Canadian Buffoon's Semi-EPIC Vacation - 10/29 - Link to new TR!

pkondz

Brace yourself for immediate disintegration
Joined
Mar 9, 2007
Canadian Buffoon's Semi-EPIC Vacation

The Konk Show



Well, hi there! :wave:
Welcome to another
Canadian Buffoon adventure!
And... bonus! On this trip
you get two buffoons for
the price of one!


Or... is that a detriment?

I'll let you decide.


Hmm... since I'm going
with my oh-so-wonderful
oldest daughter, perhaps it's a
plus one for her and a minus
one for me?

Who are we? I'm glad you asked!
I'm me, pkondz, and she's her, Elle.
A father and daughter from the coldest
reaches of Canada.


Does that clear that up?


What's that you say?
You want photos?
A way of putting a face
to the names?

Well... I have very good news...
and verrrrrrrry bad news.


The good news? You'll see her
on the very first photo of the TR!
The bad news?
You'll see me too. (A little later)
And for that, I apologize.

But ya gotta take the bad
with the good.

Which is why I put brown sugar
on oatmeal.


A quick note about the title.
Several ladies, of whom I know
a few, were all meeting up in
Disney on an EPIC Ladies Trip.
And several are writing EPIC
trip reports as a result.
While I was asked to join
in on the festivities, I didn't
feel it was my place to
intrude.
That and Elle isn't very big
on meeting people she
doesn't know, sealed the deal.

I did however manage to meet
a few of them over the course
of our own trip.
Hence, while not an EPIC trip,
there is a loose connection.
So... Semi-EPIC.


I've written how this trip
came about, over on my
co-current TR:
Canadian Buffoon's Back to Front Vacation.
But for those of you who aren't
or haven't followed that,
a brief recap is forthcoming.

For those of you familiar with the story,
fear not. I have prepared a life-saving
(due to death by dullness) escape hatch!

What's that you say?
You've already just about died
from dullness from a surfeit
of putrid prose?
Well, then allow me to finish
you off! Just keep reading.


Okay, for those of you who know
the back story...


SKIP THIS NEXT PART!!!

Elle is graduating this spring
with her first degree.
(A B.A as her first step
to her B. Ed. which she starts
in the fall.)

About six or so months ago,
Elle came up to me with
a proposal:
"Dad. Elsa and I want to go
to Disneyworld. Can you come
too and show us around?"

I laughed in her face
and told her to sink or swim!
Disney is prime life lesson
proving grounds.
Do your research!
Plan your ADRS, your FPs,
your touring plans, your...

No. Wait.
Oh! Right...
I want to go!
I quite happily agreed.


A month or so later,
Elle comes up to me
with an amendment
to her original proposal.
"Dad. Elsa can't go anymore.
It's too expensive. Can we
go just the two of us?

I told her that an amendment
on our existing contract
would involve legal ramifications
and possibly actuarial and
astrological too.
"If this adds up, what's your sign here?"

Dang it! I keep getting
this wrong.
That didn't happen either.
I quite happily agreed once again.


Another few weeks or a month
or so go by and...

Elle is involved in a little
fender bender.
No one was hurt except
the bumper of her car.
To avoid insurance penalties,
she decides to pay the cost
as opposed to putting in
an insurance claim.

Then it was:
"Dad. I don't think I can
afford to go. Too many expenses."

Hang on! I have a Disney trip
that I'm going on!
I'm not risking not going!

"How about I pay for your
airline ticket (I had enough points
to cover us both), and you
room with me, so that won't
cost you anything and you
just pay for your park ticket
and food?"

She happily agreed.

She had a narrow window
of time that she could go.
She had to go after her classes
were all done but before
summer employment ramped up.

So we picked a date that just
happened to coincide with
the same dates that a few
of my DIS friends were going and...



OKAY IF YOU SKIPPED...
START READING
FROM HERE AGAIN!



It was a dark and stormy night.
The seas were angry, see?
Si!



NO! HERE! HERE!
START HERE!!!



We're off to Disneyworld!
With a surprise appearance by...

oops!

I'm getting ahead of myself.


Let's start with the getting
to Disneyworld, shall we?


April 29th.
It snowed this morning.
There is nothing else I
can add about this day.

Sure, I can say that I was
incredibly relieved to finally
be getting some time off...

But...

It snowed.


I spent the day packing
and not looking
(or going) outside.

I also checked us in for
our flights and...

We were flying with WestJet.
I have a WestJet credit card.
I and my travel party get one
free checked bag each.
Except... it was telling me
that Elle's bag was going
to cost $30.

