I Told You Driving Was Bad For Your Health! *2/2* NEW TRIP REPORT LINK P102

[khertz]

I love the Lighthouse pics!! That seems like something that would be right up my alley. I used to love visiting the plantation homes around here with my grandparents when I was little. I love historic homes/buildings! That staircase is pretty impressive, too!!!

 

[MEK]

Love the pictures from Longwoods! It looks like a great place to visit and see the different exhibits.

Thanks! I love Longwood Gardens. All their displays are so top notch. I really enjoyed visiting during the different seasons of 2013. The only season I really missed was summer, but I did go in late spring twice, so I guess that counts.

Your lighthouse tour sounds very nice. I know there are several lighthouses in that part of FL, but I've never been to one. From the sounds of it, it sounds like a great thing to stop by and see after the beach or to kill time before a dinner.

I would love to find some more Florida lighthouses. I really enjoy seeing them. I've toured quite a few lighthouses in several different states, but this was one of the best displays to accompany the lighthouse that I have ever seen.

I was so behind! I'm slowly getting caught up on all my threads...

Glad your back!!!! Hope your holidays were awesome!

So, going back:

- Nice pirate pics!

Thanks! I have heard of borrowing/renting a lens with a lower f-stop for dark rides. I am seriously considering that, although I would actually love a whole new camera system but that's not going to happen!

- I've never been on BTMRR during the fireworks, but I can imagine how amazing that would be. I agree that it is so, so, so much better in the dark. A whole different ride, really.

It really IS a whole different ride. There is a certain magic to riding it at night that is totally not there during the day. When the fireworks are going off its even better!

- The unidentified HM ghost in that one picture is truly very creepy!

I was surprised when I went back and saw that picture. The cool thing about taking pictures in HM is really don't know exactly what you are going to get and when you get something creepy it really makes you wonder if the HM IS truly haunted.

- Characters in Flight looks pretty cool. Once, many many years ago when I was in junior high, my family went up in an untethered balloon in Colorado. I thought it was amazing. My dad, being the tallest and heaviest in the group, had to stand in the center of the basket, not hanging on to the exterior rim (it was just a standard sort of balloon basket, not a big viewing one like the Disney balloon). I didn't learn until years later that he, being afraid of heights, was terrified the entire time!

Oh No! You're poor dad! I can't imagine going up in a balloon if I was afraid of heights. *shudder* Characters in Flight was really a cool experience. I am so glad we decided to do it. It was a great choice.

- Sorry you had such a bad skin reaction to Typhoon Lagoon! I have to admit, the water parks hold no interest for me, though considering my DH loves water parks, I'm sure I'll end up at one eventually (anything to make him like WDW more, right?).

Fortunately, when Denny and I visited BB in October I had no trouble whatsoever, so it must be whatever extra strength chemicals they use for summer. Lesson learned - one loop around the lazy river and OUT!

- Congrats on your VGF purchase! That is so exciting. I'm dying to stay there, and it is really seriously making me consider DVC. One of my biggest reasons for avoiding it was that I rarely plan vacations far enough in advance, but that'll probably change, now that Simba's around.

I'm very excited about the VGF. I can't believe we still have to wait until next October to go, but that's OK. I want to use it for 3 days this October and then again in 2015. I was thinking maybe Christmas time. Anyway - some DVC resorts do require some uber planning, but you can still usually get OKW or SSR without a lot of notice. Since I actually like SSR this doesn't bother me. I like the variety of the different resorts and the ability to try different ones.

- I STILL haven't been on the not-really-all-that-new-anymore-is-it Star Tours. First I was pregnant, then we just haven't made it over there on our last few trips.

It's a fun ride. I really like it because I like those virtual reality type rides. I like that the sequences change, too. It's a fun diversion.

- I love Walt's desk...I used to want to sit at one of those, too, probably thanks to my Laura Ingalls obsession.

Ah, yes, Little House on the Prairie - of course! I think Doris said those desks were very uncomfortable so I guess we really weren't missing much!

- I like the new Test Track, too. The extra darkness and sleekness inside the ride makes it seem much more exciting than it used to be, I think.

Exactly! I agree that it is more exciting because its more visually appealing. I do, however, respect the opinion of those who don't care for it.

- I always consider Coral Reef, then talk myself out of it...seems too expensive to take a chance on! But maybe I'll have to reconsider next time.

As long as I have been on the boards it has gotten bad reviews and I know that at one time the portions were ridiculously small, but I guess I have seen enough pictures of it lately that I was curious. My curiosity paid off. I loved my lunch. So good!

- Your carriage house (for Feb?) looks adorable!

