Delicious Indeed!

[RachelNinja]

YAY!!! Harry Potter-land! Are you going to be writing about their time there too?

And Boo about your stomach but at least you got to take it easy.

Waiting for more!

I thought I was going to, but I never saw any pictures they took! Haha. I'll just type up a few of their comments when I get up to the part when we pick them up, haha.

Lately we've been getting the no-expiration tickets too. Since our trips aren't for very long we're able to get the 10 day hoppers and use them for a couple of trips!

OMG, I cannot stand Umbridge! She is one of the most annoying HP characters. I remember reading Order of the Phoenix and hating her. The movie was on TV the other day and I really hate the part where she has Harry writing lines. Ugh! Anyway...now that you've read the books I bet you'd appreciate WWOHP a lot more. Hopefully some day you'll get to visit because it is amazing! And they just announced they are going to expand it!

I'm surprised you guys don't always get APs! I love love love the no expiration tickets because there's no pressure, but I admit, I'm really hoping we have reason to get APs for this April + this May + next February!

SERIOUSLY, Umbridge is so IRRITATING! I casually started rereading it all actually! Haha, I know I missed so much the first time around, so it'll be fun to see all the connections early on.

I can't wait to get to WWoHP myself! I just read that they are going to expand it so maybe I'll wait until that is finished.

Sounds like the non-expiration tickets are a good fit for you and your family.

Mmm Cracker Barrel!

Yeah, if they do expand it, I'll probably decide to go (that'll probably be a while from now!). It'll be so cool to actually feel as if I'm there. Haha, Harry Potter has become a rather large part of my life!

I'm back from WDW and loved your last update! We went to Universal two days during our last trip (we bought 3-day passes that can be used until the end of 2013 [or maybe 2014? I can't remember...] from Costco for $139) and I hung out with my parents while my brother and boyfriend went on all the rides . I still really enjoyed myself, I especially liked just walking through the castle. There was only a 5 minute wait on Forbidden Journey (which I didn't ride because I forgot my motion sickness pills ) so we got to really take our time in the castle.

Sometimes I love days that I plan to do a park that end up being relax days! I can't wait to hear about the rest of your day!

Oh wow, I didn't know that you could get tickets from Costco! I probably would just take a tour through the castle instead of ride the ride. I wouldn't want to get sick!

AK would have been fun, but with no expiration tickets, it would be hard to decide to use one. I bet you all had a fun day anyway.

AKL sounds perfect for a honeymoon!

Yeah, looking back on it (and after you see what happens with their day), I'm very glad that we didn't go. We'll definitely head there for our honeymoon trip though! Haha, I don't remember the last I've been to all 4 parks in one trip.

I hope you do get a chance to go see the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I think you would love walking around the place! We just went back in May and loved it!

I'm glad you had those no expiration tickets; it's nice to know you're not "wasting" a day if you don't feel like going to a park.

I read people's WWoHP updates like crazy now. I just love seeing the pictures, but I know that the pictures just won't compare to seeing it myself. I'd probably be taking pictures with everything!

 

[RachelNinja]

Friday, February 25: Cracker Barrel Breakfast

After dropping off the kiddies so that they could enjoy the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Howard and I headed to Cracker Barrel. We wanted a good country breakfast. We ordered and then had some fun looking at all the things in the store. This is the one store where it's okay to have to wait!

I'm always afraid of candy or gumballs like this. I always think it's going to chip a tooth (and I know what it's like to chip a tooth because I actually did this past November!).

I think nuts lose all of their nutritional content when they're sugared like this, but I'm sure they taste even better!

That is one MEGA Smarties lollipop!

Howard and I have an inside joke with these lamps from Cracker Barrel from the 2010 trip, so when I saw that they had it on a mug, I had to take a picture of it!

Practical souvenir except for the fact that Howard and I already have a TON of Disney mugs!

