Central Florida birthday trip part A
Last year I decided that as each of my remaining nieces and nephews turned 12 (Dane was already 18) I wanted to take them on some sort of "special" trip. My goal was to be able to spend some concentrated time with each of them and really get to know them, and let them get to know me better. I live too far away to be there for every birthday, holiday etc, and I felt badly that they might grow up not knowing how special they were to me, and not knowing me very well. Twelve seemed like a good age - old enough to be able to be away from home for a while, but young enough to not be overly committed to jobs, girl/boy friends, sport activities etc.
After much thought, several email discussions with his parents, and phone calls with input from the birthday boy, my nephew Billy, it was decided that we would go camping in Central Florida and see the Kennedy Space Center. Then, I was in touch with my cousin Bobby in the Tampa area and he reminded me that he works for Disney, and offered to help find us campground reservations there at Fort Wilderness and offered us two guest passes to the parks! What a great guy!
Finally Monday the 24th arrived and my poor little Toyota Echo was stuffed to the gills. After a short delay, while we got the medical power of attorney notarized, Billy and I hit the McDonald's drive through for breakfast and then we hit the road for Fort Wilderness at DisneyWorld. We chit chatted and he played with my spare cell phone, figuring out how to use it and making sure he had his mom and dad's cell phone numbers to call. I pulled out the map and had him figure out our route, and approximately how far we had to go before changing highways. Then we compared music on our MP3/4 players. His mom had loaded him up with some good tunes so we rocked out as we went down the highway. He now knows that Bon Jovi is meant to be LOUD. *giggle* We stopped to fill up the gas tank and he was stunned to realize that I was NOT going to use my debit card at the pump, instead handing him some cash and sending him in to the store to pay for the gas. "Can't you just use your card out here?" ( I could, but I'm not going to, was my reply. LOL)
He stayed awake for the first few hours of the trip, but shortly after we turned onto I-75 he fell asleep, and slept until we were about 30 minutes outside of Tampa. After he woke up we chatted for a few minutes and then he decided to try the radio and was a little annoyed that he couldn't get any of his familiar radio stations. (Um, Billy? We're 300 miles from there now!)
By 4:30 we were outside of Tampa, and met up with Bob, Fran, and their daughters Alicia and Rebecca at the Bob Evans near where Bob works. (restaurant chain) It was great to see them again, and to finally meet Miss Rebecca! I'd post a pic, but I forgot to take my camera out of the car. I'm looking forward to seeing the ones that Fran took. Bob took us all over to the Disney Reservations center where he works and gave us a quick tour of the building - VERY impressive, and much nicer than the call center I work in. We had to head out, to find our way to the Disney campground, aka Fort Wilderness, so it was a shorter visit than I would have liked, but it was great to see them again. Hopefully it won't be so long between our next visits.
And we were off to Fort Wilderness. Who knew that you were supposed to follow the Magic Kingdom signs off of I-4 to get there? *sigh* I called the reservation center and they told me to follow the signs for Disney's Magic Kingdom. "Oh, you mean the exit I just passed?" *eyeroll* Fortunately it wasn't far to the next exit and we doubled back.
At check in we had no problem - my reservations were on record, but I had to send Billy back into the building, because they forgot to open the gate for us once we were back in our car!
The campground was very nice, if a bit more open than I usually like. We were at site #2067 - which was easy to remember since it's the year I'll turn 100 years old.
The bathhouse was two spots to our right and the bus stop was behind the bathhouse - on the road that you can just see in the background of the second photo.
The photo of the site was actually taken Wednesday morning as we were preparing to leave Disney, but we arrived at dusk and set the tent up after dark so there were no pictures the first day. Once the tent was up we took a walk towards the other end of the campground where the boat dock was, only to get caught by the security guard who explained to us that we were going the WRONG direction (actually the right direction but down an offlimits route due to minor little things like coyotes and alligators - whoops!) and gave us a ride down where we were headed. I didn't realize how large the campground was - 700 acres. Guess there's a reason why there's buses to ride through the campground. lol We got to the beach area in time to see some fireworks and for Billy to point out some of his favorite constellations to me, before the wind picked up and we decided to call it a night.
We woke up Tuesday morning, nice and warm in our sleeping bags, and very unwilling to get out of them! It was *cold*. brrrrrrr This was the morning that we discovered that one of the aerobeds had a leak. A big leak. So much for not wanting to sleep on the ground! We went to the buffet breakfast and then headed off on the bus to see Epcot and the space exhibits.
