The ABCs of Another Steppe Into Adventure!- Last Africa Ch. + World Showcase Pt. 2

[pkondz]

Well, no. Maybe they are too busy finding new and creative ways to survive Armageddon to joke around.

They don't need to find ways. They're actually plotting for ways to bring it about!

POFQ coming up in around 3 months, 3 weeks, and 4 days. Give or take a day or so. But who's counting?

Certainly not you!

 

[pkondz]

For the most part. Unfortunately the swing is where one of her cats slept. And they are a tad bit jealous of each other. LOL!!

 

[Terra Nova guy]

I don't keep track of characters much, but I do remember the hullaballoo and "chatter" on certain threads that shall not be named where grown men expressed utter sadness and disappointment at more clothing.

Oh really, there was hullaballoo? Gee, I wonder what bunch of silly Dads...er, I mean...men...would do such a thing?

 

[irene_dsc]

I hate to admit it but those were actually all cell photos. Thank you, Irene! I'm glad you enjoyed them!

Dang! I'm not sure if that means there is hope for me yet, or that you are just that much better at photography than I am!

 

[docsoliday1]

I did! And now I can say I've driven on 4 continents.

Dang, you have me beat...only 3 for me.

 

[docsoliday1]

Excuse me, you may have, but I didn't. I'm far too manly to do that, ya know.

I'm not so sure sashaying is manly, but I'll let the reader decide.

Um... no. pkondz does not do coffee. Unless you don't consider me as one of your parade partners, which is understandable.

I was wondering about that when I read it...I'm thinking either she ditched you, wasn't counting you as a parade partner or everybody was searching for coffee for her.

 

[docsoliday1]

I don't shop often at Disney, but when I do I spend as much as I possibly can. <meme that!>

I will have to try that at home. Can't this week...we're doing VBS at church, so almost no time at home.

I literally cracked up at this because if you know me AT ALL, *I* am that person who has a perma-stain in her front of coffee.

I spill all. the. time.

Easy way to fix that....stop drinking that nasty stuff!

 

[Steppesister]

Hey friends....

Long day, heck long week!

I know I’m dreadfully behind in reading your reports and in replies here too. But I’ve got a couple of rockstar kids graduating this weekend and have a bit of partying to do. 50 or so people at my house’s worth of partying to do. Which meant a new deck, a new guest room, a huge yard makeover, and now a lot of cooking.

I have tomorrow off, but I may be buying stuff. Or doing stuff. Or sitting in a corner in the fetal position sobbing.

I’ll get to your threads as I can.

 

[pkondz]

I'm not so sure sashaying is manly, but I'll let the reader decide.

Sashaying is the epitome of manliness.


Not that it matters since I lost my man card years ago.

I was wondering about that when I read it...I'm thinking either she ditched you, wasn't counting you as a parade partner or everybody was searching for coffee for her.

First two.
She ditched me and she doesn't count me as a parade partner. More of a party pooper.

But I’ve got a couple of rockstar kids graduating this weekend and have a bit of partying to do.

Congrats to them!

50 or so people at my house’s worth of partying to do. Which meant a new deck, a new guest room, a huge yard makeover, and now a lot of cooking.

Holy crap!

I have tomorrow off, but I may be buying stuff. Or doing stuff. Or sitting in a corner in the fetal position sobbing.

Or all of the above!

I’ll get to your threads as I can.

No worries! Rumour has it that you might be a tad busy!

 

[vamassey1]

That's a lot of supplies for such a small tater.

Wise Sherpa say, turn back. If not, pack TP.

Wise advise.

On the bright side, I hear the yellow snow cones are fabulous.

I'll have to pass on the yellow snow.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t open quite yet.

I love the way you used so many detailed pictures in your tale.

Tate was reminded of the story Steppe had told him sometime ago about the night she and her family were stranded on a frigid winter night on a dark, deserted highway. With only their coats and cold wind in their hair, they waited on the road’s edge for a passerby to offer help. After what seemed like hours, the family of 7 including the baby were picked up and taken to the nearest village where another family they’d only met once before opened their doors to them, made them a hot meal, and set up a big family bed of blankets on the floor to shelter for the night. Their lives were literally saved from freezing to death that night. Tate wondered how often that happens in the culture he is from.

