Tonya Goes To Hawaii - Aloha Honolulu!!!

We are finally in Hawaii!!! This has been the longest day of my life - especially because of the 5 extra hours added due to the time change. We've been up since 4:30 a.m. EST and although the clock now says 7:30 p.m. our bodies know it is 12:30 a.m. (In case you don't want to do the math, we have now been up for 20 hours straight.) Even though exhausted, I am still chanting my mantra: No biggie. I am going to Hawaii so all is good. But that is all about to change.

We get off the plane and follow all the other people to baggage claim. Unbeknownst to us, baggage claim is a long walk outside and we didn't get a wheelchair for Dad. He was a trooper though and we slowly made our way to claim our bags. Is it just me or is it REALLY humid out here? None of the guide books said anything about humidity this time of year. Maybe I am just feeling it since we are not in tropical clothing yet. Although I feel sweat trickling down my back, I am still whispering my mantra: No biggie. I am going to Hawaii so all is good.

We finally make it to the baggage claim area where we find Dad a bench. I send Mom off to to find out where the Thrifty rental counter is and I stand by waiting for our luggage. Guess which bag is one of the first on the carousel? Yep, the carry on bag we had to check in Charlotte. Mom was shocked but pleased. I even overheard another woman say as my suitcase came around that it was really cute luggage. And she was right. I do have cute luggage.

See for yourself how cute it is

But it is cursed luggage!! Read on to see why.

Before I knew it the carousel of luggage had stopped and there was no more luggage!!! Where the *@#$ is the rest of my luggage?!?!? You have got to be kidding me!!! There is another guy waiting also. We both look at each other with a knowing look as we move reluctantly toward the luggage claims office. Screw the mantra!! I am tired and hungry and sweaty. At this point I was just trying to remember that I was from the South and brought up to be a lady and to not swear in front of my parents.

Mom joins me in line while we wait our turn to ask where the @#$% our luggage is. We start to look for our luggage claim tickets. And we look and we look and we look. We basically unpack both of our purses and totes looking for the stupid little pieces of paper but the only thing we come up with is our receipt for the payment of our checked bags. All the while we are searching, Mom tells me that she has found no Thrifty rental car counter or any directions to Thrifty in the airport. ~~This is when I take a deep cleansing breath.~~ I pull out our car rental information in my handy dandy travel binder and ask Mom to call the phone number and find out where we are supposed to go. She gets to the third prompt and gives up in frustration.

Finally, it is our turn at the baggage claim counter. The baggage guy asks for our luggage claim tickets. We tell him we don't have those and the only thing the woman gave us this morning was the receipt for the bag check fee so we show him our flight information. He punches a few keys on the computer and says he can't really do anything since we don't have the luggage claim tickets. We again tell him we never got them. ~~Take another deep cleansing breath.~~ He is very confused that we booked on United but took US Air and ended up on a Continental flight that was actually a United flight number. We tell him our flight information again and he is still confused. ~~Another deep cleansing breath.~~ I even show him all of our flight reservation information and he is still confused. ~~Big deep cleansing breath.~~ At last the other baggage guy steps in and within a minute finds our luggage in the the system and that it is still in San Fransisco. He tells us it will be on the next flight tomorrow at 1:20 p.m. ~~Take a smaller deep cleansing breath.~~ 1:20 p.m.? Really? There isn't another flight into Honolulu from San Francisco before that? Apparently not. But at least we know where our luggage is and when it will arrive.

Now it is time to find Thrifty so we can get out rental car. I start the process of trying to get a real live person on the phone to tell us where to go. After a few minutes of being on hold, I get to speak to someone who tells me to find an airport house phone and dial #11 and they will tell me what to do. So we find a phone and dial #11. Presto! We have to walk outside to the median and catch a shuttle. Would it kill them to just put up a freaking sign??? Or at the very least tell you this little bit of information on your reservation???

We find the rental car shuttle location after a bit of obstinacy on Dad's part. I am almost thankful we don't have luggage at this point because we are all about to explode from exhaustion and frustration. And thank the good Lord for air conditioning on the shuttle bus. Who knew Honolulu would be so humid at 9:00 at night. (Yes, it is 1 1/2 hours later and we are just leaving the airport.)

In just a few minutes we are at Thrify and all checked in since I signed up for the Blue Chip program - thanks cruisecritic.com for the tip. Our Jeep Liberty was ready and waiting for us and Hero (yes, his name was Hero) was very helpful in giving us directions and telling us they would be happy to take us to the Port on Saturday after we dropped off the car. While I was checking in, Mom even met a nice family who was going to Disney's Aulani Resort - which is where we are staying post-cruise. They saw my Mickey luggage tag on our carry on bag. Although exhausted and hungry and without any clothing or toiletries, things are beginning to look up. In fact, it isn't even as humid anymore.

Next stop - Hale Koa!!

Tonya Goes To Hawaii - Are We There Yet?

When I left you, we were still on the flight from hell. There wasn't anything wrong with the flight but it is simply a commentary on the state of air travel - translation: it sucks to fly these days. Planes are crowded, seats are smaller than ever, and you don't get any services other than a cup of water or Diet Coke. Sure the airlines offer you their version of an overpriced Lunchable to purchase but that isn't enough to keep people happy. In fact, I totally understand the people who go "crazy" on a flight and have to be escorted off by a federal Marshall - if you are even a little bit mentally disturbed, a cross country flight with no peanuts or leg room will certainly put you over the edge.

Let me jump off my soap box for now and get back to my trip report.

I forgot to mention that since we were late boarding our flight in Charlotte they made us check our carry on suitcase saying there was no overhead bin space available. I didn't put up a fuss though since I was still chanting my mantra: No biggie. I am going to Hawaii so all is good. Mom wasn't chanting my mantra and was insistent that we were never going to see the suit case again. I assured her that wasn't true but on her last trip she was forced to check her carry on suitcase and the suitcase didn't quite make it to its final destination in a timely manner so Mom was a little paranoid.

Needless to say, when we got on the plane there was plenty of overhead bin space if the flight attendants had simply moved a few things one way or the other. Pure and simple - they were lazy!!! I normally fly Delta and those flight attendants are almost always trying to squeeze in another bag in those poor overhead bins. (Just another reason I don't like US Air.)

Sorry. I am jumping back off my soap box, again.

Finally the trip from hell touched down in lovely San Francisco. And I have never been so happy to be off an airplane. I felt like I was free from the confines of a clown car at the circus and if I wasn't weighed down with carry on bags I just know I would have spread my arms and twirled around singing songs from The Sound of Music. It was a glorious feeling, my friend.

When we got off the plane in San Francisco for a 4 hour layover and our first mission was to get something to eat. Dad was thrilled to be free and decided he would like stretch his legs and to walk some. Who am I to question? So we start down the terminal where we finally find Go Bistro Asian Fusion Bar & Grill with a free table. So we grab it. It wasn't the greatest food I have ever eaten but it tasted delicious and rejuvenated all of our spirits for our final leg of the trip.

The only problem with our rejuvenated spirits was that Dad's legs were not rejuvenated and he just couldn't walk anymore - and according to the map of SFO I pulled up on the ipad while we ate (because there really weren't any signs on how to get to other terminals) we had quite a trek ahead of us. So Mom and I trek back to our original gate and ask for wheelchair assistance. Trying to explain to the gate person that we had come in on a flight an hour earlier and the person who needed assistance was not at the gate and that we were changing airlines was a challenge but we finally got all got on the same channel and someone was called.

Who showed up was little tiny old Filipino man. When we explained that we were going to Continental he sort of got this OMG look in his eye since that was about 1.5 miles away. SFO is not like any other airport I have been in. If you have to change terminals you have to go out of a secured area and trudge over to the new terminal and go through security again. But the little tiny old Filipino man was not deterrent in the least.

This is what our trek looked like:



We landed at #1. Walked to #2 where we ate. Then Mom and I walked back to #1 where we waited for our little tiny old Filipino wheelchair driver. Then the three of us walked back to #2 where we picked up Dad. And then we trudged over to #3. We definitely got our exercise and so did our little tiny old Filipino wheelchair driver. Needless to say, we tipped our little tiny old Filipino wheelchair driver well and relaxed at our gate for just under an hour while we waited to board our final jet plane to Hawaii. Some people may have thought we were crazy for having a 4 hour layover but we needed almost every minute of it just to eat and get to our next gate.

Before we knew it we were boarding our Continental wide bodied jet destined for Honolulu. The plane was GIANT compared to our last flight. There was Hawaiian music playing softly in the background as we boarded and the flight attendants all had flowers in their hair. (Well, not the male flight attendants but the females did.) There was even an in flight entertainment system!!!! Woohooo!!!!

I was so excited about the entertainment system that I took a picture of my screen

All of the passengers finished boarding and we realized that the flight was only about 2/3 full. Score!!!! We quickly spread out. Dad was in two seats by himself and Mom and I were sharing the three seats in the middle by ourselves. It was glorious!! I kid you not. It was glorious - except for the man in front of me who had his seat back so I could barely move forward. Even though it was now 15 hours into our trip I was still chanting my mantra: No biggie. I am going to Hawaii so all is good.

