Will You Chill Out if I Sprinkle You With Pixie Dust? The End p136 *New TR Link* p138

[jecskc]

We toured AoA on our trip, too. We got some really great photos of the Cars section. It looks really cool at night.

 

[petals]

Doesn't it look so amazing? I hope you did get a chance to stay there soon - like on your next WDW trip! You better start showing those pictures to your momma now and start getting her psyched!

Momma says she's never going to WDW again

 

[natebenma]

Thank you so much for the wonderful tour of AoA! Wow, that is one spectacular resort. It just screams Disney!!! I love the movies represented at the resort.

I was definitely impressed with the menus you posted. Some really interesting food offerings. I couldn't believe all the Tandoori meals.

Seriously cool pool!

 

[scottny]

Ok page 45. That bus ride from AK to the treehouse sounds awful for the length.

The drinks looked good.

My heart broke when I read "i didn't like Queen" but then it was okay when I finished the sentence. Freddie mercury had one of the most amazing voices.

Okay will catch up again tomorrow.

 

[MEK]

We toured AoA on our trip, too. We got some really great photos of the Cars section. It looks really cool at night.

I hope you post them in your TR. I would love to see them. I never even thought about how cool AoA must look at night. Now, more than even, I want to stay there. I wonder if I can talk Denny into a night there before or after our cruise next year.

Momma says she's never going to WDW again

What? Really? I know your trip had a few rough spots for your momma, but she really doesn't want to go back? I don't blame you for crying. I would be too.

Thank you so much for the wonderful tour of AoA! Wow, that is one spectacular resort. It just screams Disney!!! I love the movies represented at the resort.

It does just scream Disney. I totally agree! And the movies it uses are wonderful. What's so cool is that it really embraces the computer animation. I think computer animation has really made such a huge difference in animation films. So cool. Walt would be proud.

I was definitely impressed with the menus you posted. Some really interesting food offerings. I couldn't believe all the Tandoori meals.

I know - didn't all those options look seriously good. And I don't care what Captain Oblivious says, I bet they make one heck of a veggie burger, too.

Seriously cool pool!

Teeka's right - I should have jumped in. Next time!

Ok page 45. That bus ride from AK to the treehouse sounds awful for the length.

It WAS awful. For me to have to accept (practically beg) for a ride from bell services, you KNOW it had to be bad because I generally don't mind walking anywhere. When I look back on that I still

The drinks looked good.

I am all about the adult beverages when visiting Disney world!

My heart broke when I read "i didn't like Queen" but then it was okay when I finished the sentence. Freddie mercury had one of the most amazing voices.

When I was younger I had seriously limited musical tastes. I enjoy some many more artists now then I used too. At the time I did not realize how immensely talented Freddie Mercury actually was. What a loss.

Okay will catch up again tomorrow.

As I am still catching up on your TR, too!

 

[eandesmom]

What a fun update! Love all the pictures, I felt like I was inside Animators Palette, the newer one on the Dream...if it had been turned into a resort! Very cool,

That is SO cool about your brother and even cooler they invited you to join them! I'm very happy (and a wee bit jealous) that you won't have to wait a year to go back!!!!!!

Pixie dust indeed.

 

[MEK]

What a fun update! Love all the pictures, I felt like I was inside Animators Palette, the newer one on the Dream...if it had been turned into a resort! Very cool,

The resort is very cool. It is very modern and high tech and all the art work touches are pretty amazing. I can't imagine wanting to stay at another value resort when you can stay there. Too bad we won't have a car to drive over there for a look. I'd really like to try the food there.

That is SO cool about your brother and even cooler they invited you to join them! I'm very happy (and a wee bit jealous) that you won't have to wait a year to go back!!!!!!

Pixie dust indeed.

I think I found the perfect place for them. It is right outside the AK and I know there is a back route that will take us right there, I know this because, as you may remember, despite having a GPS and excellent road signs, Denny has missed the exit to AK twice now and the GPS always reroutes us through this back road.

Not only that, my brother had a lengthy conversation with the owner, so he feels completely comfortable with this choice. It will save them a ton of money, especially since they really aren't married to the "on-site" thing yet. It's like $800 for 7 nights.

At first I was reluctant to add another trip, but then I decided if we drive and do some off-site meals and touring, it would be a cool way to check out things "outside the bubble". Yeah - I can't believe I would agree to drive, but it is something I have always wanted to try. Once I get that out of my system I will most certainly be flying for future trips.