For reasons that will become
clearer later, I had to book
our flights separately.
I knew that even if I called
to fight the extra fee...
I wouldn't win.
"I'm sorry, sir. But since
she's traveling on her own,
separate ticket, she'll have
to pay. There's nothing we
can do."

Yeah, yeah.
I paid the fee... grumbling all along.


So let's see... snow,
packing, check in.

Yup. That's it.
I was in bed by 10pm.


April 30th
The alarm woke me
at a very pleasant 1:30
in the morning.
For a second, I couldn't
get my bearings.
The dogs, who know that
a morning alarm means food,
looked at me quizzically.
I'm not sure if it was a
"Is it breakfast already?" look,
or a "Are you insane? Do you
know what time it is???" look.


Probably a bit of both.


I wandered down the hall
to make sure that Elle was up.
She was.
Kay (my youngest DD)
was going to drive us to the
airport, but she was out
with some friends, trying to
stay awake.
She'd said she'd be home
by 2am.
(She was. Still didn't stop
me from imagining
(i.e. worrying) that she'd
fallen asleep and wouldn't
show up.)

Elle, it turned out, hadn't
gotten home until just after
midnight.
She'd wanted to bring some
US cash with her...
but.. Wonderful planning on her part...
She'd waited until the last day to
take out the money.
Not just the last day... but the last
night.
After the banks were closed.
So she was forced to withdraw
$500 before midnight
(her withdrawal limit),
and then another $500 after
midnight.


:sad2:

Don't have kids, folks.
You heard it here first.


Car loaded, and our bleary
selves loaded, we headed out
and arrived at the airport
at 3am, two hours ahead
of flight time.

We got our baggage tags at the kiosk
and got in line to drop off our bags.
We were first in line!

Which really just means we could've
come a little later.

What?
Sorry?
You want to see at least one
photo before you pass away
from utter and complete
boredom?

Well... You only had to ask!

DSC07117_zpsybzrcjfh.jpg


Yes. We were too first in line.
The other people you see needed
additional help with their luggage.
We were first in line at the bag
drop-off.

We were waved forward and
Elle placed her bag on the scale.
33lbs. Well under the 50lb limit.
I put mine on next... fairly sure
that it was going to be over.


Yep.
55lbs.


The WestJet attendant mumbled.
"It's too early for this."
She then told us that next time
we should distribute the weight
between the two bags,
but she'd let it go this time.
I asked her. "Even though
we have two separate tickets?"
She said yes.

I debated telling her that if
WestJet expected me to
"distribute the weight" then
they better not charge me
for Elle's bag.

I wisely kept my mouth shut.
"Yes sir! We'll refund that $30.
And now if you'll just pay the
$100 over-weight penalty?
Have a nice flight!"


We placed the bags on
the conveyor
and watched them get
eaten up into the
bowels of the airport.

I could've sworn I heard
a faint burp as the last
bag disappeared from view.


We headed over to security
where we were met by
two unsmiling men who
informed us that security
wouldn't open until 3:30am.
It was 3:15am, so we didn't
have long to wait.

I amused myself by
taking this photo
of the scheduled departures.

IMG_1646_zpsuyv1ijyl.jpg


I guess people from Calgary
have something in common
with marmots.
(Inside joke.)

After 15 minutes, the line
opened and...
No bringing your pot
with you, folks!

IMG_1647_zps6fdsd5ez.jpg


Cocaine, crack, meth...
Those apparently are
perfectly fine.
But pot? Nooooooo!


Have you ever seen
a more empty airport
security area???


One nice thing about
your home airport
(if you travel enough)
is you get pretty familiar
with the dos and don'ts.
I know I can leave my
shoes on.
As well as my belt.
It doesn't set off the metal...

<BEEP!>

Okay... maybe they've adjusted
the sensitivity on their detector.
I go back and take off the belt.
At least now I know for sure that...

<BEEP!>

Other than the plate in my head,
the only metal I have on me is
my watch.
Take that off and...

<silence>

As I was saying, it's good to
know all the ins and outs
and dos and don'ts at
your local airport.


"Is this your bag?"
The security agent was
pointing at my bag.
I'm very used to my bag
being searched at X-ray.
Not sure why, but it
happens fairly often.

"Yes it is." I replied.
And before he could ask;
"Feel free to do whatever
you need to it."

So he dropped it on the
floor and stomped it
with his booted feet.


No. Wait.
What he did was open it
up and remove a teensy
tiny pair of cuticle scissors.
"I just have to show this
to the X-Ray person." He said.

He did. She saw. He put it back.
I can only presume that he thought
they were cute and wanted to show her.

Ah... young love.

I digress.


