I wrote this while in California…just too busy to finish and post it then. Keep reading for one of many Life Lessons from the Road…

I’m here in Sonoma and the last thing I want to do is hang out in this hotel suite/ studio apartment, no matter HOW amazing it is with it’s Jacuzzi tub, two televisions, kitchenette (no microwave??) livingroom with fireplace and balcony. Can you feel the refreshing breeze from the open door?

But I wanted to get some thoughts down. This vacation has gone WAY too quickly and this time in Sonoma is where I get to slow down for a day or two before I’m off again!

On to Portland. A beautiful, eclectic town full of real, sometimes strange people…okay more than sometimes. Heck, they’ll even tell you they want to “Keep Portland Weird!” Though I didn’t witness the nude bike-a-thon through the park (thank goodness,) I did witness a guy in a kilt at an organic beer festival lifting up his leg so a girl could take a photo…um, TMI, I know!

There was also Pedal Palooza where the riders felt free to pee in the corner of the yard with the NO TRESPASSING sign right across from the coffee house. And I’d be negligent if I didn’t mention the creepy bathroom at Rimsky Kaffacoffe House. I would have messed myself if I wasn’t forewarned.

Yes, Portland can be weird, but it’s also wonderful and magical and nice.

Growing up on Long Island, NY, I noticed immediately how NICE Oregonians are. Even their bums are nice. Homeless…I mean homeless! And Portland has their fair share of the homeless, but they don’t assault you with dirty rags and spray bottles insisting on cleaning your windshield like the ones in NYC. They just push their carts, minding their own business or stand on the street corner chatting with another homeless friend. And people just hand them coffees, especially outside of Powell’s book store.

I don’t know if it’s the beauty of the mountains or the mystery of the ocean or the tranquility of the gorge, but homeless or housed, the people in Portland are genuinely nice.

Cars hit the brakes for pedestrians at cross walks before they’re actually IN the crosswalks…disregarding the the flow of traffic, I might add. Nice AND psychic! Who knew?

I’m used to waiting for traffic to clear or walking like a New Yorker where you step into the crosswalk and dodge traffic like a pinball, but NO Oregonians just hit on the breaks and let you pass.

I love that Portland is a walking, biking, hiking city, though the hills are killer. Yet, it would be nice to know that when my friend tells me we’re going to see the Pittock Mansion, she meant we’re going to climb the hour and a half trail to the top only to realize it had closed a half an hour earlier and there’s not short cut down the trail. I’m just saying! I expected to drive right up to the place.

All kidding aside, there feels like there’s no pretenses here. You can be yourself. Dress up or down and you’re accepted! So different from NY where I grew up. In fact, you can say that NY is the antithesis of Portland and the funny thing is I like them both in all their uniqueness.

Keep reading for one of many Life Lessons from the Road…

One thing I was looking forward to on this Midlife Road Trip was driving to and through Yellowstone park with Jessie Gunderson. I met Jessie online less than a year ago when she found my blog and commented. I commented back and we soon realized we had a lot in common (homeschooling moms and both of us trying to write and raise kids…three boys and a girl) though we were ten years apart and practically polar opposites in that she was a whole lot of country (farm, horses, chicken and pigs included) and I was a born and bred girl from the New York suburbs. Yet, we clicked. Some how across the miles and cyberspace we got each other!

So meeting her in Denver and then getting to drive with her through Yellowstone was one of the highlights of my trip. We enjoyed the drive getting to know each other better and really solidified our friendship. The drive through Wyoming was breathtaking with the snow capped mountains and Jessie has most of it documented on her camera. Go here for the breathtaking shots! But we almost missed our chance of seeing Old Faithful in all of it’s glory.

We arrived at the geyser shortly after it had already “blown.” Not many people were around the viewing area and those that were looked at it for a while, heard rumors that it wouldn’t spout for another 90 minutes, and then reluctantly went on their way. Jessie and I snapped a few photos and were ready to jump in the car and move on. We had a long day of driving ahead of us, but I decided to buy some trinkets from the gift store.

