The Birthday Weekend

Those of you that guessed I was in the Magic Kingdom were correct, and those of you that guessed I was at EPCOT were also correct. We stayed at a villa in Orlando (really more like Kissimee) and spent the weekend doing the park bit. It was fabulous but extremely hot!

We had Mexican for dinner on Friday night and had a grand party. Aunt Betty Ann had a waiter chase after her to retrieve the Mexican hat that had been given her to wear in honor of her 75th birthday. Our waiter was going to let her leave with it, but one of the waiters near the door was too vigilant.

Allison with the birthday girl and her birthday hat

Lloyd posing with the birthday hat.

"L" donning the Mexican birthday hat.

Laura joining the crowd.

Matthew avoiding the birthday hat!

Michael, Laura, Karin, and Peggie

"Chipmunk Cheeks" Jason and Michael

Peggie Ann poses as well

Betty Ann returning the hat to our waiter!

Saturday morning we headed out to Disney World's Magic Kingdom. We had what they call "Fast Passes" which made our waiting in line much shorter. It's nice to be friends with Disney employees! Splash Mountain, Thunder Mountain Railroad, and Pirates of the Caribbean were my favorite attractions of the day. I usually like to go on the ride at Space Mountain in Tomorrowland, but we ran out of time... we had to go back to the villa and get dressed for dinner at the Bistro in France at EPCOT. The dinner was fabulous and fun and quite expensive. However, since this was Betty Ann's official "Birthday Dinner" we all embraced this splurge with gusto!

Allison, Jason, Matt and Betty Ann
on Main Street

How many people does it take to fill a pixie stick?
A mechanical engineer, a crazy sea-going aunt,
a computer engineer,
and a retired newspaper editor.

Waiting for Godot ... and the rest of the group!

"L" and Betty Ann catching their breath

Matthew displaying patience while waiting
for the group to catch up

We were actually the last guests to leave EPCOT that night. It was really strange leaving the park and being the only ones there except for the staff on their Segways picking up trash. Their security people waited for us to finish our dinner and then made sure that we exited the park in safety (more like they wanted to get us out of there so they could finish up and go home!)

Closing EPCOT Saturday evening after a delicious French gourmet meal...

My favorite foursome!
Matt, Allison, "L" and "JPR"

Sunday we toured the EPCOT attractions. Lunch was in Morocco and included some great music and a belly dancer. It was a long leisurely lunch as we were glad to be out of the heat. After lunch we tried out the new ride in "The Land" called "Soarin"which was great fun... most of the group went twice. We also visited the hydroponic gardens in "The Land" which was a big hit with everyone who had not seen it before. The acrobats in "China" were also a big hit... I was truly amazed!

Allison getting belly dancing lessons against her will



Matthew and Betty Ann playing around with Bruce
in "The Living Seas"


Matthew still clowning around ...

The following pictures are from the Hydroponic Gardening area in "The Land"... the things grown are used in the restaurants... they even raise fish, eels, and alligators! They are experimenting with natural pest control and a variety of hydroponic methods of gardening. If you ever get the chance, plan a visit to this exhibit... it is fascinating!

tomatoes!

Sunday night was dinner in at the villa with pizza and a Scrabble game. Yours truly was so stuffed from lunch and tired from the heat and humidity that I missed the Scrabble games! Monday we played tourist for the first half of the day, and then all went our separate ways to get home.

I will post more about the trip tomorrow... hopefully, I will have more pictures to share!