ANOTHER Adventure in Autism (4/15) A Taste of What's to Come...

[Charleston Princess]

I am beginning to suspect that you are known for your cliffhangers.

The dancing photos are so cool -- I love that Tricia participated and then posed for a picture afterwards -- I bet she got a great grade on her paper!

I am so worried about AR and her piercing scream -- don't leave us in suspense for too long...

 

[jordanyosh]

I am slowly catching up.

I've just read about Trish getting to decorate the tree and then the big blow up....yikes. I feel for all of you. I remember months ago you alluding to the fact there was some sort of argument....I didn't know it was of that magnitude. I'll continue reading...hope things got better.

 

[KathyRN137]

mrsksomeday: I love your smilies! They really do remind me of Billy!

IluvXU: Popcorn is good for you…lots of fiber!

ClayInCT: I took a nap that day. (Hey I am maturing, you know!)

DisMomAmy: See, I do sleep!

DisneyFanShawn: Thanks for hanging with me.

Kimmylaj: Oooh, I hadn’t thought about bugs!

aspen37: The magic always comes back!

maroo:

Jess98ac: I’m afraid I did…

Hedy: Never thought about it, but Emily is starting to look like Tricia as they get older.

CharlestonPrincess: Hi! Yay for AG!

mom2mek: It never fails; I always get butt pix on the safaris!

preschoolmom: I don’t do it on purpose. (Well, maybe lately!)

jcc0621: Mwa-ha-ha-ha! (Artist Point post coming soon!)

whgrn: Life is a soap opera! (And we nurses ought to know!)

princessmom4: I try to give tips throughout all my reports; I hope they help!

crazy4mickey: Sorry.

Halloweenqueen: Thanks again! Dsis was so surprised; she loved the shirts!

melk: You missed the April trip b/c I was AWOL from the Dis for a long while!

Disneylvr: Just wait until she wants to do all of FantasyLand, plus all the thrill rides!

jordanyosh: Hey, stranger, welcome back!

MRYPPNS: You win the prize….



Thank you all so much for reading and posting; its fun reading your comments!

Kathy

 

[mousescrapper]

another clifhanger huh?

OK I hope That it was not AR that attacked....

is it that crazy squirrel who attacked DisMomAmy's mom

 

[eyeheartgoofy]

I had to bump you, Kathy!

Woman attacked at AK is front page news ... we can't have you sitting on page 2 of the TR section!

 

[DisMomAmy]

another clifhanger huh?

OK I hope That it was not AR that attacked....

is it that crazy squirrel who attacked DisMomAmy's mom

Probably not - that squirrel lives at Pop Century!!

 

[KathyRN137]

Chapter 41: A Fowl Affair


Okay, MRYPPNS wins the prize!

Yes, you guessed it. Out of all the people in the entire Pangini Forest that bird could have pooped on, he chose Aunt Rae!

Elderly, anxious, germaphobic, Aunt Rae.

The poor thing was absolutely beside herself. “AAAAAAGGH!!” She screamed, “AAAAAAGGH! She scrambled to get to her bag and the antibacterial wipes therein. In doing so, she half stood up, stepped on the footrest of the wheelchair and almost tipped it over.

“Dirty Bird! Dirty BIRD! DIRTY BIRRRRD!!” she screeched.


Ed grabbed her and sat her back down. I did my best to calm her and to help her get her jacket off. Thank God she was wearing that jacket; if it had landed on her bare skin I am sure she would have had a stroke right then and there. I mean it.


She had gone pale. She was hyperventilating. People along the trail stopped and stared. A CM, thinking someone had been injured, came over quickly to see what the matter was. Billy was oblivious, but Tricia was mortified. AR had gone into some kind of outer mental orbit, seemingly unaware of anyone or anything in the world except that one splotch of bird excrement on her sleeve.


We got the jacket off of her shaking body but she continued to fret and cry out, “Dirty bird! Ohhh, that dirty, dirty bird!” Ed had to force her to focus and breathe deeply while I scrubbed the offending mess. The helpless CM asked if we needed paramedics.


Paramedics. For bird poop.


Ed and I just shook our heads. We couldn’t believe it. We had been having such a nice day. If the same thing happened to you or I, we would have said, “Ewww,” and then we would have simply wiped it away and laughed about it. I understand that in some cultures, it is even considered to be good luck.


Well, no such luck here.


“If I had my gun, I swear I would shoot that bird,” Ed muttered. Don’t worry, folks, it’s just an expression. No animals were mistreated during the making of this Trip Report.

