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

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

May 16th continued

Get ready for a picture intense update! We had three cameras snapping away, here is a "select" offering of our Electrical Parade photos.

First though here is the link to the parade clips I took. I put them into a playlist for ease of watching. You will be able to hear Alek and Erich's comments randomly throughout.

Parade Video Clips Playlist

The little girl sitting next to me who had been running around playing with the bubbles before the parade was very enthusiastic about the parade, she was calling out hello to all the floats as they passed us by.

My photos

Continued in next post

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Erich's Pictures

Continued in Next Post

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Mom's Pictures

So what did we think of the parade? It was okay. Spectro is still number one in my heart! There is just something about Spectro that makes it more magical, perhaps the music?

[post=42730339]Click here to continue[/post]

 

[englishrose47]

Awesome pix , I agree Spectro was special and will always have a place in my heart !!It was my love from the first time I saw it and a HUGE reason why I became a Disney Addict!!!!

 

[Mysteria]

It's something about Spectro because I 100% agree with you. MSEP was the first one I saw way back in 1984. I thought I'd feel more nostalgic seeing it again but I didn't. I just thought well this is nice but it's no Spectro.

Your pics of it are beautiful though.

 

[jelloarms]

FINALLY, someone out there who agrees with me that Spectro is WAAAAAY better! I actually reffered to the Electric Parade as "Lesser Spectro." I think it is indeed he music that makes it better. The Electric Parade has fun music but Spectro has majestic music. Also, I hate Tinkerbell and will forever be annoyed that her float replaced the blue fairy float.

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Awesome pix , I agree Spectro was special and will always have a place in my heart !!It was my love from the first time I saw it and a HUGE reason why I became a Disney Addict!!!!

Hopefully Spectro isn't gone forever!

It's something about Spectro because I 100% agree with you. MSEP was the first one I saw way back in 1984. I thought I'd feel more nostalgic seeing it again but I didn't. I just thought well this is nice but it's no Spectro.

Your pics of it are beautiful though.

Thanks on the pictures! For some reason in the past I was never able to get decent pictures of Spectro but this year the parade floats turned out okay in most of the pictures.

FINALLY, someone out there who agrees with me that Spectro is WAAAAAY better! I actually reffered to the Electric Parade as "Lesser Spectro." I think it is indeed he music that makes it better. The Electric Parade has fun music but Spectro has majestic music. Also, I hate Tinkerbell and will forever be annoyed that her float replaced the blue fairy float.

"Lesser Spectro". I had not realized that Tink displaced the Blue Fairy. Won't tell Alek and Erich, another reason for them to hate Tink!

 

[jenbear123]

I must say I love the parade pictures with Cinderella's castle as the backdrop. Good planning on the position Spectro will always be the superior parade. I was hoping MSEP was temporary and Spectro would come back next summer. Well that was last summer 2010. It's now Sept 2011 and MSEP isn't going anywhere Let's start a petition to bring Spectro back!

 

[UGAFan0829]

Wooohooo, I'm finally all caught up now! Thank goodness!!

As far as the parades, I'm sure this will sound like a really stupid question, but what's the difference in Spectro and the Electrical Parade?

All of you got some great shots!!

 

[GeminiAngel]

Electrical Parade will always be my favorite.
It was the first of its kind. I remember watching it come down main street at DL in 1985. Ahhh.

Nostalgia Rules!

 

[lbuzz52]

I love you PP pics at the castle!
I can't wait for the FL expansion to be completed.
The lakes were absolutely stunning.
You are very patient! I'm not sure i could talk my family into waiting that long.
We also passed the controllers around for Super Mario on the NES.
I saw MSEP as a child, but really miss Spectro too!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

I must say I love the parade pictures with Cinderella's castle as the backdrop. Good planning on the position

That is why I picked that spot!

Spectro will always be the superior parade. I was hoping MSEP was temporary and Spectro would come back next summer. Well that was last summer 2010. It's now Sept 2011 and MSEP isn't going anywhere Let's start a petition to bring Spectro back!

I will be so sad if they don't bring Spectro back.

Wooohooo, I'm finally all caught up now! Thank goodness!!

As far as the parades, I'm sure this will sound like a really stupid question, but what's the difference in Spectro and the Electrical Parade?

All of you got some great shots!!

Different floats and different music.

Electrical Parade will always be my favorite.
It was the first of its kind. I remember watching it come down main street at DL in 1985. Ahhh.

Nostalgia Rules!

To each their own! I guess you love what you know and since you experienced Electrical first that will always be your fav.

I love you PP pics at the castle!
I can't wait for the FL expansion to be completed.
The lakes were absolutely stunning.
You are very patient! I'm not sure i could talk my family into waiting that long.
We also passed the controllers around for Super Mario on the NES.
I saw MSEP as a child, but really miss Spectro too!

Well you have kids so I can imagine it might be hard to get them to wait in the same spot for two hours for a parade.

 

[englishrose47]

I'll sign the petition !!!!!!!

 

[IheartDDuck]

I think that the preference between the two parades comes down to experiences. MSEP has a special place in my heart, but I think it's because it was the only parade that was there when I started going as a kid. I love Spectro to though, so I couldn't choose between the two. They're just different to me.

