.*Even Miracles Take A Little Time.* A Beyond Birthdays PTR ~Complete~

[disfreak24]

Oh my gosh, Hi Hannah! It's been forever! So glad to see you back And that's awesome to hear about your trip. I actually won't be going back anytime soon, but there is talk of maybe going back in 2013. *crossing fingers* And I will be posting the Quebec trip soon enough, which title do you think I should have as header for the posts from the ones I listed above? =D

It has been forever! Awhh thats so sad, but the 2013 trip will hopefully happen! Can't wait to read about your Quebec trip! hmm my favorite titles are :

The One Where We Begin by Hitting A Tree- Quebec Trip 2012

When Merci becomes Sil'Vouz'Plait... The Messed-Up World of Quebec

Drinking Oysters... Uh No? A Trip of Questionable Situations

I can't decide on one! They are all so great! Ohh and going back way back in this thread about the broadway shows, I think you should see the Lion King or Wicked! My school chorus is going to see wicked this May! I feel like it is a pretty awesome show! And my sister saw the lion king last year and said it was amazing! I am so jealous of her because I'd love to see that!

 

[PlutosRHM55]

It has been forever! Awhh thats so sad, but the 2013 trip will hopefully happen! Can't wait to read about your Quebec trip! hmm my favorite titles are :

The One Where We Begin by Hitting A Tree- Quebec Trip 2012

When Merci becomes Sil'Vouz'Plait... The Messed-Up World of Quebec

Drinking Oysters... Uh No? A Trip of Questionable Situations

I can't decide on one! They are all so great! Ohh and going back way back in this thread about the broadway shows, I think you should see the Lion King or Wicked! My school chorus is going to see wicked this May! I feel like it is a pretty awesome show! And my sister saw the lion king last year and said it was amazing! I am so jealous of her because I'd love to see that!

Well, it's so good to see you! I'm crossing my fingers for that 2013, hopefully my mom won't have a "Night and Day" moment there.

Thanks Hannah for your suggestions! I think I have an idea now of what I'm going to name it (well I do/did, until my computer went all rebellious on me )

Oh gosh, those just seem to be the biggest contenders right there. I don't know which one to see. I've just kept on listening to The Lion King soundtrack for weeks and I know the Wicked one fairly well and keep on watching videos from it on YouTube and I just can't pick one over the other. Oh, what to do, what to do... But thanks for your input!

 

[PlutosRHM55]

Wire Confirmation of Mickey Mail at Once, Ahuh!

And say that in a Mickey Mouse falsetto!

That is actually a bit of a modified quote from the show I'm in and the character who says it does say it in a Mickey Mouse falsetto (a fairly good one might I add). Speaking of that show, I am in Anything Goes currently (my school's musical) and it is tech week for us (the week of the actual performances). It is nervewracking and bittersweet (since it will be the last show I have with the Seniors :'( ), while at the same time I'm VERY busy. Like this was the first time I've gotten the chance to sit down and go on the DIS without having/wanting to take a nap. But I did have an update for the Quebec trip awhile ago actually, but just as I was finishing it, I lost the whole thing. A bit frustrating at a time when I was so tired. I will get the update up soon but for now I have some news from my busy life.

First, is the one according to the title of the update. I'm sure you guys recognize this infamous picture:

If not, I direct you here- Cheerleaders! Blisters! Oversized Water Bottles! ... It Must Be Disney February '11 Trip Report

Either way, that is my good friend Nathan. As you know from what I've mentioned about him, pertaining to this PTR, he was supposed to be coming with me on the original trip to Disney World and Disneyland that I made this TR for, but he was pulled out of the plans when he moved to Philadelphia. Also, because at his school they were going to Disney and this is where this update comes in!

He went back at the beginning of this month and awhile before, I'd asked him to get me some things, which he totally expected, being me. I didn't want to be greedy, so I added "If you can." But knowing how sad it was for him of me not being with him (since I am the life of the Disney trip ), he got me something. Two somethings actually and said he was going to give them to me as soon as he could and on Friday, I got them in the mail. And this is what I gots...

A PIN!

A MICKEY STRAW! (With my Disney Dining Madness bracket behind it)

I was wicked excited when I got these for one, they were from DISNEY and two, they had a bit of sentimental value that came from my past two Disney trips.

The pin is in relation to my first Disney trip (which you can read about here- When I First Felt the Magic... FINALLY! April '10 Trip Report) where I stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge Kidani Village Villas! I absolutely loved staying there and would back there any chance I got. I'm not sure any resort could beat it. For that reason, when Nate asked what pins I wanted (since I preferred being surprised) I added that to the list and he got it for me, thanks Nahtan (I purposefully spelled his name wrong).

Now, the second gift, the small little Mickey straw, has another story that links to my second trip (which again, is found here and must be read- Cheerleaders! Blisters! Oversized Water Bottles! ... It Must Be Disney February '11 Trip Report). At the end of that trip, I had a little last minute shopping buzz, where I bought a few things, one of them being a Mickey straw. When I got home and showed everyone my souvenirs, I couldn't find the straw. I searched throughout the rest of the vacation and still could not find it. So when Nate asked if I wanted anything else, I asked for that and now I have a straw I can actually drink from. No other straw is worthy of even five inches of my lips at this point

Yup, so that was my "Mickey" mail for this week. I also have to update on something else...

I'm sure most of you were getting mobbed or were in the hubbub of The Hunger Games movie coming out. Well, I was definitely in that crowd! I read the book before it became well-known or famous and so of course I had to see the movie. Though I missed my chance on the Midnight Premiere, I saw it the next day and for those of you who are hesitant, it was AWESOME! Seriously, after Twilight and Percy Jackson and Inkheart, I was leery but they pulled it together for this one. The whole movie was well-acted and considering the limited time they had and the limited rating (should've been R), I was just as pulled in by this movie as I was by the book, even with some smaller details missing, it was amazingly portrayed with a fantastic cast and some great directing skills. My mom was so amazed by it, she is reading the books now. This is a rare occasion since the last time this happened was Harry Potter (she wasn't a huge fan of the Twilight movies and I was on her about reading those books beforehand). And on that note, I think it will be like the HP films and become a successful franchise, so I HIGHLY recommend you see it while you can. As a movie on it's own, it is AMAZING!

I promise to get my first Quebec update soon, promise *pinky swear and other promise rituals*

Have A Magical Day!

