EPCOT- going with first-timers

This was the first time that our granddaughters visited EPCOT. It was also the first time our daughter had been there since before she got married, which is going on 14 years.  So, we went there prepared for crowds and with 3 very excited females.  In keeping with our 2013 travel usual mode of operation, the day dawned dark and cloudy. (What the heck is this with the clouds and rain????)

At any rate, it didn't take us long to get through the entrance lines, and start our day at EPCOT.  If you haven't been there in a while, Spaceship Earth has a new narrator and  Captain EO is back and better than ever.  Our daughter missed Universe of Motion, Horizons and the Metropolitan Universe of Life, which are all gone now or have been updated to Test Track and the Mars mission.

Watching the grandkids see and explore this theme park made the day very enjoyable.  We kept hearing "That was awesome!"

20 years ago, one of the things that our kids liked to do was to catch the jumping waters outside of Captain EO.  It was gratifying to see that the next generation enjoyed it just as much, even when getting hit in the head with water.

Soarin'  is a fun adventure at The Land.  It is also very popular.  As the Fast Pass would have gotten us on the ride quicker, but 6 hours later, we decided to go "stand-by".  The stand-by line was 1 1/2 hours,  but they had activities to keep people from getting bored and grouchy.  There was a group of college kids in the line ahead of us, and it was interesting to see them pull out their Kindles and i-pads to keep them occupied while in line.  A true sign of the times- people can't go anywhere without their electronic devices.
Also, "Fast-Pass" is the way of life now as it appears that people can't just wander around the parks- they need to make sure that they are having correct time-management to see as much as possible.  We noticed that this did make for some grouchy parents and kids.

Posing for a picture outside the Maelstrom

A true "Day at Disney"- waiting in the lines

 It was an international cuisine day for them- lunch in Mexico, slushies from Africa, snacks from Germany, and pastries from France.  They tolerated the lines well, but didn't make it to Illuminations.

And so, it was another fun adventure.  

The question is- what's next?

Renaissance Festival

Not far from home, but back in time...

We are lucky to live in an area that has a Renaissance Festival every year.  If you have never been to one of these, it is a festival where you can see people dressed in what they feel is Renaissance era clothing, visit craft dealers,  and see various shows.  From what we saw, during the Renaissance era there was an abundance of female pirates that wore bustiers that almost caused overflowing ( if you get what I mean). Who knew?  If they are accurate, then the Gasparilla parade should have a lot more female pirate crewes.  They have multiple food vendors, where you can get the typical turkey leg, or soup in a bowl, but they also have other interesting things like Irish Nachos, Gyros, and pizza.

Friar Dave

It is definitely more fun to go to this festival in costume. It makes you feel like you are more part of the festival.  Friar Dave had ladies approaching him to have pictures taken with him.    

The Queen has various games and activities every day.  These may be human chess matches, or combat contests.  Here's the trick to enjoying yourself at these activities:

Volunteer your daughter (who decided to go in 21st century clothing) to be part of the match.  Don't let her back down or refuse to be part of the show.  This is an experience that she, and her daughters, will remember for a very long time.

Be very supportive of her as she receives her training.

Cheer loudly for her during her part of the activities.  And the fact of the matter is that she did enjoy herself.

They have a multitude of animals that you can meet and feed- a great opportunity for kids- especially if you have a pre-teen who wants to be a vet.    And so that parents won't be worried, of course they have a hand washing station and hand sanitizer.

This is a scary sight- the wild 8 year old granddaughter with a real bow and arrow.  In keeping with the spirit of the day, she did dress up!

Once we get our feet clean from today's activities, we'll be planning our next adventure this week- EPCOT Center

Island Adventures

We decided that we wanted to visit  a Gulf coast island in the panhandle, that was not over-developed, and this is the island that we chose- St. George Island.

We wanted to stay at an Inn that had a lot of beach character- definitely not a 4 star chain hotel, and the St George Inn was just what we were looking for, from the exterior weathered, peeling paint, to the lack of clocks and telephones in the rooms.  It has functional shutters on the windows for storms.  The Innkeepers were fantastic, the bed extremely comfortable.  This is an inn where you can leave and not worry about locking the door.  Our room was called Total Escape.

In continuing with the tradition established in Central America, when we arrived it was starting to cloud up and get windy and cold.  There were reports of rain in the forecast.

