It was another full weekend for me. I guess it’s that time of year. Friday night I went to see Rapunzel with my friend Kendra. It was the last production for Fantasy Playhouse this season and it was the best. The girl who played the dragon was hilarious! Kendra and I both enjoyed the show despite the fact that we were sitting by a creepy guy who kept turning around to stare at us. I don’t know if he was looking at me or her, but it was really weird and made me uncomfortable. I think it made Kendra uncomfortable too. Very strange.
As I mentioned last week, Panoply was this past weekend, but sadly, I did not make an appearance. I just couldn’t fit it into my schedule. Each night of the weekend at promptly 9:00, the sky would boom with the Panoply fireworks. They were so loud it sounded as though they were being shot from my own backyard. I had planned on loading up The Tide and going down there on Sunday night to watch but by the time Sunday night rolled around, I didn’t want to leave the couch. I’m sure you know how that goes.
Saturday I went to the gym and made my weekly trip to Publix and then spent the rest of the day cleaning and doing laundry and lots of other fun things like that. I mowed the lawn that afternoon and even brought out the weed eater to trim up the edges of the house and shed. I also potted some flowers for the porch. I bagged the grass clippings and while I was working in the back, the mailman was kind enough to run over my bag of grass and empty it in front of my neighbor’s house. So, I had to bag it again. Thanks a lot, Mr. Postman!
I spent Saturday evening studying for the Bible class I was teaching on Sunday morning and also watching the Stanley Cup playoffs. Sunday I went to church and napped. So, it was a busy weekend but also there was time for rest as well, which is always a good thing. Hopefully your weekend was filled with fun and a little relaxation too!
Monday, April 30, 2012
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Is The Dragon In You
On Thursday night, I went to the circus with my parents, Erika, and my parent's friends Wayne and Shirley. My parents, Wayne and Shirley stopped by to pick up me and Erika a little after 6:00. I told everyone that it was going to look like we were the first act of the circus with six people piling out of the van. It would look like a clown car and people would wonder how many more were going to come out.
We arrived a little bit before 6:30 which is when the doors opened for the pre-circus show where you could go down to the floor and watch the animals and entertainers up close and personal. The line to get in was very long but my dad in all his excitement managed to find a way to get us up by the door and cut in front of about 100 or 200 people when the doors opened. I think it was the most rebellious thing Erika has ever done in her life.
We made our way inside, found our seats and promptly went to the floor for the fun. We got "The Greatest Show On Earth" temporary tattoos on our hands first; sadly, mine washed off in the shower Friday morning. I was really hoping I would still have it to show off at work. We watched the elephant paint a couple of pictures (once again we didn’t win the picture), watched a horse run around and perform some jumps, and watched some dogs perform a few tricks. Soon it was time for the show to start and so we found our seats in preparation for the show to begin.
This year’s show had a dragon theme and the song they sang to open and close the show had the line “Is the dragon in you?” Needless to say it was a catchy tune and I’m sure Erika and I were not the only ones singing it the next day.
The first half of the show had performances by the Ringling Clowns, of course, and also folks performing stunts on horses which was pretty amazing. I’m pretty sure I gasped a time or two. There were tigers and a lion for the big cat performance. Some of those tigers were pretty fired up; I would not have wanted to be in the cage with them. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a lion at the circus before; maybe I have and just can’t remember. The guy riding a motorcycle on a tight rope made an appearance again, only this time there were two – one on each side of the arena and instead of one girl dangling below there were two. There were various other acts such as girls swinging around by their hair and girls twisting and turning all sorts of ways in glass orbs. The first part of the show ended with a kung fu performance that was also rather impressive – well, I was impressed at least.
The second half of the show had the flying trapeze which Erika which is one of Erika’s favorite acts. There was the always wonderful display of elephants, this show had eight elephants and of course more performances by clowns. There were also tricks by dogs, cats and horses. As mentioned every time I write about the circus, my favorite act of all, The Globe of Steel (or The Globe of Death as I like to call it) took place in the second half of the show. This year they put EIGHT people in the Globe of Death! EIGHT! I was so impressed! Two years ago they had six and last year I don’t remember how many were in there last year because I didn’t mention the number in my post about last year’s show. EIGHT people! That’s amazing!
