A week out and a lifetime ago...

We got to laughing last night about the fact that every time we come home from vacation, I always pull the 'I wish we were..' card.  Home is great, laundry is finally done and needing putting away, and we are starting to recover from the pace of Disney and the epic travelling there and back.  Now, we see pics and hear about Disney and wish we were back in Florida.  I guess that is the sign of a great experience, eh?  That you cannot wait to go back and wish in weak moments you were back there....this time last week we were drinking coffee in Magnell's kitchen, preparing to go to the ocean.  The screensaver on my computer is the pic posted; one of my faves from the trip.  For now, the ocean captures my imagination.  Soon, it will be the Rockies of Estes Park.  In all honesty, though, the sunsets of Iowa are where it is at for us.  The others are places to visit and cherish; here is home.  That is enough for me!

Some thoughts:

Best drive -- tie between the 'loop' Chris and MaryAnn have that goes thru a crazy swamp and along the ocean front.  We turned a corner, and were in swamp.  Another corner, there is the ocean whipped to a frenzy.  Jaw dropping.  The second first place was the interstate south of Chattanooga, TN into Georgia, up and over Signal Mountain.  Pretty cool, even in the rain.

Best food -- grilled burgers @ Magnells; fish and chips and battered burger at Raglan Road (with a cold Smithwicks!); spicy Bloody Mary at the pool bar

Best ride -- safari @ Animal Kingdom -- wicked cool.  Kari liked Expedition Everest; the kids Space Mountain; Emy, the whole adventure.

Best thing about Port Orleans Riverside -- all of it?  The smell of our room...so fresh so clean!  Did not once smell like a hotel room.

Best reason to go back -- the whole experience was so much more than I expected; I honestly am wondering how to spring for a trip next year (for sure in 2 years!).  Disney, hats off.  You got me hooked!

Tomorrow -- the 'worsts'...

The Longest Drive

Holy hell.  So in hopes of spending the afternoon in St. Louis and having a short drive on Saturday, instead of 3 am we decided to load up the team and head out last night at 9:30 -- long and short of it, leaving mid-night means the adults get little quality sleep and the kids wake up early.  Instead, we said our goodbyes, loaded up and rolled out towards Jacksonville.  We hit one of the local gas station/trinket shop/fruit stands for some thick coffee and away we went.  Kids sleeping around 10, Kari dozing, me listening to Greek vocab and putting the hammer down.  And then...

Somewhere around Tallahassee, the Seminole Nat'l Forest surrounded I-10.  The trees formed a type of tunnel it appeared; my eyes focused on the glowing lane markers and after a bit it felt like we were on some crazy ride to God knows where marked only by glowing dots in the distance. We did witness a shooting star, which was super cool; the road turned north after Tallahassee towards Alabama (our choice to avoid Atlanta's traffic in the early morning) and turned into something even more disconcerting.  The GPS had a tendancy to get us where we were going, albeit by somewhat non-traditional, well marked routes; we ended up on a one lane county blacktop somewhere in Florida's panhandle with the only other living creatures being police men (out in force) and deer (also out in force -- on the stretch between I-10 and I-65 in Montgomery, if we saw 1 we saw 50 RIGHT ON THE SHOULDER OF THE ROAD).  It was during this stretch, sometime around 1:30 am, that Jesus and I got serious about our chats regarding safety and deer staying off the road; He was good to keep both requests.  Big surprise, eh?  Needless to say in future trips, flight is preferred; if we drive, I-75 thru Atlanta and the billboards of Georgia will be the route of choice.  We did however see Montgomery around 4 am and both thought of Martin Luther King Jr...pretty amazing to be in places where such pivotal moments in history took place.

Kari took the wheel around this time, she took it from my hands, cuz I couldn't do it on my own...I snoozed until Birmingham when the skyline and Kari's thumpin' hip hop woke me up momentarily; the kids got up around 6 am Central after sleeping a solid 9 hours in the van without waking up.  We hit a McDonald's in Alabama for more coffee and breakfast, and kept on rolling.  Nashville in the early morn, Kentucky and Illinois, and finally arrived in St. Louis around 1:30 pm.  18 hours of road time, a freakin' lot of miles, two whipped adults and 3 squirreled out kids are now residing in the Ramada airport edition for the night.  Snow in the DSM, 70 here in Missouri; we'll see what tomorrow brings.  What a road trip this has been.  In the morning, we take off for home, we hope; at last report, Kansas City and St. Louis were under Winter Storm Warnings...unreal.  So many good memories, so much more to report!  Not tonight, though.  Time to rest.

Until tomorrow...

Palm Coast and Points Beyond

So we finally regain access to the internet last night; cleaned up some emails and reconnected a bit...funny how relaxing it was to NOT be able to check email and stuff...Twitter kept y'all updated and the lack of access kept me focused on re-creation rather than working remotely.  Not sure how that will impact the Greek quiz I have to take to get into my class, but...I'm an adult learner; I make choices. 

