Feeling Hot Hot Hot! The Rain Curse is Broken! Two Weeks of Fun in the Sun! COMPLETE

[KatMark]

Wow...major updates, Lessa. The scenery is absolutely beautiful on your hike. I'm with you...I'm a clutz and would have probably ended up like your brother with my pants looking the way his did.

Sorry your brothers were not over-awed by the AKL. I was not over-awed by WL and would not stay there, but am so excited about our upcoming stay at the AKL in 21 days.

I love the baby ducks...so cute. And those were some really angry birds.

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Woah, that was a big update!

Your hiking trip looked great. It looks so beautiful. I did learn something new though. I need to remember that if I ever hike and there is danger of bears, all I need to yell is "yo, bear!"

My Dad was also a fan of singing some old military type song to alert the bears that we were coming. No idea what he was singing but he would randomly start singing it.

Too bad there weren't many animals out when you were exploring AKL. I've found that it's been hit or miss all of the times that I've been there. I guess it just depends on their mood.

What beautiful scenery on your hike! More power to you because I couldn't make that hike uphill anymore. I could probably barely make it downhill!

Love the angry bird videos. It was the same way for us last time we visited AKL.

Hiking definitely isn't easy for me 1)I am incredibly out of shape 2) I am just not designed for hiking, as Dad says I am short and stubby 3) I am a wimp

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

The scenery on your hike is gorgeous! I really want to go see Canada someday, hopefully I'll be going to Quebec this year with school And I must say, the best pictures have Marcus in them, he is such a cute dog

I agree, Marcus is adorable! He was a favourite of all the hikers when we got to Banff. I think he was the highlight of people's trips considering how often he was photographed by strangers.

Quebec huh, have fun! Just remember Quebec is not an accurate representation of what the rest of Canada/Canadians are like.

i am late but vote that you just TR right here!!
sounds like a great trip already!


omg I painted that picture once - it is one of my favorite shots of Lake Moraine. I've never been there but just love that scene.

Your photos look so great. I was just thinking how much I have missed camping this summer (Disney in May sort of drained the budget) and then I saw your awesome photos. LOVED them, thanks for sharing.

back to reading but I had to post!

Moraine Lake is beautiful! I just wish that I was a more skilled photographer/had a fancier camera/ clouds cooperated with me so that I could get awesome shots like the professionals.

Wow...major updates, Lessa. The scenery is absolutely beautiful on your hike. I'm with you...I'm a clutz and would have probably ended up like your brother with my pants looking the way his did.

Sorry your brothers were not over-awed by the AKL. I was not over-awed by WL and would not stay there, but am so excited about our upcoming stay at the AKL in 21 days.

I love the baby ducks...so cute. And those were some really angry birds.

That hike was the worst hike this trip in regards to people falling and getting dirty.

See, we love Wilderness Lodge but not AKL so much. Maybe it just has to do with the fact that we stayed at WL first?

 

[JessicaFaye508]

Angry birds... Such a clever chapter title. props to you.

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Angry birds... Such a clever chapter title. props to you.

You know what's funny, I have never even played Angry Birds! Erich has talked about it and I have seen all the merch for it and it just popped to the front of my mind while writing.

 

[englishrose47]

Morning Lessa Awesome pix of the HIKE!! I am not into hiking at all . but the scenery is breathtaking !! We saw some baby ducks in Florida too and I am pretty sure I took acouple of pix !! I also took several pix of flowers , thanks to being inspired by a certain canadian gal!!!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Morning Lessa Awesome pix of the HIKE!! I am not into hiking at all . but the scenery is breathtaking !! We saw some baby ducks in Florida too and I am pretty sure I took acouple of pix !! I also took several pix of flowers , thanks to being inspired by a certain canadian gal!!!

I enjoy hiking as it allows me to see amazing scenery that I would not get to see normally but the trails my dad takes us on are usually difficult for me because of how unfit I am. Alek and Erich scamper up the trails with no problem whereas I am always tired and dragging behind them.