 

[IheartDDuck]

I went and saw the Hunger Games on Friday too! I also read the book before it became a big hit too, so I was super excited the whole time. I loved it! I do wish some stuff wasn't pulled out though, but what can you do with limitations.

How nice for you to get Mickey Mail!

Can't wait to hear about Quebec.

 

[marDgreen88]

That was so sweet of your friend to send you stuff of 'sentimental value' and what not! I'm obsessed with Disney pins now so it's nice that you got one from a resort you stayed at! HOORAY.

I've been meaning to read the Hunger Games for like a year, but now with all the hype I've been holding out because I don't want to 'jump on the bandwagon.' I'm weird like that. I really want to see it though!

 

[PlutosRHM55]

I went and saw the Hunger Games on Friday too! I also read the book before it became a big hit too, so I was super excited the whole time. I loved it! I do wish some stuff wasn't pulled out though, but what can you do with limitations.

How nice for you to get Mickey Mail!

Can't wait to hear about Quebec.

It was such a good movie, it's a shame though that the book had to be so detailed, but you could definitely tell they tried their best on getting this movie to be like the book. I'm really pushing for some Academy Awards there lol

It was awesome! Just my little alternative for REAL Mickey Mail

I will post an update on that ASAP, probably after the play is over

That was so sweet of your friend to send you stuff of 'sentimental value' and what not! I'm obsessed with Disney pins now so it's nice that you got one from a resort you stayed at! HOORAY.

I've been meaning to read the Hunger Games for like a year, but now with all the hype I've been holding out because I don't want to 'jump on the bandwagon.' I'm weird like that. I really want to see it though!

I was so happy he did or I probably would've been to Disney depressed to even come back here. He is such a good friend. Disney Pins are the best! People just don't understand how much fun it is to trade and stuff, though I mostly just get them for memories. If I trade I just buy cheap ones, but majority of the time, it's to remember. AKL <3

Oh you must! I know after Twilight people are leery of these types of popular books but I read it prior to becoming popular and just fell in love with it. And it isn't a teeny-bopper book like Twilight or House of Night, Mary Sue inflicted books like that, I mean, the 9th grade at my school reads it as part of a curriculum. The book is so detailed and there is a lot of hidden meaning. Like why Suzanne Collins named certain things and stuff like that? I HIGHLY recommend it and the movie is amazing too, but book first THEN movie. Got it? Good! (and remember to tell me if you like it or not so I can give the all mighty "I told you so" hehe, sorry, evil much?)

 

[PlutosRHM55]

I know this update is very much overdue at this point, but with school and the musical I was just in (which was awesome! (More on that later...)), I would like to present to you my official Quebec Trip Report aptly named...

The Annoying Roommate Stalks Those Who Wish Not To Be Found: A Fast-Paced Trip!

Yup, so you like? Don't like? If you don't like it, deal with it because that's the name! I changed it up a little because I think "On-Going" didn't fit the trip well. I mean, it sounds like it's still going on today (which it isn't sadly), which is a bit ridiculous so that totally works for me

Now, I believe some introductions are in order. First up, you all know him... the man, the myth, the legend... THE... TR WRITER... TIMMY! *crowd cheers and applauds* Thank ya, thank ya very much!

Yeah, not the best picture of me, but whatever, totally worth the sad pictures of me you will run into this trip :/ Anyways... as a DISer I absolutely LOVE Disney, but I'm also a huge fan of Travel. When I was younger and still today every February break I've taken the extremely eventful two hour drive up north for snowboarding and skiing. Early on I begged my parents to go some place else, but they always disregarded me. Finally, we took our first trip to New York to the Six Flags Great Escape Lodge when I was... 10. I still went on the annual skiing trip, but after that we had a tradition of going back to Great Escape during April vacation. Now, years later, I've been there, Washington DC/Virginia (with stops in Vermont and New Jersey along the way), Florida/Disney and most recently, Quebec! It's a shame I haven't been to more places, but I've enjoyed each trip individually and now I can add "Out-Of-The-Country" to that list. It was so great experiencing the culture and history of Quebec over 4 days, while it ain't no Disney it will be a trip I won't EVER forget. And as part of my love and expertise on travel, I will give tips to those who have never been to Quebec and little add-ins about going out of the country (since it is all pretty similar). I'm also a man of many words and I make the most random references so I apologize in advanced if you get lost (ask for my help).

Also on the trip were my good ole' pails for the short 4 days and even though there were a ton others involved besides these guys (like on my last Disney trip), I will still introduce them and here they are...

Sitting next to my dashing self is my best friend, Jocelyn, who you might recall from my previous TR. She, of course, had picked the same trip as me for her first choice and we both got put into this trip. I'm sure if you remember from my last TR, there were a lot of crazy and funny moments involving her... well, be ready to get a taste of those again Across from me is Carolyn, while we weren't very close at the start of the trip, we did become closer this trip. I don't think you could call us friends based on the fact I'm a bit more bubbly than she is, but we had some great moments with her too. A lot of the time she was basically thrown into a bad situation and it turned about pretty memorable the outcome so watch for that. Lastly, next to Carolyn is my friend, Angela. I've known Angela for awhile. We are a lot alike which kinda has been problematic for us. We have similar interests but also strong Type A personalities, which the clashing of those two hasn't suited us well. I won't go into that, but let's just say... our 7th grade year ended off in an interesting way. But I won't go into that and say, we are on better terms now and had a great time this trip. She didn't do anything instrumental, but I think that may have been for the better

Yup, so that's the crew!

Now, for the title... So I'm sure from those who read the posts prior to this trip, know I was apprehensive about who I'd be rooming with. Well... it turned out okay, I didn't have to sleep on the floor again, but I did end up with the one person I would least liked to be rooming with, Andrew. Not because he's one of those "popular" dudes or something like that but because he is annoying as heck! I hate to be mean, but everything about him screams annoying: His voice, his smile, his composure, his personality... ugghhh... But I survived his presence with the help of my other chiller roommate Don and it actually turned out to be pretty funny when we tried to avoid him (stalking those who wish not to be found), but I'll get into that later. At least you understand the title though

Now, the details of this trip...

WHEN? March 13th to March 16th of 2012
WHERE? Quebec City, staying at the Le Concorde Hotel
WHAT? Sophomore Trip (There were many others that those who didn't go on this trip went on in my grade)
WHY? For a good learning experience and because it is SOOO much fun!
HOW? Because my school is AWESOME! Nuff said.