By the next morning the weather started to deteriorate.  It was cold and windy.  By noon there were lightning flashes everywhere and weather alerts of 1-3 inches of rain an hour.  Dave and Annabelle spent a long time on the porch watching the weather.  Judy brought her kindle with her and spent the time reading inside where it was dry and warm. The storm continued throughout the evening and night.  At 4:45 am, it got really bad, with the chairs being blown around on the porches.  Some really weird sounding wind, but no locomotive sounds.  Our Innkeepers stayed up the night checking the weather so that they could wake us if there was any danger.  There were several waterspouts close by in the Gulf, but none came to shore.

By mid-morning the weather had gotten much better so that we could explore the beach.  We found a number of jellyfish on the beach- this is the smallest one we saw, and as you can see, it's bigger than my foot.  This was the first time that we had seen them since we arrived, and we don't know if they were a casualty of the waves or the waterspouts.

Although the storm was over, the waves remained rough- surfing anyone?

We were finally able to wander along the beach.

Once the sun came out, one could see that it was a really nice beach.  This is the access across the street from the Inn.  It remained really cold and windy for the rest of our stay.

We decided to get in the car and do some exploring, only to discover that the car wouldn't start.  Thank goodness for AAA, because remember, we were on an island that had no service stations or towing companies.  We had to wait for a tow truck from the mainland.  Luckily, the car started up right away with a jump, and it was discussed that the problem had possibly been the rain and wind getting into the engine from the grill.  

There are new beachfront homes along both ends of the island.  These places are huge, and with the price of just the beach lot being up to 500K, I can't imagine the prices of these places. The most amazing thing to me was the fact that I could only count about 5 houses that had hurricane shutters.  How could you build one of these houses and not make sure it would be safe from storms?  It boggles the mind.

Eddy Teachs became our favorite place to eat on the island.  It was right across the street from the Inn, which was good during the rain, plus we really had a good time there.  This is James- he's the owner and a wannabe pirate.  He used to be an English teacher, but opened Eddy Teachs  in 2006.  Harry A's was also a good place to eat, and we had some great pizza from BJs.

Dave enjoying himself- notice the beard??
Notice the sweatshirt?  We were layering our clothes to keep warm.

St. George Island lighthouse.  Originally built in the 1850s, it was rebuilt in 1980.

St. George Island water tower and cell phone tower- it multi-tasks!

And so, as we headed home, we started to discuss- where should we go next?

Preparing for the next trip

Travel tips by Annabelle

Annabelle

     Sometimes my humans will take me along with them on their adventures.  I love to travel in the car, and think there's nothing better than hanging my head out of the window and letting my ears flap in the wind.  
    Those of us with four legs and permanent furry coats need to have travel preparations made for us too.  These are the things that I insist on to have a comfortable vacation:

1. I have my own suitcase to take- it even has a golden retriever name tag.  In it are some of my toys, a blanket, a soft sheet to cover furniture so that I won't leave any shedding hair, my snacks, a 20 foot lead (leash) so that I can be attached to a human or building and still have some meandering area, extra kibble to keep me healthy, and beach towels to dry me off after a romp in the surf.
2. I have my own special travel food and water dishes that also have a container with more of my kibble in it.  These dishes then connect together and have a handle so that even I can carry them.
3. I have heard that a change in water can really mess with a canine's digestive system, and I definitely don't want to go on a trip and get a case of bad puppy poops, so I make sure that I have containers of water that I am used to and won't bother me.
4. I always carry my  "Puppy Passport".  This has information on my microchip, my license, my shot record, information about my doctor's office, where I live and recent pictures of me.  If my humans didn't join me on a sudden adventure that I spontaneously decided to take, I want to make sure that we can find each other.  Naturally, I always wear my necklace (don't call it a collar!) with my license, my name, and information on where I live.  
5. The humans also make preparations so that I'm safe in the car.  There is a screen that separates the front seat from the back.  This keeps me from flying through the console in the event of sudden stops.  I also have a stylish harness style seat belt to keep me safe.  They make sure that the leg wells are padded in so that my legs can't fall off the seat, and they also stretch out my bed in the back seat so that can easily take a nap. 
6. Naturally, I always have a supply of clean-up bags for when I go for walks- a lady never wants to leave evidence of her body functions while on vacation or any other time.

     

I'm packed and ready to go! Now if I can just get those two packed up too, we'll be on our way.  

Coming up- the Florida Panhandle.