Florida Vacation, Day Four - Magic Kingdom!

On Sunday morning we started off with a breakfast buffet, after which we went to the dock to catch a ferry to Magic Kingdom.  It was a beautiful, sunny morning.

Here it comes!

Magic Kingdom!

We stopped first of all at a shop to get a back pack to carry our stuff in.  Dick found what he wanted!!

Our first visit was to the Swiss Family Treehouse. 

The bedroom.

The kitchen.

We went on a Jungle Cruise where our hostess had us laughing the entire ride with her wit and puns.  If only wish I could remember them!

Lisa sat out while we went on The Magic Carpets of Aladdin.  

Next was Pirates of the Caribbean. 

Lisa and I both sat out while they went on the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.  I don't do roller coasters anymore, and Lisa was trying to get rid of a head ache. The scenery was nice while we waited.

Then we went on  the Liberty Square Riverboat, a real steamboat.

Somewhere in there we ate lunch.

Then we went on the "It's a Small World" ride.  A little girl in the car behind us was singing along with the song at the top of her lungs during the entire ride.  It was SO CUTE!!

The last thing I have pictures of are from the speedway.  Here's Dick in his race car.....

....and here's Sophie!!  George was with her, but the second time around she did all the driving!  Watch out, world!

Our last two stops were the Tomorrowland People Mover and the Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor.  Both a lot of fun, but I guess I was tired of taking pictures!  

Here's our official Magic Kingdom photo.  I think I left my copy of it at Lisa's house, so this is just a picture of a picture taken with my cell phone for Facebook that day.

We were a tired, sleepy bunch on the drive home that evening.  Of all things, in addition to playing Angry Birds on Grandpa's phone, Sophie LOVED following the little blue dot on Google Maps as we drove!  We picked up some yummy Indian food on the way home and ate it at their house with George's mom Sharyn, who had already picked up the dogs and brought them home. 

What a weekend!  Totally above and beyond our regular life, and certainly above and beyond what George and Lisa needed to do for us.  But we LOVED it and appreciated it and will always hold the memories of it in our hearts. 

Florida Vacation, Day Three

On Saturday morning we packed up the car with all our stuff plus the two dogs.  Our first stop was a doggie lodge where Nilla and Baxter would be staying.  Our entire weekend was almost turned upside down over a misunderstanding between their vet and the lodge about a necessary vaccination.  But it was all resolved after a number of phone calls and faxes, and we were on our way to Sophie's gymnastics meet at a convention center in Lakeland.  

Lisa made sure Sophie's hair was tied back before we went inside.

Warming up and getting last-minute encouragement from her coach.

This is what the floor looked like.  There were at least eight things going on at once, and we needed to keep track of where Sophie was - and her scores of course!  Lisa got a lot of great videos, which I don't have here at home (yes we are now back home!).  

Here's one very short video I took of her vault jump.



Silly Sophie, always the clown!  She got better scores than she had at any other meet so far, two medals, and a trophy - a good day!

We were so hungry by the time it was over, and Lisa had brought along a nice variety of healthy snacks for us to eat as we drove from Lakeland to Orlando.  

Our destination was Disney's Fort wilderness Campground, where we stayed in this adorable cabin.

After we napped for a little while, Lisa and George got ready for a night out at Epcot's Food and Wine Festival.  We took them in the golf cart to the dock where they got a ferry across the lake.  (I absolutely cannot believe I didn't get one picture of the golf cart!!  It was our only transportation while at the campground.)   After we dropped them off, Dick, Sophie, and I took a little tour of the campground, then went back to the cabin to get ready for our night out.

Here we are, all ready for the Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue!

When we arrived they took pictures of us again!

Our seats were on the balcony.  The food was great - barbecued pork ribs, fried chicken, corn, garlic mashed potatoes, and strawberry shortcake.  

The show was hilarious!!  Sophie just laughed and laughed and laughed.  One of the actors reminded us of Will Farrell, and of course he's the one that caused most of the laughs.  

When it was over there were two huge horses and a wagon ready to give us a ride.  

Dick took this picture right before we got off.  As you can see, Sophie was getting to the end of a loooong day!

The ride was actually 45 minutes long and included a stop by the lake to watch the fireworks!

We went back to our cozy cabin and Sophie got her shower.  Dick went on the golf cart to pick up George and Lisa at the dock around 10:30, but try as she might to stay awake, Sophie was asleep before they got back!

Vacation in Florida, day two

We've been so busy down here, I haven't had any time to sit at the computer to blog!  Whew!  I need a vacation!!  JUST KIDDING!!  We are having so much fun and are being spoiled absolutely rotten!

   

On Friday, after I posted the last time, we went to Sophie's school for the Walk for Breast Cancer Awareness.  Before we walked, there was an assembly in the auditorium.  Lisa and I did not know that we should have brought a box of tissues!  They honored the elementary principal who fought and BEAT breast cancer ten years ago.  After she spoke, different people presented her with roses of various colors, each representing things like hope, love, etc.  Last of all was a huge surprise - her adult children came on stage with red roses.  She did not know they would be coming (her daughter came from Chicago!!)  Makes me tear up just writing about it!  They also honored the woman who spearheaded the school's Walk for Breast Cancer Awareness, whose mother died a few years ago from the disease.  Then they honored all cancer survivors, including a little second grade girl who came on stage.  Dick got to stand up with the survivors.  And here come the tears again.  

I also thoroughly enjoyed a song done by the middle school chorus and instrumental ensemble.  I do indeed miss that.

And then we walked.  The weather was perfect, as it has been the entire time we've been here.  Looking ahead, they will be getting rain next week, so thank you, Lord!!

Sophie had a gymnastics practice that evening, which we watched.  Afterward we picked up pizza, then came home to Lisa and George's to eat and prepare for the big weekend.

I'll post about that next time.