Saturday, December 31, 2011

Goodbye 2011, Welcome 2012

As each year comes to a close I usually end up thinking about what we did during the year and I write a summary of the year. I spend the last week of the year going over the calendar for the year and make little notes so I can put it all on this blog. After a little thinking I had a good handle on 2011. I realized that overall Thomas and I had a great year and we are looking forward to 2012. So here is a little recap of our year.

As usual Thomas had a busy January and February with the legislative session. So he is up and at work early and doesn't get home until late. Even though it is a stressful time for him he really enjoys that aspect of his job and I think it energizes him. While he is working his tail off I take care of everything else - the dogs, the house, the bills, the shopping, the laundry - well you get the picture. That is how we start off most years. At the end of February and through the first week of April I made a trip to Texas for T.A.L.E.8. That is a letterboxing event that I try to attend every year. I also visited some friends while there. It was a good trip and I had a great time. Then at the end of March Thomas and I took a trip to Tucson. Mainly for him to get away after the legislative session but we also attended the annual Tucson Letterboxers Gathering. We had great weather and enjoyed hiking in Tucson Mountain Park and in the Catalina Mountains.

At the end of April Thomas had to go to Las Cruces for work and I ended up tagging along. We were there three days and fortunately Thomas was able to find some free time for a little relaxation. Then in July we took a trip to Alaska. The trip was set up as a cruise for a group of letterboxers and then there was a land portion added to it. Thomas and I opted to extend the trip since we were traveling all that distance and we wanted to make the most of it. We ended up flying in to Fairbanks a couple of days early and doing things on our own. Then we met up with the rest of the group and took a bus from Fairbanks to Denali National Park. A day there and then back on the bus to Anchorage. The next day we took a train to Seward where we boarded our ship. The next seven days had us sailing to Juneau, Skayway, Icy Strait Point and Ketchikan and through the Inside Passage before we docked in Vancouver. Thomas and I stayed in Vancouver for a few days before flying home. We had an incredible trip and we met some wonderful people. We will remember this trip for a long time. You can read all about it at Letterboxing Cruise to Alaska Adventure.

In September I went on another trip. This time to the Midwest. I attended a letterboxing event (2011: a stamp odyssey) in Augusta, Missouri. Besides that I spent time in St. Louis and then went on a great road trip to visit some State Capitols. My trip took me to Jefferson City, Des Moines, Springfield, Indianapolis, Columbus, Frankfort and Nashville. It was a wonderful trip and could have only been better if Thomas had been able to go with me. You can read about my odyssey at Missouri and Beyond. And we took one last trip for the year right after Thanksgiving and that was to Orlando. We spent four days at Walt Disney World Resort and two days at Universal Resort. We also had a couple of relaxation days in between visiting all the parks. It was a good trip and Thomas and I made it a point to ride as many of the rides as we could . I think we did a good job of getting that done. That trip is chronicled here.

Through 2011 we also attended some Broadway plays and concerts at Popejoy Hall in Albuquerque with some friends. During the year we saw Wicked, Spring Awakening, The Music Man, Legally Blonde, Fiddler on the Roof, Grease, Cats and Blue Man Group. We enjoyed them all but my favorites were Wicked, Blue Man Group and Fiddler on the Roof. We already have plays and concerts schedule for 2012 - South Pacific, My Fair Lady, Damn Yankees, Young Frankenstein, Manhattan Transfer, Mary Poppins, Les Miserables and The Lion King. It should be fun to see all of these and be able to visit with Louise, Bonnie and Eric.

Our three dogs - Daisy, Buddy and Grim are all doing well. They keep us entertained and they always provide us with unconditional love. We are use to only having one dog at a time so having three dogs has proved to be a little chaotic at times - thankfully when they get all riled up we just put them outside and let them run around the property. They are all great dogs and we love them to death. One really big problem we have is that the dogs tend to fight with the coyotes that live out in back of the house in the arroyo. They have some pretty serious encounters where our dogs have come home with bites, cuts and bleeding. But at times it seems as if they are all playing like best of friends. So we do try to keep an eye out for them and make sure nothing gets too serious.