I think that's all. We did do a lot of each of these four days (hence the Fast-Paced Trip) and we were completely and utterly pooped by then. I did buy souvenirs of course, not great ones (since Quebec is expensive and the stupid exchange rate...) but they are pretty cool and I can't wait to show you them at the end.

Because I took so long to get this up, I'll give you a little Pre-Update to get started so we can get right into it... Oops! Forgot to mention, I also did some TR writing and preparing practice for this trip since I epically failed on that aspect for my last two trips. Anyways... let's get ready, get set and GO!

PROLOGUE: THEY (TRIPS) CAN NEVER GO AS PLANNED

I'll begin on the night before. I still had some packing to do and thus I was up late even if I had to get up at 5 the next morning to be able to get out. I double checked everything and made sure to get all the fun stuff together. I began to set up my trip journal (yes I had one) and after my major cramming at the last minute, it was time to get a good night's sleep.

Fast forward to the next morning, March 13th, 2012...

I got up eagerly, ran in to take a quick shower, brush my teeth get change and put in everything I needed on this trip that I needed that morning. I went downstairs to enjoy a nice quick little breakfast to fuel me up for the long 9 hour drive (or until our stop for lunch). After that, I updated my Twitter, went on the DIS, said goodbye to my dog, my guinea pig, my sisters and soon enough, my mom and I were packing the car and off to school.

The course directors (teachers) told us to wait until 7:15 AM to check in otherwise nobody would be there, but of course they were wrong. We got to the school a bit early and decided to go in a bit early and there were already two people waiting to get their bags checked. At the same time, they barely even checked our bags at the school. I guess it was more to scare those who would bring uhhh... contraband from bringing it. My mom dropped off the water and I went off to go catch up with my friends while waiting. We didn't do much at this time. My mom ended up talking to a few people she knew and we said hi to a couple of our friends still waiting to leave for their trips.

At 7:15 AM, we were bringing our bags out and on the bus. I ended up helping bring on the unlimited supply of food we had (seriously it was a ton). We did end up finally leaving at 7:30 AM on the dot. Jocelyn and I sat together under the TV screen, SCORE! I took some pictures as we left:

Jocelyn's excited for Quebec!

SELFIE!

Angela and Carolyn sitting across from us

Another Selfie to prove our seating arrangements

The Whole Bus

Oh and I would like to introduce another member of this trip, my little mascot, LGA! He wanted water early on so I got some from the chaperones.

The radio on the bus

The TV

LOOK! My iPod was actually working!

Passport: Check!

The "Sun Roof"

And we were on our way to Quebec City!​

 

[TanzUnited99]

you started!!! Am so excited and ready to hear all about your adventures in Quebec!

Love the title but ugh at having to share with an annoying roommate Doesn't sound like fun.

I totally understand about having a friend who is the same personality as you and how it can clash. Looks like you had a lot of fun on this trip and can't wait to hear more...don't keep us hanging too long lol.

Also am glad to hear that your ipod worked on the journey. Have a good Easter and don't eat all the eggs at once!

Tanz

 

[PlutosRHM55]

you started!!! Am so excited and ready to hear all about your adventures in Quebec!

Glad to hear you're excited, Tanz! I'm excited to share with you my adventures in Quebec

Love the title but ugh at having to share with an annoying roommate Doesn't sound like fun.

It wasn't, but most everything else made up for it

I totally understand about having a friend who is the same personality as you and how it can clash. Looks like you had a lot of fun on this trip and can't wait to hear more...don't keep us hanging too long lol.

So glad to hear someone understands. Even though we are a lot alike, our big egos and personalities get in the way and it just doesn't end well.

I promise not to leave you hanging. I'm sure the updates will be quicker since I have some notes to help guide me along. When we get to the last days I will be scavenging my brain for everything that happened since I didn't take as much notes, but the titles I wrote down will probably help.

Also am glad to hear that your ipod worked on the journey. Have a good Easter and don't eat all the eggs at once!

Tanz

And it is STILL working, Quebec rejuvenated my iPod lol And thanks, you too

 

[Tink2Day]

Wow, they sure didn't make busses like that in my day.

Can't wait to read your Quebec report. I'm following along on a few Disney trips but this will be a nice change of pace.
I sure hope your stowaway,,,err mascot didn't drink that whole bottle of water!

 

[MeMom]

The adventures of the trip and seeing new places, I would love!
The nine hour ride on a bus - I would fall short of loving that. I guess talking with friends, watching a movie or two, and maybe a nap along the way would have helped, though.

I look forward to seeing Quebec through your pictures.

 

[PlutosRHM55]

Wow, they sure didn't make busses like that in my day.

Can't wait to read your Quebec report. I'm following along on a few Disney trips but this will be a nice change of pace.
I sure hope your stowaway,,,err mascot didn't drink that whole bottle of water!

Haha, love Coach Buses!

So glad you are joining in! I will warn you though the bus ride is a LONG one so it will be a big portion of this trip, but I took a lot of notes on that first day so some funny stories will be coming your way

Oh he did... poor guy

The adventures of the trip and seeing new places, I would love!
The nine hour ride on a bus - I would fall short of loving that. I guess talking with friends, watching a movie or two, and maybe a nap along the way would have helped, though.

I look forward to seeing Quebec through your pictures.

It was such a great trip even with the long bus ride. We did play movies all the way up and back and we took various stops along the way of course, but after my 12 hour drive a few years back to DC, this was practically nothing. You just gotta take it with a grain of salt. Hopefully I won't bore you though with the stories of the bus ride because it was long, but I do have great pictures from entering Quebec which I'm sure you will enjoy

And I look forward to sharing them with you all!

 

[Tink2Day]

Haha, love Coach Buses!

So glad you are joining in! I will warn you though the bus ride is a LONG one so it will be a big portion of this trip, but I took a lot of notes on that first day so some funny stories will be coming your way

Oh he did... poor guy



It was such a great trip even with the long bus ride. We did play movies all the way up and back and we took various stops along the way of course, but after my 12 hour drive a few years back to DC, this was practically nothing. You just gotta take it with a grain of salt. Hopefully I won't bore you though with the stories of the bus ride because it was long, but I do have great pictures from entering Quebec which I'm sure you will enjoy

And I look forward to sharing them with you all!

