An APRIL Adventure in Autism: 2008 (8/8) Time to Say Good-Bye....

[KathyRN137]

we visited the Conservation Station too on this trip...but that is a WHOLE other story you'll just have to wait for in my TR....

Kathy

 

[KathyRN137]

Those are great pictures of Tricia & Ed! It's nice to see a picture of her laughing - she's such a serious tween this trip!

She actually was having a lot of fun the entire trip... I just couldn't seem to get her to smile for the camera!

Isn't there a commercial for one of the cruise lines that has the mom trying to capture the "elusive" teen smile on vacation???


Kathy

 

[KathyRN137]

Oh I love that pic of Billy and 'his mate' the rhino!!!

Looks like Billy's whispering to him and cooking up a plan - 'why don't we ask Mom if you can come over and we can watch DVD's together'??!!

That's exactly what he would want to do, too!!


Kathy

 

[KathyRN137]

OK, You got me I was sure it was going to be a picture of Ed.

You said it, not me!

Just remember that when you're reading this, Ed!


Kathy

 

[KathyRN137]

Cute pics from Conservation Station! That is one of the places we are trying for the first time in June. Can't wait!

It was fun... I can't believe we spent an hour and a half in there! If your kids like museums or aquariums, they'll like this too!

Kathy

 

[wvdislover]

Conservation Station is one of Sarah and Allison's FAVORITE places to go at AK! They love petting and brushing the goats. We actually have to pry them away from there! I got my picture there with Jiminy, too...one of the highlights of that trip, since I had never seen him or had my picture with him before. Can't wait to see if Billy enjoyed brushing the goats as much as my girls do

 

[KathyRN137]

Chapter 14: “Brush! Brush! Brush!”



Rafiki's Planet Watch


We decided to check out the live animals that were outside. I wasn’t sure how Billy would react... if he would be frightened or not. I wasn’t sure how I would react... would it be smelly? Would there be a lot of bugs flying around? The last petting zoo I had visited had not been the most pleasant experience.


Some of the animals were inside pens, but there were several sheep and goats roaming about freely and the children could brush them if they wanted to. Billy seemed ambivalent. I could see that he was interested in the goats and wanted to pet them, but he wasn’t quite sure if he wanted to get that close! Tricia began brushing one of the animals so that Billy could see how gentle they were. They were so docile that they barely acknowledged all the children running around with brushes and continued to search the ground for bits of food. Seeing this, Billy decided to get a little closer.


Of course, just in case, his Daddy stayed right there with him while he began to pet one of the goats.

He seemed to enjoy it and began reciting from Dr. Seuss’ One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish:


Brush! Brush! Brush!
Comb! Comb! Comb!
Brush! Brush! Brush!

These were the two Thanksgiving turkeys that had been “pardoned” by the president the year earlier:

This cow kept trying to get this doughnut-shaped treat, but was having a very difficult time… she kept knocking it away from herself as she tried to lick it... which greatly amused the children for some reason! Poor cow!

There were several llamas in a pen that would come close to the fencing and the children could pet them, too. Tricia pet one, but Billy was a little too intimidated by their size. The gentle sheep and goats were just right for him!

It was very warm, so Billy went over to cool off in one of the misters. He stood there a long time enjoying the sensation of the mist on his face. He would’ve stayed there even longer if we hadn’t told him we were leaving!

I shouldn't have been worried... the petting area was very clean. There was a large, multi-station hand washing area with push-pedal water faucets... nice!

We traipsed back to the train station for a ride back to Harambe. Just as the train pulled in, I looked up and noticed a Hidden Mickey in the rafters! I wanted to run around and get a better picture of it from the other side, but we were already on our way...

Believe it or not, we had spent almost an hour and a half at Rafiki’s! It was getting late, so Ed suggested that we call it a day. The park was open until 8pm... something we rarely got to enjoy when we visited in November, but he had had enough. I acquiesced and agreed to head out of the park even though it was only around 5:30. But then the kids clamored for just one more ride on Expedition Everest and I guess, since he knew this was going to be it for the Animal Kingdom, he gave in to their request. The train pulled into the station and we found ourselves once more in East Africa.



The village of Harambe was practically a ghost town. Well, not exactly, but it certainly seemed that way compared to what it had looked like at noon! We quickly moved through it and on toward Asia. Every time I stopped to take a picture, Ed and Tricia got a bit annoyed, so I only took a few more on the way...

I think we really need to get a second camera so that I’m not the only one taking all the pictures!

Ah, here’s where all the people are!!

It actually wasn’t as bad as it looked... many of these folks were coming from Everest. The kids and I boarded our tea plantation train for one last exhilarating ride up (and down) the mountain! Feeling quite satisfied that we had capped off our Animal Kingdom day in splendid fashion, we joined up with Daddy and took a nice slow walk out of the park, stopping to admire the scenery as we went.

(I wasn't supposed to be stopping for any more pictures, but I just love these ladybug lights, so I couldn't resist!)



