Coffee on the Verandah -The Last Slide, Recap & Souvies 5/29 - Link to Aulani TR 5/31

[pooksma]

Even though your paddling was quite the adventure, you still managed to get some beautiful shots on the river.

 

[AGPrincess]

Subbing! Still catching up, but I love your TR title and the pics of coffee on the verandah...so relaxing!

 

[eandesmom]

ahhhhhh, paddle boats.

They always seem like a good idea ......

Yep, looks so serene and peaceful and easy...right?

Kinda like those surrey bikes at the coast....it looked so fun, plus with 4 people peddling how hard could it be?

I haven't done a surrey bike so not sure how 4 peddling versus 2 in the boat would be but apparently...far harder than it looks!

sitting in the back of the boat looks like it would have been a nice scenic ride.

It was...until the brother fighting started.

I am loving all your photos but THIS one is just stunning!!

.

Thank you! It was beautiful out there, just beautiful. Would have been nice not to feel rushed getting back but it was still a great outing.

paddle boats are a killer, esp if your short, they are fun though. The wave runner boats or whatever they are called are really fun, we did that at the Poly.

Eric struggled with that (being short) although the funny part is Evan is maybe 1" taller and didn't seem to have issues.

Jeff did the wave runners at WL with Taylor one year. They tried to do it together but the combined weight made it go SO slow I think they went back and got a 2nd one. Not really sure as we didn't watch them but that's what I seem to recall.

love the paddle boat story, reminds me of a state park by us that we rent them but it is an open lake, so you hit a breeze going across it, you go good one way but coming back is a bear....you will be spent just trying to make momentum to get back tot he dock.


i can feeel your pain.

We didn't really have any breeze either way and it was late July FL weather so...a rather warm endeavor to be sure!

I seriously can not even believe you guys took a paddle boat that far. What were you thinking????

Um, that we wanted to see the treehouses and...why not?

Good try, though. I'm glad you switched paddlers and were able to get back in time. Oh My!

No way could Eric have made it and no way could I have survived the bickering and melt downs. Win win, plus I got a workout.

Ugh - and you couldn't even enjoy your drink.

That was annoying! what I should have just done is bought a different mixer for me at the villa. Wasn't thinking.

I think you should just go out for dinner. You earned it.

We'd already gone out for an unplanned lunch so it really wasn't an option budget wise. Plus we had the food already and I was looking forward to cooking in the villa.

 

[englishrose47]

Many moons ago I briefly lived in Cambridge England , where they rented pontoons / gondolas on the River Cam , let me tell you that was a work out and quite the sight to see us silly girls trying desperately to go anywhere but in circles !!!Falling in was not uncommon either !!

 

[TinkyCheeks]

Aw, I love that you guys went out on the paddleboat. You got some great pictures! Yes, aren't those so much work!?!? I took one out on a lake last summer with two of my sons. They were no help whatsoever and I could barely walk the next day. So much fun though.

 

[eandesmom]

Beautiful pictures while on the paddle boat. I felt like I was riding right along with you!

Whew! Those paddle boats are work! I've only taken them once and it was much harder than I thought it would be. I can't believe how far you made it!!

The sunset picture from the paddleboat is absolutely gorgeous!!! Love it.

Thanks! It was SOOO pretty out! Really felt like you were in another world and far away from Disney.

Great pictures of your 3 hour tour- it probably felt like it. Love the pictures Jeff took of you guys and that you took of Jeff. And of the beautiful scenery all along the canal.

I'm glad he took pics, I didn't know he was going to do that but it made for a fun viewpoint looking at it from his perspective too!

It felt like an hour, and was. Other than the bickering it didn't really feel any longer due to the effort. I do wish we hadn't felt pressured to get back but oh well.

What a riot that you had gone where no paddlers had gone before. Totally don't blame you for switching places and I'm so glad that the story didn't end with "and then we all fell into the water!"

I was worried when we switched. Neither Eric or I are known for our natural grace.

I can't believe the CM who helped you rent out the boat didn't know the restrictions.

No kidding! The map she gave us said nothing about it either.

