No Day But Today- FINAL post on page 40!

[__disneygirl]

I'm gonna miss reading your installments, Crystal! If I was a millionaire, i'd fund more trips for you so I could read your reports. Maybe someday!

 

[krismom]

Great report Crystal!!! a few comments:

~It looks like Stitch took a bite out of that windmill- it's not always like that!
~There is never too much tangeriney stuff on a Kaki-gori!
~The wait wouldn't have been 40 minutes on BTMR with the magic paintbrush fastpass- you deserved to use it!
~Don't tease us... show us your castmember for a day video!

Love the report Crystal, you rock!

 

[MomofCKJ]

What a great report Crystal! I am so sad its just about over. Its been great reading your adventure and I love all your pics. You make me want to go solo. I really think a long weekend would be perfect! Can't wait for the finale on this one and already looking forward to your next!

Allyson

 

[mlill]

You've done an AMAZING job with this TR, Crystal! I love all of your pictures! You've shown us so much more than the average person, heck, even the average DIS'er, sees in WDW. You can really tell that it was a very special get away for you. I can't believe your TR is almost over!!! I'm so glad you're going back for Halloween - you are going to love MNSSHP! I hope you're feeling better!

-Michelle

P.S. BTW, I'm feeling very unloved, and starting to get a complex. Please come visit me on my TR when you get a chance... sniff... sob... I miss you!

 

[pooksma]

Nooooo I'm not ready for it to be done....

 

[WDW Poly Princess]

Day 9- No Day But Today

If I lay here… if I just lay here in bed at the Beach Club… don’t move, don’t make a sound, will they maybe forget that I’m here, and not make me go home? Can I at least stay for just one more day?

…and there’s housekeeping knocking, wondering if I’m gone yet. I guess that answers that! I feel like the old man in Monty Python and the Holy Grail: “I don’t want to go on the cart! I feel happy!”

I told housekeeping I’d probably be in the room until 11 (I had slept in quite a bit, still had packing to do, and did NOT want to leave!), and went out on my balcony to say good morning to Epcot.

Guess who else was enjoying the morning?

The pink fuzz on his head comes from being stuffed in my suitcase next to my tiara. Sorry, Stitch!

Stitch wasn’t ready to go home, either!


I really was in the room until just before 11am. Remember a few nights ago when I bought all of Epcot? Well, Epcot is really hard to fit in your suitcase!!! Some repacking, poking, prodding, and prayers later, I managed to smush everything in, AND get it to zip! WHEW!

I called Bell Services, and they sent up a really, really nice CM who put my bags on a luggage cart, and together we went down to the airline check in desk. (LOVE that you can now do that from your resort!) With all of the crazy ice storms going on at home while I was gone (Springfield was declared a disaster area!), I was a bit worried that my flight would be canceled, and had even paid for internet the day before to be able to log in to United’s website and see if there were delays. All of the previous day’s flights had made it though, and mine wasn’t canceled, so I really did have to go home!

The CMs at the airline desk weighed my luggage, and one of them was 57 lbs! (The limit is 50 per bag). Luckily, the other one was only 30-something pounds, so they let me switch some things around to avoid paying the fee.

Remember how much trouble I had getting everything in the FIRST time? Let’s just say it’s a good thing I played a lot of Tetris as a kid! I ended up taking my Crocs out of the lighter suitcase, sticking them in my carryon, and using the space they had been taking up for some books from the heavy one. I finally got it down to the CMs satisfaction- thank goodness!

I had over an hour to kill before my DME pickup. What’s the best way to fill time at WDW? FOOD! Back to the BC Marketplace! And waiting for me there, I found a piece of yummy looking chocolate cake!

This was some darn good cake! I found a table in the Solarium and people-watched while I ate.

I still had a lot of time to kill, so I went back to the Drawing Room in the BCV, and sat down on a comfy sofa to just write.

