Our first full day in Florida, we went to Daytona Beach. I'll spare you those pictures. I will say I was suprised by the extreme lack of attractive people. Afterall, it's Daytona Beach. You expect bleached-blonde, slender girls and muscular guys to be as abundant as seashells. Not the case. On the bright side, I didn't see anyone in a Speedo.
Not too far from Dayton Beach is the Ponce Inlet, where the Ponce de Leon lighthouse is located. Since we were all pretty sunburned by 2:00, we left the beach and stopped at the lighthouse to look around.
Views from the top of the lighthouse, which you access by climbing a very curvy, very steep, very tall set of stairs.
Imagine my excitement when I discovered quilts at the lighthouse! These pictures are from the caretaker's residence. I had to take pictures through the glass since the house wasn't open to the public.
After we left the lighthouse, we headed for Orlando. The next morning we began our Disney parks marathon. Three parks in three days. In July. My husband did a little research and informed everyone that we were visiting Disney World on the third busiest week of the year. The busiest week is Christmas, and the second busiest is spring break. I still think I would take either of those weeks over the one we chose simply because of the heat. It reminded me of physics class. When the temperature rises, particles start moving faster and bounce off of each other. That's how I felt - like a particle, uncontrollably bumping into people as we trekked through the parks.
Not to say we didn't have fun and see some really neat stuff. Everyone was very helpful and friendly. My husband and I thought it was hilarious that the tram drivers and ticket takers would say, "Welcome to _______. Have a magical day." So it sort of became an inside joke to describe everything as "magical."
The first day we went to Epcot. My favorite part of Epcot is the "countries." Epcot has a lake surrounded by a street. Other streets offshoot from the lake like sunbeams. Each offshoot represents a different country, where the buildings, restaurants, and people area all meant to make you feel like you are in that particular country. We visited them all, but my favorites were Germany, China, and the UK. Here is a picture of one of the gardens in France.
We ate in Morocco. It wasn't the best food I've ever tasted, but it was interesting. We had some hummus, which I had seen on tv on the food network but had never tried before. I'm glad I tried it. I would have preferred Japan or China (I really wanted my husband to try some sushi), but some other members of our group didn't want "that stuff," so Morocco was a good compromise. My husband's cousin had a margarita in Mexico. She said it was good, but it was way too hot for a cocktail for me.
The next day we visited MGM (which I highly recommend, especially if you like movies), and our last day we went to Magical Kingdom. Having learned our lesson from the previous two days, we opted to wait until the late afternoon to go to the park. We arrived at the parking lot a little before 4:00. The first tram we got on caught on fire. It wasn't engulfed in flames or anything, just a small electrical fire. By the time a 2nd tram arrived and we took the ferry to the entry gates, it was about 4:15. I doubt the Magic Kingdom was any less crowded at 4:15 than it was earlier in the day, but it was certainly cooler. We rode some rides, and I got my face painted with a Tinkerbell inspired look. I was probably the only 20-something gal in the park with a painted face (except for the employees), but it made me happy so I didn't care.
We were killing time, taking a tour of Mickey's and Minnie's houses, when we came across this room in Minnie's house.
Who knew Minnie Mouse was a quilter? I never really was a big Minnie fan, but I have a whole new respect for her now. Her quilt hanging on the wall even has a blue ribbon.
We took the obligatory picture in front of Cinderella's castle. We stayed late for the fireworks, which were definitely the best I've ever seen. After manuevering through the traffic jam that ensued after the fireworks and picking up a few souvenirs, we headed home.
I would definitely go back, just not in July. For now, I'm ready to get back to quilting for awhile.
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