David and Gwen Battle the Spring Break Crowds

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Okay, time to reveal the Jiminy Cricket change. I had a horrible sinus headache yesterday and fell asleep about 5 pm. So I was up at 3 this morning working on the TR.

Jiminy has had a meet and greet at the Conservation Station for a good while ... so we were off to find him.

Friday, March 9 – Part 3

Jiminy is no longer there!!! We were so disappointed! A CM told us that he only visits now for very special occasions.

So we made the trip back to Africa and started walking toward Asia.

WARNING: IF YOUR NAME IS DAVE AND YOU LIVE IN TENNESSEE WITH YOUR WIFE AND 5 BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTERS, HIT PAGE DOWN 8 TIMES QUICKLY RIGHT NOW!

I could spend hours watching Devine -- she just mesmerizes me! I was lucky to catch her in good light and able to get some decent photos. The only other time we've seen her, she was in deep shade and my photos didn't turn out so well.

We decided to visit Nemo (another first)

Everyone swim down!

And then we headed back to Kali. Got there about 35 minutes after our FPs had expired and we weren’t allowed in. Were questioned about why we were late ... no go. So the new rules are now in effect in at least AK.

Other random AK photos:

Then we headed back to the fort.

Every time we arrived back at Dolly I immediately checked to see if we had been spiked – nope. Not again! I was hoping the spike granters hadn't forgotten us … I was being impatient.

David showed me part of the old railroad bed that crosses the dog walk just a couple hundred feet away from our site:

I checked on Karla (Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo..Karla) several times today, as previous days. Unfortunately our paths weren’t crossing, other than the day we arrived. Would have liked to have spent more time with her!

Next up: David and I split up.

[Live4FW 30]

Bummer about the FP's. Not sure I will use them in the future if I have to tie myself to being at a certain place and time. Lovin the report!

[stefa70 205]

Sorry David didn't find Jiminy.

Great pictures of Devine, though you should issue a warning, someone is creeped out by her. Not gonna mention names, but he lives in TN and has 5 beautiful daughters.

You're doing a great job with this report! You don't have to be funny, witty or a great writer, I could look at just your pictures alone.

Keep it up!

I hope your split with David was temporary?!?!

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Bummer about the FP's. Not sure I will use them in the future if I have to tie myself to being at a certain place and time. Lovin the report!

I know what you mean. We will just have to plan our time more carefully in the future.

Sorry David didn't find Jiminy.

Great pictures of Devine, though you should issue a warning, someone is creeped out by her. Not gonna mention names, but he lives in TN and has 5 beautiful daughters.

You're doing a great job with this report! You don't have to be funny, witty or a great writer, I could look at just your pictures alone.

Keep it up!

I hope your split with David was temporary?!?!

Thank you, Stef! I put a warning in the above post. Didn't know he's creeped out by her.

[stefa70 205]

Thank you, Stef! I put a warning in the above post. Didn't know he's creeped out by her.

:rofl2: I love it!!

[4mickey2 41]

while looking at these photos of Devine.... i sit here thinking "omg, the dogs would go crazy if they ever saw this!" then i start to think--let's see what Mo's dogs would do with this! :rofl3:

[4mickey2 41]

Great job on both of those updates, Gwen!

Sorry about you missing rope drop at the MK.

Again!

And this photo of the bride's ring outside the HM is awesome:

I know that I have seen it before, but on every one of our most recent visits, I have not been able to find it. I thought maybe it had been removed. Can you give me a clue about its approximate location- say in relation to the ghost carriage?

TCD

Love your score on Buzz! 'bout time you beat dave.. lol

i am going to look for this ring--just hope i remember by the time i get down there. i am going to send some friends on the mission of finding it when they head down.

loving the tr so far, gwen. food pics are great. now, i have a few places i need to check out. :)

[Gots2pitt.. Jeff 64]

Great updates Gwen. Keep up the good work.

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

"I don't hold with all the washing," grumbled Eeyore. -- Winnie the Pooh

Well, David should have listened to Eeyore today!

Right after lunch he decided to wash his glasses. Oops! They fell apart in his hands! He has to have his glasses to drive and to work.

So off to Lenscrafters we went.

No, they couldn't solder the frames, but maybe someone in the mall can. We asked, do you need to go ahead and remove the lenses? No, the person who repairs the frames can do it.

So we went in search of a bench jeweler. Mind you, this is in the largest mall in the southeastern US.

Lenscrafters is on the north end. The jeweler we found was on the south end.

