Not surprisingly our last parks day was the same mostly ups with some discomfort downs due to heat and crowds. The wait times were better as we added in the extra cost for Thursday and Friday to access things more quickly. This required use of the mobile app, scheduling, and things I had to leave to daughter-in-law, son, and Hubby to work out. We did start with the classic “Pirates of the Caribbean” and there was a wonderful “Swiss Family Robinson Tree House” as a walk-through event. A couple of mild rides and preceded a quick lunch, then a visit with two princesses in Princess Hall. Another plan was interrupted as the heat and distance got to granddaughter and we diverted into the air-conditioned Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor. It was cute. The desire for a tiara topped other ideas as the previously unknown desire was of course back where we had started with the puzzle of what granddaughter was talking about, and her not quite remembering where they were. It did get resolved with a lot more walking and looking. Along the way though was part of a show in front of the Castle with more characters to include more princesses and of music and dancing. Then there was the encounter with another princess for an autograph. With tiara kiosk located and chose made, we sent the kids off to have at least a little alone time. In making our way back to the resort, there wasn’t pool time because we had earlier dinner reservations.

This was back at Animal Kingdom to be at Tusker House in the African section and a Character dinner. Unknown to granddaughter, we had tried and been unable to book the one we wanted for her with princesses, and since we weren’t sure how this one would go, we didn’t say anything to her before. We arrived early enough to go through a couple of spots we’d missed Thursday. Dinner was a buffet with a huge selection, plenty of meats, potatoes, and vegetables with appropriate spices and naan plus other breads. There were some dishes available for the unadventurous and the dessert table did not disappoint. I didn’t go near it, but did take one small bite of a terrific brownie. The characters were the Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Donald and Daisy Duck and Goofy in their safari outfits. They each came to each table for hugs and photos. There was a group autographed card provided to each child rather than the kind of time it would take to do that at each table.

Oh, I forgot to explain. Princess dress had been the attire for the day – you see lots of those worn – and the tiara was added for dinner. This had replaced the previous days wearing of decorative mouse ears. By the way, I had no idea there were so many types of mouse ear headbands/hats that existed. We’re all going to breakfast soon, then it’s pack up and get the kids on the way to the airport as we hope for no issues on the turnpike..

Okay, yesterday was multiple adventures as we went to Animal Kingdom, then to the fancy Chefs de France at Epcot for dinner. We only did one of the major items at the Park – the Safari – as the others had such incredibly long lines. The Safari was excellent though in riding slowly through different sections and except for one, we did see the expected animals. At the very beginning of the park there was a kids booklet with different “badges” to get while in the park and the rangers were great interacting with the kids. There was the Gorillas Mist Trail as a walking piece in addition to the ride. After a quick fast food lunch, there was a great “The Boneyard” set up with different activities. “Discoveries”, stairs within “scaffolding”, cargo net bridges, and slides were all involved. Very hot again, so by 2:00ish, it was time to head back. I thought a nap might be in order, however, the desire for pool time won out.

There are actually two fireworks displays each night. The biggest is the Magic Kingdom, but Epcot has one, too. We didn’t say anything to granddaughter as we weren’t sure how that would work out. Daughter-in-law booked the French restaurant because it was close to the spot. With our timing though it was going to be tricky. She was on the last few bites of her ratatouille with quinoa when they started so she took granddaughter out as Hubby finished his steak au poivre and swapped places outside. Son and I stayed inside finishing my steak au poivre and his beef bourguignon. Everyone was back in for dessert. My indulgence for the trip was chocolate tart with vanilla ice cream. Hubby had creme brulee, son assorted sorbet and a madelain, daughter-in-law a lovely citrus cake with a raspberry ganache. Vanilla ice cream for granddaughter although of course it was special ice cream. The place was lovely and our waitress was utterly French with a charming accent.

On to Magic Kingdom today.