It was a great circus once again and I hope a lot of you were able to go by and check it out. Sadly, the circus leaves town tonight (Sunday) and will be moving on to the next city to entertain some other circus lover. I told everyone not to be surprised if I one day joined the circus; the good thing is I’m pretty sure The Tide would be welcomed too. My dad also said he wouldn’t mind running away with the circus. So, I told my mom when she goes on to a better place (not that we want that to happen any time soon just for clarification) that me and my dad would just join the circus. She said she would look down on us and say “there’s my crazy daughter and husband, running away with the circus,” or something like that. I guess I should maybe work on an act. Actually I would just want to be the person who organizes and manages the show. I think I could handle that. It would definitely make for good blogging material!
We arrived a little bit before 6:30 which is when the doors opened for the pre-circus show where you could go down to the floor and watch the animals and entertainers up close and personal. The line to get in was very long but my dad in all his excitement managed to find a way to get us up by the door and cut in front of about 100 or 200 people when the doors opened. I think it was the most rebellious thing Erika has ever done in her life.
We made our way inside, found our seats and promptly went to the floor for the fun. We got "The Greatest Show On Earth" temporary tattoos on our hands first; sadly, mine washed off in the shower Friday morning. I was really hoping I would still have it to show off at work. We watched the elephant paint a couple of pictures (once again we didn’t win the picture), watched a horse run around and perform some jumps, and watched some dogs perform a few tricks. Soon it was time for the show to start and so we found our seats in preparation for the show to begin.
This year’s show had a dragon theme and the song they sang to open and close the show had the line “Is the dragon in you?” Needless to say it was a catchy tune and I’m sure Erika and I were not the only ones singing it the next day.
The first half of the show had performances by the Ringling Clowns, of course, and also folks performing stunts on horses which was pretty amazing. I’m pretty sure I gasped a time or two. There were tigers and a lion for the big cat performance. Some of those tigers were pretty fired up; I would not have wanted to be in the cage with them. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a lion at the circus before; maybe I have and just can’t remember. The guy riding a motorcycle on a tight rope made an appearance again, only this time there were two – one on each side of the arena and instead of one girl dangling below there were two. There were various other acts such as girls swinging around by their hair and girls twisting and turning all sorts of ways in glass orbs. The first part of the show ended with a kung fu performance that was also rather impressive – well, I was impressed at least.
The second half of the show had the flying trapeze which Erika which is one of Erika’s favorite acts. There was the always wonderful display of elephants, this show had eight elephants and of course more performances by clowns. There were also tricks by dogs, cats and horses. As mentioned every time I write about the circus, my favorite act of all, The Globe of Steel (or The Globe of Death as I like to call it) took place in the second half of the show. This year they put EIGHT people in the Globe of Death! EIGHT! I was so impressed! Two years ago they had six and last year I don’t remember how many were in there last year because I didn’t mention the number in my post about last year’s show. EIGHT people! That’s amazing!
It was a great circus once again and I hope a lot of you were able to go by and check it out. Sadly, the circus leaves town tonight (Sunday) and will be moving on to the next city to entertain some other circus lover. I told everyone not to be surprised if I one day joined the circus; the good thing is I’m pretty sure The Tide would be welcomed too. My dad also said he wouldn’t mind running away with the circus. So, I told my mom when she goes on to a better place (not that we want that to happen any time soon just for clarification) that me and my dad would just join the circus. She said she would look down on us and say “there’s my crazy daughter and husband, running away with the circus,” or something like that. I guess I should maybe work on an act. Actually I would just want to be the person who organizes and manages the show. I think I could handle that. It would definitely make for good blogging material!
A Ringling Clown
Getting a tattoo - yes, this photo is from 2012, my dad just likes to wear this shirt to the circus!
I thought this was a pretty horse
Maybe we can teach The Tide and Scout to do this
The Ringmaster
The big cats
My favorite - the elephants
Thursday, April 26, 2012
The Circus Is Here
Listen, I'm sure I don't have to tell you all how much I love the circus. I'm pretty sure you already know that I love it; after all, I go every year it comes to town and then always post about it afterwards. Well, I'm happy to announce that Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus is officially once again in Huntsville and I couldn't be happier about it.
I found out the circus was coming months ago, back in January I guess and sent my dad down to buy our tickets the day they went on sale. He bought six tickets, three for me, him and my mom, one for Erika and two more for whoever else we decided to bring along (turns out that ended up being Wayne and Shirley, friends of my parents).
