Sunday - Wednesday WDW

Sunday - Animal Kingdom and EPCOT

On Sunday,  Mom (Patty), Bobby, Geoff, Grant, and I went to the Animal Kingdom. We ate lunch at the Dinosaur restaurant, and then took turns riding Dinosaur and staying with Mr. Jefferson.

Although we wold have preferred to do Kilimanjaro Safari later in the day, we were sort of on time schedule due to shows and dinner resies, so we did it next. Fortunately, there were lucky and able to see lots of animals - in fact, it was the best view of the lions Grant, Geoff and I had seen the whole trip! After our Safari, we crossed the park again to watch Finding Nemo, the musical. Merciful air conditioning. Then Patty, Grant and I rode Expedition Everest while Bobby and Geoff took a walk.  We finished our afternoon by seeing The Legend of the Lion King - such an awesome show!

We drove over to EPCOT and hiked back to Japan to eat at Tepan Edo - a Tepan dining experience. Our chef was awesome - he came out all serious  but ended up having a great sense of humor. Our waitress was sweet - she wrote Geoffrey's name in Japanese for him, and made us a pair of "kid" chop sticks - you know, with the rubber band and the chopstick wrapper. When we asked for a clean set to take with us so we could learn how to make those chopsticks ourself, she brought a bag out of like 8 premade sets! Cool! Geoff did pretty well at this diner because I kept him in my carrier - so he did well.

After dinner, we  walked back to Future World. Patty, Grant and I rode Mission Space (Patty loved it!). Then Bobby, Patty, and Grant rode Test Track while I fed Geoffers. We left just as Innoventions was finishing! A very good day!

Monday - EPCOT & Magic Kingdom

This morning, I went online to see if I could change our Boma Reservations to a later time. Our current reservation was for Tuesday at 5:15 . Our plan was to go to Typhoon Lagoon that day - but a 5:15 reservation meant we would have needed to leave Typhoon Lagoon at, like 3 ish - however, as we learned with Blizzard Beach, the afternoon is the best time to be at the parks! I had tried several times to change it, but wasn't holding out much hope with it being free dining and all. However, I checked today and someone must have canceled because I got  a 7:40 dining time - PERFECT because Typhoon Lagoon closed at 6! We were set for Tuesday!

We started out at EPCOT. Eating lunch at The Land. After lunch, we went to the Universe of Energy to watch Ellen's Energy Adventure - love that attraction! After Ellen, we rode Mission Space again while Bobby and Geoff looked at the GM exhibit at the exit to Test Track.

We stopped at Club Cool to taste sodas from around the world - I still love China's watermelon soda and Mexico's apple manzinata.  Then we rode Journey into the Imagination so that Geoff could see Figment again - he LOVES Figment. We spend some time in the Imagination lab - walking on the musical squares and conducting Figment in the digital orchestra.

We had dinner at Le Cellier in Canada, eating delicious cheddar cheese soup and yummy steaks. Geoff slept at the beginning and then was pretty antsy for  the rest of it - luckily, though there were 4 of us to pass him too, so that helped a lot!

After dinner, we showed our appreciation to Canada by watching the circle vision O Canada!. On our way out of the park, we rode Mission Space - Bobby and Grant were in moods and made ridiculous faces into the camera - and Bobby selected Portuguese as their language, so Mom was stuck  listening to a Portuguese narration and trying to do the end survey in another language. Nice.

We hopped over to the Magic Kingdom next. We rode the Haunted Mansion, and Pirates of the Caribbean. Next, I fed Geoffers while everyone else rode The Jungle Cruise. I had fun watching people "drive" the mini Jungle Cruise boats at the exit to the attraction. Next we had Dole Whip floats - Yum!

We rode it's a small world next, followed by Winnie the Pooh. We finished the night watching Mickey's Philharmagic. Since everyone was exiting the park at once, we swung by the bakery to get some pastries with our snack credits from our dining plan. We still had, like, 25 snacks left and we were leaving in two days! We swung by Pop Century on the way home to make our room look used and then headed back to our town home.

Tuesday - Typhoon Lagoon.