 

[pinkxray]

Your hiking pictures are amazing. It was very nice of your dad to take pictures of you when you fell. I'm sure he knew you would want them for your trip report.


I AKL. I never saw many animals when I was in the public areas though, most of the animals I saw were from our balcony.

I love the baby ducks. Why are they always so much cuter in WDW then if I saw them here? I had like 100 baby duck pictures.

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Your hiking pictures are amazing. It was very nice of your dad to take pictures of you when you fell. I'm sure he knew you would want them for your trip report.

Yes, how considerate! He doesn't actually know that I write trip reports. He would probably disapprove.

I AKL. I never saw many animals when I was in the public areas though, most of the animals I saw were from our balcony.

Hmmm, well unless Mom and I do another mother/daughter trip I will never know if you see more from the rooms as I don't think Alek and Erich will opt to stay at AKL over other deluxe resorts like Beach Club and Poly.

 

[orangecats2]

I did see the news. I hope you are happy about O and not C! I can't stand C although C does provide ridiculous entertainment.

Yes it is definitely O that I like. He's a great competator and nice to look at.
C annoys me most of the time. I think he's trying to be something he's not. Just kind of pathetic.

 

[CandleontheWater]

Your pictures of the hike are just beautiful! I don't know if I would have been brave enough to cross those logs to the island. I know that I would have fallen in, I likely would have just watched the fam, safely from the banks of the lake!

I think its funny that your mom went outside to try and watch the shuttle launch, because I did too! There are so many trees in the Alligator Bayou section of POR that even if it was cloudy, I wouldn't have been able to see anything, but I did try!

I'm sorry that the animals weren't cooperating with you at AKL. I'm with you, I'd love to stay there someday!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Yes it is definitely O that I like. He's a great competator and nice to look at.
C annoys me most of the time. I think he's trying to be something he's not. Just kind of pathetic.

I agree, C definitely has to be acting and putting on a show, no way he is actually that weird in his real life.

Your pictures of the hike are just beautiful! I don't know if I would have been brave enough to cross those logs to the island. I know that I would have fallen in, I likely would have just watched the fam, safely from the banks of the lake!

I think its funny that your mom went outside to try and watch the shuttle launch, because I did too! There are so many trees in the Alligator Bayou section of POR that even if it was cloudy, I wouldn't have been able to see anything, but I did try!

I'm sorry that the animals weren't cooperating with you at AKL. I'm with you, I'd love to stay there someday!

I am a big chicken and there were a few times on the trip that I wimped out on hikes. Would I cross those logs again? Probably not but I saw how "easy" it was for everybody else so figured it wouldn't be too bad, wrong!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

The Crazy Stepmother Chronicles: August 2011

Day 3

This was going to be a nice relaxing day for me. Dad and the gang were off hiking and I was staying at home with Marcus. Why didn't I go along with them? Dad said that the hike would be too hard and scary for me. I trusted his judgement on the scary part as I am a wimp. I didn't want to end up clinging to the side of a mountain bawling my eyes out and afraid for my life like I did back in 2009...

The hike they were heading on was in the same area as the hike from the day before, in fact they would be taking the same forest service road to get to it. They left the house around 7:30, I slept in until just after 8.

I was relieved to not be hiking that day as my knees were still pretty sore from my falls the previous day. So what did I do all day by myself? Well, I spent some time on the computer catching up on e-mails, Facebook and the Dis. I took Marcus for a walk around the neighbourhood. I lounged around and read some of my book. I also read some of Dad's book about bear encounters, just in case! Mom called me at one point since she knew I was all by myself.

Here is what everybody else was doing while I was relaxing back at the house.

Monashee Lake and Sunny Peak Hike - Monashee Mountains

They had a nice sunny day for their hike.

A rock hard snow boulder

Sunny Peak. Maria stayed at the lake while Dad and the boys climbed to the top. Apparently it was a rather steep and scrambly climb, definitely too scary for me!

