I Kicked it I Played it and now..Wheeling & Dealing at the WL final 9/9 p87/88

[Charleston Princess]

Glad you are having a fun time in TN! Good luck to Brian's team today!

I am with LL -- you have to at least tell us the outcome of your AI audition before doing your mini TR!

 

[praisehisname]

Have a safe drive back, and enjoy Luray--it's beautiful!!!

 

[brookelizabeth]

I agree! Finish with AI, then tell us about TN. Good luck to the team today!!

 

[podsnel]

I would love to read all about your little side trip- but only AFTER you tell us whether or not you got to do AI!!!!! And I hope you enjoy skyline drive and Luray caverns- I saw them when I was a kid on my favorite family vacation when we drove to Alabama to visit my parents' friends. I'm hoping to stop with my kids on the way home from Gatlinburg this Thanksgiving.

 

[SoonerGirl]

Ummmm...you HAVE to tell us how AI went before you do anything else.

Yup!

 

[MEK]

OK.....so the general consensus is I talk about AI before the TN trip. That's fair!

But first I will tell you that Brian's team DID NOT make it into the finals. They tied yesterday and they team the played made it into the finals based on goal differential. All I can say is that the teams were very evenly matched. So So Cal (who we beat) and Texas (who we tied) are in the finals, We play Indiana today for the consolation game.

Of course, we won't be watching that because we are already on our way home! We stopped in Seiverville TN again (same La quinta) so we could see a bit of the Smokey's. And that's exactly what happened - we saw a tiny bit of the Smokeys because the traffic is so ridiculous here that it took us over an hour to drive the 20 miles from the hotel to the Sugarland visitor center. OMG! I thought the traffic in Rehobeth was bad. this was insane. Pigeon forge is one crazy place with so many crazy things to do. It is one huge tourist trap. It looks like the Ocean City Md boardwalk on steriods. Gaitlinburg is so cute, but the traffic there was just as insane. I wish we could drive back in this morning, but I think Denny and Nick are ready to hit the road.

So - I am going to say "good bye" now. I apologize again for now replies. I have had my computer, but I am using every spare minute to edit the tournament pictures.

I promise replies soon and a reall update soon. Maybe tomorrow. On Tuesday we are going to see Chris Isaak at Longwood Garderns. another busy week for me. I NEED MORE VACATION!

Anyway...HI ALL.....THANKS for checking in with me.....Talk to you soon!!!!!

Mary Ellen

 

[mickeysmyboy]

Akk! I got behind with all the busyness around here!

I love the AK EMH pics! The pictures with Katie and Tracy are adorable and so are the other ones! Yippeee for a nice dis meet! To bad you didn't get to ride EE in the dark! Boo!

Your meal at Sanaa sounds wonderful! I'm a little leery about that place! I'm not sure they'll have anything I like and I'm really not sure they'll hae anything DH likes!

Your singing is AMAZING MaryEllen! WWOWOWOWOW! I can't wait to hear how you did on AI!

Have safe travels back from TN today! I hope Brian's team does well in the game today!

 

[Charleston Princess]

Safe travels today! That's too bad that Brian's team didn't make it into the finals, but I bet it was a great experience for them anyway!

 

[Dug-says-HI-THERE!]

HA--Rehoboth traffic.... I am probably one of the few who ACTUALLY get that analogy!!

So sorry to hear about the tournament standings. Never losers....it's the experience (or at least that's what I remember being told, way back when......)

(((Safe Travels)))....enjoy seeing Chris up at Longwood---we've got a Blue Rocks outing on Thursday, so I'm hoping for nice temps and no rain

Oh, and I'm for the AI story to continue

 

[podsnel]

O.M.G. You have just made me EVEN HAPPIER our family reunion in Pigeon Forge was postponed from August until Thanksgiving. Who knew I COULD be even happier about it, but I sure AM!!!!

Sorry they lost....but glad you are all enjoying your trip!

 

[podsnel]

MEK's DH, Denny, is a GREAT GUY! A lovely, fun-loving, good-time-2Bhad- kind of a guy, I am sure! But....and not that I am faulting him for this...or saying he is any less wonderful because of it....but....well...it"s really, REALLY good MEK has such fine photography skills, because, sadly,for the rest of us, Denny.....well...he must be REALLY GREAT at something else!!

Hmmm....maybe MEK is luckier than we can say?! Anyway, it was awesome to see them, even if it was only for a little while....

Love you! Can't wait to see what you have to post next!

 

[MEK]

Wah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's exactly how I felt after all those hours in the car today!! In fact I think I even let a Wahhhhhhhh....escape!