Interesting that they have Scripture tea. Haha, how about you have your tea and open the Bible! That's just me. I wouldn't want to use these more "novelty" things. I'd save them, and they'd end up going to waste.

FEET!

This is actually what Howard ordered.

Corn!

Reminds me of my childhood. We didn't have one that looked like this, but we had something similar.

Haha, we thought this was interesting.

You can see the bunny inside the egg.

My older brother and I LOVED Chiclets when we were kids! I didn't like gum that much, but for some reason, Chiclets were so much fun!

Um, this looks like poo.

Do ya get this buff when you chew this gum?

I'm not a fan of coconut.

Hehe, I think Howard pointed at this and then pointed at me.

Most of the time, chocolate is considered emergency chocolate to me, haha. If I REALLY want chocolate, then I MUST have it.

What is with these ugly bunnies?

I think I'd be a little confused because I think part of me would expect these candies to taste like peas and carrots.

(continued in next post)

 

[RachelNinja]

(continued from previous post)

Finally we got our food and headed back to the timeshare! Howard and I did pick up a few treats for our ride home on Amtrak. I think this is when we bought the big Mr. Goodbar and some other things as well.

Back at the condo, we were ready to dig in! I had this bag full of biscuits as part of my breakfast.

I really wanted to get biscuits and gravy! For those of you have followed for a bit, you know just how much I fell for biscuits and gravy during the 2010 trip when we stayed at a hotel in North Carolina during our drive down. Alas ... (I hate that I have to alas) ... ALAS, these were NOT good. I did NOT like the gravy. It was ham gravy or something and NOT sausage gravy. It didn't specify on the menu. It just didn't taste good to me. The sausage patties weren't good to me either.

Howard's pancakes were a better, I think. They were thick though! Extremely substantial.

My own cooked eggs look better than this, haha.

I think I added hashbrown casserole too or one of us got it. It wasn't spectacular, but it was the thing I liked the most.

Such a sad breakfast. Not at all what I was expecting! I guess breakfast at Cracker Barrel really isn't my thing. I don't mind though; I'll just stick with the fried catfish and the chicken n' dumplins' for lunches and dinners!

 

[RachelNinja]

Friday, February 25: Shopping with the Kiddies

While Howard and I ate our Cracker Barrel breakfast, we watched episodes of 24. I thought we were going to make it through many seasons, but I actually got really tired and needed to rest. I ended up going to my room to take a nap. That didn't last that long though because soon we got a call from the kiddies saying that they were almost done! Wait, done? Was I napping for hours on end? Haha, nope. It was actually only 1 something in the afternoon! Wow.

We changed back into our "outside" clothes (you know, they're different than comfy "home clothes" of sweats and such!) and drove back to the Universal area to pick them up. There I am getting into the car.

When they got in the car, we asked them how it was, and in short, they told us that it was (1) small and that (2) it wasn't the same as Disney. They said it was very realistic, and Dani said that if she didn't go during this trip, she'd still be wanting to go. They were just done with all of it fairly quickly. They had wanted to do the bag swap for the Forbidden Journey, so Dani and Nik went first, but when they were done, Dani was dizzy from it and Nik was scared. She said that she was just waiting for Harry to come and "expecto patronum" the dementors away that frightened her! So Ray actually had to ride alone because neither of them wanted to go again! They also said the food wasn't good. They had shepherd's pie and something else at the Three Broomsticks, and it just wasn't Disney quality food. They liked the frozen butterbeer from what I remember, and they had the mugs as souvenirs. I wanted them to have a good time at WWoHP, but at the same time, I liked that they finally realized why Disney is just SO much better! They didn't quite understand the obsession until that point!

It seems as if we headed back to the outlets afterwards because Howard has 2 pictures from there. We didn't go back for Bok Choy Boy figurines.

And we didn't go back for some Chicken Now.

It wasn't for a t-shirt.

