Happy 60th, Disneyland! (Day 1)

This weekend I had the opportunity to get one more trip in before my Southwest Companion Pass expires. Diana, Johnnie, and I landed in Orange County on Friday morning and started the Disney fun immediately. 

After checking in at a Clarion near the parks, we headed to the marathon expo to pick up park tickets we had preordered at a discount. Since we were at the Disneyland Hotel, we grabbed burgers and drinks at Trader Sam's. We all agreed that Johnnie's choice, the Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Rum, was the best drink at the table. The cheese burger with pineapple and teriyaki sauce was great, too!

Next we stopped in at California Adventure (DCA) and grabbed Fastpasses for the World of Color show that night and then headed to Disneyland (DL) for some rides. We managed to ride a lot of our favorites before dinner at Plaza Inn. This restaurant serves the Disney family recipe fried chicken, which was yummy!

We ended the evening with World of Color. World of Color has been updated for the 60th Anniversary and features Neil Patrick Harris and Mickey Mouse paying tribute to Walt's imagination and innovation through images on the water screens in Paradise Bay. The original show was good, but this new version is great, too!

A Different Kind of Journey

I've completed my 15th first week of school as of this evening! As all classroom teachers probably feel in the first weeks of the year, I'm exhausted!  I have been getting to know 118 new 7th graders over the last few days, and I think I have a good bunch! I've altered a few things in my curriculum, and I've decided to jump on the interactive notebook bandwagon. I'm hopeful that this will be a great learning and studying tool for my students. I think it will also help them with organizational skills. 

I have one more trip planned for this year. The Girls and I will be visiting Disneyland over Labor Day weekend to celebrate Disneyland's 60th Anniversary and our own birthdays, all only a few weeks apart. I'll also get to see my sister-in-law. Until then, I'll be working late to get back into the swing of this school thing!

Universal Orlando

Universal Orlando

On Monday, we headed out early for a day at Universal Studios. This was really the main reason for our quick trip to Florida this go around since we had not yet visited the new additions to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. We had about a 15 minute walk from Hyatt Place, and arrived at Universal just as the park was opening up for day guests (guests who stay on property can enter one hour early).  The rain started as arrived, as well, but it was a light, misty rain, unlike the typical Florida downpours. Our first ride was Despicable Me, which is just inside the gate, so we got shelter from the rain pretty quickly. Despicable Me is very cute and usually has a huge wait, but we lucked in to just 20 minutes. It would be at 120 minutes later in the day. We then rode Transformers (just like Spider-Man at the other park), E.T. (An oldie, but goodie), and the Simpsons (just like the California version) all with very short lines before entering Diagon Alley. Like the original park on the Islands of Adventures side, this area of the park was heavily and accurately themed, small shops and all. The street itself looked like the movie set, and I believe I read they actually had set designers come in to make certain that was the case.

If you've read the books and/or seen the movies, this section, and particularly the star attraction, Escape from Gringotts, is based around Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The Weasley's joke shop is across from The Leaky Cauldron, there is a nicely done play of "The Story of the Three Brothers" that explains the Deathly Hallows, and the Gringotts queue features Daily Prophet clippings that give away the end of Half-Blood Prince.  The Gringotts ride had a posted wait of 45 minutes, but it was in reality over an hour due, in part, to two brief delays. The queue and preshow are very well done with life-like goblin animatronics going about their banking business. The ride itself is a coaster with track switches and moments when the whole car rotates on the track. It has bursts of speed, but it routinely stops in front of 3D screens where we faced off with Bellatrix and Voldemort (with Nagini) as Bellatrix tried to stop Harry, Ron, and Hermione from retrieving the horcrux from her vault.  It was impressive!

After our battle with the bad guys, it was time for lunch. We headed to the Leaky Cauldron for fish and chips and a chicken sandwich, and, of course, Butterbeer! The rain and clouds were keeping the temperatures in the low 80s, so I went for the newly added warm Butterbeer, thankful I didn't have to try it in 100° heat. Dave and Jadeyn had the chilled variety. The warm version was the consistency of hot chocolate with the familiar butterscotch flavor, and I enjoyed it. We also sampled some Butterbeer soft-serve ice cream, and it was yummy.

The Hogwart's Express is also a new addition, and the replica of King's Cross Station is dead-on. We were able to take the train from Universal Studios over to Islands of Adventure, fighting Dementors along the way, where we visited our old favorites in the original Harry Potter section (and had more Butterbeer -I swear there's crack in it!). I still really like Forbidden Journey, but the darkness of the screens inside this ride is now exacerbated by the brightness of the new screens next door. Gringotts requires riders to wear 3D goggles whereas Forbidden Journey does not, so I'm sure that is part of the difference.  We also visited other attractions in IOA before going to City Walk for dinner. Sadly, Spider-Man went down while we were in line, so we missed out on it. 

