A Fabulous Day at Universal Studios, FL 10.7.10

This day was such an awesome day for us…A few weeks ago, plans were set up with my brother, Nick (Phil) and his life partner, Michael, to get together for 1 day…They were going to West Palm Beach (WPB) for a week and during that week, they wanted to come up to where we were going to be and spend the day with us…What they wanted to do was go in to Universal Studios cause Nick wanted to see the new Harry Potter section at Islands of Adventure…Sure, let’s meet..Sounds like fun…

The night before, tho, Richard checked the prices for Universal Studios (US) and the prices were way too high for us to afford but we decided that we would walk the City Walk while they went to do their thing at Islands of Adventure…Well, the morning of 10.7, an email is sent to me and we are going in, courtesy of my brother…We meet them at Downtown Disney so we can all ride together and head to get some sort of breakfast…McD’s it is…It’s fast and easy…Then off to US for the day or until we are all done or until Nick says that they would like to leave about 4pm…OK, sounds good to me…

 

A parking spot is close to the walkway to the escalators that lead to the big City Walk…Nick gets all 4 tickets and off we go…All are excited (I think)..lol…We enter the walls of Islands of Adventure and we are off to the Harry Potter section…We  had to go around Suess Landing, The Lost Continent to get to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter…The gate to the city was awesome…

Here we go…The first thing was the Dragons Challenge…The walk was longer than the ride and screaming was definitely there…OMG, I thought I was never going to stop screaming…Twists, Turns, Flips, Loop and Intertwine with each other..I could not wait for it to be over…It was an experience I think I will never forget but I DID IT!!!  Richard and I were done for the day…So out of it…Nick and Michael seemed not phased by the ride…They were ready to drudge on…So Richard and I rested while they went to their next destination, Harry Potter and The Forbidden Journey (which was in the castle)…It was a 2 hour wait line…I would have loved to just have seen the inside of the castle…

Richard and I had walked around to the Jurassic Park section and waited for them to be done…A slow, picture taking walk…Once to the Jurassic Park section, we went in to the Discovery Building and grabbed a seat…Richard went to get us a coke while we waited for a phone call…Nick and Michael conquered the 3D ride in the castle and Nick said it scared the bleep out of him…Glad we didn’t do it…LOL…Michael said it was different and scary…Off to the Jurassic Park River Adventure…It’s kinda like a plume ride but with bigger boats…

That’s our boat, JP16…We had the back seat and we were ready for our Dinosaur Adventure and getting wet…Luckily we didn’t get too wet like some others prior to our boat were looking…I think we were lucky…lol

After Jurassic Park, we started to walk towards Toon Lagoon & Marvel Super Hero Island…Nothing in Toon Lagoon and definitely nothing in Super Hero Island for Richard and I…Nick and Michael got on the Doctor’s Doom Fearfall ride…Nick said it wasn’t nothing…

Where are they???  I know Nick and Michael are up there somewhere…Here we go…D R O P!  Scream!!!!  Not for me…

Now I did find two things in Toon Lagoon section at a little store…2 signs -  One for Michael and One for Richard…

and a look-a-like for Bruce Willis…lol…

or not…LOL

The time was nearing for us to end out of the Islands of Adventure…Time for a quick drink at – where else – none other than Margaritaville…

Yes, we all had an alcoholic drink of some kind…Richard had a pina colada, I had my Coors light, Michael had wine and Nick had a salty margarita…Yummy!!  Tasted so good…Thanks to the bartender for taking our photo…It turned out great…Now off to Disney’s Animal Kingdom to the BOMA restaurant for our dinner…

I do want to say Thank You Very Much to my brother, Nick, for treating us all day today..Yes, we would have waited for Michael & you to do your thing at Islands of Adventure…It was such a pleasure to spend the day with you both…I’m glad we had the opportunity to do so…Thanks for your generosity…

A 6th B’day Party for Kayla

I can’t believe how time is flying by…I remember when Kay was born…Being at the hospital waiting to hear if it was a girl or boy…Now those years have gone by and she is 6 years old this July, 2010…The plans were set in motion a year in advance about her party being held at Lake Ridge RV Resort in Hillsville, VA…A cabin was reserved for Brandi & her friend, Courtney along with Lizzi and Bri…Notices were given out way in advance to family/friends to come down to the resort, stay in a cabin & have some fun for the week/weekend…Most couldn’t make it but another friend of Brandi’s from work came down with her daughter, Caim & they tent camped for the weekend…

 

 

The party was a Pizza Party and it was being held up in the Crafts Room after the room had closed down for the day…Decorations were put all around, tables were set and the pizzas were ordered…I think 6 pizzas were ordered and almost every one of them were eaten…The guests were a few friends of Brandi’s & some friends of ours who we met in the past 3 years at Lake Ridge…The party theme was Hannah Montana…There were Hannah Montana (HM) plates, napkins & table cloths…The guests kept bringing in presents and they were placed on a separate table…Let’s eat!  The time had come to start to eat after swimming…Swimming was from 4 – 5 pm and the Party was from 5pm – 6pm.  