Thanks! I think its so cute. I'm definitely looking forward to it!

- The beach looks lovely...and yes, now I do want a beach house!

You, me, and everyone else!

 

[MEK]

I get the heebie jeebies just looking at your pictures of the lighthouse. Being the Mrs. Scared of Heights, I know that I'd never be able to go up there. Thank goodness there are folks like you who can climb up and take pictures for people like me to see.

Oh Lisa - you are too funny, but if you don't like heights than you probably wouldn't like climbing up those stairs. I find those circular stairs to be a little dizzying, so I would recommend avoiding them. The view from up top was pretty cool.

Thanks for posting pictures of the signage at the museum. I love looking at stuff like that and could wander around a place like that for hours.

You're welcome. It was a wonderful display. I love stuff like that too and I'm so glad we went there. Denny can usually spend a ton of time at those type of places. I usually get done before him. If I recall, we all ended up waiting for him to finish touring.

Oh my! The Fall displays at the gardens are gorgeous! I especially like the wreath made from the succulents and the birdbath with the two birds.

I LOVE that wreath. How COOL is that?

The birdbath was in the children's garden. It's usually too crowded to go in there. This time it was only semi-crowded, so I was able to get a few hasty pictures.

Yay! A KatMark meet!

I'm so excited! Two Kathy meets in one year and a bonus Mark meet! Woo Hoo!

I gotta say, I've never seen this place.

It is at the VERY end of bayview road. If you are on Route 9 going north it will connect with Bayview. On your right you will see a sign for residents only. It is all the way back there to the right. I would never have the nerve to drive my car back there, but I have gone back there on my bike.

However, I see this one all the time! So picturesque, huh?

Yeah. Not! But the one down in Lewes kind of makes up for it!

I love the Lighthouse pics!! That seems like something that would be right up my alley. I used to love visiting the plantation homes around here with my grandparents when I was little. I love historic homes/buildings! That staircase is pretty impressive, too!!!

I have always loved light houses. I've toured most of those on the outer bank and I've visited a few in Maine, too! This one was restored very nicely. I really, really enjoyed how well everything was presented.

I'm a big fan of historic homes, too! I think that's probably because my mom was a big fan. We used to spend a lot of time going to Philadelphia and touring all the sights there. It definitely left an impression.

 

[MEK]

Heading Home

Saturday June 15th

Today was the vacation day every one dreads. The day when you have to say good-bye to sunny Florida and head home. *sigh*

In a weird way I was ready to go home. I mean, after all, this was sort of a bonus vacation. It was the one I treated myself too before I needed to buckle down and start a new job in just two weeks. Plus, I still had Nick's graduation party to get ready for and I needed to finish packing up my old office. I needed to get home and get on with life. Not that having all these things hanging over my head made leaving any easier, but it made it that much more necessary.

I honestly can't remember if I ran on our final morning. I probably did, because our only plans for today were to take K&T to lunch and then head to the airport. I don't think our flight was until 5pm ish.

After I finished packing I trolled around K&T's yard for a bit.



These ducks were still in their mother's nest when we visited a year before. It was SO cool to see that they had hatched without becoming someone's prey and that they were enjoying the good life.



K&T's yard is almost as pretty as Longwood Gardens







Our plan was to head to New Smyrna Beach for lunch. I decided, since it was our last day, I might as well take pictures of the ride.



I began to notice signs for Fish Camps





What is a Fish Camp you ask? Well, the best explanation I got is that people go there to camp and fish. Doh. Or I guess they rent bungalows or something. I guess you really need to LOVE to fish to vacation at a fish camp. Oh - and I think the people there clean and gut your fish. Maybe. I could be wrong.

Of course, there were some other sights along A1A

The smallest little bungalows I have ever seen





The Smryna Motel



and golf course and adult video shop



and what town is complete without a Taco Shack



I found the pipe sticking out of the side of this house to be somewhat of a curiosity



Anyone up for some shopping in the Hospice Resale Shop? I didn't think so.



We passed a huge funeral and a bigger mausoleum.



And signs for the Bert Fish Medical Center.



Surely this has to be the most oddly named medical center in the entire country! Who the heck is "Bert Fish"?

The Oak Hill Flea Market





And finally we arrived at our destination



Wait - Not THERE!



or here

But…Here!



I don't recall the name of the restaurant. It was definitely a local place, but sometimes (as I'm sure Captain Oblivious will attest to) the local places are the best places.

Especially if there are adult beverages involved





Good to know



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[MEK]

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We were somewhat curious as to why there were sandwich bags of water along the edge of the deck.



It's to keep away bugs. I think.



