EWP group?

Hi Everyone!

Thanks very much, Dan! I'm sorry that I didn't see your post until after we met Katie, though, so I wasn't able to pass along your message. :( I'm sorry!

And thanks very much again, Helenabear! :)

Sorry - this has to be a quick one - we need to go to breakfast soon! Epcot was wonderful and I absolutely loved Tapestry of Dreams! I was thrilled to see that it is not that different from ToN! We also visited a lot of attractions that we had never seen / ridden before - would you believe that after all these years, I had never seen Ellen's Energy Adventure? (I'd been on the old Universe of Energy) Or Cranium Command? We had a wonderful dinner in Morocco, and our waiter and I had a neat discussion about the similarities between Hebrew and Arabic.

Yesterday we went to the AK. It was very HOT and HUMID! Very sticky! But fun, and although we didn't have enough time to visit a lot of the attractions, we did take both of the walking trails and got to see some neat animals! My favorites were the hippo and the gorillas! Had a magnificent dinner at the California Grill last night!

Today we're just going to lounge by the pool until it's time for our VIP Fantasmic experience, tonight!

Hope that all is well with all of you and sorry that this is so short! We're thinking of you all, every day! :)

P.S. I totally blew my chance to meet Angelina in person - she and I exchanged phone messages yesterday, and I realized that she is leaving WDW very early this morning - I really thought that she would be here till next Monday, for some reason, and our schedules didn't coincide last night. :( It was great to hear her voice, though! :) I can't wait to her about her family's trip! :)
 
Greetings from........938 miles away from WDW. :(

Yes, I'm suffering from that post-WDW withdrawal / blues that we all know so well. :(

But we DID have a fantastic honeymoon and a wonderful time at WDW! It was a truly magical vacation!

We had a great time at the Poly pool on Friday - the weather was beautiful, and it was so great to float around in that pool! I hadn't actually been in that pool (more accurately, the original one) since 1976! It rained on our scheduled "pool days" during the past 2 years, so I was so glad that we had an opportunity to take a dip, this year!

Then we had a very nice dinner at the Brown Derby. I had never had the Cobb Salad there before, and it was amazing! We're definitely going to have to try to make it at home - especially since Frank just got a new vegetable chopper! After dinner, we went right over to Fantasmic, so that we could meet my friend Mike, in the Booth. Wouldn't you know, it began POURING as we were walking over there.........and it didn't stop until well after the show! But we made it over there and were able to make it past Operations security relatively easily to get to the Fantasmic Control Booth. Mike gave us a tour of the Booth and showed us all of the various systems which control the show - it was really neat! It was also neat to see the island and the mountain through the window of the Booth and have an idea of what the Show Controllers, Lighting and Special Effects professionals, and Stage Managers look at, during a show. I have some pictures in the Booth in my albums, but they were taken against the wall opposite the window, since needless to say, I was not allowed to photograph any of the systems equipment. Then, we put on our nifty, newly purchased 100 YOM rain ponchos and ventured out to our (amazing! Last row of the Mickey Section, right in front of the Booth) reserved seats. We sat with Mike's family, who were also visiting at that time, and we all braved the rain together. The things we do for friendship! :) I'll tell you - it was literally steadily raining the ENTIRE TIME! It's funny - every time we visit Mike at WDW, it's pouring rain! Anyway, amazingly enough, they did the entire show - pyro, fireworks, and all - in the downpour, with very few, if any modifications! It was neat to see! Unfortunately, my video camera shut down when it sensed the rain, so I wasn't able to tape the show. But I did get a few digital photos, which are also in my albums.

The following day, we went to the character breakfast at 1900 Park Fare. We had never been there before, and it was just great! The characters were amazing - they managed to spend time with everyone and move through the room so quickly that we got to spend time with each of them a few times! And the food and service were really good, too. Frank had never been in the Grand Floridian at all, so we took a walk around, after breakfast. Then we spent all day at the MK. It was totally PACKED, again! I haven't seen it so packed there since the winter vacation trips of my youth! We weren't able to go on very many rides, 'cause you literally had to FastPass EVERYTHING, it was so crowded! But we did manage to experience all of my old favorites - IASW, Haunted Mansion, Country Bears, Pirates of the Caribbean, Tomorrowland Transit Authority, and the Tiki Room! We also got to see the 2 parades. I really enjoyed Share a Dream Come True! The floats are really neat! Unfortunately, my video camera was still being temperamental (I guess it was still "mad" at me, after having it out in the rain, the night before!) so I wasn't able to video tape it. But I did get a bunch of still shots! Unfortunately, I missed getting any good ones of Katie, since I expected her to be Snow White in the parade, but she wound up playing an Animator, instead! We did see her, though! And SpectroMagic was unbelievable! I had never seen it before, and both Frank and I were blown away by it! We purposely stood at the foot of Main Street, right by the doors through which the floats enter the park. I thought that it would be really dramatic to tape the floats entering the dark street. Plus, we needed to meet Mike back at the Poly at 10:45 and wanted to have time to take a shower first, so we wanted to be close to the park exit. Anyway, it was just breathtaking! I got good video footage, and Frank manned my digital camera. And we got to see Katie play Snow White in that parade! When we left the park after the parade, we had a magical moment which I'm sure you'll all appreciate. As we walked to the Launch dock, we saw the EWP going by - but it wasn't performing - the barges were moving more quickly than usual, and one half was displaying the animals and the other half was displaying the flags - then they would switch. There was no music - just lights travelling past. I was very confused - I thought that maybe they were just doing a test en route to the next resort at which it would perform. I had never seen it do that before. But then I thought that maybe the EWP had just come to say "goodbye" to us, as we were leaving the MK for the last time! :) Oh - we also had a great dinner at Cinderella's Royal Table that night. We were lucky enough to get fantastic window seats, with a great view of Fantasyland. We were eating at the same time that the show was going on in front of the Castle, and Peter Pan and Captain Hook kept passing right by us outside the window, on the Castle balcony. At one point, Peter Pan jumped up and banged on our window and waved at us, during dinner! And - another magical moment - when we left the restaurant and came back downstairs, Cinderella herself was there in the lobby! I was so excited, since she's my all-time favorite Disney character, and I hadn't "spoken to her" since that fated day when I ran out into the street during the Magical Moments Parade in '99 and asked her advice about how to meet a prince! So we posed for pictures with her and I told her the story about how I feel that she is responsible for Frank's and my getting together. She seemed very enthusiastic and happy to hear the story. But then she signed our autograph book (yes, we're adults and we collect character autographs!), and while she was writing, she turned to me and said "I don't mean to sound stupid, but is 'congratulations' with a 't' or with a 'd'?" I was like "don't disillusion me, Cinderella"! But it was funny and she was very nice!

