Hotel walls are boring, aka "the one where we got sick"

[bumbershoot]

Thanks for reading and commenting!

Normally I go straight to bed, too. I am a huge wimp when it comes to illness; when I wasn't a homeschooling parent and actually had a paying job, I was always at risk for the sick time I took. There was just something about the months and months of planning and the cost (race cost for the Half, my 5K, our breakfast after the 5K, my race retreat) and not getting that medal (or starting out, being bussed to the end and getting the medal anyway)....it just all combined to make me do it.

Maybe others will learn from me. Either that the $400 (probably more like $500) I would have lost would have been darned well worth it, to keep myself healthier and not run myself down even more....or that if they really want to do it, they might well be able to. One or the other, take your pick.

 

[annmarieda]

Almost all of the photos you're about to see are blurry. Sorry. That's how I remember it, too, LOL.

I am so sorry you were so sick. I can't not believe you toughed it out! You are a rock star!!!

E and I weren't having all that much fun, but we could still come out of our slowness and sadness (of me being sick and slow, not that he was a speed demon that day either) to look around and see the pretty and feel how cool it was to see all this stuff in a way that not everyone experiences.

That is definitely one of the best things about disney races! You get to see stuff in a different way...and not everyone who goes does.

I see by my Garmin watch that it took us 50 minutes 32 seconds. We hang our heads in shame. Oh well.

Oh my goodness! You should not hang your head!! That is awesome considering how ill you were... a besides you were saving energy for the half.

We had the "family reunion breakfast" for that day, so we headed in and ate whatever they had. There were characters.

Was the 9th the only day for this? I can't remember. It looks fun though... was the food ok?

Now, you might be wondering about the massage search I had had going. I can't remember if I mentioned, but I had set one up for the 10th in the morning. Figured we could get up early, go over, E could wait, I could get massaged, then we could race to his Mile.

But I thought I would be better by then. And I wasn't. So I called and rescheduled for much later. Weirdly, the more I went into the illness the less I was hurting, shoulder-wise. And the aspirin I was taking couldn't have taken care of all the pain I had been in, so it was just weird.

Sorry you had to cancel that. At least the pain was less... I guess that is some consolation.

Later on, we emerged and decided to go to Epcot. As we drove over, we encountered one of the biggest downpours we've experienced in Orlando. Really bad timing!

I just can't believe how bad that was! I have never been so wet. It was crazy.

Just walking from our car to the entrance to Epcot we got soaked. And as we approached the entrance the rain slowed and stopped. So if we had just sat in the car for 10 minutes we wouldn't have gotten so wet. But, of course, you just never know with Orlando storms!

It did not slow or let up in DTD. I swear... it was non stop from the time it took for me to walk from Cookes of Dublin to World of Disney Store..wait a bit... to the restroom.. wait even longer... back to the store.. make a purchase... wait a bit... RUN to the boat dock. It let up a bit by this time, but it was still raining pretty hard and continued until I was back to POR.

Went to Fountainview for some caffeine and sugar, hit Club Cool for more sugar. E went on Mission Space 100% by himself. As in, through the line and everything. I just wasn't feeling up to even being in line (and I might have forgotten that I could have taken the chicken exit before going onboard). I pretty much went into the giftshop and sat. It started to rain again, and stopped, before he was off the ride.

We went to Mexico where I found that the Donald plush with the sarape is not being carried anymore. I had just seen it in October! It was going to be my prize for doing the Donald Half. I was sadness personified... Oh well, got some more sugar from Norway.

Sounds like sugar was the only thing keeping you going. Sorry bout Donald too...

This is the day I realized how, exactly, people can miss the fact that there's a race going on. (this was relevant because I read a huge, fairly justified, rant about a guy having an awful time getting to or from his resort b/c of one of the races, and that he hadn't been informed of it before, during, or after his stay. people insisted that disney does let you know but he said they hadn't.)

I think there were notes in the room. During one trip, I am almost certain we had phone messages. Still... people miss that it is taking place. I rode on a bus with a mom and her daughter on marathon day. They were completely unaware that the race was taking place or that Disney even did races. That would have been me just a few years ago.

he finished in something less than 15 minutes, but he was NOT happy while doing it. I didn't have any sort of visual on him from before the start and just barely caught him at the end. He said that in the middle he was having to walk, but the people on the course were really helpful to him and brought him up out of his funk. He finished strong, and looked just like my brother in my brother's race finish pictures.

