Animal Kingdom

Continuing our Walt Disney World adventure, we spent a day at the Animal Kingdom.

This park has areas devoted to wildlife themes and conservation in Asia, Africa and other parts of the world. On Discovery Island, we visited the tree of life and saw a 3D adventure called A Bug's Life. This included lots of related special effects, including a stink bug spraying us with a nasty aroma, things darting out at us from the screen, and various pokes and bumps from our seats as bugs supposedly stung or ran by our feet. It was probably a good thing that Anders was sitting on his mom's lap! Lots of laughs, including the way we looked with our special 3D bug glasses.

Anders, Sandy and Will all played one of the arcade games, where you shoot water into a target. We hoped that one of the three would win so that Anders could get a prize. It worked! Here is Sharkey, the new florescent lime green shark toy.

We did lots of rides this day, including a safari where we saw lots of African animals in a wild setting (elephants, lions, rhinos, ...), a wild white-water rapids ride (we got wet), and a couple of roller coasters. Anders and I did not want to do the Himalayan roller coaster, so I entertained him while the others did that. You should never leave your grandchild alone with his or her grandfather, because almost anything could happen, including allowing the grandchild to get his face painted as a cheetah.

Mom and Dad were OK with the results though. They thought it was a nice choice with his black and gold Hawkeye shirt.

Anders played the drums for us too.

As I said, we saw lots of fun animals and birds, and these big guys were amazing.

In an Indian exhibit, I decided the coincidence of this wall art was just too good to pass up.

We ended the day with a chance to see Mickey in his ranger outfit.

Magic Kingdom

Today was a Magic Kingdom day, but we were all so tired from the travel and Epcot day preceding, that we got a slow start. So, we may have to use another of our remaining days for a second Magic Kingdom visit. We shall see.

We began the day with a nice buffet breakfast at the hotel's cafe, which features what the Disney Company calls character dining. This Beach Club resort is all about water and swimming themes, so Donald stopped buy wearing a snazzy swimming outfit. (Why does Donald never have on any pants? He is a duck, I guess.)

Goofy wore some great flowered swim trunks and a life vest.

Minnie had on some kind of beach jacket and hat. All the characters are funny with their specific manner of walking and other body language.

We walked back over to Epcot, then through and back out of the park to board the Monorail for transportation to the Magic Kingdom. Of course for us, this train-like system is its own attraction.

Kathie and I thought Anders needed ears for the day, but he didn't want the traditional ones. He wanted the Buzz Lightyear version. His dad thought these were lame, but the boy has a mind of his own! Here is the proof positive that we were in the Magic Kingdom. For a Monday in April when most of the spring breaks would seem to be over, the park seemed very busy for us. There were long wait times for the most popular rides, but the new (for us) Fastpass system helps in avoiding the frustration of that.

Early in the day, we went to Adventureland to try to quench some of Anders' pirate fascination. There is a special shop there that lets kids take on their favorite pirate persona. Here is Anders after taking his pirate pledge (an involved series of promises and obligations).

He liked striking a gruff pose. Aaarrrrgh! Note is telescope, sword, medallion, and bandanna.

After doing the Pirates of the Caribbean and Jungle Safari rides, we took the train around to Fantasyland. Will was impressed that it was a legitimate steam engine. You always have to stop to admire trains.

Among other rides, some of us did the carousel. If you look closely, you may see a pirate approaching the camera on one of those horses.

Dinner for us was at a cafe in the Grand Floridian hotel, just a boat ride across the lake from the Magic Kingdom. The pirate wanted the Mickey Mouse desert with his dinner. He seemed to delight in nibbling away the various body parts, but then what would you expect of a pirate?

Back at the resort, it was time for a first dip in one of the pools. I think the pirate had "shaved" by this point.

Epcot

We are visiting Walt Disney World this week with Will and his family. Anders was more than eager when we arrived at their home on Saturday evening. I read to him at bedtime, and when we were finished, he turned his head to whisper in my ear, "I'm so excited about going to Disney World!" Well, for a Grandpa, that's worth the price of admission right there!

I guess Anders had not been on an airplane for quite a few years and may not have remembered his prior experience, so the flight to Florida was a big part of the adventure too.

His dad had fun explaining everything to him, and though we adults thought a nap might be a good idea, there was too much to see out the window, including the activities and details at the airports and the clouds and sights on the ground as we flew.

A big stretch limo took us from the Orlando airport to our hotel. We adults enjoyed seeing the Florida scenes (first time here for Will), but Anders preferred the movie playing on the TVs in the vehicle.

We have a nice suite at the Beach Club Resort with two bedrooms and a small living space and kitchenette. (So, I'm enjoying some morning coffee while I compose this!) Since this particular resort is so close to Epcot, we decided to spend our first afternoon there, just a five minute walk from our lodging.

Since it was past lunchtime when we arrived, we started with some fish and chips at the England setting within Epcot. All the various country settings there are fun to visit.