We went back to the Poly after SpectroMagic and Mike came over to meet us after his Fantasmic shift had ended. He and Frank grabbed a snack at Captain Cook's, then we went outside and sat at one of the umbrella tables and talked for awhile, which was nice.

We had our last breakfast at the Kona Cafe, the following morning (after purchasing several pounds of Kona coffee to take home, of course!), and then had to leave at 9:45 AM. Another magical moment - just as we were leaving, the Character Caravan was pulling out, so we got to see all of the characters do a little dance before getting back on the bus - it was really cute!

And now we're back home, which is bittersweet. We really miss WDW, but we were cheered up by picking up our wedding video and photo proofs at the photographer, today! It was so much fun to look at at them! I'm spending tomorrow running around to various places (ie: City Hall, DMV, Social Security) to have my name changed on my official documents. I'm scheduled to go back to work on Thursday, but I'm hoping that I might be able to take the rest of the week off - there's so much to do!

Anyway, thanks for listening to my "adventures"! I actually took so many digital pictures at WDW that they wouldn't all fit on one album page! So I had to establish a second one, just to hold the pictures from Saturday! So, if you'd like to see, they're at:

http://photos.yahoo.com/lisaandfrankdisneyhoneymoon2002

and

http://photos.yahoo.com/lisaandfrankdisneyhoneymoon20022

Hope that all is well with all of you! We thought of you all every day, down there! Take care and speak to you soon! :)
 
Hi again, Everyone!

How are you all doing?

I'm still off from work - haven't completely "returned to reality" yet. But I have accomplished my name changes on all of my official documents and managed to get our room in somewhat decent order (Disney souvenirs and wedding gifts all over the place!), so it's been a productive week. I can't believe that we were in WDW less than a week ago......it seems so far away, now.....needless to say, I'm already campaigning to Frank to go back during the same week, next year! I keep inserting the words "next year" into random conversations, in the hopes that he will subliminally get the message! Of course, that all depends upon whether I find a new job before then............but I don't want to think about that, right now! :)

Anyway, just wanted to stop by the Suite and see if any of you were in. I guess you're all out at the parks enjoying yourselves, so I'm going to head over to Epcot and see if I can hook up with any of you who might be there!

Have a great day and a nice weekend! :)
 
Hi all :wave:

Sorry I haven't been here. I have been busy working on this thread here about my Chicago Trip with pictures and writing a very detailed discription of my trip this weekend. I will get pieces of that up for you hopefully tonight or tomorrow :)

Lisa, I loved hearing all about your trip! Oh and thank you for the post card. It really made me smile the day I got it!!!

Well I hate to stop in and run, but I need to get to my dad's soon. He just returned from Lithuania and we are going over there for dinner in a few! Take Care all! And have a wonderful weekend :sunny:
 

I admit I was very nervous about this trip in general. Staying with my friend Hannah, was no big deal (I’ve known her for 17 or so years now). I am just a shy person (believe it or not) and the idea of meeting so many people just had me very panicky feeling. So I had a hard time falling asleep on Thursday night. I eventually fell asleep probably around 11:30 or midnight (EDT) and my alarm was set to wake me up at 5:20 am. I woke up at 3:30 all nervous and I was able to fall back asleep after about 15 minutes and stay asleep until 4:30. I got up 6 minutes later because I knew I had no chance of falling asleep again and went downstairs to my computer. I did begin to browse around the DIS for a while.

I eventually got up and took my shower and then sat down to check my flight to make sure it was on time and what gate it would be at. After I got that out of the way, I went back to the DIS to PM Dan my flight number and America West’s 800 number since the flight wasn’t showing up online for whatever reason. Around 5:30 I got a friendly PM from KimRaye asking me where I was (if I was in Chicago yet) I replied I hadn’t left yet, but was going to soon and suggested she go to sleep ;) About 5:50 I went upstairs and woke up my DH, Luis, so he could take me to the airport. I said good bye to my furbabies, Cleo & Gwen and shortly after 6:00 we were leaving the house and I was tugging on my hair as I always do when I am nervous.

We got to the airport just about 6:30 am and said our good byes to each other. I checked in within 5 minutes and waited in line for security for about 10 minutes. My stupid move of the day was that I took my watch off (all metal) and put it in a basket as I went through the metal detectors. I had a diet Coke in my hand, my ticket, my purse and my carry on. If I had a brain in my head I would have either put the ticket or my watch in my purse (if I were actually smart, I would have done this with both) but I didn’t and for some reason at 6:45, four things to look after was just too much for me. I did notice my missing watch about 5 minutes later when I was in the bathroom and fortunately I was able to get it back.

I had about an hour wait until I was boarding after that so I gave Luis a quick call to waste time and I played with my camera a little as well as played with my Palm Pilot a little. After a while I did what I really like to do a lot, watch people. I don’t know why, but I love to see all that people do. So I just watched others until I boarded my plane at 8:00 am. I was chosen to do one of those random searches just before I boarded the plane and that was pretty easy and quick. After everyone boarded the plane backed out about 3 minutes early and we were on our way to Chicago O’Hare.

It was a pretty uneventful flight. I did remember to set my watch back an hour on the flight and it took just about exactly an hour to get there so we landed about 20 minutes early. I took my time walking to the area where I told Dan I’d be for him to pick me up. I listened to my voicemail and I called a couple of people before I went outside. As soon as I got outside, I called Dan. He was in shock because he didn’t expect me there that early and they hadn’t even left the house yet. So I told him where I was waiting and that is exactly what I did for the next 30 minutes… wait. Let me tell you I was very nervous at that point. I was pulling on my hair, which is what I do when I am nervous. Eventually I saw Dan’s car pull up with Dan and Marie inside. They pulled over and they both got out and welcomed me with hugs. I got in the back and we were off to downtown Chicago.