Call it indecision or divine intervention, it took me about an hour to decide on four different rustic looking bracelets for my kiddos. We decided to go back to Old Faithful since it was only 20 -30 minutes before it would blow. When we got there the seats in front of the geyser were packed all around the huge viewing area. It was standing room only. So we stood and waited and chatted and watched and Ohhed and Awwwed when a little water spurted after 20 minutes. Could this be it? We all raised our cameras, I pressed play on my video. Old Faithful settled down. False alarm!

This scenario played out every few minutes, but nothing more than a little spurt. Was this what we had waited for?

Thoughts of leaving started to creep in. We’ve already wasted so much time, could we chance staying and being disappointed. But that little voice inside (and the park ranger’s) reminded us that Old Faithful got it’s name for a reason. He WAS faithful! And though it was ten minutes later than originally projected, Old Faithful started to cough a little more water until he was blowing his water to a huge, magnificent height! It was glorious and lasted long enough for us to snap multiple pictures. I’m glad we waited and that we didn’t miss it!

As I reminisce on the event, I can’t help wondering what if we had grown impatient and left too soon? What if the little few spouts of water were all we thought we were going to get? What if we had come all that way and missed all Old Faith had to offer?

And it makes me think of my walk with God.

What if I grow impatient and give up too soon on the blessings He has for me? What if I can’t see or understand all that’s going on beneath the surface? What if I am satisfied with the little things God has for me and settle, believing that’s all He has to offer.

What if I walk away before His outpouring hits me?

What if?

Just like waiting for Old Faithful, I’d miss God’s glory and fullness for my life if I walked away impatient or thinking the little spurts were all God had for me.

But God is Forever Faithful and his blessings are richer, higher, wider and sweeter than I can ever imagine.

And if I wait on Him, I won’t have to! I can experience it for myself!

Breakfast at Jana’s favorite deli!
YUM!

Off to see the falls but first a stop by Vista House and a view!

Bridal Veil Falls

My Favorite of the Falls!

Multnomah Falls! One heck of a hike!!!!

More pics on my Facebook page!

Portland is a beautiful, fun, eclectic city filled with college students, hippies and everyone else in between. I loved hanging with my old college roomie and seeing the sites in Portland. Here’s just a glimpse of why stay!

A view from the balcony where I was staying!
Imagine waking up to cool weather and eating out here with this view!

Look right! Mt. Hood

Look left! Mt. Adam’s, Mt. St. Helen’s and Mt. Rainer, though they’re all hard to see.

Cannon Beach!

For some reason I imagined it would be warm the end of June!

Haystack Rock

Great seafood dinner with my agent Chip MacGregor and my roomie Jana “Gigi.”
Thanks for showing me around Cannon Beach, Chip!

Call me lazy…This is a status update (start at the BOTTOM and read up) of my day yesterday! I’ve been updating fun happenings and thoughts from my phone to twitter which feeds to Facebook. If you want to keep up with my travels (and I wish you would because sharing via comments makes it that much more fun) then subscribe to my twitter feed (@portraitwriter) or facebook page. And be sure to visit my photos

# The WIZ…was…nuff said. about 9 hours ago via txt

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The Wiz: we’re definitely NOT in Kansas. about 10 hours ago via txt

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We’re going to see The Wiz in the park. How appropriate after a beer tasting festival! about 11 hours ago via txt

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Organic beer tasting festival and movie in the park or Netflix movie and warm comfy jammies? What would YOU decide? about 13 hours ago via web

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Too much chocolate after hiking… about 13 hours ago via txt

* Delete

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Stick a fork in me. I’m done hiking. Nice weather. No bugs, but hot tub is calling. about 14 hours ago via txt

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You’ve seen 1 mansion you’ve seen them all. Prob was THIS 1 was CLOSED!!!!! about 16 hours ago via txt

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Um…Pittock Mansion CLOSED 30 MINUTES AGO while we were hiking the wildwood trail!!! about 16 hours ago via txt

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If you don’t hear from me in 30 min. Send out a search party on the Wildwood trail… about 16 hours ago via txt

