Celebrating 20 years at WDW - Bonus features, A few posts from May, Updated 9/11

[franandaj]

Lots of lovely looking food there!!

And I have to say that I think this is the first time I ever saw a picture of you with your hair not in a pony tail (or similar)! You look really good in the group pictures. And the one with the chameleon is so cute!!

You know it's funny you should mention that. I really hate having my hair in my face, which is why I usually put it up in barrettes or a ponytail. However, after years of doing so, I realized that I have "trained" my hair to stay out of my face. About a week before the trip I started wearing it down more often. Since coming home, temperatures have been in the 90s for the past few weeks, so I'm back to wearing it up, in what I call and Olive Oyl bun, but you probably didn't have Popeye in Germany so that reference may be lost on you.

You must have needed it.

I guess so!

I love my Amazon Prime, but in the UK, we only get next day delivery.

I'd say that's still pretty good to get it next day!

That is something where the US parks could learn from Disneyland Paris. There they have the kind of x-ray machines now that they use for carry ons at the airports. This is much quicker and much more thorough.

I mentioned this type of screening to Fran more than once on this trip.

I would have loved this.

We may see a repeat of this later on.

This sounds like a really good deals.

Fran is all about the deals!

I would have loved those.

Funny, you're the second one to say that. I wouldn't have touched them! And didn't!

We did this game last year and it was a lot of fun. Some of them were fiendishly difficult to find though.

I'll get to that in a later update....but not much later...

 

[franandaj]

Woot! Hey we made the first DISmeet!

Yes you did!!!

It was so great finally meeting Fran, and also being able to meet you guys in Florida. It was a lucky co-incidence our trips overlapped that we were able to do that. Considering that each of us is usually only down there once a year it might not happen again for a while!

No, and with only a two night stay planned in 2017, I have no idea when we'll be back. I'll be more likely to see you at DL than WDW at least for a while.

We pretty much agreed with all your comments about the food. The crème Brulee was pretty disappointing, and the beef in France wasn't very good either. The hummus fries weren't all that good - but we liked the baklava. And the Beef Brisket wasn't a little salty - it was a LOT salty.

I did get to try the Baklava eventually and it was definitely pretty good!

I never thought about that coupon "book" that Fran bought. It's definitely a good deal. There's probably only 4-5 foods in the whole festival that are more than $6.75, but if you are getting drinks too you can definitely use them. We ordered a few things that would've made that worth using. Unfortunately this was already the last day we were doing Food and Wine.

I believe they had something similar this year at DCA’S festival. Not sure if that's what spurred her into looking for it this year, or she just was doing her normal "deal hunting". We did use most of them on drinks. Although she paid for the lobster roll with the coupon thing.

Looking forward to hearing about the rest of your trip!

Hoping to get back in track with it!

Definitely going to try that one out! YUM!

It's quickly become one of my favorites. I'm making it next week followed up with a real Tiramisu, but a small one.

I was exactly the same... sigh. But it did get us to RD every single time. Except once, I think.

We did make some RDs, but not a lot.

That was supposed to have been my "C" drink. But I went with something else.

So was it from Canada or China and we just missed it?

Great shot!

Thanks!

One of my faves.

And there's a third vote for that one. I had put it on the "no way" list long before we left. Another example of Disney has something for everyone.

I noticed that with several of the dishes. A LOT too salty.

20 years ago I didn't cook with salt. You can read that as Fran brought salt back into my life, or the Food Network, both came into my life at the same time. My cable didn't offer it, but hers did.

It is impressive every time you are able to write an update from your trip. I haven't done it in a long time since I am focusing on the trip or just left my laptop at home.

You all forget that I feel tied to the room when Fran isn't ready to leave, but you will see on a few occasions this trip I step outside my comfort zone and go out on my own. It's those times when she is asleep or otherwise that I find time to update on vacation.

I was impressed with DME of how easy it was and Disney messaging/emailing you that your room was ready on that exact same day so you won't have to check-in at the lobby. The BCV room look nice and sorry to hear about the tub.

People complain about the magic bands, but when you can right to your room off the DME bus, it's really convenient!

Dinner at Trattoria looks appetizing.

It was excellent!

