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

[Millie12591]

With a little prodding from my friends, it is my pleasure to bring you the next episode of DISMeet Done Right!

Saturday morning came bright and early, as Tammie had to take off for a small town east of Salem for an A-Company party. Camille would probably have loved to have slept in, as we’d been up until nearly 1:00 AM the night before, but the local woodpecker has been more regular lately than a pre-colonoscopy patient. Brddddddddd… brdddddddddddddd…. Sorry ‘bout that Camille!

Early on I had thought a circuit of some local wineries around my house would have been fun, but at the last minute Toni called and was VIOLENTLY sick. She thinks she may have gotten bad food somewhere, and had already been dealing with a sinus infection, so there was no way she nor Terri could make it to join us that day. So with only the 2 of us, we had to come up with something else fun to do. I mean with no designated driver, we’d have to flip for who was going to imbibe.

In days gone by, there were many Dutch and German immigrants who moved into the Valley to take advantage of the fertile soil and mild climate. One local business grows tulips on dozens of acres that turn into a veritable rainbow of colors right around mid-April. In addition to the tulips there are quite a few local cottage industries that bring their wares to display such as candy makers, sausage makers, jewelers, and even a local carver who turns out hand-carved wooden shoes. Really an entire day can be made of it, and our family has gone out there several years.

So that’s where we headed with my son Zach. The weather was iffy, at best, and the tulips, we knew, wouldn’t be in full bloom yet, but we set out to have a nice day regardless. When we got there, we were welcomed to the first line of profit making- parking at $10 a car. Then we moved into the 2nd most lucrative piece of small business Americana- the gift shop. We found all kinds of things in there that were pseudo-Dutch like lace table runners, blue and white ceramic trivets, and keychains and postcards and all the other stuff made in China. I did buy a couple of postcards to mail out

Resisting the urge of turning materialist, we headed out to find the tulip fields. On our way we were treated to all kinds of earlier blooming flowers like daffodils, narcissus, hyacinth and the like. The patio area just outside the gift shop really was a beautiful display of spring!

Dutifully following the signs, we wound our way around where we saw our first “ride”. Obviously, they took a lesson from our most beloved place, Disney, and gave a complimentary “tram” ride. The wind was quite cool as we bumped along, and soon we arrived at the only field that really had any blossoms. For the next 20 minutes we ambled along the row admiring the purples and pinks and whites and yellows of the different varieties.

Camille, I know you had some close-ups, but don’t see them on photobucket??

But looming on the not too distant horizon was a WICKED looking cloud that was threatening to drench us, and we decided to head back to the “festival” area where we could further browse the wares and take shelter if needed. Besides our time was running short, and SOMEONE kept calling/texting us- well, actually, she was texting Camille, because I was doing my very best to be a rude hostess and not answering my phone. Oops! Sorry, Cynthia! She was telling us that her situation had turned in our favor and she would indeed be able to join us afterall!! OH THE JOY!!

Safely “trammed” back, we enjoyed the booths of the vendors, and Camille treated us to a corn dog and lemonade!! We split it, and it was a perfect small snack to tide us over for the impending pig out of food that night. One of the last “displays” had us reminiscing going to AK! Who’d a thunk that we could hold a real live parrot (Camille knows the real names of them) and pet them.

Camille, I know you had a picture of the birds too, but didn’t see them either.

It was fun spending quite a bit of time talking to the rescuers, but that cloud was getting closer and soon, Cynthia and Tammie would be arriving back at Party Headquarters. What kinds of fun would the 4 of us get into that night? Did you know we had a themed dinner? Find out the answers to these intriguing questions next time on





DISMeets Done Right!

Sorry for all the blue in all the pictures, my phone always produces a lot of blue in the pics. And since I'm such a nerd, I dont know how upload my camera pictures. Not to mention I don't know where the cord to upload them went. I know, I know.

Mary! great update! I'm not one for parades, but I'm gald you all had a great time!

Liesa, I'll look again for the cord to upload the rest of the pics for the tulip fields.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

It really looks like you're in Holland, not Oregon. The tulips must be awesome when they're fully in bloom.

I agree with Glenn. The tulips really looked beautiful, even not quite in bloom.

I was not paying attention to where I was going and starting driving right with the train tracks…this presents a problem if you are driving a wheelchair, because the little wheels in the front and back of the chair are the perfect size to get STUCK in those little tracks. So…yeah…I got stuck in the tracks! So I am like…Liesa! Help! I am stuck! Which is terribly funny now, but was quite embarrassing when it happened.

