Goofyish
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 10, 1999
- Messages
- 8,541
Saturday 23rd August 2003
The Cast:
Me Tim, 39/40
DW Julie, 36/37
DD1 Nicola, 14
DD2 Jade, 9
I was excited today. We had arranged to meet Kath (Nativetxn) again. Her DH had driven all the way from Michigan just so I could have a drive in Kaths new car a Cadillac Escalade. (What they call an SUV in the US, with a modest 6 litre V8 engine and the most gorgeous smelling leather seats).
They picked us up from the AKL and we headed off to find someplace to grab some lunch.
First off we tried the Grand Floridian Café, but there were no table going, so after a quick nosey round (very posh!), we headed over to the Boardwalk.
We chose the Big River Grille and Brewing Works. Kaths DH and I had the 5 beer sampler.
Apparently they brew the beers on in-house.
The meal was very nice. I had the port chops, and DW and the girls had burgers. I think Kath and her DH had the pork chops too, but without the mash (not Atkins friendly).
During lunch we met a VIP the one and only Pete Werner came over and said hello.
After lunch we headed out of the WDW towards the I4 to give me a little go at driving the car! Heading to the I4 turned out to be a big mistake. There must have been an accident because the interstate was completed closed and we ended up being stuck in the middle of a traffic jam (it was nice to see that American traffic jams are the same as UK ones).
As we waited to get off at the next exit, people were driving down the hard shoulder trying to jump the queue! A few in their big 4-wheel drive SUVs were even going onto the grass verge (which was very wet after all the rain). They managed it, but the Honda Accord driver didnt, and got stuck in 6 inches of mud! (we had to laugh). Amazingly people got out of the cars to help him I would have just left the idiot!
Eventually we got off the I4 and we pulled into a gas station to fill up. I was nearly in tears when I saw how little it cost to fill up the tank. It was now my turn to drive!
The last time I drove an automatic in Florida was back in 1997 and I got lost!
No such trouble this time. I was amazed that such a huge car was so easy to drive. The engine had a lovely rumbling tone that gave a hint to the power available under my right foot. We headed back towards WDW. This was the first time I had drove on Disney property. It was a real buzz to drive under the WDW welcome sign. Just as we entered WDW the heavens opened. Finding the wipers and lights was a bit daunting, but with a bit of direction from Kath's DH I found them eventually.
We got back to AKL (after a detour into Epcot) and I handed the car back. I tried to imagine having a similar car in the UK but decided it just wouldnt fit on our drive. In fact it wouldnt fit in our road, never mind our drive!
We said our goodbyes and exchanged hugs (Kath likes to hug!), and arranged to meet in Epcot the next morning.
As it was our last night, we wanted to catch Illumination one last time. So we headed to Epcot. We were getting peckish, so we decided to try the Chinese counter service place.
We all had the beef fried rice. Which was surprisingly nice. We even decided to try the Nine Dragons restaurant for lunch the next day. The girls bought some glowing roses and we found the same spot we had last time to watch Illuminations.
Part 17 next Trying to catch Kath and Going home
The Cast:
Me Tim, 39/40
DW Julie, 36/37
DD1 Nicola, 14
DD2 Jade, 9
I was excited today. We had arranged to meet Kath (Nativetxn) again. Her DH had driven all the way from Michigan just so I could have a drive in Kaths new car a Cadillac Escalade. (What they call an SUV in the US, with a modest 6 litre V8 engine and the most gorgeous smelling leather seats).
They picked us up from the AKL and we headed off to find someplace to grab some lunch.
First off we tried the Grand Floridian Café, but there were no table going, so after a quick nosey round (very posh!), we headed over to the Boardwalk.
We chose the Big River Grille and Brewing Works. Kaths DH and I had the 5 beer sampler.
Apparently they brew the beers on in-house.
The meal was very nice. I had the port chops, and DW and the girls had burgers. I think Kath and her DH had the pork chops too, but without the mash (not Atkins friendly).
During lunch we met a VIP the one and only Pete Werner came over and said hello.
After lunch we headed out of the WDW towards the I4 to give me a little go at driving the car! Heading to the I4 turned out to be a big mistake. There must have been an accident because the interstate was completed closed and we ended up being stuck in the middle of a traffic jam (it was nice to see that American traffic jams are the same as UK ones).
As we waited to get off at the next exit, people were driving down the hard shoulder trying to jump the queue! A few in their big 4-wheel drive SUVs were even going onto the grass verge (which was very wet after all the rain). They managed it, but the Honda Accord driver didnt, and got stuck in 6 inches of mud! (we had to laugh). Amazingly people got out of the cars to help him I would have just left the idiot!
Eventually we got off the I4 and we pulled into a gas station to fill up. I was nearly in tears when I saw how little it cost to fill up the tank. It was now my turn to drive!
The last time I drove an automatic in Florida was back in 1997 and I got lost!
No such trouble this time. I was amazed that such a huge car was so easy to drive. The engine had a lovely rumbling tone that gave a hint to the power available under my right foot. We headed back towards WDW. This was the first time I had drove on Disney property. It was a real buzz to drive under the WDW welcome sign. Just as we entered WDW the heavens opened. Finding the wipers and lights was a bit daunting, but with a bit of direction from Kath's DH I found them eventually.
We got back to AKL (after a detour into Epcot) and I handed the car back. I tried to imagine having a similar car in the UK but decided it just wouldnt fit on our drive. In fact it wouldnt fit in our road, never mind our drive!
We said our goodbyes and exchanged hugs (Kath likes to hug!), and arranged to meet in Epcot the next morning.
As it was our last night, we wanted to catch Illumination one last time. So we headed to Epcot. We were getting peckish, so we decided to try the Chinese counter service place.
We all had the beef fried rice. Which was surprisingly nice. We even decided to try the Nine Dragons restaurant for lunch the next day. The girls bought some glowing roses and we found the same spot we had last time to watch Illuminations.
Part 17 next Trying to catch Kath and Going home