After dinner, we reentered Universal Studios to see Diagon Alley at night. On the way to the back on the park, we stopped in at Twister, which is based on the movie, flying cows and all. We used the single-rider line for one more go on Gringotts, finished up our shopping, and headed back to the hotel. 

Cocoa Beach

We got up fairly early this morning considering how late it was when we went to sleep, but we hoped to get in some beach time before the rain moved in midday. 

We arrived in Cocoa around 10:30 and settled in. The water was cooler here than in Destin, and not as clear while the sand was darker and coarser than that on the gulf coast. There were lots of surfers out today. Jadeyn and Dave did a lot of wave jumping while I lounged on the sand and waded in. 

Jadeyn let Dave bury her in the sand…silly girl is still trying to get rid of the sand!

We did manage to miss the rain (it came later while we were eating), and we attempted to get a few group photos before we left for shopping and a late lunch at a local seafood place. Sun = squinting and funny faces by those who forgot their sunglasses :)

Ron Jon Surf Shop

Tomorrow, we are off to the Wizarding World for a full day of fun!

Orlando…Finally!

Our travel day was quite an adventure! It's 2:30am and we're finally setting into our room.  The day started with my wake up call from Debbie at Southwest around 9:00 am. She informed me that our original flight, scheduled to depart Tulsa at 7:00 pm, was already delayed and we would miss our connection to Orlando if we did not take an earlier flight. Sooooo, we rebooked to leave at 3:15, connecting in Houston instead. Dave was originally expecting to work today but ended up off, so we made the switch without much of an issue. 

We left Tulsa on time and that flight was mostly without issue. After grabbing a bite to eat at the airport, we headed to the gate only to learn that Orlando had thunderstorms and we would be delayed. Time kept getting pushed back, but we finally pushed back a little before 9:00. We arrived in Orlando a few minutes ahead of when we would have if our original itinerary had stayed intact. Then we went to find Hertz…

What. A. Mess. If you follow airport signs, you actually end up at the Hertz Gold counter, and they will not help you if you're not a Gold member. I'm not. So, we backtracked to the other Hertz counter where all the regular people go...the one we didn't see originally because we were following signs. The line was crazy, and there were two people working. The self-serve kiosks were having issues, but we finally got one to work, kind of. Dave's license wouldn't scan, and they kept telling me to ask a representative for help, but there was no greeter to be seen. The lady next to me was told they were out of cars. The kiosk process took 45 minutes, but we finally had our car. 

Now for a little sleep before we head to the beach, hopefully before it gets too rainy. 

Nuts and Bolts Symposiums- Destin, FL

This week, I have been attending sessions at Destin Middle School. I've seen presentations by Jack Berckemeyer, Rick Wormeli, Chris Toy, Shannon Vincent, and Sharon Faber. I will be taking back some good ideas for my classroom and team. Of course, there is also time for play! We are staying in condos right on the beach at the SunDestin Resort. I'm in a room on the 8th floor. The beach is beautiful!

My room is just left of the water drop!

Stonehenge Video

Some have asked why we spent five hours on our Stonehenge tour. Well, we saw more than the stones. This video was shown on PBS some time ago and was referenced by our Stonehenge guide. If you're interested, the full video is over an hour, but it covers what is believed about the origins of the monument. 

Cheers!

As we awoke on our last day, we had a lot of packing to do. I was worried about an overweight bag and took a lot of time rearranging items (much to Dave's annoyance), but we eventually came in just 0.4 kg over, and the kind Norwegian Air attendant let it go since we were sharing one checked suitcase between the two of us, but I'm jumping ahead. 

After checking out of The Grosvenor Hotel and storing our bags, we headed to Paddington Station to return our wifi device. I had appreciated such a device when traveling in Japan last year and was happy to have a similar option in London. Unfortunately, data limits on the device made it pretty useless. I received an email on day 3 that we had already surpassed 65% of our data budget, and that was just maps, Facebook, photos, and one Skype call. I had the option to upgrade to unlimited data, but that would nearly double the cost of my rental agreement and it wasn't truly unlimited. In the fine print, it stated that they could still turn off the service for excessive use, whatever they deemed that to be. The device worked great, but in the end, the options in Japan were much more usable and cost-effective, so I wouldn't rent this particular device again. 

After a quick lunch, we visited The British Museum, home to the Rosetta Stone and the Elgin Marbles.  We focused on the Egyptian, Greek, and Roman exhibits during our waning time. Eventually, it was time to go retrieve luggage and board the Gatwick Express. 

Gatwick is a small airport, and it was crowded. We soon learned that nearly every flight was delayed, presumably due to weather happening elsewhere. After a 2 1/2 hour delay, we were finally on our way to New York. We got to our hotel around 1:30 this morning. I'm on the plane now to Houston, and will presumably continue on to OKC without incident. The puppies will be so excited to see us!