Extra long post. I want to take time to brag about son and daughter-in-law. For those who have never dealt with a child who is placed in uncomfortable physical situations or those who may have forgotten, children have to reach a certain age before they can manage extreme tiredness, aching body parts, etc. As I did mention, we were aware coming to Disney during Spring Break would be super crowded and there was the aspect of being at a resort where we have to to take transport to all the others. That means all mornings and certain other times there are lines and crowds on the SkyLink and busses. The point is granddaughter is prone to the whiney, “I want this to stop” natural for her age. The kids do a great job of managing that by taking certain precautions that do require a level of logistics and good parenting, and some accommodation. Yesterday was perhaps the best example. It was their day for a little “date time” as son had his “Build Your Own Light Saber” work shop. (I’m not kidding.) The intent was for all of us to be up early, go over and we would take granddaughter in one direction while they went the other. We had the late night Tues, so granddaughter didn’t want o get up that early. I had suspected that and told them not to worry. So, daughter-in-law set up necessities for the morning and as granddaughter was getting herself dressed, I took care of getting a little breakfast in her.

The delay, however, meant we missed the window of early park entrance which is one of the benefits of staying in a Disney Resort. It was also the day to go to one of the most popular parks. Long line for Skylink and when we arrived at the park, it was the only time we have encountered entry lines not managed as well as usual. We do get in to go to the “Toy Story” area and the only ride granddaughter wants to go on is the popular one with the wait already 90 minutes. She initially said that was too long, then as we walked to the end of the area, she changed her mind. We headed back and now the wait was 120 minutes. She decided it would be okay. Again, Disney does handle lines well, but it’s still a long wait and interesting dynamics are observed among others generally with the “we’re all in it together” attitude. One of the kids close by who had a bubble maker did provide a source of amusement. I think I’ve also mentioned it has been in the high 80s with yesterday at 89. So, the wait involved pacing out the cookies from the pack, sips of water, and the occasional “spritz”, plus chatting about all sorts of things. Granddaughter made it almost 1 hour and 45 minutes before the “I really am tired of waiting”, but at that point we were almost to the boarding part. Meanwhile, our first planned rendezvous with the kids had come and gone and we were resetting by text. The ride was a fairly mild roller coaster, but granddaughter’s first. Hubby got on with her as I took all our stuff and went to the exit. The kids showed up and we caught sight of Hubby and granddaughter in the first car as the ride made the last couple of swoops. It was a success, but had taken a bit of a toll. Oh, and son’s light saber really is cool. We backtracked to see more of the Star Wars area as he went in to make arrangement for having it shipped home.

This is were the kids took over and managed the next couple of hours through lunch and a special show before coming back for pool time. Daughter-in-law did sit that one out. So now, we approach the major event of going to the Magic Kingdom for fireworks and light show at the Castle. This requires a bus ride and setting the tone for the night with having to stand the 15ish minutes trip. Next came huge crowds and wait time until the 9:00 start. I won’t get into these details, but it meant standing for about an hour, jostling for position as more and more people arrived and son doing a masterful job between occasionally picking granddaughter up and finding a narrow spot to sit with her close by as we carefully saved a spot on the edge of the growing crowd. The display was spectacular and granddaughter exhibited all the delight that makes something like this worthwhile and a memory that will last her a lifetime.

Last two words on this. The management of the busses to get that crowd of people efficiently channeled into appropriate lines and number of busses available is “magic” of a different sort; something Hubby and I can especially appreciate as former logisticians. I was sure it would be at least 10:30 before we returned, but it was right at 10:00.

So, a little later start to the morning as we head to another of the very popular parks.

Our first full day and I mean full. Interestingly, as it turns out, granddaughter does not want to do the rides very much, but rather meet as many characters as she can. This, too involves waiting in lines; made a bit more complicated by not being sure of where characters will be at any given time. There is an “autograph book” (they purchased of course) and yesterday it was Daisy Duck, Princess Aurora and Princess Jasmin.