Nice first day at Epcot during the Food & Wine Festival. You got a lot that first day which I almost did the same thing as well. That is neat that you stopped at Belgium first and got the waffles. I forgot to get the beer-braised beef served with smoked gouda mashed potatoes, but it was nice to see you got that.

That beer braised beef was definitely among the top savory dishes, but since we had it so early we took it for granted.

Very nice group shot and looking forward to reading more on your day at Epcot.

Thanks!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Glad I inspire you to drink!

Looks like you had a lot of fun with your band and your various adventures the last two weeks!

 

[dgbg100106]

Day 2


I must have acclimated to the new time because I woke up around 4AM.

Not nice... 4AM on vacation no matter the time zone is not nice!

I had trouble going back to sleep and decided to take another spin in the tub. I mean heck there is no drought here, so why not?

Exactly! You are on vacation...

Somewhere in the 5AM hour after the tub I was able to fall back asleep. My plan had been to go into Epcot around 11AM, so I figured with going to sleep before midnight, I would be up between 7-8 AM, make us bacon and eggs and we’d be ready for some kiosks by the time we arrived.
Imagine my surprise when I woke up at quarter to 9AM!

that is why it is a plan, so they can change. Glad you decided on rest and enjoying your time.

Also, I wasn't remotely hungry. Turns out that once dinner had settled into my tummy the night before, I was pleasantly stuffed, not uncomfortably stuffed. When I am at home, I usually don't wake up hungry and have my first meal close to noon, so I really was settling into the new time zone well.

I do this also, but i find it funny that David is firm in his need to eat something even if it is just a piece of fruit at each meal time.

I immediately began to unpack the suitcases and put away our clothes, we were here in the same room for 9 nights, unusual for us! I found the baggie with my huge supply of Magic Bands and our Britta water filter that I had brought back from our last trip. I started to fill up the pitcher from our owner’s locker when I noticed a stream of water going down the drain. There was a HUGE crack in the side of the pitcher from top to bottom. I gave up on that one.

oh no, this happened in the locker? or suitcase?

Back to unpacking the suitcases. Once I had found my shampoo and conditioner and hung all of our dress clothes, I took my shower. In the shower I had my brilliant idea! Fran is always ordering me stuff on Amazon Prime at home with same day delivery, so why not order a new pitcher. When I got out of the shower, we started to talk and she had the exact same thought!

so did you get it? Do they deliver to the hotel? I have never ordered anything like that to be delivered to the resort.

So I got dressed and made some coffee.

Fran started to wake up by this point and I told her that I wanted to get to Epcot at 11AM when the kiosks opened. Here I am sitting at my computer (which I never change from California time, just to keep myself grounded with the time at home). I wasn’t going to fret that she was nowhere near ready to get dressed yet.

I think everything I have changes automatically, even my computer once it connects to wifi, it changes.

Well without going into it all, she also wanted to take a shower and 11AM came and went. I wasn't fretting because all we were doing on this day was hitting the kiosks. I did have a couple FP+ but only one I really wanted to do. The rest were repeats or I could also just do the rides using standby, so I really wasn’t too worried. At one point she said to me, “you know this is MY vacation too.” I assured her that I understood, and did she notice that I was not pushing her or complaining that we hadn't left yet.

No real problem at security, just a thorough bag check dude. I suppose it’s better that they are thorough than not. It was a beautiful day in Epcot.

I agree, David always gets upset, but I want them to find all these things before they come into the park!

I had to get a shot in front of the sign!

love getting the signs while we are there too.

First stop Belgium.

Why Not! I see Fran behind the sign.

Love this view….

Especially since I photoshopped the offending people out of the picture!

I love it too, I need to figure out how to do that also.

We got one of each food item, no beverage. The savory beer braised beef with Gouda mashed potatoes. This was very good, in fact I didn't appreciate it as much as I should have since it was my first taste.

So glad to hear your first bite was good.

Next up I had my half of the chocolate waffle, it was good but not great.

Oh that is not good to hear.

The star? The waffle with Berry Compote!

Yea!!!!

We had planned to meet up with @skier_pete and his family today. Just as we got our food at this kiosk we started texting. They had not yet hit the series of kiosks right where we were so we decided to visit Brazil while we waited for them.

