The Magic Continues - Days 8 & 9

Earlier we had mentioned that we were on the Dining Plan, and wondered whether it would be too much food. We can officially say that YES, it is an awful lot of food! We had been saving our 20 snack credits since we arrived for two reasons: 1) we never really felt like eating anymore, and 2) the International Food & Wine Festival was to start on Sept. 28th.

For those of you who don't know, each year this festival is held at Epcot for approximately 6 weeks. This is its 12th year but the first time we've attended. It offers many wine and culinary events each day. A number of world renowned chefs are on hand to give cooking demonstrations, book signings, and private dinners. As you explore World Showcase, you can sample inspired food and beverages from more than 25 international marketplaces which are available to purchase. Something that is not readily advertised is that those on the Dining Plan may use their snack credits to enjoy the different food items from around the world. So off we headed to Epcot with our 20 credits and walked around the world enjoying different samples. We had Roast Duck with Cilantro Rice at Peru, Marinated Seafood Salad and a Lamb Slider (roasted lamb with mustard sauce on a toasted roll) at New Zealand, Shrimp on the Barbie and a Grilled Lamb Chop with Caramelized Onions at Australia, and the Maine Lobster Roll at the United States. We also stopped at Morocco, Spain, South Africa, Turkey, Greece, and Argentina. We managed to use 16 of our snack credits, and along with a few beers from England and a couple margaritas from Mexico, were full and feeling no pain.

The following day (Saturday) we headed back to the Magic Kingdom where the highlight was me singing with the Dapper Dans on Main Street U.S.A.!! Russ had mentioned that I was a Sweet Adeline, and they asked if I knew San Francisco Bay Blues. I declined singing with them initially, but when they were done singing another song and I asked to have my picture taken with them, they started singing SF Bay Blues while I was standing there. Their lead was filling in on that part and didn't know this particular song in lead, so it was just me singing lead! Talk about a magical moment as many other guests and cast members stopped to hear us sing! They even gave me a card making me an honorary member of The Main Street U.S.A. Chapter.

Dinner was at the Coral Reef at Epcot, where you can dine in front of windows 50 feet long, eight feet high, and eight inches thick looking into an incredible panorama of the vivid undersea world of the world's largest man-made saltwater environment, which is 35,000 square feet and stretches 203 feet in diameter. This amazing environment contains nearly 8,000 specimens comprising of approximately 85 different species of Caribbean reef fish . Also from time to time scuba divers would appear in the tank, and one of them was writing notes to guests from inside the tank and entertaining by doing somersaults and blowing bubble kisses. Another excellent meal though the acoustics weren't very good. The noise level was unbelievable...Russ wondered if we were in Chuck E. Cheese!

After dinner we headed over to the America Gardens Theater for the Eat to the Beat concert series, which coincides with the Festival. The artists change every couple nights, and this night we saw Al Stewart, best known for his songs "Year of the Cat" and "Time Passages". Of course, we finished the night watching IllumiNations.

Day 7 - Happy Birthday, Russ!

Today (Thursday) is Russ' birthday and initially we were going to sleep in, but since we did that yesterday, he decided he wanted to go to Epcot this morning!


First thing I did when we arrived was drag Russ over to Guest Relations and get him a Happy Birthday pin. All day cast members were saying "Happy Birthday, Russ!", which he seemed to get a kick out of and appreciate. And seems like Epcot was a good choice today as the park seemed practically empty, relatively speaking. We actually rode Soarin' 3 times first thing! We pretty much stayed in Future World seeing The Circle of Life, Living with the Land, and the newly reopened Journey Into Imagination with Figment. We also went to The Seas with Nemo and Friends and caught Turtle Talk which features Crush, the sea turtle from "Finding Nemo". During Turtle Talk, the audience faces a screen that looks into the ocean. Since you are in The Seas where many large windows look into an ocean environment, this looks much like any other such window. Crush is an interactive 3D animation that talks with the audience in the "human tank". He looks at the person he's talking with and really interacts with people. For example, the host will ask a kid his name and Crush will say "Hello, Jimmy." He makes jokes and takes questions from audience. The show lasts about 10 minutes and is simply amazing. We learned that the most important word in turtle language is "dude", which can have many different meanings depending on how it's said (as Crush demonstrated). So for the rest of the day every time a cast member said happy birthday to Russ, he responded by saying "well, thank you very much, dude (or dudette)!" The cast members seemed to really enjoy his response.