In closing, I'd like to share my general thoughts on the trip as a whole. I appreciate the history that can be seen everywhere you look, and the pomp of the ceremonies is fun to watch. We saw the Queen returning to Buckingham Palace after opening Parliament, and we saw Charles' motorcade leaving Clarence House on a later day. Quite a spectacle, really. It was pretty amazing that people were allowed to line the streets so closely to the route.  Apparently, Prince Harry was in Leicester Square the same night we were, so I'm kinda bummed we missed seeing him out. There was plenty to do, and even after two weeks, we didn't see everything. It was a little frustrating that every major attraction seemed to close at 5:00 or 6:00. Since we weren't really into fine dining options, that left evening entertainment a little limited. It also meant we had to start early each day to get more than one attraction in. Like we had read, London is very expensive. And crowded. Rush hour is no joke, and it goes on for far more than an hour.  Perhaps it would be less "rushed" if everything didn't close at the same time :)  Hotel rooms are indeed smaller than the U.S. standard, and we'll both happily resettle into our room at home which suddenly doesn't seem small at all!  After four days of city life, we found time in Salisbury and then Thornbury to be a quiet respite from the crowded London sidewalks, and we very much enjoyed our tour of the Stonehenge landscape with Pat Shelley. I think I would have been bored if we had just turned up to view the stones as so many people do. It was much better to get the archeological point of view despite the cost. The Rock tour was a different take on London history, and our guide for that was was great, too. I loved touring the castles and abbeys, and the Ceremony of the Keys was really cool.  As far as food is concerned, it's safe to say that I've now had my fill of fish and chips for awhile, and I desperately want some Mexican food!  But I did find a new honey beer that I like called Hiver. 

I'm sure there are details that I'm forgetting, but that's about it. I'm glad we had the opportunity to spend these two weeks together, and I'm also grateful that I have some calm summer days to recuperate!

Windsor

On Thursday, our last full day, Dave and I decided to take a short train ride to Windsor. We had entertained the idea of a day-trip to Paris on this day, but as we got closer to the end of our trip, we knew that wasn't going to happen. Neither of us were too bothered by that. Time, money, and energy levels were winding down, and the excessive amounts of walking was taking a toll on our legs. 

Windsor was a cute community with shops and dining all along the walkway to the castle. We stopped in at the Windsor Museum first and then managed to catch the Change of Guard parade up the high street before making our way to the castle entrance. I was glad to see the military band this day since our Change of Guard day at Buckingham Palace last week was rainy and the band performance had been cancelled.

Windsor Castle is still used regularly as the Queen's favorite residence. She is said to spend most weekends there. The State rooms we were allowed to tour are also regularly featured in broadcast footage you may have seen. Windsor is home to the Order of the Garter, the oldest British order of chivalry, and St. George's Hall is used for major state dinners. It can be set with 162 place settings at one very long table! The original room was destroyed by a fire in 1992, but it and the other damaged rooms have been meticulously restored to their former likenesses. 

(Borrowed photo)

St. George's Chapel is also onsite. It is a beautiful Gothic style building. Architecturally, buttresses were used on the outside of the building to add support to the ceiling so that the interior space would not need as many columns along the nave, keeping the line of sight more open. It was quite bright inside, which surprised me since I usually associate gothic style to darker buildings, like Notre Dame in Paris. The Queen's parents, sister, and grandparents are buried here as well as other notable monarchs such as Henry VIII and Charles I.  Ironically, Henry's grave is a shared grave marked by a simple black slab in the center of the quire, not at all the grand monument one would expect from such a lavish spender. In contrast, Henry's father, Henry VII, built a large, ornate monument and grand chapel room dedicated to his family at Westminster despite being known as the penny-pincher. 

Like other palaces and churches we visited, no photography was allowed inside the buildings. 

We had lunch at a cute pub called Horse and Groom after our tour. The pubs really do have some creative names, my favorite being the The Hanged, Drawn, and Quartered near the Tower of London :)

After returning to London, we decided to have a quiet night in the room. The next day, we would need to repack and start the long journey home. 

The Making of Harry Potter

About 30 minutes outside of London, Warner Bros. built a studio. It was here that all eight Harry Potter movies were filmed. Of course, some portions were filmed on locations throughout the UK, but some key set pieces are still housed here. This was Ground Zero, so to speak. After the books and movies became such a sensation, Warner Bros. decided to store the props rather than destroy them after production ended on Deathly Hallows, Part 2. Now the tour is allowing the public to walk through the sets and view the props. It is truly awesome! I'm so glad we planned to do this. We were at the studios for nearly four hours.  The scale model of Hogwarts is absolutely amazing and the perfect tour finale. Pictures really don't do this justice. 

These are just a few of our photos. Dave's phone died, and he has a ton more we can't get to at the moment. 

Bonus: They serve Butterbeer! And I bought a copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the UK version of Book 1 with the original title.