Along the way downtown Marie had given me a wonderful bag full of little gifts. First, I was given three post cards of the Chicago skyline two of the skyline at night and one of Buckingham water fountain. I was also given a magnet of the Chicago. The last thing in there was a cute little snow globe of the Water Works visitor center with a horse drawn buggy in front. Dan had found an antenna topper that he thought I would like since recently I seem to be buying a fair amount of them. This one is a topper in the shape of the Mickey Sorcerer icon at MGM. In return I had brought Dan & Marie candy Buckeyes. Buckeyes are poisonous nuts that are related to horse chestnuts. Well I had tried to describe these nuts to Dan before and figured it was easier just to bring them along a bunch of them. I wasn’t able to bring an actual buckeye with me, but I did have a chance to get the candy version to bring with me. Basically they are creamy peanut butter covered in milk chocolate… they are very yummy :D

Dan & Marie thought it would be nice if I could enter Chicago from Lake Shore drive. I am so glad we did because it was a beautiful drive in. Along the way to the lake front we did drive by Wrigley field, the home of the Cubs as well. Anyway the drive into Chicago was great. I will say all along, I was sitting in the back seat playing with the handle on the gift bag Marie had given me. I just kept pulling on the cord the whole time we were driving to the parking place. Such a nervous habit of mine I guess, fidgeting with my hair, small objects & my fingers that is. Don’t get me wrong, Dan and Marie are wonderful people and were just chatting away, I am just really a shy person when I first meet people and I just get nervous meeting people. It doesn’t matter that I had spoken with both before on the phone more than once or that I would talk fairly regularly with both via PMs or e-mail. None of that mattered, I was still very scared.

So after a few wrong turns :rolleyes: :p :D we finally parked. We stopped off at the restroom quickly and Marie and I thought we might have beaten Dan since we didn’t see him anywhere. So we stood outside the exit area waiting, just waiting with my camera ready to snap a picture of him. Well Dan, being the silly sneak he is, was behind us and took a picture of us just standing there waiting :rolleyes: We stopped off at a small gift shop to pick up some mints and we were on our way to the streets of Chicago. I must say one of the first things that struck me about Chicago was the river. Now Ohio has some of the ugliest waterways on the face of this earth. They are brown and dingy and almost scary, but when I saw the river, I was awestruck. The water was such a beautiful shade of blue-green I had ever seen! I probably could have spent hours just looking at the water as to me, watching a river flow or lake tides is just very peaceful to me.

I admit the next part won’t be quite as detailed as the beginning, mostly because I cannot remember half the names of everywhere we went ;) :D

We walked down Michigan Avenue for a while and I must admit there were some pretty fancy shops along that road. But the first stop we made was at The Disney Store :) I will say TDS here in Columbus is pretty pathetic and this one was large and wonderful! Full of a lot of stuffed animals and neat figurines as well. If I had more than just a carry on with me, I would have bought something there :D Oh that brings me to the other thing that Dan gave me while I was there. I finally got my very own Chicago Mickey :) He’s cute and is keeping my stuffed Pooh key chain company in my car currently :D

Somewhere shortly after that, Dan kept asking me if I was hungry. Granted it was only 11:30 CDT, but my brain was still on Eastern time. I told Dan I was fine though so we went and stopped at the Water Works visitor center first. We went inside and looked at the many pictures on the wall. Then we went across the street to the Water Tower. I took a few pictures of some neat fountains inside and then we just walked around the mall quickly and being a “backward” Ohioan ;) we rode up & down the glass elevator. I know at this point Dan was hungry because he kept bugging me about being hungry myself. So we stopped at the Cheesecake Factory for lunch. I had never eaten there before but it was very good food! My turkey sandwich had a lot of lettuce though, but otherwise it was the perfect thing to eat while sitting outside on such a beautiful day. Of course even during lunch, Dan had to fiddle with his camera :rolleyes: There was also a really neat fountain/waterfall by where we ate lunch and I had to snag a few pictures of that.

Our next stop was the John Hancock building. Before we went up, Dan stopped for a quick bathroom break. And yes, I was lucky enough to catch him walking out! Okay I admit, I watched that exit area like a hawk and was very prepared to get a picture of him walking out :D So after that, we went up to the observatory area of the building. I am so afraid of heights but the view from there was outstanding. I didn’t take that many pictures this trip in general (only 125 over the course of two days) but I’d say a good majority of my pictures came from this view alone. I spent a lot of time also playing with a few settings on my camera and seeing how good of a zoom quality I could get from so far up.

Really being up there and seeing all that you can is almost heavenly. Just looking out and being able to see for miles and miles is a thrill. The water was beautiful from above and the city is just gorgeous from that view. We could see Lake Shore drive and how long & big it is from up there. Lake Michigan and the Chicago river are just beautiful from up that high. The view of the skyline is just really so breathtaking that I forgot how high up I was. I think my favorite area to take a picture of was of the Navy Pier area and just the Ferris Wheel and all the boats out on the lake make for a wonderful sight. I also got a few pictures of roof top pools as I knew it would make Luis laugh to see them all. I called Luis from a top of the Hancock building and chatted for a few minutes. Poor thing was at work on such a beautiful day :( But I always enjoy sharing things with him and I was glad to be able to share even just a moment with him.

Goodness this is getting long ;) After the gorgeous view, we got on a trolley bus and took a tour of the city. It was really neat to be able to do this for many reasons. This way I was able to see all the neat points of interest, yet we also had a chance to relax for a while :) It was very cool to be able to see a lot of the city that I have seen so many different times in movies and the like but never in person until now. Also I loved being able to drive down the city streets that I recognized the names of. I work in telecommunications and I have been working a lot with phone & data lines in the Chicago area and it was neat to be able to put a visual with a street name that I work with so much.

So our next stop was Navy Pier. I must admit that out of everything we saw, this was my favorite part of the city. It is right on the lake and sticks out approximately a half a mile or into Lake Michigan. Again the water was beautiful and we had a beautiful day there as well! We saw a place for Bubba Gump Shrimp and there was a sign that said “Lt. Dan’s Getaway” So of course that was just screaming for a photo with Dan. I got a couple good ones of him by it and one not so flattering shot of him :eek: :p

Anyway the walk along Navy pier was just beautiful. There was live music playing, the skies were clear and the water was as blue as blue could be :) As I said before there is just something so peaceful about water and being near it to me. Such a good way to clear the mind! We all had some Italian lemonade as we walked along the pathway. It was good, but I was informed that there is even better Italian lemonade out there. I guess I’ll have to save that one for the next trip to Chicago ;) I took many several pictures at Navy Pier mostly because I was still awe struck by the water there.

