Illuminations from our balcony

So nice...you can see the fireworks, but don't have to sit through the annoying globe scene:

Dinner at the Derby

A nice, slow, relaxing day for Mr. Shaw, Math Man, and me.  We went to Hollywood Studios today, and Mr. Sha ran around collecting Fast Passes for us.  This meant we rode Tower of Terror, Rock and Roller, and Toy Story Mania all in quick succession at the end of the day.  Lunch was at SciFi Drive Inn, were we enjoyed clips from some classic grade B movies (including Plan 9 from Outer Space).  Dinner was at one of our all time favorites, the Hollywood Brown Derby, and we were not disappointed!

Mr. Sha, waiting to be seated for dinner at Hollywood Brown Derby.

Hanging out at the Yacht Club tonight (sounds so snooty).  Math Man is doing laundry.  Mr. Sha was wandering around.  I spoke to the Joid (who did well at his conference and is headed home) and Stuc, who is keeping the pups occupied and out of trouble. We miss them both!

Slow and Steady

Taking it slow and steady tonight.  We moved to the Yacht Club - our first time here.  Our room is the second room furthest from the lobby, with a lovely view:

Two Sickies, But Still Having Fun

We might be slow, but we are steady! We modified our plans to skip Epcot tonight and went mini-golfing instead.  A close game, 40-42-42, with the par for the course at 56.  Math Man came out ahead, but then again, he was keeping score.

Dinner tonight was the best kind...whatever we could scramble from the gift shop.  A couple of healthy options (some fruit and veggies) and of junk.  We all feel rather sick.  We tried for a quick food place, but they were all backed up and we were too tired.

Since we had a good (and healthy) lunch at Crystal Palace today, I don't feel too bad about this!  This is vacation after all!

We had a great view of Illuminations from our balcony, with the benefit of being able to come inside for the boring globe parts!  What a life!

We all miss the Joid, since he should have been here today...we hear he could be having a better time.  Oh well.

Stretching the Umbilical Cord

This darn cold forces me to retire early, so of course Mr. Sha does not trust Math Man on his own and send him with me, leaving Mr. Sha all alone at Epcot.  I know he will be fine.  He will do better on his own than the Joid, I think (at least in terms of navigating his way back).  Still, the fact he so grown up, and the fact the Joid is so grown up that he is going on a trip to present a poster at a conference all on his own...well, that umbilical cord is sure stretching.

In spite of the fact my lungs are filled with gunk, we had fun.  We had a great cast member, Iliana, who was from Puerto Rico, guide us through the aviary today.  She pointed out every bird and explained that if the males and females looked exactly alike, they would band the males on one leg, and the females on the other.  She also told us about a bird who accidentally broke her first eggs, so they gave her another species of egg to hatch, and that bird still hangs out with the mother, even though the two species don't typically get along.  Another interesting tidbit is that the birds generally don't need to be acclimated to the new group, but once in a while they do get overly aggressive birds (for some reason more often from Asia) and then these birds have to be sent to another partner institution.  Math Man got lots of great bird pictures.

Mr. Sha and I posed like the ancients.

We saw Festival of the Lion King.  Joid will be very sad to know he missed another musical.

The early evening (before I wimped out) was spent eating our way around the World Showcase in Epcot. We sampled food from Morroco (Kefta Pocket, Harissa Chicken Roll, Baklava), Japan (Pork Kakuni - very tasty), Singapore (Shrimp Cake on a Sugarcane Skewer with Singapore Noodles, Tiger Beer), Italy (Ravioli di formaggio all'Emiliana), South Africa (Seared Filet of Beef with Smashed Sweet Potatoes and Braai Sause, Bunny Chow-- vegetable curry in a bread bowl), and Norway (Rice Cream).  Delicious!

Now Math Man and I are back resting and Mr. Sha is out in the freezing cold, all by himself, with me worrying.  He's probably having the best time ever!

Some memorable photos from the day:

Memories Old, Memories New

Being at WDW always brings up memories of trips past.  I saw a little kid "dancing" in his car (stroller) - just the and moves - and was instantly transported back to Mr. Sha freely dancing in front of the Morocco Pavilion. I see the young kids so excited, and remember our boys, racing to get to Goofy's Barn Stormer again and again!  I see the older kids so cool, and see our boys, going on Space Mountain with their sunglasses on, cool as could be, riding it time and time and time again.  I see the families dining. On the trams.  I see the kids with the parents and wonder how they interact.  Then I look at their parents and wonder if they look at me, hoping that when their kids are the age of Mr. Sha that they will still be travelling with them, enjoying their company as we do.  Well, as we do most of the time.  We are human, after all.  All I know is that I treasure each opportunity to be with my family, and miss those who are not here.  It still seems so strange to not have Joid and Stuc not with us.

Today were super excited to check out the new Star Tours!  I don't want to spoil it - but let's say, it's better than the trip to the moons that we experienced before.  Here's Mr. Sha modeling the stylish 3D eyewear:

We ate at one of our favorite spots, 50's Prime Time Cafe.  It wasn't too crowded, so Mr. Sha and I had a chance to relax in the mid-century themed living room:

After lunch, there was time for pin shopping (of course - another favorite memory of mine!) and the boys are seen seriously studying the offerings:

We saw the show Beauty & the Beast, in part to spare Joid the torture on the next trip.  Math Man, Mr. Sha and I appreciate the detailing that goes into the costumes, although the show is rather condensed (Belle goes suddenly from the village to being held captive by the Beast with no explanation!).  Disney really does a great job on the costumes:

We ended the day with a trip to Epcot and more memories...mainly the memory of me making a major mistake on the schedule (tomorrow has extra magic hours at Epcot, not tonight), getting stuck inside Test Tract "due to inclement weather," and a memory that brings back many other memories...my cold returning to my chest.  So many trips where one or more of us has been sick!  Soldier on we must!  Drug up we must!  No time for the weak, this is vacation!

Color

Our second full day comes to a close.  We have been helping Mr. Sha locate the necessary color combinations for his art homework assignment.  Tertiary.  Complimentary.  This and That and The Other.  We have been seeking and gathering objects to photograph to help him complete the assignment.  There is a folder in Picassa called Art Homework (or something like that) with the photos labeled.

Speaking of ART, while at Animal Kingdom, we saw Finding Nemo the Musical.  While the music may not be the best, the puppetry is stellar.  

The night was spent at Magic Kingdom.  Mr. Shaw was so happy to get a pass on Country Bear Jamboree for the evening, but he didn't escape Hall of Presidents!!

We closed the park and are now happy and exhausted!