There’s a fantastic book called The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, about unblocking creatively. My whole dance group has been reading it, and one of the main tools of the book are what are called Morning Pages. The basic idea is that you sit down first thing in the morning, and just write three pages longhand about anything. Mine usually involve a lot of “I need to go to the bank today” and even more of “I really want some coffee.” But strangely enough, they work wonders! Your brain gets a chance to dump all of the stuff you’re worrying about somewhere, and to set itself up for the day. I’ve found that since I started doing them, my mind is MUCH clearer during the day, and I get a lot more done!

However, I was really, really bad at WDW. I only did my pages on the first day of the trip! I just couldn’t bring myself to sit still long enough to write. Today, however, on this last day in this magical place, with nothing to do for an hour but sit and write, I made up for most of what I had missed! I just sat there in the drawing room, pulled out my notebook, and wrote and wrote and wrote.

I’ll share part of it here (I’ve obviously edited out most of the personal stuff )

“1/17, 10:30am- Well, today is Going Home Day. I didn’t know when I closed the door on my way out (of the house at home) that so much would change while I was gone. I really thought that nothing would.

I’m sitting on a comfy sofa in the Drawing Room at BCV…Next trip, I need to remember to spend more time doing things like this- hanging out in the great public areas and just writing, drawing, reading, thinking. There’s a towel animal making class going on over in the Breezeway, but right now I just want quiet.

I don’t want to leave. Partly because of how quickly I know I’ll forget what it’s like to be here. Will I remember the beautiful green color of the wall in my room, or the awesome bartender we met, or the idea I had to paint my coffee table when I get home? My other hesitation towards going home (besides the cold- this room is the perfect temperature) is all of the sadness I know is waiting there. I don’t want to see David dead. Tomorrow is the viewing, and Friday is the funeral, and it’s just such an awful juxtaposition to my joy here. I feel really alive here- this is such an inspiring place. I can’t believe I’ve had the urge to jog! (Yup, I think I left that out of the Trip Report, but near the end of my trip, I actually found myself JOGGING around the resort for FUN! Crazy!)

I enjoyed meeting the group last night- it ended up being the perfect size group (small enough to get to talk to everyone) and I was thrilled to go to the AC again.

Today was definitely the day to do morning pages- I’d have such a great record of the trip if only I’d done them every day, but mornings are usually filled with wanting to get going ASAP. The brain drain aspect helps, though, and I wish I’d used it.

(Note- I am SO going to make myself do my pages every day of our October trip! I think I would have remembered a lot of things that I wanted to do but forgot about on this trip!)

I feel very nomadic right now with just my backpack, hanging out wherever’s available. I almost spent this time at Epcot or MGM, but I’m happy here. There’s some kind of dairy convention going on- interesting. The Beach Club suits me- I plan to return.

Next year I should pack a book, a notebook and my camera, and have a Boardwalk Day. Breakfast from the Bakery, pizza from the Spoodles window, gelato, and exploring! And if I get hungry for a park, Epcot is right there!

No trip will ever be like this one. I need to savor each trip for what it is, and not try to compare them to each other or have expectations.”

…and from there it goes into a long list of things I need to do at home, and the great philosophical debates about what I want to do with my life. I won’t bore you with all of that!!!

I wrote and wrote for pages and pages, and finally, I was done. My brain was cleared out, everything was on the page (Kind of like a penseive in Harry Potter!). I still had about half an hour before DME was due to pick me up, so I relocated to the Solarium (where I would be able to see when the bus arrived), and pulled out my book to read for a while.

When the time for the bus drew near, I went outside to wait, but it was really a bit cold out, so I turned around and went back inside. I guess that I had stepped in water outside, though, and the tread on my Crocs must have been wearing off, because the next thing I knew, I was doing the splits on the wood floor of the Solarium!!! The man in there reading (who had been an excellent reading companion to share the room with- totally quiet and unobtrusive!) looked up at me in surprise, and gave me the “are you ok?” look before returning to his newspaper. I made one of those terribly witty “Slippery floor!” comments that you must make when you fall in public, and curled back up with my book. I guess that all of my walking on this trip wore out the tread on my Croc flip-flops prematurely!