Typhoon Lagoon is my favorite water park. I wished I had remembered that from last time. I am glad Grant and I got to see both water parks, but let it be said here - Typhoon Lagoon  - absolutely my favorite of the two. It has my favorite type of rides - curvy body slides, and tube slides, and a beautiful setting.

After a quick lunch we parked our stuff and took off with a float around Castaway Creek - the Lazy River. Next, Mom, Bobby, and Grant did the inner tube slides while I fed Geoffrey. Then Bobby and Grant took Geoff to the wave pool while Mom and I did the tube slides. We met the boys in the wave pool and Grant, Patty, and I swam out and rode a couple of the big waves (one broke my sunglasses!)

We headed over to Crush 'n Gusher, the water coaster, and we each did that ride twice - first Patty, Grant and I did a triple tube, then Bobby, Patty and I did a triple tube, and then Bobby and Grant did a double tube while I fed Geoff. Crush 'n Gusher is sort of off to the side, but it had a nice little wading pool attached for people to wait in if other family members are on the ride (it has a height limit,)

Next, Mom, Bobby, and Grant did the snorkeling - I sat that one out with Geoff - although fun, I didn't particularly have a desire to get in 75 degree salt water. Then we went over to the body slides and took turns riding them and waiting with Geoffers. The lines were short at this point so it was pretty easy - Grant waited first while the other three of us went, then Bobby waited, then I waited, then Patty waited - perfect.

We went back over to where the tube slides were because they have a family slide there with a long wait earlier in the day. Also, Grant saw another family go on with a baby so we thought we'd try. Yes - Geoff was allowed! So we took him on twice - he went once with me and Grant and once with grandma and grandpa! What fun to be able to take him on a tame, fun water slide! We spent the last 40 minutes floating in the lazy river and just relaxing!!!

We got to our car just in time because a HUGE thunder storm hit us right overhead. We made a mad dash into our town home. The rain wasn't as heavy as I'd seen it in the past, but the lightning was really close! We took showers and changed our clothes. By the time we were ready to head to dinner, the thunder had mostly passed, but there was still a steady rain. We arrived at the Animal Kingdom Lodge at about 7:40 and checked in for dinner. They didn't call us until 8:30 - they were BUSY! But - oh - how I love Boma. The food was delicious! I didn't have any main dishes - I just filled up on sides - corn and spinach pudding, humus, cous cous, salads, chicken chowder, butternut squash soup…yum yum yum!!!!  I LOVE Boma.

Wednesday - EPCOT

This is our last day in the parks. Boo hoo!!!! Our original plan was to hop to Magic Kingdom in the evening, but we changed our minds because we still had to pack - so we ended up doing EPCOT all day. We started out in World Showcase with an international lunch. Chicken and lamb from Morocco, Fish and Chips from the UK, and Sushi from Japan that we all shared. After lunch, we watched The American Adventure.

We headed back towards Future World. After a stop in Club Cool for soda, we rode Spaceship Earth - this time, Mom rode with Geoff and I so that Grant and Bobbi could be goofy without bugging us!
We went to Innoventions West next to take advantage of our Visa Magical Rewards perk - we waited in a short line (about 10 minutes - way better then the 45 minute line for the character stop!) and got to spend a good 5 minutes in a private room with Minnie Mouse and Goofy! It was so nice - just us and the photographers. Minnie was awesome - she was so attentive to everyone! Goofy came straight up to the baby, so Minnie went over to greet Mom and Bobby and Grant. Then she came over and spent like 5 minutes dancing and tickeling Geoffrey. So much fun! She let him suck on her nose and really spent time with him! The photographers took photo pass pictures and pictures with our cameras. It was REALLY special and I am so glad that we were able to do it!

After our special character encounter, we went over to The Living Seas to ride Finding Nemo and Friends and visit the aquariums. Then it was time for dinner in Mexico. This is a restaurant that we wanted to try - one that we probably wouldn't pay for , because Grant is not a Mexican food fan, but the setting was beautiful - inside next to the volcano on the Grand Fiesta boat ride. Before dinner, we rode the boat ride, and then had dinner.

After dinner, we went to Norway and rode Maelstrom.  Then we stopped in the bakery to use some of our snack credits on pastries to take with us. We continued on through the World Showcase, stopping to see the Wonders of China Circle vision. They had an awesome exhibit on the terra cotta soldiers, too. We continues around the showcase to Paris to get a few more pastries to go.

