Note: Today's post includes what some might term spoilers for a particular Disney dining experience at the Whispering Canyon. Read at your own risk..."

Monday was Day 8 and by Schaad Standards it was a big day as it featured a major run-in with the Law.

Today we spent the first part of the day at Disney Studios. We're a pretty slow family and so only visited a few shows, but it was nice to take our time and wander about. We're Schaads, and so love shopping and DS has some of the best shops at Disney World. I went all out and bought a new keychain. Connor surprised me with a Mickey Mouse "Best Father" statuette in the style of an Oscar. I'm not sure who my competition was but I'm sure they were terribly crushed.

While at DS we visited the Chronicles of Narnia show. It was cute, and the cast member playing the White Witch really resembled Tilda Swinton. There was a brief mention of Prince Caspian coming out in May of 2008, and it sounds great. They showed some concept artwork that looked very promising.

We later took in the Lights, Motor, Action show which was exciting but seemed to end two thirds of the way through. The ending was very abrupt, too, with the audience looking around as if to say, "Do we leave now?" My theory, which I didn't get an opportunity to ask a cast member about, was that there was some technical problem that caused the early ending. Normally the car makes a jump through flames at the end, but that was missing entirely.

After spending the day at DS we went to a restaurant called the "Whispering Canyon." We read really good reviews on the Internet (foreshadowing) and also learned on the Internet (foreshadowing) that when you asked the wait staff certain questions they would respond in comical ways. And so, armed with specific questions we found on the Internet (foreshadowing) we went to the restaurant, completely unprepared.

The meal was buffet style and the food was great. The theming was Old West and our server was Senior Dusty Trails (I kid you not.) Cassie asked the first question: "Do you have any ketchup?" Of course, she didn't need ketchup but this was her question and she was going to ask it. Senior Trails responded, "You askin' for ketchup?" She nodded, and Dusty proceeded to yell at the top of his lungs, "KETCHUP! SHE DON'T NEED NO KETCHUP BUT'S ASKIN' ANYWAY! KEEEEEEEETTTTTTTCHUUUUUUP!" With that, kids from around the restaurant started to bring ketchup to our table. In a matter of seconds we had 12 bottles.

We did our best to continue eating at our now crowded table, when Cassie asked another question: "Where's your six-shooter?" Dusty mumbled something about kids having their toys taken away. We weren't sure what that meant.

Finally we were getting close to finishing when Tammy asked Senior Trails: "Where can I buy some chewing gum?" Of course, you can't get chewing gum at DIsney. At first Dusty responded, "You got fifty bucks? I'll tell you." Then he paused and looked at Tammy and said "Someone's been readin' the Internet. Well I tell you what, I'm the LAW here and I'm gonna be right back." With that he walked across the dining area and disappeared in a back room. At this point Alert Internet Reader Tammy started to look a little worried. When Dusty re-emerged, he had a microphone and a stick pony. Tammy then turned snow white (sorry) and I just started laughing.

Senior Trails then stopped at our table and announced to the whole dining area, "Listen Up! We got a lady here reads too much of the Internet. So she's gonna ride this pony around the dining room." Our table was laughing - all except for Alert Pony Rider Tammy, who knew she was done for. "What happens if I don't ride the stick pony?" she asked. "Then I make you ride the pony around the lobby first, and THEN the dining room." She took the pony. I snapped a photo which may or may not ever be seen on the blog. With everyone cheering she began her loop, with Dusty explaining that she had to ride the stick pony with these exaggerated, up-and-down leg movements. It was glorious. The kids, who initially were unsure of our dining choice, were completely sold. There's no doubt that this would be the most memorable moment/stick pony ride of the entire trip.

Posted by Carl at 11:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

One of the reasons that my vacation posts are lagging, as it were, is because I've been working on my book which is tentatively titled "29 Disney Tips And Mistakes I Made So You Don't Have To." I say tentatively because that title doesn't have chocolate in it, and I'm not sure I'll end up with 29 tips and/or mistakes. I suppose that part is easy to change if I end up with 30, 31 or 5.