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Presents galore…Kayla kept pulling out all kinds of HM clothes…She was very excited…Kayla even got some very non-HM clothes and her Walt Disney World Autograph & Picture books from when she visited WDW in Mar/Apr 2009…

 

 

After all the presents were opened up, it was time to sing the Birthday Song…The cake was ready and Kay was ready to blow out the candle….All the singing was done & the cake slices were on the plates, then came the ice cream sandwiches…Yummy! 

Clean up came after the cake and ice cream…Kayla had such a great birthday day at Lake Ridge RV Resort…Michelle, Brittany & Samantha drove back to Cana, VA and Jessica, Gracie & Landon went back to their rv at the resort and Beverly went back to her pop-up at the resort…Jessica & Caim and Courtney plus Brandi & the girls came back to our rv to relax…It was a great day!

Oh yeah, we did have a little Ms. Hollywood on premises today after the party…That would be little Ms. Lizzi and her glasses…

Rving Bobs’ You Meet While Traveling

In September 2003, one really don’t think much about all the people you meet from everywhere in the USA and sometimes people from other countries…Over the past years (almost 7 on Sept. 15), we have met so many couples in all the different Rv Parks that we have stayed at…Granted most of these couples are “older” than we are and that’s fine with us…So much so that we have actually “adopted” one older couple as aka Mom & Dad…But we owe meeting this couple to another couple who were next to our site at a place called Gettysburg Farm in Dover, PA…If it wasn’t for Richard building a “huge” campfire, we would have never met the following Bobs…

First was our neighbor Volvo Bob & Donna…He drove a huge freightliner that pulled his 40 ft. fifth wheel around the USA…It was big and black and looked scary to drive…His wife, Donna, didn’t drive that truck…When Richard built the campfire again, they came out and introduced themselves and that’s when I realized that they were from my part of the woods, Dundalk…They were from around that area and we had lots to talk about…Volvo Bob use to teach at my old alma mater, Dundalk High School…They were on their way over to their friends’ place and invited us over to meet them…Sure, why not…That’s what rving is about…Over the years, we have became good friends and have met in Pennsylvania and Florida and done things together…It’s been great knowing them and hope to keep on being friends with them as we all get older…

Volvo Bob & Donna on one of our trips to Epcot at Walt Disney World, Orlando, FL a few years ago…

Another Bob is Montana Bob & Glenda…Bob is called Montana Bob because we had to distinguish the difference between all 3 Bobs’ that we met all on the same night…Montana Bob has Montana fifth wheel that he pulls around with is “little” gray truck…We call them dad and mom…They are from around the York, PA. area…Sometimes when we go to restaurants together we fool the servers by saying that Bob is Richard’s dad and Glenda is my mom…He definitely throws them for a loop…but we are asked afterwards “Are we from West Virginia?”…LOL…Since the meeting, we have hung out with them in the Disney area…We play games, go out to eat, go in to Disney, meet other friends of theirs or whatever…Some day I know that they will stop rving and it will be a sad day for us…They have become like family to us but they are their 70’s and packing up & traveling takes it’s toll…

Montana Bob & Glenda on one of our trips to Epcot, World Showcase, at Walt Disney World…

One more couple that we met the same night of all the Bobs’ is Hitchhiker Bob & Rosie…He was called Hitchhiker Bob cause he pulled about a 36 ft. fifth wheel while rving…They are from New Jersey 100%…The accent Rosie has is awesome…We haven’t been able to see them as much as we do the other 2 Bobs’ but we were lucky enough to get to meet them and know them…When we all were in the Disney area (Florida) at this one park called Encore, we would always get together, grab a bite to eat, play games or just sit and talk at someone’s fifth wheel…The past few years have been rough on the both of them and we have not been able to see them…Just recently, Hitchhiker Bob passes away…He will be sorely missed but we know that he is not in pain anymore…

Hitchhiker Bob & Rosie at a park in Florida called Encore near Walt Disney World…