Congrats to him! That is awesome And how cool for you to see him look like your brother. I know that type of thing is cool for me... seeing my family in my children.

Their system for picking up kids is good. You take a strip from their bib, and you have to have that to get into the post-race kid corral. Go in, find your kid, show the strip and the bib to the CM at the exit.

I liked this too. I don't remember this ever being how they did it before. Maybe they figured that with all the chaos they needed some security.

I had purchased that refillable mug, and just about got a soda. In fact I had served myself a Barqs from the outside at-pool soda station...but there was a dead bee in it. Not a surprise, as I had to brave the bees hanging out at the soda station just to get that drink. They were flying and crawling all around, including on up into the nozzle things. Not sure why I persisted in wanting that Barqs, but I did, and there was the bee. Hmm. Nevermind. Didn't need that soda afterall.

Yuck.. that is not good. My dd would have lost her mind (and probably let someone know how wrong the station was for allowing bees to congregate there )

Got as ready for the next morning as I could possibly get, and went to bed.

You poor thing! I just feel so bad for you.

After my "I feel so alone" bus ride to the Tower of Terror run, I thought I was prepared for that, but I wasn't. I did get on the bus trying to smile, though, which was different than the TOT.

It is definitely different riding alone. I have done it 2 times now... and it is kinda sad.

Magicband, Race Retreat band, and pace band.

Did you sign up for the cliff pacer group? And you ran with them? How did you like that?

I remember this moment, taking this picture, but I recall nothing else about going through Tomorrowland. Crazy.

Great pic! And...at least you got some. I am picture challenged when it comes to races.

I was in a really good amount of despair. Looking at the map, it's no wonder. We had hit mile 6 through Frontierland. This is where I hit despair on TOT as well. During TOT at that point, where I felt alone and sad and like it would never ever end, suddenly it was a zombie dance party and they were blasting Lady Gaga's Born This Way. Brought me right up and out of it, and I could continue on.

Glad the music brought you up. Do you run with music?

Then there was the cloverleaf back to Epcot Center Drive. I'm pretty sure it was right there that I just had ENOUGH of other humans. It was pretty much a 180 degree turn, going uphill. they were playing Surfin' Safari, which was fun. And then this woman in a Brasil running shirt started cutting through the crowd, dancing. With both arms/elbows punching and up in the air. She quite nearly took me OUT. I was very very unhappy with the maneuver I had to do to avoid a black eye or a fall. Grump-o-rama.

OMG! That is such a rough spot. The sharp turn and headed up... ugh. And then to have someone doing spastic maneuvers...

When you enter Epcot you're at about mile 12. Run up, through, around, back, down, out....and you're DONE.

Congratulations! I can't believe you did it... sick and all!!!!

I got my medal and headed on through the maze. Got my rundisney box 'o food. They did not give hummus this time. I was sad. Most of what was in the box wasn't eaten by me. (same with the 5K) I had the Retreat to go to anyway, but I did wish I could have brought some of the box food back.

Oh the Retreat is a long long way away....and we had to go all the way around whatever tents were in the way...

Doing the Retreat alone was hard. Of course, I did the Retreat because I was alone. I had to juggle food and coffee and gear bag and such. And since I was far back in corrals AND was so slow, I felt like I was in peril of them taking the food away.

The food was not as fabulous as I wanted it to be. My plate was pretty much scrambled eggs (with hot sauce to make them palatable) and evil muffins. And coffee. Plus some more coffee.

So would you do it again?

It got really windy as I walked, which didn't make things easy. found a CM who told me that my bus was alllllll the way over there. We started joking around that it seems like they hate me (b/c of the extra walk) but in fact they are just trying to help out my recovery, to keep me walking and stretching out before sitting. So they really cared MORE about me (and others at All Stars Music) than everyone else.

Yep.. just keep walking and walking. The worst thing you can do is just stop and sit. (even though so many of us feel like doing just that)

Got back, and YES, Eamon was now sick. He had been a trooper, though. He gamely went along to get breakfast that morning, and they played a few videogames at the arcade (sorry).

Poor guy!

I had had two reservations for this day. One was tea at 2:15. I cancelled that. The other was Be Our Guest at 6:45, thinking that we would have tea then go to MK and ride some rides, have some fun, then go have some soup (and whatever my aunt and cousin wanted). This wasn't going to be possible for me, so I cancelled that as well.