So the Disney experience was spectacular; too many highlights for a tired mind right now.  I'll be posting pics all next week and 'recapping' the trip for our fam (and any of you who choose to read...)  The Mouse was way cooler than I could have imagined and I cannot wait to come back in a few years. 

Today we went on a drive up A1A along the ocean; huge waves and great lunch at the Golden Lion in Flagler Beach...then on Matanzas (sp?) Beach for some sand and surf (a little sun, too), then up to St. Augustine with the Magnell family.  They showed us around the Castillo, a 1500's era fortress that guards the inlet to St. Augustine proper...Emy, Kristyn, Brady, and Wesley stowed the guns, fired the cannons, and waged war on the pirates in the harbor; Kari got to see her dolphins (didn't get to swim with them -- next time when it is warmer); we had a great coffee drink on the crazy old streets in St. A; the kids lit candles at the little Greek Orthodox chapel for Haiti, Chile, and for Mommy and Daddy; and now we are packing up and resting in preps for the journey north starting at 3 am Eastern time...gotta throw together a playlist for my amusement and alertness!

Our stay with the Magnells has been just what we needed -- super relaxed last night with beverages and conversation until way too late, an early morning run along the beach, lots of laughs and homecooked meals.  They have so gracious to us, especially having moved in a few days ago into their new home...we love these guys and are SO thankful for our time with them as we begin the decompress from Disney and re-entry preparations for home.  So it is on the road, hoping for St. Louis or somewhere south by tomorrow afternoon or evening.  Coffee will be my companion, as will Greek vocab and rockin' (softly mind you) tunes through the night tonight.  I gotta say I am not ready to come home -- I like vacation too much; in fact, I still get a touch verclempt thinking about leaving Port Orleans yesterday...Disney declares, "Welcome home!" as you arrive each night via bus to your hotel after the day at the park -- it truly felt like home...great thing is, I know we can go back and will.  Even better, I know HOME is waiting, calling us northward; I am as excited tonight to be there as I was to arrive in Orlando last Friday. 

Pray us safe; think of us as we go; cannot wait to see you all soon!

Until tomorrow...

A day for the books

Good evening from muggy Orlando!  We made it, finally...

Nashville this morning had thunderstorms and rain; little did we know that this would be the order for today.  We drove from Nashville until the Georgia border (south!) in rain that was persistent and at times biblical in nature.  Not sure I've ever driven in rain like that...and by the time we hit Florida, the sun was out (and I told Kari there better be magic on every corner after the day we put in)  We stopped at a few gas stations for breaks and refueling; Kari experienced the worst women's restroom in history outside Macon, GA.  We blew thru Atlanta, and really made ok time; it just is a freakin' long way here!  We arrived at the Port Orleans Riverside at 8 pm, just like our trusty GPS companion said we would.  This is a very cool, bayou themed place...excited to see it in the daylight.  The van ran great; the kids travelled even better today, and all things considered it was pretty stellar.  Tomorrow it is Hollywood Studios and some downtime...

Until then...

Disney family Epic, Day 1

11 March

3:30 am...alarm goes off at 3; water running thru the basement, up under the stairs, steady rain and upper 30's.  Drove in rain until south of Iowa City...6:00 am the kids wake up.  Sunrise was beautiful and 50's greeted the family near the IA/Missouri border.  Hannibal was breakfast and driver switch, and Kari drove us through brilliant sun and climbing temps (60's by St. Louis) and guided the fam under the arch and into Illinois.  Lunch stop near Carbondale (wondered if I'd get punched for wearing a UNI sweatshirt today there), then I took the wheel thru Kentucky and finally into Nashville around 3 pm.  73 was the highest I saw today...absolutely beautiful!  On the 'odd' side...check engine light comes on after running for nearly 700 miles like a champ; something about the gas cap and e-vapor code (thanks, Adrian @ the Aamco shop in Nashville)...reset and we ready to roll.  Traffic jam heading downtown, saw the Ryman (no free Lady Antebellum tix, but we tried!) and dinner at the Paradise Park, a redneck lovin' greasy spoon burger joint and rock bar.  Too much fun...Oh yeah; the SEC men's tourney is in Nashville, started tonight.  8 bazillion Kentucky fans crowded the streets...lots of musicians chasing the dream downtown...also walked around the Grand Ole Opry -- a pretty cool sense of history in these places, standing where so many greats have sung.  So now, 8:30 pm, and we are all done.  Cooked.  Needing sleep in the worst way.  The kids travelled day one like rock stars; let's hope Atlanta is kind and we get there in good time tomorrow.  10 hours or so left...Orlando or bust!

Goodnight, all...