The last four days of our trip at Disney were Sunday-Wednesday. Wednesday was our last day before leaving Orlando for Sanford, FL where we visited family, and then on to Savannah, GA. Thursday we traveled from Savannah, GA to Richmond, VA and then Friday we drove (skated) back to State College. Upon return to Pennsylvania Alert Winter Hater Tammy promptly developed a nasty cold. I have a minor cold, which could easily be beat up by Tammy's cold.

Space Mountain photo via Flickr.

But, with that ride we covered the "Big 3" mountains: Space, Big Thunder and Splash. Quite a feat for the excitement-impaired Schaads.

We also rode Peter Pan's Flight, which I think needs a little overhauling. I would add some explosions, some lasers - maybe a werewolf or something. The whole rde strikes me as a little dated. I keep wondering why Disney hasn't made Peter Pan 2: Revenge of the Monsterous Blood-Thirsty Fire-Breathing Alligator King. I think there's box office gold there (not to mention a whole line of Monsterous Blood-Thirsty Fire-Breathing Alligator King plushies, and pillow covers, and small shot glasses, as well as a new theme park ride.)

The second half of our day was spent at Downtown Disney. When we first started planning our trip to Disney I decided that I would get a sundae at Ghirardelli's. Every time we visited Disney in the past I would always say that I was going to get a sundae and then inevitably back out when I saw the line. I love their chocolate - well, I love almost everyone's chocolate - and a sundae just sounded perfect. This year I finally got my sundae and while I can't say that it was worth the eight year wait it was pretty darn good. Later in the evening we had dinner at Puck Express, which was some of the best food we've had on the vacation.

The shopping at Downtown Disney is great. We visited the Art of Disney which is one of those stores in which you threaten your kids with all sorts of pain if they touch anything. Cassie made the rounds with her autograph book and had a really sweet cast member named Nicola sign it. Nicola suggested that Cassie ask the artist on hand, Eddie, to sign the book as well as he might draw her a picture. The artists that work at the Art of Disney draw sketches for a fee. When Nicola saw Cassie hovering around Eddie without asking for an autograph, she stepped in and asked the artist for her. It was one of those classic Disney moments. I later visited guest relations and filled out a "Guest Service Fanatic" card which is then sent to the cast member and is put in their employee record. (I think receiving a certain number of these results in a special award to the cast member.)

More tomorrow...

Posted by Carl at 10:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I wanted to leave a quick post in case anyone had been reading closely and figured out that we were in Richmond, Virginia today and planning to leave for home early in the morning. (I have no misconceptions that this actually happened, but I like to cover my bases.)

As we left Richmond we saw the most bizarre scene I have ever seen on a road. We took I-64 west from Richmond to I-81 and after about 30 minutes on the road we passed an accident scene. Two cars were parked on the side of the road and had obviously been in a collision. No one was present so we assumed this happened some time ago. But as we continued west we passed accident after accident. We saw cars flipped over, a car with the rear completely smashed in a near perfect circle like it had struck a large tree trunk at high speed, and the back of a Fed-Ex truck shredded. Eventually traffic on I-64 stopped, and then moved very slowly over a period of almost an hour. We finally came to the source of the delay: a car wedged under some sort of tanker. We passed more cars by the side of road, including an accident scene with someone being attended on a stretcher.

We speculated at the time that there must have been ice earlier in the morning, although the way the accidents were spaced apart was very odd. It wasn't until we arrived home at State College that we did find out that the cause was ice. Not only that, but there were apparently "hundreds of accidents" in central Virginia and over 200 in and around Richmond, with two traffic fatalities. We were all quite spooked and very grateful we left as late as we did (around 8:30 a.m.) I just had to get a bagel at Einstein Bros. Bagels - and you have to wonder if that bagel was the difference between being in an accident and avoiding one. I suppose you can crazy thinking about those sorts of things.

I should have a complete vacation wrap-up tomorrow, including what we found at our house when we arrived home. (Alert Home Owner Tammy was definitely shocked.)