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Seen one tree seen them all. I’d rather be drinking a latte. about 17 hours ago via txt

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Then maybe i’d wear hiking clothes & not care if i’m SWEATING in 70 degrees. about 17 hours ago via txt

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Next time tell me we have to hike 2 miles up the stinkin mt. To get to the mansion. about 17 hours ago via txt

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The Pittock Mansion better be worth this looong hike. about 17 hours ago via txt

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Wish my camera was a smellophone. about 19 hours ago via txt

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Inhale deep. Can you smell the fragrance of the Portland rose garden… about 19 hours ago via txt

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Taking care of some nail maintenance, then seeing sites in Portland. about 21 hours ago via txt

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I’m at the top of the world looking down on creation…okay…Portland! about 21 hours ago via txt

Rocky Mountain Foothills Denver

I’m having trouble loading pictures to my blog because the files are too big, but click here to follow the rest of my trip!

Denver has given me a lot of firsts.

Driving into Denver was a lesson in self control and driving safety as I couldn’t help gaze upon the mountains in the distance while singing “America…” Thankfully Danica did the driving around town and I was able to soak in the wonder and beauty of the mountains. Seeing the foothills of the Rocky Mountains up close and then driving through them was an awesome sight.  I wish I could have spent more times outdoors at the foothills. Nature truly is God’s cathedral and I would have loved to soak in his presence. Maybe on another trip…

Another first came when Susan May Warren arrived and the girls went out swing dancing. It’s been one of my goals to learn to dance swing, ball room etc, and though I had no clue of the steps and was wearing the wrong shoes, I was nervous and eager to try. The coolest thing about the swing dance club, was that it wasn’t a “club” at all. No creepy guys (well, mostly) no tacky pick up lines, just people having fun dancing and listening to the music of the good old days. Since we were guyless, Happily-married-Susie (whose favorite dance partner, her husband, was at home,) gave us a few pointers in getting a guy to ask us for a dance.

“Look needy!” she said. And it worked for her. It also helped sitting closest to the dance floor. After Susie was whisked off a couple of times we dubbed it the “pick up chair” and we each took our turn and got our dances. A simple extended hand and a “would you like to dance?” was all it took to get us on the dance floor. Young, old, cute and creepy, no one was denied…well, I actually pushed a few guys toward my friends when I needed a break and knew they wanted to dance.

Keeping my shoes on was the hardest part of swing. Word of advice: Don’t wear sandals! I always started the dance with an “I’m new at this” or “I’m not very good” or “this is my first time swing dancing.” But that didn’t seem to deter them. The steps were basic, except when the guy decided to push me around…but don’t worry, that’s part of the fun though one time I got accused of being a modern girl for “leading,” but in my defense he was putting me in a spin and I had no clue which was to go!

Watching was even more fun than dancing. It’s one thing to know the steps and go through the motions, it’s another thing to add some flair and personality to your dance. It was awe inspiring to watch dance partners who obviously had danced together before. The way the girl was easily lead by her partner and knew just what to do with a simple tap of the shoulder or push into a spin. I know there’s an analogy for life and marriage in there, but I’ll save that for another time.

But the most impactful moment of the night was watching an “awkward” middle-aged man stand on the sidelines, watching and dancing, trying to simulate the steps. My heart went out to him. I don’t know why I’m a sucker for a lost and lonely soul, but that’s how he seemed to me.

Silently I prayed and hoped he would have the courage to ask someone to dance, yet the night went on and though he moved around the room no girl was on his arm.

I joked to Susie that she should ask him to dance, though my heart just wanted to see this man, who God loved and all his socially awkwardness, part of the dance community and not a wallflower. Well, my prayers were answered. He sauntered over with an extended hand, reached out to Susie in the pick up chair and got his dance. Then later, he extended a hand to me and eventually made his way around the table.

His dancing was just as off beat as his soul probably was, and though I didn’t preach to him, I hope he felt the love of God in that one dance. Keeping in step with him was hard, but we had fun dancing and chatting about our own lack of rhythm. I don’t know what this man’s life circumstances were, but in that room it didn’t matter. On that dance floor he was accepted, though not as light on his feet like the other dancers on the floor, his soul was just as precious to God.

