The Empty Nesters Magical Mystery Tour *1/28* Link to New Girl's TR p141

[Steppesister]

Just spent a lovely evening reading your super duper TR, MEK! Your photos alone keeping me coming back whenever I can- which isn't often with Med-Surg, L & D Nursing books, and the Davis Drug Guide competing for my time.

But hey, Winter Break is a great time to catch up and read all my friends wonderful adventures.

Far too much to comment on, but that it all looks like such fun. I'm subscribing which may get me here a bit more.

Liesa

 

[MEK]

Just spent a lovely evening reading your super duper TR, MEK! Your photos alone keeping me coming back whenever I can- which isn't often with Med-Surg, L & D Nursing books, and the Davis Drug Guide competing for my time.

I don't know whether to or ! Welcome stranger! It's so great to see you on the DIS boards!

So happy for you - that you have complete your first semester. And I'm sure you did awesome!!!!!

But hey, Winter Break is a great time to catch up and read all my friends wonderful adventures.

Absolutely! It's great to have some semi-mindless time! Enjoy!

Far too much to comment on, but that it all looks like such fun. I'm subscribing which may get me here a bit more.

Liesa

Yes - you are here at the tail end. It's actually two TRs in one. I've really got to wrap this thing up soon!

 

[HockeyMomR]

Mary Ellen - just catching up. I was so far behind. You brave soul following somebody down an Alley to Mamas!

And back to the bubble. I do love the bubble.

Rebecca

 

[Steppesister]

I don't know whether to or ! Welcome stranger! It's so great to see you on the DIS boards!

You can do both. I know; it's shocking that I'm here at all with so much to catch up on that has been neglected for the last 3 months. You know, things like Christmas shopping (halfway done), cleaning my house, and getting some overdue medical appts. taken care of. Alas, I'm much better at procrastinating in lieu of doing nothing bu camp in front of my computer and dream Disney Trip Dreams.

So happy for you - that you have complete your first semester. And I'm sure you did awesome!!!!!

I managed an A for the first term. I hear that this is likely the ONLY term that that's possible. 17 of the 42 from the 2nd year students failed out this term. I'm not looking forward to my future terms.

Absolutely! It's great to have some semi-mindless time! Enjoy!

Indeed. And much better than the hour lecture I just watched on Diabetes and Insulin.

Yes - you are here at the tail end. It's actually two TRs in one. I've really got to wrap this thing up soon!

Well. That figures.

 

[MEK]

Mary Ellen - just catching up. I was so far behind. You brave soul following somebody down an Alley to Mamas!

It was not nearly as scary as I made it sound. It actually helped to have someone else make the dinner decision!

And back to the bubble. I do love the bubble.

Rebecca

ME TOO! Stay tuned. Lots of bubble coming right up!!!!!!

You can do both. I know; it's shocking that I'm here at all with so much to catch up on that has been neglected for the last 3 months. You know, things like Christmas shopping (halfway done), cleaning my house, and getting some overdue medical appts. taken care of. Alas, I'm much better at procrastinating in lieu of doing nothing bu camp in front of my computer and dream Disney Trip Dreams.

You deserve to have a little Disney dreaming. You have been working super hard. It's really hard to be super busy every day. You always feel behind and never caught up. So enjoy the DIS while you can!

I managed an A for the first term. I hear that this is likely the ONLY term that that's possible. 17 of the 42 from the 2nd year students failed out this term. I'm not looking forward to my future terms.

Congratulations!!!!!

Wow - that is not an encouraging statistic for the second year, 1st term. But, honestly, I know you have what it takes to ace that semester as well. I wonder how many of those students are right out of high school versus an older learner. Sometimes having a little maturity helps with the organization the you need to be successful! You got this!

Indeed. And much better than the hour lecture I just watched on Diabetes and Insulin.

Well. That figures.

 

[MEK]

Hi Everyone!

