It's Just Us..: 2011

September 8-11, 2011

Covey-lovey trip..

{a sad Covey-lovey trip.. down to 2 couples, who ironically live about 20 minutes away from each other!}

{yes, Andersons.. You. Were. Missed.}

Davy & I arrived in Austin early in the afternoon, so we decided to head straight for San Antonio and the Alamo!

..a really cool tree on the grounds of the Alamo..

..its branches all touched the ground..

The River Walk..

Now, back to Austin..

{Curt & Shana arrived about midnight..}

Texas State Capitol..

Davy & Davy {Crockett}

The hinges of the Capitol Building..

So pretty!

Outside!

{we learned the Capitol Building & Visitor Center close ridiculously early}

..don't worry, we'll come back tomorrow..

From here we headed to "The Co-op"

We would call it "The Bookstore"

Let's just say, I've never seen anything like this in my life!

I am positive it is possible to buy anything in burnt orange with a Texas logo..

Just a peek..

..polo shirt section..

..Halloween shirt section..

.."dress shirt" section..

..suitcase section..

..dress section..

..children's floor..

The souvenirs covered 2 huge floors..

Apparently the books were in the basement..

Really..

Here's a tidbit:

Did you know Austin, TX has the world's largest urban bat population?

Well, they do!

Lining up on the Congress Street Bridge is a tourist attraction,

as everyone waits for dusk to see something like 11 million bats come out at night to feed..

..looking pretty excited to see bats..

..especially since I'm terrified of birds flying over my head..

Shana, Curt, & Davy waiting for the bats..

Here is a pathetic iPhone picture looking down at the bats..

So, I stole some off the internet so you could get an idea..

..crazy stuff!..

Day 2 Texas State Capitol:

These next 3 photos I would like to title:

"Fun in the Texas Capitol Visitor Center/

My husband lost his pride in the Texas Capitol Visitor Center"

On to Darrel K Royal - Texas Memorial Stadium!

The team arrives:

Coach Mendenhall

Jimmer {waving}

{had lots of other pictures, but I didn't see anyone else I recognized :)}

Me, Shana, and some Texas cheerleader dudes..

Nosebleed seats looking straight into the sun?

check

pregame

Let's just say, this wasn't the game of Davy & Curt's dreams..

There was a lot of wallowing in anger & agony after this game was through..

One place Texas didn't fail us??

Restaurants!!

I loved 'em all!!

This was a great one to finish with..

{can you say gingerbread pancakes??}

{somehow, Curt & Davy thought a good appetizer would be queso..

don't ask}

All that's left was heading home..

Was I happy to have a layover in Nashville??

Was I happy to be flying home on September 11th?

I think we all know the answer..

Davy informed me {back in June} that he was going to some kind of a distribution center conference {can you say par-tay?!} at the end of August..

Now, as if that doesn't sound fun in and of itself, it was being held at.. Walt Disney World.. {yes, I know..}

This, of course, sent the gears-a-turning in my head, since I really wanted to go along.. {I'm sure you're as shocked as I was..}

Pros:

*paying for ONE plane ticket {which, btw, was purchased with frequent-flier miles = $5..}

*free hotel

*being in Disney World

Cons:

*upset daughters

*first week of school for one, second week of school for the others

*angry children

*being in Disney alone..

*kids constantly reminding me how mean I am

*August in Florida

*sad, sad widdle girls

As you can see, the Pros FAR outweighed the Cons..

Keep in mind, this was a 4 days in the parks trip.. and for 1 whole and 2 half days I was all by myself. I'm not great at being by myself. I like to be with people, especially my family, and especially at Disney!! Still, I was excited..

August 28-September 1, 2011

I'm not so much going to do a travelogue as much as I'm going to write my observations/aka a "what I learned /snippets of what I did on this trip to WDW"