We finished our evening with a ride on Spaceship Earth. We got off the ride just as Illuminations was starting - which was perfect. We slipped into the photo store to get our free 5x7 photo of the earlier character visit (thanks again, Disney Rewards!) while there was no line, and we were able to exit the park just as Illuminations was ending.

We headed over to Pop Century to clean out our room and check the folio so we could use the express check out.. Mom bought some post cards and I had more food. (A yummy Mediterranean flat bread.) We were back to our town home by 10:30 and we got mostly packed before bed!

Thursday - Ft. Lauderdale

This morning, we checked out of our town home. We stopped at Downtown Disney for lunch - we ate at Wolfgang Puck Express  - delicious and an excellent use of our counter service credits.  Then I fed Geoff while everyone else looked around the stores. Sitting there feeding Geoff I felt like Snow White - all these animals just came out of the bushes and got up really close to me - birds, lizards, squirrels… and the music playing was classic Disney music - I loved it! (Although the squirrel got a little closer then I would have liked!)

We stopped at Goofy's Candy Company to use our remaining snack credits on chocolate covered pretzels, fudge, etc. We also had 2 remaining counter service credits, so Grant and Bobby went back to Wolfgang Puck's and bought two meals for a family. Saved them $40! Fun! Then we got in the car to head to Ft. Lauderdale.

Saturday!

Today, we picked up Mom and Bobby from the airport! We switched out rental cars to get a mini van. Then we headed over to Pop Century for lunch. After lunch, we came back to the town home and went swimming. That evening, We went to the Polynesian to see the Spirit of Aloha dinner show. The food was delicious - and the show was very entertaining. We also had a great table, in the back of the middle section, but over to the side. It was nice because we had our own table and we could walk over to the side if Geoff got fussy - but I brought my carrier and he did well!

After the show, we swung by Walmart and then headed home!

Friday - Animal Kingdom and EPCOT

On Friday, we began our day at Animal Kingdom - and guess what? It rained! (Surprised?) However, it didn't rain until later in the afternoon and it didn't rain hard, so it was actually a pretty enjoyable day!

We had lunch at Pizzafari, and I went to the baby care center to feed Geoff while Grant did a couple of spins on Expedition Everest. Then we watched "The Legend of the Lion King" which Geoff enjoyed until he fell asleep. Next, we tried to use our DInosaur fast passes, but Dinosaur broke down, so I rode Everest and then we went on the Safari. We had dinner at Yak and Yeti and it was DELICIOUS! I had a miso skirt steak and fried shrimp and Grant had a breaded mahi mahi with plum sauce. We shared a dim sum basket, and then had creme cheese wontons with vanilla sauce, pineapple, and strawberries for dessert.

Next we headed over to EPCOT. We rode Spaceship Earth and Test Track, and then watched Illuminations. We ended the evening over at Pop Century, eating a late dinner and then swimming before heading home.
 

Thursday

We started our day at the very very hot Disney Studios. We had lunch at pizza planet, and then took turns riding Tower of Terror. We saw the American Idol experience - which was lound, thank goodness, because Geoff was in his pre-nap scream-fussy stage and I almost had to get up and leave! I really liked the American Idol experience - I thought they did a good job, although the judges were kind of cheesy.

Next, we rode the Great Movie Ride, before heading out.

Geoff did not fall asleep on the way to dinner, but we tried the carrier again anyway. It wasn't the easiest meal, but way better then previous nights. I don't think he is quite comfortable enough for the high chair and the stroller is so low, so when possible, carrier it will be! He did ok, playing with toys, etc. I did great, enjoying a whole maine lobster!!! YUMMY! Grant had filet, and we went halvsies on dessert - chocolate cake with orange sauce and (surprise) key lime creme brulee.

We went back to EPCOT for the evening - Grant ride Test Track, and then we all rode Finding Nemo and looked at the fishies in the Living Seas. Grant took Geoff on Journey into Imagination while I rode Mission Space. Grant said that Geoff really reacted to the ride, even laughing out loud at Figment during one part of the ride!