Sounds like a perfect plan.

Again we got one each of the food items. The meat pie with mashed Yucca was the surprise of this kiosk. It was very much like a shepherd's pie.

oh that looks good, I love how brown it is on top.

The pork belly was also quite tasty.

Was it crispy?

The cheese bread was good, but the texture was a little too gooey for my taste.

"too gooey"?????

I also got a frozen Capirhainia, which was very yummy!

cool and refreshing right?

After this we headed back to the area near the France kiosk by the entrance to Chefs de France. Pete and his family showed up fairly soon and we all got some nibbles from the France kiosk.

in the past this was always one of my favorite booths. Overall what do you give it?

Boeuf Bourguignon, this wasn't nearly as good as the beef from Belgium.

on no

The onion soup was very good, unfortunately some of it spilled in my basket on the way over to the table. It had nice big chunks of onion and a hearty broth.

sorry to hear some spilled, but glad it was good.

The Creme Brulee was more like chocolate pudding with a bruleed top. It was good, but not custardy enough.

this does not sound good, I need it to be a custard, not a pot de creme

The slushie was delicious but hard to drink it all before it melted.

if you rush you might get a ice cream headache, but it is just so darn good, and hot outside, the trials and tribulations of F&W.

Pete’s wife got one of these Frozen Daiquiri Ice Pop.

Oh did she like it?

Since they had not visited Brazil and Belgium they picked up some treats there. We couldn’t resist another Berry Waffle.

Great idea!

We started towards Morocco and lost a couple people to a potty stop. Once we were all back we snagged a PP photographer and took a group shot.

DISmeet!!!!

We stopped at the Morocco kiosk,but Fran and I passed here.

@RachelTori took me here for the Hummus fries and they are really good!

Nothing really appealed to us as we'd already tried the Kefta pocket. It was OK but nothing special. I enjoyed the view. Fran went to the Festival Shop next door to see what they had to offer. When she came back, she had purchased a “Festival Pass” Essentially it was 16 “coupons” that could be used for any F&W edibles. I don’t remember the exact price, but it was around $110 for the 16 coupons, which came to about $6.75 a piece. As long as your item was over $7, it was worth it to use a coupon. I think she was shocked at the price of the slushie in France ($10.75). So from here on out, anytime that I wanted a fairly expensive cocktail, we used the coupon and it cost less than $7!

Oh what a great idea, and thanks for the tip!

The hummus fries were actually made of hummus. I thought they were going to be french fries topped with hummus. You know like Chili Cheese Fries.

We really liked these.

The rest of us headed on to America while she made her purchase.
We got the lobster roll and a La Crema Chardonnay.

Very nice, that looks like a lot of lobster meat!

Pete and his wife also got the Smoked Beef Brisket, they said that it was a little salty.

What is under the brisket? and on top? Looks different than most of the Brisket we eat...

 

[dgbg100106]

Your concert trip was a whirlwind... WOW. Glad you had fun and enjoyed.

 

[pkondz]

Having worked at a Mexican restaurant, all I can see here is that they didn't wipe the plate edges!

Fran got Enchiladas Suizas.

Had to look that one up.
We just called them chicken ench's.

Philistines! That's us!

After that we had to pack up and take busses to PSHS for a whirlwind rehearsal.

PSHS? I get the HS part, but???

We had five conductors and each one had just about 30 minutes with us. It was fast paced and tiring, but also really got the adrenaline going.

I bet! Long!

Friday was a very long day! We started off with a rehearsal that began at 8AM in the morning. I actually drank the coffee that they provided in the room since we are not used to being somewhere and conscious that early in the morning. Boy am I getting old!

Nah. You're just getting smarter with your sleep allocation.

The rehearsal went for two hours and almost everyone stood for the entire time.

That's a long time to be standing. Tiring!

this time we had a break for our chops with a presentation by a transgendered TV actor.

Anyone I might know?

I was amazed at how much of an audience we drew and how well received our performance was! The crowd really loved us!

That's great!

On our way back to the hotel we saw this crazy "art" in the window of a gallery.

Saw that on FB. Interesting. If a little frightening.

Since it's a Jewish deli, I really wanted one of their sandwiches

mmmm.... pastrami on rye, please.

