After arriving back home last Friday evening, today was back to reality of school and work. I don't think the kids fully understood that while we were in sunny, warm Florida all week, our home was still in the frozen tundra, dead of winter. The shock hit them when we left the last warmth of the parking ramp sky walk toward the car. They were kind of upset and proclaimed 'we hate the cold'. Of course, leaving all their winter coats in the cold car didn't help either.
Today, Abbie's Kindergarten class learned about Ground Hog Day. Not sure what she learned from her teacher but she had her own impression of the plump little 'hog'. She came home and the conversation went like this...
Abbie: "Mom, did you know a RAT saw his shadow today and now we have to have 6 more weeks of winter?"
Mom: "Oh really"
Abbie: "Yeah, what does a RAT know about winter anyway?"
I laughed so hard and had visions of Calvin from the Calvin and Hobbes cartoon.
Hurry Spring...I miss my backyard!
Monday, February 2, 2009
Friday, January 30, 2009
Day 5 - Sea World
We completed the Disney parks and moved on to Sea World. The weather calls for a 60% chance of rain. How perfect to add to our experience of a ‘water’ park. By the way…did you know for a $20 deposit you can rent an electric scooter for $40 for an entire day? I do. But today, either I have managed to kill all nerve endings in my heals OR I am finally getting used to the pattern of ‘walking for 5 minutes and standing for 15’ routine.
Sea World has a ride called the ‘Kraken’. The Kraken is a legendary sea monster of gargantuan size. I have posted a You Tube video someone did while on the ride, below. Jon, my Dad, Sheila, and Jake went on the ride. I was going to go on it with my son, but there was a little problem. They didn’t make the seats for ‘big boned’ people. No, I am ..really. There was a test seat at the front entrance. I fit in the seat but to get the shoulder restraints down with the belt strap, it would have taken two guys to stand on top and to pull down on the straps until my eye balls popped out. And I like to breathe so I decided to take pictures of the others on the ride. Jake love it and wanted to go again, except the rain started. We then tailed it over to the sea lion show under a big canopy and watched sea lions and the pouring rain. The rain was coming and going the rest of the day so we made our way from shelter to shelter and show to show. The Shamu show was really good. I got a bunch of great pictures that I will have to share later sometime.
We ended the day at the park at about 5pm and then went out to Johnnie’s steak and seafood. We are now back and packing up for the flight home on Friday. Hard to believe the week went so fast. What an awesome time with the family and we only almost lost Abbie 3 times. Next time you come down here to Disney, bring the right walking shoes and you won’t have to count the steps between benches.
See you all back in sunny, cold, South Dakota.
Part of the Kraken
Day 4 - Dr. Scholls
Day 4 was a double Park day… 1/3 at Disney Hollywood Studios and 2/3 at Epcot. To make sure I was prepared for this marathon trek, I called upon my personal chiropractor and Dr. Scholls. We started out at the nearest Walmart. They were out of the ‘prescribed’ heal supports. Hmm…guess I’m not the only one in town with their heals on fire. We did find the next best thing and we were off to Hollywood Studios.
It was my kind of crowd today…small. We had almost no wait times at several rides and shows. One ride we did go on was the Rockin Roller Coaster. The picture below says it all. It was indoor and fairly dark so you couldn’t see what was coming…which was probably a good thing. After being launched from 0-FAST in mere seconds, the next thing I noticed was my chin pressed against my chest and spinning around like a cork screw. It was an exhilarating experience. Jake went on it twice and even my mom went on it.
We then watched the Beauty and the Beast show. Abbie and Julia just loved their ‘twirling’ dresses and costumes. We left the Park after about 4 hours and went over to Epcot. A Disney Park about 3 times the size of Hollywood Studios, but with Dr. Scholls holding me up… so far so good.
The weather now is around 82 degrees, minimal wind, with 2 clouds in the sky….little ones….thin ones. Once again Aaron had the map and plan down to the nearest minutes. We went over to the Test Track ride. We all went on it. Julia sat with Aaron and Sheila and proclaimed that she was going to do the steering. Well there was no steering wheel but she absolutely loved it. The thing about Epcot is it is a learning center. After every ride or show there is an area of additional things to see, read, and experience…who does this? I mean the offering is nice but with 3, 5, and 8 yr. olds, it’s all about the rides.