Well then lets start driving the bus!
Long bus ride? Well there's long and then there's REALLLLYYY long. It would take over 27 hours for me to drive to WDW in a car, almost 7 hours to fly.
My friend just flew into NH then a puddle jumper to Vermont and it took more than 10 hours!
I think it took us 3 days of driving 10-12 hours a day to get to Canada from here. But the closest big city from us is over an hour and a half drive away in a CAR, going 75 mph. So trust me I know long journeys. With all the doodads and modern inventions it makes a trip go much quicker than playing spot the green car, license plates, automobile bingo

Oh and I rode a horse 5 miles in the snow to get to my one room schoolhouse. Oh no that was my own parents. See start this story soon, I'm making up nonsense now.

 

[PlutosRHM55]

Well then lets start driving the bus!
Long bus ride? Well there's long and then there's REALLLLYYY long. It would take over 27 hours for me to drive to WDW in a car, almost 7 hours to fly.
My friend just flew into NH then a puddle jumper to Vermont and it took more than 10 hours!
I think it took us 3 days of driving 10-12 hours a day to get to Canada from here. But the closest big city from us is over an hour and a half drive away in a CAR, going 75 mph. So trust me I know long journeys. With all the doodads and modern inventions it makes a trip go much quicker than playing spot the green car, license plates, automobile bingo

Oh and I rode a horse 5 miles in the snow to get to my one room schoolhouse. Oh no that was my own parents. See start this story soon, I'm making up nonsense now.

LOL, well it already is

Well, our bus ride was about 9 hours give or take a few, but I'm pretty sure it was nine. I've driven longer (12 hours from NH to DC), but when you get into "longer than movies" I feel those are long drives. I felt the drive my family took to Providence RI when we first went to Disney was indefinitely long. But yeah, all our crazy technology really helps though don't knock the old-fashioned car games those are pretty fun as well as reading. On the trip to DC, I finished Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban while driving through Garden State Turnpike traffic and then Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire just driving back. And I'm not sure I can go a drive longer than that trip so those will remain my records lol... or maybe not who knows?

LOL, that must've been a fun way to get to school! I'll try to update ASAP, I meant to update within a week, but I lost track of the days and now I'm working last minute on homework, but I have standardized testing all this week so there will be time and if not... I will do rapid fire updates over Spring Break

 

[PlutosRHM55]

First, I would like to apologize for not keeping this little "TR" up-to-date lately! School was getting a bit crazy as it always is and I just didn't have enough time to get this TR on track, but it's all back on track now, so I hope, for the readers still around, you will enjoy this update...

Chapter 1: When Seniors Attack!

For the first half of the bus ride, most everyone was asleep, I even took a little snooze, but I was beating myself up after. I know that sounds weird, but I take vacation very seriously. Sleep is the bane of vacations for me, if that makes sense. I feel it is just wasting time when you should be out, enjoying everything possible there is in the little time you had. That's why I go by the philosophy of "No Sleeping in Disney!", it's just wasting precious Disney fun time! And while that is lessened on other trips, still applies

Aside from weird travel insecurities, while everyone was sleeping I did keep busy. I wrote in my trip journal on the trip so far (you know as practice for future, possible Disney trips...) but once I was done, everyone was still asleep including my bus buddy. I opened my phone then and tweeted about "Most Uneventful Bus Ride" ever and other stuff, when no sooner, my mom texted me saying I actually had free texting in Quebec! YES! I was very excited since I probably was going to be making some insanity with my text messages (a lot of people were interested in how I was doing). But I didn't get free calls so text would be my only way of communication outside of the land of the French-Canadians. I tried to tell a lot of people about that, but it didn't exactly work at first... some foreshadowing there...

We sat on the bus for another hour or so when we go to our first stop in Lincoln, New Hampshire for some lunch! At this stop, we were forced into only going to McDonald's or some other sub shop across, which looked very sketchy so McDonald's it was!

I was one of the first in the place, when I noticed across the way there was a Dunkin' Donuts! I didn't think anything of it since I'm sure the chaperones wouldn't let us go, but of course... as things going with me... right after I ordered, there did go one of the chaperones with a huge group of kids to Dunk's. -_- Definitely wasn't pleased right then.

Anyways, I must show you what I ordered since, well, I need food picture practice too, so I got...

A Shamrock Shake! Bask in it's St. Patty's Day/ Irish gloriousness! Now I know this is a familiar treat and all, but as some may remember from my TRs, I've only taken one food pic EVER at Disney and if I was to ever go back, I needed to have the food picture thing drilled into my brain, so these pictures were needed.

Especially since this little bugger was all over my beverages...

Where did I go wrong?

Okay, back to the trip... So, we went back on the bus again and even though I refused to get any food for this stop since I had a nice big breakfast, everyone around me was eating. I'm a 100% sure they only ate to taunt me and when they all sprouted devil horns and I could see into the pits of Purgatory, it was not my imagination and there was some evil going on, because I became hungry. I did end up complaining (even if we had a stockpile full of snacks already on the bus) and Jocelyn, the only one without the evil Devil ears, lent me her Ham, Egg and Cheese Sandwich. I almost forgot to take a picture of this one so it's half-eaten:

And yes, I was getting weird looks for taking all these pictures with a camera whose flash refused to be turned off. Grrrr....

We sat and ate and drank for a bit, waiting for the others to get back from Dunk's headache And we were off once again... BUT before we were on our way, a movie choice was in order! Sadly, because we were going to Canada, our American democracy was revoked and thus "Parliament" took over, a parliament of two girls. Luckily, this "Parliament" had good taste and we were watching...

*a hint*

Any guesses no? Well, we were watching UP!

I'm sure most of you are familiar with this movie as well as my opinion on it, which I will elaborate on again for future reference... When I first saw UP (a piece of), I did end up seeing the first 8 minutes, which a lot of people joke about as being "The Greatest Movie Ever" (which I totally agree with, I mean, I've never watched a more powerful eight minutes... well other than the end of Marley & Me...) and with that statement I was sorta turned off from the rest of the movie. If the beginning was just so good how is the other half as good. It was easy to say then, yeah, I was apprehensive. My friend Jocelyn even said it was a boring movie, but I was going to give it a chance since the last time I watched it through and through... it was on mute (for homework purposes). So I plugged in my headphones sat back and enjoyed the movie...

