OK....out of bed and my morning rituals completed, I quickly made a horrible pot of coffee with coffee in a CAN that I had brought from the back of the shelf at home....not good, not good!!! But....it will get better.
At 8:35, Dr Jeni and I left for the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando......not knowing how long it would take to make the journey.....and it took only about 20 minutes, give or take a few. After winding my way through the arriving traffic at the Convention Center, I got her to the entrance drop-off.....and, promptly dropped her off there! She is attending the American Dental Association National Conference......and with plans to pick her up at the same place about 5pm. With the help of Garmin, I found my way back through the maze of drives and streets and palm trees to I-4, the highway we had taken to arrive at the Conference Center.
Returning back to our rented house, I found things were alive and going strong there, with the four kids in the pool and hot tub, the 1st Lady overseeing their swimming/tubbing, and Darrel also joining in on the fun in the morning sunshine. About 10:30, they all went inside and we all got ready to go to the largest McDonald's in the world.....in downtown Orlando.....for lunch and some play time there. With the two of the four needing child's seats in the car, we needed both vehicles to make the trip.....Darrel had rented a new Mercury Grand Marquis for them at the airport on Friday night.....and so he followed me into the city to McD's.
OMG......I wouldn't have believed it if I had not gone there!!!!!!! I couldn't believe my eyes...nor my ears.....as this place is huge with tons of games, rides, play rooms, digital games, ski balls, an arcade unlike any I have seen at any pizza place or other eatery. The kids played for a while and then we decided we needed to eat.....as nap times for the two youngest would be necessary before too late in the afternoon. Soooo, to the "counter" we went....and OMG.....pasta with shrimp, hot paninis, all kinds of incredible wraps with slaw, incredible meals available!!!!! Check the pictures for the some of the menus that are available there.
Sooooo, we ordered, not an easy task, and then were given hand "buzzers" to notify us when our orders were completed and ready to pick up. The kids had ordered a large pizza, Darrel had a Mexican chimichanga with refried beans, etc.....and the 1st Lady and I ordered a turkey/cheese/olive/balsamic vinegar wrap with slaw and fries. Soooo, we waited and waited and finally our buzzers buzzed and vibrated.....and we took it to our table. WOW...WOW....WOW...WOW....this NOT the McD's we are used to anywhere else that we have been!!!! This food was incredible!!!! Just outstanding!!!!! There were also all kinds of desserts there for purchase....from cakes and ice cream to....well, hell...you name it, it was offered!!! Needless to say......do NOT miss going to this place to at least eat there. Now.....granted, it was terribly noisy with all of the machines and kids and play games and areas, but the experience at a McD's was never like this any place I have been around the world!!!
Back to the house we went....and put Max and Ava to bed for naps. Meghan and Rachel then went to work on their assignments from school for a couple of hours....perhaps three. They were really "in to it" and got quite a bit done, at least so they said!! And....that is good, because they have assignments to turn in once they fly back next weekend.
During that time, Darrel and I went to the local Publix Market.....a large grocery store....and spent time loading the cart with food items, as well as detergent, soap, etc. for the survival of all of us. Returning to the house, the 1st Lady had then located some "discount" tickets for Disney World.....and, sooooo....Darrel and I went and located the one place right next to the Publix.....why the hell didn't we do this while we were grocery shopping???
OK......we both purchased tickets.....Darrel for Dr Jeni, himself and two kids as Max did not require one. I purchased for the 1st Lady and myself and Rachel. Their price for the purchase was almost $1100....and, my price was close to $800!!!!! And, that was cheaper than if we had purchased them at the gate at Disney World. OK.....we did buy for six days at Disney, though.
Back to the house we went.......the 1st Lady was having a Margarita and so Darrel and I had a drink.....Bourbon(Maker's Mark) and Squirt. This is a GREAT combination.....needed just a tad of orange juice to enhance the flavor, but it is certainly my drink of choice when using bourbon. And then.......I texted Dr Jeni...and she said to get started back into Orlando.....sooooo, off I went again!!!
This time it was different......the traffic was HEAVY!!!!!!! It took forever to get to the Convention Center and she saw me and walked over to the line of cars where I was, hopped in...and then we found our way back to the interstate.....and back to the house we went. Dr. Jeni was sooooo excited with the convention.......thousands and thousands were there from all over the world....and she said she is already making plans to attend next year. She will not go today...Sunday....but will go back on Monday for the final day.
We hurried and had a quick supper of sandwiches, etc....and by a bit after 6pm, we were on our way to Disney World....the Magic Kingdom....and were parking within about 15 minutes from the house!!! And then....off on the transportation systems of the Disney World......such well planning the did when this park began to grow!!!!!! And arriving at the Magic Kingdom, the sun had set and the weather was perfect!!!! However...........
In all of the times I have been here, there were more people here than I have ever seen before!!!!!! OMG.....I have never seen such crowds anywhere, except at the Inauguration of Pres. Obama!!!! It was absolutely sooooo thick that you could have not stirred us with a paddle......and so, we just tolerated these crowds and pushed and waded through them. We did several rides, waiting no longer than 30 minutes in lines, at most....which was not too bad. Just soooo glad it was evening and not in the sunlight. The Magic Kingdom was open until midnight last night.......and we remained there until that magic hour!!!
We saw the electric parade....the first time we had ever seen that.....and, it was quite good. We put Ava and Max on top of our shoulders so they could see........and it worked quite nicely. Dr Jeni and Darrel with Ava and Max left ahead of us by about 30-45 minutes, but.....the monorail broke down while they were on it and eventually only got back to the house five minutes ahead of us, and we had to fight the crowds to get out of there. Guess they didn't have too good of a time on the monorail, just sitting waiting for something to be repaired.
All in all......a very busy, busy, busy day!!!!! Seemed like I was running all over by car to get things done, but.......ahhh, such is Life!!!! And.......as always.......
LIFE IS JUST REALLY WONDERFULLY GREAT!!!!!!.....And, I hope it is for all of you, also!!!!!
1 comment:
Great post. We wanna go too!
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