Somehow, we were able to help AR pull it together. We bagged the jacket and I promised her that once we returned to the villa, we would put it through the wash a dozen times if we had to. By that time, the temperature had climbed up to about eighty degrees.


Luckily she still had her sweatshirt; otherwise she may have frozen.


We did our best to salvage the rest of the PF Trail for the kids:


Billy looking at fish (and frogs?)

Meerkats…so cute!

The stars of the Trail:

Aunt Rae was anxious now to get as far away from the birds as she possibly could, so we finished up with the gorilla portion of the trail and quickly got out of there!

We rolled through Harambe on our way back to Asia. It was very warm and getting crowded now; I believe it was somewhere around 2pm. Despite being jostled by the crowd, I managed a few pix of the village. I just can’t get over all the attention to detail that went into these buildings…

I wasn’t sure how AR was going to hold up, so I wanted to get the kids over for one last ride on Expedition Everest. Billy calls it “Snow Monster!”

“I want a Snow Monster, pleeeeese!” he chanted. “Pleeeeese, pleeeeeese, Snow Monster?” Tricia was most definitely up for it, too, so we decided that it would be a good time for Ed to take AR somewhere quiet so she could collect herself.

Ed kind of wanted to see Flights of Wonder, but…uh… well…under the circumstances, he decided it would be better not to suggest it.

So, they went off somewhere quiet and shady while the kids and I trekked over to Anandapur.

Oh, look! Someone left a photo-op here!

I love this colorful ice-cream-bus, don't you?

Once again, the GAC was a blessing for Billy and we were able to enter the FP queue.

Such an exhilarating experience! We screamed our heads off! (And boy, did I need to scream at that point!”



(Continued in Next Post.....)


Kathy

 

[KathyRN137]

....Continued


We met up with the others and, in light of AR’s mental state, we decided to do maybe one more thing and then head back to the resort. I thought the kids would want to go to DinoLand, or perhaps ITTBAB, but they surprised me by suggesting Kali River Rapids! Then Ed surprised me further my seconding the motion! Wow, we hadn’t done KRR in a very long time, no one ever wanted to get wet! Now, here they were begging for it and I hadn’t even brought ponchos!


Well, we were right there in Asia, after all.….but what about Aunt Rae? There was no way she would be doing that ride! I think that maybe she had settled down to the point where she was feeling a bit self-conscious about the bird-poop-freak-out because she was absolutely adamant that we all go and that she would be fine. We had been standing near the Gibbon habitat and she said that she wanted to just sit there and watch them play.

I hesitated, but Ed did as she requested and parked her in a spot where she would have a good view. Then, he made sure that her cell phone was on and he gathered us up, One! Two! Three! And we were off to the KRR queue.

While we were waiting, we tried to talk out of earshot of the kids. Difficult, I know. (Little pitchers have big handles.) As I had suspected, AR had been crying (again) to Ed that she was spoiling our vacation and she regretted being such a burden, etc., etc. So when she sent us off to “have fun,” he did not want her to feel worse by saying no.

The thing that I was regretting at that moment was the fact that we were about to get soaked and I was not prepared with ponchos! How could I have anticipated that the family that formerly eschewed KRR now wanted to take a wild and wet ride down the rapids?


Waiting for a raft:

Yeah, these are the smart people who brought ponchos!

Oh, shoot! We had completely forgotten that there was a fire scene in this attraction. Billy is afraid of fire! He covered his eyes and whimpered a little when the smell of smoke was at it’s heaviest, but otherwise, he did all right and we were soon past it.

Oh, but then came the wet part! And, wouldn’t you know it? Ed and Billy were the ones to go backwards down the hill and get hit by the big wave of water!


Poor Billy is soaked!

And then, just when you think you are “safe,” those stinkers on the bridge get you with the squirting elephants! (See the stream of water shooting over us in the picture, above?)

Afterwards, Tricia had us stop on the bridge so she could give some payback! Billy didn’t quite get the same enjoyment as she did….all he kept saying was, “He’s wet!” (Meaning himself.) We shook our hair and I took his shirt off to wring it out a bit….he and Ed had really been drenched. They really smelled of Disney Water! The funny thing was that as we were sloshing down the path to meet AR, people were heading toward the queue and smiling at us, giving us the thumbs up sign when they saw how wet we were! I didn’t mind (too much), it was a warm afternoon and we were on our way out of the park.


Mental note, however: always bring ponchos to the parks. Always!