We had planned for the kids from the choir at the school to perform this portion, but when the parents got wind of the fact that the group was made up of gays and lesbians, the parents put the kabash on it real quick.

But then again, maybe you'd convert them! Or hit on them! Ohmagosh!!

So fast forward to 2016, the kids and parents of the band had donated their time and effort to cook us a meal of baked rigatoni, salad and garlic bread, and they even served it to us! It wasn't fancy, but they made they with their hearts.

Now that's really nice.

An honors jazz band played in between the two concert bands and they were good.

Details on the honours band? Made up of...???

We headed back to hotel, and by this time I was starved!

Funny how the body works.
"I'm so stuffed, I won't eat for a week!" <two hours later> "I'm starving!"

I had an interesting incident with one of the male patrons and my friends joked with me that on Pride weekend in Palm Springs I find the one straight bar to hang out!

Only you Alison!

Sunday morning I woke up by 9AM and went back to the same coffee place for another Americano, but this time the put four shots of espresso in it! Woohoo!

We struck out at the last two places, so we went back for the “perfect” one. I got this suitcase.

And? Still happy with it?

 

[IowaTater]

So glad the concert went well for you guys. Don't worry. I won't fault you for life getting in the way as long as you don't fault me for not starting my TR yet lol

 

[skier_pete]

That sounds like a really fun weekend. Would love to see your band play sometime - though I think the likelihood of that is unfortunately pretty low.

 

[rentayenta]

Fun reading about your trip to Palm Springs. I want to know what happened with that guy in the bar. You know I love details.


Your Hyatt looked nice. Glad you had a great yet tiring trip.

 

[mvf-m11c]

After I watched your performance in mid October at the First Congregational Church of Los Angeles and had your trip, you had another performance at Palm Springs. Talk about a busy schedule. Sounds like you had interesting weekend.

 

[franandaj]

I think it's great you got some extra sleep this EPCOT day. Great idea to order a water jug with Prime.

I probably needed it. That turned out to be a long day.

Nice move of Fran with the Festival pass! Must remember that. Sure does work out for the more expensive items.

It might not do as much good for you two as most of the little coupons were spent on alcohol. Only one food item was that pricey. At least that we ate.

I would have been all over that berry waffle like a rash. The food looks good. I like shepards pie I would have liked that dish that was similar.

Both were really tasty!

Lovely photo of you and Aura and the group photo too. How nice to meet up with Peter and his wife.

It was a fun way to start off the trip with a good DISmeet!

I had thought you had mentioned not being able to deal with too much sugar at once, so I was worried about that when you mentioned all the breakfast treats! I really try not to let our family do that, either - none of us do well on a breakfast of sugar.

I don't know how she does it? I learned on our last trip that I need to avoid sugar in the morning unless my tummy is already full of protein.

Hm. That would be the only advantage I can see, other than the space thing. Although they make the stacking kind, so really, it doesn't even save that much space.

They used to have stacked units in place of the combo unit.

I'm curious to hear about this, too! Dh is always looking for his keys, too! Can we put one on the tv remote?

You'd have to use double sided tape for the remote. I was able to easily attach it to her keys and I even used it with success at least once!

Yum! I love a good French onion soup.

If it wasn't so hot outsidr I might have ordered a second one when the first spilled in my basket.

No bueno. I hate when they just totally mess it up.

Yeah. I'm not a huge crème Brulee fan anyways. It needs to be heavy on the Brulee for me.

That looks yummy.

It sure was! That's why we got a second one.

Weird. Not what I would've expected, either.

Yeah it was pretty strange to me.

Strange - I've never seen chocolate on baklava! Is that a Moroccan thing, or just a Disney thing, I have to wonder? I generally get baklava at either Greek or Middle Eastern restaurants.

I'm pretty sure it was a Disney thing. We have some great places around my house with some very good baklava. It took me a while to try it, but now I like it.

So I've had a look at this tiles and they appear to only be Bluetooth here with a range of 100 foot. Can you get GPS ones there?

I mis-spoke earlier when I said they had GPS, so I modified the post. Evidently they are only Bluetooth. That's why I couldn't find them when they were on their way to Disney. No one with Bluetooth and a tile app was nearby to pick them up. I need to remember to turn it on right when the plane lands and make sure they are on the plane with us.

