Wishes Fireworks Cruise

This year as a special treat, I booked us a cruise for the Wishes fireworks.  Our cruise left from the Polynesian at about 8:00 pm.  The boat is a 26' pontoon with seating for 10.  Since we were only 8, we were quite comfortable.  Bagged snacks, bottled water and cans of soda pop are provided.  I had heard mixed reviews about the cruise, and was hoping for the best.  Our driver, Juan Carlos, was a very personable and well-informed young man.  I had requested that the boat be decorated for Bubby's and Krissy's birthdays, and it was complete with a banner and balloons.  We boarded the boat, and settled in for our cruise.  After a short cruise around the lake during which Juan gave us the history of several of the small islands, he moved us to a point on the lake where we were directly in front of the train station with the castle in the background.  Since I had booked the deluxe cruise, the sound was piped onto the boat.  And then the fireworks began.  They were more impressive than you can imagine.  Just beautiful.  We were so sad when they ended.

 Then Juan Carlos informed us that we were heading for the Grand Floridian.  He showed us the Wedding Pavilion and talked about the cost of a "Disney Wedding".  And then positioned the boat so that we could see the Electric Boat Parade.  We had heard of the boat parade, but had never seen it.  The Parade consists of 7 barges with screens of lights.  There is a fire breathing dragon, a whale, a turtle, a dinosaur, dolphins, and King Neptune complete with his carriage being pulled by sea horses.  Suddenly the music stops, the lights go out, and when the lights come back on,  some of the barges are American flags and others are multicolored stars.  And a medley of patriotic music plays in the background.  It was a wonderful evening.

What was the cost?  I was $346.00, which seems like a lot for a two hour cruise.  But we all agreed that it was worth every penny.  Juan Carlos was a fantastic captain, with a great sense of humor.  He teased all the girls, winking with every tease.  He regaled us with stories about Disney, its history, showed us some "hidden" animals in some of the resort lights, and made the time pass so quickly.  I had heard that you captain could make or break your cruise.  And we had the best!  Last year we had done the Wishes Dessert Party.  It was about $26 per person.  The eight of us were crammed at a table designed for four, the desserts left a little to be desired, and you couldn't see the fireworks unless you stood up.  We swore that we'd never do that again.  The cruise was a little more expensive, but we got our moneys worth.  It's an evening I will never forget.

Ooops!

 I guess that I should have added that Rod figured out what is wrong with the scooter.  Seems that there is a wire  broken, and he had no tools to fix it.  When he "jiggled" (and that is the technical term) the wires the scooter would work.  So, now it's just a matter of fixing it.

EMERGENCY!! CALL 911

My scooter is busted!  Yep, busted!  It happened at the Magic Kingdom on Sunday, Sept. 11.  I hit a big bump, and suddenly it stopped and wouldn't go again. And I was devastated.   As a special treat for all of us, I had booked a Wishes Fireworks Cruise for Sunday evening, and without my scooter I had no way of making that cruise or dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, Kona.  I began to cry, and got off the scooter.  One of the kids walked me over to a bench so I could suit down.  And then my emergency crew sprung into action.  Jimmy sat Bubby on the bench with me, and went to get him some popcorn.  Rod and the twins unloaded the scooter and turned it up on it's end to see if they could find out what was wrong, and Mary began making phone calls.  Bubby sat there munching his popcorn and telling me not to cry cause it was making him sad.

And then the popcorn spilled.  Great, another emergency.  Clean up in AdventureLand.  And suddenly, the clean up crew arrived and began to clean up the popcorn mess.  Bubby and I sat there and watched as this couple made the sidewalk look "just ducky" again.  It seemed like an eternity until someone came to talk to me.