Posted by Carl at 10:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Just a quick note to say that the grammar-challenged, typo-riddled, spelling erorr enhanced post vacation wrap up will be done...soon. Find out what happens when Alert Internet Reader Tammy runs afoul the law, who "Eddie" is and what he wrote in the autograph book, and what the Schaad's last few hours at Disney looked like. (Was shopping involved?)

Posted by Carl at 9:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

The weather was beautiful - almost too hot - and while the crowds were heavy in the morning it became more manageable as the day wore on. On the way out of AK Cassie asked a cast member named "Gus" for his autograph and he was so touched that he said she was a "special person" and gave her two special "Magic Moments" pins.

Nice fireworks photo that you can actually recognize as fireworks.

Now armed with a FastPass, the rest of the family determined we were doomed to ride the Tower of Terror and so gave it. While I thought it was a great ride, and exceptionally themed, the reactions of the other Schaads varied between nausea and, well, terror. Who felt what will be a closely guarded secret that can be emailed to you as a PDF file for only $9.99. But act now, and I'll throw in another PDF file - "Foods Schaads Won't Eat and Who Won't Eat Them" free of charge.

As exhilarating as the Tower of Terror was, it wasn't the highlight of the evening. We were walking through the Beverly Sunset candy store when Cassie spotted an older cast member standing alone. She asked her to sign the autograph book, and the woman (Annette is her name) wrote the nicest message: "To Cassie, What a sweet young lady!" With that she handed the book back and told Cassie "You made me feel like Princess; thank you." It was one of those moments that convinces you that the whole thing isn't a waste of time.

I had promised Cassie that I would be willing -if she was interested - in buying her another autograph book should she fill this one up, and she did as we left the park. So we picked that up and she already has two (the tram operators that drive guests back to the parking lots that they parked in - several miles away.

I'm sure there's lots more, but I'll save it for my first meet and great, 37below Hero signs his book or more likely other books that are not his but instead were written by people who have apparently published. Either or. Or if the meet and greet thing doesn't work, I could write a real book, It would have pretend, exaggerated stuff in it, but I think that's okay.

If anyone is interested in a get together send me your location, and I can start plotting them on a map and see what's possible.

It's tiring writing these posts after having my brain pureed by the sun, the prices and the people at the parks. So my apologies if they're not up to my usual unattainable level as I'm just costing on fumes here. But this will be a great help when Alert Scrapbooker Tammy wants to begin working on the next, inevitable, scrapbook.

It's a coin toss tomorrow between MK and MGM. MK has the Mickey Christmas Party at night, so it will be crowded. MGM has the extra magic hours for park guests, so it will be crowded. There's no way to know how it will break, so my plan is to do what any guy would do: totally wing it and end up a tired, cranky family. Hm. I suppose I should put a little more thought into a plan that that.

We ended the night at with Fantasmic. All of the guides say to arrive 90 minutes early to get a good seat, but after sitting there for an hour they told us to "move to the left" to make room for people just arriving. We like to do what we're told (we're compliant that way) but it was annoying to give up our seats for people who were arriving in the last ten minutes. The show was amazing though, and not at all what we expected. I took dozens of photos that did not come out at all. Above is one of the fireworks shots that actually looked sort of like fireworks.

Posted by Carl at 10:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Alert Reader Chris pointed out that yesterday's post had an asterisk with no accompanying comment, and that this quite disturbing. The ironic thing is that we were driving to Animal Kingdom this morning and the asterisk thing popped into my head. I thought, "DId I ever explain that asterisk?" It was late yesterday, and I was a bit fatigued. So in the interest of helping everyone get to sleep, here's what I intended to post:

Now, this morning as we drove to Animal Kingdom something else popped in there about my post yesterday, which at the time I thought was quite important but it's completely gone now. Actually it's still in the "Soarin'" queue waiting to get on the ride, and so will probably never be seen again. But, if you see something weird about yesterday's post that was it and I'm sorry.

Posted by Carl at 9:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Today we went to a "Character Breakfast." This is where Disney serves you a typical breakfast and Disney Characters visit your table, and it costs two thousand dollars (before tipping.) I'm not complaining, mind you. It's all part of the Disney magic that my extra liver has paid for.