I don't know if I'll have time to catch up today but I'm trying!

That's OK. It took me all last week to catch up on TRs! Now I'm trying to catch up on my own!

Ha! Maybe all the trips are finally rubbing off on you!

I think it was dumb luck.

Oshie is like that too. During the day, during the night...as soon as he sees me heading that way, he's either right next to me or ahead of me. He also likes to watch the flushing and then he bolts out of the bathroom. He's weird.

That's funny! I get at least Tesla in the potty, but sometimes I have as many as four or five in there with me.

I probably shouldn't have but I totally laughed at this. Was that poor lady still in the other stall??

Yes she was. At least she was uphill from the drain and the other stall.

Seriously?? I need to fly with you guys. That looks fantastic.

All you need to do is spend as much as we do on our MC. I doubt you want to do that, but it is one of advantages of being a landlord. All your tenants maintenance charges go on the credit card so we get a lot of miles.

Now that is my kind of sundae!

It was pretty good for an airplane sundae!

 

[franandaj]

For anyone else, I'd say "no, you haven't" but for you?
Right on time.

Crazy huh?

Didn't we just have this conversation???

I think we did.

Whoa! Who are you???

I'm starting to wonder?????

Unusual for me too.
Usually it's no more than 4 or 5.

Usually we stay 3-4 nights in each room and do a split stay.

Nothing that some duct tape can't fix!

Except we didn't bring any duct tape.

I find it amusing that you thought about the water pitcher while in the shower.

Good idea, though.

I often think upon things while in the shower.

I'm glad you wrote that. I was looking at the time and trying to figure out how the time jived with what you were saying.

Because we often receive correspondence (texts) from tenants while on vacation, it helps to have part of me grounded in their time. No one ever has a problem in the morning, and most of the time it happens at 5:30 on Friday night. At least if it's 5:30 in Orlando, I still have a chance at calling someone in California.

I do that too. Book a throwaway or two to get the one I want.

There were some days that I only booked one since I was mostly there to eat.

:lauging: Shots fired! Pre-emptive strike!

Funny.
I haven't finished writing my update yet (soon, though) and I say something along those same lines.

I try to gauge who is going to be less invasive in their searches as I often have a lot of stuff.

Right of the garbage bins I presume?
If you hadn't said anything, I wouldn't have noticed.

Yes there was one standing under the tree and another was reading the sign and I morphed her head into an extension of the fence/wall.

Looks good. I think it was on my list, but I never got it.

You see this replaced my favorite savory from 3 years ago. It used to be a potato/leek waffle with the beef stew on top of it. It was fantastic but too many people were evidently put off by the thought of a savory waffle.

Too bad. It sounds good.

Now if the waffle batter had chocolate in it, I think that would have been a different story!

Whoa. That sucker looks good!

That's why we got a second one within the hour!

I don't care for shepherd's pie and the sound of mashed Yucca was a turn off, so...

I almost skipped it, but Fran said, "One of each?" And I figured if I didn't like it, she would finish it.

Didn't know about that one. It looks similar to a GGS.

Similar, but the GGS has vodka, and a Capirainia is made with a Brazilian liquor called Cachaça. It is distilled from Sugar Cane.

Really! You'd think it would be better.

You would, but it just wasn't nearly a hearty and flavorful. You'd think I would prefer the one cooked in wine instead of beer.

mmmm.... French onion soup.... 'nuff said.

It was good! But also not a great snack for a hot day.

Weird. Shouldn't they call it Crème Brule au Chocolat then or something?

Makes sense. I'll talk to marketing.

Whelp! Guess you'll just have to suck that puppy back in a hurry!

While trying to avoid brain freeze....

So pretty.
And Aurora's no slouch too.

I would too, now that I've seen it.

Mmmm waffles....

Nothing appeals to me on that menu.

This was one I called TIOLI (Take it or leave it). Since I was getting full, we skipped it.

Huh. Never new about that pass.
I'd have to go through all my receipts to see if it would've been worthwhile or not.

The only thing over $7 besides cocktails was the lobster roll.

And you caught him mid-wave and everything!