Maybe Disney should hire you as another Main Street vehicle!

Your MSEP pictures really turned otu great!

Liesa wanted to get a Dole Whip for dinner…but I don't really like Dole Whips

Did I even know about this?? Is it in your sig? I think I'm going mad...

I can't remember if I told you about my other TR's or not. They're not Disney-related, so I've been posting them at http://disdads.com. If you go there and click on the "Category Search" button on the side of the page part of the way down, select "Non-Disney Travel" and it should bring up all of my posts. I'm working on New England, and I have a Statue of Liberty trip from earlier this year and last year's trip down South posted as well.

I'm thinking that maybe it didn't really happen...

Glenn has learned well.

 

[englishrose47]

Well I am well rested after falling asleep at 9 pm !!!Unheard of for me !!But I am feeling rather "Chipper" this morning and ready to tackle Marv who I see has posted this morning on his thread !!!

 

[All7OfUs]

Liesa, you guys look ALMOST as cold as we were at....the thing we were at when I was trying to get a hold of you.

yeah, it WAS cold! Maybe Camille wasn't so much, but I was fuh-reezing; and without very many blooms out, there wasn't much to take my mind off of it. But I DID love the gift shop, and hey, tasting toffee isn't such a bad pasttime either!

Liesa - good job on getting the DISmeet moving! You and Zach look so sweet amongst the tulips! Too bad there weren't more blooms - such a long Winter.

It has been a long winter!! Today was our first clear 70 degree day- and I LOVED IT!!

I think cynthia's up next, and she even told me the post is ready to go!!! Bring on the finale, Cynthia!

 

[All7OfUs]

Liesa, I'll look again for the cord to upload the rest of the pics for the tulip fields.

GREAT! Anytime! Hope you can find that cord though! What a pain to have it missing!

I can't remember if I told you about my other TR's or not. They're not Disney-related, so I've been posting them at http://disdads.com. If you go there and click on the "Category Search" button on the side of the page part of the way down, select "Non-Disney Travel" and it should bring up all of my posts. I'm working on New England, and I have a Statue of Liberty trip from earlier this year and last year's trip down South posted as well.

Ok, I'll look for those soon! Thanks for the link!

Well I am well rested after falling asleep at 9 pm !!!Unheard of for me !!But I am feeling rather "Chipper" this morning and ready to tackle Marv who I see has posted this morning on his thread !!!

I assume this translates into: "I need to buy more coffee stock."

Maybe your body was really needing that extra sleep, Rosie!! Glad you accomodated it!

 

[All7OfUs]

Let’s finish off Day 3, shall we?? We princesses get might antsy to move on to our next engagement fairly quickly. “Oh! Quickly, you say; you’ve only been at this for a like 9 months, and you’re still on Day 3, Lady!” Well, I’m in no hurry in the grander scheme of things, but definitely ready to move on to a brand new day.

So in honor of the last post of Day 3, I bring you more color. The explosive kind to be exact. And we’re talking about a 4 month old’s diapers; we’re talking about WISHES!!! I wonder how many moms stood there wishing they had brought a few more wipes, though. So really the two CAN go hand in hand. Personally, I’ve actually experienced a blow out at a Disney park before- well, not ME, but one of my toddlers.

Oops, sorry about that- really I do bring you color!

And what better way to watch those, but for a princess to be standing in front of Casey’s with a Dole Whip in hand:

They’re so utterly delicious, don’t they deserve a second look?

And as much as I would have liked to have stayed, the clock was striking midnight and my carriage was about to turn into a pumpkin; SEE!! Other princesses missed the deadline, and there were tragic evidences everywhere!!!

I was a responsible princess and made my way towards my awaiting coach and soon found myself here:

Not exactly the castle of my dreams, but at midnight, after a long day of meeting the demands of an adoring public, anywhere is fine to rest one’s head.

Before turning in, I took stock of what overwhelmingly fantastic “WISHES” had actually been granted up to now. If you remember, each of us ladies had taken the time to write out 20 wishes that we hoped would come true during our trip. And each evening we’d talk about which ones we’d had granted by the Wish Fairy. It was only the end of Day 3, and already, I’d had 7 of mine come true!! The Wish Fairy was kind and good, don’t you think?

If you can’t read them, they say:

--- Wear my tiara

----Skip down Main Street

--- Complete my shop around the world

---Watch MSEP

--- Photograph the birds at AK

---Find 5 new Hidden Mickeys in one day

---Hear Mo’ Rockin’

With my heart full of happy memories already, I laid me down to sleep, and all was well in my world.