Oh no more cancellations.

Thinking about it, that was kind of mean.

Not mean... kinda hard to think of others when you are just trying to cope yourself. I am sure they understood.

This was the day of the marathon that we weren't doing, and the celebration event at DTD that I had wanted to do.

This wasn't going to be possible. Too sick. And now with Eamon fully swallowed up by the germs, it coudln't happen.

I had had Sunday Brunch scheduled at Raglan Road, and just like all but one of the ADRs, I'd had to cancel that the day before, too. At some point I had scheduled another Tea for later that day, but I had cancelled that well before

Did you get to eat at all??

Brave face!

Poor kiddo. He looks like he doesn't feel well.

Finally headed out. On our way to check out we saw many people wearing their shirts and their medals, and we were SAD. So much of the fun of TOT was found in the days of wearing my medal to the parks. Seeing others doing the same thing. And I got none of that. Worse, neither did Eamon. Yes he's wearing the medals in that picture, and he did until we got in the car, but that's not wearing them at the parks, and it didn't feel the same.

That stinks! One thing that dh was so impressed was all the other runners telling each other "congratulations"

We were able to take two walks on the beach (in 5 days). We didn't swim at all. Even though we wore wristbands allowing us access to the pool and waterslide and such, we never did it. Alas, we forgot until the LAST night that the second building had an INDOOR pool.

You need a trip do over!!!

Seriously seriously disappointing visit. I had put Daytona in there for many reasons. Some were homeschooling reasons, others were "I wanna see family" reasons. and also "I want to see family without making them having to buy a themepark ticket!" since 4 was becoming 5 (or including my aunt 5 becoming 6, since they all live together) and their frivolity money was going to be going elsewhere. Apart from maybe 7 total hours of visiting, we got none of what I had hoped for.

Too sad.

I am so sorry that you did not get any of what you had hoped for.

So we headed back to Orlando and went to Portofino Bay Resort at Universal. We would have a car for one 24 hour period. However, it would not be the car we were in. Got our stuff unloaded, found that we had a room already, got that settled. Then headed back on out to the airport to turn in our Alamo and pick up a National car as well as Robert.

I really really really hope you started to feel better!!!

 

[bumbershoot]

Oh my goodness! You should not hang your head!! That is awesome considering how ill you were... a besides you were saving energy for the half.

Aw thanks. I've been starting to feel like I'm really not too bright, to run, but I did it, I finished it, and I did survive.



Was the 9th the only day for this? I can't remember. It looks fun though... was the food ok?

I just looked at the program and it seems they had one for the 10K too. I 100% do not remember what the food was. Eamon remembers eggs and some sort of pancake. I have no idea if his memory is accurate. Honestly, when I thought of it I thought it would be IN Epcot. Obviously this was my problem. On the other hand, it does say:

The Family Reunion Breakfast Tent is a very large, white tent located in the Family Reunion (Wonder Lot) area at Epcot

That's not quite saying "in the parking lot of Epcot, is it?

Heh heh heh....why yes it does, as it says Wonder Lot...missed that HOW many times? Oh dear..... I pictured it IN Epcot, sold it to Eamon that way...whoops!


It did not slow or let up in DTD. I swear... it was non stop from the time it took for me to walk from Cookes of Dublin to World of Disney Store..wait a bit... to the restroom.. wait even longer... back to the store.. make a purchase... wait a bit... RUN to the boat dock. It let up a bit by this time, but it was still raining pretty hard and continued until I was back to POR.

WOW.



Yuck.. that is not good. My dd would have lost her mind (and probably let someone know how wrong the station was for allowing bees to congregate there )

I went to the bartender people there at the pool to make sure they knew of the situation. And to see if they had root beer in their soda gun thing. They knew, there was nothing they could do, the bees are always there and can't be gotten rid of, and no, no root beer. Was very unsatisfying.

Did you sign up for the cliff pacer group? And you ran with them? How did you like that?

I signed up. I remembered to pick up the band. I didn't ask where they would be, but I've since found out that they tend to be at the FRONT of the corral. So no wonder I didn't even think about them that morning.

The band was helpful, though. I think I've talked about my utter inability to do any sort of math while running, and it really helped me.

Do you run with music?