After retrieving our belongings,
putting my watch back on,
pulling up my pants and putting
my belt back on,
(always travel with clean underwear.
umm... always travel with underwear.
I'm looking at you, Liesa.)
we wandered off in search of our gate.

IMG_1648_zpsi0unwhle.jpg


As a little treat for Elle,
(and because I had my
own reasons)
I had upgraded our seats
to "Plus" seats.
Some of the advantages
to Plus seats are more leg
room, no middle passenger,
priority boarding and free snacks.

We were the first to board.
She looks happy about
her extra space, don't you think?

IMG_1649b_zpsiahzjv6d.jpg


Once everyone was boarded,
the flight attendant started
her spiel.
"Welcome aboard WestJet
Flight 520 to Toronto."

Did I mention that direct flights
from Winnipeg to Orlando
are virtually non-existent?
I've always had to connect.
And it's almost always through
Toronto.

"Our pilot today is Captain Frank..."
At this point I got really interested.
"Oh, please. Oh, please. Let the
co-pilot's name be Beans!
or Stein! Even better!"

"... and in the right seat is his
co-pilot, Captain Smith."

Or whatever. I have no idea.
All I know is I was not on a
plane piloted by Frank and Beans,
or Frank and Stein.

Bitter, bitter disappointment.


The attendant finished her safety
talk and the pilot came on to inform
us that they would be de-icing the
aircraft prior to take-off.


De-icing! On April 30th!


When Elle heard that, her eyes
went big and round.
"Ice?" She nervously asked.
I explained that ice, while a very
bad thing on airplanes, wouldn't
be a problem for us since we were
de-icing.
She chatted away as the plane
taxied over to the de-icing bay.
"I did this today, and this today..."

Wait... why does she keep talking
about yesterday's events and referring
to them as "today's"?

Se explained that she thought it
would be a "good idea" to just not
go to bed since we had to leave
at 2:30am.

She'd gotten up for work at
5:30am the day before.
By now, she'd been up for
almost 24 hours.

:sad2:

Don't have kids, folks.
You heard it here first.


As the plane was de-iced,
Elle fell silent as she watched.
Eventually, the plane was
ready and started to taxi
to the runway.

Elle remained silent
and seemingly mesmerized
by the passing blue taxiway lights.

I craned forward and...

Yep. She'd passed out.
Fast asleep.

I smiled and sat back.


She slept through the take-off.
She didn't wake up again
until the plane touched down
in Toronto.

We were scheduled to depart
at 5am and were airborne just
a few minutes late at 5:15am.
Our scheduled time of arrival
in Toronto was 8:20am,
but we arrived at 8:03.

The attendant made this
announcement:
"Welcome to the centre of
the Universe."
(Canadian inside joke)
She continued with the
normal "Please remain seated...
blah, blah, blah."
But then finished with:
"We're seventeen minutes ahead
of schedule. So next time we're
late, we'll call it even."

:laughing:


Now even though we were early,
Elle and I still had a fairly tight
connection to catch.
Our bags were checked through
to Orlando, but we were not.

An advantage to sitting up front...
First off the plane.
We immediately made our
way to security.

Yes, even though we'd already
been through security in
Winnipeg, and even though our
bags were tagged through
to Orlando, we still had to
go through security once again.

This time I didn't mess around.
I took off my shoes, belt and watch
and went through without a hitch
other than the hitching up
of my pants.

We were directed off to the side
(I assume randomly) while TSA
determined if we were carrying bombs,
guns or worse... cannabis.

There were monitors on the wall
showing the status of your flight
as well as the initials of those
allowed to proceed through customs.

IMG_1652_zpss2hosjfj.jpg


IMG_1653_zps9j5jfqrk.jpg


I'd never seen that before.
I hope to never see it again.

Minutes were ticking by.
I knew we still had to go
through customs and our flight
was boarding in 50 minutes.
That might seem like a long time,
but...

Every minute was torture.

We finally were allowed through
to this room.

IMG_1654_zpsxbzbzxoa.jpg


Everyone had to scan their ID,
have a photo done of them
and answer general questions.
(Like... are you carrying a bomb,
firearms or (gasp!) cannabis.)
I looked for the button that said
"You already searched my bag"
but there wasn't one.
I just clicked on "No".

Once that was taken care of...
You got in line.
A long line.
It wound back and forth several
times before terminating at a bored
looking customs agent.
The line... didn't move quickly.
I kept nervously looking at my watch.
(Why yes, I did put it back on.
Thanks for asking.)