After walking around Navy Pier, we got back on the tour bus and went to the Rock and Roll Mc Donald’s for a short while. We all three got something to drink there and sat around and chatted for a while and relaxed. After that we got up and went to the Rainforest Café and looked around the gift shop. There was Salsa music playing and the atmosphere is really neat there! I must admit though it seems like a noisy place to eat and it made me glad to know we’d be at a little more quiet place the next day for the DIS meet. I did get to watch the thunderstorm go through the restaurant and eventually we left and walked down to Gino’s East for dinner.

My day is drawing near a close so this won’t be much longer :D Well for the first day that is. One thing I requested of Dan & Marie specifically was to have good Chicago style pizza. I wanted them to do it because they had been living there all their lives and honestly my friend Hannah wouldn’t know the best pizza places since she loves Papa John’s so much. So I requested pizza and they obliged. We walked in and were seated in a nice booth. We ordered a pizza with half cheese & half sausage. We were told we had about a 40 minute wait for the pizza so we had a nice chat going on there for a while. Some of it was Disney talk and some of it other things. Dan and I even noticed a little hidden Mickey that was on the seat (although I know I didn’t get a picture of it, I am not sure if he did or not). So once the pizza came, I was asked how it looked and I do believe my reply was “It looks like I won’t be able to finish even one piece” I was right. I had a few bites left of the piece but let me tell you it was very good food!!

It was about 8:30 or so when we finished and got in a cab to go back to where we parked. It was a beautiful day still and the city was just beginning to light up. It was kind of a sad moment for me though because I realized I had no idea when I would ever be able to see the city like this again. I hope someday soon though because it really is a neat place to visit. Eventually we walked back to where the car was parked and headed out of the city. The sky was full of lights and it was just beautiful. I did not take any pictures though because I knew they could not do this view justice. At this point I realized I had been up for about 17 hours straight on just over 4 hours of sleep. My contacts quickly were removed and I enjoyed the ride to Naperville with Dan and Marie chatting along the way.

We got to Naperville and eventually found Hannah’s apartment. It was not an easy thing to find in the pitch black but we eventually found it nonetheless. Hannah was able to meet Dan and Marie and we said our goodbyes for the evening. It was about 10 pm by this time. Hannah and I stayed up for a few more hours and just chatted away and caught up on a few things. After watching some TV, we eventually went to bed as we were both tired after long days. Hers at work and mine was touring the streets of Chicago with a really great couple. I am very lucky to have been able to spend that time with them both. I will say though, both of them are truly genuinely wonderful and sweet people. What I see on the DIS, on the phone and in PMs/e-mails is what I got in person as well, and that was truly very refreshing to see!
 
Well I promise the next two days won’t be quite as long :D I woke up on Saturday morning at 5:00 am :rolleyes: to birds chirping outside the window :mad: So I put the bed back together and relaxed on the couch for a while. Actually I did not get a decent night’s sleep because the mattress that I slept on was literally three inches thick :eek: I could feel everything beneath me and I could only get a decent amount of support if I slept in the middle where the support bar was. But I really won’t complain because it was free :D I did wake up with my back among a few other things hurting so I took some painkillers that had a little muscle relaxer in them as well to help with the pain. So I lazed around the couch for a while and turned the news on. I know this will sound bad, but the news put me back to sleep for a while… of course I am sure the painkillers I took had something to do with that too.

Hannah eventually got up as well and we got ready to go into Naperville to have a late breakfast and to look around. I admit I was thrilled to finally be able to take a shower then because I just felt so dirty as I always do after I fly. So I showered and got dressed to go to downtown Naperville. We drove down to a nice place that serves breakfast the whole time it is open (between 6:30am & 2:00pm) We had a minor wait so we went to a small shop next door to look around. When we got back to the restaurant, our table was ready for us. We sat down and had a leisurely breakfast. I had a wonderful Belgium waffle and some sourdough toast. Very good and very filling.

After lunch we walked along the “river” in Naperville. It is really well landscaped around there and it really reminded me more of a touristy park than a city. The shops were just quaint looking and nothing seemed really “suburban” in feel to me at all. Anyway we walked by the river and just looked around the city for a while. We stopped by Hannah’s favorite book store and eventually we walked back to the car to head back to her place. We chatted and watched TV for a while when I got a call from Dan saying he had left to come pick me up. Not too long after, Juli (Fire14) called and let me know that she had made it to the meet safe & sound. I was glad to hear that because I was afraid at first that she was calling to say she was lost! But all was good. A few minutes later, Dan called again and said he was pulling into the parking lot so we were ready to go off to the meet. Hannah and I said our farewells. She had a housewarming to go to a few hours later, so it was good that we both had plans so neither felt left out or uncomfortable. I walked down the stairs to Dan & Marie’s car and we were on our way to Prairie Rock Brewing Company.

If I thought I was nervous meeting Dan and Marie, you should have seen me on the way to the meet. I was really a nervous wreck. Dan was trying to tease me and I don’t think I took it too well. I really wanted to just sit in the back seat of the car while Marie and Dan went inside, but since that wouldn’t happen, we got out and walked inside. I cannot tell you how scared I was. Really meeting all the Chicago people for the first time really isn’t easy for someone who is shy. Fortunately I was welcomed by Juli whom I had previously met before and Figment and I were right there with warm hugs and Mickey suckers. That was such a sweet thing for Candy & Helen to do and it really warmed my heart, whether I was able to really show it or not, it really did. I was introduced to everyone and eventually we sat down to order lunch.