It was hot and crowded and granddaughter was struggling with all the walking by the time we got way around to The Living Seas. The line for the actual aquarium – at almost 6 million gallons – was also long. We did have to wait until nearly 1:00 for our table, but the kids had each had a crepe in “France” about 10:30 and granddaughter had a gelato in “Italy” which did help. Once we sat and she saw the amazing fish, sharks, rays, and turtles swimming around as we watched from our table with a clear view, she perked up; at least for that. I had mahi; son did salmon; daughter-in-law had chicken, as did granddaughter; and Hubby had shrimp and grits. All were excellent.

Hubby did stay after to go through the aquarium and a couple of other things as we came back for the pool. Also crowded, but set up well for kids. There were large sections under four feet deep so that worked well. The late night dining is a bit on the difficult side although manageable so far and we had plenty of time to kill when we went over. That allowed time to go into a cute Muppet show, then walk through one of the Star Wars areas. The main attraction still had a 2 hour wait time at 7:30 at night. Glad we weren’t planning it. Dinner at Italian place was okay for me – an average chicken parm, Hubby’s pasta was good, but chicken overcooked. Son and daughter-in-law thoroughly enjoyed their pastas. The ciabatta rolls were right out of the oven and the season olive oil for dipping was excellent.

We have an extra early start today.

If you hadn’t seen the previous post, our granddaughter was eight last month and we had let the kids know back at Christmas we could do the Disney trip for their Spring Break or summer. They opted for now and even with me trying to book in February, the better resorts we’ve stayed in in the past were already full. We are in the Pop Century which has two drawbacks from my perspective. None of the parks are within walking distance and there is no sit-down restaurant. The other issue is we have to now make reservations in advance for dinner and again, even trying to book in Feb I could only get later seatings. We’ll see how this goes.

Okay, we encountered a delay where the turnpike was closed near Fort Pierce and it took a while to shunt traffic off, through a stretch to get back on 95, then back to the Turnpike. We still made it to the resort about an 1.5 hours ahead of the kids. It’s a sprawling place although once you walk around a bit and see a few unmissable landmarks, it makes more sense. As planned, we oriented ourselves that included walking out back to see the SkyTram; like a ski lift that will take us to Epcot and Disney Hollywood Studios (today and tomorrow). We’ll have to do bus for Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom (Thursday and Friday)

The food here is food court. Granddaughter went for pizza, but didn’t care for the sauce. All us opted for burgers and they were quite generous with the fries, so she had enough between us. Then there was the Rice Krispy treat in the shape of Mickey that the three of them shared. Since we drove, we did haul up lots of beverages and snacks, to include those of the adult type. All food and beverage here is – and always has been – really expensive. It isn’t that we’re cutting any corners; we do this whenever we drive somewhere.

And off we go shortly for the first of our theme park days.

The expression of, “This ain’t my first rodeo,” is of course only applicable to people who understand that rodeo really is a way of life. Not ours, yet I’ve lived in a couple of places where you can learn about it. There have been lots of different movies depicting the mindset; some of which have at least accurate segments. And so this is the weekend for Homestead with the 74th rodeo founded back in 1949. There have only been three years of interruption; one relatively early in the history; the year Hurricane Andrew destroyed the grounds; and 2021 due to COVID. Apparently it is a sell-out crowd for part of the time. It kicked off Friday night, was held yesterday afternoon, and concludes this afternoon, Jan 29th. I’m not attending this year, but Hubby will be there to shoot the event. He does get some amazing photos, even though he is definitely not a fan of horses. We did go for a while to the Blue Jean Ball last night. That’s one of the traditions and is the main fundraiser for whichever woman’s group holds it. The Homestead Soroptomists took it over a few years back and it’s always a fun time. Who provides the food also changes out periodically and when you’re serving a couple of hundred (or more) people, it can be tricky. It is buffet and there is the dinner option or just come after for music and dancing. Texas Roadhouse had it this year and they did include a chicken option. I was glad to see that as I’m not a big prime rib fan. I like it from a flavor perspective, but I generally find it too fatty to want to deal with. Anyway, the food was good and the band was too. We don’t stay long and the crowd was pretty much at capacity as we left.