Dinner was at the California Grill on the 15th floor of the Contemporary Resort. I had called they day before to request a window table, but you can only make those requests when you check in. However, the girl did note on the reservation that it was Russ' birthday. I had been told when we made the reservation a couple months before that they didn't do anything for birthdays (unless you wanted to purchase a birthday cake). So I had brought some of the Mickey Mouse confetti that was leftover from our anniversary dinner a couple years before and was going to ask the hostess if she would put it on the table before we sat down.


When we arrived, I requested a window table and was given the standard "I'll request it but can't make any guarantees", and as I could see she wasn't going to be the one to seat us (plus Russ was standing right there), I didn't give her the confetti. We went into the bar to get a drink and very shortly our name was called. Rafael led us to a perfect window table that already had Mickey Mouse confetti on it as an indication to the staff that we were celebrating a special occasion! These windows offer a panoramic view of the Seven Seas Lagoon and Magic Kingdom. If you time your dinner right, you can see the fireworks from there, and that's what we planned to do.

A short time after being seated, Rafael returned and said that the restaurant wanted to take our picture and give us a copy to celebrate the occasion! (I had our server take one, too, so we could post it here.) Then when Russ' dessert arrived, on it was a little chocolate "plaque" that read "Happy Birthday from the California Grill!" Not bad for a place that doesn't do anything for birthdays!!

California Grill is a five star restaurant whose menus change frequently to take advantage of fresh market fare. The meal was excellent as was our server, Charmaine, and when the fireworks started, we actually went outside to the observation platform so we could hear the fireworks as well as see them, then returned to finish dessert.

When we returned to our campsite about 10pm, a cast member drove up in a van and handed Russ a birthday card signed from Mickey and Minnie. What a nice end to an excellent day!

Disney - Days 4, 5, & 6

Monday we went to the most magical place on Earth....Magic Kingdom! It's all decorated for Halloween, and as usual there's so much to see and do. We arrived when the gates opened and headed straight for the newly refurbished Haunted Mansion. Outside is the horseless carriage, and the innovations they've made to the ride are really cool! Then on to Pirates of the Caribbean, the Country Bear Jamboree, Jungle Ride, Hall of Presidents, Transit Authority, and Carousel of Progress. We also saw the new production at Cinderella's Castle called "Dreams Come True", a fun and entertaining show featuring Minnie, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and the Disney princesses. And of course Russ had to kick my butt on Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin ride/game! In all the times we've "played", I've only beaten him once! We also took in the new Monster's Inc. Laugh Floor, a "comedy club for visiting humans", which is really clever and involves the audience.

Dinner was at Le Cellier Steakhouse located below the Chateau in the Canada Pavilion at Epcot and is designed to resemble a wine cellar. But first we had to stop by and hear one of our favorite groups at Disney called Off Kilter, a high energy Celtic rock band playing a unique blend of traditional and modern music (check them out at http://offkilter.net/ ). They are fun to watch and great to hear plus all the guys wear kilts! Anyway, on to dinner. Steaks were great, and this time we were smart and asked for our desserts to go. I got the Chocolate Mousse Moose, and as you can see by the photo, it really was!

It was "Hooray for Hollywood!" on Monday as we went to Disney/MGM Studios. Again we arrived as the gates were about to open, and this park is known for its street performers. The crowd was greeted by a famous gossip columnist and a great director, who made waiting fun. First thing we did was head for Tower of Terror. Now we don't really like to do a lot of thrill rides, but there are a couple that are tradition for us, and every time we get off we say "we're getting too old for this!" Thank goodness Aerosmith's Rock 'N Roller Coaster was closed for refurbishments this trip! As we were heading into the Muppet Vision 3D movie, a cast member (that's what Disney employees are called) stopped us and said we had won a Dream Fast Pass for the day! This is the "Year of A Million Dreams" at all the Disney properties, and many prizes both big and small are being awarded randomly to guests. This Fast Pass was good only that day and only at MGM, which was kind of a bummer because the park wasn't very busy so the only attraction that required a Fast Pass was Tower of Terror, and we weren't going on it again! But we were just thrilled to have won and wore our badges proudly. After Muppet Vision we went on The Great Movie Ride and Star Tours. We caught the last few minutes of another fun group called Mulch, Sweat, & Shears. Great musicians and so funny....they put on a great show! Their schedule is not always posted, but you can ask any cast member where and when they will be performing in the park. As we were getting ready to leave the park, we ran across some more street performers that were hilarious. The dumb blonde taking her driving test with the cop....she was priceless!!!