I was very grateful that Juli and Marie were sitting near me. I am honestly really very shy when I first meet people and I have a tendency to just sit and watch it all. I was sort of doing that but Juli and Marie kept talking to me. I admit I was a lot more comfortable with talking with them since I had met them both before and gotten over my initial shy thing I go through. Fortunately others came up and talked to me. I am not really anti-social, but when I don’t know people that well, I have a very hard time going up and talking to them myself out of the blue. So I sat most of the time picking at my food and talking to whoever was around. I didn’t get to talk to everyone, but I got a chance to talk to a few and by the time we were ready to leave the restaurant, I was feeling much better about things and really not feeling that nervous at all. That only took two hours to get over my nervousness :rolleyes:

So some had previously suggested that we go to a place called GameWorks. I had no reason to object. Actually I knew that Hannah had just left to go to her housewarming by that time so I didn’t want to rush her and make her leave, so I was more than ready to go. When we got there, Marie and Dan went up and said hi to someone who worked there. Apparently Johnny is somehow related by marriage to them and he was kind enough to give Marie, Dan and I a quick tour of the place. I never would have thought to have some sort of gathering there, but I must admit they have some really neat facilities you could use for a party.

Anyway, without babbling too much, I had a great time at Game Works. Had I been feeling better I am sure I would have wanted to try out more rides than I did and been a bit more talkative than I was, but I was afraid to take too many pain killers as I didn’t want to get too “loopy” from the muscle relaxers that were in the pills. Anyway, they had some really cool racing games which are some one of my favorite type of games and a few others that I was willing to try out. I am sure that Luis would have a blast there and could spend hours on end there. Towards the end, those of us left, sat around and chatted a little. Dan was being a twit and was flashing us with his camera flash. He and I had a tiny war going on (ah the joys of digital cameras… waste pics and not even care :D) Eventually we all decided it was time to go. Dan, of course was still taking pictures as we left & even as we were driving away :rolleyes: He even got a crooked (but pretty) picture of the sunset off to our left.

Marie had made mention of ice cream to me earlier and I was more than willing to try a local place that was supposedly really good. Now we have a place called Graeter’s here that is just outstanding so I am a tough critic of ice cream. Well I admit Oberwiess was very good, but it wasn’t quite up to par with Graeter’s. While eating, both Hannah and Luis called me. Hannah called to say she was on her way home (perfect timing for us) and Luis just to chat & say good night. He chatted with both Marie and Dan while I finished my ice cream. Luis also reminded me of a story to tell Dan about our specially trained cows that can fly (teach Dan to ask if Columbus has an airport :p)

Honestly the drive back to Hannah’s was not long enough for me. I was dreading this moment even before I left for Chicago. I knew I wouldn’t want to say good bye to Dan or Marie. Surprisingly it was not a tearful goodbye. I was on the verge of tears but fortunately they never fell. I am just terrible with good byes. After we finally parted our ways, I walked up the stairs to Hannah’s place and waved out the window to Dan and Marie to let them know I was in Hannah’s place safe & sound.

I was actually able to sneak onto the DIS for a few minutes after I got to Hannah’s. However since her connection is horrible from home, I didn’t get to look at much or reply to much, but honestly it felt nice to be able to go to the DIS just then. Hannah was watching the Lewis/Holyfield fight on TV then. How she got pay per view for free, we still don’t know but we enjoyed watching the fight and seeing Lewis win!

After that, Hannah and I rented a movie from Blockbuster. Honestly we were both very disappointed with this movie (A.I.) and we turned it off to go to sleep before it finished. Honestly I was so tired that I fell asleep part way through the movie anyway and so I wasn’t upset when Hannah suggested we turn it off and go to sleep.

The next day was very laid back for us. We finished watching A.I. I finished a little packing and then we went to lunch at a local Chinese place. It was good food but honestly at this point I was more than ready to go home. We went back to her place and hung out for a while, watched a movie and chatted then left for the airport at around 3:30. I got to the airport just about 4:00 and had a quick check-in and an even quicker walk through the security. I went to the gift shop to buy some gum and then went to my gate. By then it was only about 4:15 so I decided to pull out my cell phone and make a call or two. I talked to Luis quickly and tried another person (no answer) then finally decided to call Dan and Marie to thank them again for the wonderful time we had together. I chatted with both of them until just before boarding time. Luis called me though to ask me how to get to the airport just before I boarded the plane. The plane pulled out pretty much on time but we had a wait ahead of us for take off.

I had a wonderful person sitting next to me on the flight and we chatted about a bunch of little things on the flight to Columbus. She has an adorable grandson that she just loves to spoil and she was just a joy to talk to. We landed about 10 or so minutes late and then I walked outside to meet up with Luis. On my drive home, I called a few people to let them know I made it okay and finally we pulled into my driveway and I was home :D

It was a great trip over all. I was so pleased to meet all that I did at the meet on Saturday, I just wish I had felt better for the meet. Also Dan and Marie were wonderful to me… I truly appreciate all that they did for me those two days we spent together. So that’s the end of my three day trip to Chicago and I hope to make it there again sometime soon and hopefully with Luis in tow.
 
Sorry everyone for the very long trip reports I put here for you all to read... they just can't be done right with fewer words :earseek: Hey when was the last time you knew me not to talk a lot though :D Have a great weekend everyone :sunny:
 
Lisa, congratulations, and I don't need to ask if it's spelled with a d or t, lol!

I am going to look at your album, but wanted to sneak in and say hi first. I am afraid the kiddos would interrupt me if I didn't come in now.

Elaine, your trip to Chicago sounded so much fun.

I won't have time now to catch up on everything. I haven't been on the computer in ages. As I'm sure you all noticed.

I start a job on Monday. It's just for on-call at the outpatient admitting area at a local hospital. It will be good that it is only on call for the summer. Maybe when the kids go back to school I can get a better job there. But, for now it's a step in the door. It's very hard to get a job there.

The kids last day of school was yesterday. We have finally started baseball. geeze, how time flies. I can remember talking baseball on the board last year. My youngest has won his first two games, but the older one's lost their first game. I was impressed with their good attitude after the game though and the good upbeat comradarie with their teamates. (hee, hee, they don't lose too much so I am glad they know how to lose graciously)

Meanwhile, my brother got married on June 8 in Pennsylvania, close to Quakertown, King of Prussia etc. It was so beautiful. My new sister in law had lilies for her flowers, at first, to me they looked odd, but later on they grew on me and looked beautiful. They had a non-denominational person marry them and had beautiful stories to tell about what brought them together.

My brother, Gary, the one that got married cried from the rehearsal to well into the reception. He loves this girl so much and he is such a sweatheart. I pray they remain so much in love. She is the stronger personality and he goes along with the flow. They have known each other since they were 15 and they are now 34. Gary dated her best friend through high school and the best friend was even in the wedding.