In order to get to breakfast we had to take the bus to the ferry dock, take the ferry to the Magic Kingdom, then take the monorail to the resort. Of course, in order to get to the bus we had to hack our way through three miles of jungle with nothing but a credit card and some Mickey ears.

At the monorail we asked if we could ride up front. As it turns out no one was in there, and we became honorary "co-pilots." We had a great view and received little co-pilot cards. So now we can pilot any monorails we come across.

We ate breakfast at the Polynesian resort, which is based on a real-life set of islands off the coast of New Jersey. They served up plates of bacon, sausage, eggs and fried potatoes. And that was the healthy food. Every so often (and I'm not making this up) the "waffle guy" would come around to the tables and give each person a waffle. It was shaped like a Mickey Head. At first I was given a single waffle and I looked at it, and then I looked at the "waffle guy," and then I looked back at my plate and I was about to say, "Are you serious I'm paying two thousand dollars for this?" but he had already moved on to another table. Later he came back and I looked up at him with the best hungry look I could and I got two waffles.

After I had completely gorged on my waffles the characters came around. This was an elite Character Breakfast and had all of the bestest characters: Mickey, Lilo, Stitch, Pluto, Godzilla, Bea Arthur, Sylvester and Tweety. Only Bea Arthur wouldn't pose for pictures.

After breakfast we were heading out and Cassie stopped to ask someone at the podium to sign her autograph book. This person signed it, but as Cassie came over to Tammy and I the cast member had gone and gotten five more cast members and told Cassie she found more people to sign her book. Apparently she was impressed. While Cassie was getting more signatures she left and got the characters (everyone except Bea Arthur) to sign a special card* for Cassie. She then presented the card with a pink lei and told her that she was the official Hawaiian Princess. Of course we were all thrilled. I was especially thrilled because I figured a title like "Hawaiian Princess" came with some sort of land or mansion or at least a jeweled scepter. I led everyone to the local guest services desk but they told me that it was only a ceremonial title.

We spent the rest of our time at EPCOT. The weather was miserable - varying between a fine mist and a steady drizzly rain. We had planned to go to the Magic Kingdom but forgot that today was the taping of the Walt Disney World Christmas Parade with Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa. MK was packed, so we went to EPCOT which was where everyone else was. The only thing worse than being at Disney with big crowds is being at Disney with big crowds and set on fire. We hit a few rides, including Soarin' and then retreated to our bungalow. But not before Cassie ordered some margaritas:

We ended the evening at Disney Quest, where Connor spent most of his time playing DDR and Cassie challenged everyone who would listen to a game of air hockey. Connor told me afterwards that some other kids were hanging around the DDR machines and had "used numerous expletives" and he didn't know if he should ignore it or leave the area. I think we had a good talk about it and I warned him that high school would have a lot of that. Not to mention sword fights, fisticuffs and football betting pools. I was glad he mentioned it, and recognized that it wasn't appropriate.

Tomorrow Regis and Kelly film part two of the parade at MK, so it's anyone's guess as to where we'll end up.

Posted by Carl at 10:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

As I wrote this I I could hear thunder in the background - until I realized it was 9:30 pm and it was actually the Illuminations fireworks show at EPCOT. They shoot the fireworks off every night to cover up the noise of the giant silver alien spaceship ball blasting off with another cargo hold full of future alien convenience store clerks.

As most of you who have visited Animal Kingdom before know, jambo is Swahili for "Hello." We went to Animal Kingdom today as Alert Guest Blogger Tammy alludes to below. It was on the Kilimanjaro Safari that I was finally able to put to rest all of those rumors that I could be a competent photographer. For example, I took this beauty during the tour:

Almost all of the rest of our safari pictures fell into four categories (these did not appear originally as Jeopardy categories, honest):

1. "The Butts of Animals Large and Small"
2. "Wild Plants of the Savanna"
3. "Backs of People's Heads"
4. "Whose Thumb is That?"