Dinner was at Ohana in the Polynesian Resort, a family-style all-you-care-to-eat Hawaiian meal, with plenty of refills available for each course. We've eaten at this restaurant before and enjoyed the meal and the atmosphere so decided to go again this trip. Shrimp, turkey, pork, and beef are brought to the table on these huge skewers, and your server will pull off as much as you'd like (and bring more if you so desire!) There is a 16-foot open-fire pit and beautiful views, while a strolling singer walks around singing and playing a ukelele. Dessert was a variation of bananas foster so no way to really take it home...had to eat it there!

After dinner we walked over to the Magic Kingdom to catch the fireworks, but since we arrived a little bit early, we walked around in the Town Square Exposition Hall. The front of this place is a camera store and a film developing location, and you can purchase pins and other character items. In the back of the Expo Hall are several photo opportunities for taking your picture with cut out posters of Disney characters. So here are a couple we took:

Wednesday the insurance man came by to look at our awning, and we decided to just hang out in the RV and catch up on some stuff. Glad we did because we saw some wild turkeys about couple sites down from our RV. I went outside to take a couple pictures and hopefully not scare them off. Guess they're really used to people because they walked within a couple feet of me!

Dinner was at Spoodles at the Disney BoardWalk. Originally we figured this would be a pasta place (spoodles....noodles), but were surprised when we read the menu ahead of time. They actually offer a Mediterranean fare. This "cuisine of the sun" concept is inspired by the abundant flavours of the southern European coast and was quite delicious. We both tried the red snapper, which was excellent, and even had room for dessert this time!

Well, tomorrow's a big day so until then!

Day 3 - Animals Abound!

Sunday was spent at Animal Kingdom, the largest Disney theme park in the world, covering more than 500 acres, and is themed entirely around animal conservation. The first place we generally head towards is the Kilimanjaro Safari ride. Guests climb aboard an open-sided safari vehicle for an "expedition" seeing many African animals along the way, which freely roam through acres of savanna, rivers and rocky hills. You can see giraffes, hippos, elephants, gazelles, rhinos, lions, and many other animals and birds. Keeping with the Disney "magic" and theming, guests are led to believe that they are embarking on a mission to stop some ivory poachers. It's all quite fun, and early in the morning, you see so many animals. We generally get a Fast Pass when we get there so we can get back on again shortly after the first trip. There's always something different to see every time.














Next it's off to see Festival of the Lion King, a 30 minute high energy, musical stage show featuring four live singers, numerous acrobats, dancers, puppeteers and parade-style floats. As the performers fill the theatre, 4 huge moving floats are brought in. Simba is a 12 foot high animated character sitting on Pride Rock. There is an elephant, a swaying giraffe and then one with Pumba and Timon. It's performed in the round, and the pageantry, energy, and colorful costumes make this a performance not to be missed!

Dinner was at Boma-Flavors of Africa located in the Animal Kingdom Lodge Resort and is a buffet. According to what we've read, a "Boma" is an open and natural space which provides safety and shelter in the bush. The restaurant is located two levels below the lobby, and is decorated with an abundance of African art and wood carvings with the ceilings as high as the lobby. The kitchen area is open so you can see many of the items being prepared, and though there are several unique and unusual items, it's still a typical buffet with many offerings. The food was good, and I found more items to my liking than Russ did, but he still enjoyed it. One thing that Russ really liked was one of the desserts called Zebra Domes. Now he's read rave reviews about them several times on different unofficial Disney websites, and they did not disappoint him! Zebra domes are a coffee-mousse little dome with zebra striped chocolate covering it on a bed of shaved coconut. He ate several! Personally I could have eaten an entire bowl of the Chocolate Mousse Crunch! Though we're not sure that we would go to Boma again, at least we can say we've experienced it.

