We slept surprisingly well, given the events of the day before. We awoke knowing we were a mere two hours from the mouse, and this was, after all, our "bonus" day. (Please recall that originally we weren't going to leave the house until Sunday, but then the mouse on my back got a little louder so we used points to stay in Jacksonville in order to get down there a day early...there's that fuzzy rationalization again!)
The hotel's continental breakfast came with an apology. Seems they had a large meeting there the day before and there was a run on, well, all forms of breakfast food. We ate what we could and got on the road.
Number three was well beyond the planning stage of his trip and just wanted to know when we would be there.
"How many more minutes?"
"How many more seconds?"
"How many more meters?"
"How many more 'miller-seconds'?"
We kept an eye out for the cows. If that farm owner ever caves to the pressure of the retail world, I don't know what I'll do. I love to watch for the cows. That's when I know it's time to head westward
All in all it was an uneventful trip. Compared to the day before, it was downright boring. But we made it. We went straight to SOG to get our AP vouchers.
Then we headed for POR where the boys watched cartoons while Serge from Brazil checked us in. Serge wasn't feeling the magic. He barely spoke. The said only enough to ask me for a photo ID and my AP voucher. He handed me a map, circled our building, and told us to pull out of the parking lot, take a right, take the second right, and park.
And with a forced smile, Serge sent us on our way. Without a magical day.
We piled back into the car, as the map showed us a rather long walk. Following the directions, we parked and then began the quest for building 26.
Note to self: If ever staying at POR again, I will request a building that is not so far away that my walk to Old Key West would have been shorter than the walk to the food court.
We went to the room where we dumped a few suitcases and the cooler. We grabbed some water and were back out the door. Magic Kingdom...
The walk to the bus was short. The stop was nearly empty. We had to wait a bit for a bus, but one eventually came. As I walked onto the bus I noticed that my heels were getting sore.
You know where I'm going with this, right?
We got off the bus and had to go to guest services to exchange vouchers for APs. Again, I'm feeling a little pain in my feet. But I wasn't going to let it impact my bonus day. On my Christmas trip.
So paper APs in hand we all had to go through the turnstiles to prove that we would be using the same finger print for the rest of the year. ( #1 had forgotten which finger to use by day 3, just for the record. ) And then the moment I most look forward to....town square.
AND it had a big ol' tree in the middle of it! I had to stand there and gawk for a while. The park was not crowded at all and the day was beautiful. I found that I missed going in at rope drop. I missed the mosh pit like atmosphere and that collective sigh as we, a mass of humanity, see the castle for the first time as we round the corner. But rounding that corner
was spectacular. The decorations at Christmas on Main Street are subtle. The garland drapes from one side to the other and the lamp posts are covered in Mickey heads and tinsel. There is a southern touch with fake oranges and apples. And the number of pointsetta plants used was unbelievable. They were mixed in with dusty miller to create a snowy look up against the bright red flowers. Beautiful.
And while I'm taking this all in, my feet are still bothering me.
In my defense, I am a seasoned visitor of WDW and have regretted my shoe choice before. Today was different. I knew we would be having a short day in the park...an after 11 arrival and an early departure due to the party that night. I am normally a flop gal. I wear them any time the mercury registers 60 F. My heels are not accustomed to confinement. But DH got me a pair of Sketchers for my birthday, and they are very cool. I wear them frequently and thought they'd be okay for a short day of walking.
Not so.
They were tearing up my feet.
So I slunk into the first aide station and asked for band aides. I had to sign a piece of paper confirming the fact that I wore the wrong shoes.
I felt silly, to say the least. But, I slapped those protective coverings over my red heels and we were on our way to Buzz!
We walked under the pixie dust maker in single file to get our fill of pixie dust and then went to become Space Rangers. First time through I STUNK! I swear my zapper was busted! Then we went through again, as is tradition, and I maxed out the score. Wave bu-bye to that
bad juju!!!!! I had
never made it past planetary pilot before. Well, not without the help of a broken down ride
But today was a new day, and I had fresh band aides on my feet.
According to the plan set in stone by my third born, we were headed next to BTMRR. After a spin on the wildest ride in the wilderness, we rode the boat over to Tom Sawyer's Island. We don't go there often, and quite frankly, the tunnels make me sick to my stomach, but I had read about the paint brushes and wanted to see if we could find one. No luck.
We managed to hit all of our favorite rides without much traffic. It was a pace that was starting to make my band aides shift. New spots on my feet were becoming raw. I tugged and pulled on the plastic in an effort to cover what I could while trying not to slow us down or hobble to obviously.
We chose Haunted Mansion as our last stop for the day. I won't ruin it for anyone, but it is such an improvement over the old ride. It
actually has creepy parts, and the effects early in the ride are outstanding. And while the old bride at the end has always given me the willies, she is now also in another spot and is so creepy I can't look at her. Seriously.
It was nearing six and the party-goers were starting to get thick. We had planned to grab a quick bite in the park, but found that most counter service places stopped serving at 5:30 in an effort to keep non-bracelets from lingering with the bracelets. Interesting tactic which forced us to leave early and go back to POR to eat. The bus was just where it should be and the ride quick and easy. Once back, we grabbed food. Yup, that's just how memorable it was. We ate.
Back in the room, I took off my shoes and realized I had done some damage. These were not blisters in of the wet and squishy variety, but open sores. AND, I had left all my flops at home
What to do? DH offered to go buy me some shoes.
I sent him on his way with instructions to go to DTD and not venture off property. I figured he could find flops someplace and I'd wear them for a few days while my feet healed and then I'd wear my chucks. Number 1 went with him and I got 2 and 3 settled into bed. Then my phone rang. He was getting
crocs and wanted to know what color I wanted. My choices, you wonder? Black or pink. That was all they had in my size. Ugh. He offered to go elsewhere, but it had been a long day and I wanted them back, so I asked about the pink...Was it girly? Was it pearl? Was it bright? Um, did the black look like men's shoes? No. No. No. Yes. I opted for the pink. Never my first choice in the real world. Not even my tenth. But when my choices are black or pink, and the black looked too masculine, I guess I go with pink.
In the darkness of the room with two slumbering boys they weren't so bad.
It figures! 
Where have you been??? Miss YA!!!!!!!
Just checkin' in....
They tried mine, saying that his strip might have been damaged. Mine was declined, too.
I love pictures! Wow! Your son IS tall. He looks at least 15 or 16! Then again, maybe you're just short... 
Just kiddin'! I hope you get the hang of posting pictures, because I want to see more!!! 