It was extra magic hours, so we walked over to France for our late night snack instead of going to pop century. I had a quiche and a creme brulee (can't get enough!) and Grant had a ham and cheese croissant and a creme brulee. On the way out, we rode Journey into the Imagination again, and then bought Geoffrey a Figment doll - his first WDW toy - to celebrate his 6- month "birthday!"

EPCOT & Magic Kingdom

On Wednesday we started our day at EPCOT. We arrived in time for lunch and headed back towards the Japan pavilion. I had sushi and Grant had beef and chicken with rice. I loves the sushi but Grant was not crazy about his. Next we went to France and got a chocolate croissant and a creme brulee. This made Grant feel better! Next, we watched Impressions of France, and then wandered through Morocco. We watched The American Adventure and then headed back to Future World. We rode Spaceship Earth before leaving.

We had dinner at Citricos at the Grand Floridian. SO far, this has been one of our easiest meals. Geoffrey fell asleep, so we brought him in the carseat/carrier, and he slept through most of dinner. The waiter was very helpful, too, because he had our whole meal - appetizer (goatcheese and pear salad and tuna carpachio) entree (lamb shank for both) and dessert (tropical fruit creme brulee and tiramisu) and the check out to us within an hour. He actually LISTENED when we requested a fast meal. He was very nice and understanding. Geoffrey woke up around dessert and was content to plat with a toy while we finished. Huzzah!

We went to The Magic Kingdom for the evening. We rode Carousel of Progress, and then Grant and I switched off, taking Geoff on Buzz Lightyear while the other of us went on Stitch's Great Escape. Trying to make it an early night, we left Magic Kingdom and headed over to Pop Century, messed up our room so it looked used, picked up a shirt Grant had bought me at Animal Kingdom that we had delivered here, and then had nachos and ice cream in their food court.

Back at the town home we took a short swim before heading to bed!

Tuesday Animal Kingdom / Magic Kingdom

The first park we went to today was Animal Kingdom, so of course, it rained. We ate lunch at Flame Tree BBQ, and then headed towards Expedition Everest. At Animal Kingdom, they have a central fast pass distribution center, where there are fast pass machines for all the rides in one place - we went ahead and got fast passes for Kilimanjaro Safari. Grant rode Expedition Everest and then Kali River Rapids, while Geoff and I walked through one of the jungle walks. Then I rode Expedition Everest, although I did not ride Kali River Rapids - heavy drenching did not sound appealing to me.

Next, we watched Finding Nemo, the musical, before heading over to the Safari. Our Safari ride was really cool - we saw lots of animals this time, including the lions!

After our safari, we did the other forest walk and then went to the new Tusker House buffet. Geoff was again Mr. fuss budget during dinner, but it was a buffet, so it was easier to alternate, plus it was really loud. They had some good food - an apple walnut blue cheese salad, cous cous, salmon... and really yummy desserts!!!!

After dinner we went to the Magic Kingdom - apparently it was crowded because they extended the closing from 10 to 11. We rode the Magic Carpets of Agrabah. We were going to watch the Hall of Presidents, but the next show was 17 minutes later, and I was able to feed Geoffrey in the lobby before the show started. We instead went out and watched Spectromagic and ate Dole Whips. Then we rode Jungle Cruise, Haunted Mansion, Winnie the Pooh, Snow White, and Mickey's Philharmagic before heading home!

We were pretty sleepy - even Mommy fell asleep on the drive home!

Monday - EPCOT

On Monday, we went to EPCOT. We started in The Land for lunch in the Sunshine food court. Then we rode Finding Nemo and Friends and Spaceship Earth.

We decided to take a break so we headed over to Pop Century for a swim in the pool.

Back at EPCOT, we headed to World Showcase and spent some time in Mexico, riding the revamped boat ride featuring the Three Cabelleros, and in Norway, eating pastries and riding Maelstrom.

For dinner, we made our way to the 15th floor of the Contemporary Resort to eat at the California Grill. We timed it so that we could watch the Magic Kingdom's fireworks from the rooftop observation deck.

Dinner was delicious - blt flatbread, summer salad, filet of beef for both of us, and banana chocolate creme brulee and melting chocolate cake with cherry ice cream,

Tomorrow.... Animal Kingdom!