Maybe this man was part of my journey.

Maybe this trip isn’t just about me, but about opening my eyes and helping me focus beyond myself and my little life. Whatever the reason for my journey, I’m going to be looking for more people who might be waiting for someone to ask them to dance.

Hopefully, I’ll be bold enough to extend my hand.

I know that’s not how the song goes, but it being my last day in Denver, it’s on my mind.

The beautiful, breathtaking Rocky Mountains which makes me question my sanity for living in the flat lands.

The fun time I’ve had with friends Danica, Jessie and Susie.

The wonderful teaching I got at the Master’s Seminar which gives me hope that, God willing, this next novel I write could be the one!

I’ll be posting on each of these subjects over the next couple of days and uploading photos, but right now I’m getting ready to go on my next leg of this journey which I’ve dubbed “My midlife road trip.” I’ll be blogging about that later as well, but if I had to put it in a tag line maybe it would go some thing like this “Sometimes you have to leave home in order to find your way back.”

I’m not saying this is anything like a midlife crisis, more like a retreat for my soul. Amidst the fun and the sightseeing, I’m hoping for a rejuvenation for my soul, reconnect with God and possible new direction or insight on this next chapter in my life.

Whatever happens along the way, it’s all good and in the words of my good friend Georgianna “Good Times, Good Times!”

We took a drive through the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.

Breathtaking! Nuff said!

Categories: Viva Vacation |June 17th, 2010 | No Comments

755 miles later and I’ve arrived safely in Denver! It was a pretty uneventful trip (thanks for the prayers.) Mostly overcast for the first 300 miles, but NO rain!! And the roads were empty. At times there were only a few cars in front of me. I guess summer travel has not begun yet and that’s fine with me. Hope the roads are empty for the next three weeks!

So how about the interesting stuff? About an hour into the trip I realized I’d forgotten my pillow! Wah! Then when the radio faded out I reached for my book on tape, Jody Picoult’s Tenth Cirlce and realized the tape player didn’t work. So I detoured to Walmart, found a really old fashioned tape player, and it worked fine…as long as it was on my lap so I could hear it! That was in the first four hours…I have eight more to go. Not sure where all the time went, but between the book on tape and the hour long chat with a friend, I made it. A little sore in the back and neck, but I made it!

Last time I was in Denver I never got to see the mountains. Today as I drove along I 70, I couldn’t take my eyes off of them (which was why I was weaving all over the road!) Talk about beautiful and majestic. I couldn’t help but sing “America” as I drove along side them! Yes, I did sing! No one else was in the car.

As I type this I’m still getting my road trip legs…I still feel like I’m moving, but it’s all good. I’m here. The drive was great without arguing kids (though I miss them, truly), and I’m ready for some rest, relaxation and rejuvenation!!!

Note to self: Take photos of the mountains and post them!

All my bags aren’t packed, I’m not ready to go. A load of laundry I still need to do…okay, that’s my feeble attempt at rewriting the words to the song, leaving on a jet plane…

Can’t believe my trip is finally here! In two days I’ll be headed out and I covet your prayers for traveling mercies, great weather, and NOT getting lost! Tonight I hope to finish getting my house and laundry in order so I can pack my suitcase and spend some time with the family. I’m sure the full impact of three weeks away hasn’t hit any of us. It’s the first time I’ll be away for more than five days and while I’ve got everything worked out on paper, I’m sure I’ll be going over their schedules in my head and making phone calls, sending out text reminders, and skyping.

Three weeks gone.

I know my boys will do fine and hopefully will love the unlimited Wii, computer and tv time they’ll no doubt have, but my little girl is the one I’m worried about the most. She’s definitely a mama’s girl and loves to play with friends’. Thankfully she’ll be going to a day camp for the first two weeks when I’m gone. I’m sure she’ll be having too much fun to worry too much about me, until bedtime. Usually she sleeps with my pillow when I’m away, but I’ll be packing it and told her she could sleep with my pillow case. She loves to be close to my scent. Awww, that just makes my heart melt. I hope she doesn’t grow up too much while I’m gone.