On Tuesday during lunch, I was perusing the internet as I always do on my lunch break and I saw that the Elephant walk was going to be at 6:30 a.m. on Wednesday. I thought about it for all of two seconds and decided I would go down and watch the elephants unload if I wasn't running too late in that morning. I leave around 6:40-6:45 to go to work anyway so stopping by the train depot which is about two miles from my house wasn't really out of the way or too early.
I must have subconsciously been really anxious to see those elephants because I woke up before the alarm clock and as hard as I tired to rest my eyes for a few more minutes, it just wasn't happening. So, I got up, got ready and headed on down to the train station. There weren't as many people there as have been in years past. I'm assuming that's because it was at 6:30 a.m., whereas in the past it's been later in the afternoon. I made my way over to the trains and the workers had already unloaded a lot of the horses. Not long after arriving, I could see big elephant feet walking on the other side of the train and sure enough the elephants were headed our way. I snapped a few photos, watched the elephants and horses trot by and then headed back to the car. The guy next to me was disappointed because he thought all the animals were going to be parading down the street. I, however, knew better since I had been a couple of years ago and also had the same feeling of disappointment.
Apparently years ago more of the animals were a part of the animal walk but now they only let the elephants and horses parade around in front of folks. However, I wonder how it is that all the other animals arrive because the railroad tracks do not go directly up to the arena. So, how do they get there? Perhaps they walk them over throughout the day? I know the circus has more elephants than walked down the street today as well. I think there were only about five, but in the finale of the circus, there are always about 12 or so elephants. Ringling, you've got some 'splainin to do! Maybe the next time the circus comes to town I'll take the day off and just camp out at the train station with my packed lunch and see all the goings on of the circus folks and animals.
Anyway, the circus is in town and I am thrilled. I saw the show on Thursday night and it was great. There will be a post about that soon. If you have a chance, be sure and see the circus while it's in town - it is, after all, The Greatest Show On Earth!
If the circus isn't for you, do not fear because there is so much going on in Huntsville this weekend! Here are some other fun items to choose from:
Panoply - After being canceled last year because of the April 27th tornadoes (we didn't have power for five days ya know), Panoply is back for it's 30th anniversary! There are a lot of various dance, singing, and music events you can watch and there will be crafts a plenty for kids of all ages. The global village is back which is an area that displays cultural items from countries around the world. On Saturday at the Showcase Stage is the Official Alabama State Fiddling Championship. Each night there will be a fireworks display and on Sunday night, the weekend closes out with my fellow Hoover High Class of 1995 classmate, Taylor Hicks. Passes for the weekend are $10 or if you only want to go one day, the price is $5. Panoply is always one of my favorite Huntsville events. I have really fond memories of going as a child and I hope to stop by for a while on Saturday to listen to some music and eat some junk food if nothing else.
Fantasy Playhouse presents Rapunzel - This is the last show for the 2011-2012 Fantasy Playhouse season and the last weekend for the show as well. There are productions on Friday night and Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday at 2:00 p.m. I'm going on Friday night with my friend Kendra and I'm looking forward to it. I don't think I've ever seen a live production of Rapunzel.
Beard and Stache Competition - This is being hosted by Dixieland Beard Coalition and will take place at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday at Lowe Mill. Benefits will proceed disaster recovery efforts and this is sure to be a blast. I doubt I will have time to stop by and watch this, but I have no doubt it will be hilarious! While there, you can pick up some good eats from Happy Tummy!
On Saturday there is a nature hike that begins at 10 a.m. up on Monte Sano. Park across from Burritt Museum if you are interested in participating in that. This is only 2-3 miles and they are encouraging folks to bring cameras as there will be plenty of wildflowers to photograph. I would like to do this one, but will have to pass this week as I have large plans of mowing the lawn after spin class Saturday morning. I don't know about you, but lately there just have not been enough hours in my weekend.
I'm sure there are a lot more activities taking place in Huntsville this weekend so get out and find something to do and have fun doing it.
I found out the circus was coming months ago, back in January I guess and sent my dad down to buy our tickets the day they went on sale. He bought six tickets, three for me, him and my mom, one for Erika and two more for whoever else we decided to bring along (turns out that ended up being Wayne and Shirley, friends of my parents).