Sunday - Pop Check in and Disney Studios

Today, we checked in to the Pop Century Hotel. We're not actually staying there, but we did bring bathing suits over so that we can swim mid day if we want. We booked the hotel so that we could get the dining plan that comes with it.

After we checked in we had lunch at Pop Century, using our dining plan. I'm excited because they have lots of good things you can use for snack credits and those I am the most concerned about using up.

Then we swam for a little bit before heading over to the Animal Kingdom Lodge for dinner. We ate dinner at Jiko - an Africa restaurant. We shared: an ostrich with yogurt curry sauce appetizer, a summer peach salad, spicy crusted tuna with a cucumber tomato salad, filet mignon with macaroni and cheese, a pistachio/chocolate creme brulee, and fresh doughnuts with coffee ice cream. Everything was included on the dining plan except for the appetizer and summer salad. SO DELICIOUS! Geoff was SOOOOO tired, but he just wanted to see everything that was going on! Which meant that he was pretty fussy. However, he did finally fall asleep when dessert was brought out. Luckily, he wasn't loud at all, just antsy, and it wasn't too busy at that point.

After dinner we went over to Disney Studios. Grant rode Tower of Terror while I fed Geoff at the baby care center (not my favorite - small and messy and smelly). He also tried to ride Midway Mania, but apparently they don't have single rider there anymore - boo! We met up and rode The Great Movie Ride and then saw Voyage of the Little Mermaid.

After we left, we went back to Animal Kingdom to share another counter service meal as part of our dining plan at there quick service location, Mara.

Saturday - Magic Kingdom

Yesterday we went to the Magic Kingdom. We arrived in the early afternoon. We parked at the Polynesian and took the monorail so that we wouldn't have to deal with the Ticket and Transportation Center.

Although there were some big storms moving through Florida, they mostly missed us, and we had a warm, mostly dry day!

First, we got fast passes for Peter Pan - which weren't available to use until 7 PM - almost 5 hours later! That is always one long line - Geoff hasn't even ridden it at home yet! We rode its a small world, which Geoff loved, of course, despite the fact that he was getting hungry. We then watched the Hall of Presidents, a wonderful, dark, air conditioned, 25 minute presentation. Perfect! Geoffrey happily ate while we happily enjoyed the new show (which now concludes with a brand new audio-animatronic Barack Obama.)

Next, we rode The Haunted Mansion, which has a cool new winding staircase room that reminds me a bit of Hogwarts. Next, we saw Donald Duck taking pictures so we swung in to get our photopass started.  Photopass is honestly one of the greatest recent inventions Disney came up with for park operations - that and fast pass.

We thought Country Bear Jamboree would be a nice break, which it was, although not as cool (AC) as we would have liked. Geoff fell asleep during the show and took a nice little nap. While he napped, Grant rode Splash Mountain. I was going to ride Big Thunder next, but the ride was closed for a bit. We got fast passes for each, though, for later.

Geoff was awake again and getting hungry, so we went to Pirates, our old stand by. The only problem is that WDW's Pirated is woefully short - 7 minutes - less then half the length of ours at home. So Geoff got a snack. We went to Cosmic Rays to share the BBQ combo plate for dinner (our meal plan doesn't come into effect until today). I tried to feed Geoff there, but he would not focus, so I gave up and took him to the baby care center. It sprinkled a little bit on the way there. At the baby care center, they have a very nice nursing room, with four rockers. It was dimly lit and peaceful, although Geoff was fascinated by the Victorian lamp next to us. However, he finally did hunker down and get a nice feeding. The rockers here form a sort of circle, so it was nice to be able to chat quietly with some of the other nursing mommies.

We met Grant outside and went back to use our fast passes - I rode Splash and Big Thunder, and then he rode Big Thunder. While he rode, Geoff and I found the perfect spot to watch Spectromagic, right in front of Country Bear. I probably should have kept Geoff in his stroller, but I didn't want to block anyone's view so I held him on my lap - it was pretty warm for that and he got kind of fussy between each float. But when the floats were in front of us, he was mesmerized. We also got attention from a lot of the characters (Smee, a butterfly) who came up to say hello to Geoff (he is a people-stopper - people always comment on how cute he is!).   We were also close to some cast members who knew people in the parade, which often caused parade characters to interact with them and each other in funny ways - for example, the two ostriches that had a bird-fight. So funny!