It was for Vinylmation! Haha. Of course, they wanted to go back and get some more Vinylmation for cheaper than in the parks! Well, at least that's what I remember. Since we were there, I debated getting a pin or two, but I didn't want to because they weren't 50 cents like the last time we bought pins there in 2010! Instead, I bought a box of DeeBees!

I opened it and though it wasn't like I hated them, it wasn't the ones I wanted, so I actually bought another box that Howard picked for me. I liked those better! I THINK I have a photo later on, but just in case I don't, I know I got Icee (the ones that hangs around the Matterhorn), the Tink one (can't find the name), Thinkee, and the Test Track one. I was happy with those last two.

When we were done with the outlets, we headed to Downtown Disney. The plan was to go there to pick up Earl of Sandwich for the Amtrak ride home. We were just heading there earlier than planned, but the timing of it didn't match up with the DIS meet I was supposed to have with Jen (Jennifer48). They were there when we were picking the group up and at the outlet. Aww, maybe next time!

We had to go back to the trading area in the pin section.

Nerd pins!

If we were doing trades, that also meant that we were going to head back Once Upon a Toy. Haha, I think that's what we were doing there. I really don't remember! And it's been so long since I updated this trip report. I really liked the trolley.

And since we were looking up, I had Howard take a picture of these blocks for my mom because she hearts Donny Osmond, haha.

And a random Duffy costume.

I was getting a little hungry at that point since Howard and I had only eaten the big Cracker Barrel breakfast. We decided to make a stop at a place where I had never eaten before ...

 

[Jennifer48]

Next time for sure!

 

[LilAnn]

oooh, you know how I felt about WWoHP! I do have to agree that the park can easily be done in less time than a Disney park. And with the exception of the HP section, the rest of the park isn't as appealing to me.

We actually found the no expiration park tickets to be a good deal. We bought the 10 day PH and more option with no expiration and it should last us for about 2 trips. So, more money up front but pretty good deal in the long run. Gives us more flexibility with the hotels and meals and such.

I need to hit up the outlet before hitting up the park. I hope they have some good pins that I can buy so my little girl can trade away!

 

[RachelNinja]

Next time for sure!

oooh, you know how I felt about WWoHP! I do have to agree that the park can easily be done in less time than a Disney park. And with the exception of the HP section, the rest of the park isn't as appealing to me.

We actually found the no expiration park tickets to be a good deal. We bought the 10 day PH and more option with no expiration and it should last us for about 2 trips. So, more money up front but pretty good deal in the long run. Gives us more flexibility with the hotels and meals and such.

I need to hit up the outlet before hitting up the park. I hope they have some good pins that I can buy so my little girl can trade away!

Yeah, the rest of the park doesn't seem to entice me. I don't do crazy rides, so I don't think it'd be the best way to spend my money when I COULD just go to Disney for another day instead!

I love flexibility on vacation. That's why I want APs too because that'd give us more flexibility during our next 2-3 vacations.

Yeah, you really gotta hit an outlet! Even if they're not 50 cents, they'll be cheaper than the ones at the park! Maybe your DD will even find pins she loves at the $2ish+ price.

 

[IheartDDuck]

Oh, that stinks that your Cracker Barrel breakfast was disappointing! I love Cracker Barrel breakfast, it's normally so good. You must have gotten a dud for sure.

 

[RachelNinja]

Oh, that stinks that your Cracker Barrel breakfast was disappointing! I love Cracker Barrel breakfast, it's normally so good. You must have gotten a dud for sure.

Yeah, it might have been because we didn't eat it there. Or maybe that Cracker Barrel just isn't as good as the others we've been too. Though the food was good for those meals, it wasn't the BEST I've had. I like the random ones in the middle of nowhere. The one by our timeshare is in a really touristy spot.

 

[RachelNinja]

Friday, February 25: The Last Beet

Since Howard and I were hungry and wanted to try Wolfgang Puck Express, we all headed there for a quick snack. It was close to dinner, and we didn't wanna stuff ourselves, so we didn't order that much. I knew exactly what would work for a light, quick meal.