 

[eandesmom]

The resort is very cool. It is very modern and high tech and all the art work touches are pretty amazing. I can't imagine wanting to stay at another value resort when you can stay there. Too bad we won't have a car to drive over there for a look. I'd really like to try the food there.

I think I found the perfect place for them. It is right outside the AK and I know there is a back route that will take us right there, I know this because, as you may remember, despite having a GPS and excellent road signs, Denny has missed the exit to AK twice now and the GPS always reroutes us through this back road.

Not only that, my brother had a lengthy conversation with the owner, so he feels completely comfortable with this choice. It will save them a ton of money, especially since they really aren't married to the "on-site" thing yet. It's like $800 for 7 nights.

At first I was reluctant to add another trip, but then I decided if we drive and do some off-site meals and touring, it would be a cool way to check out things "outside the bubble". Yeah - I can't believe I would agree to drive, but it is something I have always wanted to try. Once I get that out of my system I will most certainly be flying for future trips.

I know that GPS route well after this trip. It doesn't actually exist! Or at least the one we got didn't. Spoiler alert.

I just hope you and Denny survive the car ride. Lol!

 

[MEK]

I know that GPS route well after this trip. It doesn't actually exist! Or at least the one we got didn't. Spoiler alert.

Oh No, not another spolier alert. Let's see - so far we have the Sheraton and a messed up route to AK.

The route we have gone turns right off 192 and goes by buildings that look like they might be back stage areas. Then you make a right hand turn and end up on a road going the opposite direction of the AK park. So you have to find a place to make a U turn. First time we missed the U turn too.

I just hope you and Denny survive the car ride. Lol!

I'm bringing ear plugs....multiple pairs.

 

[marDgreen88]

Hahah! Your brother has a crush on Stacey? That's hilarious. But she's awesome, so I get it.

AWESOME tour of AoA! I cannot wait to see the entire thing in person. It's amazing!

 

[MEK]

Hahah! Your brother has a crush on Stacey? That's hilarious. But she's awesome, so I get it.

He really does. I thought I helped him drink the koolaid, but I think it may actually have been Stacey! He says she's the one thing he will miss about staying on site. That and the dining plan.

AWESOME tour of AoA! I cannot wait to see the entire thing in person. It's amazing!

It really is amazing. I would love to stay there someday and I really envy anyone who gets a chance to stay there. So cool.

 

[MEK]

Daytona Bay.....beeeeee!

In my last update Denny and I had just arrived at our Daytona Beach destination. We were spending the night with Denny's college roommate, K and his wife, T.

Background story - Denny has been friends with K every since they were roommates in college. They were both engineering majors - Denny in chemical and K in civil. They lived together for awhile after they graduated. K got married, quickly got divorced, and met T years later on a ski trip.

Both K and T are from the northeast. K from upstate NY and T from NJ. They ended up moving near Solomon's Island in Maryland. There they developed a passion for sailing and worked their way up to a 42 ft sailboat. K decided he wanted to sail around the world and he spent well over two years preparing the boat for the type of adventure. He worked tirelessly during every spare minute he had.

In 1989, just a few weeks after Denny and I got married, they set sail. They sailed to Caribbean, then Venezuela, then Coasta Rica, then the Marquesas, then Tahiti, then New Zealand, then Australia, then after that.....I'm not sure of the exact route. The entire journey took seven years because they stopped for 6 month periods at different locations across the globe. We actually spent 10 days with them while they were in New Zealand.

When they came back to the United States they knew they needed to live in a warm climate, so they picked Daytona beach.

K and T sold their boat years ago and stopped sailing for awhile, but now they have joined a sailing club and they wanted to take us to see it. We visited for a bit and then we went touring.

I guess their sailing club is on the intercoastal

K and Denny

K loves belonging to this sailing club. He calls it the poor man's sailing club. K is active in racing and they let him take out whatever boat he wants because he is actually helping them win races.

Getting tired of boats yet?

OK then, lets move on to the beach. One last picture from the sailing club.

Across the bridge

Daytona beach has some nice picnic / public restrooms areas. Actually we were in Daytona Beach Shores which is south of Daytona.

Come along with me to the beach

Continued in the Next Post..........

 

[MEK]

Continued from previous post.........

It was actually quite breezy out and almost a little chilly, which seemed totally out of character for June. But I wasn't complaining.

I guess it was high tide because the beach certainly looks narrow.

The clouds look amazing, like big white puffy billows of fluff.

