Joe's Birthday Trip - Day 1

Many of you who read the blog know about this already. For those who don't, let me explain. I have NO idea why, but ever since Joe and I got married I've known that I wanted to do something BIG for his 30th birthday (coming this November). For most of that time, I figured I'd just throw him a surprise birthday party. I began saving money late last year, I called local businesses for prices on banquet rooms and catering, I even asked around for ideas. But over the course of the spring, I realized that, while Joe would humor me, he would probably love something else better. So began my trek to the "ultimate birthday surprise." Here's what I came up with.

My dearest husband loves cars! He became an engineer in hopes of designing cars someday (good thing I didn't know that ahead of time. I don't want to live in Michigan!). So, for his 30th birthday, I flew the two of us (my most loving, gracious parents took care of the kids) to Florida and Joe got to drive a Nascar race car at the Daytona Speedway in Daytona Beach, FL. We also spent one day at the Magic Kingdom and Epcot, respectively. I will be writing the parts on Disney World (let's be honest, I'm the mouse lover in the family :), and Joe will write about his Nascar Experience. You won't want to miss it!!

DISNEY WORLD - MAGIC KINGDOM!

I planned this trip way back in June. Made plane, car, hotel and kid reservations (can I say enough about how much I love my parents? No!) without Joe being the wiser. It pays to do the bills in the family! I even contacted Joe's boss to ask for the time he'd need off without him knowing. My plan was to tell him just a few days out...it sounded so dramatic! But as the summer began, I found it increasingly difficult to keep my darn mouth shut. I was too excited!! So I made the decision to tell him early, but in my own way, so that it was still a surprise. I don't really think it sank in until we got really close to the trip. Anyway, I had scheduled us to be there for 3 days, and Nascar would only take a morning to do. So I asked Joe what he would like to do with his other 2 days and he said Disney World. Fine by me! I've never been!! Thursday afternoon we took a 6 hour, non-stop flight to Orlando, FL.

Friday morning dawned...HOT. And early. I must say, though, we acclimated almost immediately to the time change. I was very surprised. Anyway, it was hot. Ok, not hot...humid. How in the world do people live in that?! I honestly don't think I could. But I digress.

Let me explain to you the labyrinth that is the off ramp to Disney World. First off, it *has* its own off ramp from a freeway! Nothing in California can claim that! It's insane! You take the off ramp and you drive at least a half a mile or so before you see the signs...make sure to pay attention! I would say, in all, the distance between the freeway and parking for the Magic Kingdom was 2 miles or more. I mean, it's just insane!! Then, you board a tram which takes you to a gate, then you get on a monorail, just to get to the entrance!!! Honestly, I have never seen anything like it. Oh! And one last thing about the entry...now they take your ticket AND your fingerprint. I am not kidding you. Joe and I had to use the exact same ticket both days because it was tied to our prints. What is this? The FBI?!

The Magic Kingdom is a big Disneyland. There's no other way to describe it! It's got all the areas that Disneyland has, but it's just...bigger. Main Street and Sleeping Beauty's castle tipped me off to this right away. The stores were two stories high! And the castle? Holy Cow! It looks like the other is just a scale model in comparison. I must say, the castle was one of my favorite parts of the day. Sleeping Beauty is in my top 5 Disney movies. Maleficent scares the heck outa me! One thing they do at Disney World that they don't in California was put on shows at the steps of the castle. They happened quite often (maybe every 30 minutes or hour). I actually thought this was very clever, though I was disappointed that we couldn't walk up there. It allowed everyone to see, no matter where they were in the square. The picture below was taken on the far side, and yet you can still see pretty well!

By sheer luck, we ended up going on the off season. I swear I didn't plan it that way, but it rocked!! Hmm....maybe it has something to do with that humidity? We were able to walk on almost every ride we took. I think the longest wait was 5 minutes at Pirates of the Caribbean. Not bad at all!! We did the Haunted Mansion, Swiss Family Tree house, Pirates, Thunder Mountain Railroad, the Laugh Floor (which wasn't really a ride, but still fun), It's a Small World (I'd never done it. I hope to never do it again. Creeeeeeepy!), and took in a show about America. The American section was the only big part that I could really tell was not part of Disneyland. The "America" show was cute, but it cracked me up. Let's just say, it painted the good ol' USA in a VERY good light.

Joe at the Swiss Family Tree house

By the time lunch was over we'd pretty much done it all and were getting tired. Guilty parents as we were, we did a bunch of shopping for the poor lonely saps back home sitting in the rain. At 3pm we sat for 15 minutes to watch the parade. The first hint that this wasn't going to be good was that the sidewalk I was sitting on refused to cool off. My butt became so unbearably hot that I had to sit on a reusable grocery bag I'd bought earlier! Half way through, our arms, necks, faces and legs were sweating and all we were doing was sitting! Fifteen minutes after sitting down, we stood up in a giant heap of sweat, dirt and B.O. I mean, I hate to say it, but it's the truth! Check out this picture of Joe just after the parade. You can see where the pools of sweat ended up. You don't want to know where mine were. It was gross!

Throughout the day, I really enjoyed the sights and sounds that can only come from a Disney adventure. I must admit that I really didn't "miss" the kids that much. Of course, we thought about them, talked about them and to them, but miss? Not too much. I really tried to be in the moment and not think about home.

However, seeing the Pooh tree about did me in. This was a little playground set in the back of Fantasyland. It was covered in the rubberized surface that you see at parks to keep kids safe. There were things to climb in, on, and through. You could even go IN Pooh's house!! My heart immediately felt that all so knowing pang of guilt. The kids would have LOVED this. It was awesome! When we win the lottery and buy a house, we're putting one in!

Overall, it was a great day! I'm so glad we went and enjoyed myself immensely. That afternoon, we hit the road for the hour and a half drive out to Daytona Beach. After a tasty meal we hit the sheets for a good nights sleep before Joe's big day :)