On Tuesday during lunch, I was perusing the internet as I always do on my lunch break and I saw that the Elephant walk was going to be at 6:30 a.m. on Wednesday. I thought about it for all of two seconds and decided I would go down and watch the elephants unload if I wasn't running too late in that morning. I leave around 6:40-6:45 to go to work anyway so stopping by the train depot which is about two miles from my house wasn't really out of the way or too early.
I must have subconsciously been really anxious to see those elephants because I woke up before the alarm clock and as hard as I tired to rest my eyes for a few more minutes, it just wasn't happening. So, I got up, got ready and headed on down to the train station. There weren't as many people there as have been in years past. I'm assuming that's because it was at 6:30 a.m., whereas in the past it's been later in the afternoon. I made my way over to the trains and the workers had already unloaded a lot of the horses. Not long after arriving, I could see big elephant feet walking on the other side of the train and sure enough the elephants were headed our way. I snapped a few photos, watched the elephants and horses trot by and then headed back to the car. The guy next to me was disappointed because he thought all the animals were going to be parading down the street. I, however, knew better since I had been a couple of years ago and also had the same feeling of disappointment.
Apparently years ago more of the animals were a part of the animal walk but now they only let the elephants and horses parade around in front of folks. However, I wonder how it is that all the other animals arrive because the railroad tracks do not go directly up to the arena. So, how do they get there? Perhaps they walk them over throughout the day? I know the circus has more elephants than walked down the street today as well. I think there were only about five, but in the finale of the circus, there are always about 12 or so elephants. Ringling, you've got some 'splainin to do! Maybe the next time the circus comes to town I'll take the day off and just camp out at the train station with my packed lunch and see all the goings on of the circus folks and animals.
Anyway, the circus is in town and I am thrilled. I saw the show on Thursday night and it was great. There will be a post about that soon. If you have a chance, be sure and see the circus while it's in town - it is, after all, The Greatest Show On Earth!
If the circus isn't for you, do not fear because there is so much going on in Huntsville this weekend! Here are some other fun items to choose from:
Panoply - After being canceled last year because of the April 27th tornadoes (we didn't have power for five days ya know), Panoply is back for it's 30th anniversary! There are a lot of various dance, singing, and music events you can watch and there will be crafts a plenty for kids of all ages. The global village is back which is an area that displays cultural items from countries around the world. On Saturday at the Showcase Stage is the Official Alabama State Fiddling Championship. Each night there will be a fireworks display and on Sunday night, the weekend closes out with my fellow Hoover High Class of 1995 classmate, Taylor Hicks. Passes for the weekend are $10 or if you only want to go one day, the price is $5. Panoply is always one of my favorite Huntsville events. I have really fond memories of going as a child and I hope to stop by for a while on Saturday to listen to some music and eat some junk food if nothing else.
Fantasy Playhouse presents Rapunzel - This is the last show for the 2011-2012 Fantasy Playhouse season and the last weekend for the show as well. There are productions on Friday night and Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday at 2:00 p.m. I'm going on Friday night with my friend Kendra and I'm looking forward to it. I don't think I've ever seen a live production of Rapunzel.
Beard and Stache Competition - This is being hosted by Dixieland Beard Coalition and will take place at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday at Lowe Mill. Benefits will proceed disaster recovery efforts and this is sure to be a blast. I doubt I will have time to stop by and watch this, but I have no doubt it will be hilarious! While there, you can pick up some good eats from Happy Tummy!
On Saturday there is a nature hike that begins at 10 a.m. up on Monte Sano. Park across from Burritt Museum if you are interested in participating in that. This is only 2-3 miles and they are encouraging folks to bring cameras as there will be plenty of wildflowers to photograph. I would like to do this one, but will have to pass this week as I have large plans of mowing the lawn after spin class Saturday morning. I don't know about you, but lately there just have not been enough hours in my weekend.
I'm sure there are a lot more activities taking place in Huntsville this weekend so get out and find something to do and have fun doing it.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
The Journey Home
Well, the vacation recap is almost complete. I'm sure you are probably glad. Thanks for bearing with me through it all. One day I will look back on this blog and be able to remember just exactly what I did on vacation, which to me, is a good thing as my dad would say.
The Friday of vacation was spent driving back home with my dad. We dropped my mom off at the airport that morning around 10:30 and we headed north in the van. Mother's flight wasn't until 4:30 in the afternoon but we wanted to go ahead and hit the road so we left her to fend for herself. My dad was nervous up until the moment she got on the plane. He was so afraid her flight would get canceled or something. He said said it was the biggest gamble he had ever taken. I wasn't worried at all - either I'm a more positive thinker or less caring; I hope it's that I'm a positive thinker! Thankfully the flight was not canceled and mother made it home by the time we were in Atlanta.