I’ll be posting about my travels while I’m away, and trying to put up videos on Youtube or facebook!

What’s the longest you’ve been away from your family and how do you keep in touch while you’re away?

I’m here on a family vacation, and I’m already thinking about my summer road trip where I will spend two weeks (more if I can manage it) on the road visiting some of my favorite online friends! Jealous? Well, this has been a trip in the making for about two years. For my 40th birthday I wanted to go somewhere with friends, maybe a cruise, but alas it was too difficult to pull off, not to mention expensive, so the idea of the road trip was born. I let it marinate for a year or so and then started to leak the word… planned my route, and I’m off! Well, not until sometime in the summer! Not sure the exact date, but here’s the plan. If you’re a reader or writer friend and are “on the route,” I’d love to connect somehow. Here’s the tentative itenarary:

Wichita, KS to Denver, Colorado

Denver to Yellowstone Park

Yellowstone to  Southern Idaho

Idaho to Portland, Oregon…to the coast

Oregon Coast down California…

California to Grand Canyon, Arizona

Arizona to Texas, maybe…

So there you have it! My road trip! And a much needed vacation after this family vacation!

This month has been crazy, and in another post I’ll go into a little more detail about all the exciting stuff that happened this summer, but for starters my daughter and I just returned from an overnight trip to Charlotte to tape a show for the Raggs PBS children’s show. It was fun and furious and we’re both exhausted, but school started yesterday and there’s no more time for vacations. Luckily, we got to sleep in this morning!

My perfect vacation right now would be a beach house retreat!  We’ve toyed with the idea of timeshares over the years, but could never get over the high maintenance fees which alone could pay for a fun vacation! Plus, as nice as the resort atmosphere sounds, truth is, we’re too much of a siteseeting family to really enjoy the resort. But I recently came across a website that lists a whole bunch of vacation rental homes across the us and abroad. It seems perfect!

I browsed some of the homes and I started to drool. The homes were gorgeous, and honestly not much more than a night in a fancy hotel. Plus, if you went in with a family and rented for the week, it’s a very affordable vacation.

Check out this 3 bedroom beach home rental in Oregon. If only I lived closer! How about this Texas beach condo!

What’s neat about this website is you pick a state and a map pops up like in google and you just click on the marker to where you’d like to go. Then all the information you need to make your decisions is a click away. Of course, not all the rentals are by the beach and the next time the family needs to take a trip somewhere this site will be our first stop to finding a great place to call home away from home.

I never got to take my 40th birthday trip with friends this year because no one could go! I know, pathetic. I either need more friends or friends with more money! Maybe both;) But I’d still love to get away with some girl friends to a beach home one of these years! Are you game?

Maybe if I start planning now, all chip in for my 45! But I sure home I don’t have to wait that long!

How did I ever manage raising my kids without the internet? I guess I relied on friends’ advice, books, and magazine articles, but the internet is so much more convenient and available. I’m so glad my children are old enough to travel well, except for an occasional tummy ache and need to stretch their legs, but if yours aren’t check out BabySafeTravel.com.

Not only is the site filled with great tips, travel accessories, and a baby travel blog, it’s a one stop place to book your vacation. Looking for kid friendly hotels? Just type in your destination and dates and in a matter of seconds you have pages of hotel choices. Price, amenities, and 5 star reviews on baby friendliness are available at the click of a button. This really could have saved our family so much stress years ago!

Ready for vacation, but not sure what to pack? Check out the baby boutique  filled with useful, unique travel products. And I just love the baby travel blogs. Beach Baby, Adventure Baby, Snow Baby and Wild Baby blogs that give real families a chance to share their adventures and tips. Traveling is an adventure in itself, thankfully Baby Safe Travel makes it that much more enjoyable!