I have been a bad DISer for waiting two weeks between updates. I’m really feeling the craziness of the holiday season right now. As many of you know, I do music at church and it really ramps up this time of year with multiple rehearsals. Plus last Sunday night I did the music for the Compassionate Friends candle lighting ceremony. Compassionate Friends is a national support group for parents who have lost children. It’s a wonderful organization, but an emotionally charged night, as you can imagine. I feel blessed to be part of the ceremony.

In other news, both of my kids have been home from college for a week. I have gotten quite used to being an empty nester, so having them come in with all their “stuff” feels like an explosion went off. Both kids had solid semesters at school. Brian is really into the “meat and potatoes” of his finance courses which he has found to be quite challenging. Nick had another great semester and will be on the Dean’s list again. He may be helping a professor with research over winter session and he’ll be taking one of his “breadth” classes.

In more news - we decided that we had to retire the car Brian was driving because we just weren’t putting any more money into it. Instead of looking for a used car for him, I bought a new car and he bought my 5 years old car (with a nice discount). Car buying is so much easier than it used to be with the internet. I haggled with a local dealer for a bit, but when he wouldn’t drop his price on a 2014 car to where I wanted it, I ended up going to a dealer in Maryland and saved $1000. Hey - that will almost pay for next year’s cruise. I got another Honda Accord. Even though my old Honda was only 5 years old, this one has nice features like the backup camera and the blue tooth. It’s a 6 speed manual transmission and I love it. I could definitely drive it to Florida. lol!

My biggest concern in this whole transaction was that Brian would be taking my old car (which is huge step above a beater car he had) to the crappy neighborhood he lives in. He has told me some stories and this location is rough. I don’t think its dangerous from a safety perspective, if you just mind your own business, but its a rough crowd. Drug dealers, stuff like that. I was concerned that someone may try to break into the car. So, wouldn’t you know that Brian had the car parked on the street for one week and someone hits it. Seriously? Hit and Run. Nice. The good thing is the car was able to be driven here for repairs and they finished it in a week. Yay.

And one last piece of news - Brian’s GF will be joining us in Disney in June. I am happy on multiple accounts!

Oh - and the training for the 1/2 marathon is moving along. My longest run so far is 11.3 miles. I am going to try to do 12 miles next weekend. All I can say is - a half marathon is REALLY FAR!!!!!!!!!!!!

I also want to thank everyone who sent me a Christmas card. I have to admit that I am terrible at sending cards. But I really love all the ones I have received and I really appreciate your thouhtfulness!

On to my Update - There’s a Reason Why They Say “Stand Back From the Gate"


In my last update we left off here



Our first ride at AK complete we set off for ride # 2



c



This ride never looks very long anymore. Remember back in the day when you had to wait 45 minutes to spin around in one of these silly cars? Now I can’t even remember the last time I rode this.



I found a few more photo-ops in the area. These next pictures are in honor of Danielle’s father - Popadom.







Gotta love it!

I love this pic. I saw that bird up there, and well, just another must have photo-op for me!








Time for our next ride!!!! Getting closer!







I took a total of two pictures in the queue





Please try to contain your excitement!

Ok then - time to ride and, of course, we waited one extra car for the front row. Heck, we may have even walked right on the front row. It was 10 months ago. Hard for me to remember the exact details.

The car in front of us.



For you Rob!



Go time!















Continued In Next Post

 

[MEK]

I love this view



Over my shoulder I actually got a picture of the construction of the new FOLTK theatre





View from the front seat! Gotta love it!







While I got some nice outdoor shots with the long lens, capturing the yeti shadow proved to me difficult.



The end of the road



For some reason I got completely cut out of the redneck ride photo. I was in it, but my camera messed up here for sure!



Back outside











Bye Everest



My favorite altar









Our Next stop was to watch the monkeys hang out



No depth of field. The monkey just looks like a blob.