My dad drove the first leg of the journey until we had to stop for gas. I don't think I mentioned, but the gas gauge is broken on the van. All my parents know is that no one can seem to repair it and they ran out of gas at 214 miles on the trip odometer. So, every 214 miles or a little less, we had to fill up. After the first stop which was right before we crossed into Georgia, I took the reigns. My dad wanted me to drive through Atlanta as well since we would be hitting the capitol of Georgia right during rush hour. I didn't mind this at all because my dad is a ball of stress when he drives in massive traffic and it is annoying. I mean, I don't like to be stuck in traffic either but there's nothing I can do about it so (most of the time) I'm not going to huff and puff about it. My dad, however, huffs and puffs and complains every step of the way, which is humorous at times, but mostly, as I mentioned, annoying. So, I drove from the first stop, through the next stop and through Atlanta rush hour traffic. The traffic gods must have been on our side though because despite the rush hour time, we still managed to make good time and we were able to book it through some parts of Atlanta, which was more fun than riding a roller coaster! I think it was my favorite part of my drive, and I don't even like driving as you probably know.
We stopped for dinner at Panera on the northwest side of Atlanta and then my dad drove the remainder of the way home. We reached my house right about 8:30 p.m.; so, with the stops for gas and dinner, we made the trip in about 11 hours - not too bad - and , miraculously, I did not sleep one minute of the time. I'm like a baby in that riding in a car lulls me to sleep but by the grace of the good Lord, I managed to stay awake the whole journey, which was great because I don't like it when people snooze on me when I'm driving long distances. In my older and wiser years, I've managed to become a lot better about staying awake on road trips. I guess I realize the importance to the driver.
The weekend after we got back was spent catching up on sleep, catching up on the DVR and finishing the book I was reading - I promise a book review is coming soon. It will probably be next week. I managed to do a lot of reading on the trip, especially the last day we were there, and the book I was reading turned out to be a really lovely and interesting read. So, stay tuned for that and a whole lot more!
The Friday of vacation was spent driving back home with my dad. We dropped my mom off at the airport that morning around 10:30 and we headed north in the van. Mother's flight wasn't until 4:30 in the afternoon but we wanted to go ahead and hit the road so we left her to fend for herself. My dad was nervous up until the moment she got on the plane. He was so afraid her flight would get canceled or something. He said said it was the biggest gamble he had ever taken. I wasn't worried at all - either I'm a more positive thinker or less caring; I hope it's that I'm a positive thinker! Thankfully the flight was not canceled and mother made it home by the time we were in Atlanta.
My dad drove the first leg of the journey until we had to stop for gas. I don't think I mentioned, but the gas gauge is broken on the van. All my parents know is that no one can seem to repair it and they ran out of gas at 214 miles on the trip odometer. So, every 214 miles or a little less, we had to fill up. After the first stop which was right before we crossed into Georgia, I took the reigns. My dad wanted me to drive through Atlanta as well since we would be hitting the capitol of Georgia right during rush hour. I didn't mind this at all because my dad is a ball of stress when he drives in massive traffic and it is annoying. I mean, I don't like to be stuck in traffic either but there's nothing I can do about it so (most of the time) I'm not going to huff and puff about it. My dad, however, huffs and puffs and complains every step of the way, which is humorous at times, but mostly, as I mentioned, annoying. So, I drove from the first stop, through the next stop and through Atlanta rush hour traffic. The traffic gods must have been on our side though because despite the rush hour time, we still managed to make good time and we were able to book it through some parts of Atlanta, which was more fun than riding a roller coaster! I think it was my favorite part of my drive, and I don't even like driving as you probably know.
We stopped for dinner at Panera on the northwest side of Atlanta and then my dad drove the remainder of the way home. We reached my house right about 8:30 p.m.; so, with the stops for gas and dinner, we made the trip in about 11 hours - not too bad - and , miraculously, I did not sleep one minute of the time. I'm like a baby in that riding in a car lulls me to sleep but by the grace of the good Lord, I managed to stay awake the whole journey, which was great because I don't like it when people snooze on me when I'm driving long distances. In my older and wiser years, I've managed to become a lot better about staying awake on road trips. I guess I realize the importance to the driver.