After the parade, we used our Peter Pan fastpass. While we were on the ride, we had one of those Florida 30 second down pours. We stayed dry on the ride. Our stroller, however, did not. Luckily, I had brought the carrier, so Geoff hung out on the carrier with me. We exited the ride at 10, which is when the fireworks were supposed to start - however due to the storm, they were delayed until about 10:15, which gave us a chance to get Geoff in the carrier, grab our stuff, and find a place to watch Wishes.

After the fireworks (Geoff did pretty well - they were loud and he got a bit fussy towards the end - not sure if the sound bothered him or my attempt to cover his ears did) we went to watch Mickey's Philharmagic. We talked to the cast members and they let us stay for two shows in a row (since it was not crowded at this point and it was the last two shows of there evening) so I could nurse Geoff during the shows. We left the park at about 11:15, taking the monorail back to our car at the Polynesian and heading home.

Fun fun fun!!!!

Friday, Aug. 14th - Blizzard Beach

Today, we went to Blizzard Beach. We got there around 1:30, hoping that the afternoon would bering thinning crowds but also that we'd get a few hours before any storms came in.

After finding a spot for our stuff, We hopped in the lazy river for two rotations - The river is long and each complete circuit takes about 30 minutes! They have these cool "baby" innertubs that don't have holes in the middle - just plastic - so little ones can't fall through. It was perfect for Geoffrey!

Next, I fed Geoffrey while Grant went and rode a slide. Then, while Geoff napped, we went to ride more slides. Blizzard Beach is nice because it was quite east to navigate his stroller to the bottom of the slides, so we could switch off watching him and riding. Some of the lines weren't very long, so we got to ride those slides a few times. Geoff didn't nap for very long, but he played happily in his stroller.

After a while, we headed to the wave pool. Here, Geoff wore a life jacket. He LOVED floating on his back in the waves, and he also loved when Grant or I bounced him up and down in the water! Then Geoff and I got out so I could feed him again, and then Grant and I did a few more slides. We finished off our wonderful day with a few more revolutions in the now - pretty much empty - lazy river!

We stayed until park close at 7:30. The crowds really thinned out, the weather was overcast and not too warm (78 when we left) and no lightning forcing us out of the water. We were VERY lucky and had a fantastic time!

Now, Geoff is napping, and Grant is picking up pizza for dinner. Yummy!

Dowtown Disney

Last night, we went to Downtown Disney. The pouring rain stopped, so a lot of people came back out - it was pretty crowded. First I went to guest relations to add the water parks fun and more option to our tickets. Then, we saw that on the stage by the World of Disney, there was going to be a Yo-Yo show starting in 5 minutes! That was fun to watch.

We had dinner at Fulton's Crab House - I got dungeness crab and Grant had mahi mahi. After dinner, we did some browsing in the stores and then headed for home. Geoff had another good sleeping night!

Aug. 12 and 13th

On Wednesday, we started our day with a quick swim in the pool. Then we ran some errands. We find a lady selling baby stuff on Craig's List, and bought an exersaucer and a play mat/gym for Geoff for $30. So glad we did as he has used them both lots already! We went to Costco, Verizon (my phone crapped out), and Target as well. Back at our town home, we rested (Geoff did not sleep well last night) and washed his new toys before heading out to dinner at Texas Road House - Way yummy!

Our plan for Thursday was to go to the community pool in the afternoon, and Downtown DIsney in the evening. We went to lunch at Five Brothers Burgers, which was really good, but sort of pricier then we expected. On the way back, this huge storm started up - we sat in our car in the driveway for 20 minutes while buckets poured down (you know we're not afraid of rain, and yes, the door was maybe 10 steps away - but it was POURING and the lightning was right over head!) Now we're inside,   listening to the storm. According to the weather channel, 4 inches fell in the last hour, as well as 11,000 lightning strikes. And it looks like it is going to be the worse right here over Kissimmee for the next 2 hours. I guess we'll put off our pool plans... Stay Tuned....