Before we knew it the plane was pushing back from the gate and we were airborne. Mom and I finally figured out how to watch a movie and decided on Monsters Inc. I love Boo! She is so cute. At some point Mom's movie switched to Spanish for a few minutes. It made us laugh.

Eventually Mom went to sleep on Dad and I laid down on my three seats. I didn't sleep but it was nice to be horizontal for a change. I turned all three seat back screens so I could watch the plane's progress. I find it fascinating that it can be -59 degrees Fahrenheit outside and nothing freezes on the wings. Fascinating!

Next thing I knew the little plane on the screen was approaching land. Land ho!!! It was just after 7 p.m. Hawaii time so it was dark but the lights of Honolulu are beautiful.

20 hours after I had woken up that morning and we finally made it! And I was still chanting my mantra: No biggie. I am going to Hawaii so all is good. In no time at all we had gathered all of our stuff and deplaned. Aloha, Hawaii!!!

Tonya Goes To Hawaii - Time to Jet!

Is it really 4:30 a.m.???? I check my phone and yes that is the correct time. Why do I torture myself with morning flights? I should know better since I am most certainly "not a morning person" but I am going to Hawaii so I "jump" out of bed and start getting ready and finish packing. Mom, of course, is already up and in the shower since she is most certainly a "morning person" while Dad is still in bed because I had to inherit my morning tendencies from someone.

Before we knew it it was 5:30 a.m. and my sister arrived at the house to take us to the airport. Please take note that I was the only traveler ready on time. My family and friends have this notion that since I am not a morning person that I can't be ready on time. But contrary to their assumptions, if I am given a time to be ready, I am always ready. I will give my Mom a little slack in this area since she was trying to get Dad on the move and that can be like herding cats but Dad gets no leeway here at all. He was late!!!

After the cat herding was done, we arrive at the airport with plenty of time. We get dropped off at the curb, say our good byes to my sister, and we manage to schlep our bags to the US Air kiosk. The only problem is that we are actually booked through United so we can't use the kiosk so the airline guy shows us the line to wait in for check in. (United doesn't actually fly in and out of the Augusta airport but books flights through US Air so there is no United desk at the airport.) After a few minutes it is our turn and we schlep our bags up to the desk. The airline lady begins checking us in while I start to do a preemptive weigh in of our bags. All the bags are under the 50 lb weigh limit but mine. Over by 1.5 lbs ***sigh*** How do they expect me to pack for almost 2 weeks and not go over 50 lbs??? I quickly unzip my suitcase but am perplexed as to what to take out and shove in my already full carry on. After some quick thinking I grab my fleece jacket and a hoodie. I don't really think those are going to weigh 1.5 lbs but I do another weigh in of my bag and low and behold I am now under by 0.5 lbs. Who knew a little fleece and a hood would weigh 2 lbs?!?!?

Meanwhile, the airline lady is still trying to check us in. They are having computer problems and she can't log in so she tries another computer. Thankfully she gets logged in and finds our reservation. She even found Mom on the reservation which made Mom happy since she wasn't on the online check-in last night. The airline lady is very nice and even tries to get us seats together on the plane. Hold on there, nice airline lady!!! Don't go rearranging our seats now!!! It took me a long time to figure out our seat assignments since Mom, Dad, and I all prefer aisle seats but still wanted to be close to each other. Luckily she doesn't succeed in any rearranging before we set her straight.

The nice airline lady was very proud of herself when she informed us that she only charged each of us for one bag so we paid $25/bag instead of $35 for one of the bags. Say what?!?!? Why would you even think that charging 3 people checking in with 3 bags as if 1 of the people didn't have a bag and 1 person had 2 bags was a good idea???? Like I said she was a nice lady but it was early so I am going to chalk it up to that. (((shaking my head still to this day))) The nice airline lady hands me our receipts for our baggage fees and our boarding passes and we are all set.

Have I mentioned that I have a love/hate relationship with US Air that doesn't include the love part of the relationship? There was an incident about 17 years ago that I still hold a grudge about and will not fly on US Air if I can help it. And the only reason I am tolerating this trip on US Air is that we actually booked through United so in my head it isn't as if I am flying on US Air. It is complicated.

We made it past the nice airline lady only to wait in line at security. We got behind a family of 5 who apparently had never flown before and was not aware of any carry on restrictions or security procedures. No biggie. I am going to Hawaii so all is good. (It is early in the day and this is still my mantra.) It is finally our turn to go through security so we start the great unpacking. First there is my laptop that has to be taken out. Then there is Dad's CPAP machine. Then there is my carry on and Dad's carry on and my purse and my shoes and my jacket - all the while Mom is taking care of her own stuff while Dad is explaining to the TSA person that they should just pull him aside now because his two replaced knees and titanium hip will just cause the machine to go crazy. Then to top it off, Mom gets chosen to be patted down. Apparently she hadn't heard any of the TSA pat down stories and was quite surprised when the lady TSA agent felt her up AND molested her. It was funny to hear her tell us about her big surprise. :)

The Augusta airport is nice but small so there is only one concession stand. The plan was to grab a quick muffin at the airport and get something more substantial when we get to Charlotte. The first glitch in the plan is that the concession stand was out of muffins or any other appropriate breakfast snack. So I did the only thing I could do and shared my breakfast of champions (i.e. pop tart) with Dad. The second glitch in the plan is that Charlotte was fogged in and our flight was delayed taking off and we already had a somewhat tight connection if we have to change terminals.

We arrive in Charlotte with about 30 minutes until our flight finishes boarding. And guess what?? We have to change terminals. UGH!!!! We flag down one of the shuttle carts since Dad can't walk long distances. The problem with the Charlotte airport is that the shuttle carts can only go so far before you have to get out and get Dad into a wheelchair, take an elevator up to the next terminal, and wait for another shuttle cart. Once we get up to the next terminal, Mom and I quickly flag down another shuttle cart heading to our terminal. There is one other lady on it that Mom starts talking to and lamenting our situation about how we are going to miss our flight and this and that. I am still saying my mantra - No biggie. I am going to Hawaii so all is good. Somehow or another - either from Mom's lamenting or divine intervention - the lady tells the driver to take us to our gate first. Wooohooo!!! We make our flight!!! But we don't get to grab anything to eat.

One thing I have learned about any flight over an hour is to have something with you to eat. I had mentioned to Mom earlier in the week about my life lesson learned the hard way and she sort of agreed with me but I could tell that she was dismissive of my life lesson. I however always try to learn from past experiences and therefore made turkey sandwiches the night before we left and froze them so they would stay cold until we needed them. And need them we did!!!! By now it was 10 a.m. and we have been up almost 6 hours with only a pop tart amongst us. As soon as the airplane got horizontal in the air I whipped out the sandwiches. Mom was now thankful that I had learned from past experience.

According to our itinerary, the flight from Charlotte to San Francisco is 5 hours and 50 minutes. The flight from Charlotte to San Francisco was packed. The flight from Charlotte to San Francisco was like a sardine can with wings. It was a 3X3 plane - 3 seats on each side of the aisle. I am seated on the aisle on my row with the window seat taken by a nice young woman who is in medical school at Duke on her way to interview at a hospital in San Francisco for a internship and a nice young man who was a Bolivian soccer player on vacation in the middle seat. Those two mostly chatted with each other but I listened. Okay, I eaves dropped but it was a sardine can in the sky what else could I do? Occasionally I joined in the conversation here and there but I have never been one to be a chatterer on a plane. As far as seat companions go they were good and entertaining to overhear.

The flight was sooooooo boring though. There was no in flight movie, no peanuts or pretzels, and no room to move since the beverage cart or the trash cart was in the aisle every chance it could get. I tried to read but I was so uncomfortable it was hard to concentrate. I tried to listen to my ipod but that didn't entertain me either. I read the guide book on Hawaii we brought along and found a tips so that was good. Mom and I did a crossword puzzle. Between the two of us we can usually get most of the puzzle done before we resort to looking at the answers. I watched the girl caty corner to me work on her pysics paper on her lap top and then reading on her Kindle in some Asian language. (Actually is was interesting to watch her. When we first boarded she was eating an ice cream cone in the weirdest way. It was sort of gross - nibble nibble on the cone and lick lick on the ice cream and repeat over and over again.) It was also irritating that the pilot never turned the seat belt sign off. I get the whole turbulence thing and safety first. But come on!!! 5 hours and 50 minutes crammed in like sardines!!! After a while people just ignored the seat belt sign and got up to go to the bathroom and roam the aisles. Ohh!! Did I mention that it was really warm on the plane also?

One bright note is that I did happen to notice the snow capped Rocky Mountains out the window about 4 hours into the flight. It was a very pretty sight. I always like spotting things from 30,000 feet - it makes me feel geographically knowledgeable in some small way.

