Kayla’s Visit to Walt Disney World – Pt. 1

Our granddaughter, Kayla, arrived on March 28, 2009 at Orlando International Airport…It was her first flight to anywhere and she did really good…She left BWI – Baltimore with her Uncle Doug and landed in Atlanta with a 2 hour layover…Then they boarded the next plane to Orlando…She brought her one suitcase with her and we were there waiting for them to arrive…

On March 29, the family members, who also arrived in the Disney area, and us headed towards Magic Kingdom, Kayla’s first trip in to Disney…We made sure that we went through the Walt Disney World gates for all the first timers on World Drive…

As we passed through the Magic Kingdom gates, we headed towards Wilderness Lodge, where we would take the boat over to Magic Kingdom…This morning it was raining and we waited until about noon to head to Magic Kingdom but as we got to Magic Kingdom (MK), it started to rain harder…People were buying Disney rain ponchos…Finally, after about an hour, the rain stopped pouring and it cleared up…We walked down Main Street towards the Cinderella’s Castle where a show was being prepared… There was a cleaning crew trying to dry up the stage for the Mickey’s Dream performance but to no avail…The water from the rain could not be dried up enough for the dancers for it to be safe…

On March 30, we all went to Epcot…Richard, Kayla and I met the others in front of the park…The only things that we were doing today was Future World, which is at the front of the park…While waiting for the others to get a locker, Kayla saw Daisy Duck so we stood in line for her autograph/picture…The first thing done was getting a fast pass for Soarin’ which is up in The Land…While some went to get the fast passes, I took Kayla in to Character Landing so she could get Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Donald and Goofy’s autographs…The line was a little long but worth the wait…Kayla, Richard and I didn’t do to many other rides cause Kayla would have been scared…but we did do The Living Seas, Finding Nemo ride…We went in to Pixie Hollow garden area and took lots of pictures of Tinkerbell and her fairy friends…Kayla did get some Goofy’s candy too…After being at Epcot for most of the day, Richard, Kayla and I called it a day around 7pm and headed home…Today was a good day with no rain…

 

On March 31 Kayla, Richard and I decided to head back to MK to finish up what we haven’t done yet…but we wanted to grab a good breakfast so the day before Richard made a reservation at Whispering Canyon Cafe in Wilderness Lodge…Kayla was very surprised when the waitress tossed the straws and napkins on to our table after she got our drinks…We ordered the all you can eat breakfast buffet and the waitress said that we could just let Kayla eat from the buffet…We finished our breakfast after a while and headed out to the boat to head to MK…Our day was filled with riding on Splash Mountain, the MK train that goes around the park & seeing the Country Bear Jamboree…Kayla kept saying “I don’t want to go on Splash Mountain” but she did pretty good but if anyone could have seen her eyes at the end of the ride when we went down 50 feet…Richard said her eyes were as big as golf balls and her mouth was wide open…but we were proud of her…She enjoyed the Jamboree and riding the train…We met the rest of the family at Angel’s which is an All U Can Eat seafood buffet (alaskan crab legs & lobster)…Then home we went to get ready for the following day…

Lizzi’s 2nd Birthday 5.2.09

Lizzi’s birthday was held on her actual birth date…Brandi made a strawberry bundt cake with white icing, yellow & green sprinkles and pink writing icing…Two crayon candles was going to go on to her cake for her to blow out…

Food and tables were being prepared in the garage and all was turning out well…Some balloons were set up in the garage and at the mail box and at the corner street sign so that the guests can find Lizzi’s party that started at 1pm… 

 Lizzi got dressed up in her little blue outfit and was ready for her guests to arrive…The guest slowly showed up and everyone had a spot to sit and talk…Brandi was finishing up getting the food and condiments down on to the table while Robert was starting up the grill for hamburgers and hotdogs…After a while, hotdogs were done and the guests began to eat…Later on the hamburgers were done and now everyone was eating, having chips and a drink…Also on the food table were deviled eggs, made by Brandi, and potato salad…

The time came and the birthday cake was brought down for Lizzi to blow out the candles…Everyone sang Happy Birthday and then she blew out her 2 candles…What a great job Lizzi did in blowing out the 2 candles…Everyone had cake and ice cream…After eating was done, Lizzi began on her b’day presents…Lizzi got a little big wheel bike, Dora toys, clothes, Tinkerbell towel, and other stuff…

All the kids that were invited to the party had some fun with sidewalk chalk…William and MJ were covered with chalk…Bubbles juice were poured out on the ground or blown out in the air…Balloons were being played with and then popped…All the kids had a blast…I think if the weather had been a lot warmer and water balloons would have been provided, then I think they would have gotten all wet but since the weather was a bit cool and it had stopped raining earlier that day…