Interesting dinner dilemma. Were your meals planned out so that if you skipped making one of the meals you had scheduled, you would end up with leftovers? And are you ok with that?

They were planned out so it would have left us with groceries we'd need to take with us to Vero..and try to keep cold, sans having a cooler.

We did the paddle boats too while at OKW though just DH and I did them while the kids stayed at the pool with our friends. Paddle boating now means something different although our cruise was innocent. Lol!

Ok I have no idea what you mean by that, you'll have to PM me! I did google it but a boat like ours came up as did Wikipedia the most reliable source ever you know. LOL!

I wouldn't think it would be quite so bad were it Jeff and I. He's a runner so pretty darn strong legs. And then there is me.

Great photos. I want that THV on the water. I would be so happy.

Me too! It looks similar or close to the one Mary Ellen had. That's exactly what I would request. Did you make a request?

Looks like such an amazing trip already. Some water patrol mixed with burning calories? It's like an episode of Charlie's Angels.

That's hysterical. Only if we got rid of the E's would it be be an episode of Charlies Angles. Jeff could be Bosley.

Oh what an adventure I think I'll settle for living it thru your eyes

it was fun! But work.

Too bad you couldn't have latched onto the DVC ferry to get a tug!

LOL, I think the patrol would have towed us in if we needed to.

Oh yeah, switching places was a no-brainer. Did everyone's legs (except Kendall's) feel like jelly when you finally got back on dry ground? I'd say that totally counts as a workout!

Only a little at first (for me). More stiff than jelly actually. No clue about Evan or Eric but they didn't mention it. They did sleep like rocks though! I did work out the next morning with no issues so

 

[eandesmom]

Wow, what an adventure! I was really nervous you weren't going to make it back in time. Love the pictures you got on the trip.

I was too! Right on the money time wise, thank goodness. But we did pedal our patooties off to make it. I was really happy with the pictures, thanks!

Sounds like a great afternoon. I can't wait to hear what you are cooking for dinner.

It was a great afternoon and I was looking forward to dinner in the villa

It always cracks me up when people are starving sooooo much and yet, they turn stuff down! But...that pie looked SO GOOD. So who am I to talk?

When you get your heart set on something...it can be hard to budge. I know I can be just as bad.

I love the OKW pool!! So fun. I love that slide. Although it gave me hell with my 3-year-old! (Who was 2 then.) Apparently, you can't go down 2 at a time and I TOTALLY get that rule for rambunctious older kids, but come on! Let the 2 year old go down with his Mommy! That's way safer then him going by himself. (Which he still enjoyed actually, but then we had to hang out and catch him at the end and it was just way more of a hassle.)

Way more of a hassle but at least you were at the end to catch him, we saw a few families NOT watching their little ones and one scary situation later in the trip. I didn't make it onto the OKW slide...wasn't quite there mentally yet lol! Generally I'm not much of a slide person. Don't dislike them really but it's not a big deal either so I generally opt out of waiting in line.

Those paddle boats I think look fun...but definitely a work out! I think I might like to do that one day!! Right now in Denver, they have this crazy thing called the Pedal Hopper that is like...a 16-seats pedal bar that people ride around town! I think I'll stick to the more fun ones at WDW. I want to relax!!

16 seat? Wow! I've never done a surrey bike, Jeff and I have done tandem's lots, but that's about it. It was more of a workout than I'd expected but probably wouldn't have been as bad with 2 adults although I think Evan did quite well.

You definitely earned another Turtle Krawl! (Assuming that is what you ordered.) That does make sense that you couldn't take it on the bus. Although last June 2011 when I went, I went and picked up drinks for me and another person and brought them back to the room. I can't imagine having walked that far to bring them back! But maybe I did. Who knows now?

No, I had a margarita as that's what we'd had in DTD and I didn't want to mix. If I'd have dumped it into my refillable mug it wouldn't have been an issue, I just didn't think of it.

Whewwww I am tired just thinking about paddling all that way.

Yeah, it was a leg workout to be sure.

Last time I was out in a paddleboat it was at a park for summer camp. Trying to direct 7-12 yesr olds and have then not get up or whine about being tired was a feat.