All in all this was the flight from hell and nothing really bad happened. It gives me a new found respect for those people who get stuck on those flights that are on the tarmac for hours on end.

The journey continues . . .

Tonya Goes To Hawaii - It's Almost Time to Jet

It is almost December 15th!!!! So much still to do.

But wait a minute! I need to take a quick trip to Disney World before I get my Aloha on. Don't worry, my mother already called me crazy. I have spent the same weekend at Disney World for the last four years and I had friends going the same time and an Annual Pass burning a hole in my pocket. What was I supposed to do but arrange to take Brody Baby to Casa Edwards (his hunting trainer's house) a few days early and take a detour to Orlando for some holiday fun.

Oh and I still need to get a hair cut. I simply can't go to Hawaii without a trim. Thankfully my hair stylist of over 20 years fits me in. Thanks, Julie!

Hmmmm, what else needs to be done besides packing? LAUNDRY!! I have to do laundry! I am going away for two weeks and I will need clean underwear (and t-shirts and capris and a hoodie at the very minimum.)

What am I supposed to do with all these papers we need for the trip? There is flight information, cruise paperwork, hotel reservations, rental car reservations, event information, and restaurant tickets - oh my!!! Me thinks a quick trip to Staples before I go to the drug store to pick up my prescriptions is in order.

Look what I found at Staples. It works perfectly for the million pieces of paper I need a moments notice. A Staples Presentation Binder. www.staples.com/Staples-Presentation-Binder-24-Sleeve-Capacity-White/product_463364



And did I mention that I made a little trip art for Carol's Hawaiian Adventure?



What else? Guess I should check in for our flights tomorrow. We booked our flights through United but our flights are with US Air and Continental and it won't let me prepay the baggage fees and Mom's not showing up when I print off the online check in. Hmmmmm, this is a little glitch in the process but what am I gonna do about it now? Well, I look back and see that she is on the original flight reservation so I opt to just figure it out at the airport in the morning. Keep your fingers crossed.

Now that I am all organized I am ready to pack and it is before midnight. So far off to a great start, right? Maybe I can actually get a few hours of sleep before my sister shows up at 5:30 am to take us to the airport.

Tonya Goes to Hawaii - The Planning Continues

Where are we going to eat? What do we want to see and do? Should we rent a car? What is the ship like? Hawaii might be the 50th state but it is almost like going to a foreign country. So much planning - so little time!!

As the planning continues, I decided a good place to start would be cruisecritic.com in order to read some reviews of the ship and the itinerary. The reviews for Norwegian Cruise Line's Pride of America are all over the board. Some people thought it was the best cruise they have ever been on and others thought it was the worst. Some loved the food yet others thought it was inedible. But the one thing everyone agreed about were that the cabins on the Pride of America were tinyyyyy. (EGADS!!!) All this resulted in me managing my expectations but hoping for the best.


The unique thing about the Pride of America is that is registered as an American ship. Apparently this is the only cruise ship that is registered in the United States. With a US registry, the crew must either be US citizens or have green cards which decreases the work force considerably. It also means that everyone makes at least minimum wage and they all speak English (95% as a first language). Some reviewers also suggested that the US work eligibility requirement resulted in a less than stellar service (which I found to be insulting to Americans but that is just me.)

Have you ever noticed that when you are shopping for a new car you suddenly notice the car you are considering all over the place? Well, the same phenomenon happens when you are planning a trip to Hawaii!!! Every time I turned on the television, the food channel was mentioning food from Hawaii. So, I started making notes. One restaurant we wanted to try was Hank's Haute Dogs. I began to follow Hank's on Twitter. Hank happened to retweet a few things that led me to other things. All this following of tweets led me to find thepigandthelady.com and streetgrindz.com. You'll hear about those places in later entries. ;)

(I also found a lot of good ideas for activities and shopping on livingsocial.com.)

One thing that was settled early on in our planning was that Dad was not going to be taking a ride in a helicopter. He was adamant about it. Apparently he had enough of helicopters when he was in the Army and was having nothing to do with them ever again. He still wanted to see the lava flows though. Hmmmmm. That creates a little bit of a problem. Stay tuned for how this turns out.

After reading more reviews on cruisecritic.com it became apparent that a rental car was going to be essential. Most people recommended Thrifty and to become a Blue Chip Member. So, I signed up and began making reservations. I booked a car for pre and post cruise and in almost every port we stopped in. My theory being I could always cancel the reservation but it was better to have a ressie than not have one. I did some comparison of rental pricing and Thrifty was competitive.

My biggest shock was the price of the car rental of the pre and post cruise reservations. Pre-cruise the car cost $45/day (12/15-12/17) but post-cruise (12/24-12/27) the car cost $179/day. What the tarnation?!?!?! Welcome to Hawaii!!! We actually saw a newspaper headline while were were there that said that rental car prices increase an average of 197% over the Christmas holiday. (It seems that the two busiest weeks in Hawaii are over Christmas and New Years.)

I kept getting emails from Norwegian Cruise Line about booking excursions but I was reluctant to book them. Many reviewers suggested that you could do any excursion that the ship offered on your own and save a lot of money. Sounds like a plan!!! I was also reluctant to make too many plans in advance because I wasn't sure what my father would be able to do (he has a few mobility issues) or want to do and I didn't want to over tax my mother either. We had talked about doing the sunrise over the crater and ride the bike down the mountain tour but that sounds better in theory than in reality. (There is the whole having to be there before sunrise thing.) Soooo, no excursions were booked.

Other than trying to figure out what to pack, most of the planning for Carol's Hawaiian Adventure are complete. (I named the trip Carol's Hawaiian Adventure since this trip was all started because of mom.)

Tonya Goes To Hawaii - The Back Story and the Planning Begins

It has always been a dream of my mother's to go to Hawaii. She must have seen movies and pictures as a child and always imagined herself sitting on a beach under a palm tree while the sun shines and the surfers surf. Not a bad dream to have, right?

The only problem was my father didn't really have a desire to go, so her dream of seeing the 50th State was pushed to the back burner. But as time has gone by and no one was getting any younger or healthier, my father announced one day last July that they were going Hawaii for Christmas and that I was coming along so that mom would have someone to do things with. (His idea of a vacation is to sit on a lounge chair and read a book in between naps.) Hmmmm. A free trip to Hawaii or spend Christmas by myself. That is a tough decision. I AM GOING TO HAWAII!!!

Now the tough decisions have to be made. Should we island hop or cruise? How long should we go for? What do we actually want to see while we are there? Will this be an adventure trip or a relaxing trip? What is the weather like in Hawaii over Christmas? Is it warm enough to swim? How many vowels does the Hawaiian language have? Should we rent a car while we are there? Will Mom eat Spam while we are there? Where will Brody Baby spend his holiday? The choices are endless!!!

The first thing Mom and I did (because Dad is not the planner on this adventure - only the payer) was to buy a couple of guide books. After reading said guide books, we were almost as confused as before. But eventually we sorted out that we should cruise and treat the ship as a floating hotel since this would be our first time in Hawaii. So I emailed our handy dandy travel agent (Tracy Whipple at travelonadream.com) and booked the cruise. One decision done!

The next decision is to decide when to arrive in Hawaii and when to leave. Mom decided that we should arrive 2 days early and spend 3 days after the cruise. But where should we stay? Since Dad spent his 20 years in the Army, we checked out if Hale Koa (the military resort on Waikiki) was available. Low and behold it was available pre-cruise but not available post-cruise. Hmmmm, one more decision to make!!! Wait a minute!!! Disney Vacation Club just opened up Aulani!!! So I find a friend with points to rent and we make a reservation. Two decisions done!

Now, how are we going to get there? Fly of course - but getting my mother to make a decision on flights is a chore. (Sorry Mom but it is true. But I still love you.) Mom still thinks that it is 1995 and that the price of flights will keep dropping until two weeks before the flight. I know this isn't true but she never believes me. Tsk tsk tsk. And then Dad insists that he wants a direct flight from Atlanta and we will drive to Atlanta. (This always sounds good until you are on your way home and have to drive over 2 hours after a long trip.) So I do the only sensible thing and set up a few kayak.com alerts on flights so I can watch the pricing. Finally I find what I think are decent flights at a good price and get everyone on board with the plan. Three decisions done!

Three decisions down and a hundred more to go. Stay tuned!!!

Resolutions Lost - Another New Year's Resolution down the drain!

Yes, once again I have failed miserably with my New Year Resolution. This year one of my resolutions was to post on a regular basis. Have I? Obviously not. But the year is not over so I am not a total failure yet!!! (My eternal optimism knows no boundaries.)

What am I going to post about for the rest of the year? For starters, I plan on chronicling a fabulous Christmas vacation I have planned with my parents to Hawaii!!! I am very excited since I never really thought I would ever go to Hawaii. There is so much to plan since this could be a once in a lifetime trip - hopefully not but you just never know. It is like learning a different language even though we are technically not leaving the States. My uber planner is having a field day and I am loving it.