Pat came over and said, "OK here's the plan.  I'm going to get a wheelchair for you and we're taking you to the car.  Daddy and Pam are going to push the scooter to the car.  Mary has all the information to reserve a scooter for you.  It will only be $120 for the rest of the trip and they will deliver it to the resort within an hour."  What they didn't tell me is that we were only allowed to take the wheelchair to the front entrance of the Magic Kingdom.  And we were parked at the Transportation Center.  I'm glad I didn't know.  When we got to the front of the park, Pat went over the the young lady working the wheelchair rental, and explained the situation.  Ashlee, that wonderful young lady, told Pat to take me to the Transportation Center by way of the ferry, and leave the wheelchair there.  Someone from Guest Services would bring it back to the Magic Kingdom.  Disney really does provide the best customer service I've ever experienced.  The ferry boat ride was incredible.  Mary and her family also took the ferry, and when we arrived at the TTC (Transportation center), Rod and Pam were there to meet us.  So far, so good.  I called Apple Scooter Company and gave them our room number and my credit card number and we were all set.

The scooter arrived in plenty of time for us to make our dinner reservations for Kona, and the cruise afterward.  So, what seemed to be a major disaster was just a hiccup.   I'll tell you about the cruise another day.

I'm Back, With a Hat or Two

Yes, I'm back from Disney, and normally I would be sad.  But  not this time.  I was more than ready to come home.  We had a wonderful time, but it was so hot that I felt like I was melting.  Unfortunately, that is not the case - I don't think I lost a pound.  But it was so hot and humid that I think my sweat was sweating!!!  This photo was taken on our first full day at the parks.  This was at Animal Kingdom, and you can see my "sexy" hat.  It probably would have looked better had I turned it inside-out.  But if you think it looks funny here, you should have seen it after I got caught in a cloudburst later that afternoon and then sat on the hat.  No really. . . not only did it knock the hat out of kilter, but I had a wet bum to boot!

So, I bought a new hat.  Not sure it looks any better, but it was cooler.  My only worry was that it I got sunburned in this hat would I look like a leopard???!!!  No worry -- didn't happen!  I'm not sure why I am a sucker for hats.  Maybe in a former life, I was a British Royal.  But whatever the reason,   I love hats. . .  big hats, little hats, and, at Disney, there are hundreds to choose from.  I know what you're thinking.  Surely she could have picked one that was a little more complimentary.  Hey, Rod thought I looked good??!!

Kris prefers "Ears".  And she has lots!  This is the leopard pair she wore in Animal Kingdom, and and Bubby is sporting his "Safari Ears".  Kris also had silver sequined ears and black ears with a red and white polka dot bow.  During this trip, Bubba bought a huge green hat with Goofy's ears attached.  He looked hysterical in it, and loved it.

Mary bought a Disney bucket hat, which she thought looked ridiculous.  I, however, thought it was adorable.


There are other photos of our hats,  Rod's, Jimmy's, and Bubby's Goofy Hat, but I don't have them at my fingertips at the moment.  More on the Disney trip tomorrow.  Still, it's good to be home.

Gettin' There

Remember the wheelchair cover??  This is the wheel chair that I was making the cover for.  Not very impressive, huh?  But it folds, and that's a big plus because his brand new shiny chair doesn't.  So, if you recall, I was given the task of making a new cover.  And after much thinking, sketching, and remaking, I came up with a cover that everyone seems to love. Here's the before. . . . .

And here's the after!!!  Bubby loves it, Jimmy loves it, and suddenly I'm SuperGrammy.  And it's a nice feeling.

The chair is ready. . .   the neck coolers are finished and bagged. . . . I have gotten my makeover. . .  Rod has cleaned (I guess the new term is "detailed") my scooter. . .  and now we're getting ready to pack.  So, this probably good bye until I return from a much needed vacation.  Of course, if I get bored, I may be able to do some blog posts from my new best friend, my I Phone.

A Great Stash

Sometimes it's great to have a great stash.  Oh, yea, sometimes I have trouble finding a place to put everything; but when push comes to shove, I generally have what I need.

Bubby has a brand spankin' new, shiny wheelchair, but unfortunately it doesn't fold and that makes it difficult to take it anywhere.  Someone had given them a wheelchair that folds, and that was very kind and generous.  This wheelchair is an older one, not shiny and has a very "unattractive" cover.  I'm not sure if son-in-law Jimmy thinks I'm Wonder Woman, or if he just doesn't realize what's involved, but he asked me if I could make a cover for the chair.  Bubby wanted purple -- Daddy gave that a very adamant NO!  So Grammy hunted out her Steeler fabric.  I have black and white.  Knowing that the black would be too hot for Florida, I chose the white.  Rod helped me take the measurements, and I sat down with pencil and paper to make my sketches.  Yesterday, I put my sketches to use, and came up with this cover for the back of the chair.