Continued In Next Post

 

[MEK]

Then I took a bunch of these silhouette pictures







OK, moving on…

Time to start heading over to safari















Unfortunately, it was still a little early for a refreshing cocktail and I don’t even think they were open yet.



Passing the Tree of Life





Maybe because I was only going to be in Disney another 30 hours or so, but I went a little overboard on the sheer number of pictures I took.



I was finding beauty in everything



and since AK is my favorite park to photograph, I was leaving no photo op to be missed.





Construction at the FOTLK theatre











My total random theme of pictures contains into the Safari queue





Inside the final part of the queue



Continued In Next Post

 

[MEK]

We were waiting in the queue to load when I decided I had to get a picture of the safari truck arriving. The guests in front of us had just loaded and I walked up to the open gate and got as far to the end of the loading platform as I could to get these pictures.





Can you guess what happened next?

Yup - the gate closed and wacked me right in the chest. Hard. I’m surprised no one noticed. It hurt.

We loaded the safari truck and I realized that I really hurt myself. I tried to distract myself with pictures, like this one.



But then I got kind of paranoid and wondered if I got hit hard enough to bruise my breast bone or cause a contusion to my chest. Hey - what can I say? I’m a nurse. I’ve seen lots of freaky things.

My first few pictures where a little shaky because I was still shaking up.



But I love this picture of momma and baby



STREEEEEEETTTTCCHH!





When we got to the elephants my chest still hurt and I just wanted to get off the safari



But I couldn’t miss an opportunity to take a picture of not one, not two, but three elephants.





I love this picture!



I love this cheetahs and I think the cheetah on the left and licking the one on the right.



I remember thinking to myself, “OK the lions are next and right now I just want to get off this ride. I bet they are out on the one day I don’t feel like taking anymore pictures”.

And sure enough!

Lion #1



Two female lions (what is the deal with me and all that grass in the picture?)



OMG - I think the male is out too!



Stupid Grass



He’s so handsome!



Once again - stupid grass!







Turn Lion! TURN!



Continued In Next Post

 

[MEK]

AWWWWWW - Doesn’t he look like you could just give him a big hug!



And my final picture of the safari



The center of my chest was still hurting when we got off the Safari and now it was time to have lunch. That was about the last thing I wanted…..

In my next update - do I recover from my blow to the chest and where is our lunch destination.

Happy Holidays Everyone!!!!!

 

[amazingact21]

Don't worry about being busy and not having time to update. I think everyone understand this is a busy time of the year. Heck, you still post more often than me, so I think you're doing good.


Congrats on the new car. Those little things like the backup camera and bluetooth are nice perks to have. Alex and I have one new car and one older car, and we're always drawing straws to see who has to get stuck driving the older one. (It's going to be hard to give back free reign to the new car once he comes home.)


But a hit and run within a week of Brian getting your old car??? Jeez....that's ridiculous. I guess it's just good that the damage happened when he wasn't in the car. Small favors.





I always enjoy your ride photos aboard EE. Especially the views from the front row. It's a gorgeous area...



Oh no! I hope you didn't hurt your chest too bad. That sounds awful. Not something you want to be contending with on a long safari ride.

And I just knew the lions were going to be out. The one time you could care less, those cats come out in plain view.
But for what it's worth, you got some great shots of them. And I kinda like the grass in the bottom of some of the pics. Makes it look like they are out in the wild.

 

[MEK]

Don't worry about being busy and not having time to update. I think everyone understand this is a busy time of the year. Heck, you still post more often than me, so I think you're doing good.

Thanks! I really want to get this TR wrapped up and move on to a new one. This little "extra" TR is taking longer than I thought!

Congrats on the new car. Those little things like the backup camera and bluetooth are nice perks to have. Alex and I have one new car and one older car, and we're always drawing straws to see who has to get stuck driving the older one. (It's going to be hard to give back free reign to the new car once he comes home.)

I can definitely see that. I hope you warned him he might be stuck with the old car for awhile.