Our condiments were in a tackle box



For lunch we had some fried green beans. Yum!



I ordered the scallops with sweet potato fries. My meal was pretty good. I was pleased.



When I went inside to use the facilities I couldn't help but take a picture of this, because there are somedays when I definitely need one.

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The outside of the building had some unique drawings

[URL=http://s235.photobucket.com/user/mekopp/media/Disney%20June%202013%20Daytona/IMG_4395_zpsd5eba002.jpg.html]



I guess its also a biker bar



There was no one around to take our group shot. Not to be deterred, we took our own.



Since T was almost cut out of the first set of pictures, we needed a do-over.





My reaction when I had my camera set to take about 15 consecutive pictures





When picture time was over we said our goodbyes to K&T. It was a great visit and it ended much too soon. They headed back to Daytona and we headed to MCO.

We hit the road with plenty of time to spare, or so we thought.

New Smyrna beach is only a mere 214 miles from Miami. Who knew?



The exit where we didn't get off



Well what do you know? We got passed by a Disney Cruise line bus.



So things seemed to be going along swimmingly until we got off here for gas



Cute enough town. I have no idea what it was called



All I know is that this cute town did NOT have a gas station



and we drove so far out of our way to find one that we got totally lost.

So I put MCO into the GPS so we could find our way back to the highway....or so I thought. But when we finally found our way back to the highway nothing…and I mean NOTHING …..looked familiar. That's when I was certain I must have put Sanford into the GPS. There was some momentary panic because now it was after 3pm, our flight left at 5pm, and we still had no frickin' clue where we were. Even my phone was super helpful.

After what seemed like an eternity, we finally found signs for MCO and gas.

Crisis averted.

We returned the car.

Grabbed our bags.

Made a mad rush to check-in.

Finally got through security.

And found ourselves on the wrong end of the monorail - that would be the departure end.








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[MEK]

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Boo!



I can't remember if it was this trip or our October trip (I think it was this one because it WAS June), but everything was on delay when we arrived, thanks to thunderstorms in the area. They were finally letting people off the planes and it was a mad house AGAIN. Much like when we arrived.

Oh well

Our plane awaits our arrival!





And that, my friends, is a wrap!

I didn't take any pictures on the way home. It was an uneventful flight and the last one in and out of Philadelphia I will take in awhile. It's just gotten too darn expensive to fly in and out of there. BWI is a lot cheaper, so I think its become my air line of choice. Even on my girls trip in May I am flying in and out of BWI.

But enough of that.

My trip report isn't quite over yet. Stay tuned for a final update.

But first -

I promised you some Christmas at Longwood pictures and you're going to get them. Denny and I visited on the last night that our pass was good. Nothing like waiting until the last minute to see the Christmas display> It was freezing and there was snow on the ground. We were supposed to go with friends, but they bailed, so we went by ourselves and had a great time.











Some of the outside displays were closed due to the unusually cold weather.



























Last year there was a huge table, with perfect place settings for every chair, in this space. This year the floor was covered with red and green apples. I liked last year's table display better. But overall, I like this year's complete display. It was so well done.





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[MEK]

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I got inspired by Jen (jenseib) and I bought a fish eye lens attachment for my camera. I took some pictures with it. It's sort of cool, but I find its a lot harder to keep the picture crisp and focused.
























I wish I had brought a tripod, but since I use one so infrequently, I decided not to because of the freezing cold. I did not want my gloves off for even a second.
















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[MEK]

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And as a finale to this episode, I have a handful of pictures I took in Rehoboth Beach before Christmas. I got a bonus Friday off and Denny and I decided to head down there for the day. I think because it was so close to Christmas and it was a Friday, the place was a ghost town . We loved it.

This was taken inside the Christmas shop



So was this because what Christmas shop is complete without a Halloween display?



I used the fish eye to break it in. I think it works best for outdoor pictures.





Regular picture



Fish eye





A very empty boardwalk



We stopped in for a drink at the Green Turtle. The bar completely overlooks the boardwalk. We had the entire bar to ourselves. Our view (through the glass doors)



Two drinks later



Walking along Rehoboth Ave (after stopping to get fudge)







So thanks for letting me indulge myself with some Christmas pictures.

But guess what - My TR is not quite over yet. It has become a tradition for me to do a post trip recap complete with trip firsts and favorites. I'm sure it will take me a little time to review all my pictures, so be patient. It was a great trip and I really want to do a recap.

So, up next - firsts and favorites!

 

[jenseib]

I would've been freaking out being lost and counting the ticking minutes away. thank goodness you made it ok.