Boarding was scheduled to begin
at 9:20.
We entered the line around 9:00

9:00
We turn down the first of several bends.
9:05
Not sure if we're gonna make our
boarding time...
9:07
A group of six or so join someone
that's ahead of us. A small part
of me dies.
9:10
We still have at least another
five minutes in line.
This is going to be tight.
A group of people tries
cutting through the line.
"We're sorry, but our flight
is boarding at 9:30!"
Someone ahead says
"So is ours."
I say. "Ours is at 9:20."
Suitably chastened, they
don't try to cut anymore.

We arrive in front of the customs
official at 9:15.

"Where are you going?"
"Orlando."
"Business or pleasure?"
"Pleasure."
"Traveling with more than
$10,000 dollars?"

Once.
Just once.
I want to answer "Yes" to
that question.
But I am not an oil baron
(or a drug dealer. I saw the sign.)
so the answer is always "No".

He does not ask me if I am
constipated because I am
practically pooping my pants
(mercifully held up by my belt.

Why yes, I did put it back on.
Thanks for asking.) with anxiety
that we're going to miss our
connection.
And frankly... we have FPs
that just can't be missed.

He hands our passports back
and we run in search of our gate.

You think I'm kidding.
"Oh, pkondz is exaggerating.
At most they walked fairly
quickly."

No.
I mean... We ran.

We made it to our gate at 9:23.
They had started boarding...
but were still in the process.
Phew!

If anyone at the back of our
Winnipeg - Toronto flight
had to go through that
initial screening...
I doubt they made the flight.


IMG_1656_zpsih8rbmem.jpg


So... do we look more happy
that we made it? Or relieved?

The plane pushed back from
the gate on time and taxied
out for take-off.
As we taxied, I spotted
WestJet's "Frozen" plane.

IMG_1657_zps63ktespx.jpg


I wonder if it always needs de-icing?
And sorry for the lousy resolution.
I took it with my phone and it was
a fair distance away.
(I zoomed in and then cropped, too.)


We were airborne a minute after 10am.
I watched Passengers (with Jennifer
Lawrence and Chris Pratt.)
Seen it before and liked it.
Elle... passed out shortly after
take-off.


We arrived early, once again.
I'm really liking this whole
"early" thing.
While we weren't seated at the
front of the plane this time,
we also didn't have a connection
to make other than DME.

But first... our first ride of the trip!
The fake-o-rail!

IMG_1658_zpsn1dsxnus.jpg


Who else loves taking this
when they arrive in Florida?

We got to DME at 12:48pm
and walked through an empty
queue and barely broke stride
as we marched right onto
a waiting bus.
Our checked bags would find
us in our rooms later on,
so we just dumped off our
carry-ons.
I did however, bring my
camera bag inside the bus, with me.
At 12:55pm we were on our way!

IMG_1660_zps9lmzfqn3.jpg


A word about my camera bag.
It's heavy.
It has a DSLR camera with
add on dual battery pack,
and five lenses of various sizes.
I stowed it in a compartment
above my head.
In hindsight, I wish I'd put it
over someone else's head.
Because about 5-10 minutes
after we got going, it fell out
of the overhead bin and landed
on my head before falling into
the aisle.
There was a collective
"oooohhhhh!!!" from the
seats behind me.

I suppose it's a good thing
it hit my head on the way down.
Probably saved me some repairs.
I can always replace the plate
in my head, but a good camera
isn't easy to find in Disney.

Soon we saw this Magical sight.

DSC07119_zpspxl7b2og.jpg


Apologies for the photo.
We were not at the front
of the bus and I was seeing
double for some reason.

At 1:21pm (I looked), we
arrived at our resort.

I didn't take many photos
when we arrived,
but I promise you'll see
some later in the TR.

Our resort for our stay
was at...

DSC07120_zpsryrhdk0k.jpg


Old Key West!

I need to give a big
shout-out and an even
bigger "THANK YOU!"
to @docsoliday1.
When he heard Elle and I
were heading down,
he offered to rent his
DVC points to us.
So for what amounted to
about the same price as
a Value resort, we got to
stay at OKW instead.

Thanks again Doc!
It was very much appreciated. :)
I'll have a bit more to say
on that subject in the next update.
And at some point, I'll have
more resort photos as well.


I was pretty sure that our room
wouldn't be ready yet, and had
planned to leave our bags at
bell services.
I wasn't disappointed.
Our room was not ready yet.

About a week ago, I had used
Touringplans website to send
a room request to OKW.
I asked for a ground floor
and close to Hospitality House.

We were told that our room
was indeed on the ground floor.
Here are your magic bands and
we'll send a text when it's ready.

Just hold on a second, lady.
This ain't my first rodeo.

I asked the CM to point out
where our room was located.