A few minutes later, the bus arrived, and it was time to leave for real. I put on my iPod, and listened to music that fit the mood of saying goodbye, and tried not to cry. I snapped a bunch of pictures from the bus, since I knew that by tonight, I’d be missing everything about this place. Somehow, I can’t find any of those pics, though! I need to figure out what I did with them!

Only a few things worth mentioning happened on my flight home. First, as I’ve mentioned, my cell phone chose to make Orlando its permanent home. I took it out of my purse at the gate to turn it off before getting on the plane, and I *thought* I tossed it back in my bag once it was off, but I must have missed, because I’ve never seen it since. Phone, I hope you’re having a great time in Florida! I’m more than a little jealous of you!

My flight was a little bit delayed in boarding- about 20 minutes, and I’m not really sure why. Then, of course, we sat on the runway for a while. I got into a conversation with the girl sitting next to me about making our connecting flights in Chicago. She was sure she was going to miss hers until I pointed out the time change! Still, we each had less than an hour layover to begin with, and now more than 20 minutes of that was gone. We were going to have to RUN! I also found out that she was there with the veterinary convention, so I told her about seeing some of the people from it at AKL for the tiger surgery. This is the first time in my life I’ve ever had someone interesting to talk to on the plane!!!

In Chicago, I had to SPRINT across the airport- good thing I had just taken up jogging while at WDW! I made it to my gate in about 12 minutes, and was one of the last ones on the plane. Glad I made it!!!

My mom picked me up at the Springfield airport, and it was FREEZING! Most of Springfield still didn’t have power (some of my friends that live there had no electricity for two weeks!), and the amount of ice was unbelievable!

I found this picture online that gives you an idea:

Every tiny twig of each tree was surrounded by an inch of ice. Brrrr!

I thought that I’d missed the bad winter weather while on my trip, but it turned out that there was still some in store for me.

About a week after getting back from my trip, my sister asked if I could stay a few nights at her house to babysit her kids while she was at work. To be totally honest, I really didn’t want to. I was just back from my trip, and I really wanted to just settle in back at home. However, she had just told us about how all of the people who had come up to her at the funeral saying “Let me know if you need anything!” were suddenly not around when she actually needed help, and I did NOT want to be one of those people. So, I packed up my things (laptop included, so I could work on my trip report!) and went off to spend two nights at her house. (I can’t tell you how weird it was to write about the day David passed away while sitting just a few feet away from where it happened.) I had a great couple of days of watching the kids, and got a lot of trip report writing done while they were asleep or at school.

On Tuesday night, we heard that there were supposed to be some snow flurries on Weds. afternoon, so I made sure to set my alarm for early Tuesday morning, so I could beat the snow. However, two days of getting NO sleep caught up to me, and I slept until about 11am on Weds. and woke up to an inch of snow already on the ground. I won’t repeat what came out of my mouth! I went outside to clean off my windshield, and saw that it was the “dry” kind of snow. Those of you who live in snowy places know it- it blows around on the road in front of you, and isn’t that bad to drive in. So I packed up my things and headed home.

I really shouldn’t have done that.

The roads in my sister’s town were COVERED in snow- you couldn’t see the lines for the lanes, or even where sides of the road were. I figured that since it was such a tiny town, it would be better when I got to the highway.

It wasn’t.

I drove ten miles on solid ice. In a convertible. Ten miles of hills and curves, all ice.

There were several times that I totally lost control of my car, and it swerved back and forth between the two lanes. If there had been another car on the road at the time, I would have hit them.

I honestly should have ended up flying off the side of the road and down the embankment. I am still amazed that I didn’t die!!!

The rest of the drive home was better- the roads were mostly dry with just patches of ice. I slid a few times, and had some trouble stopping (I had to just slide through a four way stop once.), but at least it was a lot better than before! And of course, I was behind a gas truck. If he happened to slide off the road, things would not be good!

