Two for the price of one - Honduras update

[YENSIDCAMPER 66]

I am guessing it was a lazy morning on the balcony with coffee and conversation?

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

Welcome to our World!!!  Most of our trips are like this one!!  Now that we are empty nesters, moseying is the name of the game!!!!

[caveat lector 181]

Wow, I came in for the bargain ( 2 for 1), but am staying for the fun pics. You have mastered the "selfie"....Kudos. I usually come out with 3 more chins than usual when I try "selfies". Keep up,the great TR!

[lklasing 16]

I love that you got to mosey along for this trip.  We are power walkers too.  Well, I'm the power walker and I drag everyone with me. LOL

 

That pizza place sounds like it was in a great location for all.  Sorry that the rat dish SMB.

 

And you do look like Laura Linney.  That is who I had pictured in my head, but the name would never have come to me if you didn't tell me.

 

For me, moseying is a learned still.  My natural inclination is to walk about 5 mph, but Ray did a good job at getting me to slow down and enjoy the scenery rather than race everywhere we went.

 

 

Sounds like an awesome beginning! Mama did not care for the ratatouille either.

 

Yeh, the ratatouille just wasn't our thing.  Otherwise, it was an absolute success of a first day!

 

 

Yes, Laura Linney, not Laura Dern.  Whatever...that's actually a pretty close guess for me. 

 

That's a shame about your BOG experience.  Our dinner there in January was incredible.  I was actually close to cancelling the ADR, but am so glad we went there.  Of course, none of us ordered the Ratatouille.  I've honestly never met anyone who orders Ratatouille.  At least Ray thinks outside the box!  And I hope his pizza was good. 

 

I am guessing you both woke up the next day completely refreshed and loaded for bear. 

 

I think that BOG is definitely better than our experience would indicate.  I really think that we just got too tired and too hungry and that threw everything off balance.  That, plus Ray's "bold" ordering, as I called it, resulted in a fail.  

 

At first I thought you said that we woke up refreshed and loaded for beer.  That would have been pretty accurate, as will be seen in the next installment.

 

 

Welcome to our World!!!  Most of our trips are like this one!!  Now that we are empty nesters, moseying is the name of the game!!!!

 

I was so surprised at how much fun we had slowing down.  This will definitely be at least an annual event for us.

 

 

I am guessing it was a lazy morning on the balcony with coffee and conversation?

 

Hmmmm - I'll answer that in just a few minutes...

 

Wow, I came in for the bargain ( 2 for 1), but am staying for the fun pics. You have mastered the "selfie"....Kudos. I usually come out with 3 more chins than usual when I try "selfies". Keep up,the great TR!

 

To say I mastered the "selfie" is perhaps an overstatement.  But, I do take bunches of pics, so if I have 3 chins in one, I just go to the next where I only have two.

 

Thanks for reading!

[lklasing 16]

Oops – I forgot to include this in the last installment.  We wore our anniversary buttons on Wednesday, which was our actual anniversary.  We must have been told happy anniversary at least 40 times that day – seriously.  Both CMs and guests were either actually happy for it to be our anniversary or they were really good at faking it or both.  Regardless, it made us feel great and was a wonderful way to spend our special day.  If you go for your anniversary, make sure to wear your buttons!

[lklasing 16]

Thursday

 

On our first full day, I woke up at 7:00 Orlando time, which is just 6:00 at home, but that’s pretty average for me.  I decided to get up and dressed and head out for a run.  But on my way out, I snapped these pics of some nice Mickey images in the BWV carpet:

 

 

 

 

I had a super run.  It reminded me of running through FW in the early mornings in that no one (relatively) was out.  There were workers out squegeeing (sp?) the boardwalk so people wouldn’t slip.  There were a few other runners out and an occasional guy making a coffee run.  It really was very quiet and peaceful.  I ran to Epcot, around BC/YC, to HS and back and had a great run. 