My best friend from college suprised me this week for a visit and told me about her travels through China. She said Shanghai is a must see! Though she stayed at hostels, I’d prefer a resort like this!

The Sofitel Huanghe Sheshan Resort in Shanghai is a 5 star luxury hotel and has a unique mediterranean decor and everything to make the family happy. There’s swimming, a spa, tennis, and even golf! But the best is it’s affordable. But usually when we vacation, we hardly spend time at the hotel because we’re out seeing the sites. If we went to Shanghai, that would probably be the case and the Accor Hotels City Super Sale has even more affordable hotels to choose from. I only wish I could go between July 10 and September 30, 2009 because I’d be able to save 60% but I’d need to book on-line this week from 23 – 29 June. Hey, if you haven’t made travel plans this summer, you could take advantage of this great deal! Just remember to send me a postcard!

My friend said Shanghai blends modern technology with the ancient world. The Bund strip is a must see. Early in the morning you can see all the older people doing Tai Chi, sword and fan dances, and aerobics everywhere! That would be so cool to see! We could also catch a Chinese acrobat show, and if we timed it right and went during the New Moon festival she said it would be worth it just to taste the special festival cookies!

Other stops on her must see list include The Pearl tower, and the famous tea house in the heart of the old city. You can sit by the window in this Pagoda surrounded by a moat canal and watch the people. She said presidents or heads of state always go there. But she liked it because it was a respite from the busy city and you can only get there on foot. It’s famous for its Jasmine tea where the Jasmine blossom opens when hot water is poured on it. She says the aroma is amazing.

I love to travel, and Asia wasn’t really on my list until I talked with my friend, and I’m so glad she told me about it. I’m already dreaming about the day when my last child is in college and me and hubby can travel the world. I only hope we have the money and the world is travelable!!!

It seems like it’s the never ending winter and thanks to the Ground Hog, there’ll be six more weeks! I could really use a vacation to warmer weather, how about you?

Because we still have TWO homes (please pray we sell quickly, like yesterday!) not sure we’ll be getting away this year, but if we do, we’re probably headed to Orlando for another playdate with family and Disney. We skipped Disney last year because we went the year before, and well, it is expensive! But I’m ready for the magic again and the best way to afford the magic is with Discount Disney World Tickets.

My writing friend just went there for her son’s wedding! How magical would that be? A ride in Cinderella’s carriage. With family in Florida and Orlando, I’ve never ever stayed on Disney property. Sometimes we’d rent a hotel suite or go on one of those timeshare tours, but I’d love to be close to the action. They say the Disney hotels are just as fun as the theme parks.

My RIL (real life friend) says I should write an ebook on how to do Disney. I’m a planner, unlike my writing May hour by hour schedule may drive my family crazy, BUT they get to see EVERYTHING! And we’re always prepared for the rain!

Okay, I better stop before I depress myself! Even if we did go, it wouldn’t be until May or September. I’ve been to Disney in the Summer, standing in lines FOREVER and I’ll never do it again! Enough talk. I’m going to peak at Discount Disney World Tickets and hope I don’t bust!

Just had to come back and tell you that the Disney tickets don’t expire! Read for yourself! “Magic Your Way Tickets with the No Expiration Option never expire. So any unused days will be valid forever!” How cool is that?

What’s your favorite Disney Theme Park? Mine is Animal Kingdom. But I love the Magic Kingdom, MGM, EPCOT, and I think there’s a new one. Guess I’ll just have to go and find out for myself!

I’ve really been meaning to write so more details about our trip to Orlando, visiting the Holy Land (in Orlando,) St. Augustine and drinking from the Fountain of Youth. But these photos will have to suffice for now!

ICRS: Meeting great authors and cool friends!

Susan May Warren, prolific writer and blogger at Writer…Interrupted

Amy Wallace, Me, Mark Myhneir, Marlo Schalesky

 

Meeting the President, er John Morgan

Meeting Kirk Cameron, really! It was late and we all were exhausted!

And seeing the premiere of  FireProof

Hubby got a kick out of seeing this road sign and made me take a photo of it!

