Gift, Gaffs, and Giraffes

This week started with a delivery of a package from Bonnie as a thank you gift for hosting her visit.  I told her that a gift was not necessary since her gift of friendship to us was more than enough.  We were astounded to find inside the package two sets of glasses delicately etched with palm trees (which is our "theme" for Gladys' decor). We want to thank Bonnie very much and to let her know that we will think of her each time that we use them.

One of the palm tree glasses that now is home on
my dining room wine rack shelf.

Of course, much of our late-day Monday was taken up with watching news coverage of the Boston Marathon bombing.  Again, the predominate question is, "Why?"  What purpose was served through the murder and maiming of innocent victims? What motivation prompted such senseless, violet acts? We may never know, but I suspect at this point that this act was not political in nature.  It was, sadly, probably the manifestation of a mental illness that no one noticed or gave enough attention to.  The police do not have an answer yet; hopefully, when they do we will begin to recognize those suffering from mental illness and to do something to protect us all.

Early Tuesday morning we packed our bags and drove east to Disney World.  We have season passes, so we wanted to visit Disney Hollywood Studio and Disney Animal Kingdom.   We arrived early to Hollywood Studios but still had to take a long walk from the parking lot before we got into the park. While the weather was great and the park was not really terribly crowded, on the whole we were disappointed with the park.  For example, we went to one attraction called the Great Movie Ride which was supposed to highlight the "best" movies made. Many of the movies were from the 1920's and 1930's, and a few of them were far from well-known.  While the movie was a great way to get into air conditioning and to get off our feet, the attraction itself was sadly outdated.

Actors from the stage production of "Beauty and the Beast" share
a quiet moment in this Disney musical production.

Other attractions were educational or fun to watch.  Disney does a great job with stage shows, musicals, and stunt shows. No surprisingly, the combination of film and live action made some of the most interesting attractions. Strangely enough, the most fun that we had was at Toy Story Mania which is an arcade-type shot 'em up game that people play against one another.  Rick's score was five times higher than mine, so he had fun gloating at me about that for a while. As usual, we old folks avoided things like upside-down roller coasters and falling 13 stories in an elevator in the Tower of Terror.  Those attractions are best left to the young who have strong backs and hearty stomachs.

A German soldier tries to capture Indian Jones while his female
accomplice urges him to climb onto the wing of a moving plane
in the Indiana Jones Stunt Show.

We left the park in mid-afternoon to check into our hotel room 11 miles away in Davenport. Because we were there on a Tuesday night, we got our room at the Holiday Inn Express for $62.72 and we had a king bed, a couch, a microwave and refrigerator, a desk, a large chair, and a full bathroom.  This was the kind of room that would have cost us almost $300 a night if we had stayed at a Disney Resort, so driving 11 short miles saved us over $200.

We had a large dinner (is there any other kind?) at Cracker Barrel and then returned to the park for Fantasmic, their evening laser/film/live action show.  The show was really spectacular, but I am sure the volume of the sound effects and music damaged the hearing of some of the younger children there, and some of the images of Mickey Mouse' "nightmare" probably gave those same little ones a true nightmare later that evening. Sadly, none of my pictures turned out from the performance.

Our escape from the parking lot after the show was surprisingly easy, and we were able to return to our hotel in good time.  The hotel was very quiet, so the adequate bed gave us a fairly restful night.

Breakfast this morning at the hotel got us off to an early start.  Record high temperatures (high 80s - low 90s) were predicted for today, but a good breeze, lots of sunscreen (thanks, Stephanie, for the Vanicreme 60 SPF), and a well-designed Animal Kingdom park with lots of shaded waiting areas made today very pleasant.  Rick and I both agree that the Animal Kingdom, so far, has been our favorite park.

Some of the birds in the park, like this plumed crane, were
magnificent.  We really enjoyed the wildlife that could be
seen at every turn.

Although the crowds were greater than yesterday, we still were able to get into most attractions without long waits.  That being said, we both have suffered from Vertigo, so we tend to avoid those rides that are roller-coster in nature or those that promise to get a rider very, very wet.

The giraffe was a little shy, trying to blend into
his hiding place among the trees.

These two hippos knew how to keep their cool.

The Tree of Life in the center of the park has intricate carvings of
dozens of animals.

A mama monkey cradles her baby as she hangs from her jungle home.

While Hollywood Studio is supposed to be all about entertainment, we found the shows at Animal Kingdom even better.  Their stage production of Finding Nemo was imaginative and cute, the show with live birds was educational, and the stage production of the Lion King was spectacular.  Disney does know how to put on a good show.  The costumes, actions, vocals, and stage sets are all first rate, and Disney has made a science of moving people in and out of places, so nothing became tedious or bogged down today.

Our trip to Disney for the last two days was our "vacation" for this winter.  We have had the pleasure of enjoying the snowless/ iceless winter here in Florida, and we look forward to seeing some other parts of this colorful state when we return here in the fall.  We bought Gladys as a refuge from the cold, and we intend to use her as a home base for many years to come as we continue to learn how to finally relax and enjoy our retirement.