I don't. Mainly because I haven't had the mental energy to get a "set list" with beats that are appropriate for my pace. I will absolutely run to the beat unless I don't like the music, so I have to be careful. Early in my Couch to 5K "career" I nearly killed myself when Adam Ant's "Goodie Two Shoes" came on at the gym, LOL. But now that I have seen what good choices of music do for me, I'm thinking I'll hae to create the energy to do such a thing.


So would you do it again?

The retreat? If I were doing another long race while alone, YES. For me, with how loopy and thirsty and shaky I get, it was the closest thing to having my family with me. It's expensive, but it's cheaper than paying for airfare and extra money to have family there.


Did you get to eat at all??

I barely remember eating until we got to Universal. I know I did, but I think it was mainly snacking on things we got at Whole Foods and Publix (shopping lists would be extra-boring to mention so I hadn't talked about all the times we went to the store to get various things). While writing that I remember that I had peanut butter and bread in our room at AS Music, so we probably just had lots of that.

You need a trip do over!!!

Weirdly I don't feel the strong need for a do-over this time, but of course I have the Disneyland Half and then the Wine&Dine lined up. DLR is a family trip, W&D is a girlfriend trip. I'm going to start doing local stuff, too. Tacoma City Marathon Association has a new "crown of the sound" series, where if you do 4/6 of their Halfs this year you get a special medal at the end. Sounds like fun. Oh and I'm thinking of trying for a level of the Half Fanatics, LOL.

A friend of mine was asking if I was going to keep doing Halfs and the answer is yes (obviously), but frankly right now it's because they get the cool medals, at least outside of Disney. Like I could do the St Paddy's Day 10K on Saturday, but there's no medal for that. For the Half, there is. I'm a goof. I still think that the bib is the MOST important thing for me (it represents the training I put into it, and the fact that I was there to start), but the medals are becoming more important as I go on.

I'm just glad I'm not into crossfit. If I were...oh dear... (that's the face of me working as hard as crossfit people do)


**************

So odd. The first week and a half when this YMCA session started, ALL I wanted to do was my weights program, and I was doing it almost every day and it felt nothing but great. As of two days ago, however, I'm SORE! I treadmilled yesterday (slow, but got me used to being on my feet for an hour) and it did nothing useful for the soreness. Today was weights again....sore! Not sure what I'm doing tomorrow but Saturday's Half is going to be interesting, that's for sure.

 

[annmarieda]

Aw thanks. I've been starting to feel like I'm really not too bright, to run, but I did it, I finished it, and I did survive.

I think that is something to hold onto... you survived!!! I think you should be very very proud of what you accomplished marathon weekend.

I went to the bartender people there at the pool to make sure they knew of the situation. And to see if they had root beer in their soda gun thing. They knew, there was nothing they could do, the bees are always there and can't be gotten rid of, and no, no root beer. Was very unsatisfying.

Seems like there could be something they could do.

I don't. Mainly because I haven't had the mental energy to get a "set list" with beats that are appropriate for my pace. I will absolutely run to the beat unless I don't like the music, so I have to be careful. Early in my Couch to 5K "career" I nearly killed myself when Adam Ant's "Goodie Two Shoes" came on at the gym, LOL. But now that I have seen what good choices of music do for me, I'm thinking I'll hae to create the energy to do such a thing.

I HAVE to run with music... but I too have not had the mental energy or time to set up a play list. I know... I think a lot of people have plays just in their phone or mp3. I have just never ever taken the time. So what do I run with? Mainly just pandora. However I also am a rockmyrun member. They put together "mixes" Those mixes sometimes can be great. They list beats per minute and durations so it is in theory easy to find something to run to. Problem for me is I have a lot of 30 minute mixes... and I don't usually run for just 30 minutes. You should check them out though.

Weirdly I don't feel the strong need for a do-over this time, but of course I have the Disneyland Half and then the Wine&Dine lined up. DLR is a family trip, W&D is a girlfriend trip. I'm going to start doing local stuff, too. Tacoma City Marathon Association has a new "crown of the sound" series, where if you do 4/6 of their Halfs this year you get a special medal at the end. Sounds like fun. Oh and I'm thinking of trying for a level of the Half Fanatics, LOL.

I think it is easier to move past bad elements of a trip when you have others around the corner. If this was a "once in a lifetime trip" I wonder if it would be far more tragic.