Cannon Mountain, a great place for skiing for any New Englanders

"Paradise Falls, a land lost in time..."

"South America, it's like America, but South."

A little frozen lake for your thoughts...

After driving for another 2 or 3 hours, we were nearly finished with the movie and I must say... I really enjoyed it! I always knew Disney would never disappoint me! It was an amazing movie with some great underlying themes. I absolutely loved Dug, he just makes my day SQUIRREL! (See what I did there?) "I. Hid. Under. Your. Porch. Because. I. Love. You." Love that guy SQUIRREL! Hehe So it was nice and I'll just jump to when we did finish it (after crossing the border), it is now one of my new favorite Disney movies!

I'm sure now you are wondering why I just stopped at the "2 hours thereafter..." place, well... we made another quick pit stop, the last one before Customs. We got two choices again, McDonald's or the nicer Sub Shop. I went with McDonald's being on the frugal side, even if it was the least popular choice.

My little group went into the place of plastic food and automatically I noticed something when we entered. There were literally Seniors EVERYWHERE! I'm not joking, there were three tables taken up by all these Senior citizens, and a big group in line along with some of them following us in and heading towards the bathroom. It would've been coincidental or just normal, if it weren't for the fact they all knew each other. As soon as some of them walked in, they went right into small talk. It was crazy! I don't think I've seen so many people 60 and older in a public place at one time and so fit and active! Must be the many trips to the Assisted Living where my grandfather lives and how everyone there rides around in wheelchairs, but NOPE not hear! I think I even saw a lady probably in her 30s or late 40s with a cane. It was so weird.

While I was waiting in line to order, one of those Seniors did come up to me and talk awhile. He was the only one who seemed the most normal to me having a very prominent hunch to his stature though he apparently didn't need a cane. Anyways... he was really nice though his talking to me took me off guard. I forget what he asked me, but I believe it was something about where I was from, I got a lot of those questions on this trip. But then my chaperone jumped in, she talked with him for awhile while I ordered. And, if you were wondering yes I did get pictures of those too, which I will show later, of course.

After I got my food, I sat down and started chowing down a little, but I wanted to eat mostly on the bus so I wouldn't snack like I usually do. And I am sitting alone when guess who ends up sitting with me? The Annoying Roommate, yeah plopped himself right down in front of me and started talking to me. I tried to be nice, but the whole time I was thinking to myself "Why me?" I won't go into that since it gets me a bit fired up since he's practically in all my classes now But yeah, I sat with him and talked, kept me occupied. I don't know what the conversation was about, but he went into this whole thing about Haunted Houses. I forget how that conversation ended up.

We sat around a little longer while everyone else was enjoying their food when the chaperone with us, Lisa, started checking the distance from the border. We looked on it and saw we only had a very short drive, though, it did seem like another 1 hour or so, a bit disappointing having driven so far already, but here comes the old couple to save the day! We asked them about it and they told us we were less than 3 miles away, not even that. It was great news, we were only that much closer to entering into Quebec. :cool1

After that, we saw the bus come back to McDonald's after dropping people off at the other Sub Shop, but of course it decided to loop around us and go to the other side of the "restaurant". A bit annoying, but we got on the bus soon, but let it be known it was raining so some of us ended up going out the front to meet the bus but had to run around back and while I love rain, when I'm not prepared for it, that isn't exactly my idea of fun, but we were back on the bus soon enough and I got the chance to take some FOOD PICTURES! Yeah, not so exciting in this mini-TR, but hey I was practicing at least! So this was what I got:

French Fries and Root Beer (behind my hand)

Chipotle BBQ Snack Wrap

And once everyone was on the bus we made our way over to the Sub Shop across the street which ended up to be a Pizza place called Village Pizza. Here are some pictures of that area:

You can really tell how rainy it was in this picture.

All the other people who went here were still eating so we ended up having to wait for them to finish. I ate for a bit on the bus, but then decided to go inside, say hi to my friends and go to the bathroom. I alerted my chaperone and on in I went!

There isn't much to talk about when I went into the restaurant, but I did stop by to see my friends, some of which who hadn't even gotten food yet, but those who did were almost finished. After my conversation just ended, I high-tailed it to the bathrooms. Once I got out, I went back to the table for a bit and when they all were ready, went back on the bus.

We sat on the bus for a bit while everyone else in the restaurant was finishing up then running through the on-and-off rain to get on our way. Finally, all the chaperones had escorted all out and we were soon back on the road.

The bus ride again, quite uneventful, but then we saw this...

*whispers* It's the Quebec sign

But before we got up to there, we had to go through Customs, not knowing what awaited us there...

CHAPTER 2: TOTALLY ONE OF THOSE PROGRESSIVE SCHOOLS! coming soon!​

 

[PlutosRHM55]

INTERRUPTING THIS JOURNEY TO QUEBEC WITH A BIG DETOUR...

Alright, so I have BIG BIG news coming your way, news that is actually confirmed for once. No hunches or talks or stuff like that, this is real people! Timmy's PTR is getting REAL here!

I'm sure most of you remember how as an alternative for going to Disneyland for my birthday I brought up the idea of going to NYC for a day or so and seeing a Broadway show. My parents were first not exactly wholly on with the idea, but after some pushing and discussing... Well...

I'M GOING TO NYC THIS SUMMER!!!!!!!!

Went a little emoticon ballistic there, I hope you don't mind But it's true, I will be going. I talked it over with my mom and with my birthday coming up in nearly two weeks and with how well I've been doing in school this year (HIGHEST HONORS!!!) they said "Alright..." And I flipped out just like I did above. WOOT! WOOT!

So, here are the plans that we have so far. Due to money and some time constraints, I am going this summer with my dad. My dad is a very hardworking man and has a lot on his plate at the moment in terms of work. Like, if you knew what he was going through... you'd be stunned. So he wants to get everything back to normal and mellow at work which will probably be awhile, end of school yearish and then we will go. We plan on staying outside of the city since it is RIDICULOUSLY expensive and just drive to a hotel nearby and stay there for one or two nights. We will drive up to NYC one day to see whatever show we want to see (more on that later), maybe spend some time, see the sites because you really can't go to NYC just to enjoy a Broadway show, you gotta really see the place, but my dad and I will discuss this more specifically later. But I need your help again...

