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

[pinkxray]

I can't believe you just stopped your update when you arrived at WWOHP. I can't wait to see all of your pictures. We didn't get there until 9 so it was already pretty crowded.

I am going to guess that you went straight for Forbidden Journey. I didn't think it was as spectacular as everyone says. Afterwards I just thought "That was it?" I loved going through the castle though. I think I liked that better than the ride.

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

I can't believe you just stopped your update when you arrived at WWOHP. I can't wait to see all of your pictures. We didn't get there until 9 so it was already pretty crowded.

I am going to guess that you went straight for Forbidden Journey. I didn't think it was as spectacular as everyone says. Afterwards I just thought "That was it?" I loved going through the castle though. I think I liked that better than the ride.

I figured it was a good place to stop, builds the suspense!

I would comment on your comment in regards to Forbidden Journey but then I would be giving away a future update!

 

[GeminiAngel]

You evil woman!! How could you stop there?

US looks really nice! I must check it out sometime.

 

[lovehoney]

I love the pics of Universal's City Walk. I didn't imagine that it looked like that. We are going to try and fit in a day at IOA on our trip. The theming of IOA looks great. Mythos looks awesome- it made me think of Percy Jackson.

 

[jenbear123]

Oh!!! What a tease you are!!! Ending right as you get to WWOHP!!!!! I can't wait to read more!!! Now I know at least the general way to get to it when my turn comes.

 

[IheartDDuck]

Okay, those Pika pictures were the cutest things I've ever seen! I have never heard of them before. It's true that you learn something new every day. Too cute.

Yay, WWoHP! I agree with you that the whole bag thing at Universal is kind of annoying. I've been toying with the idea of not bringing a bag on my upcoming trip, but when it's sunny I can't be without sunscreen, so I don't know how I would be able to handle it.

Can't wait to hear about how it went for you guys and what your thoughts were.

 

[disneymomof1]

I must say that your pictures of your hike in Banff are just beautiful. I don't think I have every seen something so beautiful !! Just spectacular !!!

We usually hit Universal every year, one day during our week at Disney, they really are wonderfully themed. The only part I don't like about Universal is Harry Potter, he has brought huge crowds to US. I always thought US was our little secret, the several years leading up to Harry opening up, there was hardly any one ever there when we were, never a wait AT ALL for anything when we were there. Last year, we had to wait over 30 minutes per ride, and forget about the forbidden journey, when we got there the wait was over 2 hours, hoping this year it is much less crowded. Can't wait to see what you think !!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

You evil woman!! How could you stop there?

US looks really nice! I must check it out sometime.

Bwahaha!

I don't think I am really giving too much away when I say that we LOVED Islands of Adventure, it was such a fun park and so well done.

I love the pics of Universal's City Walk. I didn't imagine that it looked like that. We are going to try and fit in a day at IOA on our trip. The theming of IOA looks great. Mythos looks awesome- it made me think of Percy Jackson.

City Walk looked like a lot of fun. We didn't spend much time there but I wouldn't mind exploring it a bit more on a future trip.

I saw the movie version of Percy Jackson, I know it was based on a children's book, are the books better than the movie?

Oh!!! What a tease you are!!! Ending right as you get to WWOHP!!!!! I can't wait to read more!!! Now I know at least the general way to get to it when my turn comes.

I was worried initially about how to get to Harry Potter but turns out I didn't need to. It is really easy to find and well all you really need to do is follow everybody else as you are all rushing to the same place.

Okay, those Pika pictures were the cutest things I've ever seen! I have never heard of them before. It's true that you learn something new every day. Too cute.

Yay, WWoHP! I agree with you that the whole bag thing at Universal is kind of annoying. I've been toying with the idea of not bringing a bag on my upcoming trip, but when it's sunny I can't be without sunscreen, so I don't know how I would be able to handle it.

Can't wait to hear about how it went for you guys and what your thoughts were.

I had never heard of Pika until I started researching the Banff trip. I agree, they are completely adorable!

Could you maybe get one of those pocket sized sunscreens?

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

I must say that your pictures of your hike in Banff are just beautiful. I don't think I have every seen something so beautiful !! Just spectacular !!!

It really is a breathtakingly beautiful place.

We usually hit Universal every year, one day during our week at Disney, they really are wonderfully themed. The only part I don't like about Universal is Harry Potter, he has brought huge crowds to US. I always thought US was our little secret, the several years leading up to Harry opening up, there was hardly any one ever there when we were, never a wait AT ALL for anything when we were there. Last year, we had to wait over 30 minutes per ride, and forget about the forbidden journey, when we got there the wait was over 2 hours, hoping this year it is much less crowded. Can't wait to see what you think !!

Do you dislike the Harry Potter section or just the crowds that it has brought with it?

 

[CandleontheWater]

What a cliffhanger! I'm eagerly awaiting your next update!

Good call getting there early! We've been to universal on a weekday in Oct and it was totally dead, of course this was pre-potter. DH is a HUGE HP fan, and I'm really surprised he hasn't insisted that we go there yet. I'm thinking we might wait until we move back to Florida. Maybe we could get my Mom to take Everett to the MK, and we can go to Universal. Since Everett is too small for the HP rides, that would probably be wise.