WE miss all our friends…WE love you all…

An Annapolis, MD Wedding – 8.9.10

8.9.10 – That’s a wedding date for our son, Josh, and his love of his life, Sandy…They picked that month, day, & year so that neither one can forget their anniversary…How funny is that???   Unfortunately, Richard and I could not be there for this special moment in our son’s life…Sandy is a wonderful daughter-in-law with 2 great kids, Mary & Timmy…We don’t get to see them often enough but they are family now and have been since meeting them several years ago…The plan was to get married at a beach while a friend of Josh’s was going to marry them but before that weekend, the person was sick so that plan was out…But as always, one must have a back-up plan just in case of an emergency…The back-up plan was head to Annapolis, MD to the County Courthouse…The wedding time was around 3pm or so…Luckily there were family/friends attending who were taking pictures/or recording the marriage…The bride and groom were dressed to their coolest since it was a hot day…and it’s always hottest between 1pm and 4pm…Richard and I wish the new bride and groom many years of happiness, sorrows, good times, happy times, bad times, loving times and growing old together to become grandparents one day…Below are a few pictures of our new family getting married…

This is in front of the courthouse, Timmy Josh Sandy & Mary

Inside the courthouse, being married…Mary stood up for Sandy & Timmy stood up for Josh

Sandy & Josh exchanging vows – They had their own vows to say to each other

You may now kiss the bride…Mr. & Mrs. Joshua Barnes

The reception dinner at TGIF’s

Congratulations to Mr. & Mrs. Joshua Barnes!

Welcome to our family Sandy, Mary & Timmy….We Love Ya’ll!

Getting together with my brother, Phil (Nick)

How nice it is after many many years to finally let bygones be bygones…A few months ago, I decided to get in touch with my brother via Facebook…I didn’t know if he would talk to me or not but I thought I would try…I invited him and his better half, Michael, down to where we work in Hillsville, VA several months ago…He said he would see what he could do…Finally after seeing how he can work it in, Michael and Phil came down to the campground but had to spend 2 nights in town since we were booked…but it didn’t matter…Also, my nephew, Matthew and his girlfriend, Jessica, came down with them…The first day was awesome..It was great to see them enjoy themselves at the pool…

We all decided to go to a chinese restaurant for dinner…We had a nice big round table and had good conversation…A few pics were taken…

This is Michael and Phil…They have been together for about 15 or 16 years…I don’t quite remember what he told me…

This is my nephew Matthew on the left…Matthew didn’t talk much so we really didn’t have a lot to talk about…I am guessing he had fun while he was visiting here…

That night we had a good campfire…A bottle of wine and a bottle of Coors light…Nice weather for the evening…Richard made a great campfire…

Kayla’s Vacation to Lake Ridge RV Resort

Kayla’s vacation started on May 3rd, 2010 when she traveled from her home in West Virginia to Virginia…She was so excited to ride in our big truck and to come spend time with her Poppy & Mommom…After the pools opened on Memorial Day weekend, the water still wasn’t warm enough yet…We waited until the first week in June to finally let her hit the kiddie pool here at Lake Ridge Rv Resort…

At the kiddie pool is a water slide…She spent a lot of time going up the stairs to the slides (there are 2 of them) and then slide down to the pool…What a blast to watch her have so much fun…

Kayla met some new friends while here at Lake Ridge…Two of the girls she met visits every weekend for a month and while she was outside one evening, one of the girls, Gracie, came over to talk to her…Gracie and Kayla hit it off…They have been best buddies since they met…Gracie is with her while they are getting in the big pool…and Mom, don’t worry, Gracie’s dad was in the big pool and was watching her real good…

This is Gracie’s dad, Jason…We met them over a cake eating contest for Mardi Gras themed weekend here at Lake Ridge…Gracie’s mom, Jessica, and I started talking and Jason was helping Poppy clean up the mess after the cake eating contest…I believe Mardi Gras weekend was the second weekend in June…Ever since meeting them and talking to them, they have fallen in love with Kayla…Gracie immediately invited Kayla over to their camper for a sleepover…Their camper is right behind ours…So the girls and Gracie’s brother, Landon, was having a blast in the pool…

Gracie, Kayla & Jason in the big pool just having fun…It is the first time she has been in the big pool since being with us…We have not had time to take her or she is with her new friends the whole weekend…

Poppy and I are so glad that Kayla has made friends…Another one of her friends is Grace…Their camper is a few sites up from ours and when Grace is here, Kayla will go over there and see if she can play…