I know I already went about which show I should see earlier but being the theater freak I am I went a little Tony Award crazy and musical crazy. I watched performances from shows like Sweeney Todd, Chicago, Sister Act, etc. on YouTube and now I'm just stuck in this rutt. Yeah, I'll see Lion King, but wait... I want to see Elphaba defy gravity so Wicked... no, the music in Ghost sounds terrific and it's a new show... OH, but no... I swear, I need to figure out if this is a disease or some disorder or SOMETHING with a weird and freaky latin name. I just have trouble deciding because my mind is so freakin' analytical! Ugghhh... so I've compiled a long list of Broadway shows that I saw on the Broadway site that I would be interested in seeing. It is very long so I think I'll do a public poll on this on the front page and just go through rounds and rounds of these shows every week until I'm down to the one everybody seems to be interested or has enjoyed before and then be signed, sealed, delivered and the Broadway cast will rock out to the Stevie Wonder song I'm hinting to and sing to me "I'M YOURS!" and there we go. Or I will just go through another site and make a poll that will fit all these plays. But just so you know ahead of time, either way I go, here is the list:

The Lion King
Wicked
The Book of Mormon
Jersey Boys
Evita
Sister Act
Chicago
Mary Poppins
Jesus Christ Superstar
Ghost
The Phantom of the Opera
Mamma Mia!
How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying
Newsies
War Horse
Anything Goes
Godspell

Yeah, told ya it was long. And yeah, there is one play in there, just roll with the punches why don't cha?

Yup, so that is my big announcement. I don't have any Disney trip announcements or other things, but come prepared when you check on this TR, I may surprise you!

Well... I guess that's it. Oh wait, I noticed there is no picture within this update... maybe I'll just put this little baby here...

Because that is really super cool right there and I can just possibly, maybe, in all probabilities and cases, lead you to...

Have a Magical Day!

 

[PlutosRHM55]

Chapter 2: Totally One of THOSE Progressive Schools

Now... where was I? Oh yes, the border! We had officially arrived at the border by a great stroke of luck. This was supposed to be basically the climax of the trip. Our chaperones, mainly the leader Bob, told us that it could be unpredictable. I was totally expecting when we arrived there that they'd force us into full-body scans, letting the dogs loose on us, asking for our fingerprints, forcing us to give them our kidneys... okay maybe not that, but you get the picture I was prepared for anything and know what happened?

We all lined up outside Customs with our passports, I luckily being one of the first in line, we walked up to one of the two guys working Customs, gave them our passport, they scanned it and done. The only difference for me was my guy was nice. He was French obviously, accent included and while I am waiting for everything to go through he says, "Have you ever been to Canada before?" I answer "No" Of course. Once he was finished he said, "Well, have a great time!" I didn't think much of our little conversation until I met up with my friends and they said their guy did nothing. Haha, I got nice french Customs dude, IN YO FACE And yes, I did say that out loud, tongue and laughing included.

We got through Customs within 10 minutes and were soon back on the bus, officially crossing the border. I got really picture happy here:

Jocelyn and I driving across the border, so very happy to be in CANADA, I mean QUEBEC!

Here is the sign I took a picture of early but a bit closer so you may see it. I tried to imagine it was the Gates to Heaven you see on the ME at Disney. It made it just that much cooler

While we were "crossing the border", the head chaperone Bob just made it so much more epic with my picture crazed moment included. Wait, 'till you hear this... He tried to sing the Canadian National Anthem "O' Canada!" It was pretty hilarious since he obviously only knew part of it and was an awful singer. I wish I had gotten a video, it was so funny! A shame though he didn't know the whole thing, I would have loved to learn it through and through, not only "O' Canada!" Ah well :/

We ended up finishing Up a little bit after Bob's sweet serenading. So now it was time for the democracy to be re-realized in Quebec. We had many choices and the two that seemed to be the most popular were "Dear John" and "Easy A". I was voting for "Easy A", which ended up being the chosen movie, but before then Jocelyn and I had a little Nicholas Sparks battle. I'm not a fan of "Dear John", one of his films/books, but I do like "The Last Song", which probably most know about since it boasts Miss Miley Cyrus as the lead. Jocelyn started telling me about how the books were and said, "The Last Song is probably one of the best movies I've ever read." I caught her on her little stumble and we laughed for a bit. Just had to mention that to alert you of my ability to catch flaws in conversations easily

But as I said before, her trying to talk me into Dear John was to no avail, Easy A it was!

It says Easy A in the corner if you can't see it...

Emma Stone

Once the movie started, most of the bus ride was uneventful, not much going on, since we still had a long ride to actually arrive in Quebec City. Now, while we were watching the movie, at the part where Olive (Emma Stone's character) gets sent to the Principal's office for calling a girl in her class a very unDISerlike name. This principal is very oblivious to sarcasm and very into himself so he's just rambling on while Olive is making some very hilarious remarks, might I add to what he is saying. When he said, "This isn't one of those progressive schools where the students call their teachers by their first names." I nearly died as the whole bus cracked up.

I'm sure you're confused by why this was funny to all of us on the bus. Well... my school really is one of "THOSE" schools. We do call our teachers by their first names, the reasons why I've been addressing my chaperones as Bob, Dave, Gigi, etc. Our school hasn't gotten a good rap for it, though it doesn't affect anything just a new style of doing things (21st Century People), so when they said it in this movie we thought it was the funniest thing in the world. I know Bob and another chaperone, Dave, made some hilarious remark about it, but I forget what it was... oh well!

The rest of the bus ride was very uneventful while we watched the movie. I kept myself occupied well with the movie but at certain times I would try to grab this Jolly Rancher pillow Jocelyn was laying down on. It was pretty fun, but at points she got really aggravated about it so I backed off, took out the camera and went on a "shooting spree":

Trying to get an artsy shot of Jocelyn (Attempts 1 & 2)

No luck!

My empty Root Beer cup, NICE!

A FRENCH TRUCK!

LGA is enjoying his seat on my backpack

VICTORY! The Jolly Rancher pillow is mine!

About this time, Easy A ended and it was announced we were 30 minutes away from our hotel, WOOHOO! So exciting! Along the way, we passed our first destination that night. I tried to get a picture, but it's off to the side on the highway and we were going to fast *sigh* At least I got some picks along the other, less interesting areas of the road:

Oooooo...