Thomas also did a lot of work on the yard this year. A couple of years ago we made our wall taller and added gates. This year Thomas had the ponds resurfaced and fixed up and we also added quite a few plantings and a couple of little arbors. We bought new patio furniture and had new cushions made as well. We still have a little work to do especially in the front of the wall by our parking area - we will tackle that this Spring and Summer. Thomas also completed a Master Gardener program at the beginning of the year. He really enjoyed the classes and learned a lot. He may do some assisting with this years class here in Santa Fe, but he hasn't made up his mind yet.

With all the problems with the economy and people being without jobs Thomas and I feel very lucky. We both have good jobs and a steady income. Both our jobs are going well and keep us very busy. Luckily we both have things outside of work that help us to forget about the stress of the jobs when we get home. We are hoping that 2012 provides much better stability for the economy and the country and that our jobs continue to be good.

We are already making plans for some travel in the coming year. I will be attending T.A.L.E.9 in the Houston area in early March. And then in May Thomas and I are going on a cruise with my brother and his wife and one of my sisters and her husband. We are going on a Carnival Cruise to the Caribbean. We leave from Galveston and our ports are Mahogany Bay, Belize and Cozumel.

I am looking forward to 2012 and feel that it will be as good or better than 2011. Happy New Year to everyone and Thomas and I send everyone good wishes.

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Our Last Day

Well today was our last day in Orlando. We didn't make any plans last night but we knew we would probably visit one or two of the Disney parks since we had one more day left on our tickets. So when we woke up this morning we decided to get some of our stuff packed and then go to breakfast. While at breakfast we both decided that Disney's Animal Kingdom was our favorite park - mostly because it was the most natural and had lots of animals. The decision was made to go there and then we would see what we wanted to do later. Well here is how our day turned out . . .












Entered Disney's Animal Kingdom.
Walked through Oasis.
Entered Discovery Island.
Walked the Discovery Island Trails.
Walked over to Africa.
Rode the Kilimanjaro Safaris.
Did a little window shopping in Mombasa Marketplace.
Entered Asia.
Saw the Flights of Wonder Show.
Walked the Maharajah Jungle Trek.
Walked through DinoLand U.S.A.









By this time it was 3:00pm and we had seen everything we wanted to so we decided to head over to the Magic Kingdom. And this is what we did there . . .









Entered the Magic Kingdom.
Walked down Main Street.
Got ice cream at Plaza Ice Cream Parlor.
Ate ice cream while sitting at the statue of Walt and Mickey.
Walked over to Tomorrowland.
Rode the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover.
Rode Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin.
Had dinner at Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe.
Watched the Main Street Electrical Parade.









By the time the parade was starting the crowds were getting bigger so we decided after the parade to call it a day. We had a great time in Orlando and we enjoyed all the theme parks we visited. Of course Thomas and I both have our favorite places and rides but all in all it was a wonderful trip. But we will be glad to be home and see our dogs and be able to sleep in our own bed. Tomorrow is all about airports and flights - I can't wait to get home.

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

A Day at the Movies

Our plan for today was to visit Universal Studios and that is what we did. After a slow start and a little breakfast we arrived at the park around 10:00am. The weather was beautiful and it was already in the 70's when we entered the park. The place was not very crowded, this was the least amount of people at any of the parks that we visited this week. I was kind of glad, the crowds can get annoying at times. This meant we could take our time going from attraction to attraction without having to wait in long lines. So, here is what we did today at the park . . .


Universal Studios Entrance









Entered park at Production Central.
Saw Shrek 4-D.
Walked over to New York.
Saw Twister . . . Ride It Out!
Rode Revenge of the Mummy.
Made our way over to San Francisco/Amity.
Watched Beetlejuice's Graveyard Revue.
Rode Disaster!
Had a late lunch at San Francisco Pastry Company.
Rode JAWS.
Headed over to World Expo.
Rode Men In Black Alien Attack.
Rode the Simpsons Ride.
Entered Woody Woodpecker's Kidzone.
Rode E.T. Adventure.
Saw Animal Actors on Location!
Over to Hollywood.
Saw Universal Orlando's Horror Make-Up Show.
Watched the Macy's Holiday Parade.
Back in Production Central.
Rode Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit.