We got a topiary to bring home with us "to remember their love for each other as the topiary grows". It's five years old and is beautifully sculpted. I hope I can take good care of "her".

SG, hope all is well in your neck of the woods and everyone else. Got to go, children acting up a bit.

Wendy
 
Elaine I just remembered you saying something about a relative coming back from Lithuania????

I'm Lithuanian. My fathers grandparents on both sides came to America from Lithuania. My great Aunt who just passed away had her burial at a Lithuanian church. The part of New York where I am from has a section that is still people from Lithuanian descent. It is rare to see this.

Take care again. Wendy
 
I am so happy and a bit surprised to find that you have not rented out my room while I was 'gone'. I have been a whole lot busy and a bit sick so please forgive me.

I was overwhelmed with all the information and fun I have missed. I cannot believe that only did Lisa find time to keep in touch with all that she had to do before the wedding and her honeymoon afterward BUT I received the nicest card in the mail. I have been showing it to everyone! I am surprised that she was not logged in during the ceremony though. LOL Sadie, Sadie, married lady, how does it feel? I am just so very happy for the both of you. I have checked out the pictures a couple of times and took in every detail and the happiness and love just oozed out of every pixel.

Helenabear, I hope you were not too terrified of us when we met but I fear you were probably just as nervous as I was. It is so scary to meet someone in person, especially when you have gotten to know someone second hand. You don't want to lose the connection you already have. I am trying to take my own advice and know that everyone is nervous and reaching out to other people might be a bit dangerous but not reaching out is even more so. What a wonderful report. Please do not apologize for the length. I enjoyed it so much but wish I had something as interesting to report. I knew you would have a great time with Dan and Marie. Would be like going to the North Pole to meet Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus and being neglected. Never would happen!


Jstmee, I am so happy you have found a part time job. It is good to get out of the home a bit once in awhile. I know you will enjoy yourself and do a great job. I have been to King of Prussia when we tracked down my long lost brother. It is beautiful country. There are a lot of Moravian churches in that area also and this town was founded by Moravians.

I went to WW today for my weigh in and was pleasantly surprised to find that I had reached my first goal and even a couple of pounds more. I had both the boys last week (part of why I have not been by lately) and did not get to walk or do my exercise and ate a couple of meals that were not exactly right as I was just too tired/sick to cook something better.

I have been called for jury duty next week so if I go missing for a few days you will know why.

I am looking for a nice, quiet corner of the World to relax with a good, healthy meal and watch the stars come out. A bit of company would be very pleasant also. Any takers?

Slightly Goofy/Linda
 
I am sorry, I forgot I wanted to tell you all about this book I just finished reading. It is interesting because the 'chase' scene takes place at Disney World.

"The Millionaires" by Brad Meltzer

Hope the readers among you enjoy this.

SG/Linda
 
Well, I'm alive and well, just wilted from the heat, and missing WDW something fierce. I loved being there, and the kids enjoyed it, too, but I will leave the hubby home next time. It was so nice to see DxL again, and remember the wonderful week we spent there at Easter 4 years ago.

It sounds like everyone has been keeping busy. It's been strange not "hearing" from everyone for the past few weeks.

Lisa, I love your wedding pictures. I am amazed that you were able to post from WDW. I hope you had a wonderful honeymoon. I'm so sorry we weren't able to catch each other there, but maybe another time. I am not as advanced as you with your digital camera--I still use 35mm, and have not taken my film to be developed yet.

Jstme, I know you told us earlier that your children were in school later than we are here, but when do they go back? Mine got out May 31st, and go back on Aug.19th. We play baseball in the spring and finished at the end of May, too. Is it still cold where you live?

SG, congratulations on your loss! I would be thankful for just 5#'s, but it's determined to stay with me. Slimfast and fruit just aren't doing the trick. I am trying, though.:(

Helenabear, I loved reading your trip report from the meet. I think it would be so much fun if we could all meet somewhere, one day. It's been great getting to know everyone over the past year.

I'd better go now, time for dinner. Take care.
 
Hi there everyone! I hope all is well with everyone!!!

Wendy, I am so glad to hear about your part time job! I hope it all works out wonderfully for you and your family! Sounds like you have been very busy lately too and I hope you are able to enjoy the summer some now! As for my family member traveling to Lithuania, that would be my dad. He is a world traveler for his business and he has already gone to Lithuania once previously this year. That is so neat that your family is from there! My dad likes it there and always has a good time with his colleagues there as well! I am sure he will make it back there one more time this year as well at least!

Lisa, I wanted to say that I got a chance to look through all of your WDW pictures. It looks like you both had a wonderful time!!! You make a wonderful couple and it is so obvious how much you two love each other. It was beautiful to be able to see all of that!

Angie, so good to see you again! I am glad that you had a good time at WDW! I will be going without Luis in December and I will let you know how that all works out ;) Sometimes it is good to leave them home once in a while so you can have your own fun, don't you think? Maybe someday we will all be able to meet. I would very very much like that!

Linda, I honestly was no where near as nervous meeting you as I was with Dan. It was because Luis was there. He can be my calming force... my crutch of sorts. He helps keep me "realistic" when it comes to things like that. He really calms me very nicely. So since I was stuck at the airport for 30 minutes all alone, my nerves got the worst of me. You are right, meeting Dan and Marie and being neglected just is impossible. Both were very kind and very sweet to me and watched over me and took me under their wings for the time I was with them. I just hope that I can see them again soon.

Oh for all who care and want to come to Columbus... we are having a Columbus Zoo meet on July 13th... so come join us if you like!!!

Otherwise the only interesting thing I know happened at work. My old CEO was booted (technically he resigned but I think it was more forced) and we have a new CEO. Please pray or think good thoughts in hope that this will be a good thing and not a bad thing for my company!!!

Well I have babbled enough! I hope everyone is having a great day :sunny:
 
See that? I turn my back for 2 seconds and everybody checks in! So great to see you all! Thanks for all of your warm wishes and for taking the time to look through my 5 billion pictures! :)

I loved your Chicago trip report, Elaine! It gave me goosebumps, reading it - your descriptions of the places were so vivid! I spent a week in Chicago, taking a Trust class at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business 2 summers ago, and I absolutely loved it! I visited all the places which you mentioned, when I was there, so I really appreciated your descriptions of them! I just love that city, too! And it's very sentimental to my family because my parents met while working for the same company, in the Board of Trade Building, there! It sounds like you, Dan, and Marie had a wonderful time, too! It's wonderful that you finally all met in person! When I'm finished writing, I'm going to look at your pictures!

