scallea

Our adventure at Animal Kingdom and a semi-private 3-hour tour, Wild Africa Trek. Best day ever! I was the first one in the park! Mark wrangled another set of tickets to Disney World, and I knew exactly what to plan for our day. I have always wanted to go on the Wild Africa Trek, a 3-hour tour for a group of 12 guests through the back pathways of the savanna. Knowing the afternoon would be too warm, Mark and I signed up for the earliest tour. We checked in with our guides in front of the turnstiles at 7:30 am; there were already 100 guests waiting in line for early magic hours. Once half the group was present, we were escorted into the park, and I was the first one in! Gearing up The tour meeting ... read more

After the chaos and expense of moving across the country, Mark and I decided to take it easy and spend Christmas in Orlando. My sister, Jennifer, determined to spend the holidays together, would brook no refusal and spent Christmas week with us. During her visit, we all enjoyed a few adventures around central Florida. My Gift to You is Disney Visiting a theme park during Christmas week is madness – and despite my sister’s pleas to go, I was firm that there would be no theme park visits. Jennifer made her disappointment known. How could we be so close to the Magic Kingdom and NOT visit? I offered a to visit the Grand Floridian hotel instead, where we could dress up and get our photo in front of the giant Christmas tree that would be in ... read more

Moving to a new city can either be daunting or thrilling. We chose the latter and set out to explore our new town. Our adventures took us all over the city and surrounding neighborhoods, and within a couple months, we felt at home. Amusingly, all of the places we visited seemed to have a Washington counterpart. Downtown and Thornton Park – Downtown Orlando is clustered around Lake Eola, a pretty spot of water with a fountain, swan paddle boats, and a mile-long walking path surrounding it. Sunday farmers markets bring an eclectic crowd, mostly selling chachtkies and food. It is exquisite for people watching. Within a couple blocks are the public library and history museum. The library reminded Mark of buildings in his old neighborhood in Yonkers, NY. We attended a wine tasting at the history ... read more

Thanks to Tom Hanks, I always equate bouquets of sharpened pencils with autumn in New York. "It makes me want to go out and buy school supplies." Mark and I traveled north to celebrate his sister’s wedding. We were not yet acclimated to the heat and humidity in our new homebase of Orlando, and the crisp fall weather was a welcome reprieve. On our drive to the Catskill Mountains, we took the scenic drive to Sunnyside and stopped at the historic home of Washington Irving (“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”). The tour was delightful. All employees wore historic-looking garments and the tour leader spoke about the history of the house and famous author in the present tense, “At this time, Irving travels to France…” and such. There were fewer Halloween decorations than I expected, but the ... read more

We made it! A four hour drive, half of which was spent in a rainstorm, brought us to our final destination - Orlando. What a relief! Four and a half days in a truck was fun but exhausting. Even though I had never been in the apartment before, it was home and I couldn't be happier to be there. Take away points This was the second big move for both Mark and me, and a huge lesson in priorities and trust. If I could go back and tell myself one thing, it would be to start preparations earlier. The last minute rush to get out the door felt like mayhem to me, along with the hurried Craigslist sales and needing to dump replaceable, but useful, items to save room on the truck. As for the rest ... read more