Rip Ride Rocket












We had a great day at the park. The weather was great until around 4:00pm when it got pretty chilly and cloudy with some light sprinkling of rain. Nothing bad and definitely nothing to stop all the action. We actually rode our last ride in a light drizzle. My favorites of the day were The Simpsons Ride and Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit. Not sure what we are doing tomorrow (our last day) - we have one more day on our Disney tickets so we will probably go to one or two of those parks - we will see how we feel in the morning.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

A Day of Adventure

Today we were up early because I wanted to get to Universal's Islands of Adventure before they opened. My whole purpose on visiting this park was to see The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. A travel guide I bought said that since this is the newest area of the park and has proven to be the most popular. At the busiest times you can wait for hours just to enter this section and to get on any of the rides takes forever. So they suggested to get there early and head straight for that area and that is what we did. Although today in the park wasn't busy at all and we only waited between 5 and 15 minutes for each ride except one (that one we waited 25 minutes). Here is a breakdown of our day . . .

Hogwarts at Universal









Made our way to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
Rode Dragon Challenge.
Rode Flight of the Hippogriff.
Rode Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey.
Walked around taking pictures and visiting shops.
Entered Jurassic Park area.
Ate an early lunch (we didn't have breakfast) at The Burger Digs.
Rode Jurassic Park River Adventure. *Got a little wet!*
Walked over to Toon Lagoon.
Rode Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls. *Got really wet!*
Rode Popeye & Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barges. *Got absolutely soaked - from head to toe!*
Had some ice cream and sat in the sun to try and dry off - it didn't work!
Entered Marvel Super Hero Island.
Rode the Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man.
Rode Doctor Doom's Fearfall.
Rode the Incredible Hulk Coaster.
Sat in the sun again and watched people riding the Hulk Coaster trying to dry off -
still didn't work - stupid humidity.
Entered Seuss Landing.
Rode the Cat in the Hat.
Walked over to the Lost Continent.
Took the tour of Poseidon's Fury.
Went back to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
Rode Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey again.
Rode Dragon Challenge again.
Took more pictures and went in more shops.

Ripsaw Falls









We had a full day in the park and it was so nice to have minimal crowds and very short wait times. And we even had time to visit Harry Potter twice and spend extra time in Hogsmead and at Hogwarts. The park was open until 7:00pm but we ended up leaving at 5:00pm. We did everything we wanted to do and more and were ready for a nice meal. We ended up stopping at a seafood and steakhouse for dinner on our way back to the hotel. We were still wet from the three water rides and decided to get out of our wet clothes and put on our bathing suits and go sit in the hot tub - why not we were already wet. The hot tub was a great end to a great day. We both had a blast and we loved the rides - favorites of the day - Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, Incredible Hulk Coaster, Dragon Challenge and Doctor Doom's Fearfall in that order. We will be visiting Universal Studios tomorrow.

Monday, December 5, 2011

A Lazy Day

After one day of traveling and four days at theme parks we decided to take today off. We wanted to relax and just not do much of anything. So we ended up sleeping in and laid in bed reading until about 10:00am. Then once we were dressed we decided to drive in to Orlando.
Orlando Statue
We decided to go to the downtown area and see what was going on. So we parked and walked around the area - first down Church St. and then down Orange Ave. - where we stopped into Paninio's Pizza and Grill for a little lunch. After eating we walked down Central Blvd. to Lake Eola and walked around part of the lake and rested on a bench for a while. We then returned to our car and decided to head back to the hotel. Once there I went and sat by the pool and read while Thomas decided to stay in the room and take a nap. We rested and then showered and went out for a nice dinner. It was perfect day to just relax and do nothing. Oh, and the temperatures were in the mid to high 70's - a big difference from the cold in Santa Fe. Our friend who is watching the house and taking care of the dogs told us that it was suppose to get down to -2°F tonight. Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! Anyway, we had a great day today and really relaxed. Tomorrow we are going to Universal's Islands of Adventure.

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Lights! Camera! Action!

