Please Go Quietly or You Might Disturb the Bunnies!! Nov. 12 - 18
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tcmary · 07-17-2012, 02:45 AM

Hello Everyone! It's been a while since we traveled and I'm finally getting around to making my scrapbook, so I'm here to tell you about our adventures.

I almost made this a solo business trip, but my DS caught me looking at the Disney website and begged me to take him and my DD along. This trip was planned in less than two months - with my final reservations (The Dessert Party) being booked an hour before we left for the airport! We are commando tourists at Disney, but very laid back when we head to other places. You'll find us at the MVMCP, celebrating birthdays

, stuffing ourselves silly, horseback riding, laughing hilariously and generally celebrating the magic whenever we could.

So, we are off to the Caribbean Beach, a first for us, for some fun in the sun. Our last few trips we have stayed at the Poly (and loved it) but since this was last minute, with not a lot of time to save, I decided to try a moderate and indulge in other areas. DD wanted a place with palm trees like the Poly and DS wanted to stay at Port Orleans because there were horses on site. DD kept begging, so I offered DS a compromise. He could go horseback riding at Disney if we stayed at the Caribbean.

So, it's me, celebrating my actual birthday in Disney, DS Eric, whose birthday was 2 weeks before and DD Abby,celebrating her birthday, which was just a couple of days before. We're leaving home my DH - working & DS - college. (I would say sorry guys, but they just don't have the Disney spirit that the rest of us have!!

) Also at home are the pets - an old, tired Golden Retriever and a very adorable bunny rabbit! You'll meet some of our other guests as I move along.

I am learning photobucket and I had some camera issues here, so you won't be able to see our 9,654,322 pictures until our first morning!

So, we are off! We were flying on a Satuday evening from Westchester to Orlando - all so my DH could hunt in the morning and take us to the airport in the afternoon. Those plans took a dive when he and DH decided a weekend away fishing should be in order. Since this was a last minute change in plans, I rented a car from Budget, which was extremely affordable, to get us to the airport. My dear friend gave me a lift to the car rental agency and I picked up a non descript car that I smacked my head on each time I got in and out. (Remember this for later!) It was really kind of pleasant to take our time getting ready. The kids cleaned the rabbit cage, left notes for our pet sitting friend, watched some Disney channel and got along better than I had ever seen! (It's amazing what a Disney vacation can do to a couple of kids.)

I announced it was time to go, so out we went with happy hearts! That was until I asked the kids to go stand by the car for a

and my camera wouldn't work.

The battery was dead. The one I had been charging all morning was just not cooperating. My kids know how insane I am about taking pictures, so they knew best to quietly get in the car and not get me agitated. I decided not to be a buzzkill and worry about this later. We had a great drive to the airport talking about all the great things we would be doing. We laughed about our last trip to the airport when I drove over fresh paint lines on the highway and splattered our rental car with yellow reflective paint. Funny now, but awfully scary at the time. The nice man at the car rental place never took a walk around the car

. We arrived at the airport with plenty of time to go have a leisurely dinner.

For anyone in the NYC area, I have mixed emotions sharing this info (only because I don't want this to become a super busy airport) but flying from the Westchester airport is about one of the easiest places to travel from. For those of us in the country, it is so easy to drive to, it is small and easy to navigate through, and they have a great restaurant.

We were flying JetBlue and easily did curbside check in. Within minutes, our bags were on their way and we hopped back in the car (with another bang on my head) to go just past the terminal and drop the car off. The kids freaked when they saw the jagged teethy things I had to drive over because they feared I would rip the tires to shreds and we'd never get to Disney. Fortunately, this didn't happen!

It's become a tradition of ours to head upstairs to the restaurant for our last meal. We love sitting by the window watching the planes land and take off while having a surprisingly good meal. No food porn to share, but I had a pasta dish, DS had a steak and DD had chicken tenders. I also fully enjoyed an FAB since we were now techically celebrating my birthday.

This next bit we look back and laugh at all the time. We took a brief biological break and then were ready to head downstairs when we heard our plane being called for boarding. Now mind you, we had a very short walk to the escalator, and then just a few steps to security. We were the only ones on line and leisurely made our way through. We were putting our shoes back on and heading to the boarding area when the JetBlue crew at the gate called out "Are you Mary? Hurry up!" We looked at each other wondering what the hurry was since we had plenty of time to spare. I stopped to buy some headsets and one of the ladies said "It's our gift to you. Take them. Now GOOOOOOO!!!" The other lady explained that we were the last to board and the flight could leave early if we boarded quickly. My kids only needed to here that news once and practically ran to the plane. A few folks were still standing in the aisle putting up their carry ons, but we quickly found our seats, stowed our things and were ready to go. (My dad was an aeronautical engineer and drilled into us that the back of the plane was the safest. I honestly don't think it matters but I alway sit behind the wing when flying.) The front of the plane was full but it was the 3 of us and 2 other people in the back, so we felt very comfortable.

My son took a window seat across the aisle from us. Abby had the other window and we were happy as could be. We taxied out 25 minutes before our scheduled departure time. DD was a bit nervous during take off. I was holding her hand when she looked at me and said "I guess Grandpa Tim is going to protect us tonight. The angels in heaven take care of everything in space." My heart melted, My Dad passed away shortly after I was married. He never met any of his grandchildren, but we speak of him fondly,and my daughter just proved that he continues to live on in each of them.

It was fun to see NY and the east coast sparkling down below us. How cool to look down and see a football game under lights . We rented a movie, my son used my Iphone to play Angry Birds, we followed the trip on the map and had a snack. The next thing we knew the pilot announced we were over Florida and would be landing 35 minutes ahead of schedule! This was an awesome way to begin our vacation.

Next Up - I'm not going to keep banging my head am I?