Orlando/Kissimmee - Arrival Tuesday, Aug. 11th

On Tuesday, Aug. 11, we left for Florida. We took Jet Blue out of Long Beach. On this flight, the plane seats are 2 and 2, and the flight was expensive, so we only bought 2 tickets, and took Geoffrey as a lap baby.

The first leg of the flight   (Long Beach to Austin) was pretty full. We gate checked Geoff's stroller and car seat, as well as one of our carry-on suitcases (the plans is small, so the larger carryons can't fit.)

I nursed Geoff on the way up to prevent ear problems, and he fell asleep. He slept for the first 45 minutes of the flight. When he woke up, he played quietly for awhile and then got a little antsy. Grant walked with him to the front of the plane and Geoff was happy up there for about 20 minutes. He fell asleep again, and slept and nursed for most of the descent into Austin.

Our plane only stopped in Austin for about 40 minutes, so those of us continuing on to Orlando were asked to stay on. Geoffrey was happy watching people get off and then laying on the seats while Grant stood and stretched. The flight to Orlando was only half full, with many empty rows in the back. Although we planned to move back, conveniently, the row directly across from us was empty, so Grant moved there and we each had our own row. Geoff followed a similar schedule of napping on the way up, playing in the air (this time, I walked him to the back, and he and I talked with a nice flight attendant), and then napping just before we landed. All in all, he did very well on the flights - no crying at all, and just a little bit of antsy fussing!

At the airport, Grant got the bags and rented the car while Geoff and I sat with the bags. We were directed to take any car in the midsize row... so we walked all the way down to the end and found a Kia Rondo - woohoo! Plenty of room!

We swung by the rental office and got our welcome packet and then came to our townhome. Our town home is at Windsor Hills in Kissimmee - this is the closest off-property place to WDW I've ever stayed! The town home is nice - it has a driveway right out front, steps from the door. On the first floor is a bedroom with a queen bed, a bathroom with a shower, a big kitchen, and a big family room. Beyond that is a screened in lanai with a small (12 x 12) pool that has one corner that is about 5 feet deep. Upstairs is a washer/drier, a bedroom with two twin beds and bathroom with a tub/shower combo, and a master bedroom with a king bed and bathrom with a shower/tub combo. The town home is awesome - we'd stay here again. The bedrooms are a little small, but otherwise, the place is great!

We went to walmart to get some needed supplies and then headed back for the night!

 

Camping

We just returned from a camping trip at Lake Edison.

On Sunday, Angie, Andrew, Cori, and Andrew's friend AJ, and Grant, Geoffrey, and I drove to Fresno. We ate at John's Incredible Pizza, and then spent the night at a Marriott Residence Inn. The next day, we drove up to the campground. The last 18 miles heads up over the Kaiser Pass on a one lane road that I thought was pretty scary. It took an hour and a half to travel those last 18 miles. Poor Geoffrey's ears hurt!

The campground was beautiful. They had two sites reserved for us (Gary and Belle drove up on Monday and met us at the Marriott.) The sites were both in a small valley, so it was like we had one big campsite.

We spent our days walking around, playing, and relaxing. We found two geocaches - one at our camp site and one across the lake. We went swimming in the lake (which we estimated to be high 50s/low 60s). Angie brought a telescope and we went down to the lake to stargaze.

Geoff did very well - as Grandpa Gary said, he was a happy camper! He slept in his pack n play for most of the night, but once the sun came up, he slept with mommy and daddy under the sleeping bag. He loved being in the carrier and walking around!

Of course - there was the bear visit! A bear broke the window on our van and got away with some of our dry food goods! I didn't hear it, but poor Angie did - didn't exactly make for a good night's sleep!

Camping dinners are, of course, yummy. We had hamburgers and hotdogs, beef stew, chicken and dumplings, and pot roast. We also had campfire pie, finally, which everyone agreed was a hit! (We used apples and blueberries.)

We camped for five nights, and drove home on Saturday. We followed eachother down the mountain, and then separated. Grant and I had to stop a few times to adjust the tarp that was covering the back broken window, and to feed Geoffrey. We ate at The Elephant Bar - so yummy! I would LOVE if they opened one closer to us!

All in all, we had a great vacation! I love summer! I love Grant! I love Geoff! I love Belle!