Day 2: A Surprise Unfolds
This night was going to be all about the fun of exploring something new together. That and some fireworks, a boat and a very nice captain.
Goofy and I were lucky enough to have gotten a reservation for a ride the Breathless during Illuminations. It was, to say the very least, flat out incredible!
Goofy had no idea that we were doing any more than exploring the area a bit more. I even told him to wait while I asked where the fireworks could be seen from (hee hee hee, sneaky me) when what I was really doing was checking in and paying for our cruise.
I had him fooled all the way up until I introduced us to our captain (who the lady at the payment window had pointed out to me). My sweet
Goof was all smiles when he realized that he was going to get a ride on the Breathless. Some friends had tried it out this past May and told him all about it and shown him pictures. He gave me those sweet smiles and was speechless for about thirty seconds...then I got many "thank yous", hugs and kisses. While he was still in happy shock we got him life jacketed up (all minors have to wear them, no exceptions) and got ourselves settled in.
The Breathless is stunning. Mahogany, leather and detailing merge together to create a boat so beautiful that it does indeed, leave you breathless! After asking us if we liked speed, we found out another reason they call it the Breathless....WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!
We L-O-V-E-D every second of zipping around. That little boat could go and go fast! Our captain (once he knew that we were okay with going fast, turning sharp and flying over waves/wake) opened up the throttle and really took us for a ride. We were literally flying over the water (or so it seemed). I highly recommend this ride to anyone who loves to feel the wind in their hair as it whips around their head! I wish the speed portion of the night could have lasted a lot longer. Sadly, once the pontoon boats got out on the water and into the area that we were in, we could no longer flat out fly. Our captain was able to dodge the friendship boats for us, but when more traffic got out there, it just wouldn't have been safe for him to keep up the high speed circles that we were doing.
Which was okay, instead of the zipping around, the next part of our evening was spent taking a floating tour of the EPCOT resort area. Our captain was very talkative and informative. He pointed out so many neat things that I found myself wishing that portion of our evening could go on longer as well!
Our viewing spot for Illuminations was worth the price of the cruise, worth having to stop zipping around/touring around and worth all of the hassle to make it a surprise! We were dead center right in front of the bridge beside France. It was the perfect place to watch the show! After doing it this way, I would be very hard pressed to watch from any other vantage point. It was amazing! We got there about twenty-five minutes before Illuminations was to begin and our captain climbed out, tied us up and gave us the chance to talk to each other. Those minutes spent bobbing on top of the water, waiting for Illuminations to start were very precious to me. I loved the one on one time with my
Goof. Time where there was nothing else to do but talk together. That time was very special to me! And then...Illuminations! You can see from these pictures just how close we were to the lights/fireworks/flames/show.
The reason the whole trip even occurred!
As we watched ,we sipped on bottled water and ginger ale (provided by Disney for the trip) and we even shared a bag of pretzels (we were so full we had to pass on the rest of the chips and popcorn we were offered). Our captain also informed us that if the smoke should start to blow our way, that he had safety glasses on board we could wear so that it wouldn't irritate our eyes. Lucky for us, the wind blew away from us and we didn't have any need to make use of them.
After the show our captain took us out into the lagoon at EPCOT to turn us around and when he saw me taking pictures, he idled for a bit to let us have a chance to take it all in. EPCOT certainly is beautiful at night. The lights and the music...ahhh!
Before we were ready (but nearly 2 hours after our surprise began), we docked once again at the Yacht Club and said our goodbyes to our friendly captain and the beautiful Breathless.
Goofy and I decided to skip the friendship boat ride back to the BWI in favor of strolling back hand-in-hand. It was not a long walk by any means, but we took our time and enjoyed extra few minutes of doing nothing but spending time with each other. I was reminded of just how much I really do love him and what a great young man he is becoming. Back home, life goes so fast that I am not often able to just stroll along leisurely with one of my kids. That slow walk back was one of my favorite moments from the trip and a precious moment out of time that I will never forget!
When we got back to the BWI we settled down to watch a few shows on the Disney channel, call dh and the boys back home and
Goofy also played his DS.
AHHHH...what a wonderful evening that was! I couldn't have been happier with the surprise itself,
Goofy's reaction or the unexpected special moments that wove their way into our evening. It truly was a magical night!
Sooooo true!!! I can't help myself though...I am addicted to your TR's!!! 