Well we spent the day at Disney's Hollywood Studios and had a great time. We managed to get up early and we arrived at the park by 9:30am. I think we were able to get an early start because last night we got back to the hotel at a decent hour and had a great night's sleep. The parking area was already filling up by the time we arrived and I hoped the park wouldn't be to crowded but we were here and so we entered the park. Here is how we spent our day . . .

Hollywood Studios Entrance









Walked down Hollywood Boulevard and over to Echo Lake.
Rode Star Tours - The Adventure Continues.
Made our way to Streets of America.
Saw Muppet Vision 3-D.
Walked through Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Movie Set Adventure.
Entered Pixar Place.
Rode Toy Story Midway Mania!
Walked over to Sunset Boulevard.
Rode the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.
Rode the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith.
Had a light lunch at Rosie's All American Cafe.
Saw Beauty and the Beast - Live on Stage.
Made our way to Animation Courtyard.
Watched the Pixar Pals Countdown to Fun! Parade.
Saw Voyage of the Little Mermaid.
Went back to Streets of America.
Took the Studio Backlot Tour.
Walked back to Echo Lake.
Saw the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Adventure.
Now back to Streets of America.
Walked through The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights.
Ended up back on Hollywood Boulevard.
Rode the Great Movie Ride.
Attended Fantasmic.

Rock 'n Roller Coaster









It was a great day although the lines were longer today than at any of the other parks. We actually waited in line an hour for Toy Story Midway Mania and an hour for the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. Not bad though and it seemed shorter. I loved the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster - 0 to 58 in 2.8 seconds right at the start, part of the ride is in the dark and there are three inversions. All the while you have Aerosmith music playing in your ear - a great ride - my favorite of the day. We had some traffic to deal with when exiting the park but we still managed to get back to the hotel before 10:00pm. Not sure what we will be doing tomorrow but it probably won't have anything to do with a theme park.

Saturday, December 3, 2011

A Fun and 'Wild' Day

We had a very full and long day yesterday and it was after midnight when we got to bed. So we slept in this morning and by the time we showered, dressed, had breakfast and coffee we didn't arrive at Disney's Animal Kingdom until almost 11:00am. Very unusual for us - we typically get up early and get started on our day, so it seemed like we had lost most of our day before we even got started. Animal Kingdom closes early compared to the other parks in the Disney system, so we only had until 7:00pm to get things done. Here is how our day turned out . . .

Tree of Life









Entered Animal Kingdom park and walked through Oasis.
Made our way to Discovery Island.
Viewed and photographed the Tree of Life.
Watched It's Tough to be a Bug!
Headed over to Camp Minnie-Mickey.
Attended Festival of the Lion King.
Made our way into Africa.
Rode the Kilimanjaro Safaris.
Walked the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail.
Rode the Wildlife Express Train to Rafiki's Planet Watch.
Walked the Habitat Habit! Trail.
Walked through Conservation Station.
Visited the Affection Section.
Rode the Wildlife Express Train back to Africa.
Watched the last half of Mickey's Jingle Jungle Parade.
Had a late lunch at Tusker House Restaurant.
Strolled over to Asia.
Rode Expedition Everest - Legend of the Forbidden Mountain.
Wandered into DinoLand U.S.A.
Rode Primeval Whirl.

Epedition Everest









We had a great day at Animal Kingdom. I really liked this park. It has more shows and exhibits than it does attractions (rides in the Disney world). Don't get me wrong I have been enjoying the rides at all the parks but I just liked the feel of this park better. It was a shorter day today and we are back at the hotel at a decent hour and hopefully we will get to bed earlier tonight. Tomorrow Disney's Hollywood Studios.

Friday, December 2, 2011

Today We Traveled the World

We arrived at Epcot at about 10:00am. Parking and getting into the park was a little easier than at the Magic Kingdom. We didn't have to take a tram or anything - the parking area was in walking distance to the main gate. Our intention when we entered the park was to go to Spaceship Earth but the line was long and we decided to start elsewhere. So this is how the day unfolded . . .