It was interesting finally being able to see the place myself because as a DISer, you really see a million pictures of a place, but it never seems complete in my mind.

I like the feel of the place. It's kind of like quick service, but it's much nicer and more "elegant" without being stuffy. Great place for a date, I think! But that's because I'm not a fan of fancy-shmancy places. It's a step up from the Chili's and Outback restaurants!

They have a refill station for your drink, which is nice because then you don't have to worry about buying one drink and needing more later.

After you order, you get a number to put on your table. We sat in that first area by the kitchen and the refill station because it was a big table to fit all of us, and we could be in the midst of the "action" and see the people making the food.

Dani and Ray waiting for their food. So sad that they're not together anymore!

Just a picture of the pans above us.

Here you can see what I ordered. I was so excited to have the roasted beets salad that has goat cheese, oranges, candied pecans, fresh greens, and balsamic. Ray ordered this as well.

I was so excited because I absolutely LOVE beets! I don't quite know why. My grandfather loves them, my mom loves them, and I love them. When they have them at salad bars, I'm ecstatic since canned beets have a tin taste to them. I should learn how to roast them myself.

Howard ordered the curried chicken salad, which had apples, lettuce mix, golden raisins, avocado, and toasted pecans.

Dani and Nik shared a meal because neither of them were that hungry. I'm not sure which sandwich it is, but they really liked it.

One of the guys working there asked if we wanted a picture of all of us together, which was really sweet of him because we didn't get pictures as a group during this trip!

I love beets so much that I saved a few to enjoy at the end.

Unfortunately, in an attempt to show Dani and Nik the texture of it, I used the fork to cut it in half and one of them flew off the plate and on the floor! Sad beet. Sad Rae.

Howard liked his salad except the bitter greens got to him after a while, so he didn't eat all of it. That meant I got to eat it! I liked his salad too.

I'd like to grab more of that food!

Oil as decoration.

Pretty pricey for "just" salads, but the ingredients are a lot better than the salads you get at fast food places or chain restaurants.

Definitely a pleasant experience for me! I would definitely go back next time.

 

[RachelNinja]

Friday, February 25: One Last Sugar Fix

After our delightful "snack" at Wolfgang Puck Express, we just wanted to hit a few more places before we left Downtown Disney.

One of those stops was Goofy's Candy Co because Dani and Nik wanted to pick up one more snack.

They decided to get a gingerbread cookie for their dad because he likes them.

Since I wasn't getting anything, I just snapped some pictures of the delicious-looking snacks that were there.

Too many choices! This would be a horrible place to be for a dieter.

Haha, sorry, there aren't that many captions I can write for these photos.

We thought about dipping our own pretzel rods as wedding favors for the church, so we wanted to know which ones Disney used.

More sugar!

Green stuff on dessert kind of weirds me out a bit.

Mmm, I love brownies, but I like more of the cake-like brownies as opposed to the really fudgy ones.

Dani paying for the snack. They actually put it in a little bag instead of the box we had gotten the other day. At first we were disappointed, but in reality, it worked out better since she didn't have to worry about packing it for Amtrak.

Fun counter. This would be cool to have to store all my craft things in! Haha.

 

[Jennifer48]

Those salads sound yummy! Although I have to admit I've never tried beets before. We had Wolfgang Puck's once down there and I had the egg salad sandwich and it was very yummy!

Goofy's is the best place for a yummy chocolate covered snack! ​

 

[RachelNinja]

Those salads sound yummy! Although I have to admit I've never tried beets before. We had Wolfgang Puck's once down there and I had the egg salad sandwich and it was very yummy!

Goofy's is the best place for a yummy chocolate covered snack! ​

They really were yummy! I liked having different flavors with very fresh ingredients. I can't wait to try other things at WPE!

Mmm, I could go for a treat right now! Chocolate would help my headache from work!

 

[RachelNinja]

Friday, February 25: Our Last Taste of Disney

A quick trip through one of the gift shops. Fun bags!