Yes, the jeweler would attempt to solder the frames but he couldn't remove the lenses. Also couldn't guarantee the white gold solder would bond with the frames.

So back to Lenscrafters we went.

Then back to the jeweler. He said come back in an hour, so David and I had an early dinner while waiting.

Back to the jeweler ... yes, he was able to solder the frames.

Back to Lenscrafters ... yes, we will replace the lenses, but you will have to wait 30 minutes.

45 minutes later we had David's repaired glasses.

An afternoon wasted. We're going out of town in the morning to celebrate 2 of our grandchildrens' birthdays. Not sure when I'll be able to post the next update, but I will be back to post and to respond to comments ASAP.

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

Love the AK pics, even Devine!!

It really stinks when real life problems get in the way of vacation!!

[Gots2pitt.. Jeff 64]

Hope you had fun at the birthday party.

[K2P2mom 2]

I am loving this!! I also know I am late to catch this TR but.....that seems to be how I roll these days.

[stefa70 205]

Bummer about Davids glasses! I hate those kind of wild goose chases. Enjoy your day of grandbabies birthdays. We'll be here whenever you get to the next update. :)

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Thank you Stef and Gwen for the Devine warnings.

Unfortunately, it doesn't do any good when Cheryl goes and includes a Devine pic in a quote! :banghead:

Now I'm gonna go and have Devine-mares tonight. Thanks a lot Cheryl!! :rofl2:

[4mickey2 41]

:rofl3:

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

A sidetrack -- we're home from Raleigh, where we celebrated the upcoming birthdays of two of our grandchildren. The party was to be held at a local park. Weather didn't cooperate, so the party had to be moved indoors at the last minute. Oh, my gosh! We had so many people there that tables had to be set up in the garage!

Let me introduce you to our grandchildren.

The firstborn was Gabriel, who will always be our special grandchild:

He is 12 years old and stands about 6'4" in his basketball shoes. According to research his father has done, less than 10 kids his age nationwide involved in AAU basketball are as tall as him. He is our "gentle giant."

Gabriel was born with severe hydronephrosis. He had one kidney functioning at 60% and the other at 70%. Upon birth he was transferred to Brenner Children's Hospital and had tubes inserted to drain off the 2 pounds of fluid from his kidneys. He spent a lot of time in the NICU and underwent 3 lifesaving surgeries in his first 3 months of life.

5 years ago he lost his worst kidney and is now living with one partially-functioning kidney. He faces the transplant list if his remaining kidney can't keep up with his growth.

Next came Austin ... small in stature but extremely gifted. He is so academically gifted that when he was 9 he was accepted into Duke University's summer program.

Then there's Ethan -- Gabe's brother. Also large for his age but not so much so as Gabe. He is the creative one. He says he is never bored because he has imagination. He wants to be a storm chaser.

A few years later we had Caden. He's the rebel. Little brother to Gabe and Ethan.

Then a few days later Javan arrived ... also academically gifted.

Two years later Cailyn was born ... our only granddaughter! We celebrated her fourth birthday today. More on her to follow.

Two years later Lucas arrived ... we celebrated his two year birthday today. He was born apparently normal but was rushed back to the hospital a few days after release and spent the next several weeks in the PICU with a myriad of health problems. Several surgeries later, he got his G-tube removed a few months ago and is now thriving.

And then 7 months ago we welcomed the birth of Josiah. He is a easy-going, happy baby who laughs easily. He is a joy.

But more on Cailyn:

She is our only granddaughter. She was born a diva. By the time she was two years old, she was picking out her own clothes and dressing herself. She's hooked on shoes. She recently told her mother she wanted to go shoe shopping.

A few weeks ago while looking in a walgreens catalog she saw makeup and pointed at the lipstick and said Mom, "i want some of that pretty lip stuff, I am 3 years old ..."

She doesn't like to wear pants and refuses to wear jeans. Only skirts, dresses, and leggings for her.

In two hours today she wore 3 different outfits ... changed jewelry, hair accessories, everything:

Outfit one:

Outfit two:

Outfit three:

Is she not adorable, but heaven help her parents in a few years. Matthew says he will let her date when she's 21 ...

And last but not least we were blessed with Josiah, 7 months old.

Thanks for reading along!

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

Hmmmmm, I know I posted this response earlier today before the upgrade!! Awesome birthday party, you have BEAUTIFUL grandchildren!!

[stacktester 78]

Woke up not able to sleep and got caught up on the report. I passed by your place one day but you weren't there so we kept going. Great report. No matter how many times we go I always like looking at others pics since we really don't take any.