The weekend after we got back was spent catching up on sleep, catching up on the DVR and finishing the book I was reading - I promise a book review is coming soon. It will probably be next week. I managed to do a lot of reading on the trip, especially the last day we were there, and the book I was reading turned out to be a really lovely and interesting read. So, stay tuned for that and a whole lot more!
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
The Last Day Was A Bust
For our last day in Orlando, we didn't have any firm plans. We were going to play it by ear, possibly go to Magic Kingdom or go on some other fun adventure. As it turns out, however, the day didn't have much of an adventure in store at all.
I woke up at 7:00 or a little before as always and went ahead and gt a shower. The night before my dad said he didn't really want to go to a park on Thursday because he was quite tired - not to mention that he had been sick most of the week. We thought it was from his colitis but as it turns out he was actually sick from the Melting Pot food. He probably didn't fully cook a piece of chicken or something. However, by the time Friday morning rolled around he wanted to go and so did I but it wasn't meant to be. My mother was having some issues on this particular morning (which we won't get into or she might stab me with butter knife) and we had to wait on her issues to clear up before we could do anything since she had planned to get out on this particular day as well.
By the time 1:30 in the afternoon rolled around, we still had not left the condo. I spent the whole morning and into the afternoon laying the bed fully dressed and reading while waiting on the folks to get it in motion, but it just wasn't happening. To say that I was hungry was also an understatement as there wasn't much food left at the condo at this point, at least nothing that didn't contain a lot of processed sugar.
My dad finally agreed to leave with me in tow a little after 1:30. We headed to the Outlet Mall because at this late stage of the day, what else are you going to do? Not 20 minutes after we arrived, my mother called for us to come back. We spent a little while longer at the mall because well, we were there. I wasn't really ready to leave when we did, but we did and arrived back at the condo around 3:30. It was 5:00 before we all three finally left for dinner which was at Miller's Ale House and was the best meal I had the whole time I was away (prime rib).
After we ate dinner, we went to the movie theater at Downtown Disney and watched The Hunger Games. I enjoyed it just as much the second time around and my parents enjoyed it as well. I wanted to pay putt-putt that evening, but since it was so late when we got out of the movie decided against it since we would have a long drive the next day. I was really disappointed with how the last day turned out, but it was out of my control and sadly, life doesn’t always turn out how we want it to.
There was a lot more I would have loved to have done while we were in Orlando. I wish we had made some time for Magic Kingdom (I really wanted to see the parade at the end of the day and the fireworks) and I would have loved to have had a day for Disney Hollywood Studios, formerly MGM Studios – I remember enjoying that as a kid. I also would like to have visited Animal Kingdom. It opened the year after I went when I was a kid and I have never been. I also would have liked to have stopped by ESPN Wide World of Sports to see what all was there. Alas, there was no time for all of these things and for the first time ever I left my vacation feeling unsatisfied; maybe unaccomplished would be a better word. I don’t know; I just know I wish I had about five more days so I could have seen all the things I wanted to see because it’s doubtful I will ever be back; but, you never know.
Overall, it was a great week. We all got along for the most part. There were a few tiffs here and there but I think we did okay considering we are all Type A people and have been known to have some fierce arguments. We like to put the fun in dysfunctional as the saying goes. I enjoyed the week off from work and was glad to have the opportunity to spend time with my family and have fun as well. So, as far as that goes there are no complaints and I’m glad I we were all able to go and spend the week together.
I woke up at 7:00 or a little before as always and went ahead and gt a shower. The night before my dad said he didn't really want to go to a park on Thursday because he was quite tired - not to mention that he had been sick most of the week. We thought it was from his colitis but as it turns out he was actually sick from the Melting Pot food. He probably didn't fully cook a piece of chicken or something. However, by the time Friday morning rolled around he wanted to go and so did I but it wasn't meant to be. My mother was having some issues on this particular morning (which we won't get into or she might stab me with butter knife) and we had to wait on her issues to clear up before we could do anything since she had planned to get out on this particular day as well.
By the time 1:30 in the afternoon rolled around, we still had not left the condo. I spent the whole morning and into the afternoon laying the bed fully dressed and reading while waiting on the folks to get it in motion, but it just wasn't happening. To say that I was hungry was also an understatement as there wasn't much food left at the condo at this point, at least nothing that didn't contain a lot of processed sugar.