Here's another classic giraffe picture:

After an enjoyable but completely fruitless safari ride I made it my quest to take a picture of an animal - any animal - so that I had at least one. Fortunately I came across this parrot that wouldn't move if you put ten million volts through it:

And as he was completely motionless he made a great photograph. Other highlights today include the talking trash  recycling can and riding the Primeval Whirl. Most people don't know that the Primeval Whirl was created by Disney Imagineers after a night long Yoo-Hoo drinking binge. In what could only be called a fit of chocolate-induced insanity they decided to take the Mad Tea Cups ride and glue it to a roller coaster track. So you have something that goes up and down really fast like a roller coaster, and spins 360° at the same time. Brilliant. Fortunately lunch at Animal Kingdom was so expensive I ate light. Lightly. You know what I mean.

The Recycling Can incident was caught on digital film. Fortunately this can wasn't out on the African Savanna or we would never have seen him:

The autograph book went well today. Several people asked "My autograph?" and "Me?" and "Really?" Early in the day Cassie was given a FastPass by some grateful guest relations people. I would go into more detail about this, and the rest of the day, but Tammy tells me people don't want to read a book.

Posted by Carl at 9:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(Note from the editor: This post is from Alert Guest Blogger Tammy and appears in its original, unedited form.)

HI Ho this is alert reader Tammy taking the blog over for tonight. Carl is busy doing other things (don't ask what.) So I guess I get to say what happened to the Schaad Family today. We decided to go to Animal Kingdom. Things started out with a bang when Cassie went into the guest services area and asked for autographs. She came out with the FASTPASS slip that was good for any ride at any time. Wow! We weren't expecting that. We immediately went to our favorite ride - the safari ride. Yes it has a name but I can't spell it and it's getting past my bed time. Anyway, Connor had complained back in State College that we never did anything new at Disney. So we are doing our best to do new things. Today, we went on the Primevil Whirl for the first time. Personally I was thinking in the line that I did not want to get on the rollercoaster. But we all boarded the ride and managed to survive (Carl says his neck hurts.)

The best and funniest thing that occurred was the talking recyclable bin that talked and moved. There was a prolonged interaction with the bin with Cassie (who knew her name from the badges that we wear. We went inside to an exhibit area and I asked a cast member who did the bin thing and he was clueless. Even if he knew he wouldn't tell me. But just then another guest stopped to tell that it was the man outside in a blue shirt and had a bag slung around his shoulder. We went out and immediately spotted him. He had his hand in the bag and was talking in to a microphone his other hand. Carl just told me that people don't want to read a book. The net net Cassie kissed the bin and the bin asked her to marry him. Goodnight!

Posted by Carl at 9:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Cassie continues to charge ahead of us as we walk in the parks, looking for cast members to sign her autograph book. She almost has one filled up, and I suspect we'll buy another one tomorrow. Today's highlights include one particularly touched and grateful DVC booth attendant. DVC stands for Disney Vacation Club which is Disney's timeshare/tourist trap operation. I've looked into it but I need about $15,500 to buy in. So I'm about $15,000 short at the moment.

In any event, the people working in the DVC booths have got to be the loneliest people at Disney World. Guests avoid those spots like the plague, and won't even make eye contact for fear of it costing $8,000. So Cassie went over and asked the attendant for his autograph. He said it completely made his day, and he gave her a whole roll of stickers.

Another highlight occurred while we were waiting in line for the Candlelight Processional. Cassie was covering the area around the line and asked one of the CP staff for their autograph. The cast member was so floored he ended up making Cassie an origami swan as a thank you.

We all look forward now to the various reactions she gets when she asks people to sign the book. It will make a great memento of the trip.

Posted by Carl at 11:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Today the Schaads went to EPCOT. EPCOT as everyone knows stands for the Extraterrestrial People COnveying Transport. The primary purpose of EPCOT is to lure unsuspecting humans from around the globe and then dazzle them with the giant silver ball. Once dazzled, they enter the ball and are eventually whisked away to another planet where they are forced to man alien convenience stores.