Denny and I both got new cars this year, which is extremely unusual for us. But basically both of our old cars went to the boys. It just made so much more sense then buying a used car because they are ridiculously expensive. At least we know our old cars and we don't have to worry about any serious repairs if we buy new cars. That's it now. Both boys will be on their own after this.

But a hit and run within a week of Brian getting your old car??? Jeez....that's ridiculous. I guess it's just good that the damage happened when he wasn't in the car. Small favors.

I am very grateful that he was not in an accident with the car, but it is pretty ironic that someone literally backed into this car and then drove away. Losers!

I always enjoy your ride photos aboard EE. Especially the views from the front row. It's a gorgeous area...

I am so happy with my EE pictures. I got a lot of new ones this time! I'm glad I decided to use the distant lens.

Oh no! I hope you didn't hurt your chest too bad. That sounds awful. Not something you want to be contending with on a long safari ride.

I just can't believe how stupid I was and it really did hurt. I was fine, but I remained a little freaked out about it during the whole ride.

And I just knew the lions were going to be out. The one time you could care less, those cats come out in plain view.

Murphy's Law since I NEVER see the cats out!

But for what it's worth, you got some great shots of them. And I kinda like the grass in the bottom of some of the pics. Makes it look like they are out in the wild.

Thanks! I just kept snapping away. Can you say 50 pictures in 2 minutes. OK, I may be exaggerating a bit. But just a bit!

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

WOW Mary Ellen. I bet being part of the Compassionate Friends ceremony, while certainly emotional, would also be so rewarding. A blessing indeed.

GASADON!!!!!! And according to her reports, completely appropriate.

YAY NO DANCING!!! BUT, It's Everest. How do you not dance?

My goodness you got some awesome shots on there Mary Ellen. Like truly AWESOME!

I know I was just recently declaring my waning Safari enthusiasm, but GIRAFFES!! And Baby GIRAFFE!!! Hard not to love that.

OK. That is one of the best cheetah shots I've seen. Wow.

Oh my, I sure do hope the injury isn't serious. CLIFFHANGER.

 

[KatMark]

MEK, the DIS has been very slow...everyone is busy during the holidays so no worries there (I personally thank you because I am so far behind ).

I'm with you. AK is my favorite park for photos...so much detail and just beautiful scenery.

Yay...you got Coronado in your photos from EE.

LOVE the giraffe pictures...especially mom and baby.

And the elephant pictures...warmed my heart.

You did awesome with getting the lions up and walking about. I was happy I got to see them in September; now I want to see them up and walking about.

If I don't get back here, Merry Christmas to you, Denny and the family.

​

 

[khertz]

I have always loved the interesting perspectives you seem to find when you are photographing around the parks, but none more so than AK. These updates definitely didn't disappoint in that aspect! Those silhouettes of the monkeys are really, really well done.

Oh gosh, that's terrible about hitting your chest so hard! Of all the places to do that, right before boarding the bumpy safari too. Not the best ride for an injury like that. But not surprisingly, you still managed to get some amazing photos, especially of all of the big cats. I have only once seen the cheetahs that clearly! And the lions...really just fantastic pics of them. The grass makes it look like you were crouching down in it for some photos.

I hope your chest started feeling better once you stopped for lunch.

Hope you & yours have a very Merry Christmas!

 

[cstorm65]

I understand the busy time of year...we just got out Christmas break, and since DW and I both work in the school system we get two weeks to recover and get less busy! Also, sound like your half marathon training is going well!

Love your Everest pics and your Safari pics are as good as ever...even after your injury. Sorry you had to get hurt, but hopefully you got to feeling better!

Hope you and your family have a great holiday!

 

[IheartDDuck]

Brian has the car for one week and it's hit while it's parked?! Dear lord, that's bringing back memories of me having my car for three weeks and my Dad dropping his motorcycle on it.