The cover folds over the top of the chair so that the front and back of the chair back are covered.  The flaps on the sides have velcro on them. and will be turned to the back and fastened around the side of the chair.  My sketches were pretty accurate and the back cover fits pretty well.  The seat cover is another matter.  I had the seat cover put together, and decided to fit it before doing the quilting.  It's a good thing I did.  I had planned for it to wrap around the seat at the back and fasten in the front.  Unfortunately, I didn't sketch that the back of the seat isn't open.  Hmmmmm...  I sat and looked at the seat.  Pam came down and helped me decide the best way to proceed, and when Rod got home, he added his designer expertise.  I needed to re-use the fabric I had already cut, since there wasn't a lot left.  So I made another sketch or two and then cut the seat cover in half on the fold.  Rod had suggested adding "flaps" on the sides of the seat cover like I had used on the back cover.  We measured how long they needed to be and where they should be attached to leave room for the arms.  And still another sketch.  The way I have designed the new seat cover, it will velcro to the back cover to join the seat to the back.  Then it will wrap from the front, under the seat and velcro to the back cover under the chair.  Nothing will be loose or dragging, and it should be quite soft and comfy for Bubs.  I probably won't get a chance to finish it until Friday afternoon or Saturday morning, but will post photos of the before and after when it's done.

My New Best Friend

At 3:45 this morning, I was awakened by an ignorant bladder.  It has no idea how to sleep all night!  Call it menopause, call it diabetes, but it just doesn't sleep all night.  I could see flashes of lightening and hear thunder off in the distance.  So, I went to the living room to sleep in my chair (which I do nearly every night, but that's another story).  The storm got closer, and soon was rumbling quite seriously.  Suddenly there was a loud crack, a very bright flash, and I screamed.  The lightening had hit the electrical transformer on the pole in our front yard.  In a blink of an eye, the house was thrown into total quiet and darkness.  The transformer sparked for a few seconds, and continued to glow orange after the sparks stopped.  And then, the glow ended and it seemed unusually dark.  I was tingling.  I don't think I was hit with lightening (the kids call my chair "the lightening chair"). But I was scared!!  If I had any boots on, I'd have been shaking in them.  If I had any bejeebers, they'd have been scared out of me.  If I . . .  oh well, you get the idea.  So, it's 4:00 am, and Rod gets up for work at 5:20.  But there was no electric, so no alarm clock.  I keep my I Phone on the stand beside my chair, and remembered that Mary had shown me a flashlight app that she had downloaded.  I picked up the phone and downloaded the flashlight app and it was FREE!!!!  Kristin had shown me how to set the alarm clock on the phone, and so I set the alarm for 5:20.  I was feeling pretty proud, let me tell you.  Using the flashlight on the phone, I navigated my way back to bed.  Rod greeted me with "Hi".  "Didn't you hear me scream",  I asked.  "Yeah", he replied, "are you OK."  "Oh, fine, thanks for asking"!!!  And he wonders why I worry about him coming to my rescue if it's ever needed!! I explained that the transformer had been zapped, told him about the flashlight app and that the alarm was set.  He didn't seem impressed.  But at 5:20 when the alarm went off, and I turned on the flashlight app for him to walk safely around the bed, he was very impressed.  But, sadly, there was no coffee this morning.  Rod lit some candles, got a shower, and left for work.  And 5 minutes later, the electric came back on.  Just a few minutes earlier, and we could have had our morning coffee.  But, Major Kudos to Penn Power, we were only without power for 2 hours.

I've loved the phone since I got it, but was having a little trouble justifying the extra cost.  OK, I'm cheap. . .  I'll admit it.  But after this morning, my I Phone is now my new best friend.  I love you, my wonderful phone.