leaving on Sunday for Disneyland!!!!!!

Have a wonderful, wonderful, refreshing and fun trip!!

Mentally I'm ready for Disneyland but I do still need to pack and I only have 1 day to really pack. We have my DH Union Picnic on Saturday so no packing will happen that day so it all has to be done tomorrow. Don't know how I'll get it all done but it will happen some how.

Yeah our drive home took a little longer than planned. We left my parent's house at 10 am hoping to be home by 5 pm and that was with us stopping to eat but we didn't get home until about 7:30 pm due to road work and traffic the whole way home!!! Thank goodness my kids do great when traveling!!

What a nightmare trip home! Hope you are going to have time to both recover AND pack!!

Awesome! I now suck at prediction games on 2 different threads!

I think you're going to end up doing just fine! This was one of the most random ones.

SShhh!! Not so loud! You'll give it away!

I love it there in September. I wish we could have done the nighttime EMH more, but even during the day the crowd levels aren't bad at all.

I know, I know- we should really keep these secrets to ourselves! What was I thinking!?

I think I have several crowd photos to prove just how wonderful things are!

I suspect most of us have a similarly-titled photo file on our computers. Regarding the castle, I mean.

It was actually from a t-shirt I saw on my DLR trip! I thought it was so funny!

I'd have a better chance if he asked what the average air-speed of an unladen African swallow was.

 

[All7OfUs]

Finally, finally we got to the Entrance Pavilion. Now came time for the most important decision of our day- well, after the decision of ice tea or water for lunch. But that’s getting ahead of myself. It was time to choose a ticket option. After the very kind CM explained all of our options, and us stepping aside to formulate a plan that ultimately would have to consider the next few days, we took up Disney’s “generous” offer of Southern California resident discount 3-day tickets for $139.

And in order to not put the cart before the horse in my story, I’ll just say now, I wish we’d read the fine print. But I can say, I learned the first of many things at the ticket window:

So Cal. Residents CAN purchase up to 6 tickets for guests when they purchase theirs! I had assumed (there wasn’t any time to really research this trip at all, remember Dear Reader) that they could get one for themselves and have to show ID for proof of residence.

Pretty happy with our tidy little savings of $15 or so bucks each, we made our way into the entrance courtyard where I took these:

See the happy looks on their faces? Yeah, that’s what it’s all about, people! We three were grinning from ear to ear, and couldn’t wait to get started! But where to first?

Guest Services in City Hall

I had so many questions about the rides that were accessible to the handicapped, and of course, those would determine the order of our day. After a few questions about how the process worked for wheelchairs, I learned the second thing new:

A wheelchair is equal to a GAC.

For most rides, we learned, you simply roll up to the exit of the attraction, grab the CM’s attention, and you will be accommodated from there. Not necessarily faster than anyone else (in some cases it may take even longer) but with dignity and grace a fair bit of extra time. More on our experiences with this later.
With a list of accessible attractions in hand, and assured that there was NO WAY a lack of fun stuff to do could impede our day of joy, it was time to get a very early lunch.

For weeks, since this trip became a distinct possibility, my mom and I had drooled over the thought of reliving a few memories of noshing at Carnation. I myself remember eating there since, oh… about 1973¸and my aunt and mom have been doing so since WAY earlier than that. So we headed for the red and white umbrella’d haven of good eats.

Crowds were light, and we got in pretty quickly to a shady table.

I am one of those eaters who simply isn’t hungry until later, so ordered a small cup of chicken noodle and a raspberry lemonade. One was pretty decent; one was not. Wanna guess which one?

Cherrie ordered a children’s grilled cheese sandwich, as that was what she thought would be easiest to eat- even still it took her an hour to eat most of it, and that with difficulty. We had been warned by The Villian that she had begun to choke on her meals, badly enough that she has twice passed out and 911 had to be called; this was the part of the trip I was most worried about. Happily, I can say there was never one issue with her choking and all of our meals were delightful full of laughter and stories. Mom ordered a turkey sandwich, which was pretty big in my book and she shared a bit with me. THANKS, Mom!

So, now I’ve left you wondering which part of my meal was poo-poo gross: the lemonade was fake stuff full of diet-y chemicals that left a horrible taste in my mouth. I should have gone with iced tea! I’m not sure I have EVER in my whole life sent something back or complained, but I just could not drink that stuff. I asked for some water, and when she asked if something was wrong, I asked if this was a “diet drink”. She went to the back to ask, and sure enough, it was loaded with aspartame or some other poison; I was pleased to have not been charged for it, although I certainly didn’t expect that- I should have asked.

So, first things first after tanking up? Yeah, you know us well by now, my Peeps!! The bathroom.

There is a quite convenient and lovely bathroom right around the corner- literally, we sat right in front of it while eating- so we hit that baby up, and thus begins the Saga of Pee. Now, I would be very remiss indeed in my TRing if I didn’t show you a few pix from our bathroom foray, wouldn’t I?

This light fixture caught my eye, and I couldn’t help but admire it’s Arts and Crafts sort of look.

It’s interesting that they did go Arts and Crafts or Mission style back here being on a Victorian Era street, because for weeks we three had been talking about my own house and going that style with it. You see Cherrie has been an interior designer/decorator for years and was quite good at what she did. Before she passes away, I want her input into my home, so I can always have a little piece of her with me to look at every day.

Ok, I digress… While they finished up the “task” I wandered into the nearby shops and took some photos.

I also hunted around for some prizes for the game winners on the WDW thread(s) I have going. If you’re wondering, Glenn, Dan, et al…. I did not find them yet- it was a 2 day quest that took careful hunting.

We slowly strolled up Main Street taking in the sights. I was super excited to get to see the 4th of July decorations up:

But we were disappointed to have just missed these guys:

- a perennial favorite of mine. But now it was time to head off to a perennial favorite of Mom’s and Cherrie’s, one their own mother loved over and over….

Next up: The Adventures of Tiki-Leaky Liesa

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Thanks so much for your willingness to be there during this weird time. I'm really hoping things will normalize and I can get back to the things I love, not limited to, but including sleep and eating!!!




I was very, very relieved!! And yes, I've backed up!!



Well considering they were taken from a moving boat, in the dark, after 2 lapus.... Yeah, I guess they are ok.





oooooooooooohhhh, nicely done!!!



We had a great day- perhaps LeeAnn not so much, but it ended well, and that's what mattered!



Yes, I need to go back and zoom in on those wishes and see how many came true.

Oh! do tell.... what weird things????

Thanks Tammie; I know you were praying too, and things do seem to be mending. THANKS!

I'm thankful for you that things are mending. God is Good. All the time.

The book is a kid's book, and it was fun but I don't think I'll read any of the sequels.

Apparently, the animatronics get loose at night and chase the CMs around - the pirates for instance, feel the need to "pirate" as that's who they are!

 

[MAGICFOR2]

You made it through the gates! I think I know what the "fine print" is about

I can't believe they have that formaldehyde in your drinks without telling you! Carnation does look like a lovely place to eat, and the restroom area looks nice too, which is great since that is the theme here.

 

[glennbo123]

I know so little about Disneyland....it's great to see all of your pictures and read the learnings you had.

I also hunted around for some prizes for the game winners on the WDW thread(s) I have going. If you’re wondering, Glenn, Dan, et al…. I did not find them yet- it was a 2 day quest that took careful hunting.

We're not that hard to buy for.

 

[KatMark]

Liesa, we have never been to Disneyland and I don't follow it much. But I am thoroughly enjoying your photos. Carnation looks like a quaint place to eat (kind of like the Plaza).