A friend of mine was asking if I was going to keep doing Halfs and the answer is yes (obviously), but frankly right now it's because they get the cool medals, at least outside of Disney. Like I could do the St Paddy's Day 10K on Saturday, but there's no medal for that. For the Half, there is. I'm a goof. I still think that the bib is the MOST important thing for me (it represents the training I put into it, and the fact that I was there to start), but the medals are becoming more important as I go on.

The medals are becoming more important to me as well. When I first started I could care less. Now, I am excited to get them.

I'm just glad I'm not into crossfit. If I were...oh dear... (that's the face of me working as hard as crossfit people do)

I know! Right around the corner from my house a crossfit place opened up. I see people in the parking lot with huge weights that they are carrying over their heads.

Not sure what I'm doing tomorrow but Saturday's Half is going to be interesting, that's for sure.

Good luck on Saturday!!!

 

[bumbershoot]

I HAVE to run with music... but I too have not had the mental energy or time to set up a play list. I know... I think a lot of people have plays just in their phone or mp3. I have just never ever taken the time. So what do I run with? Mainly just pandora. However I also am a rockmyrun member. They put together "mixes" Those mixes sometimes can be great. They list beats per minute and durations so it is in theory easy to find something to run to. Problem for me is I have a lot of 30 minute mixes... and I don't usually run for just 30 minutes. You should check them out though.

I am definitely going to check that out.


Picked up my packet for the run tomorrow. FABULOUS long-sleeved shirt. Very similar to the Donald Half shirt, actually. I might actually run in it, which I never do (wear a new shirt), because it's so much like the Donald shirt.



I need to get to the Universal part of the stay (pretty pictures, boring stories) and the cruise (pretty pictures, Molly-tantrum, some stories).

 

[annmarieda]

I am definitely going to check that out.

Picked up my packet for the run tomorrow. FABULOUS long-sleeved shirt. Very similar to the Donald Half shirt, actually. I might actually run in it, which I never do (wear a new shirt), because it's so much like the Donald shirt.

That is awesome! I know the donald shirt is really one of my all time favorite race shirts that I have received.

I need to get to the Universal part of the stay (pretty pictures, boring stories) and the cruise (pretty pictures, Molly-tantrum, some stories).

When you do, I will be here to read it.

 

[bumbershoot]

As I'm getting ready to head to the start this morning, I'm remembering the final "kick in the pants" moment after the WDW Half.

It was when I took OFF my compression socks (not just sleeves, but socks) and realized that they have specific sides to them, and I had put them on the wrong feet. No wonder even my feet felt wrong that day!


Oh I'm going to look a sight today...green knee-high compression socks, and black shorts, with my pale pale legs in between, LOL.

 

[annmarieda]

As I'm getting ready to head to the start this morning, I'm remembering the final "kick in the pants" moment after the WDW Half.

It was when I took OFF my compression socks (not just sleeves, but socks) and realized that they have specific sides to them, and I had put them on the wrong feet. No wonder even my feet felt wrong that day!


Oh I'm going to look a sight today...green knee-high compression socks, and black shorts, with my pale pale legs in between, LOL.

Hope your race goes well!!! Mine... OMG hills!!! It was almost my worst 5k ever! Oh well... probably won't be the last time I have a "worst" 5k....

 

[bumbershoot]

With mine...who puts hills at the beginning, middle, and end?

OK the beginning "hill" was just a bit of a rise (but it was combined with a weird back and forth thing that was frustrating to someone who doesn't like backtracking). The middle part did have equal downhills, but of course halfway through my knees didn't really WANT downhills. The end...augh! Hill! And they started the kid's races on the same side of the lane that about 50 of us Half'ers were still using, and the parents running with the kids just didn't seem to comprehend that we were still using that lane. Kids I don't mind, they don't know. But come on parents, you can see our bibs darnit. Anyway, a rise and then a fall and then a rise and then a hill in the last 2 miles. It finally flattened out (and the kids going to the finish line were on the other side of the cones) just at 13 miles, when I could start to run again.

Anyway, I beat 3 hours. 2:59:15, to be exact. Including two shoe-re-ties and a bathroom break. Best 5K time, best 10K time. Not best Half time, because my Garmin counts a training run I did. Apparently a training run in December got me to 13 2 minutes quicker. Of course, in a training run I'm going by the miles I ran and stopping when the Garmin says that number of miles. But in a race, you're usually doing MORE than the actual race mileage. So that's probably why I should drop the training run from the Garmin.