Really? You stop there? Really?!!

Looking forward to hearing how it went!

When I read this I felt so guilty. But I'm over it now! haha!

Oh my goodness! I can't believe you're leaving us there! I can't wait to hear what happened!

Another guilt trip! But I am home now and I promise to post an update soon!

You are EVIL!

You can't leave us hanging like that, especially when you are leaving soon.

I'm going to go pout now.

Pure evil....that's me! I am actually starting to feel bad again reading these posts.

I am jumping on the "you're mean" bandwagon.

How can you leave us wondering like that???

I'll watch the videos later tonight when I don't have someone jabbering in my ear.

Guilt ...Coming.....Back! Argghhhhh!

I Promise to post soon!

Cross my heart!

I know I'm late but I'm caught up now. I skipped the chatter and just read the updates. I know I missed some good stuff a long the way but at least I'm here. I love your photos!

I'm finally caught up and now you leave us hanging!

I have to admit it is a really good cliff hanger.

Vamassey! So glad to have you along for this TR. Sorry about the cliffhanger, but I just couldn't resist. It was just coincidence when that it happened right before I left for Tennessee.

I cannot believe you have left us with another cliffhanger...and as big of one as this. UGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I know...My bad! AI Update coming soon!

OMG!!!! Of COURSE you MUST HAVE made it into the show!!! Your voice is beautiful, ME!! I loved your youtube spots- you are incredibly multi-talented.

Sooooo???????????????????????????????/

Ellen...

Thanks for the lovely compliment and thanks for listening! I really enjoy the music thing - wish I had more time.

New update coming up soon!

NOOOO! COME BACK!! Finish what you've started Missy!!
you are just mean.

I probably shouldn't have responded to all these replies tonight because now I am starting to feel like maybe I am really mean! Usually only my kids tell me I am mean!

ARGH, how cruel! You are HONESTLY gonna leave us hanging on the edge of our proverbial seats, like that?

If we do a little will you please come back soon with another update?

I guess I honestly did leave you hanging. So Sorry, but I promise to update as soon as I can.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO....you had me drawn in...I was with you singing rooting for you saying go MEK go...and then you just leave me hanging like that!! YOU MUST UPDATE SOON!!!!

Ahhhh...thanks for rooting for me Jen! I apologize for the cliff hanger, but the story will continue very soon.

I went back and looked at your videos, cause I couldn't do it at work.

They both were beautiful, both the music and the pictures. I would love to see the church in person someday. Have you ever looked at the headstones? How far back do they date.

Thank you for sharing!

Thanks so much for the lovely compliment about the videos. I am glad you got a chance to watch them. The second church I put in the video actually is a historic shrine. Mass is celebrated there 4 X a year. The original building dates back to the 1700's and was built by the jesuits. Some of the grave stones can't even be read, but there are also new graves there. It's such a cool place.

Seriously??? You are going to stop there???? Shame on you Mary Ellen, shame, shame, shame!


On another note, your videos were beautiful. You have quite a gift

Oh the shame of it! LOL!

Michelle - Thanks so much for listening to the videos. Thanks for the lovely compliments. I really appreciate it!

Meannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnie!!!!!!!!!!!!

Gah! I'm so curious! I sure hope you are able to post again soon!

I just listened to the first link you provided, and now am listening to the second - you are AMAZING! Beautiful, beautiful voice!!

And I have to wish Brian and the team a good luck too on the soccer game!!

Thanks so much Brooke! I really appreciate you taking the time to listen and watch the videos. And thanks for the well wishes for Brian's team.

I promise an update very soon!

 

[MEK]

.......and I am laughing so hard because of Ellen's last post. Yes - those photos are truly dreadful. I don't let Denny take photos anymore. Not after this trip. His photo days are DONE, Kaput, OVER, finished.

Ellen - thanks for making me laugh out loud twice tonight - once over the Pigeon Forge comment and a second time over the really flattering photos. Sheesh!

Just wanted to let you all know that we are home safe and sound, except for Brian who had a slight flight delay so he is still in transit from the airport. They won their consolation game and the team they tied yesterday was the overall winner. It really could have been anyone's championship. So Texas was first, So Cal 2nd, and Delaware 3rd.

I had a really fun trip and as blasphemous as this sounds, I really enjoyed a change of pace from my Disney trips. I do regret that I missed a fantastic fully loaded, really cheap 150 pt SSR contract which had 150 banked points. Ugghhhhhhh. 150 is more than I wanted, but that was a FABULOUS DEAL!!!!!! DRAT! Oh Well....back to the timeshare store lists.

