It’s Wednesday! Time for our weekly update of what’s been going on down here in Florida! It’s been a busy week, lots to catch up on, so I’ll jump right to it!
As most of you know, last week we finally were getting a visit from family! My Mom and Dad came to town last Wednesday night, and they stayed here all week. They headed back to Michigan this morning, and I miss them already. Being down here in Florida, and away from my family and friends has been rough at times, so this visit is just what I needed to recharge. It was so nice to see my parents, it had been 3 months, and that’s a record for us. Wednesday night, the kids and I were looking out the front windows, just waiting for them to pull into the driveway. It was like waiting for Santa on Christmas Eve! When they finally got here, we all ran outside to greet them. After some tears and hugs, we came inside and I had made them some Italian food for dinner, so we ate and visited. It was long overdue.
The next day, the kids went to school and we took the parents to Downtown Disney for lunch. They never had Earl of Sandwich before, so I had to change that. They were pretty impressed, I had them try the Holiday Turkey sandwich, and my Dad wanted to go there again before he went back home. Friday night, I had it all planned out. We were going to go over to the Magic Kingdom, take the boat ride to Ft. Wilderness Campgrounds, and have dinner at Trails End. I wanted them to see the sights a little. Well, my plan didn’t go as well as I hoped. It started to rain…… and rain….. and rain. They closed the Monorail due to the rain, so we had to take the boat over to the MK. Once we got there, we found out that they were only using one boat going to the Ft. Wilderness area and we had to stand in the rain and wait. And wait. And wait. Once on the boat, they announced they were making more than one stop, so again…. we had to wait. When we finally got to Trails End, we were soaked and over an hour late for dinner. The good part? Mom and Dad LOVED the food, and when it was over, they actually said it was worth the hassle. Afterwards, we took the boat back to the main gate, and HalloWishes was just starting. We got to hear the show and see the tops of the fireworks. They were happy in the long run, which in turn made me happy too.
On Saturday, we looked at the weather and of course there was more rain in the forecast. I really wanted my parents to see some Disney magic. So, we made the decision, rain or shine, that we were going to the Magic Kingdom. We got lucky because the rain stopped and we all had a great day. I played tour guide for the day, and crammed in as much sights and activities as we could. I wanted them to see Festival of Fantasy for sure, then hoped for Wishes at the end of the night, and they got to see it all. I’ll actually write more about that on a future blog, the day went really well and it was nice to see them so happy. The next day on Sunday, we drove them to New Smyrna Beach and spend the afternoon on the shore. It was nice to relax and enjoy the ocean air. The beach trip was at my Dad’s request, so I wanted to be sure we did that. The next day, we saw on a news story, that someone got bit on the foot by a shark at the exact beach we were at, about 3 hours before we got there! Wow! Glad all turned out well, no incidents on our end.
Monday and Tuesday were more low key, we didn’t do much, but it was rainy so we made the best of it. Yesterday we took them back for another sandwich at Downtown Disney, then my Dad made dinner at home for us before leaving. Their trip went by so fast. Seems like we waited forever for them to get here, and now they’re on their way back home. It was sad saying goodbye last night, more tears were shed, but I know they’re proud of me and they support our efforts here in Florida. That means the world and makes the harder times worth it. They are thinking of staying down here longer next time. I suggested they get passes so we can take them to see ALL of what Disney has to offer next time. If they enjoyed the Magic Kingdom, then I know they’d love to see the rest too. I’ll be looking forward to that.
So, here we are. Back to “reality” and back to the grind. I’m ok. There are a lot of things I need to report on and accomplish now that I’m back to work. I keep myself busy, between the site, the kids, the house, etc… so I know it won’t be long till another family visit comes up again. I can’t wait! Thanks so much to all of you for reading along with our weekly adventures. I have lots to accomplish in the next week, so be sure to check back next Wednesday and see what we have been up to! Till then….. See Ya Real Soon! ~M
Michele also contributes theme park news for Fox 35 Orlando 11pm news and on the radio on WDBO.
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