Ok that gives herding cats new meaning. That sounds like torture! Canoe's or rowboats would be bad enough....

But a 2-fer. You got quality time with the kids and a great workout.

I did! It was really fun, I am so glad we did it! YAY Evan for wanting to and "earning" extra money so we could. It would have been easier to say no if it wasn't out of his special excursion budget lol.

Sorry about canal patrol spoiling the fun but going further and then possibly being in the dark and trying to get back may have been worse. Guiding by cell phone or camera flash.

Oh my goodness, I didn't even think of that. Cell phone flashlight lol!

 

[eandesmom]

I love the:

Picture of the bridge
sunset picture
the arrival back to OKW
The mashmellow man

Thanks!!!

The treehouse dock is to the left when right before you get to the bridge. You have to turn left at the merge in the two water ways.

Hmmn...the map was lousy, didn't look like that at all!

You could see our treehouse from where you were, but it was not the one in your picture.

I wondered if we saw yours or not!

Anyway - that whole paddle boat thing looks like fun and I guess that's why you can't rent them from SSR. Still impressed that the boys made it that far. Shouldn't Kendall have been doing the work - pre season training and all that?

Yep, that would make sense, SSR is out on the open seas...at least as defined by the Disney boat patrol lol!

Evan got to choose who pedaled so....she was off the hook somehow! She did get a few workouts in over the course of the trip. And honestly, deserved a break as she was coming off of a tournament the previous weekend.

Wow! That was quite a trip. When you said the boys wanted to pedal to the treehouses, I was thinking that was really ambitious!

More ambitious than I'd realized for sure!

Good thing the pedal police didn't catch you trading places!

NO kidding, I was totally paranoid that one of the ferry's or patrol's would see us. We did have a family boat go by at some point, was less concerned about those.

You did take some beautiful pics - the camfire scene almost looked staged like animatronics figures on a Disney ride!

LOL! Too funny, never thought about it that way. It was our own river cruise....into summer camp! LOL

Morning Cynthia !!I hope your weather is better than here it is awful , rain tress blowing a little to hard for my liking, Judy and the girls are supposed to go to a concert later onKyle is mad cuz the weather is putting a DAMPERon our plans , Oh how I enjoy a day off

Weather was lovely Friday and Saturday but is pretty grey and cool today. Which is just as well as I overdid it pruning yesterday and my elbow and neck are NOT happy with me!

I hope your weather today is nicer!

Oh, what an adventure! You did get some cool pictures on your ride!

thanks, I was really happy with them!

I am not in good shape, so I can imagine my legs would feel like jelly!!

Dave wants to rent a wave runner or something. We'll see.

Jeff and Taylor had fun on those at WL back in 2009

No drink on the bus? Dang. I'll have to remember that. I wonder if you got a lid for it could you take it?

Just dump it into a disney refillable mug and you will be fine. Or probably be fine, I suppose technically those aren't ok either but don't recall the kids having issues with it and I know I had a mug on a bus at some point later in the trip and it was ok. Different bus though. Could have been a strict driver???

Nope, they will not give you a lid and in a clear cup...it's kind of obvious.

Dinner - Hmmm... will she cook? will they go out?? What would she do with the food? Can't wait to hear!!

What would I do with the food, interesting question!

I am always doing that. I used to do that with Happydog's two boys as well until we met in person. There's nothing for it -- we are going to have to plan a trip together.

Works for me!

Love, love, love the paddle boat post! What a fun and different experience! The pictures are great! I can totally relate to the drama between Eric and Evan -- I am sure the same thing would happen with my two -- but I would be willing to risk it.

It was a great adventure! Chelsea would love it...if she was in the same spot Kendall was!

I am very curious to see what you whip up for dinner in the villa.

The whole concept of being able to whip up dinner in the villa was pretty intoxicating to me!

 

[MiaBella05]

joining in

 

[englishrose47]

Weather today is much better !!

 

[eandesmom]

ah paddleboats...they look so innocent...but...looks can be deceiving...

Very deceiving! I wasn't expecting them to be easy but the resistance was definitely higher than I'd anticipated!