It was seriously one of the most terrifying drives of my life! The usual hour drive home became 2, since I could only go 35 most of the way. But I didn’t really know what else to do- there was no way I was going to turn around and go back the way I’d come (And on that first ice covered road, there was no WAY to do so!) There were no hotels along the way I could stop at- I was mostly driving through state forest. And if I did stop, there was no telling how long I’d be stuck there. So I just kept driving. I think I am now technically qualified to drive in the LMA Stunt Show at MGM.

But the reason I included all of this in my trip report is that in between “Pleeeease don’t let this curve be icy!” and “I don’t want to die!” and “Thank you, God!” on my drive, I kept finding myself saying “I am NOT doing another winter like this!”

So I’m seriously considering finding a way to start spending a couple of the months in the winter working in Florida. As I’ve mentioned, everything in my town closes Jan & Feb, so I would be laid off here, anyway. Why not spend that time with the Mouse? If you happen to live in the Orlando area, or know anything about working for WDW seasonally, talk to me!!!

And so this part of my report comes to an end. I still plan to do a few more posts- the whole final thoughts thing, some tips I’ve learned, photos of things I bought, more videos, etc., so the party isn’t over yet!

 

[jess98ac]

…and there’s housekeeping knocking, wondering if I’m gone yet. I guess that answers that! I feel like the old man in Monty Python and the Holy Grail: “I don’t want to go on the cart! I feel happy!”

LOL
One of my favorite lines! Anyway, I'm sad to see this TR end, I felt like I was right there with you!

 

[Care]

Crystal,

I'm sad to see that your TR has come to an end of sorts -- good thing you're planning to add a few more postings before it officially comes to a close, as I'm not ready to bid it goodbye. Your reports have been a constant reminder of how much I loved my Disney holiday, and how much I want to return.

It was snowing here today, and I spent part of my lunch checking out prices for a mid-September trip. Ahh, like you, I'd also love to spend a few months working at Disney. Perhaps we can find a way to make those Disney dreams come true, and we can hang out at the AC again soon.

Kungaloosh all the way, my friend!
Care

 

[Carrieannew]

Thank you. I have been reading your report on and off all day and its one of the main things that got me through the day. I felt like I was back there away from all troubles.

Thank you again. Your trip reports are one of a kind. I cant wait for the next one.

 

[lizardqueen]

Crystal, your report has really inspired me and given me something to look forward to every day. I've really enjoyed reading it. I really like that you took your last little bit of Disney time to unwind and write. Seems like I have been doing a lot of self reflection and writing over the last few weeks, so I know how important and healing it can be. Can't wait to see your last thoughts/videos/etc. and am already looking forward to your October TR.

 

[LouDisney]

Great trip report. I have enjoyed it so much, hate to see it end. I am looking forward to your final thoughts. It will not be long and you will be back.

 

[lovesdumbo]

There’s a fantastic book called The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, about unblocking creatively. My whole dance group has been reading it, and one of the main tools of the book are what are called Morning Pages. The basic idea is that you sit down first thing in the morning, and just write three pages longhand about anything. Mine usually involve a lot of “I need to go to the bank today” and even more of “I really want some coffee.” But strangely enough, they work wonders! Your brain gets a chance to dump all of the stuff you’re worrying about somewhere, and to set itself up for the day. I’ve found that since I started doing them, my mind is MUCH clearer during the day, and I get a lot more done!

I honestly should have ended up flying off the side of the road and down the embankment. I am still amazed that I didn’t die!!!


And so this part of my report comes to an end. I still plan to do a few more posts- the whole final thoughts thing, some tips I’ve learned, photos of things I bought, more videos, etc., so the party isn’t over yet!

I love that writing idea! I'll have to try it at home but I don't know if I can get myself to do it at Disney.

Maybe someone was watching over you on your drive home.


I'm so happy to hear your TR isn't complete yet. Looking forward to seeing your next group of photos.