My dad finally agreed to leave with me in tow a little after 1:30. We headed to the Outlet Mall because at this late stage of the day, what else are you going to do? Not 20 minutes after we arrived, my mother called for us to come back. We spent a little while longer at the mall because well, we were there. I wasn't really ready to leave when we did, but we did and arrived back at the condo around 3:30. It was 5:00 before we all three finally left for dinner which was at Miller's Ale House and was the best meal I had the whole time I was away (prime rib).
After we ate dinner, we went to the movie theater at Downtown Disney and watched The Hunger Games. I enjoyed it just as much the second time around and my parents enjoyed it as well. I wanted to pay putt-putt that evening, but since it was so late when we got out of the movie decided against it since we would have a long drive the next day. I was really disappointed with how the last day turned out, but it was out of my control and sadly, life doesn’t always turn out how we want it to.
There was a lot more I would have loved to have done while we were in Orlando. I wish we had made some time for Magic Kingdom (I really wanted to see the parade at the end of the day and the fireworks) and I would have loved to have had a day for Disney Hollywood Studios, formerly MGM Studios – I remember enjoying that as a kid. I also would like to have visited Animal Kingdom. It opened the year after I went when I was a kid and I have never been. I also would have liked to have stopped by ESPN Wide World of Sports to see what all was there. Alas, there was no time for all of these things and for the first time ever I left my vacation feeling unsatisfied; maybe unaccomplished would be a better word. I don’t know; I just know I wish I had about five more days so I could have seen all the things I wanted to see because it’s doubtful I will ever be back; but, you never know.
Overall, it was a great week. We all got along for the most part. There were a few tiffs here and there but I think we did okay considering we are all Type A people and have been known to have some fierce arguments. We like to put the fun in dysfunctional as the saying goes. I enjoyed the week off from work and was glad to have the opportunity to spend time with my family and have fun as well. So, as far as that goes there are no complaints and I’m glad I we were all able to go and spend the week together.
Monday, April 23, 2012
Return To Hogsmeade
It's back to the vacation recap - hope you aren't tired of hearing about it. On Wednesday of our vacation week, my dad and I made a return visit to Universal Studios. This time, however, we spent the majority of the day on the Universal Studios side of the park.
My dad took the wheelchair again which worked to our benefit because we were able to get in to a lot of the shows without having to wait in line - not all of them, but some. The first show we saw was the Shrek 4D show which was really great. I've always been a fan a Shrek, the dry humor cracks me up and I love the Gingerbread Man; so, I was looking forward to seeing what the show was all about. The movie portion of the show was in 3D, I guess the fourth dimension was the fact that our seats moved and there were other effects as well such as water being sprayed on us at times like when Donkey sneezed, air blowing on our legs that were supposed to be and felt like spiders among other things. It was a really fun show.
I think the next show we went to was called Twister which was based on the movie Twister and showed video of the movie and then you went into a room and watched a simulation of a twister coming through a town. Let me tell you, when you live through a tornado about once a month, the show was pretty mild in comparison, but it was still fun to watch.
After the Twister show, I rode The Mummy roller coaster which is based on the movie The Mummy. This roller coaster was a lot of fun. Tony had told me about it before I went down there and some people from church had been down for Spring Break and also mentioned that it was a good one and it lived up to my expectations. This was an indoor roller coaster and was an absolute thrill. Towards the end, the room you are in catches on fire and the heat is very intense. I rode this one five times in a row while my dad watched a Blues Brothers show. It was in this area of the park that we ran into a really tall Egyptian dude.
Throughout the day we watched other shows, including a Fear Factor show throughout most of which I kept my eyes closed - I cannot stand to watch people be covered in snakes or eat disgusting things. We also saw a Terminator show (I think the seats moved in this one too, but mine didn't because I was in the wheelchair companion seat and I don;t think it was set up to move; either that or it was broken) and a show with animals in it which we both loved. One of the best shows was called Disaster and they used people in the audience to make a "movie". the movie was about an earthquake on the subway and we all rode a subway like ride into the subway station and had to act like we were dying, screaming, crying, having a heart attack, etc. My dad made the film too. It was pretty darn funny.