This spring, Epcot is hosting a special International Flower & Garden Festival, so in addition to all the usual sights, the grounds are covered with all kinds of plants, flowers, and lots of Disney-themed topiary displays. I thought this scene from Peter Pan offered Will and Anders a good chance to pose.

We wandered through a butterfly garden along the way too.

In Canada, we watched one of the 360º films that are featured here and there throughout Epcot. The one, hosted by Martin Short, included beautiful views of Canada's scenes, wildlife, and cities. I managed to set my camera so that these three were unaware of the pictures I took of them as they watched, so I like the fascination you can see on their faces.

OK, here is the definitive proof that we were actually in Epcot.

Anders loved the area devoted to the Cars movies. The topiary really was impressive throughout the park.

Near Mexico, we had a chance to see Donald Duck. We saw many Disney characters throughout the day, and I know we'll see many more during the rest of our visit in the other parks.

Of course, Mickey and Minnie have to be included!

We ended the day with a nice dinner and then saw the amazing fireworks and light show over the lake that sits in the middle of Epcot. After that, it was past due time for bed.

As soon as the rest of my family is up and about, we'll have some breakfast and will then venture to the Magic Kingdom!

Grandkid Time

Betsy and her family were here this past weekend. Rob's family also joined us one evening. So, here is a collection of grandkid photos taken during that time. Since we hand't seen Henry, Clara or Frederick since Christmas, it was good to catch up. Frederick sure has grown! Here he is with his big brother.

I understand his paternal grandfather calls him Bruiser. He is quite the cute, chunky, little boy.

Henry found a special place to read his books.

And I got all three of the siblings to pose together.

The girls found a box of play jewelry, and Penelope tried on several items. When she struck this supermodel-like pose, I of course had to capture the shot. I love this picture!

I used to say I was ready to be a grandfather but that I wasn't getting help with that problem. Now, all of a sudden, there are seven with another on the way. Bring it on!

Clara and Eleanor are into My Little Pony and other tiny creatures and stories.

I taught Fritz a song about teapots, because I thought the "short and stout" part fit him particularly well. Please pardon the "Grandpa voice."

Belated Birthday Celebration

Until Saturday morning, we had not had a chance to celebrate Rob's birthday with him. With illnesses in January, traveling, and other complications, we had, in fact, not been able to be together at all since Christmas. So it was especially nice to meet for breakfast.

Penny was quite the little flirt. I like to think it was just because she had been missing her grandfather.

Eleanor is continuing to work on her detailed drawings and related stories.

Here's the whole family. (Lucky for Rob that Iowa did, in fact, beat Nebraska in the afternoon men's basketball game!)

Garbage Glitch (With Extra Added Attraction)

First...the extra added attraction. During the last half year or so, we have occasionally seen Pileated Woodpeckers near our home in Iowa. Kathie was able to collect this proof last week. Although she didn't have a telephoto lens readily available, you can make out the guy/gal on the side of the branch of one of our trees.

Then, last week Tuesday, we had a pretty good snow storm, leaving our roads covered. This is the day that garbage pickup is done. Unfortunately, the farmer who plows our roads and the garbage truck arrived at the same time. Our roads are pretty narrow. The farmer maybe didn't move quite far enough to the right for the truck to pass. The truck driver maybe thought he had some extra shoulder on which to drive. However, the truck slipped off the road and into our yard, which banks down pretty sharply from the road. Even with chains, the wheels just spun, and so the truck was stuck. I was a little concerned about it tipping, given how steep the bank is there.

The driver called another of the company trucks, which was evidently nearby, and soon we had a second truck available.

Eventually, they were able to get the first truck back on the road.

Of course, it is always necessary in such circumstances for a bunch of old guys to stand around to commiserate and offer opinions as to what should be happening during such an exercise. Here I am with the farmer and the garbage truck driver talking the situation over shortly after everything was back to normal. Not shown is me falling on my butt when I stepped on some snow laying atop glaze ice which was under the snow here and there. I thought our yard might have gotten chewed up by this mishap, but now that melting is beginning to occur, I can see that everything is pretty much as it should be.

New Do

My significantly better half decided, a few days ago, to take the plunge for a completely new hairstyle. I have always liked longer hairstyles, but recently, I've noticed a number of very attractive shorter styles and commented about them to Kathie. So when she suggested she might do this, I encouraged her. Honestly, when she came home and walked in the door, I was blown away. I think she looks terrific and thought you might want to see the results too. In fact, I immediately thought we should have a date, so I changed and shaved and took her out for a nice dinner at our favorite restaurant.

One funny story to share: On her way home from the stylist's shop, Kathie decided to stop to see her mother and share the results with her too. Her mom was playing cards with friends when Kathie walked in. She said, "Hi!" Everyone responded, but then one of the friends said, "Who are you?" Kathie said she was Jane's daughter, at which point her mother turned and said, "Oh, I didn't know who you were either!" Diminished eyesight may have had something to do with this, but I suspect this new, modern look kept her from seeing what she usually expects to see.