 

[KatMark]

Awesome WISHES pictures, Leisa...you did great.

And 7 wishes already...and only 3 days into the trip.

 

[eandesmom]

I love the wishes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[jenb1023]

Geesh! You guys were posting maniacs yesterday!

Love the DIS meet update! Sounds like you guys had a great time even with the change in plans and cold weather.

I am glad you had a good meet with Dan and family! I will have to check out his TR dor details.

Maroo - You and Liesa trying to communicate locations and then you getting stuck made me laugh! Great parade photos! So sorry the wheelchair/bus situation was so crappy!

Yum! A dole whip float and wishes - nothing better! That is so great that you fulfilled 7 wishes on the wish wreath! As I was catching up by using chapter links the other night, I thought to myself - this TR is this long and it is only day 3???

 

[glennbo123]

Just the other day, we were explaining to our kids what a "blow out" was. It was kind of ironic because they were the ones who taught us....if you know what I mean.

I'm glad you got so many wishes fulfilled already!

 

[eandesmom]

A DIS meet done right update from POST HOST Cynthia!

But first, a little bit of background about this POST HOST. Poor Liesa had been trying to coordinate a NW meet for some time. Finally she found some dates that seemed to work and I was thrilled! And then…as seems typical in my life, kids stuff got in the way. Kendall’s soccer team found out they’d have to play a pre-tournament qualification round that no one had foreseen happening. Well, it shouldn’t have happened based on rankings but that’s irrelevant. Happen it did. Because no one had foreseen it, a few families had scheduled spring break trips. That they weren’t willing to change. This actually caused a LOT of drama as on our old team you knew key dates, and key potential dates WAY ahead of time and you just planned around it. That obviously didn’t happen here and it really created a rift in her team. Problem was, this pre-tournament round would determine which level of state cup tournament they got to play in and, being short 3 players due to vacation, plus the 2 they were down due to injury would require subs to keep us from forfeiting. And, as you might imagine, not put us in the best shape for winning the games and making it into the top tournament. It didn’t help that we’d be playing a really really good team.

I found out about this about 2 weeks before the meet was scheduled to go down. Problem was, no one knew for sure where or when our games would be. State cup is THE thing her team works for all year and it just wasn’t something I felt I could or should miss. So we waited. The dates moved. First it was one game sat, one on sun, locations tbd. The dates moved around the locations moved around, it was nuts! If we’d had a 2 game weekend, there was just no way I could fit in the drive to Liesa’s and back, my eyes can’t take that quick of a turnaround for long drives. We confirmed that we had a game Saturday afternoon, over by Mt. Rainier. My plan was, if we didn’t have a Sunday game, I’d take off from the game and head down. If we did have a Sunday game, I wouldn’t be able to make it.

We didn’t find out about the Sunday game until Saturday morning. Due to some serious strong-arming by our coach to the league, she’d been able to buy the girls a day of rest and our second game would be Monday night on our home field. I found out with just enough time to pack an overnight bag for myself and Eric (he’d be joining me). We had to take 2 cars to the game and it wasn’t until we got there and had inhaled our lunch, that I could try to call and text Liesa to let her know I was actually coming.

RING RING…went her cell phone.

It went to voice mail.

RING RING went her home phone. I spoke to Mike. Who seemed mildly confused but let me know she was out and had her cell phone.

I sent a text.

No word.

I even texted her at halftime with the score.

2-0 us, goal and assist by Kendall.

No response.

Well okay. The plan had been for Camille, Tammie and Liesa to be out at wineries all day so I figured they were just busy having fun and didn’t hear the phone. It was a little odd but I also wasn’t worried about just showing up, even if she didn’t know I was coming. Except I didn’t have her exact address with me. For some reason when I’d updated my addresses, her new one was only in a folder for my Christmas card list and my phone was still showing Blankastan. So…I did need to talk to her. By the time I hit Salem if nothing else. I could get myself to Salem.

The game over (3-0 us!) Eric and I headed on our way. With a few stops at Starbucks, a wine shop and target. Somewhere in there, maybe while we were at Starbucks, I got a text. From Camille. Apparently Miss Liesa is notoriously bad about answering her phone. I can’t recall if that extends to having it with her, having it on or what but bottom line is, after much screaming in the background when I said we were on our way, I was instructed to communicate through Millie and contact information was exchanged.