Oh my how scary. Thank God for the kindness of others.

He also wondered why wave after wave of screaming came from its direction….

So many beautiful pictures with so much detail.

 

[vamassey1]

Next time I go, I'm pretty sure I'm going to sport a fanny pack like the olden days. Just... easier. Yeah, Dork City, but, I just don't give a crap.

Me too. I've been debating that. I loved my fanny pack. Everything I needed, right at my fingertips without lugging something on my back or shoulder. My kids would die if I went back to the fanny pack.

 

[vamassey1]

So, I was left to simply pose with this beautiful young mom and her baby with some unknown burden atop her.

Lovely photo. I hope someday you do get to learn how to do this.

We bid goodbye to the tidy little clinic where we’d taught our class of attentive students and wondered if someday we’d ever be back.

It really does look nice, so much better than the clinic you visited later.

The torrential rains made for an interesting 10-mile commute out of the villages back to the highway. The deep holes we’d bumped and jostled over 2 nights before became swimming pool-sized, car-swallowing caverns that would come back to haunt us later.

Oh, dear. Not good for driving at all.

The memorial of the dangers of its crossing still present.

More scary roadways.

Colorfully costumed children, women in bright skirts and headdresses, and a troupe of drumming musicians met us on the outskirts of town.

I really enjoy all the bright colors. When given a choice I like to wear bright colors too.

Thankfully, before I wet myself, I found the “bathroom” and hoped I’d not drag my clothes on the rocks.

Not your typical bathroom. This brings to mind road trips when I was little and the bathrooms were few and far between and we had small bladders. It was nothing for my Dad to pull over and Mom would open both doors and tell us to crop a squat.

And yet, for almost 2 hours we sat and enjoyed a visitor’s welcome African-style.

Africa really does have it's own time table.

I knew this was a custom; I knew this still happened despite: 1) the suspected transmission of Ebola by handling “bush meat” and 2) the shocking decline of monkey species in W. Africa due to habitat loss and over-hunting. Saddened, I became contemplative with having seen that and used the short drive to the clinic to process my feelings on it.

Culture shock.

This was very disturbing and later our team decided that we will focus on Mayola for future endeavors where the conditions are more “ready” to learn and receive, grow and develop.

I can understand this. You're trying to help and the least they could do would be to help themselves too. Feels like a wasted effort on your part.

Our last stop was made late in the day, and uncharacteristically, without fanfare or hoopla, we dropped off a box of supplies to one last clinic and hastily began our return to Freetown. We paid the tolls along the highway, just as we had on our outgoing journey, and with a level of exhaustion I’ve only a few times experienced before arrived at our Freetown accommodations and fell into bed, dirty, stinky, but happy.

What a full, adventurous, exhausting day!

 

[MeghanEmily]

Did you know that at one time belly buttons were taboo? I found this amusing.

Haha no way! This is interesting.

I actually have this on right now as I write and every once in a while I quiz my 20 year old son; surprisingly, he could name all the songs. Which tells me I've done at least one thing right in my parenting. Probably not much more than that, but there ya go.

Parenting: you're doing it right!

Also, now I have this saved to listen to on lazy summer evenings between work weekends. Nice arrangements.

I go to DLR, I hang out with Alison, I get tipsy, and then buy clothing. It’s what I do.

I guess there are worse problems to have!

Who knew that every single place to buy ANY hot beverage within 5 miles was closed for business?! I was less than impressed.

This seems like a wasted opportunity on their part.

Anyhow, that wraps up The Potheads Do Disney

I did know that.
You've never watched I Dream of Jeannie?

No belly buttons allowed. They had to adjust the costume to cover it.

Huh!!? So interesting!

In other news: did you know that I Dream of Jeannie is Pac-Man's mom?? Because I had no idea until I saw the two of them together the other day in Orlando! Of course, I jest. But I did, indeed, see a mother and a son in two elaborate cosplays, one as Jeannie, and one as a life-sized Pac-Man game machine made from painted cardboard. I guess anything goes at a con.