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Love your score on Buzz! 'bout time you beat dave.. lol

i am going to look for this ring--just hope i remember by the time i get down there. i am going to send some friends on the mission of finding it when they head down.

loving the tr so far, gwen. food pics are great. now, i have a few places i need to check out. :)

Thanks! My food pics are making me hungry ... haven't had breakfast yet.

Great updates Gwen. Keep up the good work.

Thank you!

Love the AK pics, even Devine!!

It really stinks when real life problems get in the way of vacation!!

You can say that again!

Hope you had fun at the birthday party.

Thanks. We did. Just a lot of kids in a small space!

I am loving this!! I also know I am late to catch this TR but.....that seems to be how I roll these days.

Glad you're here!

Bummer about Davids glasses! I hate those kind of wild goose chases. Enjoy your day of grandbabies birthdays. We'll be here whenever you get to the next update. :)

I'm working on the next update.

Thank you Stef and Gwen for the Devine warnings.

Unfortunately, it doesn't do any good when Cheryl goes and includes a Devine pic in a quote! :banghead:

Now I'm gonna go and have Devine-mares tonight. Thanks a lot Cheryl!! :rofl2:

Sorry about that!

Hmmmmm, I know I posted this response earlier today before the upgrade!! Awesome birthday party, you have BEAUTIFUL grandchildren!!

Thank you, Carol!

Woke up not able to sleep and got caught up on the report. I passed by your place one day but you weren't there so we kept going. Great report. No matter how many times we go I always like looking at others pics since we really don't take any.

Sorry we weren't there! Glad you're enjoying my pics. I can't imagine not taking any!

[stefa70 205]

Beautiful grandkids Gwen! Sounds like a great day, other than the weather.

Cailyn is going to be a handful as a teenager, and her parents will be beating the boys off with a stick! :popo:

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Beautiful grandkids Gwen! Sounds like a great day, other than the weather.

Cailyn is going to be a handful as a teenager, and her parents will be beating the boys off with a stick! :popo:

Thanks again, Stef! I think Cailyn is going to be a handful before she's 10!

Wow! I have 2,300 views! Thank you all!

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Saturday, March 10 – David and I Go Our Separate Ways - Part 1

David wanted to drive down to Winter Haven to explore the area. I felt like I hadn’t had nearly enough park time and wasn’t willing to give up the day. So we split up. He wasn't too happy with my decision, but I wasn't happy with his either.

I went to MK and had a blast. Finally experienced rope drop!

My head leaked. Such a great start to the morning!

I visited Snow White, Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan, Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, Swiss Family Treehouse … all with a 5 minute or less wait.

I had been playing around with my camera settings all week - trying to get some low light shots that I couldn't get before even with my SLR and 1.4 lens. Several appeared to pick up nothing until I photoshopped them. I know some of these are TERRIBLE pictures, but something is better than nothing!

Okay, this one is better than my last attempt:

And the most elusive of all, the dancing ghosts -- I warned you about some of these being TERRIBLE -- just squint and use your imagination:

Triumph! I captured something!

So on to POTC to try my luck there:

Well, you can't see the hair on his leg or the mud on his foot ... use your imagination again.

Dang it! I was so busy trying to compose this picture that I didn't notice he was spitting on me!

Then I moved on to somewhere we hadn't seen in 25 years:

too many photos ... to be continued in next post.

[Lou... 3,118]

Wow! I have 2,300 views! Thank you all!

Don't get a big head Gwen. Some of the "ignore this" threads have gotten more than that.

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Had an early lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern.

I started with the wonderful Minute Maid Light pomegranate lemonade:

Next came the Angus burger (minus bread) which was absolutely one of the best burgers I've ever had. It was topped with bacon and cheddar cheese, and my side was fresh fruit -- honeydew, cantaloupe, and grapes. Sorry, I forgot to take a picture of the burger.

I finished my meal with sugar-free raspberry sorbet which was served over strawberries and blueberries:

A few more random shots:

The crowd was building up again, so after lunch I went back to Dolly. Bag check as I was leaving:

David wasn’t feeling well again. He and Kassie had a not-so-great day. He said he just didn't feel right being alone. He was missing me ... how sweet.

I had given him my old camera so he could take pictures of whatever he found interesting:

Ho hum. Compare that to my morning!

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Don't get a big head Gwen. Some of the "ignore this" threads have gotten more than that.

:rofl2:

You don't have to worry about that. I'm just grateful that people are looking at it. Makes the time I'm spending on it more worthwhile.