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

I'll sign the petition !!!!!!!

I think that the preference between the two parades comes down to experiences. MSEP has a special place in my heart, but I think it's because it was the only parade that was there when I started going as a kid. I love Spectro to though, so I couldn't choose between the two. They're just different to me.

That seems to be the consensus, whichever people experienced first seems to be the favourite.

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

The Crazy Stepmother Chronicles: August 2011

Day Seven: Banff National Park: Lake Louise: Fairview Lookout Trail

After leaving Moraine Lake we made our way over to Lake Louise which was just down the road, the drive was at the most twenty minutes.

I was very excited to see Lake Louise and the chateau. This is the hotel I would be retreating to if I couldn't survive the next couple nights at the campsite.

The hotel in the distance

We passed our way through the enormous parking lot, made our way through the trees and there it was, Lake Louise!

It was 4:30 so the sun was not in the best position for taking pictures of the lake looking toward the glacier but it wouldn't be a problem where we were headed.

I had picked out the Fairview Lookout trail. It was a short hike but it was a bit of a climb, uphill the whole way. The guide book said that it would provide a great view of the lake and the chateau.

The lookout area was not very big and there is really only room for a few people at a time. After taking the first few shots some teenage boys showed up at the lookout and took a few pictures and then continued to stand there in the way blocking everybody else from taking pictures or admiring the view. What were they doing? They were looking down at their phones and texting! There was a bench nearby so we waited them out but it felt like they were there forever, I thought it was very rude but typical teenage behaviour.

They did eventually clear off and we were able to get some more pictures. While we were up there only one other couple came by and they only spent a few minutes so we pretty much had the place to ourselves after that.

Continued in next post

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Here are Dad's pictures

After heading back down I told Dad and the others that I wanted to go back to the lake to get a few more pictures. Maria went to use the washroom and would meet us back at the car. We went over to check out the canoe rentals and to take some pictures. The prices are insane, $45 for 30 minutes!

Marcus had a grand time and decided that he was going to jump off the boat dock into the lake. It was shallow water so we got him out easily enough.

I didn't spend too much time here as we would be returning the next morning and it was starting to get late in the day. Dad's plans had us hiking the "Plain of the Six Glaciers" trail which departs from Lake Louise. We still had to make dinner and we wanted to go to a presentation that was being held at the campground.

Back at the campsite we washed up and ate the ridiculous amount of food that Maria cooked up. You'll remember we were pretty much forced to eat a sickening amount of food since she had packed so much and we had to empty out the car for Aunt Mary.

Each night we were there Parks Canada was giving one-hour talks about wildlife in the park at the small outdoor theatre on the grounds. The talk this night was all about bears and the difference between Grizzly Bears and Black Bears. The presentation was interactive and required volunteers, you know what that means!

Erich volunteered and he got to be a Grizzly Bear!

The park guide had Erich and one other volunteer on stage and she dressed them up as a Grizzly and Black Bear. She did this while talking about the differences between the two.

Erich with the fat/muscle hump on his back

His long sharp claws now added

Putting on his "fur"

Now he has a long snout

And a headband with ears to complete the look.

It was all rather hilarious and Erich really got into his part, the other volunteer just stood there, poor guy, didn't know who he was standing up with.

At the end of the talk we were allowed to pet the bear furs that the guide had on display. Marcus was very interested in sniffing it, now he will know when a Grizzly Bear is near!

That night was better than the cold and rainy night we had the day before but I still wasn't very comfortable sleeping on the ground. I resolved that the next night I would have to drug myself to sleep. I know, I know, it is terrible to take drugs if you don't need them but I needed my sleep and I knew that my Advil Cold and Sinus would be able to knock me right out.

And that concludes our first day in Banff. We got to see two of the most beautiful and famous lakes in the world, we enjoyed a nice hike and had a few laughs at the presentation. Overall it was a pretty good day!

So, based on the pictures I have posted, which lake do you like more, Moraine Lake or Lake Louise?

 

[Moira222]

OOH Lessa I was captivated first with all of the MSEP (gorgeous but not Spectro, you are right) and then

ooooooohhhhh

the Lake.

OMG your photos are amazing. you have me wanting to check out travel sites next.

the are fantastic!

and I laughed out loud (mind you I am at work) at Erich the Bear. Its a wonder the staff didn't ask him to come back and "volunteer" daily, I bet he was zany.

Its hard to pick which is prettier - Lake Moraine is very serene, and it looks like Lake Louise was much busier with tourists. Why is it blue-green? is there a limestone base?

so hard to pick, so i pick them both!


btw, I think you look adorable in the sun dress & minnie ears. Doncha just love being a big kid at WDW and wearing the ears? I wore Katie's quite a bit when we were there. and I have to say that the weather at WDW on May 16 was picture perfect! We were in animal kingdom that day.

 

[kaileighbug]

Lake Louise is my pick although both are gorgeous. Love the updates. The pictures are beautiful.

 

[KatMark]

Lessa, I scrolled through and looked at your pictures and read as much as I could before I head to the airport. You got some great photos again...both at Disney and on your trip with your Dad.

We've not seen the Electrical Parade in years and are actually looking forward to it. I'll have to do a comparison myself.