Aaaaaaa...

I also succeeded in getting an artsy photo of Jocelyn, this was by accident as I was trying to get a picture of this bridge we passed. You'll see how this was so:

Artsy photograph

The Bridge

We were now even closer to our destination. I took some pictures driving into the city though I have much nicer ones later.

And...

WE'VE ARRIVED!

Chapter 3: Our Near Fatal Collision With A Tree COMING SOON!​

 

[marDgreen88]

I'm a fan of travel too! So far I've only been to Brazil (out of the country at least) though. But once I started going to Disney I just didn't want to stop! Hahah

Aw, I'm sure Andrew doesn't mean to be annoying. I know what you're saying but I always feel bad when someone annoys me. I always have to wonder why I'm so annoyed with them, or if I possibly annoy someone as much as I get annoyed by another person? Does that make sense?

I'm sure you didn't miss much on the bus while you were asleep! Oh man... stinks that you missed Dunkin Donuts! Those are the best donuts ever (I'm not a Krispy Kreme fan) haha.

Up is such an awesome movie. Glad you enjoyed it! I can literally see the salt on those fries in that pic. Goodness Mickey D's, go easy on the salt will ya?

My sister and I went to NYC last summer (for Glee live) and stayed on Long Island (because that's technically where the show was) but we did drive to the city. Word of advice: DON'T DRIVE IN NYC. Just don't. Do some research about alternate transportation methods or something, but I am telling you, just do not drive. It is a scary scary place to be a driver (and passenger)!!! I wish I could help you out with the Broadway show thing but I've never seen one. So I definitely understand your list. Very exciting that you get to go!

Ah, I like Emma Stone but I thought Easy A was a terrible movie. Like... terrible. But hey, I guess I'm pretty conservative. Anyways, hooray for your arrival! That's a really nice looking hotel. GUESS WHAT I GOT CAUGHT UP! Wonder of wonders.

 

[IheartDDuck]

Up is a great movie, and I'm glad you gave it a chance and saw it through. Definitely not a boring, and you are right, the BEST first 8 minutes of a movie ever.

Okay, NYC is so exciting! I've never been there. However, I do have a lot to say about your show list.

The Lion King - Disney....enough said

Wicked - I have seen this three times. AMAHZING! So funny. So so funny and a great show.

The Book of Mormon - Heard really great things.

Jersey Boys - Heard it's good, but that's also been from people that are a little older.

Evita - One of my favorite Broadway soundtracks.

Sister Act - Don't know about this one.

Chicago - I wanted to be Velma Kelly so bad when I was in musical theater in school.

Mary Poppins - Disney.....hello!

Jesus Christ Superstar - Totally rockin' old school show. Any Andrew Lloyd Webber show is great.

Ghost - Haven't heard much.

The Phantom of the Opera - Absolutely my favorite musical of all time. I fell in love with this when I was about 13 years old and it never went away. The music is sooooo good. And, if you get a good Phantom and Christine. Oh....it sends chills down the spine.

Mamma Mia! - If you love ABBA, you would love this.

How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying - Good old classic. Just wish Daniel Radcliffe was still doing it.

Newsies - Heard it's good. Love the original movie.

War Horse - If it's anything like the movie, then it'll be good.

Anything Goes - This is good for like good old school classic stuff, like Cole Porter good. Anything Goes is a great song.

Godspell - Another good classic. I stumbled across the movie (yes, there's a Godspell movie), and it was pretty fun.

Overall, I personally recommend Wicked or Phantom of the Opera, just based on my personal preference.

 

[PlutosRHM55]

I'm a fan of travel too! So far I've only been to Brazil (out of the country at least) though. But once I started going to Disney I just didn't want to stop! Hahah

That's just how it works for us. I do love Disney, but I love travel too. It's hard to balance them out because they are SOOO expensive. Hopefully I'll be able to visit all Disney parks someday since I can't seem to get my family to go back to WDW...

Aw, I'm sure Andrew doesn't mean to be annoying. I know what you're saying but I always feel bad when someone annoys me. I always have to wonder why I'm so annoyed with them, or if I possibly annoy someone as much as I get annoyed by another person? Does that make sense?

He really doesn't as I said he has some underlying social issues, but I know some people with the same problems and I was friends with them, good friends actually, but I'm sure he doesn't mean to be annoying. And yeah I ask myself that same question, but I sort of know when I can be annoying because I've been told. He hasn't had the luxury and we technically can't tell him, but that's another story. Ugggghhhh... him.

I'm sure you didn't miss much on the bus while you were asleep! Oh man... stinks that you missed Dunkin Donuts! Those are the best donuts ever (I'm not a Krispy Kreme fan) haha.

Haha, I slept for like 15 minutes. Yeah, something is definitely wrong with me lol And IKR! I was so angry, I love Coolattas and Hash Browns in the morning

Up is such an awesome movie. Glad you enjoyed it! I can literally see the salt on those fries in that pic. Goodness Mickey D's, go easy on the salt will ya?

It really is! LOL, I find it funny how you can see the salt (though really they do have a lot). That is why I don't go to Mickey D's often :/

My sister and I went to NYC last summer (for Glee live) and stayed on Long Island (because that's technically where the show was) but we did drive to the city. Word of advice: DON'T DRIVE IN NYC. Just don't. Do some research about alternate transportation methods or something, but I am telling you, just do not drive. It is a scary scary place to be a driver (and passenger)!!! I wish I could help you out with the Broadway show thing but I've never seen one. So I definitely understand your list. Very exciting that you get to go!

Yeah I don't think we'll be driving. My dad even mentioned taking a train from somewhere. It's definitely much better walking around. I remember skimming by NYC when I drove to DC a few years back and it looked pretty intense, not as bad as what we experienced on the Garden State Parkway in New Jersey, but still it was pretty bad :/ So thanks for the tip!

Ah, I like Emma Stone but I thought Easy A was a terrible movie. Like... terrible. But hey, I guess I'm pretty conservative. Anyways, hooray for your arrival! That's a really nice looking hotel. GUESS WHAT I GOT CAUGHT UP! Wonder of wonders.

WHAT?! I thought it was pretty good as I said, but I can see where you wouldn't like it. It is very different, but I like how it is a re-imagining of The Scarlett Letter, which I keep on hearing about in English. Also, I'm a huge fan of Amanda Bynes and she is HILARIOUS in this movie! I missed her being in movies

Up is a great movie, and I'm glad you gave it a chance and saw it through. Definitely not a boring, and you are right, the BEST first 8 minutes of a movie ever.