Several rides later, it’s getting dark and time to prepare for the laser light and fireworks show but first it’s dinner time. We now start to make our way around the world showcase of the different countries and Dr. Scholls is starting to show signs of fatigue. We started at Canada and decided to eat there. As we got closer to the door we noticed a lot of Canadians standing outside. Apparently the restaurant was booked for the night and nothing available. Didn’t know the Canadians had such good food. So we carried on and ended up of all places…the American Adventure. We had authentic American bacon double cheeseburgers and chicken strip meals. They were delicious. The Americans sure know how to make a burger. If you are ever in America, you have to try their burgers.
The light show was fantastic with a lot of special effects and sounds. It makes you happy and forgetful of your plan to chop your feet off when you get back to the condo. So now we are about 8 miles from our van. Okay maybe one. But by now I’m ready to fire Dr. Scholls and start crawling back to the van. But wait..my precious 3 yr. old looks up at me and says..”Daddy…I’m tired and I want up.” So I hoist her on my shoulders while thanking the Lord that I know I have feet to carry my daughter. What an awesome day.
Rockin' Roller Coaster
Beauty and the Beast show
It was my kind of crowd today…small. We had almost no wait times at several rides and shows. One ride we did go on was the Rockin Roller Coaster. The picture below says it all. It was indoor and fairly dark so you couldn’t see what was coming…which was probably a good thing. After being launched from 0-FAST in mere seconds, the next thing I noticed was my chin pressed against my chest and spinning around like a cork screw. It was an exhilarating experience. Jake went on it twice and even my mom went on it.
We then watched the Beauty and the Beast show. Abbie and Julia just loved their ‘twirling’ dresses and costumes. We left the Park after about 4 hours and went over to Epcot. A Disney Park about 3 times the size of Hollywood Studios, but with Dr. Scholls holding me up… so far so good.
The weather now is around 82 degrees, minimal wind, with 2 clouds in the sky….little ones….thin ones. Once again Aaron had the map and plan down to the nearest minutes. We went over to the Test Track ride. We all went on it. Julia sat with Aaron and Sheila and proclaimed that she was going to do the steering. Well there was no steering wheel but she absolutely loved it. The thing about Epcot is it is a learning center. After every ride or show there is an area of additional things to see, read, and experience…who does this? I mean the offering is nice but with 3, 5, and 8 yr. olds, it’s all about the rides.
Several rides later, it’s getting dark and time to prepare for the laser light and fireworks show but first it’s dinner time. We now start to make our way around the world showcase of the different countries and Dr. Scholls is starting to show signs of fatigue. We started at Canada and decided to eat there. As we got closer to the door we noticed a lot of Canadians standing outside. Apparently the restaurant was booked for the night and nothing available. Didn’t know the Canadians had such good food. So we carried on and ended up of all places…the American Adventure. We had authentic American bacon double cheeseburgers and chicken strip meals. They were delicious. The Americans sure know how to make a burger. If you are ever in America, you have to try their burgers.
The light show was fantastic with a lot of special effects and sounds. It makes you happy and forgetful of your plan to chop your feet off when you get back to the condo. So now we are about 8 miles from our van. Okay maybe one. But by now I’m ready to fire Dr. Scholls and start crawling back to the van. But wait..my precious 3 yr. old looks up at me and says..”Daddy…I’m tired and I want up.” So I hoist her on my shoulders while thanking the Lord that I know I have feet to carry my daughter. What an awesome day.
Rockin' Roller Coaster
Beauty and the Beast show
Epcot
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Day 3 - Serenity Now
Day 3 we took a break from the Disney parks to travel east to the Kennedy Space Center. We took a 2.5 hour bus tour around the launch complex and was an amazing site to see. My feet never enjoyed a bus ride more than this. The kids enjoyed seeing several wild alligators all over the place in the ditches. Space Shuttle Discovery was out on the launch pad and preparing for lift off in a few weeks.
