Indianapolis State Fair

While we were enjoying our weekend at Disney World, Cal, Maggie, Brett, and Karen were having a lot of fun at the Indiana State fair. One of Cal’s friends had gotten married this past Saturday in Indianapolis and he thought it would be the perfect place for the four of them to meet the next day. We got multiple texts from them throughout the day giving us updates on the foods that they had tried. Of course, there were some interesting flavors like corn dog beer and fried Twinkies, but there were also some traditional fair foods on their list, including one of my favorites - Elephant Ears.

I loved the picture that Karen sent of the four of them.  I also enjoyed all of their messages. Cal told us afterward that Maggie had never been to a fair before, so I was glad that they were able to show her what it is all about.  She liked it so much that she wants to take her family to one next summer. Cal and I thought that the Elkhart County Fair would be perfect for them. Either way, I was incredibly glad to hear that Brett, Karen, Cal and Maggie's get together on Sunday was a success. There is nothing better than being a mom to adult children and hearing about all of their adventures together.

Last Day

Cameron and I decided to sleep in this morning and spend a short day at Hollywood Studios before he had to leave to catch his flight back to Indiana.  I was sad that his week in Florida was over, but incredibly grateful for the time that we got to spend together.  It is the one nice thing about living hundred of miles apart.  When the boys visit, it is a lot of quality time together.

I let Cameron lead the way today as I wanted him to get the most out of his day.  He picked Twilight Tower of Terror for our first ride and we both enjoyed it very much.  I hadn’t ridden it in years and the yo-yo effect was even more fun than I remembered.  Our next few rides included Toy Story Mania, Alien Encounter Swirl and Rock N Roll Roller Coaster.  I actually didn’t ride the last one but I did have fun standing in the queue with Cameron checking out all of the changes from the new Muppets themed ride.  

Before we left the park, Cameron and I had lunch at Baseline Tap.  It has become one our favorite places to eat in Hollywood Studios and I was glad that they introduced new flat bread pizza on their menu as well.  We had enough time to do a little bit of shopping on our way out and even stop for Starbucks before Cameron had to catch his flight.  It was a wonderful end to a fantastic week.

Magic Kingdom

Meg left at 9 last night so that she could get to work early this morning.  She had kickball tonight, so we didn’t get to see her today.  Thus, I was really glad for the last three days with her.  It reminded me of all of the time that the four of us spent together years ago.  

While Doug was at work, Cameron and I spent the day Magic Kingdom.  Since everyone had gone to bed early last night, we decided to take advantage of the extra magic hour this morning and arrived at Magic Kingdom by 8:15 today.  Not only did we get to ride many of our favorite rides including Peter Pan, Big Thunder Railway, Tiana’s Bayou, Haunted Mansion, Jungle Cruise and Winnie the Pooh, we had banana maple beignets for breakfast and Casey’s Corner for lunch.  We even had time to do a little bit of shopping before we left to rest back at the hotel and get out of the hot Florida afternoon sun.

Doug, Cameron and I headed back toward Magic Kingdom once Doug returned from work, but instead of going straight to the park, we took a ride on the monorail to the Polynesian Resort for dinner.  Our first stop was Trader Sam’s, where we each had a drink and split a couple of appetizers. The bar was a lot of fun.  Every 10 minutes or so, the lights would dim and there would be a “tropical storm” followed by a talking Tikki god. Once we were finished there, we walked to the resort’s outside restaurant on the water for dinner.  Everything was absolutely delicious and our view was beautiful. The rest of our evening was spent at Magic Kingdom, where we rode Pirates of the Caribbean and then went to Beak and Barrel for a nightcap. We got to sit at the bar this time and absolutely loved being in the middle of all the action in the pirate bar.  It was a great day at Magic Kingdom and we were glad to have shared it with Cameron.

Epcot

My sadness from last night was completely gone this morning when we left for our three-day mini vacation at Disney World.  Cameron had asked to go while he was down here, and we thought it would be the perfect time to take him as Doug could enjoy today at Epcot and then have a shorter drive to work on Monday and Tuesday.  We arrived at Port Orleans Riverside at 10:30 and were pleased to see that our room was ready.  It had recently been remodeled and we absolutely loved it.  Once we unpacked, the four of us headed to French Quarter to pick up beignets.  Cameron had never had the haunted mansion inspired ones and thought they were just as delicious as we did.

Our next stop was Epcot.  Without a festival, the park was relatively quiet.  We were able to easily get on Soarin' and also enjoy Moana's Journey of Water, perfect for this extremely hot day before lunch.  Since there weren't any food booths in the countries, I made reservations at the new Geo Bar.  It was attached to the ball that housed Spaceship Earth and featured a galactic theme.  We loved it as we had a window right beside our table with a fantastic view of the park.  We split several appetizers and each one of us tried a drink. We were very impressed with the bar and enjoyed our time there. We didn't make it around all of the countries before we left, but we did walk through Canada and England.  We loved the shops on that side and enjoyed a few beverages from Rose N Crown as well.