 

 

 

At one point while I was passing the YC/BC pool area, I saw this:

 

 

Before this particular scene, I saw these guys on the slide.  But then when I saw them doing this, I decided that they must be lifeguards, practicing at saving our lives.  See the guy on the ground, receiving CPR?  Thankfully, he’s just a subject, teaching these guys how to take care of us.  Good stuff.

 

When I got done with my run, I took this picture to show y’all where our condo was:

 

 

But as it turns out, that’s not where we were!      Here is our actual portion of the building.  We are on the far right, top floor under the left-hand blue and white awning:

 

 

And, just in case you’re interested in how far off I was in initially trying to tell where we were staying versus where we actually were, here’s the bigger picture:

 

 

After my run, I shopped a little, did sit-ups in the exercise room, and then headed back to our room.  To my surprise, Ray was up and looking much better than he had last night before he crashed.  So, I got ready and went with Ray to Kouzzina for breakfast.   After last night, Ray wasn’t allowed to order anything weird – only very regular stuff – so he got the American breakfast.  This suited him just fine.  Mine was great too.  If you’re ever in the market for breakfast in the Boardwalk area, I definitely recommend Kouzzina! 

 

We talked about walking to HS, but after Ray’s extreme fatigue last night and my desire to help him avoid that today, I suggested that we should take the boat.  It was a fine decision, as long as you’re willing to sit back and relax – you stop at the BW/YC and at Swan/Dolphin on your way so it takes about 20 minutes.  But, it’s a nice way to travel when you’re not in a hurry.

 

On the friendship boat:

 

 

Once we were at HS, we thought about doing FP for TSM but we wouldn’t be able to get on till 2:50, so instead we headed to TOT/RNRC. 

 

 

Ray’s a car guy:

 

 

We pulled FPs for TOT since it was the longer line, which is opposite of the way I usually see it.  I figured out later that it was because only one elevator was working.  :faceplant2: Meanwhile, we did the single rider for RNRC, then doubled back to TOT, one of my all-time favorite rides.

 

Next, it was lunchtime.  I had made an ADR for Sci-Fi before getting on RNRC as it’s one of our favorite places.  Granted, the food is nothing to write home about, but it’s always cool, comfortable and not too loud since all the kids are watching the movies.  It was great as always.  After our fun lunch (which happens to be when we had our first adult beverage for the day – important fact given the later pictures from today), we decided we ought to head on back to the BW.  We took the boat again, and figured out that next time we should get off at the Swan/Dolphin and just walk to the BW – that would probably save about 10 minutes.  We stopped at the Big River Grill and had a beer, then headed to Stormalong Bay at the YC/BC.  Normally, SAB is incredibly exclusive to people staying at YC/BC, but since the main BW pool was out of commission, we were actually legal in going, which is something I had been looking forward to doing.

 

We enjoyed our time there, and I even did the slide just to check it out.  It was cold but not killer cold, but suffice it to say that it is not possible to go on it and not get your hair soaked.

 

 

 

From the top of the slide:

 

 

After my slide, I saw this, which I thought was pretty fun looking – volleyball or some other pool game:

 

 

We were about to start the walk back, when we saw a golf cart that was heading back to the BW, so we jumped right on:
 

 

More, including a few more drinks, to come...

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Looks like a great day so far.  We've never dined at Sci Fi.  Need to fix that someday. 

 

Cool that you got to use SAB. 

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

I am in!!

Laura Linney is definitely a long lost cousin of yours.

Great view from your balcony.

Good job going to Kouzzina. We love it for dinner, but have never had breakfast there.

Awesome you guys got an adults only trip.

Also looking forward to: Rhino Faces!!!!

[YENSIDCAMPER 66]

Okay definitely wrong on the lazy morning. You made me tired just thinking about your run.

[lklasing 16]

Looks like a great day so far.  We've never dined at Sci Fi.  Need to fix that someday. 

 

Cool that you got to use SAB. 

 

We really like Sci Fi.  Not fine dining by any stretch but it's just right for what it is.  This was definitely not the last time there for this double TR.

 

I am in!!

Laura Linney is definitely a long lost cousin of yours.

Great view from your balcony.

Good job going to Kouzzina. We love it for dinner, but have never had breakfast there.