I have tomorrow off, but I may be buying stuff. Or doing stuff. Or sitting in a corner in the fetal position sobbing.

I’ll get to your threads as I can.

Hang in there, Liesa! And congratulations to your remarkable kiddos!

 

[franandaj]

Foursome were ready for some down time and a few more eats,

I was totally ready for some eats!

Who wouldn't want these for their home?!

Me, the cats would knock them over and break them in a heartbeat!

THIS is why Disney bought the Guardians franchise!!! See?! Disney created Groot when they animated ALICE!!!!

How did I miss that????

Did you know that at one time belly buttons were taboo? I found this amusing.

I learned that at a D23 event. The animators were working on the Pastorale Symphony animation for Fantasia with the little centaur girls and when this ruling came down one of them put a sweater on the character.

The soundtrack is excellent here and you can listen to it anytime (which I have, and do repeatedly, still months later) here:

Funny I find the soundtrack repetitive. I suppose I get there more often than you.

Then again I also find the soundtrack at the Grand repetitive. That's been playing almost 20 years now. The valets think so too.

I believe we ordered the mini wrapped hot dogs, a flat bread, and some Korean BBQ tacos. Alison picked all her cilantro and greens off because… it’s a rule.

Well ya, no cilantro here, but I did have my share of the hot dogs!

Kari, sadly, had to say her goodbyes to catch her flight home which reduced us to a threesome.

We were sad to see her go, but at least she saw the parade the night or two before.

I just know mine was strong and may or may not have contributed to the decision to order a 2nd drink.

I was always going to order a second drink. I just used discretion not ordering a third....I think.

It also may or may not have been a factor in my felt need to spend $150 (you think I'm exaggerating, don't you?) on some new sweats, a fuzzy-lined jacket and pants, 5 minutes before the parade started.


What?! It was cold!

No that's just what you do. Plus I wasn't sure how you were going to survive the night in that little dress thingy you were wearing. Contrary to popular belief, it does get kinda cold at night in So Cal. Especially on the DCA lagoon.

I go to DLR, I hang out with Alison, I get tipsy, and then buy clothing. It’s what I do.

That has been my experience!

But I do love my ’55 Mickey hooded fuzzy sweat jacket a lot. The pants are about 2 sizes too big, but I only had about 5 minutes to find something and get back to my seat.

Just wash them in hot water and dry them in high heat, that's all you need.

I also tried in vain to find a cup of hot coffee (along with 100% of my parade partners) and failed (along with 100% of my parade partners). Who knew that every single place to buy ANY hot beverage within 5 miles was closed for business?! I was less than impressed.

I was looking for any sort of beverage, preferably stronger, but there was nothing. And then when I was there two weeks later they had all kinds of choices.

I was warmed up, and the catchy tune of Paint the Night started up. I turned 10 again in that instant.

I don't know if I would say turned 10 again, but perhaps 50.

Speaking of which, would you like to see some crappy parade photos?

Actually you got some awesome ones!

Anyhow, that wraps up The Potheads Do Disney

It didn't hit me until a few days before you folks arrived that all the restaurants we were dining at had "pot" in their names. Next time we need to do Shabu Shabu!

 

[Steppesister]

Friends:

Yes, I'm alive.

Well, breathing at least...

It's been a whirlwind the last few weeks of preparing for not one, but 2, graduations. This involved gutting a bedroom and transforming it into a presentable guest room for my parents who flew in from Kentucky yesterday, sinking thousands into a new deck and some much needed landscaping for the 50ish guests coming to celebrate with us tomorrow, and making the place generally attractive- you know, like we don't cook meth in our back shed.

I'm tired. Very, very tired.

I have been reading a bit here and there, but to be very honest I just haven't had time to keep up the last while. But, I will be back after my folks leave next week. I have a bit of time off Wednesday and Thursday and desperately want to get an update up. Been far, far too long!!!

I'll try to post some photos of the goings on around here soon. Meantime... discussion! I am booking our Family Trip for 2019 and am on the fence about the dining plan!!! JUST NOT SURE! We aren't big eaters, but the idea that anyone can order whatever they want is tempting. We've never done it before, but after last time we all went in 2016, we noticed a BIG difference in portion sizes. There was NO way we could split many of the meals we ordered. Maybe Bek and I could share, but others, no.

