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No longer on the river and, again, an empty nester. Back to living on Fleming Island and making some more friends!

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Long time, no writing!

It's Tuesday afternoon and I'm sitting here with Justin, watching the palm trees toss in the wind. It's a waiting game, now, to see what happens with Tropical Storm Fay.

We drove to Orlando using both cars to accomodate the 'peoples' and the luggage. Justin rode with Lisa and Noah, keeping Manny company in the backseat. About half the trip was in rain which neither of us drivers much enjoyed, and it was a relief finally getting to the hotel.

Lynn was thinking it might be wise to stay at the hotel for the late afternoon and evening, hitting the park in the morning. Lisa said they were up for going anyway regardless of the forecast so off we went. By the way, the hotel, which we've stayed at before, was perfectly lovely.

It takes an incredible length of time to actually get into the park even after you've arrived---getting from the parking area to the tram, to the boat, to ticketing, admissions with bag searching, and then into the Magic Kingdom. A surprising number of "guests" remained on the grounds in spite of earlier storms, but we were thankful to only suffer from the humidity instead of rain the rest of the evening!

The boys, and Noah, enjoyed the time in the park starting with the Tiki Room. We also rode on the pirate ride which rather freaked out Manny at first. Everyone thoroughly loved It's a Small World, being able to nearly walk right on. Our longest wait was for the Jungle Cruise but the lines mostly kept moving along.

While the boys checked out Mickey's Play Area, Justin and I waited on a bench. They didn't spend much time there so we headed over toward Main Street on the choo choo train, in order to see the fireworks display. Lisa is a huge fan of Tinker Bell so she wanted a close view to see Tinker Bell soar from the top of the castle.

Lynn and I found a bench near the train station and exit to wait and watch the fireworks, while Justin went off with Ellisons. Soon he came back with a gift for his mama---a Mickey Mouse-shaped tray with a large rice krispy treat face, fudge and peanut brittle making up the ears. He bought it for me because he said it "looked like you (me)!" Justin was correct, I loved it!!!! He stayed with Lynn and me, being able to see the fireworks perfectly from our vantage point. It never ceases to amaze-----the great cross-section of the world which passes through DisneyWorld!

The boys were worn out by the time the crowds thinned enough for us to head toward the monorail for the ride to the parking shuttles. Manny fell asleep in Lisa's arms which ached from his weight before long. We stood in line for what seemed like hours for the monorail but eventually it was our turn. Two men gave up their seats to us, one for Lisa and one guy asked me to take his seat. Wonderful gesture, highly potent body odor surrounding me. Not only a day's worth, either, more likely months! It still was very polite of them to offer their seats for the ride.

We were separated going back to the parking lot so when the rest of us got there, Noah and Gabe were standing by the car, waiting. It felt wonderful to sit down again, and without any delays, arrived at the hotel. We gathered in our room first to have some sandwiches which I brought along in the cooler, leftovers from the pool party the day before. Following our snack, all retired for the evening, washed up and ready for a good night's sleep. Ahhh, it felt great to recline!

Lynn and I watched the weather to see what Fay was doing out there in the Gulf, then went to sleep. Justin slept in the parlor on the pull-out sofa rather than the bed portion. It probably would have been more comfy pulled out but he claims it was fine that way, which may be why he's asleep in the chair as I write this!!!

All of us met for breakfast which was quite tasty, hot to order. Love that Embassy Suites! Justin and I came back home, leaving the rest to enjoy the other half of their ticket value today. I hope they didn't get rained upon all day. Justin and I got groceries at Publix, driving home from Orlando without being rained on. Once inside the store, the heaven's opened!!! No one seemed to be panic buying, only 'normal' shopping as far as we could tell. We got some food stuff for dinners including veggies, as it never even occurred to me to buy any for the boys. They love veggies!!!

Now, we are waiting for them to get "home" here and watch for the storm to do something, besides ruin our pool time!!!!