Fleeing Wedding Showers for Epcot Flowers: My Final Morning, Finally! NEW 4/12

[norybell]

I’m back! From a week at the World, and probably a whole two weeks away from the boards (nothing like the pre- and post-vacation work crunch to steal time from your favorite hobbies!).

This recent trip was…interesting. Traveling with my three-year-old niece certainly meant there were a lot of new magical moments for me. But it also meant that it was a lot more exhausting! More on that later, in a future trip report. For now, back to the final installment of this one (I know, I know, it’s about time!).



It was our last morning. My mom had a much earlier flight than I did, and she woke me up to say good-bye around 6:30. I slept another half hour, then got up and packed. Sadly.

A little after 8:00, I left the Boardwalk and took a slow stroll around the whole Boardwalk-Yacht Club-Beach Club loop.

I got to Epcot around 9:00, and decided it was the perfect time to take some pictures of the World Showcase. Or, at least, the portion of the World Showcase they’d let me into, considering it wasn’t officially open yet.

On last week’s trip, my niece was nearly as excited about the topiaries as she was about the rides!

CONTINUED IN NEXT POST

 

[norybell]

CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS POST

Eventually I meandered into Future World, where they had some very cool Fantasia topiaries.

I had to visit the butterfly garden. There were far more butterflies in it last year than this one—maybe April is just too early?

Good-bye for now, Epcot!

No rides, no crowds, just a pleasant stroll around the park. It was already pretty hot, though, and I knew I wanted a few last lovely minutes in our gigantic room before I was kicked out at eleven. So I left the park at ten, and took my time changing into my traveling clothes and lingering for a few precious last moments on the balcony.

Soon enough I couldn’t ignore the clock any longer. I still had a bit of time to kill before my date with Magical Express, though. I spent some of it here, updating my notes:

Then I ventured back out into the heat—risking a sweaty flight home—to take a few more pictures.

The pool I never visited.

Good-bye, wonderful balcony!

The heat drove my back inside pretty quickly. I only had a little longer to wait, anyhow.

Overall, it was a really wonderful trip. Getting away from all the wedding-planning stress made me appreciate WDW even more than usual. Doing the GF-BWI split was absolutely perfect. And hey, look, this TR only took me a year!

Thank you all so much for following along, despite my notorious delays. I hope to start posting my TR from October later this week—I hope to see you all there! I’ll link to it here, too. The good news with it is that it’s all written already, so it should move along at a much faster clip! I did something totally different with it, which hopefully will read interestingly, and not just plain weird!

Now that I’ve put this one to bed, time to go catch up on all of yours!

 

[glennbo123]

Great pictures Nory! I especially like the first one and the one of the signs on the Boardwalk.

I'm looking forward to your next TR and am also hoping that it won't be weird.

 

[onelilspark]

Woah...do my eyes deceive me? Is it really the end!? I can't wait for the new one to start!!

 

[norybell]

Great pictures Nory! I especially like the first one and the one of the signs on the Boardwalk.

I'm looking forward to your next TR and am also hoping that it won't be weird.

Thanks, Glennbo!

The next one will be weird. But hopefully still readable!

Woah...do my eyes deceive me? Is it really the end!? I can't wait for the new one to start!!

I know...a mere eleven months after the trip is over, I finally finish the TR!

 

[All7OfUs]

Well, it was a good news/ bad news sort of update. The good news is that your photos are phenomenal!! Really, I mean it!! Also, its great news that you're going to start your next one soon! Yippee!

The bad news is that this one is over. But it was a good read, as always. See you on the next one!!

 

[melk]

Thanks for the trip report, I enjoyed it (as usual), and the pictures were fantastic. In fact, over the winter I splurged and got the Sony DSC-HX1 because we had a trip coming up. DH was skeptical but we came back with the most wonderful pictures from any vacation we have ever taken. So thank you for the inspiration!!

Looking forward to your next report .