St. Augustine, Florida Day One

Swimming in the ocean, wave jumping and

collecting sea shells. We came home with four small bags to add to our collection over the years

which is turning into a small beach!

Islands of Adventure Day Two

We picked a winner of a day to go! Hardly any wait on the lines and the weather was a pleasant 80 degrees!

Hanging with cousins!

Grace didn’t want to take a picture with Shrek, so I did,

and SHE took the picture! Pretty darn good, even though I wasn’t looking!

Dunah, Dunah, Dunah, Dunah, Dunah… Gottcha, Grace! All the kids posed in the mouth of JAWS!

The Holy Land, Orlando

Parting the Red Sea

Hanging with the Hebrews!

 

Can you say “Cheesy?”

 

But we thoroughly enjoyed the shows, especially musical resurrection reenactment and the worship through the ages! I really felt the spirit of God at the end, and couldn’t help but have church, maybe it’s because on vacation we sort of missed going!  The Scriptorium was awesome! Rooms and rooms full of authentic Bibles through the ages, dating way back and written by monks in Hebrew and other languages.

We drank from the Fountain of Youth and it tasted bitter, like sulfur, but Ponce DeLeon thought it tasted sweet! Can’t imagine what the water on the boat tasted like!

Did you know the average European was 4 foot 6 inches and Ponce DeLeon was tall at 4 foot 11 inches. When he got to Florida and met the native Indians there who lived well into their 60s and 70s (average European lived to mid 30s) and were much taller, the thought he had found the Fountain of Youth. But it was actually the Indians healthy way of life and they didn’t have the disease the Europeans had. Ponce DeLeon shipped the Fountain of Youth Water back to Europe and drank it the rest of his life, which was very long, into his 60s when he died in an Indian fight (I think) and not of old age!

Those are the highlights! Maybe one day I’ll get around to putting the photos in an album!

 

 

 

I can’t believe I kept you all hanging from my last post about Universal! Life’s been really busy, but I’ll have to save that post for when things are official. Suffice to say, I’m packing up to move.

So day two Universal/Islands of Adventure!

Hubby woke up with his first case of vertigo and said he couldn’t accompany me, my four kids, 16 year old brother and two cousins 12 and 14 (all boys except Grace) to the theme park. I felt a little panicked but determined to go back to the park without hubby especially since it was our last day in Orlando and I had not ridden any roller coasters.

I can’t remember the details, but I was a tad stressed, and hubby felt a tad better as the morning preparations took longer than usually, so he decided to go with us. BIG SIGH!

After we picked up the two cousins at the parking gate to avoid my cousin having to pay $12 for parking (she’s a single mom with a dead beat almost-ex, and was dropping her boys off to spend the day with us!) we headed to the HULK while hubby and the little guys went to some other part of Islands of Adventure. Chris decided to sit the Hulk out because he got sick the last time on a different roller coaster.

Half way through the line, there was something over the load speaker talking about a malfunction…but it sounded too much like the cartoon video and noise playing on the monitors that I didn’t realize it was for real until people started leaving. So we headed to Spiderman…

VERY COOL… virtual roller coaster. We headed to the Dueling Dragons FIRE next and rode it three or four times in a row. We quickly learned if we went into the SINGLE rider line we got on way faster and we weren’t that far apart. In fact, most times at least two of us got to sit together, sometimes three of us!

The last ride on the Deuling Dragons was pretty scary, not because of all the turns and flips, but because at the end of the ride we stopped before the unloading dock. In the distance we heard the screams of people on the next roller coaster…the one right behind us. We were locked in, suspended, and waiting to be impaled by the fangs of the Dragon behind us and the worst part was that we all sat in the LAST two rows. We start there for what seemed like several minutes, waiting for the crash, feeling a little panicked and wishing our legs were long enough so we could do the Fred Flintstone run, but it finally started up again, and our heart rate returned to normal. We all agreed, THAT was the scariest part of the ride!

After lunch I took Grace to the water area in Dr. Seuss Land while the boys rode some more roller coasters. Then we went to Universal and I went with the big boys to the Mummy and hubby took Grace and Timmy to Jimmy Neutron.