On past trips we've always left our hotel room some time between 7am - 8am and headed straight for one of the four parks. We would generally spend about half the day at the initial park and then hop on over to another park and not return to our hotel until after catching one of the night time fireworks displays. Often not returning to the hotel after 10pm, catching some sleep, and starting all over the next day. We can remember many nights when walking the final few steps to our room was a struggle. We would usually sleep in one day during our trip, but for the most part we spent all of our waking time at the parks. With the dogs staying with us this trip and not being able to go outside the RV when we are gone, instead of park hopping to a second park after lunch, we have been coming back home. We let the dogs out, rest for awhile, feed and walk the dogs, then head off for dinner and our nightly ritual of seeing some fireworks. We both agree that by taking this break each day we are not nearly as tired, and by being in the parks less, are actually enjoying them more.

Disney - Days 1 & 2

We had told "the kids" that we were going to Disney World, and they were so excited during the 3 day trip from St. Louis. A month earlier we had changed our reservation from a Disney hotel to the Disney campground. After considering the cost of boarding 3 animals for 10 days, it was actually cheaper for us to stay at the Ft. Wilderness Campground and pay for the dining plan even though it had been free in our initial package. Well, it only took a few moments for the kids to sniff around and have a look on their faces of disappointment. It was as if they were saying, "what's so special about this place? It's just like all the other places where we've been staying." Now Ft. Wilderness Campground might quite possibly be the nicest campground that we stay at during our travels, but the kids were right in that some of the Disney magic is missing. Oh, well, guess we just need to go to the parks though that won't help the kids much.

This trip begins at Epcot since we had dinner reservations for Restaurant Marrekesh in Morocco. We had made all our dinner reservations a couple months before we arrived since many of the restaurants fill up quickly, and in many instances you are not able to just walk up and get a table. This trip we decided to try the Disney Dining Plan, which includes 1 table service meal (appetizer, entree, non-alcoholic beverage, & dessert), 1 counter service meal (entree, non-alcoholic beverage, & dessert), and 1 snack coupon per person per each day of your stay. Now we've heard that the only complaint people really have about this program is that it's too much food. Since it's part of our package, guess we'll just have to find out!

Now for those of you who don't know, Epcot is divided into two separate sections: Future World and World Showcase. Future World consists of a variety of pavilions that explore innovative aspects and applications of technology. World Showcase contains pavilions representing eleven countries, each containing representative shops and restaurants and are staffed by citizens of these countries, many of them college students living in Walt Disney World College Program housing.

The first thing we always do when we arrive at Epcot is to visit our "photo" on the "Leave A Legacy" sculpture, which is basically a “photo time capsule”. A digital image is taken of you (for a fee), the image is etched onto a 1"x1" piece of steel, and then mounted on the Leave a Legacy sculptures, which are granite monoliths arranged under Spaceship Earth just inside the gates of Epcot. (Spaceship Earth is the big golf ball thing everyone associates with Epcot.) The program was started in 1999 and unfortunately discontinued this year. So no more images will be added, but those over 550,000 that are there today will remain. We had our image taken back in 2003, and every trip we find it using our specific locator number and together touch our image.

After doing this, we started in Future World by going through The Seas pavilion, then over to The Land pavilion. Then it was off to Morocco! We had never eaten there, but it did not disappoint though by the time dessert arrived we were already pretty full. We generally don't order dessert except maybe to split one, so perhaps everything we've heard is right....it just might be too much food! During dinner a belly dancer entertained as a "combo" played (not sure what you'd call them in Morocco!) After dinner, it was time for Epcot's fireworks called IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth, a thirteen-minute fireworks show that takes place in the World Showcase Lagoon every night at the park's closing. The show features fireworks, lasers, fire, and water fountains timed to a musical score. A large rotating globe of the Earth with curved LED screens is the centerpiece of the show and is used to project images of people and places. It takes 67 computers in 40 locations to operate this show, and it is truly spectacular. It's something we generally make a point to see several times during our trips.

