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- Jun 4, 2011
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Great read. Thanks for posting!
I desperately want to stay at Wilderness Lodge one day.
I love the theming and the atmosphere.
My next trip, whenever that is, I really need to look at a night or two, if my bank account does not protest too much.
I also need to keep the tour in mind. I would enjoy it. Not sure the ladies in my life would. I'll have to let them get some beauty sleep one morning and do the tour solo.
Very cool! I don't think I ever noticed the different layers in the chimney in the pictures I've seen. I love that detail.
I think I may have mentioned it before, but my degree is in Earth Science. I didn't know that was your minor.
Congratulations Liesa!! I am sure you will do so well.![]()
I am sorry to hear about your trip. I saw you announce it on FB too. Regardless of individual beliefs, it is not an easy time in the world right now and the only thing that will get us through is working together for the common good. I hope your trip happens sooner than later, my friend.
That is great motivation.
Just what I needed this morning, thank you!
Definitely doing that tour next summer!
That's my lovely home resort of Boulder Ridge. Copper Creek is in the south wing of the main lodge building. I adore the Carolwood Room, so many awesome details to take in.
I was thinking of you when I heard that Europe was closing its borders to people from the US. Is your trip truly cancelled or are you waiting to see if Europe opens its borders by the time of your trip?
We love the Wilderness Lodge and have stayed there many times. I can never get enough pictures of it.![]()
We were staying in the WL when they were updating these gorgeous chandeliers. They were removing the leather coverings and replacing them with painted canvas. I had spoken with a cast member who told me that the leather had become very brittle and needed to be replaced with something more durable. I had posted pictures on the WL forum thread and posted the link below.We watched the progress during the day and it was almost impossible to tell the difference between the chandeliers with original leather and the new replacement covers.
I love this room. The fireplace screen is very whimsical and the big leather chairs are super comfortable.![]()
No worries. We all get that life happens. It's not like we're paid writers who can devote all of our time here.
We're happy when you put up an update, and waiting understandably when you don't.
Saw that. Congrats again.![]()
Quick!
I presume that's because you already are a nurse.
That's not too bad, but... I can see how the weather would certainly be a factor in your enjoyment, there.
No wonder you aren't writing as much!
I miss that. A lot.
A. Lot.
Such a gorgeous resort. Been a couple times, but for dinner.
Yes! That's exactly it!
The first time I went, my jaw dropped. The subsequent time, I knew what to expect, but... my jaw dropped anyways. It's like your brain can't hold that much impressiveness inside.
I might, if I had any idea what CCC was.
I Googled, but only found Canadian Competitions Catalogue and City Colleges of Chicago.
While not a minor, I did take an Earth Science course at University... about 100 years ago.
Lucky. In all my travels across the US (at least 29 States), I've yet to set eyes on it.
Wow! Really! I'm surprised and impressed.
Huh! Then again, I'm not surprised that Disney would take care like that.
What a cool shot! Where is that??
You're very welcome! I really loved my stay at WL and would again in a heartbeat.Beautiful.
Thanks for another fact filled, interesting update!
(And have the WL web article open and will read that next.)
Good!! I'm glad this chapter was inspiring!This makes me very excited for our stay at Copper Creek Canyon, fingers crossed, in January.
I would love to do the tour and I know Andi would love it.
Sorry about the Italy trip having to be postponed! Hope it works out for later in the year.
Thanks! I'm sure I'll be sharing some progress as I make it.Congrats on going back to school Liesa!
I'm so sorry your Italy trip has been postponed.
I really hope your trip can happen. I can give you some more info about the thinking behind the travel restrictions, which might help you in assessing the likelihood of your trip.
While every country in Europe sets their own entry restrictions during the pandemic, there is also the Schengen cooperation. Normally all travel is free between the Schengen countries. But there is a clause for restrictions for emergencies. And that clause was used heavily starting in March. Each country went their own way and it was very confusing. Some restricting all travels, others restricting certain countries etc. Then at some point the European countries got together and at least agreed on how to deal with travel from outside the EU. That was quite a bit later than when travel from EU to the US was banned.