Yup. That was a lucky shot!

Believe it or not, I've never had a lobster roll (on the list, though.)

I'm from New England so that would be blasphemous.

Too bad. You hear so much about it.

Huh. I actually had not heard about that one.

 

[pkondz]

I'm starting to wonder?????

Usually we stay 3-4 nights in each room and do a split stay.

I wonder... If I ever do a longer stay, will I split? Or not.
Probably not. I like to settle.

Except we didn't bring any duct tape.

I have a suggestion for something to put in your owner's locker...

I often think upon things while in the shower.

When you're not singing?

Because we often receive correspondence (texts) from tenants while on vacation, it helps to have part of me grounded in their time. No one ever has a problem in the morning, and most of the time it happens at 5:30 on Friday night. At least if it's 5:30 in Orlando, I still have a chance at calling someone in California.

Ah! Makes sense.

I try to gauge who is going to be less invasive in their searches as I often have a lot of stuff.

You can do that?
How successful are you?

I morphed her head into an extension of the fence/wall.

I don't think she'd appreciate.... wait.... it wasn't Fran was it?!?!?

Now if the waffle batter had chocolate in it, I think that would have been a different story!

Similar, but the GGS has vodka, and a Capirainia is made with a Brazilian liquor called Cachaça. It is distilled from Sugar Cane.

Sounds.... sweet.

It was good! But also not a great snack for a hot day.

No, I guess not.

Makes sense. I'll talk to marketing.

I want royalties.

The only thing over $7 besides cocktails was the lobster roll.

Ah. So then I done good.

I'm from New England so that would be blasphemous.

I'm from the middle of nowhere so it's pretty standard.

 

[franandaj]

Fun update!

Love the pic with you and Aurora.

Thanks! Lots more fun updates, but I need to get back on top of it!

Fun that you got to meet up with Skier Pete and his wife.

They were the first of a lot of great meets!

How cute is Remy with the garlic?!

Just wait, there's more!

Mmmmmmmm.....lobster roll.

It was so good. I wanted to come back when I wasn't so full, but it never happened.

For a second, I thought you meant you fell asleep IN the tub.

You know that is aways a fear of mine. Or the jacuzzi at home.

Hello vacation!

Sometimes you just got to listen to your body, especially at my age!

Sure beats a beautiful day in Delaware.

Pretty much almost anywhere, I was going to say Long Beach, but then I'd be lying.

Waffle? Chocolate? That's all I need.

I liked the berry one better.

I would have a hard time eating anything with "Yuck" in the title.

Good point!

Nice meet up!

It was!

Oh, man. Disney math can be exhausting.

That's why I let Fran figure these things out.

Mmmm...brisket. Not sure I'd want the pimento cheese, though.

I don't even know what a pimento is and it's still one of those things I'm afraid to try. Yes, there are things I'm afraid of.

Holy crap! Are you ok?????

Well I did wake up at 4AM first!

Wow! Great idea! Although I'm kind of surprised it didn't come with some type of disclaimer saying it can't be used for alcohol or something. Seems like a pretty good deal!

Looks like a nice relaxing day. Although I'm not sure I could have been as laid back as you were about getting a late start.

Well I was pretty sure it wouldn't work for the Dom Perignon ($32/glass), but I tried to use it for a $15/glass and they told me "no champagne" with the coupons.

I was secretly churning inside and repressing that voice that kept saying, "C'Mon let's go!!!!!!!!" Much like I am now, we're going to the park today. I just got out of the shower and I still can't get her to wake up without falling back asleep.

I am really enjoying your trip report. Thank you for posting all the great pictures!

you're welcome and I hope to get more up by the weekend, but don't hold your breath.

Look at all those yummies!

I know so many. I hope you made it back after our visits to try more!

I can't tell where you photoshopped that photo. Very nice.

Thanks! I'm getting better at it and now I'm doing it for little things.

Bummer about the Brita pitcher. Great idea about same day delivery!

It worked out very well. We got our use out of that one. It was like $4 at a garage sale. I think it's been around for 5 years or more.

Hi Alison! Just hitting up all my subbed threads to say hi. For the 2nd time in a month, I'm trying to wade out of the ocean of behind-ness. I know you are feelin' it too, so we're even. By the way... I have a credit for AlaskaAir.... you never know what might happen in the next year (besides Guam).