Spaceship Earth












Made our way to Future World West.
Rode Soarin'! - Loved it!
Took the boat voyage for Living With the Land.
Saw The Circle of Life film.
Rode The Seas with Nemo and Friends.
Saw Turtle Talk with Crush.
Rode Journey Into Imagination with Figment.
Saw "Captain EO" - the original 3D film with Michael Jackson that played at Epcot from 1986 - 1994.
Made our way to the World Showcase.
Entered through Canada and walked to England.
Late lunch at Yorkshire County Fish Shop.
Visited gardens in Canada - modeled after Butchart Gardens in Victoria.
Listened to Off Kilter (Canadian and Celtic Rock Band).
Back to England.
Listened to British Revolution (British Rock Band).
Listened to Father Christmas tell holiday stories.
Walked over to France.
Dessert at Boulangerie Pâtisserie (Chocolate Mousse and Napoleon).
Listened to Père Noël tel holiday Stories.
Into Morocco - walked around and went into a few shops.
Entered Japan - more walking around and shopping.
Crossed over into the United States.
Attended the Candlelight Processional with celebrity narrator - Geena Davis.
Saw the American Adventure.
Walked over to Italy.
Watched the Ziti Sisters (Interactive Comedy Troupe).
Into Germany.
Stopped in at karamell-kuche for milk chocolate covered carmel topped with sea salt.
Over to China.
Watched The Jeweled Dragon Acrobats.
Now into Norway.
Rode Maelstrom.
Ended in Mexico.
A little more shopping and walking around.
Watched Illuminations.

Illuminations









Today there seemed to be more people than at the Magic Kingdom yesterday. But since there weren't as many rides waiting in line wasn't that bad even though it was longer wait times than yesterday. Everything else we did was timed things and we just showed up. After Illuminations we made our way back to the car and then to the hotel. Even with the crowds getting out of the park and the parking lot went smoothly. Another great day at Disney World. Tomorrow the plan is to visit Disney's Animal Kingdom.

Thursday, December 1, 2011

A Day of Magic

We spent today at Disney World's Magic Kingdom and had a great time. It has been since the 90's since Thomas and I have been to Disney World and we have been talking about for a while now and we finally made the trip. We arrived at the parking area at 9:30am, boarded the 'Heroes' tram then took the Monorail over to the Magic Kingdom. Once in the park this is how our day went . . .








Rode the Walt Disney World Railroad around the park.
Walked down Main Street to Cinderella Castle.
Made our way to Tomorrowland.
Saw Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor.
Went to Stitch's Great Escape!
Rode Space Mountain.
Sat in on Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress.
Headed to Fantasyland.
Had a small lunch at Pinocchio Village Haus.
Rode "it's a small world".
Walked over to Liberty Square.
Went in to the Haunted Mansion through the cemetery.
Attended the Hall of Presidents.
Made our way to Adventureland.
Got Fast Pass for Jungle Cruise.
Watched the show at Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room.
Rode Pirates of the Caribbean.
Rode the Jungle Cruise.
Walked over to Frontierland.
Got Fast Pass for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.
Went over to Tom Sawyer Island.
Rode Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.
Rode Splash Mountain. Got soaking wet! - Thankfully it was the end of the day.
Ate a light dinner at Columbia Harbour House.
Watched the Main Street Electrical Parade.
Made our way to Cinderella Castle.
Watched The Magic, The Memories, and You! projected onto the Castle.
Watched the Wishes! Fireworks show.












When we first arrived at the park there weren't very many people and it was easy and fast getting around and getting on rides. By noon the park was a little busier but still not bad. A couple of the rides had 45 minute waits but those are the ones we got Fast Passes for and went do other things then returned at our appointed time and 'viola' - no waiting. I think the longest we waited in line for any ride was 20 minutes. Not bad! Leaving the park took a lot longer than arriving. There were tons more people tonight than this morning and there was a mass exodus after the fireworks. From the park we took the Ferry back over to the parking area and we got an impromptu concert from the Gardner High School Marching Band (from Gardner, MA). They participated in the Main Street Electrical Parade tonight. They didn't play instruments on the Ferry - they sang. I guess a few of them are in the choir as well and they will be participating in the Candlelight Processional at Epcot tomorrow night and they just started singing while the Ferry took us back to the parking area. It was nice and they were very good. It was a long day but we had a blast. Tomorrow we are going to Epcot.