Then, when lock downs were started to be lifted, it was obvious that travel within the Schengen area and the rest of EU needed to become possible as well. Within Schengen, we are just not set up for constant border controls. No country has the man power nor the infrastructure for it. And it is also against the idea of Europe and created far too many difficulties because of the integration of the economies. However, there was a need for some kind of mechanism as to what should be allowed and what not.
A couple of weeks earlier Germany had decided to start easing out of the lock down (which was mild compared to other European countries like Italy and France) and had found a rule as to when new lock down measures needed to be implemented. The reasoning behind that is that a lock down is necessary if there is too much community spread for efficient contact tracing and quarantine. So, it's a manpower limitation in the local health authorities. Once you cannot efficiently trace the contacts of every infected person anymore, you will have uncontrolled spread of the disease. The idea here in Germany was that our health authorities are (now, we got extra) staffed to be able to trace 50 new infections per week per 100,000 inhabitants. And the rule here is that if any county goes over that number they need to take special measures. We recently had a massive outbreak at a meat factory (they found 700 people infected in the factory) which actually resulted in a two week lockdown of that county.
So, somehow that 50 infections per 100,000 inhabitants over the last 7 days has made its way into the European agreements. Maybe because Germany as a federal state had come to this through negotiation between its states and therefore had already done a lot of debate on it at a point where other countries were just thinking about easing the lock down. The number was first installed for allowing travel between the EU countries. Sweden was (and maybe still is) above that threshold and therefore most EU countries still have a ban against travel from Sweden.
The next step was trying to coordinate how to ease travel from abroad into the EU. Again, the 50 per week per 100,000 number was vital. I think by then it had morphed into an indicator of how prevalent the number of infected are in a country and with that how likely it is that a traveler will start a new chain of infections. But, it is actually combined with a second test, which can be called: Do we believe those numbers. There are countries who are just not able to test enough people and then there are those countries who are known to lie about everything. North Korea supposedly doesn't have a single infection... The list of countries who are allowed and prohibited will be monitored on a constant basis (I think they will change their recommendations every two weeks).
Which leads to the next step: When will the US move to the list of permitted countries. I am certain that the US is considered a trustworthy countries when it comes to its statistics, so it will only be the 50 per week per 100,000. So, it is easy math: 328,200,000 inhabitants, so that would be 164,100 cases a week, or an average of about 23,450 cases a day. Obviously the US is far from that number at the moment and unless it comes down to that I don't think there will be a change in the travel rules.
Ultimately, nearly all EU countries have decided to go for a suppression strategy (meaning getting as little infections as possible until either treatment of vaccine are possible) against the SARS-CoV-2, not just a containment strategy (meaning just trying to not let the hospitals be overwhelmed). The reason for that is that there is a consensus that the toll for herd immunity is far too large to pay. With 447 million inhabitants in the EU even a death rate of 0.5% (which scientists seem to think is likely in a scenario where every sick person gets the best treatment available now) and heard immunity after 50% of the population is immune would mean that nearly one million people could die from this. And that's kind of a best case scenario. Most of the deaths would be of the generation who rebuilt Europe after the devastation of WW II.
The lockdown was used to get back to the point where suppression is possible. Therefore there is a very strong motivation to not damage that. In comparison to other countries (like New Zealand) it is far more difficult to do this here in Europe with it being a large continent with so many borders and so much interconnectivity in itself on so many levels (not just economic, but also with regard to education, personal life etc.). So, the dangers of new infection chains coming in from outside of Europe will be continued to be taken very seriously.
Sorry that this got so long, but I thought the better you understand the why of the restrictions, the better you can figure out what it means for your travel plans. To be honest, my advice would be: spring is beautiful in Italy...
I've been thinking of you - I hope you are holding up ok with all of the uncertainty.
Also - as far as actual TR commenting - I love all the photos of the Wilderness Lodge! I'm happy to hear they worked with Native American consultants, too - I was a little nervous when I first saw it, because I know that I'm certainly not an expert about what would be appropriate.