They really are. I swear if a movie can be that great in 8 minutes... it must be good! It was funny though, when in a music rehearsal for a show I just finished. We were asked our favorite movies and one person actually said that. I almost died

Okay, NYC is so exciting! I've never been there. However, I do have a lot to say about your show list.

The Lion King - Disney....enough said

Wicked - I have seen this three times. AMAHZING! So funny. So so funny and a great show.

YAY A LIST!

That's just my reason. I also love the soundtrack and I've seen pieces of the show and it looks stunning!

I've heard so much about Wicked and I've been listening to that soundtrack forever. It looks like the show you have to see if you see a show on Broadway so this may be my choice. This or Lion King actually lol

The Book of Mormon - Heard really great things.

Jersey Boys - Heard it's good, but that's also been from people that are a little older.

Evita - One of my favorite Broadway soundtracks.

The Book of Mormon... while I would LOVE to see it, it is a very raunchy, over-the-top comedy... IT'S WRITTEN BY THE GUYS WHO WROTE SOUTH PARK! But it won the Tony for Best Musical and I've heard great things too, but probably something for when I'm older.

My friends actually saw it when they went to NYC while I was in Quebec. They said it was good, but it does look a bit old-fashioned though the music sounds great, but I'm not entirely sure about this one.

I LOVE Andrew Lloyd Webber and Evita is one of his best though I follow some Broadway fans on Twitter and they were completely appalled by Ricky Martin's performance in the show, so... not entirely sure on this one either.

Sister Act - Don't know about this one.

Chicago - I wanted to be Velma Kelly so bad when I was in musical theater in school.

Mary Poppins - Disney.....hello!

I love the movie and I watched their Tony Award performance. It was stunning, they have some great voices though I hope the Sister Mary Clarence/Deloris Van Cartier is the same one that was in that performance, but still it looks good.

I just saw this one for the first time in the movie and LOVED IT! I was singing "They Both Reached For The Gun" for like two weeks, love that number! I also was singing "Cell Block Tango", but "They Both Reached For the Gun" is better IMO But this one is kinda the curveball for me. I've heard great things and Christie Brinkley is playing Roxie Hart currently, nuff said there lol

Yeah, another Disney thing with Mary Poppins, but last year, my chorus teacher mentioned how it is probably the best show she's seen and she's seen MANY. I mean, she went on to say it was better than Wicked, a pretty bold statement, but I think with Wicked, you have to have a good Elphaba and Galinda for a good show. Anyways... this is kinda the third behind Wicked and The Lion King. It is probably this that is making my decision hard.

Jesus Christ Superstar - Totally rockin' old school show. Any Andrew Lloyd Webber show is great.

Ghost - Haven't heard much.

The Phantom of the Opera - Absolutely my favorite musical of all time. I fell in love with this when I was about 13 years old and it never went away. The music is sooooo good. And, if you get a good Phantom and Christine. Oh....it sends chills down the spine.

As I said before, I LOVE Andrew Lloyd Webber and I saw the movie for this awhile back. The music sounded good and I've never heard of a Rock Opera so it must be good, but it seems a bit much. Like I was in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat which is very similar and that was much more mellow. This one is more for my dad because he hasn't seen it and is a big fan of Webber.

This one's VERY new actually (Ghost). It just came from England to the US and I watched a trailer and it looks fantastic! The music is very classic pop modern and I liked that though the story may not be my cup of tea, but... it's a new show and I think it would be fun to rub it in people's faces

Phantom was basically the first show I heard about when I discovered Broadway. I come from a big family of theater lovers and nobody is as big into theater as my aunt. She loves this show as do my parents. I would go hands down with this show since it has been on Broadway FOREVER, but my dad would much rather see another show so... may not happen.

Mamma Mia! - If you love ABBA, you would love this.

How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying - Good old classic. Just wish Daniel Radcliffe was still doing it.

Newsies - Heard it's good. Love the original movie.

I love the Mamma Mia movie and when they said there was a musical, I freaked out, but it sounds like there are better musicals so... this isn't a favorite.

How To Succeed has got me interested because they are giving a lot of big actors in Hollywood the leads. I mean, Nick Jonas is him at the moment, but the thing that bothers me is I would more like to see Daniel Radcliffe (HARRY POTTER CAN SING) or Darren Criss, who recently was in the show for a short time, but he's gone so... unless Darren or Daniel comes back (most likely Daniel's not coming back) but I can't know about that right now.

I've never seen the movie but I know everyone in my age group has and just loves it! It was how Christian Bale got his start actually. And it seems that they cleaned it up a bit for a stage show. Also, this kid who was in this awful movie Joyful Noise with Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton is in this. I hated the movie, but loved the music and he sang fairly well, but I'm just not wowed by this one though the choreography looks epic! We'll have to wait and see about this one

War Horse - If it's anything like the movie, then it'll be good.

Anything Goes - This is good for like good old school classic stuff, like Cole Porter good. Anything Goes is a great song.

Godspell - Another good classic. I stumbled across the movie (yes, there's a Godspell movie), and it was pretty fun.

Overall, I personally recommend Wicked or Phantom of the Opera, just based on my personal preference.

I just saw the movie and I asked my friends who also saw it while in NYC (there were two trips to NYC) and they said it was very good. It won the Tony for Best Play! There is just so much there for this one, but I'd rather see a musical so this one probably won't happen.

I was actually in Anything Goes this year and it was probably one of the best shows I've ever been, but in terms of its current run... I would much rather see Sutton Foster than Stephanie J. Block (who plays Reno currently) because she is so different from most Reno's and I'm already so used to the songs so I'll be testing them throughout the show on how good they actually are. Probably will be a bad idea to see this one.

I've heard many good things about Godspell and almost saw it when my cousin was in a high school production so this would be cool to see. Also, it's Stephen Schwartz who I'm obsessed with because I LOVE Children of Eden and Wicked of course. I've seen Children of Eden so... it all leads back to Wicked here lol

Those seem to be my top choices, but I think Wicked sounds like the show to see at this point though I would love to see Phantom uggghhh... alright my dad need to sit down and talk about this one lol

Thanks for your input Danielle, much appreciated!