Awesome you guys got an adults only trip.

Also looking forward to: Rhino Faces!!!!

 

I like Laura Linney, so I'll take being cousins!  And we do like Kouzzina.  We did dinner there on a previous trip which was great.  Breakfast isn't as exotic, but it sure is a great breakfast spot.  

 

Hang in there for the rhinos - they'll appear eventually...

 

Okay definitely wrong on the lazy morning. You made me tired just thinking about your run.

 

I have a hard time doing lazy morning in WDW.  Moseying is about as slow moving as I can do.

 

Thanks for reading!

[PureTcrazy...rita 380]

I feel relaxed just reading along! I like the SciFi for one of the same reasons you do, the quiet! It's one of the quietest restaurants at WDW!

[lklasing 16]

One more installment for the day.  I've got a big week this week with work so I'm not sure how much I'll be able to get on but I'll update as much as I can before next weekend.  

 

When made it back to the room, I cleaned up and then headed downstairs to check with front desk to make sure couldn’t stay in our wonderful boardwalk view room for the rest of the trip.  Alas, they said they were completely booked and we would have to move as planned tomorrow.   I took a few pics in the lobby and then Ray and I headed off for the evening.

 

 

(I know this isn’t, but it sure looked like an Alabama elephant to me: )

 

 

Get a load of this chair:

 

 

:bugeyes:

 

 

 

 

 

Before heading to dinner, we sat outside and enjoyed a glass of wine and some people watching at the bar at BWI.  There were lots of conventioneers there – we felt very sorry for people who were clearly on trip on business – they looked like they were trying to look happy hanging with the other conventioneers, but they were definitely not as happy as we were.

 

At 6:00, we arrived for our ADR at Flying Fish.  I had heard great things about this restaurant and I will say that it was very good.  The best part of the meal by far was cheese flight that we shared.  Ray had wine flight with the cheese, but was mainly port and dessert style wines, which I’m not crazy about, so I just did a regular glass of wine.   After the cheeses, we both ordered light for dinner as we had a lot of vacation to go and we wanted to save up a little.  I had the “Epcot Salad”, which was really good and very fun in that everything in it was grown in Epcot.  Ray had the crab cake appetizer and we split a side of risotto.  It was all good, but I had a feeling (correctly) that Ray would end up needing a snack before the night was over.

 

After supper, we walked to Epcot just for fun, since it was so close.  We went to the bar at Tutto Gusto, which was a very cool place.  The bar itself was completely empty but we learned that you are not allowed to pull bar stool from a table to the bar - some kind of licensing issue.  Huh?  Regardless, we both had a glass of the best red wine known to man and enjoyed the heck out of it.

 

 

 

We didn’t have any, but we were impressed at this machine to cut this meat (prosciutto?):

 

 

This about where things got silly.  If you’re counting, and I hope you’re not, we have been drinking pretty steadily since lunch at Sci-Fi.  So, without much explanation, here’s a sampling of the rest of the night:

 

 

 

 

I told Ray his eyes weren’t open enough in that last one, so here’s what I got next:

 

 

Some very poor pictures of Illuminations:

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, the only explanation I have for the last few pictures of the night is that there was a washing machine inexplicably in the elevator area, Ray’s socks had rubbed a blister, and I liked the light fixtures at the BWV:

 

 

 

 

Once we finally made it back to our room, we sat out on our balcony for our last night with that great view, snacked, watched sitcoms and then finally poured ourselves into bed.

 

Up next – a room switch with not quite the view, and a full day at the Animal Kingdom!

[lklasing 16]

I feel relaxed just reading along! I like the SciFi for one of the same reasons you do, the quiet! It's one of the quietest restaurants at WDW!

 

Exactly!!

[DaveInTN 3,247]

So basically, you spent the day getting drunk? 

 

Sounds great!

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

So basically, you spent the day getting drunk? 

 

Sounds great!

I second that!

Looks like you guys had an awesome time!

[Momoffive aka Loretta 34]

One more installment for the day.  I've got a big week this week with work so I'm not sure how much I'll be able to get on but I'll update as much as I can before next weekend.  