ANYWAY! Gotta get pix up into the photobucket for Uni and Cruise and then we'll be set to go with that.

 

[annmarieda]

With mine...who puts hills at the beginning, middle, and end?

That is what I thought about my race!!! What is up with st. paddy's day races having so many hills??

OK the beginning "hill" was just a bit of a rise (but it was combined with a weird back and forth thing that was frustrating to someone who doesn't like backtracking). The middle part did have equal downhills, but of course halfway through my knees didn't really WANT downhills. The end...augh! Hill! And they started the kid's races on the same side of the lane that about 50 of us Half'ers were still using, and the parents running with the kids just didn't seem to comprehend that we were still using that lane. Kids I don't mind, they don't know. But come on parents, you can see our bibs darnit. Anyway, a rise and then a fall and then a rise and then a hill in the last 2 miles. It finally flattened out (and the kids going to the finish line were on the other side of the cones) just at 13 miles, when I could start to run again.

That sounds like a weird way to do the course! And the parents!!! UGH!

Anyway, I beat 3 hours. 2:59:15, to be exact. Including two shoe-re-ties and a bathroom break. Best 5K time, best 10K time. Not best Half time, because my Garmin counts a training run I did. Apparently a training run in December got me to 13 2 minutes quicker. Of course, in a training run I'm going by the miles I ran and stopping when the Garmin says that number of miles. But in a race, you're usually doing MORE than the actual race mileage. So that's probably why I should drop the training run from the Garmin.

Congrats on your race!!! I am so impressed that you have another half done for the year!! WAY TO GO!!!

ANYWAY! Gotta get pix up into the photobucket for Uni and Cruise and then we'll be set to go with that.

 

[bumbershoot]

They were trying to do the kid races before the opened the course to traffic . But it was a shock to see the kids running pellmell down the hill that we were struggling to get up!


What 5K did you do?

 

[annmarieda]

What 5K did you do?

I did the 5k in Snoqualmie. The Finaghty's St. Patty's Day 5k.

 

[bumbershoot]

After much debate...the Universal report is here.

The debate was in regards to if I should just put it here, to heck with the name of this section of the boards, put it there and link, put it in both and make photobucket concerned...

Obviously I made up my mind.



******
As of this evening, I am shocked at how relatively good I'm feeling. Shocked! There's a little part of my brain that's saying "Mercer Island Half is this Sunday, Robert will be back in town and if you finished it you could join Half Fanatics!" and I'm trying to shush that part. I had Very Scary Feelings in my knees on Saturday evening, and I want to give my knees a chance to rebound; I don't want to go mush them around again! (and yet...I do....)

 

[annmarieda]

After much debate...the Universal report is here.

The debate was in regards to if I should just put it here, to heck with the name of this section of the boards, put it there and link, put it in both and make photobucket concerned...

Obviously I made up my mind.



******
As of this evening, I am shocked at how relatively good I'm feeling. Shocked! There's a little part of my brain that's saying "Mercer Island Half is this Sunday, Robert will be back in town and if you finished it you could join Half Fanatics!" and I'm trying to shush that part. I had Very Scary Feelings in my knees on Saturday evening, and I want to give my knees a chance to rebound; I don't want to go mush them around again! (and yet...I do....)

You are just inspiring! Half fanatics!! Good luck this weekend!!!

 

[bumbershoot]

Robert and I decided it wasn't a good idea, even though the Mercer medal is cute (I hadn't signed up for it). E got invited to his first ever sleepover for Saturday, and it's R's birthday weekend, and we only have the one car...and I figure E will need to be picked up at some point Sunday morning, so it's just not a good idea. Oh well! I'll have to use a different timeframe for the Half Fanatics base level membership.

I have a small problem with doing things just because I feel I should do them. And finishing them just because I started them. Not because I necessary WANT to do them, but because it's there. So...Half Fanatics exists, if I could get in another half by April 11 I could join (3 Halfs in 90 days, the first being WDW Half of course), therefore I want to do that. I don't wanna wait and do it later, I wanna do it NOW. I'm very much Veruca Salt in my head when it comes to things like this.

The above is the reason why I didn't transfer from my stupidly expensive private undergrad even when all of my original friends did just that, and it's why I finished chiropractic school when I had no place doing something that would require me to be in solo practice and in charge of other peoples' health! I started, so I finished.

Silly.