She grabbed a map and
explained it thusly:
"We're here (circles Hospitality House)
and to get to your room, you just hop
on a resort shuttle and take it along
this road, past the pool, around the
bend, past Typhoon Lagoon, get on I-4,
follow that past Celebration, keep going
until you reach Tampa, get on a boat,
take the boat to a bigger boat, cruise
past St. Petersburg, transfer to an
even bigger ship, cruise out into
the Gulf of Mexico, past Havana,
cruise down past Central America,
go through the Panama Canal,
dock at Panama City, take a cab
out into the rainforest, get on a
burro and ride it into the mountains.
Stop there."

"That's where our room is?" I asked.

"No." She answered. "That's just the
resting point. The long part of the trip
is for the next day."


Okay...
Maybe I'm exaggerating just a touch.
But...
OKW is big and sprawling.
And where our room was...
Was in the farthest building away.


"Do you have anything closer?" I asked.
I pointed. "Maybe in one of these building?"
She tapped at her keyboard...
Made a phone call...
"I don't know if I can get you
the ground floor..." She said.

I told her we'd take any floor
including the roof if it got us
a closer building.
She pointed to a nearby building
on the map.
"How's this?" She asked.
It was less than a 2-minute walk away.
I nodded enthusiastically.
"It might not be ready until 4pm." She said.
I assured her that was fine.


Room issue resolved, it was time to eat!
Neither of us had eaten anything, really, since...
Well, yesterday.

I had my eye on the resort's restaurant
and had shared the menu with Elle.
She agreed that it sounded good.
Elle is pescatarian (she doesn't eat meat
but does eat fish) so making sure
the menu is okay with her is important.

We popped over to Olivia's which was
pretty much empty at that time of day.

IMG_1662_zps2avab1dw.jpg


Right away, we liked the
way it looked.
Very inviting with the décor,
tin ceiling and fans.

IMG_1663_zpslt4nmwcc.jpg


There were a few items
on the menu that we
had both agreed to try.

IMG_1664_zps2zz21xab.jpg


IMG_1665_zpsa6mbcook.jpg


Elle ordered water to drink.
Kids these days.
The waiter recommended and
I couldn't resist asking for
a Watermelon Lemonade
How could you not???
It sounded light and refreshing.
And it was a bit early for booze.

IMG_1666_zps6wzb8i6u.jpg


It was good!
Sweet... which I like,
and refreshing.

We split an order of
the crabcake,

IMG_1667_zpsq2f8mwo7.jpg


conch fritters,

IMG_1669_zpsaak9egqg.jpg


and we each had our
own conch chowder.

IMG_1668_zpsxuppiona.jpg



Of the three, the chowder
was the clear winner here,
with the fritters a close second.
The crabcake, while not bad,
was a distant third.

But the chowder was delicious!
And the fritters, with the key
lime mustard, were wonderful.

And it was here, at Olivia's,
that I learned that it's not
Conch... which you'd think
would be pronounced like
"launch" or "paunch",
but Conch, pronounced "Konk".
Like the sound it makes
when a heavy camera bag
falls and hits you on the head.


I think I'll leave this update there.
I've already taken you over 2,000
miles from where we started.
We'll enjoy our crab and "konk",
and take up again when
our bellies are full.



And...
Did you see it?
For those new to my reports,
I usually hide something that's
easily identifiable as out of place
in one or more photos.
(When I do, I'll tell you how many.)
Usually it's a Marvin the Martian,
but occasionally it's something else.


Coming up... Where do we go next?



 
Last edited:
Chapter links:


Chapter 1. The Konk Show
Chapter 2. Talk To The Hand
Chapter 3. Terror On The Tower
Chapter 4. The O Is Silent
Chapter 5. No Pain, No Rain
Chapter 6. Lunch Time
Real Life Update. A Little Bit Campy
Chapter 7. Gonna Be Epic
Real Life Update. Start Your Engines
Chapter 8. Gonna Be Epic - Part II
Chapter 9. Gonna Be Epic - Part III
Chapter 10. Too Bad, So Sad
Chapter 11. Come To The Dark Side
Chapter 12. Bedknobs And Broomsticks
Chapter 13. More Brooms, Less Knobs
Chapter 14. Keys In The Bucket
Chapter 15. Food For Thought


 
Last edited:
I'm here to read along.
Saw it. Boy you had a busy travel day.
 
Last edited:


Joining in! :wave2:

About six or so months ago,
Elle came up to me with
a proposal:
"Dad. Elsa and I want to go
to Disneyworld. Can you come
too and show us around?"

No. Wait.
Oh! Right...
I want to go!
I quite happily agreed.

Haha who would pass up a trip to WDW! I'm glad you were able to make it all work!