That CM waving from the shore looked really happy with her marshmallow roasting...I'm thinking she was happy not to be in the paddleboat...

Yeah...she's waving her roasting stick and saying...suckers!!!!!!!

The Dock loves so pretty there...I'm definitely gonna have to put OKW on my list...we're planning on buying 25 more points by the end of the year...so we'll be up to 105 too...and I'm sure we'll wind up adding more than that...

It is such a lovely place, I'm sure we will stay there again! Even with 105 I did have to do a small 1 time point purchase to finish out our week since we did 1 bedrooms for the whole week and did have a weekend in there.

I want to know what happens with dinner too and you most definitely deserve a drink...

I was looking forward to cooking in the villa. Which may be the first time I've been looking forward to cooking on vacation. Ever.

Today is getting worse I had 2 tires slashed on my car last night !!!!

I know I posted on your thread about this but I am so sorry Rosie!

That story was giving me flashbacks of our surrey bike disaster from April! I'd say you made out pretty well though. Bummer about the drink!

Amy, I totally thought of you while it was happening! Especially after I switched and realized just how tough it was.

It was a bummer, I don't know what I was thinking!

I remember the first time we tried the surreys at BWV. We were on our way to dinner, freshly showered and dressed kinda nice (for WDW, anyway). The kids were little, they sat in the front basket, so no pedaling help there. What a workout--we didn't rent another one for years!! Half an hour was plenty!

Yeah, seems like such an easy little ride, a nice way to get to dinner...

I'd rent one again though.

I can't believe you weren't allowed to bring the drink on the bus...it's not like YOU were driving it! My SIL has what she calls a "mommy cup," an insulated tumbler with a lid and a straw - then no one knows what you're drinking My DH and I now bring 2 insulated cups on vacation, for when we want to mix a drink in the room and take it along to the pool, or sometimes even to Epcot in the evening
Did you chug it before getting on the bus?

I think if I'd have dumped into our refillable mug it would have been fine, sadly that didn't occur to me.

I never wished happiness for the kids.


party Eric

Congrats to Evan for wind ensemble
ad Congrats to Kendall for the soccer win.

Awwww, thanks! K's team is now 2-0

 

[snowbell]

hi - totally subbing this report. I have been lurking for the last few days

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

It was almost 5 when we arrived from DTD. We were shopped out and hot. What to do? Jump in the pool of course!! Having learned our lesson the previous day, when we walked all the way around the pool looking for the perfect spot, heading left as we walked towards the pool, today we headed right.

So that "always go to the left" rule is baloney.

Jeff agreed, good slide. Kendall and I, again, took a pass. Lame but you gotta be in the mood you know?

Booo.

Why to be the captain of his own ship of course! Master of his domain...you get the idea.

Yarrr.

Ok, boat. Paddle Boat. Pedal Boat. Take your pick, I've seen it both ways. The pedallers (?) were discussed. Evan wanted me to pedal with him. Eric really really wanted to do it.

In our family, the kids always want to do the paddle boat with Daddy. So guess who does 90% of the work?

We tend to try not to let the kids see the paddleboats.

And being chased down by strange men

How awesome would it have been if he'd found a makeshift spear to wave over his head as you passed?

We kept going, couldn't be that much further, right?

Famous last words.

ERIC! Start Pedaling!

I AM!

NO YOU'RE NOT!

YES I AM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And on and on and on.

Yup, that sounds familiar.

At this point our friendly boat patrol showed back up.

You can't go that way.

Why not?

You can’t go past the bridge

Why not?

Only bigger boats can, it is out of the no wake zone and heads to Downtown Disney.

Really? Nobody got this yet? Ok:

You're gonna need a bigger boat.

I can’t believe you made it this far

No one ever makes it this far in a paddle boat

Well, you've got that going for you. Too bad you still have to go back.

I did what anyone would do.

Waited for the patrol to be completely out of sight and…
.
.
Switched spots with Eric. (shhhhh...don't tell!)

Yup. I would have done the same. Your secret is safe with me.

Ok..can I tell you? That boat is WORK! I am in decent shape. Evan is in decent shape. We pedaled our patooties off to make it back in time. By the time we got back I figured I could totally count that as a workout for the day.

