Another Summer Highlight

Chris and I at Epcot

Last week I posted my highlights from this past summer, but I purposely left one out because I knew I'd want to spend a bit more time on it. My favorite summer adventure was getting to accompany my husband to Orlando for a weekend in September. He was scheduled to speak at a work conference down there, but he scheduled his flight a few days early and arranged for me to fly down and stay with him for a couple of nights. Even more exciting is that on his previous trip to Orlando, Chris had sat next to a lady on the plane who works at Disney and told him she'd get him in for free if he ever wanted to bring his family down. Wow! So this dear, sweet, generous lady used up 4 of her free allotted passes for the year to give us two wonderful days at Disney World.

Walking across the barrel bridge on Tom Sawyer Island

It had been more than 10 years since I'd been to Disney, and that trip had been a very short one, so I really hadn't gotten to experience all the sights and amusements. Chris and I are ride-goers, so we went for the thrillers first. As far as scary rides, it was between Space Mountain and the Rock n' Roller Coaster. Both of these rides took place in the dark which added that extra thrill of not knowing where you were headed or what to expect next. My husband, who happens to be reading over my shoulder, just commented: "Why don't you talk about how you screamed like a little girl?" It's true; I did.

The mountain climber's supply shack on the way to the Mt. Everest rollercoaster

Other than the fast rides, I really enjoyed the 3-D movies where imagination along with special effects made one believe that there were mice running up their legs or giant bugs running under their bottoms. Soarin' was another fantastic ride. It took place in an omni-theatre and was designed to make you feel like you were flying in a hang-glider. Instead of watching the pictures from the ground, however, the seats in this specially created theater lifted off the ground and would tilt backwards and forwards and side to side to give an even greater sensation of actually being in the pilot's seat.

London village at Epcot

Foreign countries are a fascination to me, so I found the replicas of Japan, Italy, Morocco, France, and others very interesting. We stopped on the streets of London to watch an impromptu presentation by some actors, guess who got pulled from the crowd to be on stage (actually, it was just on the street). Chris did, and was given the roll of Sir Knight Gallahan. He did a great job following along with the unscripted play—riding imaginary horses and accomplishing heroic missions for the king!

Sir Gallahan and comrades

Another highlight was the Safari ride in the Animal Kingdom. Lions, elephants, wildebeasts, and best of all, the giraffe that stuck its nose in the window at us as we passed.

I was surprised at how educational the weekend was as well. I'd always thought of Disney World as being a place for fast rides and overstuffed cartoon characters, but I actually learned some new things about mechanics, hydroponics, and environmental conservation to name a few.

The best thing, really, was getting to spend the weekend with Chris. We hadn't had a weekend to ourselves since before the kids were born, and it was really wonderful to have some time to just enjoy being together and get to a break from the usual busy-ness and stress of life.

I'm so thankful for parents-in-law who were willing to watch the kids so we could have a weekend away. And a special thanks to Charlotte for her kindness and generosity in make our visit to Disney World possible.