I wouldn't mind living here

Turtle Nest

Leaving the beach

Bye Beach.....So you Tomorrow

When we got back to K & T's house we had cocktail hour. It was fun to catch up with one another.

K cooked dinner for us. We had steak and shrimp! Yum. No, I did not take a picture. The weird thing about leaving Disney, but knowing I was still writing a TR, is that I wanted to keep taking pictures. I had to keep reminding myself that I was in someone else's house and it was time to put the camera away.

At dinner we had some of K's wine. He makes his own. I am sure we had both red and wine. He is experimenting with several different types. And, it was quite good. It's not at all like the plum wine Denny tried to make in big vats on the dining room table.

Not surprisingly, with an unlimited supply of wine, we all drank a bit too much. Florida homes are so wonderful, because we spent all evening out on the lanai. Lanai - I love that word. Here in the northeast its a porch or a deck. I'd much rather spend all my evening on the lanai. It sounds so tropical, so enchanting!

I don't remember what time we finally went to sleep, but it was well after 1 am.

Continued in Next Post.........

 

[MEK]

Continued from Previous Post

Saturday June 16th, 2012

I woke up with a bit of a hangover this morning. Shock. I know. When I got up I saw T out on the lanai. She was on a work call. I felt bad that she had to spend her morning on a conference call. When I walked out onto the lanai she motioned for me to look outside the screen surrounding the lanai.

Check this out......

How cool is that? They had a duck nest right in their background.

And there's momma duck. She wasn't too fond of me checking out her nest and she came over and sat on it until I went away.

Isn't she cute? She's on the nest now and giving me the evil eye! She's still cute, even with the evil eye.

While I had the camera out, I couldn't help but take some pictures of the backyard.

Flowers in the backyard

The plan was to hit the beach today. I'm not lying when I say that I wasn't quite feeling up to the beach, but I surely wasn't going to back out. I needed time to get the alcohol out of my system. I contemplated going for a run, but decided against it.

How many of you have been to Daytona? One of the cool things about Daytona is that you can drive on the beach. I love that. Drive up, pay your $5, park, open your trunk, pull out your chair and umbrella, and go find a spot. There are plenty of them to choose from.

Here's the picture I posted on FB. I know all my FB friends were pretty envious of this......


Untitled by dvcmek1, on Flickr

In this picture you can see the driving route and the speed limit signs

Imagine having the view from those balconies

It was an amazingly perfect beach day. The best part was the water temperature. I am so used to freezing my "you know what" off in June. Not here. Perfection.

I decided to play around with the lens filters I had recently purchased. Now seemed like a good time.

I did doze off for a little while while we where on the beach. ahhhhhhhhh.

It was very comfy under the umbrellas

After awhile we decided that some lunch was in order. We set off for food.

No, not here....

Continued In Next Post......

 

[MEK]

Continued From Previous Post.....

We were heading to the little building on top of the pier

The Rip Current Risk for today was VERY HIGH. Good to know!

Getting closer

We were going to Crabby Joe's

Just making sure the pier is sturdy

Instructions on how to break the grip of a rip. There will be a short quiz at the end of the update, so pay attention!

I think this guy bears a resemblance to Mr Crab on Sponge Bob. Just sayin.

Since we ate late we had no trouble being seated and we scored a table with a view. Does this look like a postcard or what? *Bam*

I guess I was afraid I might forget the name of the restaurant so I took a picture of the menu. I was hungover, you know!


Untitled by dvcmek1, on Flickr

This was our table


Untitled by dvcmek1, on Flickr

Another view of our table


Untitled by dvcmek1, on Flickr

Because we were on a pier, right over the water, I looked down and noticed I could actually SEE the water. Really well. There were big spaces in the wood floor. I started to get paranoid that I might drop my phone through the cracks. So I put it away in my camera case because, really, who wants to be looking for the closest Verizon store while on vacation?

I had a fish ruben and it was really yummy.

After lunch, I went to the outside deck to take a few more pictures

At the very end of the pier there was a small gift shop and a fishing pier.

No, I did not buy this

I took a few more pictures that afternoon

Cute

We spent about another hour on the beach and then packed it in for the day. It really was a relaxing way to spend the afternoon.

We eventually packed up and went back to K &T 's house to shower. Before we left, we all went to K's dads house and watched golf with him.

Around 5:30 or 6 pm we said our goodbyes and started heading south, back to the bubble.

It was a great 24 hours and I'm so glad we decided to take some time away from Disney.