Apparently they’d skipped the wineries as Tammie had ended up working that day so instead had decided to go tiptoe though the tulips.
I had hoped it would take about 3 hours to get there. It was a 1pm game, meaning it wouldn’t get over till close to 3. With the stops and the fact that our game location really didn’t save me much time versus leaving from home (maybe some traffic) given how east it was, it took us closer to 4.

As we turned onto her street, we saw this

It had been an annoyingly rainy drive down. One of those off/on, off/on kind of wiper drives where it would never just stay raining or stay dry. So pulling in to see this was kind of cool. I had a new camera, I was just testing it out and really had NO clue how the thing even worked. But I had to try so Eric and I pulled over to the side to snap some pics. Living in the land of mist, we see a LOT of rainbows. But we rarely see a whole one with both ends showing!!!

Of course I was actually too close to the rainbow to get the whole thing and haven't attempted the stitching thing. But hey, you can see both sides!

We parked and knocked. And knocked. I don’t think anyone heard us. I admit, I can’t recall if I just walked in anyway going “hello?” or if someone finally came.

Hugs and greetings made, our arrival being closer to 7 than 6, dinner preparation was in full swing. Liesa had planned to have a Disney potluck.
I’d planned to make my Epcot Fish Tacos. But, when I wasn’t sure I could make it and then even if I could after a the soccer game, and long drive both to it and then to Liesa’s after, having fish in the car for that long really didn’t seem like a good idea. I’d picked up a bottle of my favorite wine as a hostess gift but sadly, that’s all I brought to the table. It looked to be a fabulous meal.

• Chicken yakitori
• Stir fry veggies
• Fried rice w/ pork
• The Brown Derby Cobb
• Local wine

Since everyone was busy in the kitchen, I decided to make myself useful and attempt some food porn pictures, and try to figure out my camera. The results are NOT great, I really hadn’t figured out my interior settings at that point, everything is a bit yellow. Ok, more than a bit.

The Cobb

Chicken Yakitori

Camille taking a picture of me taking a picture. Probably not, more likely it was of the food. LOL

The boys

The Chefs

Tossing the salad. She looks pretty intense doesn't she!

Dinner was yummy and just lovely!!!!!!!!!!! I think my sole contribution was chopping a couple of things for the salad and drinking a glass of wine. And a little bit of working helping emulsify the dressing. Which was interesting since all Liesa had was a fork (she hadn’t exactly gotten all her kitchen stuff from the other house, still in boxes I think). She might find something new and useful coming her way in the mail soon for that purpose but she’ll just have to wait and see. Thank you ladies for an amazing meal! Eric thought so too, I know he had seconds and it’s very likely he had thirds! For some reason only Tammie got pictures of dinner. I think she has more but I stole this one off of her TR. LOL

After dinner we decided it was time for something special.

Originally this drink recipe is called a Lemon Fizz. Or something like that. I’m not sure why as there isn’t anything fizzy about it. Anyway, Happydog posted about it on a TR or 2 and I got the recipe from her last June for my sisters wedding shower where we renamed it a Lemon Creamsicle, it was reinvented again on my recent girls trip but the premise is the same. It’s the can, a can, a can recipe. Can’s being frozen lemonade, vodka and cream. Blend with ice.

It really is a 2 blender recipe, it overflows otherwise. I was lucky in June and had 2 to work with. Liesa did not. She’d gone for pink lemonade which is the original recipe I think, I used plain in mine so I was looking forward to trying it with the pink. The pink did make it fizzier!

Getting out the blender

Fishy faces, possibly in anticipation of the “pucker” that the lemonade would provide.

The infamous can

Continued in next post

 

[eandesmom]

Now. After Liesa dumped the lemonade into the blender and started to fill the can with vodka the question came…

Do I really have to use a whole can?

YES you do!

I was rather emphatic in my response, which everyone found rather amusing

Fetching the ice

Now I really love Liesa’s technique for turning her cubes into crushed ice, prior to blending

The moment of truth, would it blend? Would it explode and overflow?

She doesn’t look so sure about this does she?

Oh wait, maybe its working?

And…a zen moment, fueled by a can, a can and a can

It was a fun, LATE, night. The kids watched…something. We chatted and chatted and chatted till the wee hours and finally turned in.

I slept like a rock, as is my norm, and woke up to really notice this, in my room.

I love this picture. I think Mike’s mom (correct me Liesa) painted this and it kind of captures the northwest for me and what I love about this. We were treated to viewing some other lovely little paintings in Liesa’s sewing room, treasures.

After a wonderful breakfast (this one I know Eric had thirds) we decided to make a call.

Who were we calling?