We learned many interesting facts. Like the safest distance to view the lift off is 3 miles out. If you were to stand just 400 ft. away, you would be instantly killed from the heat. At 800 ft., your body would explode from the sound waves hitting you. A few of the adults and Jacob took a launch simulator ride. That was awesome. We went into the simulator with about 30 seats and strapped in to our seats. With large screens in the front, we were taken through the countdown procedure and were tilted backwards to a 90 degree angle looking straight into the sky. During lift off, the simulated violent turbulence and forces were incredible and when the last external fuel tank was let go, it felt just like a peaceful glide in space….and then all the lights came on with a women’s voice telling us to exit to our right and to watch our step. Watch my step?...I’m still trying to just stand up.
Another interesting moment was hearing about John Aaron. A distinguished NASA engineer who was credited for saving the ill fated Apollo 13 mission that Tom Hanks flew on. He was an EECOM with a responsibility for the electrical, environmental and communications systems on board the spacecraft. But a little known fact was that just four months earlier John Aaron had saved the Apollo 12 mission when, during launch, the rocket was struck by lightning—twice. The second strike knocked the CSM's fuel cells off line, sent the guidance system spinning, and scrambled telemetry to the ground. With warning lights blazing and alarms sounding, it looked like the crew would have to abort the mission, just seconds after liftoff.
Aaron was in the EECOM's seat for the launch, and as he watched the scrambled data ripple across his console, he was suddenly reminded of a ground test he had seen a year earlier where an electrical malfunction had caused a similar problem. The crazy pattern of the data on his console was something only he recognized. And, thanks to hours of research he'd put in after the ground test, he knew how to fix it. He uttered the terse command, "Set S.C.E. to Aux," to his flight director, Jerry Griffin. Griffin, like everyone else in mission control, had no clue what that meant. Nevertheless, trusting in his EECOM, Griffin ordered the command to be passed up to the crew immediately. The corresponding switch was flipped on board and valid telemetry was restored. With valid data, Aaron could see that the fuel cells were off line, and with a second command to reset the cells, Apollo 12 was on its way to moon. The incident cemented Aaron's reputation as a "steely-eyed missile man."
I was struck by this story of how the Lord still uses people in times of crisis. John was the right man at the right time with the only answer to the Apollo 12 crisis and he stepped up.
After the NASA tour, we moved on down to Coco Beach. The kids had never seen ocean water as far as the eye can see and had a blast. They were not impressed with the taste of the salty water though. The sand and cold water felt good to the feet.
Tomorrow another park…Epcot.
We learned many interesting facts. Like the safest distance to view the lift off is 3 miles out. If you were to stand just 400 ft. away, you would be instantly killed from the heat. At 800 ft., your body would explode from the sound waves hitting you. A few of the adults and Jacob took a launch simulator ride. That was awesome. We went into the simulator with about 30 seats and strapped in to our seats. With large screens in the front, we were taken through the countdown procedure and were tilted backwards to a 90 degree angle looking straight into the sky. During lift off, the simulated violent turbulence and forces were incredible and when the last external fuel tank was let go, it felt just like a peaceful glide in space….and then all the lights came on with a women’s voice telling us to exit to our right and to watch our step. Watch my step?...I’m still trying to just stand up.
Another interesting moment was hearing about John Aaron. A distinguished NASA engineer who was credited for saving the ill fated Apollo 13 mission that Tom Hanks flew on. He was an EECOM with a responsibility for the electrical, environmental and communications systems on board the spacecraft. But a little known fact was that just four months earlier John Aaron had saved the Apollo 12 mission when, during launch, the rocket was struck by lightning—twice. The second strike knocked the CSM's fuel cells off line, sent the guidance system spinning, and scrambled telemetry to the ground. With warning lights blazing and alarms sounding, it looked like the crew would have to abort the mission, just seconds after liftoff.
Aaron was in the EECOM's seat for the launch, and as he watched the scrambled data ripple across his console, he was suddenly reminded of a ground test he had seen a year earlier where an electrical malfunction had caused a similar problem. The crazy pattern of the data on his console was something only he recognized. And, thanks to hours of research he'd put in after the ground test, he knew how to fix it. He uttered the terse command, "Set S.C.E. to Aux," to his flight director, Jerry Griffin. Griffin, like everyone else in mission control, had no clue what that meant. Nevertheless, trusting in his EECOM, Griffin ordered the command to be passed up to the crew immediately. The corresponding switch was flipped on board and valid telemetry was restored. With valid data, Aaron could see that the fuel cells were off line, and with a second command to reset the cells, Apollo 12 was on its way to moon. The incident cemented Aaron's reputation as a "steely-eyed missile man."