Can't wait to see what you thought, and if it lives up to the hype!

 

[teachermommy78]

Oh dang it!!! You tease!

 

[Mysteria]

Haven't been there since HP opened. Can't wait to hear what you thought of it.

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

What a cliffhanger! I'm eagerly awaiting your next update!

Good call getting there early! We've been to universal on a weekday in Oct and it was totally dead, of course this was pre-potter. DH is a HUGE HP fan, and I'm really surprised he hasn't insisted that we go there yet. I'm thinking we might wait until we move back to Florida. Maybe we could get my Mom to take Everett to the MK, and we can go to Universal. Since Everett is too small for the HP rides, that would probably be wise.

Can't wait to see what you thought, and if it lives up to the hype!

Going to HP without Everett might be a good idea as you are correct, not much there for him in regards to rides.

Oh dang it!!! You tease!

Who me?

Haven't been there since HP opened. Can't wait to hear what you thought of it.

You will find out soon!

 

[wdwgirl03]

Looking forward to hearing what you thought about WWOHP!

 

[FauntleroyFAN07]

once again your hiking pictures stink, next time try to get a better area for natural beauty.







way to get in early, i love it when parks do that.

 

[englishrose47]

I loved the pix of Universal, especially Bubba Gumps . I sooo want to eat there next year on another FREE Trip!!!!!Loved the Hiking scenery, still not gonna HIKE!!!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Looking forward to hearing what you thought about WWOHP!

I have lots to say about it!

once again your hiking pictures stink, next time try to get a better area for natural beauty.







way to get in early, i love it when parks do that.

I know! I was so pleased that they let us in early. Made for a magical beginning.

I loved the pix of Universal, especially Bubba Gumps . I sooo want to eat there next year on another FREE Trip!!!!!Loved the Hiking scenery, still not gonna HIKE!!!

I don't like seafood so I probably will never eat at Bubba Gumps but I am sure it has a great atmosphere.

Well how about I hike and you can enjoy the scenery without the sweat from hiking the mountains.

 

[englishrose47]

I don't like seafood so I probably will never eat at Bubba Gumps but I am sure it has a great atmosphere.

Well how about I hike and you can enjoy the scenery without the sweat from hiking the mountains.

I LOVEmost seafood, it will be hard to choose which type of shrimp I get !!!

I like the idea of YOU hiking and me enjoying the scenery

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

The Crazy Stepmother Chronicles: August 2011

Day Eight: Banff: Plain of the Six Glaciers Hike

We were about halfway up the trail when I left off and this was our view looking back down.

Looking forward

At some point we had to walk single file across a narrow part of the path that had a nice "little" slop on one side. I just told myself not to look down and I got through that part quickly.

We(I) had stopped for a short little break at one point and Dad got to chatting with an older English couple. The wife was having a hard time due to the arthritis in her knees, I was amazed that she was hiking at all with that condition. Dad encouraged her to continue and that the hard part was almost over. We weren't sure if they would continue but they stuck pretty close to us for the rest of the way up (thanks to my slow pace).

I believe this is where we stopped for some group photos

There were beautiful wildflowers growing all around

We finally reached our destination, the Six Glaciers Tea House!

Isn't it cute?!

It was a nice incentive to make the climb up. I had been reading about it before the trip and it seemed the general opinion was that the soup and chocolate cake were to die for. We had to make sure to bring cash on the hike as the tea house doesn't have electricity (naturally given where it is located) and thus they don't take credit or debit. The supplies for the tea house need to get hiked up on a regular basis and everything is made on premise.

We grabbed a table outside and tied Marcus to the table so he wouldn't stray..

Here is the menu, you probably can't read it. If there is interest I will post it in a bigger format.

We all got chocolate cake which was scrumptious! I also got a cup of raspberryade which was also delicious!

The way the tea house works is you go upstairs to place your order and pay, they then send the order to the kitchen which is on the bottom floor. A server then brings it to your table.

The waitress who brought our food immediately recognized Marcus from when Dad and Maria had visited the year before. I know Marcus is adorable but I found it rather funny that she remembered him a year later. The tea house is a busy place, well, as busy as a tea house gets up in the middle of the mountains requiring two hours of uphill hiking.

This must be the cabin where the workers sleep judging by the firewood. Can't imagine they do the hike up and down every day.

This little guy was also hanging around while we were eating.

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

After our snack break we were going to finish off the rest of the trail but there was a sign posted saying that the trail was closed due to poor trail conditions. Well the others decided to flaunt the rules and went down the path anyways. I am a rule follower (and a chicken) and I wasn't about to go down a trail that the National Park Services had posted as closed. They handed Marcus over to me and I found a nice bench to wait on until they returned. The English gentleman we had hiked with briefly joined me on the bench and we talked about various parts of England and Scotland that would be great for me to visit.

There was also an Asian family sitting on the bench next to us, they loved Marcus and paid him lots of attention. He also got lots of attention from people passing by on their way to the Tea House. I think he was one of the most photographed sights for some of these people that day. Oh look at the beautiful lake and mountains! Oh look! A dog with his own hiking pack! Click!

Here are some pictures from the area where Marcus and I waited.

I took the pack off so he could lie down and rest comfortably.

Here are some of Dad's pictures

That is all glacier ice under there