I rode some other rides on this side and then we took a break for dinner. There are a lot of restaurants and shops at the entrance to Universal and so we ate there at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company. The food was good, but overpriced in my opinion. Fortunately I finished my dinner before a little kid walked by and lot his right to my left. It was less than pleasant. Call me crazy, but I think if I were the restaurant manager I would have offered to pay for the food of the folks who were almost puked on, or at least offered a free dessert or something, but that didn't happen. We had to pay for our dinner despite someone losing their dinner basically right on our shoes.
We then headed back to the Universal side and rode the E.T. ride which I thought was neat. It was a slow paced ride so my dad rode it as well. I also took the time to ride the roller coaster at the front of the park which is called Hollywood Rip Ride RockIt. the initial hill on this one was so tall that I kept my eyes closed on the way up. After that we headed back over to the Islands of Adventure side to visit Hogsmeade one last time. At this point, my legs were so tired from walking that I actually had to request that we stop for a break for a minute or two. We finally made it back over and I rode the Dragon Challenge a few times and that awesome Forbidden Journey ride one last time. I got a final frozen butter beer and then it was time for the park to close. I actually wanted to check out the water rides which I was saving for last but unfortunately, I once again ran out of time. I don't know why, but the parks closed at 9:00 which seems way early to me. I guess they must be open later in the summer, but you would think they would stay open until at least 10:00 or 11:00 in the spring as well. A lot of folks vacation in the spring. In all it was a really good day and we probably could have knocked it all out if we had just one more hour; despite running short of time, we still enjoyed the day and it was a much more successful trip than our first visit.
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Music, Laughter and a Fish Fry Too
It was a very busy weekend for me. I’m going to take a break from the vacation recap to tell about my weekend and then will return to the vacation recap tomorrow. I actually meant to do some blogging over the weekend, continuing the vacation recap, but I was so busy there wasn’t any time for writing. So, I’ll finish the vacation tales beginning tomorrow.
On Friday night, I met my parents for dinner at Wings and then we went to see Huntsville High’s production of Oklahoma. I have mentioned Huntsville High Theater on here before. This group does a phenomenal job in all of their performances and Friday night was no exception.
Oklahoma is one of my favorites. It has so many classic songs to sing along to and I have always enjoyed watching it. I don’t know about you, but I’ve always felt sorry for Judd. Anyway, I picked up our tickets on Thursday night so I could make sure they had a place for mother’s wheelchair. She ended up sitting in front of my dad and I and I think we all could see the stage well, I know I could. The show started at 7:30 and was over around 10:30. They did a great job as expected and I really enjoyed the performance.
On Saturday, I went to the gym and afterwards stopped by Belk. They were having a charity sale and someone from church gave me a ticket which included a $5 off coupon and even though I wasn’t in a shopping mood, I just couldn’t let that $5 not be used. So, I went and bought a gift for someone. I then made my weekly Publix run and am proud to say that I save $37 in coupons! Oh, yeah!
After the errand running I made a huge batch of coleslaw for the fish fry that was taking place at the church where my parents attend. Then I did some cleaning, cleaned myself up, picked up my mom and made a run by Mr. Donut before we headed to the fish fry. Y’all, Mr. Donut may be closing because from what we understand, they are not making a profit except on Saturdays and Sundays. So, if you love Mr. Donut, be sure and visit them frequently because us Parkers will be crushed if they leave town.
There were quite a few people at the fish fry and Jackie and Troy stopped by as well. It was the first time I had seen them since I got back in town. I was glad they stopped by. The fish was delicious and I wouldn’t mind having some more right now. The hushpuppies were also really good. Now I guess the fishermen will have to go out and restock.
After the fish fry I went by my Aunt Linda’s house and worked on my lesson for Bible Class and then we went to hear the comedian Michael Jr. at Grissom. My cousin Chris, Linda’s son, bought a row of tickets and they invited me to come along. The performance was a benefit for The Way which is a recovery program in town that is Christian based. The show actually had two other comedians perform before Michael, Jr. All three were funny, but Michael, Jr. was the funniest I think. It was refreshing to see a comedian that didn’t use swear words. Clean comedy is a rarity these days and it was really great to see this show. I did a lot of laughing and so did everyone else.
Sunday I went to church and then stopped by Star Market to pick up some Brown’s Farm strawberries. If you love strawberries, you must try the ones from Brown’s Farm! They are so good! I did some more cleaning, watched some hockey and that’s about it. Like I said, a very busy weekend. It was great to spend time with family and friends and I look forward to doing it again soon!
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