Does Alaska fly to Long Beach? I don't think so, but at least they fly to John Wayne airport right? We could have some fun!

 

[franandaj]

Alison, I am loving this report. I am a bit late getting over here but thanks for the bat signal.

I'm glad you made it over here!

Your wedding dress is just beautiful. I love the picture of you and Fran.

I can't wait for more.

Thanks! Chinese tailors on eBay are the best!

Btw, a couple days ago, I got my viola out for the first time in many years, and played for a while. I really have missed it! But, man, am I rusty! I was also amazed at how much Vivaldi I have in my sheet music, lol.

Good for you! It comes back pretty easily, or so I've heard. I never stopped, but those who come back to band seem to pick it back up without a problem.

Caught up! You did right well on your first F&W. I told DH, next time we're going to have to plan 2 whole days at EPCOT (we're already planning on extending the trip to 10 days instead of 7).

Did you mean 1st day? Also we're not done yet.

Seven days is definitely not enough, but I have a hard time convincing Fran to go for 10 days.

Oh, I spot a Remy! I can't remember if I asked you or not. Did you guys actually play the game or were you just looking for fun?

That's for the next update....

That's happened to me a few times lately.
Man, I sure hope the DIS gets its act together and gets rid of the ads that are crashing it.

Well you did warn me. I had the post in my DIS cache for about three days when it disappeared.

I hear you. I'm in the same boat.

So how is the game of catch up going?

Want me to tell you the temp when I rode my Harley to work the other day?

I don't think I want to know. It getting cold enough here that I'm starting to wear more than just tank tops and Capris. You'll know it's cold when I pull out the full length pants.

That's the best. Or when it rains. Love that.

They say it might even rain here next week. Maybe. That's a big maybe.

As usual, I am popping on between babying- but berry waffle yum! The beginning of frozen cocktails yum! and I bet more relaxing baths to come (man do I miss those all the time!)
Love Fran's smile in the pictures with SP!

Thanks for popping by! I hope all is well with the baby and you're finding a little time for you!

 

[franandaj]

Sounds like a great trip! Way bigger than the band festival the high school does with the feeder middle schools that dd did last week.

Its a huge event and this is the first time that Fran and I were not delegates. We would have had four more hours of meetings, had we been delegates. Most of those leisurely meals would not have been possible. A lot goes on besides the music making, but that's the most fun!

What a whirlwind, but also sounds so much fun! Thanks so much for sharing

It was a lot of fun. Looking forward to Houston next year. We may need an extra day to unwind before flying back home!

 

[pkondz]

Well you did warn me. I had the post in my DIS cache for about three days when it disappeared.

Crap. Hate it when that happens.
That's why I never let the DIS
hold onto anything anymore.

So how is the game of catch up going?

All done!
Well, I was until you posted your Alaska update.

You'll know it's cold when I pull out the full length pants.

That's when? 50 or so?

They say it might even rain here next week. Maybe. That's a big maybe.

It's doing that here right now.
And for all that I wish it wasn't so I could
get out on my bike again,
I'm not complaining because usually
this time of year it'd be snow.

 

[Pinkocto]

I don't even know what a pimento is and it's still one of those things I'm afraid to try. Yes, there are things I'm afraid of.

I think they're some kind of sweet pepper. They're mighty good in olives! I know you don't like olives though.

I know so many. I hope you made it back after our visits to try more!

Sadly not, and now it's over. But I got to try everything I wanted to so all is good.

 

[franandaj]

Not nice... 4AM on vacation no matter the time zone is not nice!

Well it seems I'm starting to get old and waking every night at that time for nature. At least Friday night/Sat morning it worked out because we had a major leak and I shut the water off until waiting utility dawn to discover it.

Exactly! You are on vacation...

I'm getting too old to run around like a crazy kid anymore. If my body doesn't want to get up I'm not going to.

that is why it is a plan, so they can change. Glad you decided on rest and enjoying your time.

I always tell Fran, the plans are merely a guideline, unless of course we have passed the date for refund of our deposit.

