Vacation 2012 recap.

My goal was to finish blogging our big Florida vacation before the one-year anniversary of that trip. Just days shy of our departure date this time last year, I have FINALLY posted the last recap!  The 2012 vacation daily summaries are all posted and back-dated:

July 5: The saga begins... (lost dog, New Orleans)
July 6: No place but NOLA (French Quarter, Cafe du Monde, wax museum)
July 6: Road to Orange Beach (Mississippi welcome center, beach hotel, fireworks)
July 7: Orange Beach (beach time, LuLu's)
July 8: Florida (Universal CityWalk, dinner with friends)
July 9: Universal Orlando (Wizarding World of Harry Potter)
July 10: Wild About Harry (return to Islands of Adventure)
July 10: Universal and Disney resort
July 11: Epcot
July 12: Magic Kingdom (park, Disney, resort arcade)
July 12: More MK
July 13: Hollywood Studios
July 13: Even more MK (Extra Magic Hours)
July 14: Animal Kingdom
July 15: Homeward bound (Tallahassee, Destin)
July 16: Texas! (Tyler, Chuy's, cemetery)
July 16: Survivor encounter

Whew! What a great trip!

I'm so thankful for our health and safe travels. I'm also thankful for the loved ones who made this trip possible. This vacation never could've happened if it weren't for some invaluable help. We are indebted to Brett's parents for taking care of our pets while we were gone and checking on the ol' homestead for the nearly two weeks we were gone. We were also blessed to have friends and family checking in on Memaw throughout our absence. They visited, took her gifts, sent us photos and texted updates. Because of Mom's dementia, we were so afraid she would forget why we were gone (and she did), but her many visitors did a wonderful job reminding her how much she's loved.

Of course, everyone's efforts to care for Mom showed us how blessed we are, too. Thanks to our "angels" here at home, we were able to take a break from the world of nursing homes and hospitals and escape to another world. It was MAGICAL.

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Vacation 2012: Back to the beach.

Day 11: Tallahassee to Destin to Baton Rouge
Miles driven: 468

Westward ho!

We woke up to a gorgeous Tally morning. On our way back to the interstate, we saw the Florida State Capitol. Interesting juxtaposition, eh? Every capitol building I see just makes me love ours all the more.

Our "real" beach time was on the way to Florida, but we knew we couldn't be that close to the coast and not stop on the way home. This time we stopped in Destin, a place many of our friends visit each summer.

Check out that blue water! 

Since this was one of our "long haul" days, it was nice to just soak up the sun and feel those ocean breezes for a few hours.

The only way you'll ever see a photo
of my toes: If they're covered up!

Such a lovely place! The surf was a little rougher than what we'd seen at Orange Beach just a bit to the west. 

After rinsing off, we were on our way. Next stop: Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Pit stop!

Funny how lovely a storm can be when it's far from our car!

We originally planned to stay in Mississippi at the end of this leg, but big plans for the next day pushed us to mosey farther west before stopping for the night. We were all excited to get home, but one of us was over-the-top ecstatic to get to our next destination!

Vacation 2012: Walk on the wild side.

Day 10: Animal Kingdom

Orlando to Tallahassee

Miles driven: 263

It was our last day at Walt Disney World. After wistfully checking out of our Port Orleans resort, we drove to Animal Kingdom where we began our day in Dino-Land with Dinosaur. Then we rode Primeval Whirl, a fun little wild mouse coaster.

After greeting Pluto and Goofy, we were off to Asia.

It was a big bummer to see Expedition Everest shut down because we really wanted to take two rides on that bad boy, but alas, we went the educational route, making our way through the Maharajah Jungle Trek.

What big bats you have!

It took us a while to figure out where to eat lunch, but the BBQ aromas coming from Flame Tree made us circle back and dine there.

We enjoyed sitting in the shade.

We did NOT enjoy our fellow diners! This crazy creature terrified me with that sharp beak of his. (And the idiots at the table near us kept feeding him! When they left, Mr. Big Bill moseyed our way, and I just knew he would mistake our fingers for food.)

The Flights of Wonder show was incredible.

The views around AK were pretty spectacular, too.

Later we did the Kilimanjaro Safari. Bouncing around in the truck, we saw all kinds of animals.

One of our restroom breaks put us in a prime location for this drumming exhibition:

One of the drummers tried to talk me into dancing with them, but really, that's a job for Katie.

She was a natural!

Too much fun! (By the way, notice her shoes? The sneakers she brought for the trip did a number on her feet, so she became the proud owner of a pair of Mickey sandals for our last day at the parks.)

Fortunately, we were eventually able to use a Fastpass for Everest. It was a great coaster, even if the Yeti didn't jump out at us. (We did see his shadow, however.) The most fascinating part of the ride may have been in the queue. That's where we saw a family pulling the despicable "handicapped" scam. As we saw this group pushing a wheelchair to the front of the line, we heard one of the kids say, "So tomorrow do YOU get to be handicapped?" Ugh.

ANYWAY...

Before ending our time in the kingdom, we wandered under the shade of the crazy-cool Tree of Life...

...and checked out the animal carvings...

...and saw "It's Tough to be a Bug!" After that, we had planned to catch the Finding Nemo show, but the heat and nine days of vacation were wearing on us.

Once aboard the parking lot tram, we heard other guests talking about what a great show Nemo is, and I regretted our decision. But we were really tired, we would've had to wait a good while for the next show, and we had several hours of driving before our next stop.

Onward to Tallahassee!

Vacation 2012: Extra magical.

Day 9, part 2: Magic Kingdom Extra Magic Hours

After our full day at Hollywood Studios, we headed back to the French Quarter to regroup. Because that Friday night offered "Extra Magic Hours" at the Magic Kingdom, Katie and I were itching to head back to that park. The fellas weren't quite so thrilled at the prospect of staying up past 2 a.m., so they stayed behind.

Soon after arriving, we found one of the few concession stands open and bought some iced coffee. We needed a little go-go juice, but after that, we went-went!

Just like we did the night before, we lucked into seeing the Electrical Parade. This time, though, it didn't signal the park's closing.

Being there so late at night gave us a chance to see the park without the usual crowds.

Of course, the park is gorgeous at night, and with the slower pace, we could really take it all in.

At one point we walked through the castle and saw the amazing mosaics lining the walkway.

Simply stunning!

We also paid a few more visits to the Haunted Mansion, and then we had to get our "Buzz" on and shoot some targets.

While in Tomorrowland, we also took a much slower spin on the PeopleMover. That was such a pleasant surprise!

I almost hate to mention this, but because of the Fantasyland construction barricades (not to mention the swarms of strollers in that vicinity), we never even SAW Dumbo, much less took a ride on those iconic elephants.

We did stumble upon the Magic Carpets of Aladdin, however.

Since that part of Adventureland was virtually deserted, we got to fly our own private carpets, all by ourselves.

Like a boss.

Probably the best part of our late night/early morning, however, was getting to take on Splash Mountain. One of the biggest draws in the park, Splash Mountain had super long lines during our previous visits, and we had chosen to use our Fastpasses on other attractions (like Space Mountain).

So imagine our glee as we strode through the winding queue right up to our own private log!

EEK!!! What happened to the boys?!

We couldn't resist riding several times. Too. Much. Fun.

It was surreal to walk down Main Street and notice the time. We were yawning an awful lot as we boarded the Monorail, but wow, was the sleep-deprivation worth it.

It was extra magical indeed.