Announcement of the Rodeo Queen took place on Friday although I didn’t catch who it was. Unlike some contests, the Rodeo Queen is determined by who brings in the most ticket sales. A couple of months before the event, posters go up around town and on social media and the contestant often make the rounds of other events to garner support. All are accomplished riders and carry on a long tradition.

I know there are people who object to rodeos, but in reality the animals are well cared for because there is a very special bond between owners even though the horses and bulls for riding aren’t what one can call “cuddly”. They do each have their own spirit.

One of the things about travel, whether living somewhere else or as a tourist, is learning about new food. As I’ve mentioned before, I grew up in small towns in North Louisiana and we didn’t travel far for vacations. Our cooking was basic and we certainly didn’t have access to different cuisines, although there was Mexican due to agriculture, and some Cajun. When we went to the big city, we were far more likely to go to the Picadilly Cafeteria than any thought of say one of the few Italian restaurants. I’m sure there probably was a Chinese restaurant somewhere, but again, not anything we would have known about.

My first airplane ride and foreign encounter was the summer session in Canada followed closely by the year I spent in France. I detailed the French part in previous posts. While I was wasn’t overly adventuresome in what I was willingly to try, there was a definite expansion of my tastes and I did become accustomed to more seasonings/herbs, and cooking techniques. Later, my initial Army training was at Fort McCellan, AL, so no great culinary changes there from where I grew up. Going to Maryland though included lots of fresh seafood. (Being in North Louisiana with limited truck transportation back then meant mostly freshwater fish and little shellfish).

My assignment after training to Germany is where I broaden my preferences in both food and wine – well, beer, too. German food has quite a range and Italian, Chinese, and other cuisines were commonplace, although I didn’t venture into the Middle Eastern ones. Anyone who has lived in Germany is aware of how many ways schnitzel is prepared. The basic meat is pork or veal and one of those is Rahm which is similar to country fried steak. In fact, the large German population in Texas introduced the meal with it changing from pork to cubed steak due to that cut of beef being more available. Our Publix doesn’t always have cubed pork and I noticed it the other day. I picked some up and that’s why Rahm Schnitzel is what we’re having for dinner. I admit I’m not making the sausage gravy from scratch and am using the prepared version instead.

Air travel during the holidays is always subject to frustration and this year was no exception. Unfortunately, once again, what should have been the kids departing at 5:45 yesterday turned into much later with extra “airport time” because the exact departure time was a bit uncertain and better to be at the airport just in case. Anyway, it was after midnight when they managed to get to their condo and I’m assuming they were able to sleep in. That was part of the reason to fly them back Jan 1st; it allowed for one down day (today) in case of issues and trying to re-establish routine. It was a great visit though with perfect weather. Not as much pool time this trip due to other “adventures” and that was okay, too.

Hubby always laughs at me for buying too much food for the holidays although it doesn’t change that ingrained habit of mine. I’ll be distributing items among friends and neighbors over the next couple of days to get things back in order plus we will be creative with leftovers for most of the week. The only culinary disappointments for the kids was something really odd happened when they were supposed to have lunch at Chefs on the Run and they weren’t open. Also, Exit One didn’t work out schedule-wise, but we did go on to Capri which they were very happy with. Amelia and I still don’t eat sushi and Suvi has enough other choices so the kids got their “fix” the first night they were here. White Lion was the usual hit and with four people to share we were able to have the big brownie dessert. We would have had five sharing except granddaughter wanted a Sprinkles cookie which might also have been part of her breakfast the next morning. And there was the slice – well, slab really – of chocolate peanut butter cake that came home to be consumed the following afternoon.