 

At the end of the day, mostly everyone went home but Josh and Sandy, Josh’s girlfriend…Richard, Brandi, Josh, Sandy and me played Scategories…We had so much fun…So much fun that we had Sandy laughing so hard that she couldn’t breathe…About 9pm, Josh and Sandy left to head back to Pasadena, MD…Lizzi’s party and the day turned out very well…

Myrtle Beach Vacation – Pt. 2

Mid week and we are relaxing this morning cause we are going to Medieval Times tonight, 4.23.09…It will be the first time for Kayla and the 2nd time for me and I don’t know how many times Richard has gone to Medieval Times…We have to be at the castle by 4:30pm so that when the doors open we can go in first so that we can get a good seat to see the show…The King walked from one side of the castle to the other and invited everyone in to the castle…We proceeded down the hall to hand in our tickets and to get our colored crown who tells us what knight we hoot and holler for during the show and our meal…The color crown we received was Green…The squires took our pictures and we walked in to the great hall and wait for the color green to be called to head in to the show room…Kayla found an older couple to chat with and also got a few pictures with the King…She ran around and looked at all the medieval stuff…Richard went and got us a drink…I wanted a strawberry dacquiri and he got a coke…I sipped on my drink and my brain thought “Where is the rum?”…I really wanted the run…

At 5:45pm, the chancellor called a different color crown first and then he called green…Everyone headed in to the show room and we handed our Table 2 cards to the waitress…We were in the front row which was great…Two chairs were put together for Kayla so that she could sit higher to eat her meal and to see the show…The show was awesome…The food was brought out and to Kayla’s surprise, we had to tell her that we had to eat with our fingers…Thank goodness I took wet wipes… Dinner consisted of tomato bisque, garlic bread, baked dragon which tasted like chicken, a bbq rib, 1/2 baked potato and a drink…Dessert was a rolled pastry with apple filling…Kayla did really well with her baked dragon…She even ate the garlic bread…The green knight was a bad knight…but we didn’t know it at the time…He took the prince and kept him prisoner…He would fight all the good knights…There were tournaments of all sorts and if the knights won in their tournament, then the princess would toss out 3 carnations to that knight…Then the green knight came over to the green section, where everyone who wore a green crown, and tossed a carnation to 3 ladies…Kayla was hoping for a carnation…The green knight won the 2nd tournament and tossed our 3 more carnations…The 3rd tournament, the green knight won again and he tossed a carnation to 2 other ladies and then to Kayla…She was so excited…After the 4th or 5th tournament, the green knight lost but the princess asked all the knights to come forth and receive their gift…She tied on the same ribbon color as the knight on to his lance…The green knight then came over on his horse and put the lance in front of Kayla so that she could take off the green ribbon…She was surprised and didn’t know what to do so I took it off for her…She was so excited…She hooted and hollered so much…It was so much fun to see her have a great time…The only thing she didn’t like was the smell as we entered  the show room cause it smelled like horse crap…but we got use to it…Kayla asked if were going to go to Medieval Times again and we said no cause it was a bit expensive…

What a wonderful evening for all of us…No beach time tonight…By the time we got home, it was dark…

Myrtle Beach Vacation – Pt. 1

Our vacation, along with Kayla’s first vacation with us, began on April 20 in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina…Our stay is at Apache Campground on Kings Road off of Highway 17…We arrived about 3:30pm and got our site which was 112…We drove down to our site near the beach and manuevered in our site with some difficulty…The site that Apache Campground gave us is a bit tight for our rig…It is nice that we will be near the beach, about a 5 minute walk…

The first day here, after setting up and hooking up the utilities, we started down Highway 17 Business to find a restaurant to have our dinner at…What we came across was Cheeseburger in Paradise…I’ve been to one before so I thought that I would see how Richard would like it…Kayla said that she didn’t want to eat there but she had no choice…Where we go, she goes…We were greeted and led to our table…Kayla was given a child’s menu as a coloring book and crayons…The best stuff on the menu is the Chicken Wings – Terriyaki & Spicy Mango…I got the Terriyaki and Richard got the Spicy Mango…Kayla got Chicken Tenders with french fries…I also got a Coors Light…All the appetizers and drinks were at 1/2 price between 4 – 6pm…

Everything was yummy and we knew we would be back 2 more times…We headed back to the campground and walked down to the beach to put our feet in the water and to collect shells…Kayla wrote her name in the sand and did a great job…