So stay tuned for so much more on Tonya Goes to Hawaii. (I watched Gidget Goes to Hawaii and it inspired me - sort of.)

Has It Worked???

I've been getting asked a lot lately if "it" has worked? By "it" I mean my gluten free eating experiment. And the answer is yes, it has worked.

I started back in May with my experiment of trying to eat gluten free. (And I say try because it is not always easy.) After eight weeks of being diligent about not eating gluten, I then ate gluten for a three weeks - which thankfully was over my birthday so I got to eat birthday cake!!! The result was that gluten in my diet makes a difference. I don't feel as bloated or gassy.

Do I have Celiac Disease? I don't know. There are some recent studies that show some evidence that there is a relationship between Celiac Disease and Inflammatory Bowel Disease since both are auto-immune diseases. Since I have been trying to eliminate gluten from my diet the tests for Celiac wouldn't be conclusive. And if I do have Celiac, all the doctors would do would be to tell me to not eat gluten. So this will be a lifestyle change by my own accord. Thankfully I don't get "sick" from gluten, I am just calling it a gluten intolerance for now.

As I mentioned, not eating gluten is not easy for a carb loving girl!!! I love bread!!! I love cake!!! I love doughnuts!!! And although you can have gluten free baked goods - most are not worth eating. (But I have not given up my quest!!! I will find gluten free bread that is squishy and chewy and delicious if it is the last thing I do. Be damned the laws of nature!!!! My baking prowess will overcome!!!) But I have found some baked goods that are worth eating albeit not as good as the gluten filled variety so my sanity is intact.

Will I ever eat gluten again? Yes!!! My general rule is to not eat gluten except when I am traveling and for special occasions. Why traveling? Have you tried to go through the McDonald's drive-thru and eat a salad while you try to drive down I-95 at 70 m.p.h.? I didn't think so. And as you know, I don't like to be the only kid at the birthday party without cake.

So, there you have it. My experiment proved to me that gluten is bad for my already faulty digestive track and I will try to not eat it. Although some days I am sure I will say "screw it" and eat a doughnut!!! A girl can only be good for so long before she needs a good pastry.

I'd Rather Wear Fur than Eat Naked Nuggets Again!!

So I'm at the grocery store looking in the health food section for gluten free products and there is this granola looking chick next to me. You know the kind of girl who has that flowing naturally curly hair and sun-kissed cheeks while wearing carefree clothes that scream "I am healthy and don't have a care in the world!!" I pick up a package of non-breaded chicken nuggets and Granola Girl tells me I have to try the Blue Ribbon Restaurants Gluten-Free Naked Chicken Nuggets because they are the best. She even said she would eat the whole package in one sitting. I think to myself "if you can't trust a granola girl in the health food section then who can you trust" so I toss the package in my cart with high hopes.

At $5.99 a package (about 26 nuggets) these gluten-free, antibiotic-free, hormone-free chicken nuggets should be good right? Wrong!!!! They were bland and tasteless and not even "real" chicken!!! The nuggets are compressed chicken that were spongy at best and only had the painted on grill marks on one side of the nugget. Making gluten free chicken nuggets shouldn't be rocket science. You cut up some chicken and cook it. But Naked Nuggets make it complicated and bad. These things were really bad and if I never eat another Naked Nugget I will die happy.

I was really disappointed and confused since Granola Girl gave me her stamp of approval. Even after reading all the rave reviews on the Internet about these naked nuggets I was even more confused. How could people actually think these things tasted good? Has the world really given up their taste buds for convenience? For $5.99, I will save my money and cut up a chicken breast and saute it up in a pan.

"Mom, please don't ever make me come back here again."

I usually enjoy trying out new restaurants but for some reason I wasn't especially excited to have dinner at Hibachi Grill, Augusta's newest buffet restaurant. The reason may be that tacky all you can eat buffets just aren't my thing. Does that make me a food snob?

As I have said before, I don't think of myself as a food snob. I love McDonald's and macaroni and cheese from the box. I even think Papa John's is good pizza. And after having dinner tonight with my parents at Hibachi Grill, I can say with all confidence that I am not a food snob but I do like food that is good.

When Dad first suggested that we go to Hibachi Grill for dinner, Mom didn't think I would be able to find anything to eat that was gluten free. I assured her that there would be something for me to eat since I can usually find something at any restaurant I go to even given my aversions to fish, mushrooms, raisins, and cauliflower. And I am usually okay with just mediocre food if it is cheap enough.

Hibachi Grill is in an older strip mall in Augusta. It is a large restaurant that was trying for an Asian feel in its decor. It succeeded - if you like tacky lacquered decorations mixed with standard industrial buffet equipment. But the corrugated boxes of fortune cookies stacked underneath the bug zapper really made the atmosphere along with the requisite fountain in the foyer. (Isn't it a health code violation to have a bug zapper above tables of diners?)

The actual buffets were full of a wide variety of food - most of which I could not eat since it was either breaded and fried or covered in some sort of sauce which looked like it contained soy sauce. (One of the main ingredients in soy sauce is wheat so it is a big no-no for a gluten free diet.) I did manage to find some rice, mashed potatoes, and some "premium" steak which turned out to be pot roast. The "steak" was fine. It was tender and while it didn't have much flavor it was tasty enough.

I began to look around the restaurant while Dad was still perusing the buffets while Mom and I were already seated. The other diners were from a large cross section of society. I leaned over to her and said "please don't make me come here again." She rolled her eyes and chuckled. Hmmmm, maybe I am not a food snob but I might just be a snob in general. :) (Don't judge me.)

After finishing my first plate, I went back up to see what else I could find. I found some french fries, a stuffed baked potato, sauteed green beans, and some pork loin. What I really wanted was the yeast rolls drenched in melted butter, but I was good and stuck to what was on my plate. The french fries turned out to be under cooked. It takes a lot for me to not eat french fries but after one bite I was not interested in eating another one. Not only were they undercooked but they were very cold and over salted. The stuffed baked potato was simply half of a half way done microwaved potato topped with cheese, bacon bits and scallions. It was not good. The green beans were a tad greasy but were still crisp and green so I enjoyed those. In my book, there is nothing worse than an overcooked vegetable. The pork loin had a decent flavor but it was over cooked so it was very tough.

Since we are less than two weeks away from out trip to Disney World, I have Disney dining on the brain. I have been researching about gluten free dining in the parks and resorts and know how careful Disney is with special dietary requests. So, midway through my tough pork loin I leaned over to my mom and said "if this was Disney World, the chef would have come out and walked me through the entire buffet and told me what I could eat and what I couldn't eat." I knew that was not going to happen at this restaurant so I didn't even mention my dietary restriction. But I can see now why having gluten free friendly restaurants is so important. It was very difficult to even know what I could eat. If I was a person who got sick from eating gluten I would not have even tried to eat at this restaurant or any other buffet. It was just too hard to know what to eat and that isn't even taking into consideration the threat of cross contamination of food items from utensils.

For dessert, I did find some tapioca pudding and some ice cream. It is hard to mess up opening up a tub and setting it out on a buffet so both the pudding and the ice cream were fine.

Dad seemed to enjoy his meal. Mom tolerated hers, as did I. The bill for three of us with two drinks was $38.11. Gluten free issues aside, I can see why this restaurant is popular - people like cheap food. But should people really have to sacrifice good food for cheap food? Does it really cost any more to cook food properly than to cook it improperly?

Adventures in Brownies - Take 3

Since I have been avoiding the grocery store lately, I am out of most of my snack foods and have been pantry surfing in between meals with no success. There is however that third box of gluten free brownies that needed to be made. So, I made them to see if they would satisfy my cravings for junk food.

The Betty Crocker Gluten Free Brownie Mix was simple to make - just add melted butter and eggs but no water. Most regular brownie mixes require that you add oil, eggs and water. I was confused with this but went with it. The batter ended up being more like a dough, similar to the Pamela's Products Chocolate Brownie Mix I previously made.

One thing I have noticed about gluten free flours is that they are very, very fine. So fine that when I poured the mix into the bowl you could see the sugar crystals in the brownie mix which is something you don't notice in regular brownie mixes. Being a curious person by nature, I really need Alton Brown to do a show on gluten free baking so I can understand the science behind all of this. I am not understanding the why and how of gluten free baked goods.

The results: These brownies were pretty good. They had a nice chocolate flavor and were fudgie and moist with no unpleasant aftertaste at all. Are they as good as regular brownies? No. Are they a pretty good substitute so I am not "only the kid at the party without cake"? Yes.

I did notice that if you rolled the brownie around on your tongue it was a bit grainy. But if you didn't roll it around on your tongue you don't notice it. So, I will refrain from rolling the brownie around on my tongue in the future.

Another thing I noticed was this brownie was a tad bit sweeter than a regular brownie. And although I don't typically like nuts in my brownies, I think that if you added some walnuts to this mix the sweetness might be cut a little and make a pretty good brownie.

All in all, I am pleased. In fact I am so pleased, I think I may go eat another brownie. :)

Movie and a Pizza???

