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Vacation - Can I have a "Do-Over"? #16045 06/25/02 12:47 AM
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Larry Offline OP
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We arrived home safely from our trip to Disney World today, amazingly. If you relish reading other's vacation foibles, read on:

Saturday June 15 - Left home and drove 11 hours to Savannah, Ga. A fairly uneventful day.

Sunday, June 16 - We got up early to visit Tybee Island Lighthouse. Stoppped at Emmett Park in Savannah to photograph the old river range light. We parked across the street and Kris (my 12 year old daughter) and I went over to the the light while Donna (my wife) and Amanda (9 year old daughter) stayed in the car. After two or three photos, Donna somehow set off the car alarm. I had to go back across the street to shut it off and then go back to photographing. Then Kris noticed the homeless people sleeping on the benches around the light. I'll find out tomorrow if they are in my pictures. Then it was off to Tybee Island and Cockspur Island. At Tybee, we parked in a metered lot across the street and dropped in 50 cents for an hour. That was before we noticed the free lot behind the lighthouse. After spending an hour and ten minutes athe the lighthouse, we returned to our vehicle just as the smiling meter maid was placing the $10.00 parking ticket under the windshield wiper. Off to Cockspur. I pulled off to the side of the road on my way off of Tybee Island and took my two day old tripod with me. As I pulled out the fisrt leg, it came all the way off. So I took hand held photos. We then kept driving south and uneventfully visited St. Augustine lighthouse. After a couple of traffic jams we finally arrived in Kissimmee, Fl (just outside Disney World), where we had booked a $40.00 room at the Sleep Inn for one night, before we moved to lodging on Disney grounds on Monday. We had requested a non-smoking room. We didn't get one and they didn't get our $40.00. We ended up at the Disney All-Star Music Resort for $100. It started raining just after we arrived. We ate some pizza, I plugged in the battery charger for my digital camera and went to bed.

Monday, June 17 - We got up early, ate some Pop-Tarts and packed up and moved to the Disney Coronado Spings Resort. It was sunny . We went to Disney/MGM Studios and had a fun morning. While eating lunch it began to rain. We had forgotten to bring our umbrellas or ponchos, so we had to run through the rain to the bus stop. We just thought it was your typical Central Florida, daily afternoon shower. We went back to our room for a rest, then off to dinner. Still raining. Off to the Magic Kingdom in our ponchos. Raining harder. We still had fun...until I asked Donna if she had happened to unplug and pack may battery charger before we left the All-Star. Back in our room, I left a voice mail for Disney Lost and Found.

Tuesday, June 18 - A sunny morning...off to the Typhoon Lagoon water park. After a few hours there, going down the slides and playing in the giant wave pool, and almost losing my glasses (really, I was holding them by a finger tip) and Amanda actually losing her googles on one GIANT wave, it began to rain again. Hard. Back to the room for a rest and then an evening at Epcot. Again we placed our plastic bags over our bodies and slogged throug the rain. It actually stopped later and the evening was salvaged. Lost and Found hasn't upheld their end yet. Donna is getting blisters on her feet.


Wednesday, June 19 - Another sunny morning, and off to Animal Kingdom. It is a very cool place and we had a great time. Then it started to rain. Hard. In the evening, we returned to the Magic Kingdom in some of the hardest rain I have ever seen. As we exited our bus, we were in ankle deep water, but it later stopped raining and we got to ride lots of rides, because everyone else stayed home. Donna now has blisters and shin splints.

Thursday, June 20 - In the AM sunshine, we visit the Blizzard Beach water park. More slides. This time I stay out of the wave pool. In the evening, we return to MGM. Guess what? Yep. It's raining. Still no word on my battery and charger.

Friday, June 21 - In the AM, we checked out of the Coronado Springs (after finding a live frog in our room) and checked in to the Animal Kingdom Lodge, where we have booked a savannah view room where we watch and photograph African animals from our balcony fo rthe next two nights. It is sunny and we head off to finish up what we previously missed at the Animal Kingdom. No rain. So far. After spending the rainy afternoon in the lodge, watching the zebras, giraffes, etc., and a great buffet dinner at the hotel, we were back at the Magic Kingdom to use the last of our 5 day park hopper ticket. Amazingly, no rain to speak of. I believe we made it though the entire day without putting our giant baggies over our heads and bodies, although Donna could only half walk (from the blisters...the shin splints were gone). Still no charger or battery.

