Orlando, Day 5: Amazing flight luck!

No, I'm not talking about landing in the Hudson ... we had some excellent luck getting on overbooked flights on our way home. While that's not quite as incredible as flight 1549, we were pretty happy to get home on overbooked flights we thought we'd never get on.

The non-stop flight from Orlando to Phoenix was way too full, so we decided to try going through Charlotte instead. The first flight we tried was overbooked too, but we took the long shot and actually got on! We stopped in Charlotte, had lunch and watched part of the inauguration, then tried another overbooked flight to Phoenix. Even though this one looked even more full, we managed to get on and get seats next to each other. Truly amazing!

Thanks to the Eggert family for a fantastic time!

Orlando: Magic Kingdom, Take 2

Since we found ourselves in Orlando for another day, Tracie convinced me that we should take advantage of the opportunity and go back to Disney World for another visit. So, back we went! The weather was warmer than it was on Friday, so we were able to leave our jackets behind.

We went on all of our favorites again...Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain Railroad, the Haunted Mansion and three more rides on Pirates of the Caribbean. Splash Mountain was open again, so we did that twice and got thoroughly soaked each time!

Orlando, day 4: we're still here!

We were scheduled to leave Orlando on Monday morning. However, Monday was MLK Day and flights filled up. After looking at all possible flight options, we decided that there was very little chance we'd get home. So, we did what any sane people would do when stuck in Orlando for a day ... we extended our hotel room by another night and headed back to Disney World! That's right, we did it again.

Tracie was so excited about going back, she was actually giddy. "Giddy" isn't a word you acutally use often, but this was one time it definitely applied. We had a fabulous time once again, going on all of our favorite rides as much as possible. We went on Pirates of the Caribbean another three times, for a total of six rides in two visits to the park. We even headed over to Fantasyland for a ride on the most classic of Disney rides, It's A Small World. Surprisingly, the repetition of the song didn't annoy us as much as soothed us to sleep. I never realized how much a slow ride through there can knock you out.

We finished off our second Disney adventure with more pineapple soft serve in Adventureland. Seriously, that stuff is yummy!

Orlando, Day 3: Game Day

On Sunday, we all decided to take it easy in the morning, but get together in the afternoon at the Eggerts to watch the Cardinals take on the Eagles in the NFC Championship. Tracie and I spent part of the morning at a coffee shop we found in a nice little shopping district which wasn't all that far from our hotel. We did what we usually do when relaxing over coffee...we played cards. It was a nice morning, but the most interesting part of the day was yet to come.

Matthias had promised to make us his amazing grilled salmon, despite knowing that Tracie does not like fish at all. The salmon was marinated in a mixture consisting of, among other things, brown sugar and horseradish. It sounds crazy, but the salmon was absolutely amazing! Tracie actually liked it. Had the Cardinals not won the game, this would have been the most shocking part of the evening.

After dinner, we finished watching the football game. Despite the heart-stopping moments in the second half, we kept watching and were rewarded with the greatest Cardinals moment since they arrived in the Valley. Last year we had the Super Bowl, this year our team is IN the Super Bowl?! If you'd told this to anyone 10 years ago, they would have thought you were completely out of your mind.

After the game and more fun playing with baby S, we all decided it was time to call it an evening. Since we thought we were going to be flying home in the morning, we said our goodbyes to the Eggert family and headed back to the hotel. I checked on the flights and found that there was really no way we were going to get home. Since Monday was MLK Day, all of the flights were completely full and we figured that our chances of getting anywhere were slim. Fortunately, I'd already planned to take Tuesday off. Instead of giving up our hotel room and making a futile attempt to get home, we decided to just stay another day and treat ourselves to another day at the Magic Kingdom!

Orlando...Park Day

Like the title would imply, we visited parks today. We slept in a little this morning and on Niki's urging, we grabbed some breakfast before we headed out for "breakfast with them". I know, sounds a little odd, but trust me, it was a great choice.

We headed to De Leon Springs, which is a state park with a natural spring and a fantastic restaurant in an old sugar mill. The restaurant has do-it-yourself pancakes that you cook on griddles built into each table. It's like mixing The Melting Pot with breakfast in a rustic old building. This is a seriously happenin' park ... the wait for breakfast was 2+ hours! We had a good time enjoying the natural beauty of the area while killing time. We took a walk around a nature trail and watched baby S playing in the park.

The pancakes really were worth the wait! Each table gets two pitchers of pancake batter; one with white flour batter and one with a mix of 5 whole grains. You also can order any of several toppings to add to your pancakes ... we chose peanut butter and chocolate chips. After making several different combinations of batters and toppings, Tracie found her new favorite: peanut butter with honey instead of maple syrup!

After finishing a VERY filling breakfast, we headed to Blue Spring State Park, which has another natural spring and is the winter home of many manatees. If you've never seen a manatee, they're difficult to describe, but Floridians call them sea cows. They're quite large animals, but enjoy the shallow, warm water that flows out of the springs and into the St. Johns River. It's a great place for them to go to calve. Another thing that we found amazing was that the manatees stayed under water for 8 minutes, and then popped up for merely a split second for a breath...then it's down again.

After some fun observation and picture time, we headed back to our respective "homes" for a little rest. We met back at Casa de Eggert that evening for dinner. They have an absolutely beautiful home that, looks out on to a lake...for you Phoenicians, it's an honest-to-goodness lake, with water, and not man-made....I know, we were shocked too!

We had a great night...pizza, beer and lots of laughter!

Orlando Day 2

Niki and Matthias picked us up at 8 a.m. and we headed to breakfast at the "world famous" Panera. There was no way we could miss this grand opportunity, since everyone we know who lives anywhere near a Panera is completely enamored by its charms. Breakfast was great and we got to enjoy some time with baby S. 

After dropping S off at school we headed to Walt Disney World...by far "the happiest place on earth"....this isn't just an advertising scheme people, it is physically IMPOSSIBLE to frown at this place, even if it's seriously cold!

We began our Disney adventure on Space Mountain. I was a little nervous, but the back made it through... hip Hip HOORAY!!!!!! We made it around the park and hit pretty much every ride we loved, including three runs on Pirates of the Caribbean...yup, it was a favorite for all. Splash Mountain was closed, but we were all so cold that we didn't really care. We also introduced the Eggert clan to the super-yummy pineapple whip that Matt and I never miss when at a Disney park. If you have never had it, it's in Adventureland and is the greatest treat...pineapple whip is one of those things that you can only get at Disney, so please give it a try if you have the opportunity....you owe it to yourself.

We stayed until after the fireworks...didn't watch them, but got in some great rides and dinner, hopped on the monorail and back to the car. We were all completely exhausted, but incredibly happy!

On the Road Again

We headed out this morning in the hopes of getting on a flight sometime today to Orlando...as luck would have it, we got the only two available seats on the very first flight we tried...YIPPEE! It was really uneventful which was almost surprising given that we had the entire UA pomline on the flight...is it really possible to be THAT peppy all the time?

Anyway, we arrived in Orlando at about 4 p.m., picked up the rental car and headed out in search of food. We ended up at Denny's because it was close and we were starving ;)

The true adventures begin tomorrow...we're meeting Niki and Matthias bright and early and headed out for a day of fun at Walt Disney World.