Vacation

Vacation is a good thing. I am back from a week at Walt Disney World in Orlando Florida and feel refreshed and energized, even though I managed to catch a cold with sinus infection while on vacation. Bleh. Fortunately, it wasn't too severe a cold and I had a good time in the sunshine, playing at the various parks and resorts.

This year, we stayed at the Wilderness Lodge resort. I love the Northwest woods themed decor, and while it is one of my favorites, it is not the most conveniently located.  It is near the Magic Kingdom park, my least favorite park - it is just too kid-themed for adults to enjoy for very long. The layout makes the park feel crowded.  We enjoyed a few rides, seeing some of the new attractions, and a veggie burger at Cosmic Ray's Starlight Lounge. 

My husband's parents joined us for part of the week. It was so nice to see them, and we had a great time showing them around our favorite playgrounds. As seasoned WDW travelers, we know how to optimize our time, we know which rides are worth the wait, where to eat, what shows to see, etc.  It tickles me that my 70+ year old in-laws still like to go on the rides - even Expedition Everest, a new roller coaster at the Animal Kingdom. They enjoyed Soarin' at Epcot, too. They were good sports and let us set the agenda; in fact, they never complained about being tired - however, with my illness, I moderated our pace through the parks, adding breaks from time to time. 

At Disney's Hollywood Studios, I got chosen to be one of the volunteer "extras" for the Indiana Jones stunt show. That was pretty exciting. Sure, I made a fool of myself to get chosen. Whatever. It worked, and I had fun. I've seen that show at least 10 times; being in it made it new all over again.

After my in-laws had left, we had a nice gourmet meal at Victoria and Albert's, the 5-diamond dining establishment at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort. I think this was the 3rd time we ate there. It's a Prix-fixe meal customized to your tastes. We pre-ordered vegetarian. Yum-o - truly elegant dining with all the flair and panache you ca muster. Everything was delicious, even down to dessert.  Three chocolates - a Tanzanian chocolate mousse with edible 24k gold leaf on top, Brazilian chocolate souffle with Godiva Creme Anglaise, and Peruvian chocolate ice cream on chocolate flake pastry. Well worth the calories. 

Fortunately, we avoided much of the sappiness of the parks.  Usually, that gets to me after a while - I appreciate the positive image it portrays, but I get fed up with the "dreams come true" mantra after a while. 

It was a nice break, and now I feel ready to dive back into real life.