After we boarded our bus and were on our way home to Old Key West, Ed turned to me and asked, matter-of-factly, "Where do you want to go for dinner?" Hmmm. Good question.


Kathy

 

[Goofster57]

Nice update Kathy,

You keep taking all the pictures you want, we're enjoyying seeing them all



Psst...Ed
I didn't say you were a Baboon, I just figure I knew what Kathy was up to....and did you notice how she shifted the blame so quickly?????

 

[KathyRN137]

Nice update Kathy,

You keep taking all the pictures you want, we're enjoyying seeing them all



Psst...Ed
I didn't say you were a Baboon, I just figure I knew what Kathy was up to....and did you notice how she shifted the blame so quickly?????

Thanks... troublemaker!!!


Kathy

 

[irish dancer]

Kathy I just love reading your report! I'm truly hoping that our June trip will be more of the relaxing kind but it's so hard to turn off the comando!

We ended up at Rafiki's Planet Watch for the first time last year, DS8 was "collecting" all the stamps in the passport thing they have at AK. He had to get ALL the stamps and was singularly focused. We were pleasantly surprised and will return again.

Wonder what you did for dinner........

 

[KathyRN137]

Kathy I just love reading your report! I'm truly hoping that our June trip will be more of the relaxing kind but it's so hard to turn off the comando!

It would be a whole lot easier if we had more than one week of vacation!!! Ah yes, dream on Kathy...


Kathy

 

[DearDaisyinDurham]

that brought back nice memories of our youngest "adopting" a calf at Affection section & it was "his moo cow" lol, he was only 2... we ended up being there quite a while

you can learn alot about the animals - on a more recent trip our youngest & of course DH cracked themselves up in the men's room - the ... um hum.... interesting facts in there I guess were funny



oohhhh, dinner, so many choices! what will you choose?

 

[KathyRN137]

you can learn alot about the animals - on a more recent trip our youngest & of course DH cracked themselves up in the men's room - the ... um hum.... interesting facts in there I guess were funny

Let me guess... details about animal dung would probably fit the "theme!"

Boys and their potty humor!!


Kathy

 

[KathyRN137]

Conservation Station is one of Sarah and Allison's FAVORITE places to go at AK! They love petting and brushing the goats. We actually have to pry them away from there!

Aha! You snuck that little post in there between Parts one and two! Sorry I didn't see it...

I'm glad we did this on a "relaxing" trip... it really does use up lots of time if you want to see everything!


Kathy

 

[Heluvsme]

Kathy, I just recently "re-found" this trip report and I wanted to thank you for writing it! You're such a good writer and I'm thoroughly enjoying taking this trip with you,

Thanks,
Dawn

 

[mousescrapper]

glad you had a nice time in the petting area...the kids looked like they really enjoyed themselves...

thinking of a Brush, Brush...song, Billy would like this. I kept help but sing

"Brush your teeth Little Lion" from Jo-Jo's circus to Margaret when I brush here teeth

I'm not saying she's a lion (well she hates getting her teeth cleaned) it just is so cute!

Looking forward to the dinner report...this is the 2nd TR that has ended this way and I guess it's almost dinner time here too.

Scrappie

 

[KathyRN137]

Kathy, I just recently "re-found" this trip report and I wanted to thank you for writing it! You're such a good writer and I'm thoroughly enjoying taking this trip with you,

Thanks,
Dawn

Thanks, Dawn! I'm glad to have you here!

Kathy

 

[KathyRN137]

Looking forward to the dinner report...this is the 2nd TR that has ended this way and I guess it's almost dinner time here too.

Sorry, Scrappie! Didn't mean to make you hungry!!

I'm getting hungry, too! I'm waiting for Ed to get back from doing an errand so I can put him to work on the grill!!


Kathy

 

[KathyRN137]

Chapter 15: The KEY to a Relaxing Vacation is...



The Animal Kingdom bus passed through the front gate of our resort and Ed had a sudden brainstorm as we passed the Hospitality House. “Why don’t we eat at Olivia’s?” he proposed. He was referring to the one table service restaurant at Old Key West. “Then we can just hang around the resort for the rest of the night.” He seemed pleased with his own suggestion.



“You do realize that Olivia’s is table-service?” I responded, raising an eyebrow in a somewhat questioning expression. “We might not be able to get seated for a while.” Gee, for a guy who didn’t want to make a whole lot of ADRs this trip, he sure seemed interested in having a sit-down dinner every night!



“We’ll probably have better luck just ordering sandwiches or burgers from Good’s To Go and eating at one of the picnic tables by the water,” I offered. But he shook his head. “I feel like having a regular meal, not just a sandwich,” he replied. “It’s only a Tuesday night... how busy could it be?”