We collected Aunt Rae, who was amazed that we had enjoyed getting soaked, and she reported that all the gibbons must have been napping, save one. This was the only primate who was out and about the entire time:


Look closely in the center…

Well, it seemed like a good time to wrap things up at the AK. Billy was really fixated on his wet shirt and, since it was just too hot to put his sweatshirt on him, we decided to stop at the Island Mercantile to get him a new one. I was glad for the excuse. He had that “Tigger, is that you?” t-shirt with Pooh and the tiger from our previous trip, but had outgrown it. I love that shirt, so I got him a new one in a larger size.


This is a very difficult shop from which to extricate one’s self. Even Aunt Rae fell under the shopping spell and we browsed around for a good twenty minutes or so. I must’ve bought more than the shirt, but I forget now. Sorry, shopaholics!

Anyway, Billy was happy as a lark now that he was no longer wearing a soggy shirt. We strolled along, admiring the sights (and avoiding potential overhanging bird perches) in the Oasis. We returned AR’s chair, then, before we knew it, we were out at the bus stop waiting for our motor coach. What a day it had been! I leaned over toward Ed and whispered how much I was looking forward to our “date” at Artist Point that evening, and he agreed.

We got back to the Wilderness Lodge and AR must’ve been feeling a bit like her old self, because she still did this on the way back:

Next up: A Night of Romance...or Not


Kathy

 

[preschoolmom]

Ed kind of wanted to see Flights of Wonder, but…uh… well…under the circumstances, he decided it would be better not to suggest it.

 

[aspen37]

Another great update! OH poor AR, it had to happen to her. Can't wait to hear about your date night. I hope you had a good time.

 

[Charleston Princess]

Oh no about the bird poop!!! Sorry to hear that it ruined AR's day!

You got some great photos of Africa and Asia -- I love the detailing there, too!

 

[DisMomAmy]

I can't believe that bird chose AR to poop on!! Of all people!!

I'm glad you guys rode KRR - I haven't ridden it... DH took Alex on it last time - I'm looking forward to checking it out - WITH MY PONCHO!

 

[Hedy]

Poor AR!

 

[MRYPPNS]

Kathy, I am still laughing.....I think I'll be laughing all day now....Dirty Bird!!

 

[melk]

Chapter 41: A Fowl Affair



“If I had my gun, I swear I would shoot that bird,” Ed muttered.




Kathy

Oh my gosh, when I began reading that sentence I was screaming in my head "AUNT REA HAS A GUN?!?!?!?!"


I'm glad she eventually seemed to get over it, however. Boy, you dealt with a lot that trip!

 

[mom2mek]

"Paramedics. For bird poop"! LOL!

Oh my - what a funny, yet tragic, update Kathy! I'm not a fan of birds - like looking at them from a distance, but don't want them anywhere near me! Ick. I died laughing at the Dirty Bird. Dirty Bird. Dirty Bird!!!!

Poor thing...glad she recovered. Kali looks like fun - I have never been on, poncho or no poncho...maybe one day.

Oooo...date night...hubba hubba wink wink!

Sara

 

[tinkermamaof2]

Kathy, you have me feeling bad for you but laughing at the same time. Your writing style is so entertaining, the first trip report I look for when I'm on The Dis. As for your husband being crabby at times, I have one of those too. Much to my amazement just the other day he said "I thought you wanted to go back to Disney on our holiday next year"...I think he's a closet Disney lover. Please don't hold us in suspense for too long with the next post. Have a great day!

Patti

 

[KathyRN137]

mousescrapper: No but the situation sure was nuts!

eyeheartgoofy: Hey, thanks for the bump!

DisMomAmy: It was as if she had a bullseye painted on her!

preschoolmom: Yeah that!

aspen37: Just wait; more excitement to come!

CharlestonPrincess: I love AK; the Bird Poop is just a chance you gotta take!

Hedy: Thanks for the She sure had it rough this time.

MRYPPNS: I can hear her in my head even now! "Dirty Bird!!"

melk: Oh my! Can you imagine??

mom2mek: Don't get too excited yet.....

tinkermamaof2: You are so sweet, thanks!


Thanks for posting,

Kathy

 

[mousescrapper]

Ok that is one for the books...huh?

"Dirty Bird" oh my your face must have been I have never ever heard a story like that before...you are a saint I say for all that you've been through.

KRR is a skip for me even w/ the ponchos, I'd be like Billy just completely irritated w/ wet clothing on.... good for you all that you braved it and had fun!

Hope the date night was wonderfully restful & romantic!

 

[eyeheartgoofy]

Paramedics. For Bird Poop.

I laughed out loud at that one. I mean, I really laughed a good belly laugh. I feel bad laughing at AR's expense ... but that was rich!!!

Thanks for the update!