On the way to Sunny Peak

At the top of Sunny Peak is a cairn. Within that there is a log book for people to sign indicating that they made it to the top. Dad and the boys were the only ones to have made it this year and the hiking season in that area is nearly over so they may well be the only ones to have hiked Sunny Peak in 2011.

Signing the book

Erich took a video from the top, you can hear our Dad talking like a big dork.

Video: Sunny Peak

Back at the house I was starting to get hungry. They had said they would be bringing KFC home for dinner. I don't eat the drumsticks etc from KFC but I will eat chicken strips, popcorn chicken and the fries. Since I was expecting them to arrive home between 5-6pm I held off on eating anything.

Well 6pm came, no sign of them.

7pm, still not home, I'm starting to wonder where they are.

8pm, not home, it is getting dark out, I am really starting to worry.

8:30pm, not home, I am starting to get really worried and anxious, something had to have happened, where are they? What do I do? They left at 7:30am, it is a 2 hour drive there, 5-6 hour hike, 2 hour drive home, stop at KFC, maybe stop to see Grandma. They should have been home around 7pm at the latest by my estimation. I had nightmare scenarios running through my mind: They were in a car accident on the forest service road where they are undiscovered and bleeding to death since it is not used frequently. Somebody got injured on the hike and they are trying to get help. They are in the hospital and I have not been contacted because nobody knows I am visiting. They are all dead and I am alone at the house, what do I do? I was nearly having a breakdown.

I didn't know what I should do. I was convinced that something horrible had happened. Should I call Mom? Should I call the police? Should I call the hospital?

8:42 - I hear them pulling into the garage. I was in tears by that point thinking that they were all dead. They thought I was ridiculous. I was so mad! Sure they don't carry a cell phone but couldn't they have tried to find a pay phone to let me know they were going to be that late?

On top of all that they didn't bring me anything to eat from KFC since they assumed that I would have made my own dinner. Well I hadn't because 1) I was expecting them home at any moment with dinner and 2) I was too worried to cook anything!

They continued to mock me for being worried and crying. I went to bed that night angry but relieved that they were alive. It had been a very stressful night!

 

[mom3sonstt]

Back at the house I was starting to get hungry. They had said they would be bringing KFC home for dinner. I don't eat the drumsticks etc from KFC but I will eat chicken strips, popcorn chicken and the fries. Since I was expecting them to arrive home between 5-6pm I held off on eating anything.

Well 6pm came, no sign of them.

7pm, still not home, I'm starting to wonder where they are.

8pm, not home, it is getting dark out, I am really starting to worry.

8:30pm, not home, I am starting to get really worried and anxious, something had to have happened, where are they? What do I do? They left at 7:30am, it is a 2 hour drive there, 5-6 hour hike, 2 hour drive home, stop at KFC, maybe stop to see Grandma. They should have been home around 7pm at the latest by my estimation. I had nightmare scenarios running through my mind: They were in a car accident on the forest service road where they are undiscovered and bleeding to death since it is not used frequently. Somebody got injured on the hike and they are trying to get help. They are in the hospital and I have not been contacted because nobody knows I am visiting. They are all dead and I am alone at the house, what do I do? I was nearly having a breakdown.

I didn't know what I should do. I was convinced that something horrible had happened. Should I call Mom? Should I call the police? Should I call the hospital?

8:42 - I hear them pulling into the garage. I was in tears by that point thinking that they were all dead. They thought I was ridiculous. I was so mad! Sure they don't carry a cell phone but couldn't they have tried to find a pay phone to let me know they were going to be that late?

On top of all that they didn't bring me anything to eat from KFC since they assumed that I would have made my own dinner. Well I hadn't because 1) I was expecting them home at any moment with dinner and 2) I was too worried to cook anything!

They continued to mock me for being worried and crying. I went to bed that night angry but relieved that they were alive. It had been a very stressful night!