Saturday, June 22 - Our friends had come down a few days earlier, so after a great buffet breakfast at the hotel we invited them over to swim in the pool and look at the animals. They arrived after I woke up from my after breakfast nap. I think I had an adreniline crash, as my whole body just seemed to shut down. While they were there, we swam in the pool and looked at animals in the sun. Then the sky opened up again. We then went to Downtown Disney (in our ponchos) for shopping in the rain. After some shopping, we headed out for dinner. We were going to follow them to a restaurant that they knew and liked. The little electronic thing in my Jeep told me that we had 54 miles to go before I needed gas. It was wrong. Fortunately, I was able to drift out of the middle lane of traffic in to a parking lot. Donna and the girls waited in the car, while Kathleen and Mark took me to a Walmart to buy a gas can and a gallon of gas. We had a nice dinner and went to bed.

Sunday, June 23 - Cloudy in the morning as we checked out of the Animal Kingdom Lodge and headed for Daytona Beach and the Ponce Inlet lighthouse. No rain. No rain. No rain. Then we arrived in Daytona Beach. It was coming down in torrents! By the time we reached the light, it had slowed, but not stopped. Then we were off to visit St. Simons Island. This leg of the trip and everything forward to our arrival at home today (to 101 degrees and sunshine) was fairly uneventful, although the girls kept making me stop for gas every time the meter went below 3/4 of a tank!

The battery and charger were never found, even though I know exactly where I left them and the hotel manager personally went to the room to look while I waited. I can replace them via ebay for about $75.00.

Overall, despite all of the rain, lost stuff, broken stuff, blisters and empty gas tanks, we really did have a great time. Next week, I hope to get lighthouse and animal pictures posted...If the film isn't somehow ruined.


[This message has been edited by Larry (edited 06-25-2002).]

Re: Vacation - Can I have a "Do-Over"? #16046 06/25/02 02:56 AM
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Dave H Offline
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Larry,

The people of Florida thank you for visiting. Much of the state has been very, very dry and needed some good rains. Sounds like you made a significant contribution to their needs!

Glad you are home again and safe. You gotta admit that this is going to be one of those vacations you will talk about for many years to come. Be looking forward to your pictures.

Dave

Re: Vacation - Can I have a "Do-Over"? #16047 06/25/02 04:29 PM
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eskilady Offline
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Dave -

Sounds like you had a great time, inspite of the rain. Am looking forward to seeing the pictures that you took - all of them, not just the lighthouse ones (even tho they are the most important!).


Eskilady
Re: Vacation - Can I have a "Do-Over"? #16048 06/25/02 09:31 PM
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TERRY BARFIELD Offline
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Thank goodness Larry there are people who see the good things in a vacation when soooooo much has gone wrong.
Glad to hear you and the family made it back safely.

Re: Vacation - Can I have a "Do-Over"? #16049 06/25/02 10:41 PM
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WackoPaul Offline
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So what went wrong? It sounds like a normal vacation to me!!


Onward to The Land of the Midnight Sun!
Re: Vacation - Can I have a "Do-Over"? #16050 06/26/02 01:43 PM
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rgurskey Offline
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I went to Epcot once. Now have no desire to ever return to the Land of the Mouse.
At least you can get up close and personal with the lighthouses in Florida. I visited Connecticut over Memorial Day weekend and that is a very different situation.

Robert

Re: Vacation - Can I have a "Do-Over"? #16051 06/28/02 12:30 AM
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dkhemming Offline
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This sounds like something that would happen to our family. Dave H was right. The Floridians finally got their wish when a Wacko Rain God visited. LOL

Dave


Kate & Dave
Re: Vacation - Can I have a "Do-Over"? #16052 06/29/02 09:26 PM
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Gee, Larry, some of my best lighthouse photos have been taken in the most AWFUL conditions. What's the problem with a little rain? Just kidding, of course!

Gary


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