Congratulations on reaching your first goal + more, Linda!!!!!! That is so great!!!!!! I'm sure that you will hit that next goal before you know it! And if I could have logged on during our wedding ceremony, I would have - hee hee! :)

Congratulations on your new job, Wendy! That's great! And lots of luck to your children on the new baseball season! And I loved your description of your brother's wedding, too - it sounds wonderful! I wish that we had been in NJ when you were in PA - maybe we would have been able to meet you - King of Prussia is about an hour and a half from where we live.

And speaking of people whom I missed meeting, I am so sorry again that we didn't get to meet while we were all at WDW, Angie! I can't believe that I blew it, like that, by not remembering the dates of your trip correctly, and assuming that you were going to be there longer than you were! Did you get to make it to IllumiNations, that night, or were you rained out? We were at the California Grill that night, and the MK fireworks were cancelled because of the storm, so I was thinking of you and hoping that you got to see the show (or stayed out of the rain all together - let me tell you how much "fun" it was, sitting through Fantasmic in the downpour, the following night - hee hee! :) )! Can't wait to hear more about your trip! Did you visit all of the parks? Any of the water parks? See anything new that you'd never seen before? Did you see all of the new parades? Hope that you all had a wonderful time!

By the way, Wendy, I feel horrible because I'd wanted to send you a post card when we were in WDW.....but I don't have your home address! :( Please forgive me for not remembering to ask you for it, before we left!

Well, "Toto, we're not at WDW, any more" - I found out today that my group is moving to another floor in our building, and I am losing my nice private office and will be sitting in a cubicle right by the main entrance / exit to the work floor where we will be sitting. The other 2 Trust Officers - my current colleague and my "replacement" will be sitting in offices next to our boss. LOVELY. Just kick me and humiliate me some more, why don't they? Well, the good thing is that if I am sitting so close to the main entrance / exit, I will easily be able to slip in and out without too many people seeing me (apparently my new desk is slightly removed from where the rest of my group will be sitting - I guess that that's where they dump us "leper" soon-to-be-laid-off-people!). I just think it's a big joke - if I wasn't so mad, I'd be laughing - it's so typical of the way that the management of our group is doing this whole reorganization thing. Pathetic. I wish that I was having better luck finding a new job. I'm sitting around and fantasizing about "revenge", and how great it will be when I can walk out that door permanently.

Anyway, on a more pleasant note, I've all but convinced Frank that we should go back to WDW for our first anniversary, next year, so that we will be at WDW during the same week, in the same room, for the third year in a row! I think that I've "sold" him on the idea - yea!!! :) In the mean time, I've heard from at least one CM friend every day since we've been back, so I still feel very "connected" to the place. In addition to my Fantasmic friend and my Contemporary friend, Mary Jo's ("PKK/MJK" 's) daughter Katie is now corresponding with me, as well, which is wonderful! It's so much fun to hear about what's going on down there from people who work there and are there every day!

Hope that all is well with all of you! Take care and have a nice day! :)
 
Now Lisa, dear, you are NOT the only one to have connections at DW. LOL I keep in touch with our maid. We met her on a trip last year and she was such a sweetie. I had to give her a lecture tho cause she walked into our room and sat down and visited with us the first time she met us and I explained that while we were fairly benign people she should NOT do that again! She was pregnant and I found the cutest Disney baby outfit that said "All Stars" on it and since she worked at ASSp it was very fitting. My sister who lives in FL is currently on vacation in Hawaii (free). She is the one who makes friends with people who can provide such things, I make friends with people who need my help. (grin) As far as the work situation goes, just hang in there and know that the best revenge is living well and you will be. By this time next year you will be so happy to be out of all that and be wondering why in the world you were worried at all. From what I read and see on tv you are simply paying for the bad judgement of your higher ups. This does not seem like a great time to be in the financial information field. Is there a chance you could turn your skills toward some other area?

Helenabear's report made me feel like I was riding in the back seat with her on her tour with Dan and Marie. I loved it! I am so very flattered that you were not too nervous meeting me. I hope I am not a scary person. I just feel badly cause I am not so very interesting as I am a family oriented sort of down home type person. I just love meeting other people and learning about them. I am great at being a shoulder to lean on and not yakking to others about the secrets I hear tho. Not having a great week dietwise. It seems I fall apart whenever I have a big loss. I will be back in step this next week. Hard enough losing it once without losing it over and over again. Am still considering the DIS meet in Columbus. Depends on weather and if I have any energy left after my wild weekend with my sisters the weekend before.

Angelina, what a dream it would be to go to Disney World all by ourselves. It is not that I do not love my hubby but it gets tiring having to be together all the time. He does not feel that way though. I guess if he were waiting on me hand and foot I would not mind him being around all the time nearly as much. LOL I do have to admit that he just goes along with whatever I want to do when we are at DW. I know what he likes and keep that in mind tho. I am so sorry that you and Rider did not get to meet. So near, yet so far away. To be fair Lisa was on her honeymoon and can be excused for not remembering everything. (smile) Did you get a new vehicle also? What happened with your hubby's job? If you would like some info on the WW diet I would be glad to send it to you. Slim Fast and Fruit will never do it and it seems the more you eat (of the right stuff) on this diet the more I lose. Just pm or email me and I will send whatever you want.

Jstmee, could you send a bit of that cool weather my way? I promise to share with anyone else in the Suite who needs a few cool breezes. Please let us know how you and yours are doing and especially how your son is.

Slightly Goofy/Linda
 
Well the kiddos have misbehaved so they are put to bed for the evening. It's soooo quiet. Now I can spend a quiet evening with DH.

The Doctor visit with my DS went well. As predicted the MRI was fine so they took 5 viles of blood from him to test for a degenerative muscle disease, etc. We also will go to a pediatric opthalmalogist to see about correcting his eye. He has a nerve palsy that paralyzed the outurning of his eye.

This was his first time having blood taken. He did okay, but he was scared. Can't imagine how the eye surgery will be.

I will gladly send any cool weather your way SG. Today it is raining and about 50.

