Excuse me, you'll need to see security. What has Mickeystoontown done? Update 3/25x2

[sewmess]

Thanks! The way that it's looking, we are sure to get lots of rain and wind.

Forgot for a moment that y'all were in LA. I looked at the track last night and just kind of noted that it looked like it was avoiding AL completely.

Hopefully flooding won't be too bad for you &the winds stay Tropical Storm or less.

 

[Bethislucy]

Hope everything stays safe as the storm comes in. Try & stay dry.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Forgot for a moment that y'all were in LA. I looked at the track last night and just kind of noted that it looked like it was avoiding AL completely.

Hopefully flooding won't be too bad for you &the winds stay Tropical Storm or less.

Where in Alabama are you? Hopefully, not anywhere near where it's supposed to hit!

Hope everything stays safe as the storm comes in. Try & stay dry.

Thanks! Staying dry is probably not going to be an option.

 

[mickeystoontown]

A Hole in One and dangling table legs!

We had originally intended to stay at Magic Springs until the free evening concert because the Newsboys were playing. However, it had gotten very crowded in the park, it was looking like we would have to wait forever for food, and we bolted (after finally figuring out how to get out of the parking lot). After dinner at Applebee’s, we went back to the room to relax for a little while before venturing out for the evening.

John took a nap....I know, big shocker!

Hunter watched television:

And I played around with the drawing setting on the camera:

After a while, we were all ready to head back out for the evening and we had a destination in mind.....pirate golf! Unfortunately, it seemed like everybody else in Hot Springs had the same thought. Before we ever pulled into the parking lot, we could see just how busy it was. Oh well, the more the merrier. But could we find a parking space? We drove all the way around the back and found two, count ‘em, two empty spaces. John was not happy that he had to park the SCAR near another vehicle but he did anyway. (Remember, he’s still in “the SCAR is new way" of thinking and wants to park out in the middle of No Man’s Land.)

Once we were there, I realized that I had forgotten to look in the visitor’s guide and see if there were coupons for the mini-putt. I was almost positive there was but being almost positive did us no good. We figured it would cost at least $12-$15 a person but it was only $7.50 a person which made me feel better for having forgotten to look for coupons.

We were given our scorecard, a tiny pencil, and we picked out our clubs and our balls (there were only 6 balls left in the whole basket so that tells you just how busy it was) and off we went for a friendly game of mini-putt. Because it was so busy, we had to wait for several parties in front of us to complete their round before it was our turn.

We struck up conversations with the couple in front of us and the family behind us. The people in front were celebrating their 18th wedding anniversary and one of the couples behind us were expecting their first baby. Everybody seemed to be in the best of spirits and chatting with them all helped pass the time while we were waiting for our turn. We would also cheer each other on (or we all might have been trying to throw each other off as we/they were putting, I don’t know which one it truly was). One of the kids in the party two groups in front of us got a hole in one and you would have thought that she had struck gold. She was so excited and danced all around while we clapped for her. She was so cute!

We were having so much fun that I almost forgot to take pictures. I did remember to take a few though:

The course had a pirate theme, duh, it was called Pirate Golf, and there were pirates everywhere, even hanging in the trees.

We noticed that the pirate’s peg leg was made from an old table leg...thus, the “dangling table leg” portion of the title of this installment.

Well, I just told ya’ll about how the “dangling table leg” phrase worked it’s way into the title but how about the “hole in one” phrase? Yep, you guessed it, somebody got a hole in one and that someone would be ME! It took quite some skill but I was able to get a hole in one baby! Actually, it wasn’t my awesome skills that did it. I hit the ball, it bounced off the bricks, straight into the air and plopped right down into the hole. A big old Woo-Hoo was shouted out by the man in front of us and the family behind us were clapping. Just call Mrs. Lucky Pirate Pants! Seriously...call me lucky ‘cause I have no sporting skills at all....none...nada...zilch.

We finished up our 18 holes, told the folks in front of us and behind us goodbye and we were outta there. But not before stopping to take picture with a course’s pirate mascot:

We made a stop at the Sonic Drive-In for some sweet tea and then drove back to our hotel. It was getting late and everything downtown had already closed up for the night. We snacked on the leftovers from Applebee’s and from the snacks that I brought along and then hit the sheets.

