Out With Friends

My friend Ellen and her husband Chuck moved to Florida a couple of years ago and, since we’re in the neighborhood, we made plans to get together yesterday.

And what a day we had! After oohing and ahhing over their lovely home set right on a lake, we were taken to the local weaving center in our friends’ development. This place has looms galore as well as classes for those who want to learn to weave. It was a major factor in Ellen’s choice to live here.

After a great lunch of Mexican food we headed over to Fort DeSoto where Auggie got to romp by the sea off leash and make new friends. The fort has a beautiful dog beach. Just look at him mugging for the camera.

It was a wonderful day and we plan on returning to visit next time we are in the area. Thanks Ellen and Chuck!!

For the next few days I’ll be hanging with my sisters for a Sisters’ Weekend. Good times!

Keys to the Kingdom Tour

The tour we took on Monday was the cherry on the sundae for us, and even Bob, who has been to Walt Disney World many times, was wowed by it. We arrived at the Magic Kingdom an hour before the park opened and were amazed that other people were there already even though no rides were running and shops were still closed.

Our tour guide, Emilia, was very engaging and kept us interested the whole five hours.

We came away very impressed with the details built into this park. For example, in Liberty Square there is a path down the center of the walkway that indicates the trench where the townsfolk would toss the contents of their chamberpots.

This Liberty Bell is made from the same mold as the original bell (in Philadelphia.)

The Haunted Mansion ride looks so different outside from the one in Disneyland because it is set in Liberty Square while in Disneyland it is found in New Orleans Square, each building fitting into the architecture of the region.

We went backstage (sorry, no photos were allowed!) to see what was behind and under the attractions. There is a tunnel system under the streets of WDW where the cast members (there are no “employees” of WDW, only “cast members”) move from one area to another, get dressed, eat lunch, and move supplies and trash. The tunnels were actually built first, then the park was built on top.

Some other facts we learned:
The Beast’s Castle Is about 10 feet tall, to give the illusion that it is far off in the distance.

The boats on the Jungle Cruise are on a track and the boat captains only control the speed.
There are drivers inside the floats that parade down Main Street.
There is a suite of rooms inside Cinderella’s Castle that are only used by V.I.P.s and contest winners, and very few people (including cast members) are allowed to even visit those rooms.
The Magic Kingdom is designed to be like a theater production. The signs on the shop windows are the credits, there are scene changes when you walk from one land to another where suddenly you no longer hear the music from the land you have left behind. Trees and buildings block the other lands so you won’t see Cinderella’s Castle in Tomorrowland, for example.

If you ever have the chance to take this tour, do it! It’s well worth it!

Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios

On Friday we visited the Animal Kingdom. What a fun park!

We started out by taking the Kilimanjaro Safari, seeing lots of animals (real this time, not animatronic like at the Magic Kingdom’s Jungle Cruise.)

We wandered around the world of Pandora and saw amazing sights. So well done. The scale of these scenes is so huge that photos don’t do them justice. Our ride on Avarar Flight of Passage was an intense virtual reality ride that you have to see to believe. Even though I don’t think any ride is worth a 2 hour wait, apparently many people thought it was worth it. We used our second Fast Pass of the day to ride on it.

Disney has outdone itself in creating little worlds within this park.

When we saw the Expedition Everest rider decided to pass on it, even though we could have skipped the lines. If you look closely you can see the line of roller coaster rides making their ascent. And what goes up, must come down. Nope. Not for us.

A very fun day.

Hollywood Studios

On Saturday we went to Hollywood Studios which was somewhat of a letdown after the other three parks. There really wasn’t much there for us. It seemed to be mainly shopping (really, how much Disney stuff do you need?) and restaurants, with rides thrown in. We had passes to Star Tours which was a big disappointment after Soarin’ and Avatar rides. Very short and far too much build-up for what the ride was. But it was a lovely day, I’m glad we saw the park, and Auggie was glad we returned earlier than usual!

Epcot

I really liked this park.

The Flower and Garden Show was going on and the displays were amazing.

I was entranced by the different country exhibits.

It was a very hot day, however, and even though the flower displays held up, we started to wilt. We had Fast Passes to Soarin’ Around the World which we really enjoyed although we almost missed it. Had we arrived even one minute later we would have lost our Fast Pass, and there was almost a 2 hour wait without one. This was a great ride. Disney seems to be using virtual reality rides a lot, and I for one am a fan. They are thrilling without feeling dangerous.

Between our ride, however, and our dinner reservation, we had six hours to kill. We left the park and rode on the Monorail before returning.

View of the entrance to the park from the Monorail.
Finally, we decided to walk over to the Coral Reef Restauraunt and ask if we could move our reservation up. And they were happy to do that! Probably the fact that 4:30 is not an ideal dining time for most people made it easier for them to fit us in!