I learned - you don't take very many pictures when you're alone/just with Davy.. Though since I've been home I've regretted not getting a PhotoPass and just having a bunch of pictures taken by myself. Just cause I think it'd be funny.
Riding fast rides alone isn't very fun.
You {or I} spend a lot more money when I'm alone. {Maybe it was guilt?}
You can get weird looks when you're all by yourself on rides/hold up that "one" finger when they ask how many are in your party.
I have a new favorite Disney resort!! {Yacht Club - woot-woot!}
You get spoiled with a well located Disney resort and realize how much you hate riding Disney buses when you don't have to!! {woot!}
{just to clarify, I only had to ride a bus to get to Animal Kingdom. Epcot & Hollywood Studios were walkable, or there was a boat, and when you walk through Epcot, you can catch the Monorail to Magic Kingdom - heaven!}
As odd as it seems, the InstaCare that provides for Disney was the most amazing medical experience I've ever had.. Story time.. I woke up Tuesday morning {my full solo day} with that awful 'I'm pretty sure I have a UTI feeling' {sorry - tmi} I got ready and did a lot of pacing trying to decide what to do. I really debated toughing it out for a day, but realized I would be miserable, and just needed to get on an antibiotic. Stat. {a little medical jargon for you} Once I was ready, I pulled out the 'book' located in every hotel room to see what to do about needing a doctor visit. There was a phone number which I called, to hear a 'no longer in service' message. After a big *sigh* I called the front desk. They said there was a new number and they would connect me. I told the woman from the InstaCare my issues, and she said I would need to come in and a shuttle would be at my resort in 5 minutes to pick me up. 5 minutes? Wow! Luckily, all I had to do was grab my purse, and if you've stayed in a WDW resort, you know it can sometimes take at least 5 minutes just to walk to the lobby. I walked out the front doors of the hotel to see the van pulling up right in front of me. I enjoyed a very pleasant visit with the friendly driver. Once he dropped me off, {it was in a strip mall} I went in filled out paperwork, yadda-yadda-yadda, exam, you know the drill. Yes, I had a UTI, and they would give me a prescription. Would I like them to fill it in-house? Um, yes? How lovely not to have to go get a prescription filled! When I was finished the front desk lady called a shuttle for me that pulled up before I reached the sidewalk! This time I had a nice, but a little bit weird driver, but in a few minutes he was dropping me off, not back at my resort like I imagined but at Animal Kingdom!! What service! The best part?? I walked out of my hotel room at 8:59am and was dropped off at AK at 10:01am! One hour!! I've decided I've been spoiled forever!! {sorry, that was long!!}
Even though it was 90+ degrees with 90% humidity {ah, Florida} the whole trip, I learned it was MUCH more pleasant when it was overcast, which was all but a few hours..
Last week of August? Fantastic time to go.. No lines!
Quick story: {I got my iPhone 4 a week before this trip - important to know} One morning I was getting on Pirates of the Caribbean, and I happened to be the only person on my whole boat. I felt a little silly. I was also sitting on the front row. I decided to try to take a quick self-portrait to show me and my empty boat. Apparently, the iPhone has a FLASH! I was one of those annoying 'take-a-flash-picture-even-when-they-say-no-flash-photography' people! I was so embarrassed!! The worst part? I fiddled with my phone a second and tried again.. ya. The flash was still on! Luckily? the 3rd time was a charm, but none of the pictures really turned out.
Eating alone at Disney is awkward.
When you get back to your hotel room after an entire day alone, you talk your husband's ear off. I had no idea how much I missed talking all day.
New favorite quick place to eat! The Patisserie in France. I got my dinner, soda, and dessert for $11!! If you know Disney, this is a steal! {and it was yummy!} I ate there 3 times!
Vinylmation trading needs to be figured out. {Vinylmation are these Disney collectibles that are also tradable.. I love them and brought 6 to trade (when you buy them they are blind-boxed, you don't know what you're getting)} Almost every place you went they had the same traders. Isn't there a way to say, obviously no one wants these, lets replace a few!
Chelsea texts me hundreds of times a day. Except when I'm out of town. Then, when I need to talk and know what's going on, she's too busy..
I wore a pair of shoes I'd been purposely wearing every day for a month. I wanted to just bring one pair of shoes, and broke them in accordingly. I have never had blisters like I got in my life.. I'm still recovering. Really. I've never had my feet so torn up.
Haunted Mansion has been 'revamped' at the end. The hitchhiking ghost part? Amazing!
New Fantasyland construction makes me really excited. I may have squealed.
I was a little disappointed by the new Star Tours. Made me miss the old one.
Europeans must know that all the Americans have started school this week. I felt like a minority.
Disney is a lot more fun with someone else. Preferably a few 'someone else's'..

Photos?

..okay..

..first official picture..

I call it "Waiting for our boat, wishing my kids would answer me so I'd know they're awake and heading to school - with Disney' Boardwalk in the background"

Hollywood Studios

..ah, texting.. still..

..finally, on the phone with Chels..

..apparently, we had a lot to talk about..

..so glad Davy documented it..

..hey, look! Davy did come!

..boat from Hollywood Studios back to our hotel/Epcot..

..our resort - Disney's Yacht Club!!..

Alone in Animal Kingdom..

..riding Kilimanjaro Safaris..

We were so close to this rhino, the driver had to tell us multiple times not to reach out and touch it..

..new sky-walks on the safari..

{one of those new tours}

..if you've ever ridden this ride, you'll appreciate what a good view of a lion this is!

I rode the train out to Rafiki's Planet Watch..

Here, I witnessed a bird in surgery -

apparently it was attacked by another animal and its prognosis "wasn't good"

I have no idea what was happening here..

2 adult men wearing hats & tails {not employees} dancing around with these kids whacking them with their tails, and generally making a spectacle of themselves..

..pretty funny..