April 29th.
It snowed this morning.

This year has been the neverending winter for us as well. End of May and we are only seeing 70 degree weather. Brutal

We were flying with WestJet.
I have a WestJet credit card.
I and my travel party get one
free checked bag each.
Except... it was telling me
that Elle's bag was going
to cost $30.

I wisely kept my mouth shut.
"Yes sir! We'll refund that $30.
And now if you'll just pay the
$100 over-weight penalty?
Have a nice flight!"

Lol probably a good call. I guess a $30 fee is better than the $100!

Now even though we were early,
Elle and I still had a fairly tight
connection to catch.
Our bags were checked through
to Orlando, but we were not.

There should be a better solution to this. Can they not have a fast line for people with connecting flights or space the flights out just a teensy bit more? DH and I have only had to deal with this once and we, like you, had JUST enough time to make our connection from Vancouver back to Toronto (coming from Oahu). Finally made it to the bag check only for DHs bag to have a stray bullet chillin in it from using it as his gun range bag :sad2: I was sure that was going to get him or both of us detained but they just confiscated it and sent us on our way lol Idk what's scarier? Them being totally nonchalant about finding a bullet (although there was no weapon in sight to use it) or the fact that we had already been on four other flights where it was not found :confused3

I think I'll leave this update there.
I've already taken you over 2,000
miles from where we started.
We'll enjoy our crab and "konk",
and take up again when
our bellies are full.

I definitely need to check out Olivia's at some point. Their menu sounds pretty good!

 


Joining in! :wave2:

Cloe! Hi!

:welcome: to the TR.


I swear I wasn't trying
to coerce you over here.
I got you mixed up with
someone else who's posting
all the TRs that are connected
to the EPIC girls trip.


Haha who would pass up a trip to WDW! I'm glad you were able to make it all work!

There was no way
I was not going to go
once it was on the table.


This year has been the neverending winter for us as well. End of May and we are only seeing 70 degree weather. Brutal

Ugh. I know.
Although my DSis was
saying the other day that
she went for a drive down
to Niagara on the Lake and
it was in the 30s there!


Lol probably a good call. I guess a $30 fee is better than the $100!

::yes::

There should be a better solution to this. Can they not have a fast line for people with connecting flights or space the flights out just a teensy bit more?

Right????

DH and I have only had to deal with this once and we, like you, had JUST enough time to make our connection from Vancouver back to Toronto (coming from Oahu).

I've had this before as well.
Twice actually.
And both times I made it
by the skin of my teeth
where I've been the last
person to board.


Finally made it to the bag check only for DHs bag to have a stray bullet chillin in it from using it as his gun range bag :sad2: I was sure that was going to get him or both of us detained but they just confiscated it and sent us on our way lol Idk what's scarier? Them being totally nonchalant about finding a bullet (although there was no weapon in sight to use it) or the fact that we had already been on four other flights where it was not found :confused3



I definitely need to check out Olivia's at some point. Their menu sounds pretty good!

It was good!
I'd go back for the chowder
and fritters any day. :)
 
I'm here and hopefully made the first page! I'll be back for more in depth comments. After I finish commenting on the other TR!
 
I'm here! Still pages and pages behind on your other TR but at least I'm in on the start of this one.

April 29th.
It snowed this morning.
There is nothing else I
can add about this day.

:sad2: One of the reasons I'm glad I live in the south. We might get snow once a year and then it's an event and we get to stay home from work.

The dogs, who know that
a morning alarm means food,
looked at me quizzically.

I know that one! Ellie is a pain and likes to wake us up 5-10 minutes before the alarm goes off.

Well... You only had to ask!

OK, I'm super curious as to what the heck those people were checking in all those boxes. :confused3

We were the first to board.
She looks happy about
her extra space, don't you think?

And her specially labeled seat!

"We're seventeen minutes ahead
of schedule. So next time we're
late, we'll call it even."

:rotfl2:

Minutes were ticking by.
I knew we still had to go
through customs and our flight
was boarding in 50 minutes.
That might seem like a long time,
but...

Yikes! I would be freaking out! It made me nervous just reading your story.

As we taxied, I spotted
WestJet's "Frozen" plane.

Very cool! (or maybe I should say very cold? or very Frozen?)

Who else loves taking this
when they arrive in Florida?

:wave:

We popped over to Olivia's

Been there once. Wasn't impressed enough to make the trip back but would probably eat there again if I was staying at the resort.

The crabcake, while not bad,
was a distant third.

My Mom wasn't impressed with the Crab Cake either. I had the buttermilk chicken which was pretty bland. And you know if I say it was bland it must have been really bland. :lmao:

Did you see it?