Welcome to Epcot! I was very impressed with how quickly the security staff got people through the checkpoints. Once we were through the checkpoints we fed the machine our cards and had our fingerprint scanned. VERY odd, but I guess they do it to keep people from sharing passes?
We saw some street performers at Epcot, on our way to Billy's prime objective - "Mission Space"
While we stood in line for the ride, we saw some of the exhibits about the space program.
Billy took a good look at the spacesuits.
and then we rode the ride, which is supposed to be a simulation of a trip to Mars. It was fun! We took the green ride (less intense) and after doing that he wanted to do the red ride, but by then the wait time was 180 minutes for the ride, and he didn't want to get a fastpass. We did go through and compete in the "Mission Space" Game - our team won with 97% efficiency. :clap 
We went and got FastPass tickets to the GM Test Track ride, (Got the tickets at about 11:30 and our ride time was 5:20-6:20 pm - ridiculous! The holiday crowd was HUGE) and then we strolled around Epcot. We found a small butterfly house and went in. It was about this time that I discovered that Billy had not brought his camera with him, so we shared mine for the rest of the day. He took some fantastic photos!
We strolled around the grounds of Epcot, taking in the sights.
We saw the performers again
and Billy took photos of everything that caught his interest. He got some beautiful shots! The below are only some of his work.
The lines for all the rest of the rides were very long, and I noticed that despite all of his current interest in space and science, what he was really focusing on were the birds and flowers, so I suggested that we go to Animal Kingdom where he could photograph animals and plants more easily. He agreed and we were off on another bus ride.
Billy got some fabulous shots here but I had to laugh at a trend I spotted - seems the birds got shy when he was around. LOL
Eventually some of them overcame their shyness.
Billy especially wanted this photo to show his sister Kaitlynn
We eventually ended up in Africa
There was traditional music being performed when we arrived and Billy got some snaps of them
I had hoped to do the safari tour, but we were too late to get tickets for it so we did the walking tour instead and saw a whole area of birds, followed by a sleeping hippo (underwater) and gorillas.
I could be wrong, but I *think* he was having a good time
another waterfall for his sister. :lust
We had an opportunity to touch this ball python (no she's not hissing - that's her tail up by her head) but decided not to at the last minute.
There was a small petting zoo here as well, so in we went!
*this* made me think of one of my best friends - Chris - who is a huge fan of bats.
and one last flower and, oh my gosh, it's already time to head back to Epcot to ride the Test Track!
Back at Epcot, Billy snaps this image of the flag. I have been trying for YEARS to get a flag shot as good as this - yes, I'm jealous. lol
A few more Epcot scenes en route to our ride
THIS is the car he wants to have!
We spent a bit longer just enjoying the park and buying souvenirs. I was so impressed by Billy! He looked at a lot of stuff, but the very first things he purchases - with his OWN money, were gifts for his family. I was so proud of him. He's got a generous heart.
and Billy noticed that we weren't the only ones in the park getting hungry!
We spent some time in the playground
watched a few more birds
and then decided we were ready to call it a day. We took our time going out - getting more photos on the way, of course!
I'm particularly proud of this shot -
Billy really wanted to ride the monorail, so we took the long way (really long way!) back to the campground. LOL First we took the monorail from Epcot to the transpo center, then the ferry to the Magic Kingdom, then the launch to the campground.
This is the ferry
and the two of us on the launch.
While we were at Epcot our phones rang at almost the exact same time, with both our Moms calling to make sure that we knew that the Space Shuttle Endeavour was going to be landing the following night. I was *not* aware of this so I was trying to figure out how to work this into our plans!
When we got back to the campground we took a bus to our tent, grabbed our s'mores stuff, flashlights, blankets, and a notebook and pen (for me) and got back on the bus to go down to the campfire and outdoor movie. The movie had already started, but we roasted some marshmallows and made s'mores, and I sent an emergency text message to Chris to see if he could get me some info on the best places to try and see the shuttle come in.
The movie was 102 dalmations and Billy and I both enjoyed the part where the bird said "I've just realized, I'm not a rottweiler, I'm a retriever!" Chris text messaged me back, so I made sure Billy was all set and then went back behind the bleachers to call him back. What a great guy! He saved the day - found out the exact time the shuttle was supposed to land, what direction it was coming from and found a list of four recommended viewing locations! My friends sure do make me look good. :ivar
The buses were running behind, so it was very late before we got back to the tent site and we were both dead tired, so straight to bed for us!
The next morning we had to pack up our site and move on to our next location, Blue Springs State Park. Before we left, Billy made sure to sweep out the tent
and wanted to pick up a few pinecones as firestarters for our next location. (no room in the car for a single thing!)