Thanks to a really long bus ride back to our hotel, we didn't get a lot of time to rest before we had to leave for our dinner reservation.  None of us really minded, we were just glad to be out of the sun for a while.  Today's heat index was near the record high at 111 degrees.  Wine Bar George was wonderful.  We each tried a glass of wine with our meals -Meg had the roasted chicken while Doug, Cameron and I shared several small plates.  The Greek Saganaki (flaming cheese) appetizer was delicious as was the rest of our dinner.  While we were in Disney Springs, we did a little bit of shopping and then took the boat back to Port Orleans.  I told Cameron and Meg about the time that I saw otters in the river near our hotel.  They didn't know if I was serious or not even after I showed them the video, but the captain overheard us talking and confirmed that I was correct.  The rest of the evening was spent at the piano bar.  Piano Bob wasn't playing this evening, but we had a lot of fun anyway caping off an awesome day at Disney World.

Exploring Ocala

Meg arrived last night and the four of us had a lot of fun hanging out at home.  We picked up dinner at Publix and then enjoyed an evening of music, time on the back patio and the Wii.  Today, we spent the afternoon in downtown Ocala first stopping at the restaurant that Doug and I found a few weeks ago, Blind Eye.  Our lunch was delicious and the drinks were fantastic.  Cameron and Meg both liked it a lot, and I was glad that we had new places for them to try.  

We headed to Silver Springs next to check out both Broke N Records.  There were so many vinyls that we really liked, it was hard to choose which ones to bring home.  Meg found several that she had been looking for including Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits.  I picked up one from Sonny & Cher and Doug got a Gershwin vinyl.  I even found Jim Croce and Bob Dylan in the discount bin.  I already had the vinyls but knew that the boys would love listening to them.  The best score of the day was by Meg, but Cameron was the buyer.  It was the soundtrack to the Pink Panther movie.  It was the perfect celebration of his job offer from Owens Corning.  Before we left the area, I stopped in at Peacock Cottage to pick up a new air plant.  

It was really hot today, but we still made time to play several rounds of ping pong.  Phil came by afterward, and we played multiple rounds of Chameleon, listened to our new vinyls, and sat out on the back patio enjoying the evening air.  Cameron told Phil about his new job, and Meg talked about her and Nick's future plans.  It was a fun night, and I was glad to have Cameron and Meg here with us, so much so that I was weepy when the evening was over as I knew that I would really miss this once Cameron headed back to Bloomington.  

Kennedy Space Center

A few weeks ago, Doug told me that he would like to visit Kennedy Space Center at some point this summer and suggested that I ask Cameron if he would like to go with us.  Cameron had told me that he didn't want to overschedule his week while he was with us in Ocala, especially since he had had a very busy summer, so I was surprised when he said that he was definitely interested in making the two-hour trip to Titusville to visit the place where Apollo 11 had launched for its trip to the moon.  I was happy that he wanted to go, and thankful that the Space Center was offering a special rate for Florida residents, which saved me almost a $100 on our trip today. 

The three of us arrived at 10:30 this morning and headed straight to the bus tour.  I had read on the way in that it was the perfect place to start as it would take us on a tour of the main launching pad, give us access to the Apollo missions museum and let us Atlantis as well.  It was fascinating to all of us with Doug and I more focused on the 1960s and 70s missions and Cameron more on the current space travel.  I was really impressed with how much we learned and how much there still was for us to find out on our own.  The only negative on the day was standing under the rocket booster for seven minutes with a crowd of people for a less than awe inspiring "takeoff" experience.  Other than that, it was a wonderful day, and we were all glad that we chose to spend it at Kennedy Space Center.

Crooked Can brewery

Several months ago, Doug and I decided to try Crooked Canned Brewery.  It was unique in that it featured a local brewery and several food court style restaurants inside one long building.  Since he was staying at Meg’s while she out of town, Doug thought it would be a great place for him and I to meet as it was a little over halfway to Baldwin Park from Ocala. I liked the idea because it saved me quite a bit of time in the car and I would still get to see Doug. He and I met after he got off work that night and really loved the place. It not only had beers for Doug to try, but also several food vendors to choose from as well including a barbecue restaurant, an ice cream store, and a pizza place, just to name a few.

A couple of weeks after our visit, we noticed that there was a new Crooked Can Brewery being built along I-75. It was even closer to Ocala and from the looks of it, the place was huge. Doug and I both really wanted to try it as did Meg once she passed it on her way to visit us in July.

The three of us decided that tonight would be the perfect time to try Crooked Can Brewery especially since Meg had not seen Cameron since he arrived and was ready to hang out with him. We were also happy to show him another new place that we had found since his last visit in March. All four of us absolutely loved the brewery. It didn’t quite have all of the restaurant in place yet, but the ones that we tried were fantastic. We started with an appetizer of pork rinds along with a round of beers before picking out dinner. Cameron, Meg, and I had the empanadas which were absolutely delicious while Doug ordered a pizza for him and Cameron to split. Before we left, I treated everyone to dessert from the new donut shop, and we all agreed that the fried s’mores donuts were absolutely delicious. In the end, we all enjoyed the new place very much and it was the perfect place for Cameron to give Meg a surprise gift from his summer internship. It was nice to know that even the pink Panther loved Crooked Can Brewery.