Tag: vacation

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Don’t Hate Me Because I Went to Disney World

It’s true; I just spent a whole week in the world of the Mouse, with warm, sunny days and cool, beautiful evenings.

Rapunzel's Tower 2
The girls outside of Rapunzel’s Tower.

I have never, ever, ever been to Disney World before, and I was looking forward to our trip as much as Lily and Emmy were. I was looking forward to warmer weather, while Lily and Emmy were looking forward to the rides! Before we could go to Disney, there was something else we had to do. We had to go meet…Rapunzel!

Emmy in her school musical, "Character Matters."
Emmy in her school musical, “Character Matters.”

Rapunzel was not locked up in her tower, however. She was on the Fairy Tale Advisory Board to help fairy tale characters solve their problems. As you all know, The Big Bad Wolf has some anger issues. Rapunzel gave him some excellent advice on how to manage that anger!

Two days later we boarded an airplane and late that afternoon we were at Epcot. It really does seem magical to be able to fly across the country in just a couple of hours; to be able to shed our winter coats and wear shorts and T-shirts in March. We had a late dinner, and as we came out of the restaurant, the colored lights were shining on Spaceship Earth.

Epcot at Night

I had been hoping to be able to book an earlier flight on our first day in Disney, but with the expense of airfare, it hadn’t worked out. Our first day at Disney was over already and we had hardly done anything! But our adventure was just beginning….

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Rainy Deserts and Mountains

dinosaurs Rt 66

During our trip to the Painted Desert last year, we learned that we should have brought raincoats.The day started out sunny, clear and hot, at 94 degrees, just the kind of day you would expect to experience in the desert. As we explored the petrified trees and historical sites, however, we began to see dark clouds in the distance. The temperatures began to drop. Our plan was to be in Petrified Forest National Park for only one day, so we raced against the storm clouds, trying to see as much as we could before the storm started. When the lightning started to get too close for comfort, we spent some time in the Visitor’s Center.

petrified forest 1

After the storm, it was cold and drizzling. But this was a place that we would probably not visit again for years, and I had to walk among the blue mesas. In sunny weather, anyway, they look blue. In the cloudy gloom, they were layers of greys and browns. The girls and I only had sweatshirts on. While our walk was well worth it, we got soaked. It took a while to warm up, and swimming in the outdoor pool was not going to happen!

rainy blue mesa

As many of you know. this past summer we ventured into Sunny California, which has been in a drought for three years. But still, based on our desert experience, I decided we all needed to bring raincoats on our vacation. For the most part, we didn’t need them.

But then…we did.

On our drive from Yosemite to Death Valley, we made a stop in Bodie State Historical Park. Bodie is high in the mountains; it used to be a gold mining town. Now it is a abandoned ghost town. Everything is left as it was left, so most of the building are locked because they are unsafe to enter.

ghost town kitchen

We wandered around the town with other tourists, and could see the rain clouds approaching. Pretty soon, it started to sprinkle. I was so glad that this time, we were prepared!

church

raincoats

We weren’t as prepared as we thought, however, because then it began to do something we really didn’t expect to see in California in the summer in the middle of a three year drought.

It began to hail.

hail

What unexpected things have happened to you when you’ve traveled?

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