With a stop at AAA to get our tickets for the Kennedy Space Center, Walmart for a few essentials, we were on our way to our next campground.
The rest of the trip will be in Central Florida birthday trip part B
After much thought, several email discussions with his parents, and phone calls with input from the birthday boy, my nephew Billy, it was decided that we would go camping in Central Florida and see the Kennedy Space Center. Then, I was in touch with my cousin Bobby in the Tampa area and he reminded me that he works for Disney, and offered to help find us campground reservations there at Fort Wilderness and offered us two guest passes to the parks! What a great guy!
Finally Monday the 24th arrived and my poor little Toyota Echo was stuffed to the gills. After a short delay, while we got the medical power of attorney notarized, Billy and I hit the McDonald's drive through for breakfast and then we hit the road for Fort Wilderness at DisneyWorld. We chit chatted and he played with my spare cell phone, figuring out how to use it and making sure he had his mom and dad's cell phone numbers to call. I pulled out the map and had him figure out our route, and approximately how far we had to go before changing highways. Then we compared music on our MP3/4 players. His mom had loaded him up with some good tunes so we rocked out as we went down the highway. He now knows that Bon Jovi is meant to be LOUD. *giggle* We stopped to fill up the gas tank and he was stunned to realize that I was NOT going to use my debit card at the pump, instead handing him some cash and sending him in to the store to pay for the gas. "Can't you just use your card out here?" ( I could, but I'm not going to, was my reply. LOL)
He stayed awake for the first few hours of the trip, but shortly after we turned onto I-75 he fell asleep, and slept until we were about 30 minutes outside of Tampa. After he woke up we chatted for a few minutes and then he decided to try the radio and was a little annoyed that he couldn't get any of his familiar radio stations. (Um, Billy? We're 300 miles from there now!)
By 4:30 we were outside of Tampa, and met up with Bob, Fran, and their daughters Alicia and Rebecca at the Bob Evans near where Bob works. (restaurant chain) It was great to see them again, and to finally meet Miss Rebecca! I'd post a pic, but I forgot to take my camera out of the car. I'm looking forward to seeing the ones that Fran took. Bob took us all over to the Disney Reservations center where he works and gave us a quick tour of the building - VERY impressive, and much nicer than the call center I work in. We had to head out, to find our way to the Disney campground, aka Fort Wilderness, so it was a shorter visit than I would have liked, but it was great to see them again. Hopefully it won't be so long between our next visits.
And we were off to Fort Wilderness. Who knew that you were supposed to follow the Magic Kingdom signs off of I-4 to get there? *sigh* I called the reservation center and they told me to follow the signs for Disney's Magic Kingdom. "Oh, you mean the exit I just passed?" *eyeroll* Fortunately it wasn't far to the next exit and we doubled back.
At check in we had no problem - my reservations were on record, but I had to send Billy back into the building, because they forgot to open the gate for us once we were back in our car!
The campground was very nice, if a bit more open than I usually like. We were at site #2067 - which was easy to remember since it's the year I'll turn 100 years old.
The bathhouse was two spots to our right and the bus stop was behind the bathhouse - on the road that you can just see in the background of the second photo.
The photo of the site was actually taken Wednesday morning as we were preparing to leave Disney, but we arrived at dusk and set the tent up after dark so there were no pictures the first day. Once the tent was up we took a walk towards the other end of the campground where the boat dock was, only to get caught by the security guard who explained to us that we were going the WRONG direction (actually the right direction but down an offlimits route due to minor little things like coyotes and alligators - whoops!) and gave us a ride down where we were headed. I didn't realize how large the campground was - 700 acres. Guess there's a reason why there's buses to ride through the campground. lol We got to the beach area in time to see some fireworks and for Billy to point out some of his favorite constellations to me, before the wind picked up and we decided to call it a night.
We woke up Tuesday morning, nice and warm in our sleeping bags, and very unwilling to get out of them! It was *cold*. brrrrrrr This was the morning that we discovered that one of the aerobeds had a leak. A big leak. So much for not wanting to sleep on the ground! We went to the buffet breakfast and then headed off on the bus to see Epcot and the space exhibits.
Welcome to Epcot! I was very impressed with how quickly the security staff got people through the checkpoints. Once we were through the checkpoints we fed the machine our cards and had our fingerprint scanned. VERY odd, but I guess they do it to keep people from sharing passes?
We saw some street performers at Epcot, on our way to Billy's prime objective - "Mission Space"
While we stood in line for the ride, we saw some of the exhibits about the space program.
