A Magical Gathering

What I did on my Florida vacation:

Day 1: Technically not part of my Florida Vacation, but since it was the day I left home, I'm counting it. Mark and I departed Framingham around 4:30 with all of my luggage and the dog, headed for my parents' house. We dropped Maurice with them for the evening, and headed into Worcester's picturesque Main South to meet Pete and Andrea for dinner at Dalat (the last bastion of Vietnamese cuisine in our once formidable realm....). After fresh spring rolls and wonton noodle soup, we headed back to the Clark University campus to attend Mark and Pete's 10th reunion. It was.... enlightening. At one point I was accosted by a gaggle of girls who knew Mark, and seemed fascinated by me as "Mark G's wife." Apparently his tales of being a victimized objet d'amour in his college days were not all bluster and bragging for the benefit of the little woman!

Day 2: Our day began early, as Mom, Dad, & I had to catch a flight to Orlando out of Providence at 8 am. ::yawn:: Nothing eventful on the flight down... And getting to Walt Disney World is stupidly easy these days - even Clark Griswold can get there on the Magical Express, a (for now) free service to those with accomodations inside the compound... So we get there, wander around our enormous "Grand Villa" - we're talking 2500 square feet, cathedraled living room, full kitchen, three bedrooms, four baths, pull out sofa, and jacuzzi in the master suite. Way nicer than our house! - and then decide to take the ferry to Downtown Disney Marketplace for dinner at "The Earl of Sandwich." Tasty Iced Earl Grey/Lemonade! Dessert at the Ghirardelli soda fountain, and home early to rest up for our first full day of family fun in Disney World.

Day 3:Yo ho! Blizzard Beach is calling! Swimsuits on and ready, we headed off for waterslides and tube rides... The day was made well and truly memorable by the double sighting of a man we dubbed "Captain Banana Hammock." Suffice it to say this gentleman was ready for anything and not afraid to cover that only with a leopard print g-string. 'Nuff said, eh? After a nap for Rylee, we bussed to the Magic Kingdom, then ferried to Fort Wilderness for the Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue. Fried chicken, ribs, and corny humor, complete with napkin waving. Yeeeeeeeeeee-HAW!

Day 4:After a bit of a lie in, we all bus off to the Magic Kingdom, this time to conquer some of Rylee's favorite rides: the Cinderella Carousel, Small World, & Snow White's Scary Adventures, before Gramma and Grampy took Rylee home for her nap, and Jamie, Dy & I did Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain, Buzz Lightyear's SpaceRanger Spin, and Stitch's Great Escape. During all of this fun, we managed to get separated by a Main St. parade, and Jamie lost Dy's park pass while grabbing FastPasses for Thunder Mountain. Thank goodness Disney is so good at fixing problems, we got the pass reissued on the spot at Guest Relations. We took the monorail to Epcot and had a beer at the Rose&Crowne before we met Rylee and my parents at the Japan pavilion on the World Showcase for dinner. We got my dad to eat california rolls and seaweed salad!

Day 5:Wednesday morning, Rylee had what we thought was an ear infection, so Mom & Dy got a taste of Disney health care, by way of the Florida care clinic on the finges of the Park. They were actually impressed, and Ry got some meds to ease her achey ears. During which time, Dad went to the pool, and Jamie and I took in a little shopping. After lunch by the pool, and a nap for the bean, we bussed to the Animal Kingdom, where Jamie, Dy, and I fell in love withe new Expedition Everest coaster! Wahoo! Dinner at Boma in the Animal Kingdom Lodge, followed by giraffe and wildebeest watching from the hotel terrace. Cool! Later, Mom & Dad took Ry home and Jamie and Dy went out for a drink, while I finished up my shopping.

Day 6:Yup, we're still in Disney World. Up early for 8AM Magic Kingdom opening, and 5 rides in before our 9:15 character breakfast at the Crystal Palace. We did the Raceway, Peter Pan, Small World (again), Winnie the Pooh, and something else.... i forget... it's a blur. The Bean loved breakfast, and meeting the Hundred Acre Wood set, and after a trip to Goofy's Barnstormer coaster in Toon Town Fair, she headed off for a nap with Jamie & Dy, leaving me to hang with my parents like a spinster daughter. It was actually quite nice! We shopped a little on Main Street and did the Jungle Cruise (oh, so hokey!), and had Pineapple Whip at the Dole stand (just like Hawaii!). After all that, we met up with the Bean and family and had a few hours at Typhoon Lagoon before our Mexican dinner in Epcot.... Wait for it, we're done through yet! We stayed out late to catch the "Wishes" fireworks show back at the Magic Kingdom.

Day 7:Are we still on vacation? This morning we packed, and bussed off the Epcot again for a surprise Royal Banquet with the Disney Princesses for Ry's 3rd birthday. After that and a few trips through the Imagination ride (I heart Figment) we parted ways with Bean and Family, and Mom, Dad & I went back to the resort to catch our Magical Express back to Orlando International. But oh! Our travels are only beginning... Our flight was delayed by thunder storms which gave way to a spectacular rainbow. We didn't get back to Worcester until almost 1 AM, and the Mark was waiting to take me back to Framingham - long day!!!

The weekend was a nice recovery from the vacation. I attended VJ-S's engagement party, and the annual Pig Roast (mmmm, pig!), got some painting done in the DR (will we ever be done?), spent some time with Maurice and Mark, and finally headed back to work on Tuesday...

Were you all as exhausted as I was?