April 22 comes with a new morning with the sun coming up in the east and no wind finally…The past 2 days was very windy…The fun thing to do today is going to the movies to see Monsters vs Aliens in 3D…This morning we have decided to visit Bob Evans for breakfast…Kayla has a free dinner coupon that she had received on Easter Day at a Bob Evans in Davenport, FL…After breakfast, which was a little later in the morning, we went to a new place that was built called Market Common…The movie theater was very nice and the seats were pleather and very comfortable…The 3 of us enjoyed the movie that was in 3D…Kayla really enjoyed it a lot…After the movie, we headed to Michaels to buy some stuff for Lake Ridge RV crafts…I dropped Richard off at The Home Depot to see if he could find something to help to collect shells…

The shopping has been done and we headed to Ripley’s Aquarium at BATB…At first Kayla didn’t want to go in but once she was in she really had a good time…She saw sharks and stingrays and lots of fish…She even saw divers in the tanks that were feeding the fish and the stingrays…After seeing the stingray show, we headed to the petting pond for stingrays…We laid across the rock ledge and put our hands waiting the stingrays to swim around and come near us…Poppy was waiting to take pictures of us…Finally the diver came in to view with food for the stingrays…The stingrays were flapping and swimming all around the diver so it gave us a great chance to touch the stingrays…Kayla got to touch a few stingrays several times and the final time, a huge eagle stingray made a big flapping motion and totally splashed Kayla all down the front of her shirt…She was so excited…She loved the idea of being able to touch/pet the stingrays..To end the time at the aquarium, we had to buy Kayla a new tee shirt so that she didn’t get sick if the night air cooled down…To end the day we went to Margaritaville for dinner..Kayla got a balloon dog and watched the big hurricane tequila bottle come down from the ceiling and got to sing and have fun…It was a good time and she ate her dinner…The evening was over and we had a great day…

So far behind!

To anyone who reads my blog…I am so far behind in keeping up with my blog…While in Miami, Richard and I worked 5 days a week with 2 days off…On our 2 days off, we were always leaving the campground and exploring the area…On our 5 working days, we wee busy with food events or just keeping an eye on the clubhouse…The hours were shift hours…All the work days were not the same…Towards the end of February, the Activity Directors quit and moved on…That was one couple gone and 2 couples left…With all the food events between 2 couples, all of us were very tired…It has been tough to come home and get on the internet to work on my blog…My other half, Richard, gets up early in the morning, way before I do, and he works on his blog…He has lots more in his blog than I do and probably always will…My blog is very simple and to the point while Richard’s has more charisma, charm, funniness and words that just come out of his head…but I do enjoy making my blog and working on it…I have lots to put on my blog and at some point I hope to have caught up with our trip to the Miami area…I have to talk about the Florida Keys, Miami Seaquarium, Ft. Lauderdale and other areas…Then there will be the visit of our granddaughter, Kayla, on Mar. 28…She will be with us for about 3 months…She is going to visit Walt Disney World, Seaworld, and Myrtle Beach…We can’t wait…  Well, I’m gonna go…Maybe I can work on another chapter of my life tomorrow…Good ya’ll….

Jungle Island – February 26

Jungle Island is located on MacArthur Causeway, Miami, Florida near Key Biscayne, Florida…The best way for us to get there is riding on several expressways like Don Shula Expressway or Dolphin Expressway…We could take the trip up Route 1 but it would take a while to get to our destination…

We arrived at our destination without any traffic which is great cause once you get around the Miami Airport, the traffic is atrocious…The drive towards Downtown Miami is a beautiful sight..All the tall glass buildings…All highways and byways…Hotels everywhere…Businesses everywhere…Garages everywhere…Buildings are being erected even with the economy the way it is…

Follow the signs to Jungle Island on MacArthur Causeway…As you are following the road around to Jungle Island, you can see the Port of Miami…but no cruise ships were there…We found out the day before that there is a garage but the bottom garage area is big enough for our truck…Thank goodness…We pulled in to the garage and found the end parking space…Richard and I grabbed our camera bags and headed to the front window to buy our tickets…

 

Richard buys our tickets and on our way in through the gate, there is the shop which we stop at on the way out…The restaurant is located outside of the park entrance gate too…The lady is there to stamp our hands as we go in and we are off and running to anywhere in the park…At the front of the walkway are the macaws and I got my picture with 4 of them on my shoulders… Of course Richard got told no personal pictures with me and the macaws but he got one good picture…Along the pathway are about 20 macaws of a few different varieties… I got to talk to a few of them and get their pictures…The walk along the pathways and to the shows was fantastic…Their was the greenhouse, alligators, shows with snakes and an alligator & a crocodile, penquins and the kids park with kangaroos, goats, a llama and large turtles…Lots of different trees and flowers were all over the place…

One of the amazing trees in the South Florida area are Banyan Trees…These trees grow vines from their limbs and they entertwine with each other and become another limb…These banyan trees are something to see in person…It makes you say “WOW!”…

 

The guy to the right became my friend…I had lots of fun talking this guy…The African Grey would listen and he even let me pet his claws…In the cage were 2 other African Greys and they even came down from their perches to listen to  me talk to their buddy…I had a blast…

 

 

Along the Everglades Habitat path, you come upon turtles, fish and a Great Blue Heron who came out of the bushes to find his “lunch”…Richard got a really good picture of this Great Blue catching his meal…or you could come across someone who is just visiting the Everglades Habitat area….