Our table overlooked the giant fish tank, with sharks, skates, and stingrays swimming past us. The food was excellent, too. There was exactly ONE vegan entree, a Tempura Cauliflower dish with baby potatoes, soy sausage crumble, and baby spinach and it was yummy. Bob had the Lobster Macaroni and Cheese and enjoyed it as well.

Visiting the Magic Kingdom

This has been a very busy week—visiting Walt Disney World is exhausting and exhilarating and such fun. We are finally taking it easy today so I have the energy to post some photos.

We arrived on Tuesday the 17th, settled into our campsite at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Campground without any problems, and hopped onto a shuttle (a 90 second walk from our door) to check out the Magic Kingdom. Some more-experienced visitors gave us the low down as we waited for the shuttle, and we decided to take the bus to the Transportation & Ticketing Center and switching to another bus to the MK. This is the fastest option.

Once inside the park, I was excited to see Cinderella’s Castle in front of us.

Lights were starting to come on and the street was beautiful despite the crowds. We walked around for a little bit, went on a ride, bought a Starbucks You Are Here mug for daughter Kristen, and then headed back to the campground. It was the end of a travel day and we were tired.

 To get back, we took the boat across the lake to the campground. The sunset was lovely!

The next morning we returned for the day. We rode on the People Mover and took a trip back in time to the Carousel of Progress, an exhibit I had seen as a child at the New York Worlds Fair in 1964. I had gotten Fast Passes to The Jungle Cruise, Splash Mountain, and the 7 Dwarves Mine Train, but by the end of the afternoon we decided to skip the Mine Train. 

 The Jungle Cruise was nice and classic Disney, with its animatronic displays.

Neither Bob nor I are really roller coaster people but it was so hot that we decided to try Splash Mountain. That 50’ drop at the end was intense, as you can see from Bob’s face. I just ducked my head and closed my eyes and was fine. Lol!

I find it amazing that the Disney parks are able to build mountains that appear to be of such a large scale. I hope to find out more about this when we have our behind-the-scenes tour on Monday.

Tomorrow: Epcot.

Saint Augustine, FL

Bob and I have been having a very nice time in St. Augustine, Florida for the past several days. This city is the oldest city in the U.S., dating back over 450 years to 1565 when it was founded by Pedro Menendez. On Saturday we drove into the city and walked around the historic district.

We ate lunch at the Floridian, seated outside on the patio. Bob and I had the fish sandwiches, except my “fish” was made out of tofu. It was very good.

We saw the Oldest Wood Schoolhouse in the U.S., dating to the early 1700s.

We visited the St. Augustine Pirate & Treasure Museum, and saw the original Jolly Roger Flag (one of only two pirate flags in existence) as well as the world’s only surviving pirate treasure chest, owned by the infamous pirate, Thomas Tew of Newport, Rhode Island who was killed in 1695.

We walked around the Castillo de San Marcos, the oldest masonry fort in the United States, and enjoyed the beautiful day.

Besides sightseeing, we’ve been relaxing and enjoying the campground. I started weaving a hearts band, which I’m enjoying very much.

And today is the day we move to Walt Disney World for a week! Who hoo!!

Historic Pensacola

Yesterday Bob and I drove to the historic district in Pensacola learn about the history of this area. Pensacola has a very nice museum district and, using our reciprocal pass from Kern County Museum, we were able to take the tour without charge.

Our guide took us through several buildings typical of the era between 1805 and 1875, including the Dorr House. So many of the furnishings of the home were familiar to me since similar items were in my grandparents’ house when I was a child.

One thing that fascinated me was the home’s jib windows, which allow the wall below the window to open so that one might walk out onto a porch. These were used instead of regular doors because homes were taxed according to how many doors it had.

We also went into the Old Christ Church which has an interesting history.

Built in 1832, three of its early rectors succumbed to disease and were buried under the floor space of the church. During the Civil War, Union forces inhabited the building, using it as a jail, a military barracks, a hospital, and a chapel. In 1903 the church was desanctified and the congregation built a new church a few blocks north of the old one. The old building fell into further disrepair until it was repaired and restored in 1957. In 1988 an archeological dig discovered the three rectors under the floorboards, and the bodies were reinterred with pomp and ceremony. At least one observer to the ceremony saw three extra men in the procession who were assumed to be the spirits of the dead rectors.

They still lie under the floorboards of the church with a plaque commemorating them.

We also visited the Museum of Commerce and the Museum of Industry, as well as some of the smaller homes in the district. Reenactors were available at many of the sites to answer questions. We certainly enjoyed our visit to Historic Pensacola.