Yep, made a reference above!
 
Hence, while not an EPIC trip,
there is a loose connection.
So... Semi-EPIC.

Semi-EPIC still sounds pretty epic!

Elle is graduating this spring
with her first degree.
(A B.A as her first step
to her B. Ed. which she starts
in the fall.)

Congrats to her!

April 29th.
It snowed this morning.
There is nothing else I
can add about this day.

Sure, I can say that I was
incredibly relieved to finally
be getting some time off...

Snow in April would be my worst nightmare. Maybe not my worst but definitely up there. For me though snow still means I have to make it to work and that I may not be allowed to leave at the end of my shift!

The dogs, who know that
a morning alarm means food,
looked at me quizzically.

My cat also looks at me this way when I stay at my parents and wake up at strange hours. She still demands food, regardless of the time. Then demands food at the normal meal times as though it never happened. This is how we have a 30 pound cat.

So she was forced to withdraw
$500 before midnight
(her withdrawal limit),
and then another $500 after
midnight.

:rotfl:Definitely sounds like something I would do.

She then told us that next time
we should distribute the weight
between the two bags,

At least they let you go and didn't make you physically move the stuff! This is my biggest airport beef- if my bag is over and DBF's is under (cuz that's usually how it goes), and together they add up to less than 100 pounds- what difference does it make what bag it's in!! #rantover

wisely kept my mouth shut.
"Yes sir! We'll refund that $30.
And now if you'll just pay the
$100 over-weight penalty?

Wise decision!

Cocaine, crack, meth...
Those apparently are
perfectly fine.
But pot? Nooooooo!

I mean, a set of pots and pans would definitely put you over the weight limit :rolleyes1

She'd gotten up for work at
5:30am the day before.
By now, she'd been up for
almost 24 hours.

:rotfl: Also sounds like something I would do

"We're seventeen minutes ahead
of schedule. So next time we're
late, we'll call it even."

:rotfl:

Because about 5-10 minutes
after we got going, it fell out
of the overhead bin and landed
on my head before falling into
the aisle.

Ouch. Nothing like a concussion to start a vacation!

The waiter recommended and
I couldn't resist asking for
a Watermelon Lemonade

Ooo that sounds delicious!

And it was a bit early for booze.

There's no such thing in my world.

And it was here, at Olivia's,
that I learned that it's not
Conch... which you'd think
would be pronounced like
"launch" or "paunch",
but Conch, pronounced "Konk".

Wow- I never knew that.


You'd think with your own airline you could go to Disney whenever you want!
 
I swear I wasn't trying
to coerce you over here.
I got you mixed up with
someone else who's posting
all the TRs that are connected
to the EPIC girls trip.


Haha np!! Wanted to read anyway! :)

Ugh. I know.
Although my DSis was
saying the other day that
she went for a drive down
to Niagara on the Lake and
it was in the 30s there!


I actually live in Niagara Falls but the US side. Yep, its been THAT cold lol there's a daily conversation of WHY do we still live here? But then I remember that I would probably rather do cold than snakes, alligators and hurricanes lolol



Hahahaha
 
Which is why I put brown sugar
on oatmeal.

What oatmeal is the good part of that meal just so you know.

I want to go!
I quite happily agreed.

I knew this was the correct version.

I paid the fee... grumbling all along.

I remember they used baggage charges as a response to the increased oil prices but oil low now and we still pay for bags.


Pictures?

Plus seats are more leg
room

Ahh, the fabled Plus seats. I have only been so lucky once.

Don't have kids, folks.
You heard it here first.

but but but I want 6

"Welcome to the centre of
the Universe."

You got that right!

Boarding was scheduled to begin
at 9:20.
We entered the line around 9:00

The worst feeling in the world, my heart started racing on your behalf because I have had this happen.

We got to DME at 12:48pm
and walked through an empty
queue and barely broke stride
as we marched right onto
a waiting bus.

sigh, one day I will ride this bus! My only trip to was one that we drove(was on the road with my father(long haul trucker).

Soon we saw this Magical sight.

again, one day I will see this beautiful sight! We arrived quite early and I was still sleeping in the cab.
 
I am here and joining in. I may not get to comment a lot but I will when I can. We never have a direct flight from here either. We always have had to connect usually in Chicago or St.Louis (it is 50/50). Once we did have to connect in New Orleans but we had to stay on the plane while some people got off and new ones got on.
 
Although I’ve yet to catch up on your other TR, I’m jumping in on this one too!

A father and daughter from the coldest
reaches of Canada.
You may be the coldest reaches in winter, but when it’s iceberg season things stay pretty cool around these parts. It’s been particularly bad this year. Lots of north east winds blowing off the cold Atlantic keeping temps just a couple degrees above freezing all May.