Of course, since I knew all of this we walked right past the giant ball and into the rest of the park. We convinced the kids to try out Mission:Space which was a total, ah, blast. There are two Mission:Space rides: Wimp and Barftastic. We chose "wimp" and it was actually quite pleasant. Alert Navigator Tammy failed to press her two buttons on time, but she was seated next to Cassie who pushes her buttons all of the time and so there was no real problem.

While at EPCOT we dined at the Teppan Edo. Teppan Edo is located in the World Showcase - Japan to be exact, and our reservation was part of the Candlelight Processional. Lunch was great. Our authentic Japanese Chef was "Ken." Ken was a whirlwind of knives and spices. At one point he used the salt and pepper on the grill, on Connor's plate and then on Connor. So, yes, Connor was officially a-salted* at EPCOT.

After lunch we went to the Candlelight Processional. Actually, that's not exactly true. After lunch we went to stand in line for the Candlelight Processional. The kids don't yet appreciate the finer points of standing in line, and both whined a little and then played dead on the concrete. This was terribly amusing to those in line, as they now assumed they got to move up two spaces.

The Candlelight Processional is a retelling of the Christmas story with music. We told the kids it was a cross between a rock concert and an advent calendar. When they saw people filing on stage with oboes and violins they screamed and played dead again. They did perk up, however, when John O'Hurley was introduced.

Mr O'Hurley was the guest narrator for the evening and so read the story, complete with appropriate bible passages. Our kids, who know him from Family Feud (I am not home at that time so don't blame that on me) were thrilled to see him in this new role. I know him from his Seinfeld run as Jacopo Peterman. He did a great job this evening and the crowd loved him. He made some comments about his son William who just turned one year old this December.

One of the only disappointments with the Candlelight Processional was that all of the candles were electric. At first, as people filed in, I was both excited and impressed by the candles. I was impressed because everyone kept their candle burning, and not a single person cried out in pain as hot wax dripped down all over their hands. And I was excited because when you get over a hundred candles together, and everyone is wearing robes - well something is bound to go up in flames and that can be a great photo/blog moment. But then I saw that they were electric candles and there went that post.

I suppose the other disappointment was at the end, when the orchestra played the Hallelujah chorus. A quick quiz: What do you do when the Hallelujah chorus is played? Time's up. After the first three notes I was on my feet, and I was one of the only ones. It was one of those awkward "I'm doing the right thing but I'm the only one" sort of moments. My family joined me, and then the rest of the audience, but for a minute or two I was hoping for an alien ship to beam me out of there.

The rest of the evening was spent at Disney Quest. Disney Quest is a giant building full of video games. Ordinarily I would have a great time at such a place, but it was overrun by about 2,000 kids in identical yellow t-shirts. They were either a school group or a bunch of really small pod people. The only thing I know for sure is that they were everywhere and they were very loud, even for small pod people.

Tomorrow it's on to Animal Kingdom, where I get to try and talk the kids into Expedition Everest. That may be an, ah, uphill climb.

*Carl wants everyone to know that he worked all day on the assaulted/a-salted joke and hopes that everyone appreciates that - for some reason his family just groaned.

**If you knew the insane difficulty of getting this picture you wouldn't be asking my why there are Borg in the background.

Posted by Carl at 10:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Schaads went on WHAT ride?

The Magic Kingdom, or MK, is known for three big rides: Splash Mountain, Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. These comprise the three "mountains" and are some of the most popular rides. Of course, the Schaads aren't known for taking any big risks with theme park rides. I get queasy just thinking about Peter Pan's Flight, and the kids faint dead away if we threaten them with anything faster than the baggage check at the park entrance.

So it was a big surprise when we all found ourselves on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. When Connor saw the railroad blaze around a corner the first time he turned three shades whiter than his normal white self. Neither child was convinced that the ride would be fun - let alone survivable - but both had a great time. After the railroad we tackled Splash Mountain. I rode next to Connor, and as the car climbed the last great hill he looked at me with a worried expression and said "I love you dad." Summoning all of my finely-honed parenting skills I looked at him and said, "Goodbye son." Then there was a lot of screaming and water and rest is a little fuzzy. I think we all survived though. It's up in the air, so to speak, as to whether we get on Space Mountain. Cassie seems dead set against it, and said that if God had wanted people to ride roller coasters in the dark he wouldn't have made the sun.