I do this also, but i find it funny that David is firm in his need to eat something even if it is just a piece of fruit at each meal time.

We have such a weird eating schedule, there is no "mealtime", but then again he was in the military so he probably likes the structure.

oh no, this happened in the locker? or suitcase?

In the Owner's locker.

so did you get it? Do they deliver to the hotel? I have never ordered anything like that to be delivered to the resort.

Oh yeah, no problem. It wasn’t even the last thing she ordered from Prime although I don't remember what the other stuff was.

I think everything I have changes automatically, even my computer once it connects to wifi, it changes.

My phone changes with time zones and daylight savings, the computer only seems to know about daylight savings.

I agree, David always gets upset, but I want them to find all these things before they come into the park!

I just get annoyed when they feel they need me to open my wallet and every pocket in my purse. I would rather that they just open it and look, but it's annoying when they ask me to do it. The angle of their tables are great for standing folks, but not when you're in a scooter.

love getting the signs while we are there too.

I try to get them, but as the trip goes on, I start to get lax and forget.

Why Not! I see Fran behind the sign.

We had our "jobs". I wanted photos of the signs and the fronts of the booths. Her job was to place the order and pay for it. I would meet her at the end and help carry the plates once we got them.

So glad to hear your first bite was good.

It was delicious. I'm still trying to figure out what was my favorite savory bite of the trip. I know I'll figure it out by the end of this report. Right now the sweet one is between the waffle and the chocolate pudding cake.

Oh that is not good to hear.

Eh, no biggie

Yea!!!!

Yes this one was fantastic.

Sounds like a perfect plan.

It worked out in the end.

oh that looks good, I love how brown it is on top.

This one was really good.

Was it crispy

I think so, but right now I don't remember, it was good though.

"too gooey"?????

OK gooey is not the right word. It didn't have that texture of a good Mozzarella pizza when you pull a slice away and there are wisps that extend from the pizza to the slice. But there was something a little too moist in the rolls that just didn't sit right with us.

cool and refreshing right?

And very yummy! I am used to ordering Capirainias on the rocks at a Churascurria (which I haven't been to in years since I lost the ability to eat a lot), but I used to really like them.

in the past this was always one of my favorite booths. Overall what do you give it?

I wouldn't rate it that highly in comparison to a lot of others. I would put it in the middle somewhere, but perhaps above some of the booths that we didn't visit, because at least we thought it worthy of trying.

sorry to hear some spilled, but glad it was good.

This was my favorite thing from this booth.

this does not sound good, I need it to be a custard, not a pot de creme

It wasn't even a pot de creme. It was pretty much pudding.

if you rush you might get a ice cream headache, but it is just so darn good, and hot outside, the trials and tribulations of F&W.

I was able to balance it. There wasn't a lot in the glass so I could drink it before it got hot, but without a brain freeze.

Oh did she like it?

I think so. She seemed to finish it before it melted.

Great idea!

You can't beat a good thing!

@RachelTori took me here for the Hummus fries and they are really good!

See I guess this is why I could never do a plant based diet. I despise Chickpeas.

Oh what a great idea, and thanks for the tip!

Fran is all about finding the deals!

We really liked these.

So it appears that most of my readers really like the hummus fries and I am an anomaly. I'm OK with that.

Very nice, that looks like a lot of lobster meat!

It was! I really wanted to come back for one when I wasn't as full but sadly it never happened.

What is under the brisket? and on top? Looks different than most of the Brisket we eat...

No clue, but from my memory of the menu, it was on Texas Toast and topped with Pimento Cheese.

Your concert trip was a whirlwind... WOW. Glad you had fun and enjoyed.

It was a fun weekend and I'm glad it only happens once a year because it's a lot of work. I pity the folks who use their only vacation time for this as they have no rest when they get home. Next year it is in Houston, nearby your home!

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Wow I had no idea the sheer work that is involved from the band members on these events. Plus I bet you gphave not mentiined a fraction of the other reherhals and prep like hotel bookings etc.

The hyatt Hotel looks lovely even has a lounge area. Nice view also and sounds like a good location for the mexican and coffee place.

I was warmed to see the uturn in progressive attitude towards you this time around.

I was exhausted reading this! Great shopping bonus at the end. Love the bag.