So, I promise to get the rest of my replies in tomorrow and I am hoping to finish my AI update. Thanks for following along with my adventures to Tennessee. I can't wait to show you the cool pictures from Nashville, which was my favorite part of the trip.

Thanks for watching my videos. I really appreciate all the lovely comments.

I hope to catch up on everyone's PTR/TR over the next couple days. If you just left on a trip, then I hope you are having a fantastic time!!!!!!! If you just got back, I hope you had an even better time than you wished for!!!!!!!

 

[brookelizabeth]

Congratulations to Brian and team!!! That is GREAT!!

No shame in enjoying the change of pace/different trip. It's always fun to explore new places and experience new things....I'm glad it felt a bit like a vacation for you!

 

[MEK]

Mean!

Though I do love me a good cliffhanger!

You have a lovely voice and are a tremendous blessing to your church, they are so lucky to have you and enjoy your beautiful music.

I am SO glad you went for it, no matter what happens!

But I can't wait to hear!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you for the lovely compliment Cynthia. And you are right - the main thing with AI was to "go for it" despite the chance of rejection.

I promise to finish the story tonight.

Good morning, Mary Ellen!

Can't wait to see the fun road trip photos! Have a safe drive today!

Thanks CP. We had a great time in Tennessee and we were fortunate to have no travel mishaps!!!!!!

Mean, mean, mean we will all wait impatiently to find out if you made it! I listened to your youtube videos, beautiful voice, I'm always so envious of people who really can sing, Your Psalm 100 was lovely - I belong to the Catholic church and I love that they have so much music and singing during Mass. Keep singing, it is such a gift!

Thanks so much for the lovely compliment. I am glad you enjoyed psalm 100. I feel fortunate that we are able to right our own settings for the psalms. It really adds a lot of variety and I think its fun to try to capture the real meaning of the words.

Hungry Mother, Virginia...is that a town?!

Safe travels!!!

Can you believe it? Hungry Mother IS a real town in southwest Virginia and I missed the photo-op on the way back, too!

Mary Ellen you are so talented. Your voice is wonderful & the music is beautiful.

Good luck at the soccer games. We were in the Knoxville area Tuesday on our way home from Florida.

Thank you so much for the lovely compliment regarding my videos. I really appreciate it!

That is so funny that you were in Knoxville on Tuesday - our paths almost crossed.

Love the you-tube songs. You have a very beautiful voice and the pictures are just perfect.

Thank you so much for the compliment. I am so glad you enjoyed the songs. I had a lot of fun putting them together and it was so easy. Can't wait to do some more.

Thank you!! I am very excited for our first stay. We decided to "do it right" the first time and stay at AKL Jambo House in a Savannah view. I'm already trying to figure out how to afford to add on points, guess Disney got me good!

You will absolutely love AKL. It is so beautiful. I really think its my fav of the few DVC resorts we have stayed in. There is something so relaxing about the resort. And I absolutely love the decor. Just gorgeous!

 

[MEK]

Ummmm...you HAVE to tell us how AI went before you do anything else.

OK...done!!!!!!! Majority rules!

Glad you are having a fun time in TN! Good luck to Brian's team today!

I am with LL -- you have to at least tell us the outcome of your AI audition before doing your mini TR!

I promise, I promise.....before I post one picture about TN I will definitely do a trip update! We did have a great time there and I appreciate the well wishes for Brian's team.

Have a safe drive back, and enjoy Luray--it's beautiful!!!

Thanks Denise. We had a good drive back, but we decided to stop at Natural Bridge instead of Luray. We figured we probably wouldn't get back to NB, but that Luray was a possible future destination because its 100 miles closer to home (and I actually saw it once already many years ago).

I agree! Finish with AI, then tell us about TN. Good luck to the team today!!

Thanks for the good wishes Brooke and I will definitely tell you about AI before I do anything else.

more replies coming.........

 

[MEK]

I would love to read all about your little side trip- but only AFTER you tell us whether or not you got to do AI!!!!! And I hope you enjoy skyline drive and Luray caverns- I saw them when I was a kid on my favorite family vacation when we drove to Alabama to visit my parents' friends. I'm hoping to stop with my kids on the way home from Gatlinburg this Thanksgiving.

We decided to visit Natural Bridge instead of Luray - mostly because it was closer and we knew we'd have a better chance of seeing Luray in the future. I definitely want to go back to the shenandoah valley in the future. Easy drive and beautiful scenery. I think your kids will love Luray Caverns. The natural bridge cavern was pretty cool, but a little claustrophobic.