I was struck by this story of how the Lord still uses people in times of crisis. John was the right man at the right time with the only answer to the Apollo 12 crisis and he stepped up.
After the NASA tour, we moved on down to Coco Beach. The kids had never seen ocean water as far as the eye can see and had a blast. They were not impressed with the taste of the salty water though. The sand and cold water felt good to the feet.
Tomorrow another park…Epcot.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Day 2 - Magic Kingdom
Day 2 started fairly early with arriving at the Magic Kingdom as the park opened. Aaron had the plan down out to maximize our time. The first ride we went to was the ‘it’s a small world’ ride. With virtually no wait, we walked right unto the awaiting boats with anticipation of seeing the world come alive with mechanized animatronics. As the classical ‘small world’ song started to grace our ears, it dawned on me that we were on another ‘water’ ride, that we did not have too good of luck with the day before. But the speed of this ride doesn’t even qualify as a walleye chop, so we were just fine. The kids loved it and the song stuck in my head for the rest of the day.
Following Aaron’s plan, we moved from ride to ride with minimal effort, hitting them before the crowds could overtake them. The key latter in the day was the ‘fast pass’. The fast pass allows you to go on a ride by bypassing all the other sorry saps in line, cutting a 45 minute wait down to 5. Anyone can get a fast pass…just wait in a different line and they hand a limited number out for a certain time period. We started to hit a wall about 3pm with the hot Florida sun beating down on us hardened, below zero, northerners, and walking several miles by now. We pushed through to the last couple of rides by 6pm with the Splash Mountain and the Thunder Mountain Railroad. Either some of the group did NOT learn the lessons of yesterday or the hot sun caused them to forget but Splash Mountain was another chance to get wet in the name of fun. I elected to stay off and ‘take pictures’ of them. Dad elected to stay off and ‘watch Owen’. Abbie and Julia went on it with Mom. They loved it and wanted to go again. The Thunder Mountain Railroad was a wild roller coaster that they went on as well. I think they are starting to love the bigger rides.
The day ended trying to make our way through the mass of people to find a spot for the nightly parade and fireworks. By this time it’s 8pm and I’m looking for a bench. But in the name of fatherly duties, I hoisted Julia on top of my shoulders and watched a great parade. Jacob and Abbie worked their way to the front but near us to enjoy it too. What a great day.
The Disney World motto is “Where Dreams Come True”…..I’m not sure my feet are livin’ the dream right now.
Splash Mountain
Following Aaron’s plan, we moved from ride to ride with minimal effort, hitting them before the crowds could overtake them. The key latter in the day was the ‘fast pass’. The fast pass allows you to go on a ride by bypassing all the other sorry saps in line, cutting a 45 minute wait down to 5. Anyone can get a fast pass…just wait in a different line and they hand a limited number out for a certain time period. We started to hit a wall about 3pm with the hot Florida sun beating down on us hardened, below zero, northerners, and walking several miles by now. We pushed through to the last couple of rides by 6pm with the Splash Mountain and the Thunder Mountain Railroad. Either some of the group did NOT learn the lessons of yesterday or the hot sun caused them to forget but Splash Mountain was another chance to get wet in the name of fun. I elected to stay off and ‘take pictures’ of them. Dad elected to stay off and ‘watch Owen’. Abbie and Julia went on it with Mom. They loved it and wanted to go again. The Thunder Mountain Railroad was a wild roller coaster that they went on as well. I think they are starting to love the bigger rides.
The day ended trying to make our way through the mass of people to find a spot for the nightly parade and fireworks. By this time it’s 8pm and I’m looking for a bench. But in the name of fatherly duties, I hoisted Julia on top of my shoulders and watched a great parade. Jacob and Abbie worked their way to the front but near us to enjoy it too. What a great day.
The Disney World motto is “Where Dreams Come True”…..I’m not sure my feet are livin’ the dream right now.
Splash Mountain