Lisa, I don't know how you keep hanging in there, but "you go girl". I can't imagine how tough it must be. Keep dreaming dreams of your honeymoon!!!!

helenabear, that's neat that your dad gets to travel like that.

I go back to Boston next week. I'm pretty sure it will be uneventful. My "little" job is fun. It's hard to get back into going to "work" though. I've missed two of my kids baseball games and that is very difficult for me. But, I'm in the training phase and I worked 3-11 last week so this week should be better.

My DH has a free rountrip ticket that I am trying to think of a way to go to WDW by myself for some R&R. lol.......definately dreaming.

take care all. Wendy
 
Wendy, with all you have been through lately you sure do deserve to go to DW by yourself. Sounds like a dream come true. Don't happen to have an AP do you?

You have a brave young man. Does the hospital offer a program where they will walk him through and show him the equipment and tell him what will happen step by step so it won't be so frightening?

From personal experience I can tell you that your kids will appreciate you a bit more for not being at every single game etc. Fine line between being there for your kids all the time and never being there. I was always there and my kids sort of see me like wallpaper. Did have a breakthrough tonight in that my daughter finally got the reason I would not let her go to her "best friend's" home but would let her come to ours. Her brothers were drug dealers. Only took 20 years for her to see the light. LOL

I hope the kids misbehave more often so you guys will get some more alone time. Don't mean to preach but someday those darling kids will be gone and out living their own lives and you two do not want to be strangers to each other. (voice of experience speaking here)

I guess Angelina, Rider and Helenabear (your card was so unnecessary but sweet) are out in the World figuring out new adventures for us.

Slightly Goofy
 
Hey Everyone!

How are you all doing?

Yes, Wendy, I agree with Linda - your DS is certainly brave! I would be nervous going through all of those tests, myself (in fact, I never made it through an MRI!), and it sounds like he handled them like a trooper! Thank God the initial results are positive ones. I'm sure that it's rough for you and your entire family to go through all of this with your DS, but I'm sure that everything will go well and that you will all get through it together, with eachother's support. I can also imagine how hard it is to have missed some of your childrens' games. Hopefully, as you're finished training, your schedule will calm down a bit and allow for the time to go see the upcoming games! And that would be great if you could go to WDW, by yourself, for a nice getaway!

That was such a neat story about how you still stay in touch with your maid from AS, Linda! I would be happy to stay in touch with anyone, down there, who wants to stay in touch with me - it helps me feel connected to WDW, even when I'm not there! It also makes my fantasies of moving and working down there seem a bit more realistic (even though in reality, they are not realistic at all!) Don't worry about having a "bad" week - we know that those plateaus happen and that you will be back on track in no time! I totally overloaded myself on carbs, yesterday - we went to the movies (and saw "Star Wars", which was great), so I had the requisite (huge!) popcorn, then came home and had spaghetti. I felt like I was going to explode, by the end of the night! But I know that I will get "back on track" (ie: unbloated!), today!

Sorry that this is such a short one - just wanted to say "hi"! Not too much to report from the Garden State......except that I desperately wish that we were still at the Poly! :(

Hope that all is well with all of you! Have a nice day! :)
 
Dear Rider

You know that part of you is always at DW. I bet your room in the Suite is decorated like your room at the Poly. You and Frank can always drop in together to rekindle memories. We should have a tour of our individual rooms at the Suite so we can see what we each have secreted in there.

Mine has 3 walls of bookcases. Would have 4 but would not want to miss the view out of the wall of windows overlooking the Lagoons. The balcony is lined with potted plants that the guys keep weeded and watered. Nothing like the beauty without the work IMHO. Pictures of the grands surround the bed so I can dream of the little rascals after a full day at DW. I have a lovely coverlet of crewelwork that is similar to a Monet painting. Far too beautiful to have in my own home where dirty shoes abound. The ceiling fan gives such a lovely breeze and casts gentle shadows around the room.

Lisa, you cannot be 'good' all the time. I am sure that you enjoyed your popcorn and spaghetti even more for not having them all the time. I am afraid it was not a plateau last week but an overexcited appetite. I am calming down now and hope to break even this week and go on to better things next week. How did you do in the land of Citrus Swirls? I always lose weight at DW.

Austin and I are working on schoolwork and housework. He reads for 20 minutes at a time with his timer and I try to clean a room in the same time. Only 7 more to go!(counting bathrooms) Sure glad I can close the door to the upstairs cause I know I ain't gonna make it up there today. (whew!)

Keep cool everyone (or warm as the case may be) and enjoy this first day of the week.

Slightly Goofy
 
Hello there everyone! I feel just horrible. The reason why I haven't stopped in the last few days was because I got new software on my computer... Photoshop. I have been taking photos and playing with them. Like putting different faces on different bodies and things like that. So silly me wasted many hours at night doing that :rolleyes: I have told myself that I will only use the software on weekends when I have the time to play like that :D

Wendy, I am constantly thinking of your son. I do hope things turn out well for him. It really must be scary for him and he is so brave to go through all that! I am also glad to hear that your health appears to be good as well!!! Definitely something to be happy about!! Also good to know that your job is going well and I hope that after you get out of training that you will have more time for the baseball games and the like. Oh and my suggestion is to take that ticket at go to WDW and enjoy your time alone ;)

Rider & SG, I am glad you both liked the trip report I wrote up. That took me several days to get done but I was so determined to do so. I really did love Chicago and there is so much more I didn't see that I would love to. Hopefully some day I will be able to go back. But it really is a unique city with a lot to offer!

SG, you are such a wonderful person both here and in person. I really did enjoy meeting you and yes, that card was very much necessary. My mother raised me proper and I cannot let a kind gesture go w/o a thank you note. I am just so sorry it took so long in getting to you :D

Rider, I agree with SG, you cannot be "good" all the time. Don't you worry about it and I am sure you will be just fine again. I do it myself once in a while (did it this last week) and then I somehow get "good" and don't have to worry about it for a while! I hope you are adjusting to reality nicely. I am terribly sorry to hear about your new cublicle though. That doesn't say much for the department you work for. I hope that things look up for you soon there {{hugs}}

Angie, I do hope you are not wilting in the sun and that all is well with you!!!

And to everyone else :wave: I hope your summer is going well :sunny:!! Talk to you all soon!!!
 



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