The next morning, John and I went down to the continental breakfast while Hunter was taking his shower. The food choices were basically the same with just a few changes. We took the food to our room and ate and then I packed up our stuff. Before we headed for home, we had one last thing to do and that was to drive up Mountain Drive to take in the scenery. That meant that we had to go back downtown but it was Sunday morning so it wasn’t busy at all.

The day before, we had noticed a business that had an odd name...Pawns B Us. For some reason, it struck us as being so redneck/hillbilly and very funny. I tried to take a picture but all I got was the Pawns B:

Downtown Hot Springs wasn’t busy at all with just a few people walking the sidewalks and reading the plaques outside the bathhouses so we were able to get to the entrance of the scenic drive easily. The road up the mountain twists and turns all the way up. I tried to take a picture because it’s hard to describe. See the road in front of us. Now look at the little ledge up in front...that’s the road going up.

We made it up to the first lookout and the view was so pretty:

There were several other people there....one guy sitting on the ledge in the covered overlook, just minding his own business....and then two couples on motorcycles. The motorcycle couples were already drinking (and looked like they had been all night long so maybe they never stopped) and it wasn’t even 10:30 a.m. yet. We didn’t stick around too long, just long enough to snap the pictures and then we left. We wound our way down back down the mountain, drove out of downtown and headed towards home.

Hunter took a few pictures of DeGray State Park again:

In Gurdon, we turned by the old train station and took pictures of the Hoo-Hoo monument:

The rest of the drive was through a whole lotta nothingness. Just trees, fields and, well, nothingness. We pulled into our house just four hours after leaving Hot Springs. While the trip was certainly not as great as a trip to Disney, we did enjoy the getaway for our anniversary, a last getaway before the end of Summer and the start of school. It was nice to spend one-on-one time as a family which, as most of you know, can be hard to do because of everybody’s busy schedules.

**Up next: More Disney Dream cruise pirate night!

 

[407-W-DISNEY]

Hi Lisa,
Thinking of you and your family/neighbors as Isaac approaches....

Sounds like you had a great time on your get-a-way to Hot Springs...the scenery was beautiful! and YEAH for the Hole in One!!!!

 

[PhoenixStrength]

The mini-golf looks like fun. It's nice that everyone was able to make the best of it being busy instead of being grouchy and complaining about it. And congrats on your accidental hole-in-one!

The scenery is gorgeous there, and it sounds like you guys had a good weekend trip.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Hi Lisa,
Thinking of you and your family/neighbors as Isaac approaches....

Sounds like you had a great time on your get-a-way to Hot Springs...the scenery was beautiful! and YEAH for the Hole in One!!!!

Thanks! They say that the hurricane will, once again, be a tropical storm by the time it gets to our area but that's still a bad storm.

We did have a good time in Hot Springs and I'm glad that we were able to get away from home for the weekend. I couldn't believe that I made a hole in one. The ball bounced up at least ten or twelve inches and then fell perfectly into the hole.

 

[sewmess]

Where in Alabama are you? Hopefully, not anywhere near where it's supposed to hit!



Thanks! Staying dry is probably not going to be an option.

We're in the Birmingham Area (live outside B'ham, work in B'ham) so we're just expecting 4 - 10 inches of rain. Which I have no problemn with - asl long as it doesn't come all at once.

I always forget how much fun Miniature Golf is. We try to get to the Fantasia Course when we're at Disney, but I don't think we even have one around here.

Can't wait for more cruise update, Ms. Lucky.

 

[mickeystoontown]

The mini-golf looks like fun. It's nice that everyone was able to make the best of it being busy instead of being grouchy and complaining about it. And congrats on your accidental hole-in-one!

The scenery is gorgeous there, and it sounds like you guys had a good weekend trip.

We were very fortunate to have a bunch of friendly folks around us at mini-golf. Everybody was having a lot of fun talking to each other.

I couldn't believe that I made the hole in one. It was definitely an accidental one.

 

[mickeystoontown]

We're in the Birmingham Area (live outside B'ham, work in B'ham) so we're just expecting 4 - 10 inches of rain. Which I have no problemn with - asl long as it doesn't come all at once.

I always forget how much fun Miniature Golf is. We try to get to the Fantasia Course when we're at Disney, but I don't think we even have one around here.

Can't wait for more cruise update, Ms. Lucky.