Morroco I think. (Correct me if I’m wrong ladies).

Much to our surprise, someone answered!

It was HYSTERICAL! Liesa chatted with them a bit and then passed the phone to me. Turns out they were from Yakima, which is in WA. Really funny. I was so thrown for a loop we had some lame weather related conversation, asked him why he picked the phone up and I loved his response “well, a phone rings in Disney World, I figure you ought to answer it!”. After that, I had nothing more interesting to say to the poor guy. And I said so. In those exact words. I still can’t believe that came out of my mouth! I think Millie rescued it after that while I sat there mortified. I am rarely at a loss for words but somehow (trauma from childhood crank calls perhaps?) was.

Anara wanted a bit of snuggling and I couldn’t resist taking pictures. Though again, clearly hadn’t figured out my interior shot settings.

The boys (Mike, Zach and Eric) headed out for an adventure.

I can’t recall what Anara was doing here but was impressed with her positioning.

After some prep, the boys were off

Continued in next post

 

[chloe770]

Here's hoping for no "blow outs" on my next trip.
Love the idea of the "wishes" . And I have to admit I have never had a Dole Whip so that will be one of my wishes.

 

[eandesmom]

While they were out, it was time for Tammie to hit the road and with sad goodbyes and hugs, she did. The rest of us just hung out and relaxed waiting for the boys. Our plan, once they got back was to go to lunch and then Eric and I would hit the road, via IKEA so I could pick up a new dresser for Evan and not pay tax on it. The plan had been for Vietnamese food (I think, or was it Ethiopian?) but they were closed so we ended up going for Thai.

The food took a bit but it was absolutely yummy! We couldn’t eat it all so got a little bit to go. Eric had fun playing with the after-meal mints that came with the check

I like his eyes much better without the mints

The kids took a few pictures of us. Now here’s the funny part. There was a LOT of chatter, if memory serves, by some of the BOYS on this thread about what girls do when they get together and how we’d go change clothes if someone came down in the same outfit. This picture goes to show you how wrong, and right you were. We all wore the same color on Sunday, completely independent of each other, not even realizing till everyone popped out of their rooms. It was pretty funny. And nicely coordinated if you ask me! Although Liesa and Millie had cute tops on and I was dressed for a 4 hour drive in my Sunday sweats...we still matched!

There was even nail painting if memory serves but I think that was Anara and much earlier in the day.

Sadly, we said our goodbyes and hit the road. Thanks to info from Liesa I knew exactly where the IKEA was and in short order, Eric and I were there picking up a dresser for Evan. And a few other things. I can never get out of there with just what’s on my list. And besides, what I saved in tax on the dresser, paid for the other little “extra’s” I picked up. We hit the road, and the rain, stopping once at the Coach outlet. Not to shop but to see if my girlfriend was working, she’s a manager there. No luck but I left her a note and knew she’d get a kick out of seeing we stopped by. Another stop for food and finally we were home.

 

[jenb1023]

Great update and photos post host Cynthia! Looks like a grand time was had by all! Love the Disney themed dinner!

 

[brookelizabeth]

I love the Wishes! Such a fun idea.

Cynthia - wonderful update!! Such a great girls weekend. It cracked me up that you called Morocco! Hilarious! Did you tell him you ladies were a gathering of Disney friends?

Also, I just noticed your little siggy picture for the East Meets West TR (which I am subscribed to, but sadly not current on!), "it's not magic!"

 

[glennbo123]

Great update post host Cynthia! The meet looked to be as much fun as I knew it would be. I love all the pictures of laughter and good times in general.

Great job on the Moroccan phone call! One try, and you got somebody. He had pretty much the same response as the guy who picked up the phone for me.

Going out on the boat looked like fun. I'll bet Eric had a great time with Liesa's guys.

Yes, you 3 were nicely coordinated for lunch. I'm impressed.

 

[All7OfUs]

Actually, it was the UK Pav. because I remember some meaningless banter with the phone-picker-upper about going to the tea Shop and checking to see if they had Earl Grey. Remember that? Too funny!!

 

[jenbear123]

What a great time at the DIS meet. Looks like you all had a great time....especially making that lemonade concoction. Love the pic of Liesa at the end of it all though. Such a peaceful moment after the crazyness of making it. That painting is lovely.

 

[All7OfUs]

She doesn’t look so sure about this does she?

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If I had hit a Mack truck headon, I don't think I could have looked WORSE!!!!!! Please look away, don't have nightmares from this, and hide your childrens' eyes!

And seriously, we hadn't even taken one sip yet!