Other highlights from our day include Mickey's Philharmagic, which is a brilliant 3D show, It's a Small World and the Mad Teacups. The last I rode begrudgingly, because I hate rides that spin in a circle as they usually make me revisit my rich chocolate Ovaltine, if you know what I mean. I managed to get through it, but only barely so. It didn't help that the ride appeared to be forty minutes long.

Tomorrow we're going to tackle EPCOT. It rained here in the afternoon and tomorrow's forecast has spotty showers. Hopefully it will dry out before 5pm, which is when we're going to see the Candlelight Processional.

Posted by Carl at 9:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Today was a full day - we left Savannah this morning and had lunch at the Cracker Barrel in Jacksonville. There we met Alert Readers Jim and Karen and their delightful children: Abby, Caleb and Rachel. Karen and Jim started reading the blog around the time of our last Disney trip two years ago. This is ironic because here we are visiting Disney again and now meeting them in person. Not only that, but one of the things that caught their eye was Disney Autograph Book Idea - but more on that in a minute.

Our lunch was delightful and not only did we have a great time talking with Jim and Karen they gave us a great tip to avoid some I95 hassles by taking an alternate route through Jacksonville. And I'm all for avoiding I95.

I've noticed that talking to people who read the blog(s) is a bit surreal, as these people know a great deal about you while you know next to nothing about them. I suppose this is normal thing with blogging, but having met so few people it still strikes me as an odd experience. Of course, all sorts of family secrets were spilled over lunch and while I'm not at liberty to share them I'll just say that hunting squirrels is apparently a messy business.

Tonight as we settled into our pre-fab wilderness trailer Alert Survivalist Tammy started unpacking clothes and without missing a beat looked at me and said, "I packed too many clothes." Summoning all of my finely-honed spousal skills I said, "I know." Well, it was better than "I told you so."

Today Cassie insisted on getting an autograph book as soon as we got to MGM Studios, so that we could get cast member (Disney employees) autographs. It was such a hit last time she was excited to try it again. So immediately she started asking cast members to sign it. Most were thrilled and a little taken aback. Then we rode the Star Tours ride and it looked like Cassie had lost the book. We looked around, didn't find it, and then got off of the ride. A gentleman behind us found the book and gave it back to Cassie. He then jokingly suggested that he could sign it for her. Of course Cassie thought this was great. So he took the book and signed it.

His companion (I assume his wife) then proceeded to tell us that the gentleman who signed it (Bob Schul) was actually a gold medal winning Olympic athlete. Apparently Bob won the gold in the 5,000 meter race at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. Not only that, but Bob shared that there's a video of the race found at BobSchul.net. How wild is that?

We wrapped up our night by visiting the local tourist trap grocery store. Outside there were several tourist skeletons, and something I think was a horse or camel. Inside we found expired meat (well, one day expired, so I suppose that's okay) and Breyers Ice Cream for (no joke) $8 a half-gallon. We decided on the meat.

Posted by Carl at 9:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

I wanted to call this post "Bad Metaphor Day" because at one point while driving on I-95 tonight I saw all of the tail lights of the traffic ahead of us and thought, "the car lights are bobbing like drunken fireflies." And then I thought, "Wow that's an extraordinarily bad metaphor." A better metaphor would have been that they were bobbing like panic-stricken drunk fireflies whose underwear was too tight.

The drive down was pretty grim as far as driving on I-95 goes, and that's saying a lot. In fact, the drive was as painful as watching a Gone with the Wind/Pride and Prejudice movie marathon on A&E. Well, almost as painful. Traffic would be buzzing along at 70mph and then suddenly drop to 20mph. And then stop. We observed this in Florida two years ago. The most frustrating thing about this, aside from nearly launching the family into the windshield like penguins being hurled from a catapult at a medieval renaissance fair, was that once traffic resumed normal speed there was no apparent reason for the slow down.