Reading about you worrying about them got me worried.....and I knew they were ok (or that you somehow recovered their cameras ) My kids do that to me all the time. I'm not as bad as my husband, if they are 10 minutes late, or don't answer their cell phones immediately he is freaking out. Which, ironically actually calms me down, because he is so over the top that I get to thinking, "well, gee they are only a few minutes late, nothing to get so worked up about" And DH never answers his phone - he can't hear it over the radio blaring but when the boys don't answer he thinks they are in a ditch somewhere.

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Reading about you worrying about them got me worried.....and I knew they were ok (or that you somehow recovered their cameras ) My kids do that to me all the time. I'm not as bad as my husband, if they are 10 minutes late, or don't answer their cell phones immediately he is freaking out. Which, ironically actually calms me down, because he is so over the top that I get to thinking, "well, gee they are only a few minutes late, nothing to get so worked up about" And DH never answers his phone - he can't hear it over the radio blaring but when the boys don't answer he thinks they are in a ditch somewhere.

Thank You for understanding!

I admit that I am a bit of a worrier. I always get a bit concerned when somebody is late or not where they are supposed to be.

I think I was justified in this instance, it was completely dark out and nearly 9pm, they had been gone nearly 14 hours! Then when they did get home instead of apologizing for making me worry they laughed at me!

 

[englishrose47]

I would have been worried too !!! Did you ever eat anything Lessa??

 

[GeminiAngel]

Why in God's name would they hike without a phone on them!? What if they needed to be rescued?

I would have gone crazy with worry also, so you're not alone in that dept.

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

I would have been worried too !!! Did you ever eat anything Lessa??

Not really, I ate a few of the nasty soggy french fries that they brought back. By the time they got home I was in no mood to cook so I just went to bed hungry.

Why in God's name would they hike without a phone on them!? What if they needed to be rescued?

I would have gone crazy with worry also, so you're not alone in that dept.

I agree about the cell phone. Dad hates cell phones and his reasoning for not carrying one is that there is no reception where they go hiking. He says they are only good when you don't need them. I always carry my cell phone when I hike, just in case, sure it may not work when on the trail but it will work eventually as you go searching for help, better than having nothing!

 

[Marshay]

Whew!! Finally all caught up.

Some highlights...these go back a bit...

Yep, unless you get to Rapunzel in MK right away, it's not really worth it. The lines are HUGE.

Sorry Pinnochio Village Haus didn't work for you. We typically get the meatball sub and I find it surprisingly good. maybe b/c it's the only place I know to get a meatball sub in WDW.

Love the pics of the new queue at Haunted Mansion. We took our time, too and I just let other folks go by us.

That pic of Alek on Splash Mountain is just plain c_r_a_z_y!!

How funny that the pirate snuck into your photo and none of you knew it. I nice little surprise when you got the photopass pics online.

I love all your topiary photos -- feel like i'm reliving it.

We got into the Pixar lecture w/o any ticket...in fact the place was empty.

Ok, I know you'll think I'm crazy but I really liked the O'Canada version. I find anthems to be too serious and slow and well, boring.

I love that filet!!

I thought you looked adorable in your Minnie ears. And I had written that down in my notes BEFORE reading the quip by your mom about her not liking the photo with your minnie ears. I like how you are color coordinated with your top!

Slim was great!! I was so glad we got to meet him too.

I still need to get to the Japan candy lady.

Oh, -- the pics you took of those two ladies in the short, fluffy skirts!! Well, the Belle skirt is the one I bought for my 2 year old!! I just posted pics of her in it on my TR! My DD looks waaaaaaaay better!

Hmm, that cloudberry horn looks scrumptious! I never saw that before.

Lastly, if you ever find that one of your special photopass pictures doesn't have the addition (i.e., fairy wings), then just contact photopass and they can correct it for you.

I had one that didn't have Tinkerbell in my daughter's hand. Called them up and they corrected it right away!

 

[mom3sonstt]

Sorry Pinnochio Village Haus didn't work for you. We typically get the meatball sub and I find it surprisingly good. maybe b/c it's the only place I know to get a meatball sub in WDW.

!

I know with all the over food choices available at Epcot this may not be useful information, but Electric Umbrella has a pretty good meatball sandwich too.