Up Next? Join me back in the bubble for.....How DO you open the gas cap on a Mitsubishi Galant and what happens when you DON'T do on line check in?

 

[glennbo123]

Great pictures of Daytona MEK. I'm glad that you got to catch up with Denny's friend. That sounds like a great sailing adventure they had.

It's good to see such a responsible TR with rip current instructions in it!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Great Daytona pics ME! I think that sailing club could use a new flag however!
I really liked the one shot with the tall grasses blowing in the wind - very cool!

What fun to see a turtle nest, a duck nest with eggs and a mama duck too! I bet it was nice to swim in warm ocean water! I really liked the ocean when we were at Cocoa Beach in July - it sure felt cooler than at WDW!!!

A MEK adventure with a gas cap? Sounds interesting...

 

[IheartDDuck]

Wow, that is so awesome that your friends were able to sail so much! That's just amazing. I know absolutely nothing about sailing, but that's just so cool.

Beautiful beach pictures. I have never actually been to Daytona Beach before. Looks very pretty.

When my parents were considering moving to Florida, my Mom constantly talked about the Lanai, and making sure that whatever house they got had one. Hahaha. Glorified porch.

Tsk tsk tsk. Hangover.....

I could not imagine what those condos on the beach must cost. Or hotels.

Those lens filters are awesome! Helps that it's my favorite color (purple!).

Crabby Joe's totally reminds me of Joe's Crab Shack. I wonder if all crab shack owners are named Joe....

What, you didn't want to get a Crabby Joe souvie?

 

[MEK]

Great pictures of Daytona MEK. I'm glad that you got to catch up with Denny's friend. That sounds like a great sailing adventure they had.

Thanks Glenn. We had a great time visiting. It was a great 24 hours and looking back I remember why I liked that beach so much.

Their sailing adventure was unbelievable. They should have written a book, but they do have a ton of slides because it was all pre-digital.

It's good to see such a responsible TR with rip current instructions in it!

I know my instructions don't have the same "tricked out" graphics that yours do. Please forgive me for having such inferior graphics.

 

[MEK]

Great Daytona pics ME! I think that sailing club could use a new flag however!

I told you it was the Poor Man's Sailing club! What do you expect?

I really liked the one shot with the tall grasses blowing in the wind - very cool!

Thanks!

What fun to see a turtle nest, a duck nest with eggs and a mama duck too! I bet it was nice to swim in warm ocean water!

The whole duck thing blew me away. They said it happened once before. That mama duck was so protective of her nest. It was pretty cool.

I really liked the ocean when we were at Cocoa Beach in July - it sure felt cooler than at WDW!!!

My friends rarely turn on the AC because the temperatures are usually pretty doable and the humidity much lower. Plus, they have gotten used to living in warm weather all year round.

A MEK adventure with a gas cap? Sounds interesting...

Oh yeah - it was real interesting. Stay tuned for this one!

Wow, that is so awesome that your friends were able to sail so much! That's just amazing. I know absolutely nothing about sailing, but that's just so cool.

Beautiful beach pictures. I have never actually been to Daytona Beach before. Looks very pretty.

It is such a cool beach because of the driving aspect. After my first visit there I said I was never going back to the Delaware beaches.

When my parents were considering moving to Florida, my Mom constantly talked about the Lanai, and making sure that whatever house they got had one. Hahaha. Glorified porch.

That it is! It sounds so upscale. "Let's go out to the lanai for drinks, dear".

Tsk tsk tsk. Hangover.....

What, you've never had one?

I could not imagine what those condos on the beach must cost. Or hotels.

Actually, it's fairly reasonable to stay on the beach in Daytona because there are a ton of hotels and the city is pretty big. We stayed on the beach once in this cute "mom & pop" hotel and I loved it. All day long I went from the pool to the beach to the hot tub. It was great.

Try staying on the beach in Delaware. Forget about it! Way too expensive.

Those lens filters are awesome! Helps that it's my favorite color (purple!).

I like the way the purple worked for the beach pictures. I used it later at WDW and I kept looking at the pictures thinking "What the heck is wrong with these?" and then I remembered the filter.

Crabby Joe's totally reminds me of Joe's Crab Shack. I wonder if all crab shack owners are named Joe....

Probably! It does look like Joe's Crab Shack, but definitely a bit more gritty. The place does a great business.

What, you didn't want to get a Crabby Joe souvie?

I thought about it for a hot second and then decided to spend my $ at Disney World!