Yup!

Got it!

Akk! I got behind with all the busyness around here!

I love the AK EMH pics! The pictures with Katie and Tracy are adorable and so are the other ones! Yippeee for a nice dis meet! To bad you didn't get to ride EE in the dark! Boo!

I am so glad you liked the pictures. It was so fun to meet Katie and Tracy! I love the way the pics turned out!

Your meal at Sanaa sounds wonderful! I'm a little leery about that place! I'm not sure they'll have anything I like and I'm really not sure they'll hae anything DH likes!

If your DH likes fish he would love the dish I had. It was fantastic and save for all taste buds! It's your home resort - you definitely need to try it during one of your visits.

Your singing is AMAZING MaryEllen! WWOWOWOWOW! I can't wait to hear how you did on AI!

Have safe travels back from TN today! I hope Brian's team does well in the game today!

Thank you so much for the compliment. Brian's team did well in their consolation and they could have won the whole thing, so I know they all had a good time.

Our return trip was uneventful and we got home a little after 9pm. It was a fun trip!

Safe travels today! That's too bad that Brian's team didn't make it into the finals, but I bet it was a great experience for them anyway!

It definitely was a great experience. The boys played well (except their first game) and it certainly didn't hurt that they had a girls U17 team from California staying in the same hotel!!!!!

HA--Rehoboth traffic.... I am probably one of the few who ACTUALLY get that analogy!!

Oh I bet you do! It was WAY worse than that!!!!!

So sorry to hear about the tournament standings. Never losers....it's the experience (or at least that's what I remember being told, way back when......)

:

That is so true. I think all the boys who played in that tournament were winners! They all did a great job and were troopers to play in that heat. No wonder they only schedule one game a day. It was blazing hot!

(((Safe Travels)))....enjoy seeing Chris up at Longwood---we've got a Blue Rocks outing on Thursday, so I'm hoping for nice temps and no rain

Oh, and I'm for the AI story to continue

I heard we got quite a bit of run while I was gone. So here's to NO RAIN! Looking forward to Chris Isaack and LG!

And the AI story will continue......

O.M.G. You have just made me EVEN HAPPIER our family reunion in Pigeon Forge was postponed from August until Thanksgiving. Who knew I COULD be even happier about it, but I sure AM!!!!

Sorry they lost....but glad you are all enjoying your trip!

You have to tell me where you are staying because there were definitely some cool places to stay there. If you are lucky you will be right in the thick of things and you will be able to walk everywhere. It's like a vegas strip without the casinos. Please go see the Titanic attraction because that looked super cool and we didn't have time for that. I think you have to make reservations.

Anyway - I remember thinking to myself "there would never be traffic like this in Disney". It was BAAAAAAAAAAADDDDDDD!

MEK's DH, Denny, is a GREAT GUY! A lovely, fun-loving, good-time-2Bhad- kind of a guy, I am sure! But....and not that I am faulting him for this...or saying he is any less wonderful because of it....but....well...it"s really, REALLY good MEK has such fine photography skills, because, sadly,for the rest of us, Denny.....well...he must be REALLY GREAT at something else!!

Hmmm....maybe MEK is luckier than we can say?! Anyway, it was awesome to see them, even if it was only for a little while....

Love you! Can't wait to see what you have to post next!

This post is HI-STERICAL! .....there is nothing else to say!

Congratulations to Brian and team!!! That is GREAT!!

No shame in enjoying the change of pace/different trip. It's always fun to explore new places and experience new things....I'm glad it felt a bit like a vacation for you!

It did feel like a nice mini vacation. I really enjoyed it and my only regret is that we didn't have more time to sight-see. If we didn't have the OBX trip planned for the end of July I would have made it into a much longer trip.

 

[njtinkmom]

HA--Rehoboth traffic.... I am probably one of the few who ACTUALLY get that analogy!!

Oh I get that analogy! I live at the Jersey Shore and frequently take the ferry over for either some shopping (Delaware = Cheap Ciggarettes for me!) or recently hubby and I spent a rare overnight alone at the America Inn - it was fantastic!!

Please post more about your AI experience - inquiring minds want to know!!!!

Great trip report and wonderful pix!!!!

 

[wsushocker]

I tried very hard to pretend I was DisneyDawn and Shocker and get some road trip pics.

OMG, don't ever try to be me! Even I do not want to be me some of the time....​

 

[eandesmom]

OMG that picture is HYSTERICAL!

WTG Denny!

Congrats to Brian and team, that's really quite an accomplishment!