11.3 miles, I was so happy for you when I saw that on FB! This week was a taper week according to my plan, so next weekend I'm up to 9.5. EEEEPPP!!!

GASODON! OMG, I have to find that and take a picture of him next to it.

I really like the monkey silhouette pictures.

Okay for real, it's never too early for a refreshing cocktail.

Oh no, that stinks that the gate closed and hit you in the chest! They are really powerful.

Awww, cheetahs loving other cheetahs!

Of course the Lion is acting like a typical cat though. Nope, not gonna look at you. Nope, nope, nope.

 

[eandesmom]

Oh my, I am impressed and sort of scared, you actually followed someone to a restaurant. I can't say we would have done that. Then again, Jeff would never be quite that approachable in that scenario.

I love that you take doggie picture pit stop signs!!!!!!!!

I am SO impressed with your training, you are leaps and bounds ahead of me.

I can only imagine how weird it is to have both home, with all their stuff imploding. Blessing and a frustration all at the same time. YAY for the GF coming on the trip, I know you were bumming that she might not but BOO for neighborhoods where the car can get hit.

Although you never know. Jeff had to park my car down the street Monday night while I hosted a holiday party for my gourmet club and my poor favorite neighbor backed right into it! She felt so bad and I feel bad that she feels bad!

OW OW OW on the gate hitting you. I hope you are ok. FABULOUS lion pictures though!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not that they were worth getting hit for but fabulous nonetheless.

I am the worst DISer lately but hope over break to make a dent in catching up.

 

[Steppesister]

You deserve to have a little Disney dreaming. You have been working super hard. It's really hard to be super busy every day. You always feel behind and never caught up. So enjoy the DIS while you can!

I have been. I knew this would be hard, but this is a lot more than I ever imagined. If I'm not in a study group drinking wine and eating stinky cheese while learning about therapeutic communication or some disease process, I'm in the library up to my neck in photocopies of lecture outlines, or in the lab learning how to cath someone.

I intend to. While not catching up on threads, I'm preparing my own PTR to llaunch!

Congratulations!!!!!

Thanks! From what I hear, most who get an A first term, get a B second, and a C third. As long as I pass with a 75%, it's all good.

Wow - that is not an encouraging statistic for the second year, 1st term. But, honestly, I know you have what it takes to ace that semester as well. I wonder how many of those students are right out of high school versus an older learner. Sometimes having a little maturity helps with the organization the you need to be successful! You got this!

No. It certainly isn't. But if I go down, I'm gonna do with having done my very best and given it my all.

It's a good mix of those who went down in flames. Some older, but most young like you say. And you're right. My age of student comes with a time management and self-confidence skill the younger ones don't tend to have. I'm almost half tempted to start my PTR now (20 months ahead) just to have some DIS-er support in the midst.

 

[natebenma]

Thanks for the life update.

Nice to have the boys home. I think.

Congrats on the new car. Sorry that the car you sold to your son was hit in the first week he had it. People can be jerks.

I can only imagine how memorable and moving the Compassionate Friends meeting was.

"Don't Cry For Me, Carnotaurus"

(There actually is a dinosaur called the Argentinisaurus, but that is not our dino and my dino-expert Ben would not forgive me if I mislabeled it)

I love this pic. I saw that bird up there, and well, just another must have photo-op for me!

That is a really pretty picture.

I was going to quote out the pictures I loved from EE and from the Safari but there are way, way too many!

Wow! That is a fantastic closeup of the Swalphin from the tip of Everest. I love the waterfall pictures and all the ones with stairs, too.

I'm sorry you had to suffer for your art, I hope you are ok after being hit by the gate. They should warn you about that, or something!

The giraffe and her baby!

The elephants- great shots of the three together and the two facing each other.

The cheetahs!!! Normally you can't even see them and you got a spectacular picture of them exhibiting kitty cat behavior.

And the lions!!! Wow!!! You got a lot of beautiful pictures. They are such majestic animals. I don't know how you got off so many great shots!