Well, I'm glad you didn't get lost at sea!

 

[englishrose47]

Tires all better , bank account notBusy morning with the car, cleaning and talking a new staff ( youg) through grocery shopping Poor gal she has never grocery shopped before and has been given that assignment !!!

 

[mickeystoontown]

I felt tired from the minute you said "paddle boat". How the heck you guys were able to pedal for an hour is beyond me!

 

[eandesmom]

Even though your paddling was quite the adventure, you still managed to get some beautiful shots on the river.

Thank you! It was a beautiful adventure even if it did have stressful moments here and there. I'm really glad we did it.

Subbing! Still catching up, but I love your TR title and the pics of coffee on the verandah...so relaxing!

Hi and so happy to have you here. No better way (to me) to start the day than coffee on the verandah!

Many moons ago I briefly lived in Cambridge England , where they rented pontoons / gondolas on the River Cam , let me tell you that was a work out and quite the sight to see us silly girls trying desperately to go anywhere but in circles !!!Falling in was not uncommon either !!

Oh Rosie, what I wouldn't love for a picture of that!

That was my fear, moreso for Eric than myself but really wasn't sure how easy or difficult it would be to swap spots. Thankfully it was pretty easy.

Fishing him out of the canal would NOT have been fun at all!

Reverse seemed hardest in that thing.

Aw, I love that you guys went out on the paddleboat. You got some great pictures!

Selfishly even though it did create brother drama (which might have happened anyway over something else) I was glad it was the 2 of them up front for the 1st part so I could take pictures. I

Yes, aren't those so much work!?!? I took one out on a lake last summer with two of my sons. They were no help whatsoever and I could barely walk the next day. So much fun though.

It was a bit surprising how much work it ended up being. would definitely do it again and am glad we did. Need to time it for a dunk in the pool when you are done though, for sure!

 

[eandesmom]

joining in

Hi! so happy to have you along for the ride!

Weather today is much better !!

Here too, although this morning looked lousy and it poured last night. Good thing too since both boys wore shorts for the first day of school

hi - totally subbing this report. I have been lurking for the last few days

Thanks for delurking and so happy to have you here!!!!

So that "always go to the left" rule is baloney.

Bodies of water must throw it off.

In our family, the kids always want to do the paddle boat with Daddy. So guess who does 90% of the work?

We tend to try not to let the kids see the paddleboats.

"let" huh? Good luck with that. Just wait till they are teens and sneaky, or taller, or go on the darn internet and look up available activities. Just wait.

How awesome would it have been if he'd found a makeshift spear to wave over his head as you passed?

Like this?

 

[ShortStuff]

Love, love love the paddleboat idea, but I know I would have never made it that far. You all did awesome!!

OKW is so beautiful and sssooooo relaxing!! I love it there! I also love staying at SSR in the Cpngress Park area, as it has a wonderful quiet pool and the walkway to DTD with the baby bunnies!! Not sure why, as we would always go different times of the year, but we always saw baby bunnies??

Love your coffee mug! I hate the small resort mugs also. We leave Thursday and I'm going to miss my Keurig! I told my daughter we should get one of the tiny ones and bring it with us! Her response? "Where will we put it?" (Were driving from TX in her Fiat 500). I told her we could leave the Grandmunchkins home, but for some reason she didn't go for that idea.

I'm looking forward to the cruise part of your vacation as my daughter wants to take a Disney cruise out of TX next year. The Grandmunchkins are younger though, but READY to cruise. They have no idea that being on a boat in the ocean is different than a short boat ride.

Very much looking forward to more and am amazed that you arrived without being totally frazzled!! Oh yes, loved the pictures of your cats. They are beautiful!!

 

[mickeysmyboy]

So, I catching up on dis after a long, busy summer and just read all of your posts so far (thanks to the chapter links )

Sounds like a good trip, minus the annoying people on the plane, and a good start to the vacation!

I can't even believe your pedal boat story! at least Evan got to see the tree houses! probably a good thing you switched when the patrol boat was out of sight!

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Like this?

Perfect!