Savannah and Disney

I couldn’t begin to talk about Disney without mentioning our pre-park hostess and guide, Daniele. Dani and her husband, Brett, both friends of mine from Cincinnati, live in Savannah, and served as the perfect staging point for our week in Florida. Not only were they a half-day’s drive from the parks, but they were knowledgeable about how not to get swallowed up by the commercial monster that is Walt Disney World. They have three beautiful children all born in the month of May, so many birthdays have been celebrated at Disney.

Unfortunately our original plan to spend two and half days with Dani, one of my dearest childhood friends, and her family got squished into a precious 24 hours due to having spent a day and half at the car dealer in SC. So we made the most of it and had a fantastic time. It was so much fun to watch all of our children become fast friends, not wanting to leave after having had too little time together. Dani and Brett made us so comfortable and at home that we didn’t want to leave either. But we promised we’d be back, hopefully sooner than later, and made our way down to Florida.

Dani and me

Anna, Riley and Dani at their pool

Jackson and Anna could not figure out what had come over Alex and I when they saw how giddy we both were on the ferry across the pond to the Magic Kingdom on the first day, especially as the castle and Space Mountain came into view. As cliché as it sounds, Disney really does make you feel like a kid regardless of how old you are. We truly had an amazing four days together, covering as much as we could of four different parks. Despite the 94 degree heat, my inevitable heat rash and sun poisoning, and moderate crowds, every minute of that four days was fun. Alex and I were reminded only a few times that we were adults. The best was while exploring the passageways of Tom Sawyer's island, a little girl about 8 years old, tried to push her way past Alex in a dimly lit, narrow tunnel. She smacked him on the ass and said, “Move it, old man.” He stopped dead in his tracks and looked at me with an “Are you serious” look on his face. Alex is always being told how young he looks, despite his graying locks. So I happen to find it particularly amusing when he’s reminded of his age.

Race car driver 

He had to wrestle Jackson off this thing to get a picture.

Anna took this one.

Rockstar Alex after getting spun around on the Rockin' Rollercoaster

A sight we don't get to see very often.

Reluctantly we packed up and left our comfy condo, courtesy of my in-laws, and hit the road once more. For the first time since leaving VT we planned on pulling a couple of 12 to 15 hour days to get through FL, AL, MS, LO, TX, NM and into CO to check out Mesa Verde. It seemed to take forever and reminded us that this country is huge!