Billy took a good look at the spacesuits.
and then we rode the ride, which is supposed to be a simulation of a trip to Mars. It was fun! We took the green ride (less intense) and after doing that he wanted to do the red ride, but by then the wait time was 180 minutes for the ride, and he didn't want to get a fastpass. We did go through and compete in the "Mission Space" Game - our team won with 97% efficiency. :clap We went and got FastPass tickets to the GM Test Track ride, (Got the tickets at about 11:30 and our ride time was 5:20-6:20 pm - ridiculous! The holiday crowd was HUGE) and then we strolled around Epcot. We found a small butterfly house and went in. It was about this time that I discovered that Billy had not brought his camera with him, so we shared mine for the rest of the day. He took some fantastic photos!
We strolled around the grounds of Epcot, taking in the sights.
We saw the performers again
and Billy took photos of everything that caught his interest. He got some beautiful shots! The below are only some of his work.
The lines for all the rest of the rides were very long, and I noticed that despite all of his current interest in space and science, what he was really focusing on were the birds and flowers, so I suggested that we go to Animal Kingdom where he could photograph animals and plants more easily. He agreed and we were off on another bus ride.
Billy got some fabulous shots here but I had to laugh at a trend I spotted - seems the birds got shy when he was around. LOL
Eventually some of them overcame their shyness.
Billy especially wanted this photo to show his sister Kaitlynn
We eventually ended up in Africa
There was traditional music being performed when we arrived and Billy got some snaps of them
I had hoped to do the safari tour, but we were too late to get tickets for it so we did the walking tour instead and saw a whole area of birds, followed by a sleeping hippo (underwater) and gorillas.
I could be wrong, but I *think* he was having a good time
another waterfall for his sister. :lust
We had an opportunity to touch this ball python (no she's not hissing - that's her tail up by her head) but decided not to at the last minute.
There was a small petting zoo here as well, so in we went!
*this* made me think of one of my best friends - Chris - who is a huge fan of bats.
and one last flower and, oh my gosh, it's already time to head back to Epcot to ride the Test Track!
Back at Epcot, Billy snaps this image of the flag. I have been trying for YEARS to get a flag shot as good as this - yes, I'm jealous. lol
A few more Epcot scenes en route to our ride
THIS is the car he wants to have!
We spent a bit longer just enjoying the park and buying souvenirs. I was so impressed by Billy! He looked at a lot of stuff, but the very first things he purchases - with his OWN money, were gifts for his family. I was so proud of him. He's got a generous heart.
and Billy noticed that we weren't the only ones in the park getting hungry!
We spent some time in the playground
watched a few more birds
and then decided we were ready to call it a day. We took our time going out - getting more photos on the way, of course!
I'm particularly proud of this shot -
Billy really wanted to ride the monorail, so we took the long way (really long way!) back to the campground. LOL First we took the monorail from Epcot to the transpo center, then the ferry to the Magic Kingdom, then the launch to the campground.
This is the ferry
and the two of us on the launch.
While we were at Epcot our phones rang at almost the exact same time, with both our Moms calling to make sure that we knew that the Space Shuttle Endeavour was going to be landing the following night. I was *not* aware of this so I was trying to figure out how to work this into our plans!
When we got back to the campground we took a bus to our tent, grabbed our s'mores stuff, flashlights, blankets, and a notebook and pen (for me) and got back on the bus to go down to the campfire and outdoor movie. The movie had already started, but we roasted some marshmallows and made s'mores, and I sent an emergency text message to Chris to see if he could get me some info on the best places to try and see the shuttle come in.
The movie was 102 dalmations and Billy and I both enjoyed the part where the bird said "I've just realized, I'm not a rottweiler, I'm a retriever!" Chris text messaged me back, so I made sure Billy was all set and then went back behind the bleachers to call him back. What a great guy! He saved the day - found out the exact time the shuttle was supposed to land, what direction it was coming from and found a list of four recommended viewing locations! My friends sure do make me look good. :ivar
The buses were running behind, so it was very late before we got back to the tent site and we were both dead tired, so straight to bed for us!
The next morning we had to pack up our site and move on to our next location, Blue Springs State Park. Before we left, Billy made sure to sweep out the tent
and wanted to pick up a few pinecones as firestarters for our next location. (no room in the car for a single thing!)
With a stop at AAA to get our tickets for the Kennedy Space Center, Walmart for a few essentials, we were on our way to our next campground.
The rest of the trip will be in Central Florida birthday trip part B
Carole, Olympus E500, 18-180
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Can't wait to see what's next