Love the Christmas pictures. The fisheye attachment is fun isn't it. Only good to use for a few pictures, but still fun to do a few different things than the normal stuff. I don't think I have even used it since our Williamsburg trip, but I plan to bring it to disney this year too.

I had never heard of Rebooth till the other day when some co-workers were talking about it and now I can say I have seen pictures of it too!

 

[mickeystoontown]

I can see why you would have been ready to get home. You still had some important things to do and I'm sure that you were ready to get them started.

We have fishing camps here too! Yep, places that you go to fish and camp. I guess that's why Louisiana is called the Sportsmans' Paradise. The picture of the tiny bungalo reminds me on a tiny little house here in our town. It very similar in size and every time that I drive by it, I wonder who lives in that little bitty thing.

The plastic bags filled with water and a penny are to keep flies away. Something about the light reflecting on the water and copper keeps them away. I've seen them at restaurants with outside seating and at all of the concession stands when the local fair rolls around.

Wow! The gardens with the Christmas decorations are absolutely beautiful! Again, the wreath is one of my favorites. I like things that look a little "different" and all of those flowers sticking out here and there appeal to me.

 

[jedijill]

Those Christmas pics are amazing! So beautiful!

The beach looks really relaxing with no one there!

Glad you made the plane.....that was cutting it close!

Jill in CO

 

[jash08]

Mary Ellen, what a great trip!

So glad you found the airport. I would have had a panic attack for sure.

Can't wait for the next one.

 

[jenseib]

I can see why you would have been ready to get home. You still had some important things to do and I'm sure that you were ready to get them started.

We have fishing camps here too! Yep, places that you go to fish and camp. I guess that's why Louisiana is called the Sportsmans' Paradise. The picture of the tiny bungalo reminds me on a tiny little house here in our town. It very similar in size and every time that I drive by it, I wonder who lives in that little bitty thing.

The plastic bags filled with water and a penny are to keep flies away. Something about the light reflecting on the water and copper keeps them away. I've seen them at restaurants with outside seating and at all of the concession stands when the local fair rolls around.

I am going to try that!!!!

 

[marDgreen88]

Sports isn't where you had the bug in the shower with you, is it?

Hahaha! No, thankfully not! That was Pop.

I'll be back to read the last update tomorrow!

 

[Leshaface]

I really wish I could have visited the Longwood Gardens on our East Coast trip last Summer. It was so rainy though, I would have missed a lot of the outside setup.

I bet you were absolutely freaking out on your trip back to the airport!

That fish eye lens is so cool! Such a neat perspective on things.

Can't wait for the recap!

 

[eandesmom]

what a contrast between your um, interesting, set of pictures on the way to lunch (A Hospice resale shop??????????) and then the spectacular Longwood Gardens.

I would have been very stressed about being lost and running late to MCO and Jeff would have been most un-fun to be around in that scenario. Very glad it worked out ok.

I always thought Fish Camp sounded funny. Will they kick you out if you just want to camp and don't fish (or gut or clean them either?)

 

[chattadisser]

Lunch sounded wonderful. How is it that the return trip to the airport seems to always be anxiety filled?

Beautiful Christmas pictures of Longwood. The colors in them are fantastic!

Yea for a day trip to Rehoboth. We used to go to Dewey Beach every summer. I bet it's really quiet during the winter!

Christine

 

[GoofyFan1515]

Sorry to see your TR is wrapping up, but you are certainly going out with a bang! Those pictures of Longwood are so beautiful and the snow really adds to the feeling of Christmas. Amazing decorations!

We have "Fish Camps" around here, and at least here it has nothing in particular to do with fishing or camping. It is just a name that lets you know it is your bare bones, no frills type rustic eating establishment that specializes in serving fish. Where you ate is exactly what I mean, with wooden picnic tables, maybe rolls of paper towels instead of napkins, paper serving trays, etc. I spent some time in the Boston area a few years ago and went to a similar place where they served lobster "in the raw." Same type of place.

Looking forward to your wrap up!

 

[dawnbu40]

The pictures of the Christmas decorations are just beautiful. They would make some gorgeous Christmas cards

 

[teekathepony]

Ahhh I can't believe we're at go-home day! But I know there's more to come.
Some of those signs on the way to lunch are too funny. Hospice resale? What the what?
Lunch looks good, local joints are usually the best for sure.
Glad you got turned the right way round and made it to the airport & got gas on time.
Those Christmas at Longwood AND Rehoboth Beach pics are stunning! I really need a place like that to go to at Christmas time.
I have one of those fisheye attachments too, fun to play with but definitely not for quality. Maybe someday if I win the lottery I'll buy a real fisheye lens!