Lots of Nerds stuff!

I thought about this for a second, but I like the sunglasses case I have because it has a hook that I can put on my bag so I don't have to waste bag space on something so big.

This tote was super cute, but I didn't need it. Nik bought it though! She really liked it and hadn't really bought many Disney souvenirs (she got the pearl from Japan and a bracelet from Mexico, but she and I were the ones who didn't get into the Vinylmation stuff). She needed it too for the stuff she got during the trip. It's always harder to pack for the trip home!

Creepy, Maleficent!

Shmushed clock.

Tron ears.

The last necessary stop was Earl of Sandwich.

We each bought 2 sandwiches for the Amtrak ride home. We asked for all the sauce to be put on the side so that it wouldn't get soggy. I ordered the All American (it didn't last as well because they removed the ranch and put that in a separate container, but the cranberry part got the bread a little soggy) and the Italian (lasted much better probably just because of the combo of meat). AND what was fantastic is that they had the brownie that Howard and I wanted, the one with peanut butter! Yay for a fun snack for the LONG train ride home!

It was finally time to say goodbye to all things Disney. Leaving DTD meant we were completely done with Disney. Very sad! At least we still had some time left though! We went to Cracker Barrel to pick up the free meal and sides that the manager said we could get when our order was messed up at the beginning of the week. When we were waiting for the food, I accidentally bumped into the spinner rack of gift cards and said, "Oh, I'm sorry!" because I thought it was a person. Howard laughed and had to take a picture of a reenactment of it.

They make banana moon pies.

These things are awesome. I love the simple concept of yummy things enrobed in chocolate.

Other sweets.

After Cracker Barrel, we also stopped by Publix according to this photo. We bought some Vitamin Water so that we could bring it on Amtrak and avoid having to buy anything on the train (expensive!).

Back at the condo, we popped in another movie (I can't remember what movie we watched that night). For dinner, we all had some of the Cracker Barrel chicken' n dumplins and the sides of fries and such along with the leftover Hamburger Helper. Since we made those 3 boxes, we still had PLENTY leftover. It was nice not having to cook. It did take a while to microwave the HH though! And it was a good thing we bought that bottle of ketchup. We also finished the Seagram's. Very relaxing.

At the end of the night, we had to start with the cleaning. I thought this was something fun to share. Remember when we had bacon the other day? Well, we put the bacon oil in a mug so that it could congeal, and look at what it became!

Haha, I had to take a spoon and clean it out. DELICIOUS!

Then we got one of the bags of garbage ready to throw away. Look at all the Vinylmation boxes in there!

There was a lot of other packing and cleaning that signified the end of our vacation. Sad. Very sad.

 

[Bridora]

Glad you enjoyed your Wolfgang Puck Express! That is our traditional "last meal in Disney" spot.

Cleaning and packing to leave Disney are the worst!

 

[RachelNinja]

Glad you enjoyed your Wolfgang Puck Express! That is our traditional "last meal in Disney" spot.

Cleaning and packing to leave Disney are the worst!

There are so many things on the WPE menu that I'd like to try, but I love that beet salad too! Too bad there's isn't a WPE near our houses so we could go there for meals!

It was so sad knowing that we'd have to pack up to leave, travel all the way home, and then GET BACK TO WORK! AGH!

 

[RachelNinja]

Friday, February 25: Before Our Last Disney Sleep

That night we had a ton of cleaning, packing, and EATING to do! We still had desserts in the freezer. We actually purchased one too many desserts. I knew that it'd be too much, but that's because I know what it's like when we're actually at a condo. Even though you think you'll want dessert every night, chances are it won't happen. We had sorbet (for me and Howard, but everyone liked it), gelato, and ice cream. I decided to enjoy the last of the delicious sorbet!

Still a ton of snacks left in the bowl!

And a ton of toilet paper left too, haha.