 

[norybell]

Well, it was a good news/ bad news sort of update. The good news is that your photos are phenomenal!! Really, I mean it!! Also, its great news that you're going to start your next one soon! Yippee!

The bad news is that this one is over. But it was a good read, as always. See you on the next one!!

Thanks, Liesa! My goal is to get the next one started by Saturday, so keep your eyes open! (Another goal is to catch up on yours tonight. Think I can manage it in just one evening? )

Thanks for the trip report, I enjoyed it (as usual), and the pictures were fantastic. In fact, over the winter I splurged and got the Sony DSC-HX1 because we had a trip coming up. DH was skeptical but we came back with the most wonderful pictures from any vacation we have ever taken. So thank you for the inspiration!!

Looking forward to your next report .

Isn't it a great camera? I brought my new DSLR on this trip I just returned from, and I grew to love it, but at first there were plenty of moments when I was missing my Sony!

 

[3prettyprincesses]

Wowza! Great pics Nory! I love all those cute topiaries. It's amazing what they can craft into a character. I have zero gardening skills!

Great TR, definitely looks like you and your Mom had a fabulous time together. I am SO looking forward to your next one with your neice. I hope you had a good time. Hang on, didn't you mention something about your October trip? Or am I imagining things??

 

[norybell]

Wowza! Great pics Nory! I love all those cute topiaries. It's amazing what they can craft into a character. I have zero gardening skills!

Great TR, definitely looks like you and your Mom had a fabulous time together. I am SO looking forward to your next one with your neice. I hope you had a good time. Hang on, didn't you mention something about your October trip? Or am I imagining things??

Yeah, the topiaries are so amazing! I think I liked them better last year than this year, though. I would like to think that I might have gardening skills. Since I live somewhere where it's impossible to have a garden and thus can never test myself, I'll just go on believing that!

Nope, you weren't imagining things -- the October trip TR will begin soon, hopefully tomorrow! Then this recent one will come after that. D'you think I can quit my job and write TRs full-time?

 

[clearskies]

BRAVO Nory! You finished up with some truly outstanding photos. You did a great job with the framing and composition. It looks like you put some good thought into creating some great photos. I am looking forward to seeing what you came back with on your recent trip with your new DSLR. I know that I'll have to wait a bit to see them but at least I will have another Nory TR from Oct to entertain me while waiting.

Thank you for sharing another great TR!!

 

[not_Joanna_eggs]

Ohh your last update is making me so excited for my photography trip! They pictures you took were AMAZING. I love the boardwalk area!

I can't wait to hear and see the next trip!

 

[norybell]

BRAVO Nory! You finished up with some truly outstanding photos. You did a great job with the framing and composition. It looks like you put some good thought into creating some great photos. I am looking forward to seeing what you came back with on your recent trip with your new DSLR. I know that I'll have to wait a bit to see them but at least I will have another Nory TR from Oct to entertain me while waiting.

Thank you for sharing another great TR!!

Thanks, clearskies! It was so nice to have the morning to myself, and to really have the time to think about framing & composition and stuff! Sadly, I didn't have nearly as much time on my DSLR trip (yes, that's what I'm calling it) -- though I did start thinking about light in a whole new way, which was interesting...noticing where the sun was, and stuff like that, which I've never really thought about before. And I got to practice taking pictures of people, which is pretty new to me (there are only so many pictures I can take of my DH and our dog on the couch).

I think I'm going to steal away to Disneyland (while I'm in LA for my baby sister's wedding shower) for one day just so I can take pictures to my heart's content!

Ohh your last update is making me so excited for my photography trip! They pictures you took were AMAZING. I love the boardwalk area!

I can't wait to hear and see the next trip!

Thanks, Joanna! And now you have a superzoom, too...you're going to have so much fun solo!

 

[norybell]

I started my new TR (and, remember, this is the one that's all written already, so no huge delays!) -- hope to see you all there!

Nory Report III: In the Third Person!

 

[GreatBiscuit]

Hey Nory!

Great wrap up.

I love the final photos. Great pano-shot!

Already found and enjoying the new TR!