 

[annmarieda]

Robert and I decided it wasn't a good idea, even though the Mercer medal is cute (I hadn't signed up for it). E got invited to his first ever sleepover for Saturday, and it's R's birthday weekend, and we only have the one car...and I figure E will need to be picked up at some point Sunday morning, so it's just not a good idea. Oh well! I'll have to use a different timeframe for the Half Fanatics base level membership.

I have a small problem with doing things just because I feel I should do them. And finishing them just because I started them. Not because I necessary WANT to do them, but because it's there. So...Half Fanatics exists, if I could get in another half by April 11 I could join (3 Halfs in 90 days, the first being WDW Half of course), therefore I want to do that. I don't wanna wait and do it later, I wanna do it NOW. I'm very much Veruca Salt in my head when it comes to things like this.

The above is the reason why I didn't transfer from my stupidly expensive private undergrad even when all of my original friends did just that, and it's why I finished chiropractic school when I had no place doing something that would require me to be in solo practice and in charge of other peoples' health! I started, so I finished.

Silly.

I think deciding against it makes perfect sense! However... I do soooo get the "just because" attitude. Have you been to my PTR this evening? OMG! I am nutty. When Dh had chose donald for 2014 I was fine as long as I got PHM 2015... well he wanted donald again but wasn't opposed to phm as well... so I planned. When I wrote my list of races...I included it. Now it is time to book at the 11 month window and I am second guessing. I wonder if I really want to/have to.. and if it makes sense with everything else going on. I feel like I have a goal and I need to follow through. I said I would be doing it and so I will... I definitely fall into that "I started, so I finished" category.


I admire you for seeing the bigger picture and deciding against the mercer.

 

[bumbershoot]

Thank you for the admiration for me not being crazy.


****************
So I finished the Universal report that I'm pretty sure I linked to (but if not there it is again), and now I'm working on the cruise.

 

[bumbershoot]

So I think I mentioned over in the Universal report that on our last (I believe) full day pre-cruise, we got an urge to head to WDW. Since we had the APs that was easy enough, and we went to MK.


We saw Monsters Incorportate Laugh Floor and had a great time. Rode Buzz.

This was the progress on the mine train ride at that time.

Finally got on Haunted Mansion, went on Pirates. Jungle Cruise, Swiss Family Treehouse.


Had ONE LaFou's Brew to share, along with some hummus and chips sitting outside Gaston's.

This does not look right.

This is pretty.

This makes me laugh b/c it's like the castle is a popping machine, and then I picture someone rolling it around like those little things that people get for their toddlers. (poor Eamon, he never had one)

A bit after the hummus we went to Columbia Harbour House for the Lighthouse sandwich goodness.

Blurry goodbye!

So we pretty much hit the highlights as a way to say "bye bye annual passes!"


**********
And then we went on the cruise the next day.
And then we were set to fly out the same day we disembarked.

But...I will be back here with one more bit of the story when I'm ready to do that. Ooh, mysterious. (unless you read any of my many other posts, especially on the Transportation board, about us taking a bump from our scheduled flight LOL)

 

[annmarieda]

Your last day sounds like a great "good bye" And that sky!!! So nice. It was so cold and rainy so much...

Thanks for posting the links to your other reports for this trip. I can hop over there now...

 

[bumbershoot]

Hi again!


So if you've been following along in my dreadfully delayed cruise report, you know I've sent you back over here.


Our plans had been to take our hired car&driver and go to the airport, and catch a flight home and that was the end of the story!

But it wasn't. Robert knew when our flight home was. When I made the arrangements months and months before, he was not perturbed. Then the questions started. The what ifs. What if Seattle does well? What if they really do it? But as a long-time fan of the Seahawks, he of course knew it wouldn't happen. And then...it started to happen. He got more upset by the timing of the flight home. We were flying on miles, we could have changed it. But he said no. He had to get to work on Monday.

We were going from Orlando up to Newark of all places. Layover, then boarding the plane BEFORE kickoff. Landing in Seattle long after it could have possibly finished. (it's American football after all, not football-football)

Then we all realized that they were going all the way. This was soooo not good. He still had to be at work the next day. I'm not sure he actually talked with his boss about it, but that's how Robert felt.


We did a big switcheroo of our stuff before checking it in. Put toiletries, nightclothes, just about everything into our checked bags. Checked them. Went through security and the usual MCO TSA nonsense, got some leisurely breakfast after security. Slowly made our way to the gate, so early because we had been off the ship and picked up so early.