 

[WDW Poly Princess]

Aaaawww Crystal, I'm reallyn gonna miss you, and now I'm thinking maybe i should try and come out in October just so i can meet the legend that is you in person, great reports as always,

Come to WDW in October, all the cool kids are doing it! It will be so much fun if we can get a big group together for a Hallowen-themed DIS meet!

I absolutely loved your trip report. I have never laughed so hard reading a trip report. My favourite part was when you had the encounter with the women who despised almond gelato.

Thanks so much for reading!

You def had a great TR, very capitavingly (is that a real word?) written...had us all by the seat of our pants! Your pics were great as well!!! Looking forward to more TR's from you in the future... Have an awesome year!

Thank you! I keep meaning to go read your dining reviews, but haven't made it over yet! Soon, I promise!

 

[oybolshoi]

Fabulous job and you get an extra gold star because of the Harry Potter reference!!

you will love WDW in October - it's our favorite time of year to vacation down there. Food...wine...more food...more wine...booze mixed in for good measure...it's wonderful!!

Maybe we'll see you there?

 

[WDW Poly Princess]

I'm gonna miss reading your installments, Crystal! If I was a millionaire, i'd fund more trips for you so I could read your reports. Maybe someday!

My new goal in life is to become an eccentric millionaire! Hmm, maybe I could talk companies into sponsoring my trips? "Today's trip report brought to you by Starbucks! Keeping Crystal Alive on this Disney trip!"

Great report Crystal!!! a few comments:

~It looks like Stitch took a bite out of that windmill- it's not always like that!
~There is never too much tangeriney stuff on a Kaki-gori!
~The wait wouldn't have been 40 minutes on BTMR with the magic paintbrush fastpass- you deserved to use it!
~Don't tease us... show us your castmember for a day video!

Love the report Crystal, you rock!

I wonder if the windmill is left over storm damage from one of the hurricanes?

My castmember for a day video SUCKS. You have no idea! It was 5am, I hadn't slept yet, but I slapped on some eyeliner and did it.

The good news is that there only appear to be less tha 60 entries for the pirate position, and 20 people get to be finalists, so I have some hope! I just need 40 people to suck more than I did! (But after viewing some of the others, I think I may be out of luck! There are some GOOD ones in there!)

If I become a finalist, however, you will all be REQUIERED to view my video, since that's what counts towards votes!

What a great report Crystal! I am so sad its just about over. Its been great reading your adventure and I love all your pics. You make me want to go solo. I really think a long weekend would be perfect! Can't wait for the finale on this one and already looking forward to your next!

Allyson

You would love a solo weekend! It's a totally different experience from being there with other people!

You've done an AMAZING job with this TR, Crystal! I love all of your pictures! You've shown us so much more than the average person, heck, even the average DIS'er, sees in WDW. You can really tell that it was a very special get away for you. I can't believe your TR is almost over!!! I'm so glad you're going back for Halloween - you are going to love MNSSHP! I hope you're feeling better!

-Michelle

P.S. BTW, I'm feeling very unloved, and starting to get a complex. Please come visit me on my TR when you get a chance... sniff... sob... I miss you!

I'm counting down the days till MNSSHP! Can't wait!

And I was good and read your whole TR today! Awesome report!

Nooooo I'm not ready for it to be done....

Me, either!

LOL
One of my favorite lines! Anyway, I'm sad to see this TR end, I felt like I was right there with you!

Thank you! I love getting to relive the trip when I go back and write about it- it makes it last a little bit longer!

Crystal,

I'm sad to see that your TR has come to an end of sorts -- good thing you're planning to add a few more postings before it officially comes to a close, as I'm not ready to bid it goodbye. Your reports have been a constant reminder of how much I loved my Disney holiday, and how much I want to return.

It was snowing here today, and I spent part of my lunch checking out prices for a mid-September trip. Ahh, like you, I'd also love to spend a few months working at Disney. Perhaps we can find a way to make those Disney dreams come true, and we can hang out at the AC again soon.