Along the pathways are some beautifully placed flowing water falls…

Along our walks along all the pathways and talking pictures of anything and everything that we see, it wasn’t tough to take pictures of all the birds…In a caged area were some birds that looked like large doves, some sort of quail and a bird that we have no idea of what it is…

After being at Jungle Island all day, we stopped by the Gift Shop, took our pictures and bought our magnet…The weather was perfect, the company was great and time was fun…

Middle Keys – Marathon Key

The object of the day on February 10 was to go to Marathon Key and find a beach or 2 to collect shells for our collections.

The day started out good…The weather was going to be great…We ate breakfast at home and decided to eat lunch and dinner out somewhere…Since it has been a while since I have wanted to write about the Marathon Key trip, I hope that my memory helps me out so that I can write a good blog for this day…

Our drive towards one of the middle keys was a pleasant drive…Not much traffic…As we drive down Route 1 towards the Keys, we are always amazed at all the mangroves and vast openness of the areas…You can drive for about 20 miles from the time one passes the entrance to the Keys down to Mile Marker 107…The entrance to Key Largo…As we drive down Route 1 and go past Mile Marker after Mile Marker, which is how you are told where things are, we are deciding on where we are going to eat for lunch…Going down Route 1 there are lots of interesting buildings, trees, boats with 3 motors or 4 motors…There are places to visit, lots of divers dens, restaurants, and boats…

Today we have decided to go to a beach and walk along the water and collect some neat seashells or coral…The first place to stop is the Chamber of Commerce in Marathon Key to pick up some maps and gather some information about any beaches or places to visit…While in the Chamber of Commerce, a lady told us about Sombrero Beach where you can walk out to the water and collect shells…That is where we decided to go…

We get back in the truck and head to Sombrero Beach which is around Mile Marker 50 or so…However, we drove right past the road that leads to Sombrero Beach and kept on driving…

Before long we were going across the Seven Mile Bridge which leads in to Big Pine Key…At this point, we knew that we missed the road and was heading in the wrong direction but as luck would have it, as we came off of Seven Mile Bridge, there was a park/beach on the left side of the road…

We pulled in to the park and collected our cameras and baggie for  shells and off we went to walk the beach…

As you can see Richard has collected a shell for our collection…Richard and I went our separate ways to take our pictures and collect shells…The stuff you can see on the sand is sea grass…

 

The shells to left contained living creatures in their homes that were moving around…It was pretty cool to just stoop and watch them crawl around and over each other…I was able to gather several shells that were this little and wild looking to keep for my collection…The coral to the right is everywhere on the beaches…It comes in little pieces or big chunks of rocks…

and then along the walk, I found these 2 living shells…The one on the left I turned over to really see the little creature that lived in the shell and I turned over the little shell and found little legs that stuck out…I turned his home back over and put him back in the sand…It was pretty wild to see these shells…

The Atlantic Ocean was so beautiful…

I just couldn’t resist taking a picture of my feet standing on the beach…

After were done with this beach, we headed to Sombrero Beach…

The entrance to Sombrero Beach is beautiful…There are pavilions to sit and picnic at or have a party…There is a tennis court and lots of places to put your beach chair in the sand and put an umbrella in the sand to protect you from the sun…The water was gorgeous and walking along the sand was absolutely wonderful….Of course, we are still on the Atlantic Coast side…

Richard and I go our separate ways and start taking our pictures of what we want to keep…As I was taking pictures, I was also collecting myshells…There were all types of shells and coral…

      

What is Richard looking at?

And then we come across a very large piece of Coral…The lower part of Florida is mostly made of coral…In the coral were lots of different shells that were lodged in the little cavities and large holes from where all ocean waters have gone over and over the coral…It has been the neatest thing to see…

As you look out over the grasses is the very beautiful Atlantic Ocean…The time of day is around 4pm..The sky is gorgeous and the ocean is blue and green…As we are heading out of the park, we take more pictures and head towards home…It was a wonderful, beautiful day…