 

When made it back to the room, I cleaned up and then headed downstairs to check with front desk to make sure couldn’t stay in our wonderful boardwalk view room for the rest of the trip.  Alas, they said they were completely booked and we would have to move as planned tomorrow.   I took a few pics in the lobby and then Ray and I headed off for the evening.

 

 

(I know this isn’t, but it sure looked like an Alabama elephant to me: )

 

 

Get a load of this chair:

 

It's Lucy The Elephant in Margate NJ

http://www.lucytheelephant.org/?presets=preset5

Lucy The Elephant She survived the hurrican Sandy and has been open for years!!  A friend of mine worked her summer there a long time ago.

 

Loving the TR and making notes!

[h2odivers...Ray 952]

Caught up a few comments

What a great trip.

Lorretta stole my thunder about Lucy.

Ok I maybe weird but I love ratatouille. I love eggplant and zucchini. Was it just a bad ratatouille?

Adult only trip = beer for lunch and wine for dinner.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Great job, Leslie!

 

I have always noticed those Boardwalk rooms that face the lake.  That view is amazing!

 

It looks like you and Ray had a great trip.  I loved all the photos from the end of your night at Epcot.

 

Looking forward to hearing about the rest of this trip and the next one!

 

TCD

[alexwyattmommy 181]

I love the slightly tipsy photos.  It is good to document the fun and silly.

[lklasing 16]

So basically, you spent the day getting drunk? 

 

Sounds great!

 

Yup, and it was!

 

I second that!

Looks like you guys had an awesome time!

 

Thanks!  We really did!

 

It's Lucy The Elephant in Margate NJ

http://www.lucytheelephant.org/?presets=preset5

Lucy The Elephant She survived the hurrican Sandy and has been open for years!!  A friend of mine worked her summer there a long time ago.

 

Loving the TR and making notes!

 

Now that's something I didn't know.  Very cool!

 

About making notes, I would skip drinking steadily throughout the day part.

 

Caught up a few comments

What a great trip.

Lorretta stole my thunder about Lucy.

Ok I maybe weird but I love ratatouille. I love eggplant and zucchini. Was it just a bad ratatouille?

Adult only trip = beer for lunch and wine for dinner.

 

We've never had ratatouille anywhere before, so we have nothing to compare it to.  I know that it was the dish that brought the chef (and me) to tears in Ratatouille, but don't know anything beyond that.  I think Ray just ordered a little too far outside his box.

 

Yes about the adult only trip!

 

Great job, Leslie!

 

I have always noticed those Boardwalk rooms that face the lake.  That view is amazing!

 

It looks like you and Ray had a great trip.  I loved all the photos from the end of your night at Epcot.

 

Looking forward to hearing about the rest of this trip and the next one!

 

TCD

 

Thanks!  Glad you're with us!

 

I love the slightly tipsy photos.  It is good to document the fun and silly.

 

Thanks!  It is so rare never happens that Ray and I go out and throw down (in an old folks kind of way) any more.  It was really fun!   :wine:

[lklasing 16]

Friday

 

Once again, I woke up at 7:00.  This time, though, I had to really work to talk myself into going for a run.  To say it was harder today than yesterday is an understatement.  But the beautiful, unique setting somehow got my hungover lazy self out of the bed and back onto the boardwalk and I was awfully glad it did.  It is just so much fun to be out and about when hardly anyone else is up – there were only other runners around, plus families going to early breakfasts at Epcot and HS.

 

I didn’t run as far today as I had yesterday but I still had fun.  I didn’t take my camera since I had taken it yesterday, and I immediately regretted it when I saw the sun rising over the lighthouse at the BC/YC.  Oh well – you win some photo ops and you lose some.  When I made it back to the room, Ray was just getting up.  Sadly, we had to pack up and change rooms today as I had not been able to get the boardwalk view for the whole trip.  :faceplant2: Therefore, we were checking out and back into another room, this time a “pool or garden view”, rather than our beloved “boardwalk view”.   :-[  When I went down, I was able to check out but couldn’t check back in yet as it was too early for rooms to be assigned. 