One thing I have discovered on my gluten free journey so far is that eating gluten free is easier when I at my house and not having to orient my family that I am eating gluten free and I can't eat like I have for the last forty two years. The old saying holds true: you can't teach a old dog new tricks. (Not that I am calling my parents old.) ;)

While visiting my parents recently, Mom and I went to a late matinee showing of Letters to Juliet. (It was a good "chick flick" by the way.") As we left the theater about 6:15 p.m., Mom and I briefly discussed what to eat for dinner. We didn't make a decision, which was a good thing because when we walked in to the house Dad announced that he had ordered pizza for dinner. My reaction was not a happy reaction but more of a "what are you thinking? I can't eat pizza" reaction. Thankfully, I had been to the grocery store and happened to pick up a frozen gluten free pizza. Dinner was saved!!!!

So, I opened the freezer and turned on the oven to cook my Gluten Free & FABULOUS Pepperoni Pizza. Quite honestly, that is quite the name to live up to so I was hoping for something really good especially since it was $7.99 and only 8 inches.

I followed the directions exactly - heated the oven, removed the plastic and cardboard round, put the pizza directly on the oven rack, and waited the allotted cooking time. By this time, the pizza delivery guy had arrived and I was really craving some "real" pizza". Part of my brain said "just a little piece of pepperoni won't hurt" but the other part of my brain won out and I waited patiently for my gluten free pizza to finish cooking. But the pizza didn't really want to brown up in the middle and I was afraid it was going to burn so I pulled it out.

The results: It was okay. I'm not really that picky about my pizza - I think Papa John's is good, so I am certainly not a pizza snob. The Gluten Free & FABULOUS Pepperoni Pizza reminded me of a frozen pizza you eat in college when you have run out of money but with a thinner crust. Since it didn't really brown up in the middle of the pizza the center was a little gummy but it didn't have any aftertaste or strange texture. The pepperoni were good and there was more cheese than I expected.

All in all it was fine and I wasn't "only kid at the party without cake" but for $7.99 it could have been better. In the future, I will look for other brands of gluten free pizza or just make the crust myself when I HAVE to have pizza. I've seen frozen gluten free pizza crusts at the grocery store so I might try those but that also requires that I would need all of the other ingredients which might be a problem for my recent habit of avoiding the grocery store at all cost. Sad but true.

Mmmmmm, Brownies - Or Not???

I love brownies and am known for making fabulous brownies. The secret is the pan you use for baking them and blending at least two different kinds of chocolate for a smoother chocolate taste. But brownies are made with wheat flour which means they are not gluten free. :( There are however gluten free brownie mixes. Woohooo!!!!


My entire family had a Mother's Day Cook-Out at my sister's house to celebrate what a wonderful mother we have. I was in charge of the salad and dessert so I thought I would make my "world famous" brownie ice cream sandwiches. What could be better than sitting by the pool and eating brownies and ice cream without any utensils?


The day before the party, I made the regular brownies for the family but tried out two different gluten free mixes for me so I wouldn't be "the only kid at the party without cake". I hate being left out. :)

The first mix was Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Brownie Mix. It is readily available in the health food section of the grocery store and was between $5-$6. Sort of expensive but for an occasional treat it seems reasonable.


It was easy enough to make. You added the normal brownie mix ingredients: egg, warm water, melted butter. And like the Betty Crocker Gluten Free cake mix you had to add vanilla - which isn't typical in regular brownie mixes.

The results: They were moist but cakier than I like my brownies. At first bite, I thought "hmmmm, these are pretty good" but after I swallowed that bite the aftertaste started. It wasn't good. It was like having a chocolate chemical residue in the back of your mouth. And I wasn't the only one who thought this - both my Mom and Dad tried these and cringed at the taste.


The second mix I made was Pamela's Products Chocolate Brownie Mix. It was about a little less than the Bob's Red Mill mix and is also readily available.


You had to add an egg, water, and oil to the mix. There were several different versions on the back of this mix to make it fudgier or cakier or dairy free. I just went with the regular version. The brownie batter wasn't really a batter though - more like a dough that I had to spread out in the pan with a little bit of force. Normal brownie mix usually just spreads out on it's own- it was odd.


Also, this mix only made a pan of 9x9 instead of 9x13. So, it is a bit expensive.

The results: These were fudgie but also inedible. There was a grainy texture and also had this smell that reminded me of carob. (Remember when protein bars first came out and they used carob for the coating. I couldn't stand carob then and I can't stand it now.) I took one bite and spit it out. My Dad tried to eat this brownie and even heated it up in the microwave which usually solves most baked goods problems - it didn't help. We ended up all laughing about all of the faces we made.


As it turned out, I didn't get any of my brownie ice cream sandwiches at our Mother's Day Cook-Out because both brownie mixes weren't worth eating. I was "the only kid at the party without cake". In the end, this is what happened to both batches of brownies -


I haven't given up on having gluten free brownies though. At this very moment, there is a box of Betty Crocker Gluten Free Brownie Mix in my pantry just waiting to be made. Maybe the third time will be the charm. What can I say, I am an optimist. :)

Let Them Eat Cake!!

Cake!!!! I've always loved cake. I love to bake it and decorate it and eat it. Cake is what you eat when you are celebrating. I like all kinds of cake. Cake is good and something that doesn't fit into a gluten free diet all that easily.

Once I made the decision to "go gluten free", I thought about all the things I would have to give up and cake was on the list - or maybe not. Strolling down the grocery store aisle, I happened to find that Betty Crocker makes a gluten free cake mix. Wooohoo!!!! I never noticed it before but in my new gluten free state of mind I see it and my heart was filled with joy. Of course the cake mix is twice as much as a normal cake mix and only makes half as much as a normal cake mix but it is still cake and that is something to be happy about.
Once home, I happily get out the ingredients and mixed up my new found cake mix and waited until it came out of the oven. It was easy enough to make - like any other cake mix except that you had to add vanilla in addition to the butter, water and eggs. After it cooled, I frosted it with some chocolate frosting.

The Verdict: it was okay. It certainly looked like regular cake and was moist. I am sort of a cake snob since I am baker and come from a long line of excellent bakers in the family so I might be too harsh a critic though. It did have a slightly different taste to it that I couldn't place and was a little dense. I am guessing that has to do with using rice flour and potato starch instead of wheat flour. It wasn't dense like a pound cake but wasn't light and fluffy like a normal cake.

Normally, I would have snacked on the cake for a few days but after a couple pieces of this cake I wasn't all that interested in it any more and threw it out. This was my first adventure in a gluten free product and I was pleasantly surprised but a little disappointed. I was surprised that the cake was edible but was disappointed that it wasn't as good as regular cake. In my heart, I was hoping that I would be eating cake that was just as good as a regular box cake.

I happened to find the same cake mix at Big Lots the other day so I bought it to give it another try. As I have been eating more gluten free products, I have decided to not anticipate them to be like regular food and to judge them as what they are and not in comparison to gluten food because gluten free food will never be exactly like gluten food.

In hindsight, this cake was probably better than other mixes. And it is nice to have an alternative to being the only kid not having birthday cake at the party.


Next up - brownies!!!

Why Gluten-Free?

I've been lazy about going to the grocery store over the past few months. One of the joys of living alone is you can eat whatever and whenever you want. That means you don't have to have conventional meals at conventional times. Sometimes it was cheese and crackers for dinner and sometimes it was a bowl of buttered noodles for breakfast - and no one complains that there isn't meat and veggies or that you are eating lunch at 3 o'clock.

The problem with being lazy about grocery shopping is that you eventually run out of things to eat and have to resort to eating the staples in your pantry. In my case, that means I eventually eat rice and scrambled eggs for a few days and then I only grocery shop when I have run out of Diet Coke. (Don't judge me - sometimes it is nice to be irresponsible in a few areas of your life.)

During those periods of rice filled meals, I noticed that I didn't feel as bloated as I normally did and I liked it. After I would go the grocery store and start eating like I normally would (bread, pasta, crackers, etc...) I would feel bloated again. I especially noticed it after my trip to California where I ate all the good stuff you normally eat on vacation - pastries for breakfast, burgers for lunch and dessert at dinner. Let's just say that the seat belt on the plane ride home let me know just how bloated I was. It doesn't take being a genius to figure that there might be a connection between what I was eating and how I was feeling. So, I thought I would look into a gluten free diet.

What is gluten? Basically gluten is wheat, barley and rye. Sounds easy enough to eliminate, right? Wrong!!! Gluten is in a lot of prepared foods in the form of stabilizers, thickeners, and coloring. You also have to be careful about the ingredients in medications. There is also the question of whether the food has been processed in a plant that also processes wheat - like oats. So it isn't as easy as it sounds. And don't even get me started on what to order when you are traveling and want to go through a McDonald's drive-thru.

Stay tuned for my first adventure in gluten free baking.

I'm Back!!!

One of my New Years resolutions was to start posting again - so here I am!!! I have missed not writing but have been lazy about it. It is curious that it is so easy in life to just find something else to do to occupy your time and avoid something you actually like to do.

