A Relaxing Day in Ocala

I was very thankful for a relaxing day at home.  Cameron had a meeting with Owens Corning and then we went to lunch at Mooyah's on the downtown square.  Their turkey burgers are fantastic.  Afterward, we went to Play It Again Sports so Cameron could pick up a new driver for his disc golf set in Florida.  His other one landed on a roof while he was playing in Orlando on Monday.  Our next stop was Broke N' Records.  Cameron found three new vinyls including a Jimmy Hendrix one.  I was super excited to run across "The Concert for Bangladesh."  It was a live recording of the concert that George Harrison hosted to help the starving children of the impoverished country and was the precursor to later ones such as "Live Aid" in the 1980s.  While Cameron and I were out shopping, we also decided to stop at Peacock Cottage.  I found a beautiful new house plant to replace the succulent that died several weeks ago.  

Tonight, Doug made brats at home, and we enjoyed the start to March Madness.  There were more close games and upsets than I could remember.  It was a great way to spend the afternoon and evening.  

Animal Kingdom

Cameron and I decided to sleep in this morning, enjoy breakfast at Animal Lodge and take a walking tour of the resort.  We found a flamingo pond behind the pool that was filled with the pink birds.  Once we checked that out, we headed straight to the Palm/Magnolia golf course. There was no rain today and very few people on the range, so Cameron was able to hit a large bucket of golf balls. He really enjoyed it. From there we headed to Animal Kingdom.  Since we were getting to the park later in the day, I decided to purchase a Lightening Lane pass for Cameron and I.  In the end, I was very glad that we did as it was packed.

Cameron and I started with cheeseburger pods in Pandora.  While we were there, we also did some shopping.  I hadn't really seen Avatar until the last couple of years, but after watching the first two movies, I had really come to appreciate this area of the park.  After lunch, we walked over to Kilimanjaro Safari.  Between that ride and our walk through Gorilla Trails, I felt that we saw every animal in Africa today.  My favorite was the hippo as he was actually out of the water and eating hay.  I had never seen one do that before today.  

After exploring Africa, Cameron and I walked to Expedition Everest next.  The line was long and we didn't have a lightening lane for this one.  Thankfully, Cameron was able to get a spot in the single rider's line and finished the roller coaster well before our reservation at Zootopia.  The new 3-D movie that replaced "It's Tough to Be a Bug" in the Tree of Life was cute, but we didn't know the characters very well, so it was a little lost on the both of us.  The children in the audience loved it, however.

We ended our day in Animal Kingdom shopping and riding my favorite ride in the park, Na'vi River Ride.  It was gorgeous as always, albeit a little more tense than usual.  The woman beside Cameron had her flash on during the first part of the ride and the adults in front of us were extremely made about it.  Fortunately, she turned it off after a few minutes and everyone calmed down.  Cameron and I stopped at the ice cream cart before leaving for home where he picked up an ice cream sandwich and I, of course, got the best dessert in Disney World - a chocolate covered banana.  It was a great way to end three wonderful days in Orlando.  

Happy St. Patrick's Day

I don't remember ever spending St. Patrick's Day in Walt Disney World and really didn't know what to expect when Cameron and I arrived at Epcot this morning for rope drop.  There weren't any specific events scheduled for the holiday, but it was a lot of fun seeing everyone dressed in green or wearing beads around their necks.  Rose and Crown was even selling green beer to celebrate the occasion.   

One thing I was certain about was that it was the coldest St. Patrick's Day that I had ever spent in Florida with temperatures in the mid-thirties when we got to the park.  Thankfully, it didn't hinder us from riding Soarin', Ratatouille, and Living with the Land this morning.  It did decrease the number of butterflies in the gardens, but overall, we still had a great time.  Cameron and I completed the Easter Egg hunt - winning a "White Rabbit egg", tried several of the booths at The Spring & Garden Festival, took pictures of the beautiful topiaries and bought some really nice soccer jerseys in England before we headed back to Animal Kingdom Lodge.

The sun came out in the afternoon as did the animals on the savannah.  I loved watching them on the balcony while wrapped up in a blanket.  Once Doug got back to the resort, we all enjoyed dinner in the lounge where there was green food and drink for everyone.  Everything was delicious as usual and none of us went away hungry.  The rest of the night was spent on the balcony watching a giraffe chase away the wildebeest and water bucks.  The three of us went to bed early, exhausted from all of the activity, but very happy with our St. Patrick's Day celebration.

Animal Kingdom Lodge

When Doug and I stayed at the Contemporary during Thanksgiving, they had offered us a bounce back offer which allowed us to book two nights at Animal Kingdom Lodge during Cameron's spring break vacation. The three of us were excited as we had really enjoyed our stay there almost two years ago.  We were also glad to be able to have access to their club level this time which included all food and drinks.