After a few hours of this it can get pretty exhausting. Of course, I'm not the world's most accomplished driver, and anything more than two lanes wide will baffle me.

Tonight we turn in early and tomorrow morning head down to the lobby for a complimentary continental breakfast, which is like a man lost in the desert coming across an oasis full of convenience store clerks handing out coupons for free Ovaltine. After that we head to Orlando, and hope to be in Mickey's domain around 4pm.

Which is kind of like swinging in a hammock on a warm day while sipping lemonade with Jimmy Buffett playing in the background.*

*Well, you know what I mean.

Posted by Carl at 10:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Doc in a Box. Box sold separately.

It turns out that professional medical advice in Richmond is found on just about every corner. Down here they have something called "Doctor in a Box." At least, that's what Tammy calls it. I have no idea if this is a franchise of doctors, or if this is a generic term, or if this is some sort of Brazilian Health Care effort which has taken hold in the south. Since Tammy was familiar with this she was elected official Doctor in a Box parent and had to take Connor.

The Doctor in a Box thing might be a scam, because Tammy said they actually saw a Physician's Assistant. I suppose "Physician's Assistant in a Box" is too long for the sign and loses some of it's charm. The PA did a strep test and the rapid version came back negative. The longer version is one that has to be sent away to a lab and come back long after we're through our vacation, Connor is better, and my bank account is completely drained. Good times.

The PA did NOT do a blood test to rule out East Brazilian Death Fever, which was disappointing, but since it's now almost nine o'clock and the entire city isn't infected I guess we can rule that out. The PA thought it was just a virus, and that Connor should get lots of rest and avoid anything thrilling like Space Mountain or python wrestling.

As of this writing he claims to be feeling better. We're all packed up and ready for the morning. I haven't told Connor yet, but there's a twelve-foot python in his backpack, and it's feeling ornery.

Posted by Carl at 8:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

B&N Treat. Who ordered the small Hot Chocolate, and who ordered the water?

I played chess with the kids today, which is always enjoyable as I crush them mercilessly. I tell them that it builds character, and that's what my father did for me, and money doesn't grow on trees you know. I also ask if they're trying to air condition the entire neighborhood by keeping that door open.

The only problem with playing Connor in chess is that he's getting better and better. When my father played me he would crush me (mercilessly, in fact) which made me all the more determined to win. And one day I did, and much screaming and running about ensued. To say that I was a "good winner" would probably be inaccurate - but I felt I had earned it after years of being crushed (mercilessly). Now Connor is closing in on that day. In fact, I've been encouraging him and when Alert Book Shopper Tammy and I went to Barnes & Noble we actually bought him a chess book called "How to Beat Your Dad at Chess" since this is, in fact, his objective. And tonight he nearly did, putting up a good fight right to the end game. He attributes his success to some advice I gave him yesterday about always asking yourself why your opponent did what he did after each move. I suppose it's only a matter of time until he does his own victory dance.

Important safety tip: Do NOT go to Toys 'r Us on Black Friday. I'm just trying to help.

Tomorrow we spend another day in Richmond and then Sunday morning (probably at some awful hour) we head to Savannah.

*Thinly veiled attempt to use the word "albeit" in a sentence.

Posted by Carl at 9:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Well we made it to Richmond today. The drive out of Pennsylvania was somewhat bleak until we arrived in Virginia and then the sun started to break through. We stopped at a scenic overlook and snapped a photo:

I know this photo is a bit dark and not terribly scenic, but you'll have to trust me when I say that the actual view was great and it's probably your monitor or your video card so go out tomorrow and buy some new ones during the Green Friday* sale.

Tomorrow is Friday and I plan to sleep in later than the ridiculous 7:30 am that Alert Traveler Tammy made me get up at. Is at a preposition? If so I'm sorry to end on that.

We had a great Thanksgiving with family and are looking forward to relaxing the next few days before we take off again on Sunday. I hope you and yours had a wonderful Thanksgiving and find yourselves with much to be thankful for. Is for a preposition?

*I think this is the new pc term. Is pc a preposition?

Posted by Carl at 10:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)