Our last day in Florida dawned colder than any of the others. We had been blessed with great weather while in Florida. None of the days got below 72 degrees, and it just felt good! Tuesday was a lot chillier!
Anyway, we had to be out of the house by 10:00, and there was a lot to be done. Luckily, I had packed my stuff the night before, so all we had to do was pack up Alan's stuff, put the sheets and towels into the washer, do a load of dishes and be done with it. At least that's what we thought.
We had totally forgotten about the car! You see, we had rented a car on our first day, and it was just Alan and me. The car we got was a PT Cruiser, and it was perfect for 4 of us just driving around Orlando. We had forgotten that on our last day, we would have to get the 4 of us plus our luggage into the car. Oops! Now, for a mere mortal that could have posed a problem, but I had brought Alan, aka Superpacker! This is what he loves. This is what he lives for: to fit an impossible amount of people and luggage into a clown car!
Carrie and I left him to his own devices while we cleaned the house. Scott was busy texting his girlfriend, so he was no help to any of us. We got the laundry and dishes going, and then went through the fridge. We filled all our water bottles, then dumped the rest of the water (by the way, how do people in Floriday actually DRINK the stuff that comes out of the tap???). We also had to dump a half gallon of milk. We divided up the rest of the bagels and cheese sticks, and threw away the odds and ends of food that was left over. I felt kind of wasteful, but there was really nothing else we could do. By 9:45 we were done and relaxing on the couch waiting for Alan.
At 10:00 on the dot, Alan came into the house with a proud expression on his face. He claimed to have done it! We all went outside to view his masterpiece. Carrie and I climbed into the backseat, but couldn't see each other due to the 2 suitcases perched precariously between us. Alan and Scott got into the front seat, after putting the house key into the lock box, and setting the house alarm. It was really comical! They couldn't see out the back window, and we were riding really low!
Off we went to DTD for some shopping. First stop World of Disney! I love this store!!!!!! We were on a mission: to find something for Mary!!! Truly, that was all we were looking for! We did manage to find a darling Eeyore for her, complete with a tail that comes off (attached with a long string so it won't get lost!). We also found a new antennae topper (or golden ears are kind of getting icky), a Sorcerer Mickey. Then we separated. Big Mistake!!! I found some fun treats for all the kids, hair clips for the girls, and some other little stuff. I kind of meandered into the housewares section, and lo and behold, I ran into Alan there. He was looking at dishes, and was really excited about what he was finding. Then he saw some salt and pepper grinders. He picked them up and that was it! He was getting them.
Well, we ended up with enough stuff that they threw in a Mickey Mouse throw for 15 dollars. I thought Alan would say, No, to it, but he really wanted it! I just kept quiet and let him get sucked into my world!!!!! We met up with Carrie who was having a hard time deciding what to get for all her kids and her 2 grandkids. Alan and I followed her around helping her decide and carrying things for her. She found the cutest thing for her oldest grandson: a pirate skull that you fill with all kinds of treasures, etc. Alan loved it so much he filled a skull for Jacob and told me it was for NEXT CHRISTMAS! Now I've got to find a place to hide it from him for a YEAR!
Well, we finally got out of WOD (many, many dollars later!) happy and laden with bags. We strolled around for a while, and enjoyed the day. It was chilly, but I had a sweater so I was ok. At about 11:30 we decided to have lunch. I insisted on Earl of Sandwich. I had read so many great things about it, and really wanted to try it. We stepped inside, and Carrie and Scott and Alan were pleasantly surprised at the menu and prices! Carrie got a grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup, Scott got the Beef and Bleu, and Alan and I split a Full Montegue, and a Cobb salad. This was hands down a spectacular meal! We were even lucky enough to find a table inside. We enjoyed our meal leisurely, and were sorry to finish up!
We started back towards the car, making a stop in the crystal shop so Scott could find something for his girlfriend. One crystal decanter later, we were done. Back at the car, we realized we now had to find room for the bags we got at WOD. Luckily, Carrie had decided to ship most of her stuff back home. So, we really only had to find room for 3 bags and a crystal decanter.
Off to the airport. Scott was the first one to fly out, so we dropped him off at his terminal. With his luggage gone, it seemed like the trip was really coming to an end. Depression started to hit all of us. None of us wanted this "trip of a lifetime" to end. I know that everyone feels that way when they leave Disney, but it's still a yucky feeling! None of us wanted to go wait at our gate for 3 hours. However, we didn't want to have to cart our luggage around either. We went to our terminal and asked if we could check our luggage this early. The answer was yes, so we did! Now we were free of luggage, and still had 2 and a half hours to kill before we needed to be at the gate.
We didn't want to shop anymore (none of us had any money, anyway), so we drove for a while until we found a bowling alley. This was the perfect thing. We went in, and had the entire alley to ourselves. We got all set up and began playing. It was a fun way to kill some time. We laughed and chatted, and really enjoyed our afternoon! We played one game, and decided we'd better head to the car rental place to turn the car in. All went smoothly at the drop off, and we were even able to unload the rest of our oranges and bagels at the counter. In fact, the lady behind the counter kind of laughed and said they get food and water donations quite a bit.
The shuttle took us back to the airport and we headed to security. Carrie was actually not going back with us, but was going on to Kentucky to see a man about a horse (really), but her flight didn't leave until 2 hours after ours. Her gate was close to ours, so after we got through security, she came to our gate with us. We met a really nice couple that was going to be on our flight that had done the full marathon. It was fun to talk to them. They are from Seattle, and it was the first time either of them had done the WDW marathon. We compared stories, and had fun reliving it all.
They let us board, and on we got. Now, the depression was settling in. I really didn't want to leave. I wanted to see my kids, but I didn't want to get back to being the SAHM that I really am. For a while, life was exciting and fun every day, and I wanted to keep that feeling. Happily, the movie that was being shown was "The Queen" and I have wanted to see it! It was FABULOUS!!!!! Everyone should see this movie!!!!!
We landed in Salt Lake City at about 8:30 that night and proceeded to get our luggage. No problems there and soon we were off. Our Disney experience was over, and now it's time to plan another one. Luckily, Alan is more and more open to the idea. He wants to work up to doing the full marathon within a couple of years, so things are looking up for us!
Thanks for hanging in with me on this trip report! It's fun remembering it all! Thanks for being so supportive of me! It means so much to me that you were all behind me!