Hey, I have another Dis friend in the Birmingham area! I sure hope that the rainfall doesn't come all at once for you guys or for us. That always means street flooding around here.

I forget about how fun mini-putt is too. You know that in all of our years of going to Disney, we've never played one of their miniature golf courses. We've played offsite but not on Disney property. I need to change that.

Hopefully, I will get a Disney installment posted soon. I'm thinking possibly tomorrow if the weather doesn't get bad and we lose power and/or internet. Our office is in an old building and the power goes out whenever we have even a little gust of wind.

 

[KatMark]

You rock, Lisa. I love when I get a hole-in-one (which isn't often) so I can rub it into my hubby's face (he cheats, I swear and ALWAYS wins!).

Lovely scenery.

Sounds like a perfect getaway for your anniversary.

 

[MissLiz]

Congrats on the hole in one! One of these days I am going to get one!

I'm pretty bad at mini golf, but as the game goes on, I, for some reason, start to trash talk. I think I may be just a tad bit competitive. Anyway, every time I trash talk, my game gets worse and worse. There have been times when my 3-year-old has beaten me!

I hope you are staying safe this week! Hopefully Isaac takes it easy on y'all.

 

[mickeystoontown]

You rock, Lisa. I love when I get a hole-in-one (which isn't often) so I can rub it into my hubby's face (he cheats, I swear and ALWAYS wins!).

Lovely scenery.

Sounds like a perfect getaway for your anniversary.

I never get a hole in one and couldn't believe I actually got one this time. I am not telling a tale when I say that the ball bounced at least ten inches off the ground before falling in the hole. It was an amazing sight!

Congrats on the hole in one! One of these days I am going to get one!

I'm pretty bad at mini golf, but as the game goes on, I, for some reason, start to trash talk. I think I may be just a tad bit competitive. Anyway, every time I trash talk, my game gets worse and worse. There have been times when my 3-year-old has beaten me!

I hope you are staying safe this week! Hopefully Isaac takes it easy on y'all.

You dirty trash talker you! My kids take after their daddy and have all sorts of talents including being good mini-golf players. Me? What's my talent? Hum.....I can type real fast.

I am hoping that the weather doesn't get as bad here since we are up at the top of the State. I have friends in South Louisiana and in Mobile that I am trying to keep in contact with to make sure everything is good down their way.

 

[eandesmom]

Mrs. Pirate Lucky Pants!

I'd be proud of that too. It will never happen as I'm a disaster at mini golf. Something to do with depth perception....

Fun get away!

 

[shan23877]

Sounds like a fun getaway! Great job getting a hole in one!! Never tell people that it's just luck--let em' think you're an awesome Pirate Golfer!

Hope that you and your family stay safe and dry down there!

 

[kmd1974]

Hey Lisa, Just read your TR about Magic Springs. Sounds like fun. We always compare other parks to Disney World. Also fireworks don't compare. I hope y'all don't get the rain and wind like we are about to get here in Houma. They say the eye has shifted. So we might be like 4 years ago for Hurricane Gustav where we will get the eye or part of the eye. Y'all be safe there. You can hear updates on facebook. I can't wait for more Disney TR.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Bustin’ a move and dancin’ like nobody’s looking....except a few hundred people!

Once the fireworks were over and Jack Sparrow had made his entrance via his trusty rope, the live D.J. came out and everything moved into full-on party mode! (I so wish I had the pictures and video from Hunter’s phone to insert here.) There were dancers on the stage dressed in pirate garb and lights were flashing all around. It didn’t take long before we were bustin’ some moves and dancin’ like nobody was looking!

As I said, early in my introductions, I post pictures of everything...the good, the bad and the ugly and most of the ugly comes in the form of very embarassing pictures of myself. Now, I’m going to warn you before I post the following pictures that I am not a dancer. Never have been, never will be. Actually, I guess I should rephrase that. I am a dancer...just not a good one. I can't dance as good as this guy: or even a banana: But, the music was blaring. The atmosphere was sizzling and we just couldn’t help ourselves. Come on family....let’s dance like nobody’s looking!

Shake it baby! Shake it!

Get down with your bad self!

Wave your hands in the air and Jump! Jump! Jump! Jump!