There are two things I am very excited about sharing with you. The first is a trip my Mom and I took to California on an Adventures by Disney trip. We went to Hollywood and Disneyland. It was a great trip and I can't wait to relieve all the special (and not so special) moments. The other thing is that I am trying to go Gluten-Free. After the California trip I decided it was time to see if I actually had an intolerance to gluten that was causing some of my digestion problems - so I am exploring the world of gluten-free. It isn't always easy but I think you will find some of my adventures in the special diet area of life humorous.

It's good to be back!!! Can't wait to start sharing my life with you again. :)

Twilight and Walmart on Thanksgiving Eve

It's Thanksgiving Eve and I made the trek to Augusta for turkey with the family. I've been sucked (no pun intended) into the Twilight frenzy and decided to go see the 10 p.m. movie so I could have all of Thanksgiving day free to smell turducken cooking through the house. (Don't even ask about the turducken - I am going with the flow this year.)

Since I have already decided that after reading Twilight and Midnight Sun twice that maybe dating a vampire might be sort of exciting, it was time to see if Edward Cullen is really as "hot" as all the teenager girls think he is. And I have to say he is pretty darn "hot".

What can I say? I am a teenage girl at heart.

So, after the movie I decided to go to Walmart to get the last two books in the Twilight saga so I could read as I smelled the turducken cooking. (Don't even get me started about the turducken. Not sure what Mom and Dad were thinking? lol) I wasn't sure if Walmart would be open on Thanksgiving Eve but it was.

I parked in between entrances #2 and #3 of the store and went into #3.

Of course Walmart didn't have the books. Ugh!!! I need to find the next books so I can get my Edward fix!!!!

But I managed to find a few things I had to have. The only open registers were near the #2 entrance of the store.

The line was excruciatingly long - long enough for me to pretend that the very pale check-out clerk was a vampire and she was actually smelling all of our blood which is why she was taking so long. (I told you I had been sucked into the Twilight frenzy.)

Anyway, I finally pay and go to leave toward the #2 doors when I am told that #2 is closed and I would have to leave out of the #3 doors. So, I trudge past the 30 empty registers to the #3 doors.

Why in the world would a store only have registers open near the #2 doors but make you leave out of #3 doors. It makes no sense to me, at all. And I still don't have my books!!!!

Day 5 - Flat Brody takes a Pick-A-Number DISUnplugged Podcast Trip!!!

Day 5 - One Last Chance To Shop!!

It was time to face reality that our time at Disney World was over. We reluctantly woke up and had the last of our yogurt parfaits. It didn't take us long be ready to leave since we had pretty much packed the night before. I called down to the valet stand to retrieve the car and we made the dreaded walk to the elevators and through the lobby with our luggage dutifully rolling behind us.

We gave the Swan lobby one more gaze as we left the building to find our car ready and waiting for us. With the car loaded, we got under way but not to I-4. I made a detour to Downtown Disney. Mom was still talking about the LEGO watch she had seen Soarin' Joe wearing so I told her since it was only 9:00 a.m. and we were way ahead of schedule we were stopping to find that watch. And amazingly Mom agreed to my plan. Of course what could she do since I was driving.

Since it was so early, we got a front row parking place at Downtown Disney. We were walking to the LEGO Imagination Center when I couldn't remember if I had locked the car. Don't you hate it when that happens. It's like when you can't remember if you turned off the clothes iron. So I turned around and went back to make sure I had locked the car. I think I did actually lock it but I pressed the lock button on the key fob a good bit just to make sure - especially since the car was full of all of our luggage.

We finally made it to the LEGO Imagination Center where a nice lady asked us if she could help us. Mom said she was looking for a LEGO watch but the woman said they didn't have any in stock right now but that she could order one for us. We both shrugged and said okay. The LEGO lady went online and ordered it for Mom and it arrived a few days later. They didn't even charge for shipping and handling. Mom loves the watch and wears it all the time which I am sure drives Dad crazy since he just bought her a really expensive watch earlier this year.

This is the infamous watch:
http://shop.lego.com/product/?p=W341&LangId=2057&ShipTo=US

Flat Brody even got into the action when he met the LEGO dogs at Downtown Disney.

After our little detour we made our way to I-4 through Hotel Plaza. Whenever I see the Hotel Plaza hotels I am always amazed that I don't try to stay at some of them - the hotel rates seem reasonable and if you already have a car it is probably more convenient than some of the Disney hotels. I need to make a mental note about this.

Another Mom and Me tradition is that we like to stop in at DSW Shoes while we are in Orlando. If I had to choose between Disney and shoes which I loved more, I might have to say shoes. I know - heresy!!! DSW is a shoe Mecca and we pass right by it on our way home. This trip I only bought a pair of sneakers but Mom bought a few pair of dress shoes. When I was working in an office I would have bought a few pair of black pumps along with my sneakers but since I work from home now I was good - especially since the last thing I need is ANOTHER pair of black pumps.

We had an uneventful trip home except for our lunch stop. We stopped at a Wendy's in St. Mary's, GA. As soon as we walked in Mom said I think we have been here before and I think this is restaurant I wrote to complain to Wendy's headquarters about. I couldn't remember if it was indeed the dreaded Wendy's but we were already in line so we waited and waited and waited. It had been about 10 minutes and we hadn't moved. We finally decided that we would never get those 10 minutes back and we should just cut bait and move on to the Burger King next door. All that agrivation for a cheeseburger and fries. I will definitely remember to bypass this Wendy's the next time I am in St. Mary's, GA.

We made it back to the Savannah airport parking garage where Mom and I said our good byes. We had a wonderful time and did a lot of things we hadn't done before. And I loved having Flat Brody along for the ride. It was so fun to all of a sudden think "this would be a great Flat Brody picture." It certainly added a new fun element to our Disney adventures.

Finishing up a Disney trip is always bitter sweet. I am sad to leave Disney World but I am always thrilled to be home and see Real Brody. I do miss him when I am gone - he is just so darn cute.

Flat Brody is glad to make it back home to his spot on the couch.

And I was glad to be home because I was getting really sick. My throat was killing me and I was starting to cough. And things got worse before they got better. But me being sick after a Disney World trip seems to be par for the course. After our October 2007 Mom and Me trip I was sick for about a two weeks with a dreadful sinus infection that took two courses of antibiotics to clear up and after my December 2007 solo trip I was sick for a week with a terrible flu like illness where I was so sick I was unable to pick up Brody from the kennel. Not sure why I keep getting sick because I am really careful to wash my hands a lot and use hand sanitizer. I think it has to do with not getting enough rest and staying in hotel rooms for too long. But I am determined not to get sick on my next trip - so say a pray for me.

What ever happened to Flat Brody you ask? Well, you remember in my first post when I said that Real Brody was a dog who liked to chew. Yep, you guessed it - Real Brody chewed on Flat Brody to entertain himself one evening. It is my own fault though because I had left Flat Brody on the coffee table for a few days and it was just too much for Real Brody to take and he had to give in to his inner chewer. I should have known better.

Real Brody causes injuries to Flat Brody.

So, I made a new Flat Brody tonight for my next trip to Disney World - which happens to start tomorrow. Woohooo!!! But the fact of the matter is I haven't finished packing and it is already after midnight and I still have to break the news to Real Brody that he has to go to puppy camp tomorrow while his alter ego gets to go to Disney World. Life is so unfair!!!

Thanks so much for following along on Flat Brody's DIS Unplugged Pick-A-Number Mom and Me Trip. I've enjoyed pretending to be a writer and hope I brought a little Disney fun to your life.

Day 4, Part 2 - Flat Brody takes a Pick-A-Number DISUnplugged Podcast Trip!!!

Day 4, Part 2 –Our Final Dining Decisions

After our ferry ride to the TTC, we found the bus stop for MGM. There isn’t a formal queue and there weren’t many people waiting so we found a spot on a bench and relaxed as we waited for the bus. And then it happened. About 50 teenage cheerleaders showed up just as the bus pulled up. Of course they were the first ones on the bus and I began to worry that we wouldn’t even make it on the bus let alone find a seat. In a matter of seconds I went from not a care in the world to worrying if we were going to even get on the bus. It was sort of like being on Stitch’s Great Escape - sort of fun but not really.

We did make it on the bus and Mom actually got a seat and I stood next to her. Of course all of the cheerleaders were sitting while all of the elderly passengers were standing. Don’t parents teach their children about giving up seats to the elderly anymore? Maybe since public transportation isn’t the norm anymore and manners are a lost art - like eating Moroccan food in an upright position.

After settling in for our trip to MGM, I asked Mom the dreaded question "what are we going to do for dinner?" After mentally walking our way through the Park and thinking about our choices, Mom wondered if I thought we could get in to one of the table service restaurants. I didn’t see why not so I whipped out my mobile phone and dialed the number. Mom was perplexed that I knew the Disney World dining reservations phone number by heart. Do you think I spend too much time DISsing?