Here's the yummy Earl of Sandwich dessert that Howard and I were so happy to buy for our trip home.

We both love the chocolate and peanut butter combo.

I like that it's only $2.50. Think about the small sized desserts that you get from chain restaurants. This is definitely a better deal!

Howard was looking at some of the pictures we took on this trip. I was very paranoid and wanted our pictures saved on his netbook too and not just on the memory card.

Nom nom nom-ing on my peach sorbet ... with a fork! Haha, we ran out of spoons at this point, and we had to a final load before leaving the condo, so we were waiting until the morning to do that.

One of my favorite souvenirs!

I listen to DIS Radio on a regular basis, but sometimes I like listening to the music in my room too (my computer is downstairs). Plus, I like the option of choosing songs as I get ready. For example, I went through a phase of needing to listen to the Splash Mountain song for about 2 weeks straight!

I also had those DeeBees pins!

It's expensive at $10, but there are 2 per box.

These are the ones that I found in my first box. I didn't dislike them, but they weren't the ones I REALLY wanted.

That's why I went to buy another box that Howard picked for me, and these were the ones in it. I liked these a LOT more because it was for Test Track, and the one on the right is Thinkee!

Howard also bought this pin for me because we both LOVE HSM! And I always love it when the classic characters dress up as other characters.

Again, still a pricey souvenir, but this is not a trading type of pin. I'll be keeping this one!

This is the Nerds lanyard that Dani, Nik, and Ray bought for me as a thanks for planning the whole trip. This is what I wanted in MK, but I decided not to get it. They bought it for me at the Poly when we were there for 'Ohana because they knew I was debating about it the night before!

Love having all the nerds right there!

Well, after these pictures were taken, it was time to head to bed! Awww, it was our last sleep in Florida!

 

[Jennifer48]

Love the Nerds lanyard!

 

[RachelNinja]

Love the Nerds lanyard!

I want to wear it just for fun without any pins on it! Haha, I love those nerds.

 

[RachelNinja]

Saturday, February 26: Goodbye Florida!

The next morning, we had a mishmash of items for breakfast. It was actually pretty good! We ate the last kielbasa, Le Cellier breadsticks, potato pancakes, salsa, guacamole, cheese, tortillas, scoops, and leftover potatoes. LOTS of leftovers, but it was very yum!

Perfect bite with all the great components!

We watched Man on Fire on TV while we ate (did not like how it ended!). We just relaxed for the morning since we didn't have to leave for Amtrak until later on. We did some last minute packing and cleaning before we had to leave. I was a little stressed about it because it took some of them a bit longer to get ready and pack up all the last minute things. Since there were items all over the condo, I didn't do a complete run through to check for any missing items because I was already out the door first.

We piled into the car with all the things on top of us all over again. I mean, we were squished when we arrived in Florida and drove to the condo and now we were leaving with MORE items! Haha. This was what was on top of my lap.

Nik was covered with her things too and hugging her cow while she closed her eyes during the final Florida car ride.

We weren't late when we got to Amtrak, but we weren't as early as I would have liked. The people were already on line in sections, and I didn't like the idea that we'd be at the end of it. Howard and I had to wait at the counter to return the car keys and all that and get it checked out. Then we had to carry everything over, which was difficult because we even had a gallon of water with us! There was a bathroom break that was required before getting on the train. Howard and I joined the 3 who were on line, and the 3 people behind us apparently had a huge issue about it. There was a dad, daughter, and son. Well, it was actually just the daughter who cared and kept saying things like, "Don't let them get in front of us" and all that even though Dani, Nik, and Ray were clearly standing there with all of our things as we returned the car. When it was time to move forward to start getting on the train, it took us a bit to pick everything up, so those 3 actually got ahead of some of us. Ray and Dani were ahead, then the 3, then Howard, Nik, and me. I was worried that we wouldn't get to sit together since the Orlando station wasn't the first stop on the route. Well, Ray and Dani were not going to let the 3 cut in front of them and they didn't! When the Amtrak guy asked how many people were in our party, they said 5 so we were still able to sit together anyway!