We did the single passenger again and scatted past all the others to the end.

The wait time was not even ten minutes! The Mummy was GREAT, and I think a better thrill than Deuling Dragons. We rode the Mummy a few times and then headed over to Twister, but Hubby was still stuck in Jimmy Neutron, it seems it was broken down for 20 minutes while they were in there.

Other highlights were the MIB alien ride, and the E.T. ride. The kids rode it more than once and got a kick out of giving the man at the beginning a FALSE name because at the end ET says goodbye

to you. The funny thing about this ride is that Grace refused to look, though it was very mild and not scary. She just doesn’t like ET and she usually doesn’t scare easily. Though at the end there was an opportunity to get a picture with ET in a studio and she said, “Mommy, I’ll take a picture if you really want me to!”

What a sweetie! But I wasn’t about to shell out more money. I forgot to mention the first day I was with Grace I wanted to take a picture of her with Shrek, but she refused. Instead, I let HER take a photo of me and Shrek. It’s in the last post and came out pretty good!

So we had a wonderfully second day, even though the temperature was about 10-20 degrees hotter and it didn’t rain. That Souvenir cup came in real handy and one thing that didn’t cost us any money was water! They gave it to us with cups of ice at the drink stands!

When we go to Orlando, which seems to be every other year, we do all things Disney. We heard Universal was for older kids and since our kids were young, we passed on Universal. Now that my two oldest are 13 and 11, we thought it was time for Universal and since we had done Disney LAST year (really wasn’t planning on coming back so soon…) we thought everyone would had fun.

So we checked the weather, we packed the rain ponchos, and headed out with my dad and brother (16.) We started at Islands of Adventure since it was supposed to rain in the afternoon and most of Universal is inside. I went with my dad and Grace to Dr. Seuss Land while my hubby, popping Dramamine, took the boys on the rollercoasters. Thanks to fairly short lines, we did Dr. Seuss Land in an hour. Unfortunately, there were only four rides. The carosell, One Fish, Two Fish ride strangely familiar to Dumbo in the Magic Kindgom, an over head train trolley (which had the longest line and we passed on,) and the Cat and the Hat ride.

When we were done, we met the boys at the Sinbad show. It was a little loud and scary for Grace, but she huddled close to her daddy. The boys told us about the Deuling Dragons and how Timmy was too small to ride. I really wanted to ride, but knew we would be back another day and everyone was hungry.

We ate pizza at the Fantastic Four Cafe and shared our refill cup between us. By then my dad had gone home and we headed to Universal as the rain started to fall.

We pulled out our rain ponchos and made our way to Shrek 4-D. It was something the entire family could do. Then Grace and I went to Jimmy Neutron and the boys went to The Mummy. Waiting for the boys, Grace spied a rock climbing brick wall and begged me to let her climb. For $5 she got to climb three times (it was only supposed to be two, but she later told me she asked the lady if she could climb again) and I got one happy little girl. The boys found us and tried their spiderman skills as well.

Next was Jaws. It wasn’t too scary for the kids! Then off to Fievel’s play ground and water slide and Woody Woodpecker’s rollercoaster. It was pretty fun for a kiddie rollercoaster. We somehow made it out of the park without buying a souvenir. Probably because I told them we could look on the last day.

By the time we left the park, half of us had sore feet, and all of us were exhausted. But we had fun and got to scope out the good rides for when we’d return the next day.

I woke at the crack of dawn, showered, dressed and started waking everyone up only to hear the familiar groans of kiddos complaining about being too tired and wanting to stay home! I almost didn’t believe my ears. Kids NOT wanting to go to an amusement park and me, mom, begging, for them to go so I could ride the rollercoasters. But in the end the majority ruled and we decided to go back our last day.

I was a little leery of the plan. What if something came up? And it did! My husband woke and informed me he wouldn’t be able to go with me. He had spent the entire night battling vertigo. I would have to take my four kids, two cousins and one brother to the park. By. My. Self.

But I’ll save that story for another day!