Kathrin arrives today!!!! I was wakened by a text letting me know she was up and getting ready to walk to the T and get on her way to the airport.

I made coffee and took my time getting ready; when I got out of the shower there was a second text letting me know that she was leaving on time from Boston but there was a delay out of Baltimore so her flight would be late arriving.

She was supposed to get to MCO at 6:00 but now we knew it would be at least an hour later than that. Good thing I had nothing planned for that evening!
I decided to make good use of my morning and started our annual holiday puzzle, then walked around the resort taking photos before going to Winn-Dixie to get the makings for our Christmas Eve meal.
I was done eating my fruit and taking photos by 8:00 and in W-D by 8:15. I picked up fruits, cheeses, meats, hummus, crackers, bread, chips and beer. I completely forgot that you cant buy beer in WDW country until 9:00 a.m. so I had to wait around a bit before I could check out.
Got all the groceries unloaded and then I decided to take the boat to Downtown Disney and then switch to a water taxi to get me to the Treehouse Villas. I talked to Laura and they were expecting me! Well
if you are I a hurry to get to the THVs, do
not take the boats!

I took a boat to DD, one water taxi to West Side, another one to Pleasure Island and then another boat to the THVs with a stop first at SSR! The boat pilot for the first water taxi called ahead and asked that the second taxi wait for me. When I got on people looked at me oddly, and as we were exiting the boat one young woman said they had all assumed I was someone famous or at least a VIP because they held that second boat for me! Through all this Dwight had started to check on me and they were holding lunch!! When I docked at the THVs Dwight and their friend Reese were waiting for me, drinks in hand.

I had brought a couple bottles of my wine stash with me as a housewarming gift and we had a quick tour of the villa. These are nice! And I have no pictures
sorry.
It was a lovely day so we took our lunch out onto the enormous deck and had a wonderful time talking and getting to know one another. Reese and his wife Mary live in the Orlando area and Mary and Laura were friends from elementary school. There were lots of fun stories! While I was here I got a text letting me know that Kathrin was in Baltimore, enjoying a brew or two, waiting for her second flight.
At some point during lunch there was a decision to go to the WL to look around and have hot chocolate so we piled into the two cars and off we went on our adventure. The gentlemen I was with are jokesters and we were all laughing for the rest of the afternoon. (We never did get that hot chocolate.)
Looking for hidden Mickeys:
On the way to the Contemporary:
We also hit the Poly (Dole Whips!) and the Grand Floridian on our most awesome adventure! On the monorail back to the MK I said my goodbyes as my friends had dinner reservations that evening and I wanted to be at POFQ when Kathrin arrived. I had so much fun this afternoon and made some delightful new friends.
When I got back to the room I found these lovelies! Ava had been looking for towel animals the whole time, and today they showed up. I think what we have is a fancy French Quarter lady and a baby Jesus!
I worked on the puzzle a little and waited to hear from Kathrin. It seemed like forever before she landed, got ME and got to POFQ. We stopped in Scat Cats and had a couple of beers and something to eat. She was tired from her trip so we decided to stay in and relax. We worked on the puzzle a little before turning in around 11:00. What a wonderful day. And tomorrow was full to the brim with exciting things too!