Oops, didn’t catch the jump but did catch the look of pure happiness on John’s face:

I tried taking one of the crowd but it didn’t turn out well. Maybe you can make out how crowded it was on the deck below us:

I don’t know how long the party lasted but I can tell you that we were all tired of shaking our tail feathers by the time it was over. It was a blast and one of the highlights of the entire cruise!

A couple after party pics:

**Continued in next post

 

[mickeystoontown]

Once the party was done, the castmembers pulled out the deck chairs and Pirates of the Caribbean started playing on the big screen. We plopped down in the chairs and watched:

At some point in time, we must have gone to get us something to drink and I took pictures of the drinks available at the drink station:

About an hour into the movie, we left the deck and we started back to our room and cut through an empty Cabanas:

The drink station in Cabanas:

Believe it or not, we found our room with little to no problem AND we didn’t encounter Mr. White Uniform when we did. Guess they had moved on to find more criminals hiding those ever elusive irons. Hunter asked if he could go to Vibe and we told him that we didn’t care but it would be closing very soon so he wouldn’t get to stay long. He said that he still wanted to go so we gave him the wave phone and told him that we’d check in with him later.

Around 20 minutes or so before Vibe was set to close, we called Hunter and he answered but immediately hung up. Didn’t say anything. Hum? What was up with that? Maybe the phone disconnected. I called back. This time he said “hello” and asked if he could stay a few minutes longer. We told him sure, we were just calling to tell him that we were going on a walk and he could call us when he left.

He never called us and it was about 5 minutes before the club was set to close. So, we called him. This time, he answered but all I heard was music and “I’m just a poor boy nobody loves me!” and then click. Whaaaaat? I called back. He answered and said “Just a few more minutes, I’m winning!” and hung up again without waiting for my answer. Now, don’t go thinking....why is she bothering the boy? At this point, it was pretty much a whole hanging up without me answering his question thing. I called him back and told him that if hung up on me again without giving me time to answer him I was going to bust up in the club and embarrass the heck outta him when I started screaming “Hunter! Where are you baby? It’s Mama!” He just laughed and said “Yeah Mom, like you’d ever do that. I’m on my way out. Where are ya’ll?” As it happened, we were on the other side of the ship and all he had to do was walk through the doors, down the deck and we were sitting on deck chairs enjoying the breeze.

We asked him what he was doing that was so wonderful that he had to hang up on his mother. He said that he was in a singing contest and was singing Bohemian Rhapsody when I called. Oh, that explains the “I’m just a poor boy nobody loves me!” We asked if he was ready to call it a night and he was so we meandered back to the stateroom. Hunter’s birthday cake had barely been touched because, in all honesty, it wasn’t the greatest tasting cake but we all decided to give it another try because we wanted a night time snack. It still wasn’t all that good (as if the flavor would have suddenly changed while in the box) but it scratched the sweet tooth itch.

We did our nightly ritual and said goodnight Waltons style:

Night Hunter, say your prayers, love you, don’t hang up on your Mama ever again!

Night John, love you, tomorrow we’ll be sittin’ on a private island!

Night Criminal Mom, love you, sorry for hanging up on you but you just can’t stop while in the middle of Bohemian Rhapsody!

**Up next: Ahh, this is what I call paradise! Gosh darn the water’s cold!

 

[MEK]

OMG - you guys look like you are having a blast.

Oh - and I'm sorry if I am interrupting your update, but I have to get ready to sign off, so I had to comment.

John, especially, looks like he is having a total blast. Where there alcoholic beverages involved here?

Good news - It's official. I booked my Dream cruise for October 2013! Woo Hoo!

At least Hunter had a good reason for hanging up on you. Karaoke rocks!

 

[MissLiz]

Another great update!

We have started having dance parties at home in the evenings. We put on the music channels on the cable and dance around with the girls. It's a blast because everyone just dances like fools. We enjoy doing it in public, too!

Lol with Hunter singing Bohemian Rhapsody! I guess the bright side of him hanging up on you is that at least he answered the phone. He could have just not answered.

So, we finally told the girls about our Disney cruise last night. We started out by telling them that we canceled our Princess cruise for spring break next year...and then we left the room. When we walked back in, my oldest said "why do I think there is a joke going on here?". We didn't say anything again and went about our business. Finally, we threw them a bone and told them. They are so stinking excited!!!

I love torturing the children.