Dani and I texted each other about the situation since the daughter was actually sitting right in front of me! Oh man, some people can get really tense! Haha, they allowed us to sit together anyway (just like they allowed the 3 of them to sit together). People just have to chill out!

Anyway, we settled down, and we had something watching us during the ride home!

I don't remember much about the trip. I do know that the trip going back to NY was not nearly as nice as the trip going down. The people on our car didn't seem as family-friendly. Maybe people weren't happy about going home! The bathrooms also did not stay as clean for long. It just didn't feel as clean to me.

What was definitely good was having Earl of Sandwich for the ride home! The All American didn't last as well, as I think I already mentioned, since the cranberry sauce got the bread a little soggy. The Italian was really good though.

The next morning, Howard and I woke up and had the Earl of Sandwich peanut butter and chocolate deliciousness!

It was fun having a shared, unhealthy breakfast while still staying warm under the bigger fleece blanket that we bought specifically for this trip. After the trip, I washed it and put it on my bed. It'll go on our shared bed in the winter when we get married (I have a big red one now from a student from this past Christmas that we'll use when we're watching movies and such on our couch). Having it now always reminds me of Florida! I'm VERY glad that we got the blanket for the Amtrak ride. It was one of the best tips I read about when doing research because it does get a little cold on the train. I would have been uncomfortable if we didn't have it. I know that sometimes the other 3 were sometimes a little too cold for comfort.

This was the only way that I was going to allow for a picture of my gross face!

It was at this time that I TRIED to grade the papers that I had my students email me before the vacation began, but I think I only graded like 3, haha. I tend to write way too many comments, but I feel that it's important to do so even if only a few of them take it seriously. As a teacher, I think it's the right thing to do so that they can learn.

Hideous faces! Boy, were we just dying for a shower!

Tracks!

A little bit more 24 as we approached our final destination. Just a little bit longer!

Don't you just love how we sat? If we didn't sit like that, the trays would constantly bounce and rattle, which was a pretty irritating sound. It would also cause the DVD player to skip.

When I saw this sign, I was like, "Okay, we should start getting ready soon," but I figured we still had some time left. It actually went by really quickly at this point!

Then before we knew it, we were looking at the Prudential Center in New Jersey! Howard and I have been there a few times for concerts (1 concert with Chris Tomlin, 2 with Casting Crowns - in fact, we just went there last Friday on 3/16 for a Casting Crowns concert with Matthew West too - the front row seat tickets were a Christmas gift from a student; a bunch of teachers went with the student and her family).

When we finally arrived back at Penn Station, we actually took a bit of time trying to pack everything up, but we let everyone else get off first so we didn't have to wait while holding all of our luggage. The Amtrak guy was trying to hurry us up though since they do a pretty quick change over, I guess.

This brings us to the end of our trip! We grabbed our stuff and emerged back to level ground outside Penn Station and said our goodbyes. The 3 of them, from what I remember, took the train back home or back to church. Howard's dad picked us up from the station, and we dropped him back off in Chinatown before we went to my house. I think we grabbed Panera or something for lunch, looked at our souvenirs, tasted some of the yummy Mickey chocolate covered almonds and then called it a day! We were both dying to get all clean and refreshed, so Howard left and thus, our trip was officially over!

I can't believe that I actually finished a trip report! I'm still working on my 2010 trip report, haha. I want to make sure I get these done because I actually have 2 trips coming up - one in April with Howard and my family and then our DISNEYMOON in May! I'm not sure if I'll be able to start a PTR, but if I do, I'll post the link here. The plan is to get annual passes since we'll be there in April, May, and then hopefully February 2013 with the crew again (I am getting 4-day passes for Dani and Nik who are my bridesmaids in the wedding). FUN FUN FUN! Thanks for keeping up with my neverending babble! More Disney on the way! See you then!