After getting through all of the phone prompts, I was speaking to a Reservationist without even being on hold. I asked her if there were any tables for 2 at MGM for around 6 p.m. At first she said Mamma Melrose’s and Hollywood & Vine and I relayed this information to Mom while explaining what type of food each restaurant served. When the Reservationist all of a sudden said there was an opening at 6:20 at The Hollywood Brown Derby. Wooohooo!!! I quickly exclaimed "we’ll take it!" My lucky panties were still working since we scored a 6:20 p.m. reservation at 5:20 p.m. Chalk one up for not making ADR’s at 180 days out.

The Reservationist took all of my relevant information and then wanted to give me the reservation number. I told her I couldn’t really write down the number since I was standing on a Disney bus on the way to MGM and didn’t have a pen handy. She laughed and said we didn’t really need it and to enjoy our meal. I assured her we would.

After entering MGM we still had forty minutes before our Brown Derby reservation so we thought we would try to do The Animation Academy before dinner. But my lucky panties failed me because the doors had just closed as we walked up. Hmmmm, guess we need to go to Plan B.

Always being on my toes, Plan B quickly became a tour of Walt Disney: One Man’s Dream. During our Future World tour, our tour guide Janet had told us some to look for Walt’s desk and the ash tray on it. This was the desk Walt used in his office at the Walt Disney Studios and just about the only place you will find any indication that Walt Disney smoked. It made me sad to think of all the people who have died a premature death because of smoking. And if you have never seen the movie at the end of One Man’s Dream you make sure you put it on your must do list - it is a great history lesson on Walt and gives you some insights to his genius.

It was about 6 o’clock by now so we decided to check in for our dinner a little early. And we were seated within a few minutes. We weren’t seated in one of the booths but had a nice table for two towards the back of the restaurant.

Flat Brody was impressed by all of the caricatures at The Hollywood Brown Derby

We studied the menu and the wine list. We wavered on the food choices a bit but quickly decided on our wine choices - Mom decided on the Eroica Reisling and I decided on the MacMurray Ranch Pinot Gris. Except they no longer had my wine choice. Now what do I do.? After drinking too much Chardonnay in the 90's I am not a fan of it much any more and there weren’t that many more white wines to choose from and red wine doesn’t like me anymore. But our wonderful waitress took matters in to her capable hands and brought a few bottles for me to sample. I eventually decided on one but I have no idea what it is now - the receipt abbreviates it as Kim Craw Svb. No idea what that stands for but it went well with my meal.

Mom and I decided to split the Market Greens Salad with asparagus, tomato grapes, candied pecans, Midnight Moon goat cheese and Cabernet vinaigrette. This is what is left of my salad when I remembered to take a picture.


Mom ordered the Pan-Fried Halibut with yellow squash, haricots verts, Roma tomato preserve, and citrus juices

Flat Brody enjoyed my Roasted Sterling Silver Pork Rib Chop with mustard spaetzle, white cheddar, rainbow chard, vinegar onions, and pan juices

Dinner was very nice and the service was great. I had hoped to have enough room to finally try the famous Grapefruit Cake but once again I had no room for dessert right after my meal. Some day I will just go to Disney World and only eat desserts. A girl can dream, can’t she?

After dinner we stopped by the bathroom and let me tell you that Playhouse Disney has ruined the Brown Derby bathroom. Smelly!!! It isn’t a large bathroom and it used to be a hidden oasis to freshen up in but not anymore!! Having diapers changed right where you walk in and you almost run into the changing table doesn’t make for a pleasant experience. They really need to add another bathroom in that area to handle all the smelly diaper changes. I am definitely going to have scope out a new bathroom oasis. I like a little peace and quiet when I tinkle, after all.

Since we missed The Animation Academy earlier we decided to try again. I was really excited that I converted Mom to being an amateur animator. It was hard to believe that she hadn’t even wanted to do it the other day and now she was asking to do it. We had a little wait before the next session so we took a seat on the padded benches where Mom promptly closed her eyes and went to sleep. (She is such a light weight when it comes to drinking wine - and we only had one glass with dinner.)

I woke Mom up when it was time to go in and we got to drawing right away. And once again we had a good time drawing - Goofy this time.

Flat Brody meets my version of Goofy. He was happy to meet a fellow canine.

Mom and I then strolled over to see Muppet Vision 3-D. I just love the Muppets so we try to always see my felt covered friends while at MGM. I think my love of the Muppets must stem from growing up watching Sesame Street. They should do another Muppet movie. I would pay to see Kermit singing another song about being green. But I digress - we liked Muppet Vision 3-D as much as the first time we saw it. I think Fozzy is my favorite but you have to love Sam Eagle too. Hmmm, maybe I shouldn't pick a favorite - it would be like picking one child over another.

On the way to Muppet Vision 3-D we noticed cheerleaders everywhere. It was like they had invaded MGM. We even saw a cheerleading squad from Japan. I know - who knew the Japanese were cheerleaders??? To be perfectly honest - there is nothing more irritating to me than large groups of cheerleaders who are pumped full of adrenaline and sugar after a competition. It almost makes me want to yell "WHO CARES!!! AND WIPE THAT GLITTER OFF YOUR FACE!!" I try to be understanding since my niece is a competitive cheerleader but I can only take a little bit of all of that frenzied energy at a time and this was putting me over the edge.

Actually I was probably just irritated because I was starting to feel poorly. I actually woke up this morning with a sore throat. It wasn’t all that bad and seemed to be under control with Tylenol. But as the evening went on my throat seemed to be getting worse. At this point I hadn’t really put two and two together but I seem to get sick every time I go to Disney World - more on that in the next installment.

Okay, back to our last evening at Disney World.

We still hadn’t ridden Tower of Terror and I still had the Fastpasses from the other day. I know there is a date on them but I have heard on more than several occasions that the Fastpass dates weren’t really enforced so I thought it was worth a shot. It’s not like they would hit me for trying.

So we walked back down Sunset Boulevard to finally ride a thrill ride this trip. As we approached the Hotel’s gate it was just like deja vu all over again - the Fastpass line AND the Standby line were all the way at the gate. UGH!!! It was just not in the cards for me to be thrill seeker this trip. I didn’t ride a single roller coaster or even Tower of Terror. I must be getting old because I didn’t really care though - although I did mind missing Tower of Terror because that is a Mom and Me trip tradition. Oh well, guess that means we just have to plan another trip.

After being disappointed, we walked back up Sunset Boulevard fighting our way through all of the cheerleaders - Fantasmic had just let out. It was definitely time to indulge in a Mickey Bar. It had been 4 days at Disney World and I needed a premium ice cream bar - and my throat was killing me. The Mickey Bar helped things immensely - physically and emotionally. Of course I had to sit down to eat the Mickey Bar or else I would have had chocolate all over my shirt.

On the way out of MGM we decided it was such a nice evening that we would walk back to the Swan - but only after I elicited a promise from Mom that she would basically stroll and not race walk . The evenings in April are nice because it cools down - unlike July and August. It is very dark at night on this path though. Not sure I would want to take this walk by myself at night since it isn’t a very busy path. And of course we played Beat the Boat. But this time it was a tie - the boat docked just as we arrived at the Swan. Guess all of my strolling slowed us down.

We straggled up to our room and settled in to our Heavenly Beds for one last night. Isn’t the last night of your trip so depressing? The worst part is having to pack - and realizing how much money you spent on "stuff".

Next Installment - One Last Chance at Shopping.

Day 4, Part 1 - Flat Brody takes a Pick-A-Number DISUnplugged Podcast Trip!!!

Day 4, Part 1 –TMI on the bus to the MK

After two non-stop days, Mom and I decided to sleep in and get a late start. It was a nice change of pace after two days of being up and at Parks before the rope dropped. And of course the Boardwalk Bakery muffin we picked up the night before was a nice addition to our yogurt parfaits.

I lazed about while Mom got ready and then she went and checked out the hotel and spa while I got ready. All in all, a very relaxing way to start the day. It was just what my tired feet needed - time propped up on a Heavenly Bed.

We left the room about 11:30 a.m. to catch the bus to the Magic Kingdom. It didn’t take long to arrive at the Swan but it was almost full when it arrived. I never really figured out the bus routes for the Epcot hotels since the buses we took never repeated the same pattern. I guess that just means I will have to return to investigate further. My curious mind needs to know!!!!

Since the bus was crowded, Mom and I were relegated to standing in between all the strollers crowding the aisle. I don’t know what the solution to the stroller/bus crowding problem is but I do know that strollers are cumbersome and aren’t fun for the stroller holder or the stroller neighbor.

Okay, so we are on the bus on the way to the Magic Kingdom and we’re standing next to this large Italian looking family that based upon their accents were probably from the New York area. From my perspective, it looked like a Mom and Dad had taken two of their adult daughters with their husbands and all of their children. But apparently one daughter and her family were not able to attend the family trip to Disney World.