You'll see me too. (A little later)
And for that, I apologize.
I just keep my eyes closed for the scary parts.

While I was asked to join
in on the festivities, I didn't
feel it was my place to
intrude.
I’ve made comments in other Epic TRs that I would have liked to be there. While that’s true I also would have felt a bit like an intruder on a girls weekend. But it seems there were a couple husbands tagging along too.

For those of you familiar with the story,
fear not. I have prepared a life-saving
(due to death by dullness) escape hatch!
I’m more or less familiar, but I’ll read anyway. It’s 4:30am and I can’t sleep. I’ve got nowhere else to be.

To avoid insurance penalties,
she decides to pay the cost
as opposed to putting in
an insurance claim.
I’ve done this before myself. Didn’t hit another car. Hit a low lying bumper height stack of wood. Not driving up insurance for that.

How about I pay for your
airline ticket (I had enough points
to cover us both), and you
room with me, so that won't
cost you anything and you
just pay for your park ticket
and food?"
Good plan. Now that I have a 19 year old, it’s a new way of thinking when it comes to travel and money.

April 29th.
It snowed this morning.
There is nothing else I
can add about this day
As per my earlier comment, we’ve had snow in May. No shoveling, but still a pain in the rear.

So she was forced to withdraw
$500 before midnight
(her withdrawal limit),
and then another $500 after
midnight.
I’m just glad there’s someone else out there with a daughter who does stuff lacking in common sense. I thought I was the only one.

We placed the bags on
the conveyor
and watched them get
eaten up into the
bowels of the airport.
Always the part of travel that stresses me out. I feel like the Last Post should be playing as the bag disappears.

Did I mention that direct flights
from Winnipeg to Orlando
are virtually non-existent?
I've always had to connect.
And it's almost always through
Toronto.
Same here. Westjet does one direct flight from St. John’s to Orlando but it’s only on Saturday. One week is not long enough for me but two full weeks is a tad too long, so I’ve never taken direct.

Welcome to the centre of
the Universe."
(Canadian inside joke)
:D

Yes, even though we'd already
been through security in
Winnipeg, and even though our
bags were tagged through
to Orlando, we still had to
go through security once again.
Always frustrating and seems unnecessary to me.

Traveling with more than
$10,000 dollars?"
...in credit card debt from this trip, check, I got that. In cash on my person...not a chance.

So... do we look more happy
that we made it? Or relieved?
Can’t tell, I’m closing my eyes, it’s the scary part.

As we taxied, I spotted
WestJet's "Frozen" plane
I’m pretty sure I spotted that in TO too. Or the Mickey one.

I watched Passengers (with Jennifer
Lawrence and Chris Pratt.)
I thought that was a decent movie, but I don’t think it did very well.

So for what amounted to
about the same price as
a Value resort, we got to
stay at OKW instead.
Awesome! Nice one @docsoliday1

And it was here, at Olivia's,
that I learned that it's not
Conch... which you'd think
would be pronounced like
"launch" or "paunch",
but Conch, pronounced "Konk".
Like the sound it makes
when a heavy camera bag
falls and hits you on the head.
I didn’t know that. There’s my new thing for the day.

For the record, yes I saw it. You’re adding special touches to your fleet these days.
 
Aha - found you again!

:wave:

Hi Donna!
:welcome: to the TR!


(leaving those hints of new TR's, you'll never hide successfully with those clues to follow!)

:laughing:
I'll try to be more circumspect
in the future.
No links... maybe change my name...


Ugh. I'm hoping that we are in the safe zone now, but one can never promise in Canada...

I've seen it snow in July and August.
Not in Winnipeg (well... not in August).
And I was not happy about it!


OK, the *only* time pleasant is associated with 1:30 am is if an airport excursion is involved. And once, only once, I have had a direct flight home from Orlando, and it was amazing!

::yes::

I seem to recall...
somewhere wayyy back in
the distant past, I took
a direct flight from Winnipeg.

But I'm not sure about that.


But, who would be your travel buddy? And who would be your chauffeur?

giphy.gif

Yeah, yeah...
I know.

Actually... will have a bit
more to say about that
much later in the TR.


Yay, happy people! Comfy seats!

::yes::

And upgraded the airline too!

;)

But, the snacks! And the mimosas!

Actually... I didn't feel like alcohol
at five o'clock in the morning,
and the snacks... weren't that great
either on that first flight.
And not really on the second
flight either.

Too early for food? :confused3


Wow, fantastic! Looking forward to hearing more of the trip and the resort :)

More coming up! :goodvibes
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!





Top