That’s a shame that you can’t transfer the time off into the next year (here all vacation days are valid until end of April of the following year, so I didn’t even think of that). I think you will need to monitor travel restrictions a lot this year. As far as I know Thailand still has a ban on all tourist travel. I am really not sure if foreign travel will be really possible this year. We have become very accustomed to having the world open to us, but the virus has changed this a lot.
Not a fan of 2020...
Congrats on taking the plunge and signing up for more education. I think it will really pay off for you.
I'm really sorry things are looking good for the Italy trip. I have loved all the plans you've been making. I hope something works our for you.
The A to Z quest was lots of fun. You really got creative. It helped me to see things I've never noticed before.
There is so much to see there just like at all of the deluxe resorts.LOVE the Wilderness Lodge update. I've been there twice but haven't had the time to really explore and get to see all the details. I think it's going to have to be something I do on my own to really see it.
Well!!!Great read. Thanks for posting!
I have registered and paid for my first, of what I hope is my only, 6 month term for my BSN- Bachelors of Science in Nursing.
While I am not convinced it will make me a better nurse, I AM sure it will open more doors to me.
In addition, my 'tude has been dismal as we got the news that Europe won't be having Americans enter.
I know all of you work too but still manage to make it here and update and all.... I just can't.
Sometimes pretty pictures and happy memories can really lift the spirit. Let me take you back to a time when no one could have ever guessed life would be as we know it today. When travel was carefree, borders were open, and people came and went as they pleased.
The place was the incredibly majestic, stately, and beautiful Wilderness Lodge.
The tour starts out in the lobby and it is packed full of history, architecture of the Lodge Era, (think CCC), Mission-style deco, and a ton of commentary on the art all around the resort. I won’t go into the deluge of the details our guide shared, it would be just too much, but suffice to say, I learned a lot!
Another interesting fact… the layers of various colored stone that comprise the chimney mirrors that of the layers of the Grand Canyon stratigraphically.
One theme that carries throughout the resort, both at Boulder Ridge and Copper Creek, is trains. Walt, as most of you know, was a train fanatic, but this resort lends itself perfectly to the theme of railroads as they were the backbone of transportation of people and goods in that era.
The Carolwood Room highlights and displays Walt’s love of trains and features one of the cars from his personal railroad, the Carolwood Pacific Railroad. Another, as I showed you in a previous TR is in the Disney Family Museum in San Francisco.
Random shots I didn't know where else to put
Yeah, that should keep you plenty busy. I'm finding it way too stressful to try planning much at all, with the way things keep changing. Thankfully, we still have work.Well, tbh, with the upcoming BSN progam and the hope of at least SOME domestic travel this year, I will keep myself sufficiently busy and happy. I hope that I can start to put some fun things on the calendar soon for some places to visit in the US or even Canada soon!
I'm sure you'll do great! I remember cheering you on when you were studying for nursing. You did great then, you'll do great now.Thanks!! I am pretty anxious to start on the 15th and pound this silly thing out.
Ah!I think moreso because I already had many of the courses they require (that transferred) from my 1st Bachelors.
That's not so bad. I think a lot of us here on the DIS are used to waiting years between trips (usually to Disney). So having to give up the uncertainty and possible inconveniences that may come up for a more certain and hopefully less inconvenient trip a year from now... not so bad.I am starting to think that the best option is to postpone until next Sept after the cruise. I just don't know. I really don't.
Me too. I have people I want to see, places I want to go, and things I want to do.
Good point. I do like AKL and find it quite incredible, but... not nearly as relaxing as WL.For sure!! I do that with AKL too, but the vibe is decidedly more upbeat and energetic over there. Totally different feel but no less... grand.
Ah, okay! Thanks.Civilian Conservation Corps.
Yeah, mine was about that long ago too. Makes me feel old and decripit.
OH WAIT...!
Actually... I am too.I am confident you will get to during your lifetime.
Oh.They did originally but they got crumbly.![]()
It may be what different institutions (universities) call their programs, I'm not sure.Isn't it cool?! And yes, I don't think you'd be in your industry without that degree, although for some reason, I thought it was Geology?
What a difference a few months can make.
I purposely arrived in time for the daily tour of the resort which begins at 9:00. If you haven’t done this… you really must.
I've started the process of applying to school for starting my BSN.