Well, Ed seemed set on having dinner at Olivia’s, so once more I found myself making a call to Disney Dining for a last-minute ADR. “The earliest they have is 7:30,” I told him. “Perfect!” he replied, “That’ll give us some time to relax and freshen up before we eat.” Ed was lovin’ this “spur of the moment” flexibility, but I found it a bit disconcerting. Seven-thirty is late for dinner... but we had eaten a late lunch and our plans were to sleep-in the following morning, so it was do-able. I wouldn’t have thought it was such a great idea if we were planning to make a rope-drop the next day!



“I don’t want to make this a habit,” I told him, referring to both the lack of ADRs and the late dinner hour. But he disagreed. “I like it!” he grinned. “I feel like we’re not so scheduled... it feels more like a real vacation this way!” I was glad that he was enjoying this, but for a self-confessed obsessive trip-planner like me, “going with the flow” was not easy.

It was worth it, however, to avoid the grumpiness he inevitably experienced when “the plan” pushed him around too much.... so for that, I was glad to be accommodating. For once.


Perhaps someday we’ll learn how to strike the perfect balance in our vacation styles!


Once back in our studio, we hung out in the air conditioned space for a while, watching TV and reading. Then we got washed up and changed for dinner. As I said earlier, it had been a very warm day and our clothes had become a bit wilted. And let's not forget our close encounters with the goats!



It was a lovely evening, so we walked to Olivia's and checked in at the restaurant’s podium about fifteen minutes early, hoping we could be seated as soon as possible. Buzzer in hand, we did a little exploring. We had stayed here two years earlier, but I never tire of looking at all the “family photos” sent in by previous OKW guests. I really should send them one of ours and perhaps one day they will hang on the wall with the others!

I forget what this antique machine is for! (It’s located right outside the restaurant’s front door.) While we were waiting, we walked around outside for a bit because Billy was getting a little loud. The weather was just perfect!

After fifteen minutes, our buzzer lit up and we went inside. Olivia’s Café has a very relaxed “island” atmosphere. Giant fans circulate air overhead and there are several trophy fish (probably Disney fish, not the real thing) mounted and displayed on the walls. At least none of them were singing!

We were seated right on time at a table in one of the “side” rooms off the main dining room and in a corner. I was glad because Billy always does better in a smaller environment.



Photos and Fishing nets above the window next to our table:

We scanned our menus and since I wasn’t getting up early the next day, I decided to have a cocktail. Hmmm. Something tropical... and it should contain rum... after all we’re in the Keys, right?

(I think it was a strawberry daiquiri.)



Ed had the crab cakes for an appetizer, which he thought were just okay because he is spoiled by the ones we had in Maryland during a recent visit! These had a little too much filler and not enough crabmeat. The sauces they were served with, however, were tasty. I don’t think I had an appetizer. When our food came, no one would let me take any pictures, so all I have is one of my own plate. May I present... the grilled pork chop!

It was very good, but not as good as the pork chop I had chosen the past November at Artist Point! Still, I somehow managed to eat it all! I don't recall what Ed chose for an entree and I'm sure the kids had the usual kid-type-meals. It felt good to take our time, knowing that we were done with our park touring for the day.



After dinner we browsed the gift shop, er, the “Community Store.” (I can’t remember if we purchased anything.) Then Ed wanted to stop by the Conch Flats Community Hall so we could see what was there and perhaps play a few games. And so, we took a little walk around the building, past the marina, to see what amusement could be had at the C.F.C.H.

There was a message board outside and on it was posted the hours of operation as well as the scheduled activities for the week. We typically miss a lot of the resort activities because we’re at the parks, and Ed was interested in seeing what was planned during our down time the following day. Oh look! An afternoon pool party!

We went inside and discovered that we had the entire place to ourselves. There was an air hockey table, a foosball table, and... what’s this??? Billy spotted these and bolted... BOLTED towards them! DVDs! Dozens of them! His absolute favorite thing in the world is sorting through DVDs! He was in heaven!!

He didn’t even want to watch any of them; he just wanted to paw through the entire collection and put them in little piles! Now that’s what my Billy calls a good time!

Ed and Tricia decided to play a game of foosball:

Then a little bit of air hockey:

I played a bit, too. Then Ed persuaded Billy to leave the mesmerizing stacks of DVDs for a few minutes to come and play against Tricia (with a little help.)

There was nearby game room called the ELECTRIC EEL, that we could’ve visited, but we were having plenty of fun doing the low-tech stuff. Besides, it was getting late and I didn’t want all the noisy video and arcade games getting Billy over-stimulated. We played some more foosball and air hockey until a little after nine and then strolled back to our studio on Old Turtle Pond Road.



How delightful it was to snuggle up under the covers and not set the alarm! Tomorrow we would wake up when we felt like it and lounge around by the pool all day. “Yeah,” Ed sighed contentedly, “this is what I call a vacation!”




Next up: Sink or Swim…


Kathy

 

[preschoolmom]

Actually, you might be convincing us die hard park commandos to do an easy day!

Your vacation sounds just heavenly!

I'm so glad you're all having a good time!