Kungaloosh all the way, my friend!
Care

Oh yeah, I'm going to drag this puppy out as long as possible! I wonder if I can keep finding things to say until August or so?

We should take bartending classes and go become bartenders at the Adv Club! Now THAT would be a fun job!

Thank you. I have been reading your report on and off all day and its one of the main things that got me through the day. I felt like I was back there away from all troubles.

Thank you again. Your trip reports are one of a kind. I cant wait for the next one.

Thanks for reading along! 8 months and counting down till the next one! (Well, probably only 7- gotta get an early start on the pre-trip!)

Crystal, your report has really inspired me and given me something to look forward to every day. I've really enjoyed reading it. I really like that you took your last little bit of Disney time to unwind and write. Seems like I have been doing a lot of self reflection and writing over the last few weeks, so I know how important and healing it can be. Can't wait to see your last thoughts/videos/etc. and am already looking forward to your October TR.

I am the slowest video editor ever! But hopefully I'll have another one up within a week or so! Thanks for reading, glad it could brighten your day!

Great trip report. I have enjoyed it so much, hate to see it end. I am looking forward to your final thoughts. It will not be long and you will be back.

8 months, 1 day to go! Not that I'm counting or anything!

I love that writing idea! I'll have to try it at home but I don't know if I can get myself to do it at Disney.

Maybe someone was watching over you on your drive home.

I highly suggest the morning pages! It's amazing how much good it does just to get some thoughts on paper first thing in the morning! You feel like you're just writing nonsense, but if you go back and read them, a lot of themes keep popping up!

I really believe I was being watched over on that drive- there's no other way I could have made it!

 

[WDW Poly Princess]

Fabulous job and you get an extra gold star because of the Harry Potter reference!!

you will love WDW in October - it's our favorite time of year to vacation down there. Food...wine...more food...more wine...booze mixed in for good measure...it's wonderful!!

Maybe we'll see you there?

Hi, everybody! err... just you, really.

I think the whole "There is a lot of wine!" was a big selling point in talking my friend Kelly into coming on this trip!

Are you planning to be there late Oct. again? If we're there at the same time, you should come Adventuring with us! Missouri people unite!

 

[KatGarcia]

I wrote and wrote for pages and pages, and finally, I was done. My brain was cleared out, everything was on the page (Kind of like a penseive in Harry Potter!).

You officially RULE now..lol. I'm a big Potter Fan and it's alwasy nice to see I'm not the only adult who is.

 

[oybolshoi]

Hi, everybody! err... just you, really.

I think the whole "There is a lot of wine!" was a big selling point in talking my friend Kelly into coming on this trip!

Are you planning to be there late Oct. again? If we're there at the same time, you should come Adventuring with us! Missouri people unite!

Right now our dates are October 13th - October 20th. We're supposed to leave for a cruise on the 20th but we may have to cancel that now. Won't know about that for a few more weeks but if we do we thought we'd make it up to ourselves by spending a few more days stomping grapes at Epcot.

Kungaloosh!!! We've been practicing the secret handshake.

 

[AnninIowa]

Crystal - You should have a blog! You have the most interesting stories!!

 

[B&Lmom]

Oh please don't finish your report..... keep writing and writing because I bet you have lots of final thoughts and many, many wise tips for us all! (and pics you haven't posted yet that we want to see). I've been following your report since the beginning and will go through withdrawal when you finish.......
Go Crystal Go!!

(I can totally relate to your scary ice story. We were at my MIL's house in Arkansas about 6 or 7 yrs. ago during the wicked ice storm that blew though the state around Christmas. When trying to leave her house--after two days trapped with no electricity-- we slid backwards down a big hill (about a fourth of a mile long) in an SUV...... contents aboard our car.... me, dh, and our two small children and a hyper dog, luggage and Christmas presents.... fortunately we hit a snow bank and not the many parked cars, brick mailboxes, trees, or down the cliff into the forest of ice covered trees.... I still think I need counseling over this!!!) WELL, thinking about how I am going to WDW in 2 weeks makes me feel better!