As it turns out one of the son-in-laws was talking (loudly) with the patriarch of the family about one of the other son-in-laws and all of his business dealings. It seems that the SIL in attendance did not think that the absent SIL would be able to afford his mortgage payment since he over paid for the house and that the boat that was just purchased was stepping way above his means. I ended up knowing more about this family and their finances than I know about my own affairs. I don’t really understand why people need to discuss these types of things loudly amongst total strangers. It wasn’t like any of us were impressed or even cared. A little discretion goes a long way. This was definitely under the category of TMI - too much information.

We arrived at the Magic Kingdom at noon, so there were no lines at the security bag check. And the park didn’t seem all that crowded. Once again the Crowd Calendar at www.touringplans.com was correct and Saturday is a good day for visiting the Magic Kingdom.

As we walked through Town Square we saw Jiminy Cricket and had to snap a few pictures.

Of course our pin shopping wasn’t over so we stopped in at Uptown Jewelers to see if there were any pins we hadn’t seen yet. And actually we found a few we just couldn’t live without. But is our pin shopping over? Hmmmm, you can never be sure.

We had missed Adventureland earlier in our trip so we started our tour there. Don’t you just love the tropical drum music as you pass over the bridge - it just makes want to stop and do the hula. (Thankfully for the other guests I have not done any hulas - but you never know when I might.)

We didn’t really have any plans as we walked through Adventureland but when we saw that The Enchanted Tiki Room was just starting we took the opportunity to indulge ourselves. I know there is a lot of debate about the merits of the new version of the Tiki Room versus the original version but I enjoy the new version. It still has the charm of the original version but has the named characters that younger generations can relate to. And besides, it is a good way to get out of the sun for a few minutes. Besides, who doesn’t love a chanting tiki god amongst singing flowers.

Argggghhh! Of course Flat Brody wanted to see Pirates of the Carribean but we only took a picture this trip. Flat Brody will have to wait a few more days to see all of the pirate booty.

As we entered Frontierland, we caught the tale end of Woody’s Round Up.

We didn’t catch any of the performance but it looked it would have been cute. Maybe we will be lucky enough to catch it on our next visit.
Mom had never been to Tom Sawyer Island so we decided to check it off the list and take the raft over to explore. It always seems to be a classic Magic Kingdom thing to do since it has been around so long and often overlooked by those thrill seeking park guests. I had forgotten that the raft drivers really have to pilot the rafts - there is no ride track. Which made me wonder where the life jackets were? Does the Coast Guard check up on the Rivers of America vessels? My inquiring mind needs to know.

Flat Brody on the raft to Tom Sawyer Island.

Although only about 1 o’clock, I told Mom about the hidden paint brushes just in case we were lucky enough to spot one. You never know - there could have been one that was missed. But there weren’t any missed paint brushes this time.
We explored Fort Langhorn first and even shot the rifles from the turrets. You really need to be nimble though because some of the stairs wells were really tight and steep. After fighting off the "Injuns", we took a break to watch the action on the Rivers of America.

Flat Brody waving from Tom Sawyer Island to the passing Ferry Boat.

Flat Brody wishing he was riding on Big Thunder Mountain.

We then ventured on to explore the caves. I forgot how small those caves are. If you are the least bit claustrophobic you should avoid them at all costs because they are tight and narrow. I am getting a little panicky just thinking about it.

Mom and I also had a good time on the barrel bridge but I think we had a bit too much fun since our shoes got a little wet. I am glad I had on my quick drying Crocs. I don’t ever recall getting my feet wet before. Hmmmm. But since our feet were wet, we took the time to sit in a rocking chair at Aunt Polly’s to air dry our toesies. It is a great spot to sit and get a good glimpse of the river boats and a unique view of The Haunted Mansion.

After making the return raft trip we moseyed over to Liberty Square to get some American history at the Hall of Presidents. Alas, our timing was off since the doors to the theater had just closed as we walked up. But it was getting sort of late, so we decided to go to one of our favorite restaurants in Disney World, the Columbia Harbour House. Mmmmm, if I close my eyes I can taste the french fries right now.

Since it was a later lunch the lines to order weren’t very long but I had Mom go stake our our table. There were plenty of tables but I love the tables upstairs that overlook Fantasyland. Since there are only a couple of them you have to have your lucky panties on to get one. But today I must have had them on because when I walked upstairs with our food Mom was sitting at "my" table. I did a little inner dance of joy - since I was carrying a tray of food and drinks I thought it best to not dance with abandon.

Unfortunately, I didn’t take any pictures of our food. But I had the Chicken Breast Nuggets and Mom had the kid’s Garden Salad with Chicken. (I shared my fries with Mom.) I do have to say that I prefer the Chicken Strips better than the Nuggets - I like more chicken than breading. What can I say, I like to save room for the french fries.

After enjoying our lunch at our favorite restaurant at our favorite table, we ventured back to The Hall of Presidents. We still had our lucky panties on because we caught the very next show.

Flat Brody feeling presidential at the Hall of Presidents

I know some people don’t like The Hall of Presidents or just use it to go to take a nap but I find it very interesting and patriotic. I love history so it fills a need for me. I suppose most children are probably bored out of my mind when they get dragged into The Hall of Presidents but I recall always loving it as a child. And who doesn’t love an opportunity to buy a bunch of presidential pencils and dolls at the end of the show.

We ventured to Fantasyland next but still didn’t ride "it’s a small world". Not sure why we skipped over it because it is a ride that makes me happy. Call me crazy but I could be stuck on it for hours and still enjoy singing along. I know - call me crazy!!!

But we stopped in at Mickey’s PhilharMagic which was basically a walk on - guess our lucky panties were still working. Seeing PhilharMagic always makes me want to get out all of my Disney movies and watch them again - but they are all on VHS and I don’t even have a VCR hooked up anymore. I might have to invest in some Disney DVD’s - it would certainly be easier than trying to work a VCR.

After dutifully returning our 3-D glasses , we stopped in at Tinker Bell’s Treasures to browse all the cute and pretty girly stuff - every once in a while you have to satisfy the girly girl in you or she will explode. As we left the shop we ran in to Cinderella’s Step Sisters.

Of course we couldn’t be in the Magic Kingdom and not try our hands at Buzz again. Besides I had to regain the Mom and Me Buzz Champion title back from Mom after her win earlier in the trip. But when we arrived at Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin there was a 40 minute wait posted so we got Fastpasses with a return time at 3:05 p.m.

Since we had some time to kill we thought we would take another trip on the People Mover (a.k.a. Tomorrowland Transit Authority). So we walked over but there was a Cast Member roping off the escalator to the platform. It was broken!!!! UGH!!!! Thankfully Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress was right there or we might have had to resort to seeing Stitch’s Great Escape! - and that would have been tragic.

Carousel of Progress was as it usually is - outdated in the modern scene and charming as always with everything else. I love seeing all of the old kitchens. Mom felt very nostalgic to see the kitchen from the 50's.

Afterwards we still had a few minutes to burn before our Fastpass time for our Buzz Lightyear rematch so we decided to sit down in the Galaxy Palace Theater and listen to a high school choir that was singing The Lion King songs. They were very good and a very large choir. I can’t really remember where they were from though, since we missed their introduction. I felt bad for them though because the theater was practically empty and it was obvious they had worked very hard on their songs - and probably had a lot of carwashes to pay for the trip. At least they can always say they performed at Walt Disney World.

On our way to Buzz, Flat Brody decided to stalk the Tomorrowland ducks.
Although an upland bird dog and not a water fowl dog, Real Brody does like to point at any bird given the chance so I though I would indulge Flat Brody since I was missing Real Brody at this point in the trip.

We made it on to Buzz in no time flat with our trusty Fastpasses. And I am happy to report I am the reigning Mom and Me Buzz Champion once again. But I will say that Mom’s laser gun wasn’t working properly because she only scored 2700 points - which is was too low for even Mom on a bad day. I am sure a rematch will be called for later this week.

It was getting to be early evening so we decided to make our way out of the Magic Kingdom. But before we got out of the Park we were approached by one of the survey taker people. In all of my trips to Disney World (and I have lost count of my trips) I have never been asked to do one of the surveys, so of course I said yes. She ushered us to this little area of City Hall with a few laptops where I sat down and answered some questions about my dining experience in the Park that day. Overall I rated our meal as very good but did suggest that paying over $2 for a fountain soft drink was too much. And I also said they should bring back the chicken strips and the Monte Cristo sandwich. I miss that sandwich!!!!! I was the one thing I looked forward to eating at Disney World when I was a child. ***sigh*** Sometimes change just sucks.

Since we weren’t going back to our hotel but instead going to MGM we decided to take the Ferry Boat to the TTC. After many trips on the Ferry Boats when leaving the Magic Kingdom I have decided that if you see the Ferry Boat at the dock then you don’t need to rush because you won’t make it. Instead you should only rush to the loading dock if you see the Ferry Boat approaching the dock. (Those are my words of wisdom for the day.)

Flat Brody anticipating his first Ferry Boat ride.

Next Installment - Our Final Dining Decisions