Cameron and I arrived around noon today and were happy to see that our room was ready.  We dropped off our luggage and then spent some time enjoying our view from the balcony of our 4th floor room.  We were staying in zebra trail, but giraffes and wildebeest were the main focus at first.  After enjoying the savannah, Cameron and I headed to the lounge for lunch.  There were so many different appetizers and snacks to try including humus, peanut butter and jelly, cookies, chocolate covered raisins, spicy mixed nuts and so much more.  Although it wasn't officially a meal, it was all very good and definitely filled me up.  

After lunch, we headed to the Magnolia-Palm golf course on Disney property with the hope of Cameron getting to hit golf balls.  Unfortunately, as soon as we pulled into the parking lot, the skies opened up and all activities on the golf course were halted for the foreseeable future.  Cameron suggested Disney Springs, but on our way there he found a disc golf course that he wanted to try at a local park instead. He really enjoyed the afternoon, and I got in a nice walk while watching him play.  

Cameron and I got back to our room just as the animals were being feed.  It was really neat to see all of the animals out and about on the Savannah enjoying their dinner.  The zebras even made an experience and there were two African cranes that we had a lot of fun watching as well.  Meg and Doug both arrived shortly after we did and enjoyed the view as well.  We spent the rest of the night in and out of the lounge for dinner and dessert while taking breaks to check out the rest of the lodge.  The food was absolutely delicious and the resort was beautiful.  Although I was completely wiped out by 10 p.m. from all of the activity, I had an awesome evening with everyone.  

Selection Sunday & The Oscars

There are two events in the spring that Doug and I look forward to every year.  One is the Selection Sunday show that kicks off March Madness and the other is the Oscars.  For the first time ever both of them occurred on the same evening.  Thankfully, the first one was at six with the second starting at seven which meant that we could watch both.

Selection Sunday went pretty much as anticipated with no big surprises.  We were disappointed that IU was once again one of the first four out, but all of us expected that after we lost to Northwestern in the Big Ten Tourney.  The Oscars were a lot more exciting this year.  Conan O'Brien hosted them once again and was just as funny as last year.  Doug's favorite movie of the year, One Battle After Another, took home the most golden statues with Sinners close behind.  The lead actor prediction had changed in the last few weeks.  A month ago, everyone thought it would go to Timothy Chalamet, but he made a remark about how he had decided to become an actor because no one really went to the opera and ballet anymore.  I thought it was funny as his mother and sister were both ballerinas, but the voting community didn't like his comments, and the Oscar went to Michael B. Jordan instead.  In the end, Cal and I thought it was the best pick as he was very good in his roles as Stack and Smoke in Sinners and his humility was well known.  Doug, Cal and I also loved the tribute to Rob Reiner by his friends, Billy Crystal.  Even Barbara Streisand made a cameo honoring Robert Redford.  Overall, this was my favorite Oscars of the past few years and I was very glad that Cameron and Doug had fun watching it with me.

Uppercrust

Since we have moved here, one of our favorite places to visit as a family is Gainesville.  There is never a time that anyone stays with us that we don't plan a day there. Any combination of Kanapaha, Relish, the University of Florida or Swamp Head Brewery make for a wonderful afternoon there.  Today's trip took us a new place in Gainesville, Uppercrust Bakery.  We had never heard of it until last summer when Cameron, Doug and I saw it featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.  We had all wanted to try it since then and finally had a day to do so.  

The bakery was crowded when we arrived, but not quite the long lines that the morning would have brought.  Each one of us picked a croissant - chocolate raspberry for me, ham and cheese for Cameron and spinach and feta for Doug.  There weren't a lot of tables at Uppercrust, so we decided to take our food to Swamp Head where Cameron could order his first beer there on his own.  It was a beautiful afternoon to sit on their patio, enjoy our meal and watch basketball.  The croissants were just as delicious as Guy Fierro said that they would be and in the end, we were all glad to add another wonderful place to visit on our frequent trips to Gainesville.

Play Ball!

For the first time in a long time, I went to a major league baseball game.  When Cameron decided to spend spring break with us, Doug suggested a spring training game.  I was surprised by how excited all of us were about it.  I hadn't been to a game since Cameron was in preschool.  Even Meg and Nick kept the night open to meet us.

The trip to Joker Marchant Field was a tough one with a missed turn and a lot of traffic, but other than that we all had a great time watching the Pirates vs. the Tigers.  We ate some of the traditional snacks - hot dogs and peanuts.  Several in our group ordered a beer or two while watching and all of us had fun.  The Tiger mascot was a little dated and the Pirates pitcher took a ball to the face, but even those couldn't dampen the mood.  The evening reminded me of how much I used to love following baseball when I was in middle school and of all of the fun that we had taking our own children to major league games. I don't know if we will make it back to another game this spring, but after tonight, I decided that I wouldn't wait another 15+ years to go to another one.