As time went on the gate area filled up. And filled. And, wow, filled some more.

Robert had been in line because they had split us up, and he was trying to get us all back together again. It's not a requirement for us, but hey, might as well see if it's possible. He was getting it worked out and was walking from the long line at the gate counter.

Then they made an announcement.

They were overbooked by 9 people. They needed 9 volunteers. $300 vouchers for each, a hotel, and some money for food.

Robert and I looked at each other. It was obvious what the universe was telling him.

He didn't even get back in line. He went straight up to the counter and volunteered us. (by the way, that seems to be the right thing to do in such a situation...don't wait in line behind people who are in line for other reasons...you'll just miss the opportunity)

He got us on the list.

And, eventually, after a long long long wait, it was finalized. We were taking a bump. By the time it was final for us, they had upped the ante to $400 each. Robert asked about that, and so they gave us an extra $300 certificate. The money for food isn't much at all. But hey, we would have to pay for food anyway on the plane and at home, right? Couldn't get into the Hyatt, but got the Doubletree which was nice.

Once that was all arranged, we headed out to the Doubletree's shuttle. And realized that I was dressed really really wrong for Orlando. And? They hadn't been able to get our bags off the plane.

Got there, got checked in. had a bit of a wait for a room, but they thought Eamon was sweet so they gave us extra Doubletree cookies. Robert scoped out the TV situation while we had some lunch (getting everything finalized took quite awhile, especially because there were some yelling people delaying everything...none of those yellers came to thank us for letting them have their spots, of course, but whatever...anyway, it was already lunch-ish time)

Talked about what we were going to do. The guys definitely wanted to watch some football and were already making plans for the BIG TV down in the public part of the lobby.

I figured....hey, I have an AP. Epcot is calling. got on the computer, arranged for a rental car and some last minute FPs. Took the shuttle right back to the airport, got a car (adorable teensy little Festiva or Fiesta), headed to Epcot.

Did some shopping because I was wearing a long sleeved shirt and was broiling! Cute Mickey short sleeved shirt was now mine.

I wandered. I realized that the FPs I had arranged were all wrong. You don't need one for Figment, but there was nothing I could swap out for it. Too long a wait for my Soarin' FP+ and I couldn't change it, either. Can't remember the other thing I had FP+ed (WDW is causing horrendous abbreviation grammar), but by then I had lost all interest.

That helped me lose interest.


It's a Unibroue Cherry Éphémère, and it was delicious. I had no idea you could get it in a souvenir glass, but the man in front of me had ordered it so I did, too. SO good.


I sipped and wandered and chatted with CMs. Bought a pair of earrings made from recycled park paper, and talked with the CM for ages. Learned all about her job and working there and the jewelry made from the park paper and how it's done. It was very cool.

Talked with a DVC lady, talked later with a DVC guy.

Didn't ride anything! Just wandered, sipped, and chatted.

Saw lots of people in Seahawks gear. Not sure if they looked miserable or not. Not sure why they were at Epcot, decked out, while the game was going on. Seemed to me that if you were a fan enough to wear the clothes, you should be watching the game somewhere. But what do I know? I'm not a "sports fan". It might be a thing, to torment yourself. Like Robert tried to do by not letting me change the flight.

Funny how work could fend for itself, the moment they needed volunteers, eh?


As my evening drew to a close, I realized we had nothing that we needed. I had to make a run to Target. And I did so. Had 15 minutes to shop before it closed. Soft shorts for E to sleep in. Extra unders for the guys. I can't remember what I got for me. Toothbrushes, etc etc. Basically everything we had so brilliantly stuck in the to-be-checked bags 5 minutes before checking them...

Got back to the hotel, they were on cloud nine... By this time the flights had started to get changed around because of weather or something like that, so we went through some issues getting onto a plane, but ultimately we did on the 3rd because we're here.

I managed to get to sit in 1st because we had been split up again, Robert had been upgraded, and he was supersweet and let me sit in his seat. Met the coolest retired gentleman on the way home, had a great conversation about everything. Sat in a comfy seat.


And best of all, I took this picture in Epcot, which pretty much sums up my life. (especially my attitude towards the 4th of July this year)

And THAT was the end of our Jan/Feb WDW/Universal/Cruise/sickerthansick trip!