 

While Ray waited on bell services to pick up our suitcases, hang up clothes and, most importantly, potato chips and wine, he sent me to find a “light breakfast”.  I knew we were heading to AK today and we had a big breakfast yesterday, so I took him at his word when he said “light”.  Combine that with the fact that there were no options to be had for anything other than a sit-down breakfast at Kouzzina, and you end up with me going to the temporary Boardwalk Bakery site.  (The storefront was closed but they had a temporary place set up in a tent outside.)  Not surprisingly, they had nothing but pastries, cereal and fruit.  So, I got us both an apple.  Good choice, huh?  Well, ummm, no.  The apple didn’t go over very well with Ray.  Despite him having said he wanted a “light” breakfast, this was definitely not what he had in mind.  Apparently, he was thinking more along the lines of a breakfast sandwich.  However, the Boardwalk Bakery place had nothing like that.  I know Ray said something about a “damn poison apple”, he ate a few bites, and then we were off to AK.  :laugh:

 

 

We made it to AK before 10:00, which was pretty good considering us having to move out of our lovely Boardwalk view room.  We went first to EE since the wait wasn’t bad and I didn’t want to risk not being able to ride later.  We did single ride, but somehow Ray rode by himself. 

 

 

 

After EE, we decided to really try to enjoy parts of AK that we had never done, and there were a bunch we could do.   As we walked rather aimlessly along, we came upon Flights of Wonder, which was just about to start.  Since we had never seen that one, we walked right in and sat down.  It was great!  Very entertaining and we both learned a lot about lots of birds.  (Don’t ask me any questions now, though – vacation leads to short term memory problems…)

 

 

 

Next, despite our intent to do only new things, we decided to go pull FPs for KS.  On our way, though, we found this:

 

 

 

Another first!  We had never seen Devine before.  She was kind of beautiful and kind of creepy – like a scary clown, except pretty.

 

Next we took a stroll on the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail – another first time event for us.  We really loved this too – very relaxing, got to see lots of interesting stuff.  Here is a random sampling:

 

 

 

This guy was laid back:

 

 

And Ray loved this one:

 

 

 

 

When we finished the Pangani Trail, we jumped on the train for Rafiki’s Planet Watch.  Again, another first, but this time we weren’t as enthralled as we were with the other firsts.  We took the train to the Rafaki place, but didn’t really get much out of it.  We had fun taking pictures at the petting zoo, and we sat in a very small room and listened to jungle sounds (I’m sure I’m over-generalizing it, but that’s what I remember), and that was about it.  I know we must have missed a bunch of fun stuff as Disney doesn’t do anything halfway, but we just didn’t “get” this particular attraction.

 

But, as I said, we had fun in the petting zoo part:

 

 

 

 

Somewhere in this installment, I forgot lunch – as best I can remember, we grabbed sandwiches at the Tamu Tamu place.  I knew I was forgetting something.

 

Next we hit an attraction we hadn’t been to in many years – I’ll see if y’all can figure out which one:

 

 

(We actually get to watch dung beetles when we take the dogs to the lake, so we have a particular affinity toward them.)

 

 

More hopefully tomorrow!  Hope everyone's Monday has treated them okay!

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Oh NO!  Leslie, Leslie, Leslie....you broke Cardinal Rule #1 of Fort Fiends trip reports.  And you were doing so well, too! 

 

PLEASE, you must post a warning for me prior to posting any pictures of Devine.  That thing CREEPS....ME.....OUT!!!

 

And to think I hadn't needed the services of my Psychiatrist yet this year.  There goes that track record. 

 

I need some scotch. 

[Katman1356...Jason 1,140]

I need some scotch. 

 

AKA his Psychiatrist.

[stacktester 78]

I did the trail last year for the first time myself. Rafiki's PW is cool when you have a young kid showing them the vet labs and petting zoo. I need to do the trail again. I thought that was pretty neat. 

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

Another great update.

You guys accomplished a ton at AK for a laid back day!

Good job.