Please, Gang, I need your thoughts and opinions. Convince me one way or the other. I have 3 days to make a decision....

 

[franandaj]

I am booking our Family Trip for 2019 and am on the fence about the dining plan!!!

I'm gonna say flat out "No" unless you get it for free. You can't order whatever you want. One main and one dessert, that's all it covers at TS restaurants. What if someone wants an appy for their dinner or two apps? Nope, not on the plan.

How many are there of you and how long is the trip again? If there are a lot of you and the trip is long enough I would say get the TIW card. Oh I went to look up the details and you have to be DVC or an AP holder. And you'd have to spend $750 on food and beverages at TS restaurants before it started to pay you back.

The only time the DDP makes sense is if you have teenage boys with huge appetites. Do your parents eat that much? How many rooms do you have? Maybe if you got DDP for one room of folks, then some could order the mains and desserts while others paid OOP if you're all dining together. I also don't eat at that many QS restaurants on a trip. We tend to do one big meal per day and sort of snack throughout the rest of the day. That's my 2 cents.

 

[MeghanEmily]

I have been reading a bit here and there, but to be very honest I just haven't had time to keep up the last while.

Understandably so! A big congrats to your graduated family members, and also to you for all the work that went into celebrating them!!

Please, Gang, I need your thoughts and opinions. Convince me one way or the other. I have 3 days to make a decision....

Hmmm. I'd say a hard no on the dining plan. But that's just because I don't like it for us and it doesn't save us money. For some people, it works well. It's kind of hard to do with a big group, but in your situation I'd still go on and look at a few menus of places you might consider eating, and then take a wild guess at what kinds of things people might want to order, erring on the side of more expensive than might actually happen. Then compare that to the cost of what you'd pay per person on the dining plan. It might end up being a great value for you. Or the convenience and peace of mind of it might win out, having everything feel all-inclusive and not worrying about price tags while you're on vacation. But for us, even when we're eating A LOT (which we always manage to do at WDW,) and when we're not splitting meals or getting kids' meals often, we still come out saving money by not using the dining plan. I also don't like that there are a lot of meals that don't end up being a good value on the dining plan, like signature meals, or some of my favourite places that are neither buffets or character meals. And I don't like the structure I feel the dining plan forces me into, needing to plan for a specific number of quick service and table service meals, when maybe I want to lean more heavily in one direction or the other on a given trip. Dining plan also doesn't include the tip for most meals, so if you order expensively, and you choose to tip by approximate percentage, it'll still have to be reflected in your gratuity budget. I will recommend, however, that if you don't end up doing the dining plan, to take whatever you would have spent on it, and set it aside before you leave as your food budget. We've learned that we like to take that money and put it all directly on a couple of Disney gift cards to help us keep our budget straight. Then we just use the gift card at the meals, and it feels almost as all-inclusive as a dining plan, but it saves us money. We just have to remember to occasionally keep an eye on the balance to make sure we're on track.

 

[MeghanEmily]

Oh, and also, even if you get the dining plan "for free," I'm still not a fan. Free dining means that your room is rack rate and you can't apply a room discount. If you have a lot of people sleeping in each room, free dining might work out to be a decent value. But for us, we usually save more money by using a room discount instead, and by eating what we want, but not in crazy excess.

Another con of the dining plan, for me, personally, is that I often feel pressured to order a certain way to feel as though I'm getting my money's worth. But maybe that evening I really don't want the filet mignon, and I'd be happier with a salad or an appetizer instead. Just my thoughts, though.

 

[MeghanEmily]

Do your parents eat that much? How many rooms do you have? Maybe if you got DDP for one room of folks, then some could order the mains and desserts while others paid OOP if you're all dining together.

This is a really good suggestion, though! If we travelled in a large group, I'd definitely consider doing it this way, and spending those credits on the more expensive meals/items.

 

[Steppesister]

Excellent points, Ladies! Keep it up, Friends!