The next day, Saturday, it was back to Epcot and on to our favorite ride, Soarin'. This is a very popular ride, and the lines can be extremely long and the Fast Passes run out quickly. On Soarin' you feel as if you are hang gliding across the vistas of California, but you're actually just sitting in a chair watching a movie (remember....it's magic!) Essentially it's an indoor ride where you are strapped into a row of seats which slowly rise about 40 ft. off the floor and in front of you is a huge movie screen on which the scenes are projected. Add to this that you can feel the wind in your face and smell the evergreen forests and the orange groves, and it is truly a spectacular ride. The first time we ever went on it, Russ was nervous and held on to the seat handles for dear life not knowing what to expect! Now he sits back, arms crossed, relaxed and enjoying the ride.

First thing we do after we get off is to go get a Fast Pass, which allows guests to avoid long lines at the attractions on which the system is installed, freeing them to enjoy other attractions during their wait instead of standing in line. The service is available at no additional charge, and why more people don't use it, we cannot understand! You return to the attraction during the specified time you've been given, and enter a special line that gives you priority access to the attraction.

While we were waiting for our specified time, we took the slow-moving boat ride called Living with the Land. The first part of the ride focuses on the relationship between humans and the environment, and the ways that humans modify the environment. The second part focuses on new technology making agriculture more efficient and environmentally friendly by traveling past working greenhouses and laboratories where some of the food is grown for the restaurants in the pavilion. Then it was to to soar again!

Using two of our counter service coupons, we ate lunch at Sunshine Seasons, a food court offering guests a more "high-end" selection of choices including seared tuna salad, asian themed items, sushi, gourmet sandwiches, grilled items, and an incredible bakery (for that dessert!). Many of the vegetables grown in the onsite greenhouses are used at the food court and the other inhouse restaurant. Then it was time to head back to the RV to let the dogs out and for us to rest.

Dinner was at the Concourse Steakhouse at the Contemporary Hotel. The atmosphere left a little to be desired (though the monorail comes right through the hotel above the restaurant, which is cool), and the service wasn't the best (very unusual for Disney!), but the meal was phenomenal! Being a steakhouse, we of course both ordered steak, which was so tender and flavorful. This time I did have to get half my dessert in a to go box!

From here we walked over to the Magic Kingdom to watch Spectromagic, the incredible electrical light parade,which combines lights, fiber-optics, and music. In the parade your favorite Disney characters are transformed into magical musical light forms. There are a grand total of 36 units (floats) in the parade along with many performers walking between. Each unit has a driver cleverly hidden, and the main control center is located under Main Street USA. There are 600,000 miniature lights and over 100 miles of fiber optic strands. The lights are dimmed along the parade route, and the sights and sounds are truly amazing.

The parade is followed shortly by Magic Kingdom's fireworks show called "Wishes", which is narrated by Jiminy Cricket. "Wishes" tells of making wishes come true, using classic Disney songs and character voices accompanied by meticulously choreographed fireworks. We have found that the best place to view them is standing right in the middle of Main Street U.S.A. The fireworks appear to be coming from right behind Cinderella's Castle and is a sight to behold.

So why Disney World?

We are always asked by friends "why are you going to Disney World again??", and we don't believe we have ever adequately been able to answer that question. As a matter of fact, we always asked Russ' sister why they went each year and never really understood their answer. Back in 1995 we actually met Terri and her family in Orlando and even after spending a week with them, felt that the trip was not entirely worthwhile.

In 2003 for Russ' 50th birthday we again made the trek staying at the Yacht Club on the Disney property for one week. After that visit, we seemed to understand. We admitted that we enjoyed the visit and thought that we would have to do it again someday. Well, this is now our fifth trip since January 2005! I guess we can understand why people ask why.

The only answer we can give is that it is truly a magical place. A place where you can be amazed, laugh, and cry all at the same time. A place that talks about man and all animal and plant life "living in perfect harmony". A place with amazing theming and attention to detail. A place where you can feel like you are actually in Morocco when visiting that pavilion in Epcot.

Disney World is always looking to the future but never forgets the past. It is a place where parents bring their children just like their parents brought them to enjoy many of the same classic rides. It is not an amusement park with thrill-a-minute rides but one that always let's you walk away with having learned something about life. It's Fantasyland, Frontierland, Tomorrowland, Adventureland, and Main Street U.S.A., and that's just at the Magic Kingdom. And with Epcot, Animal Kingdom, and Disney/MGM Studios there is always something new to see and do. We have not seen everything and probably never will. Even our favorite rides that we go on every trip always offer something new that we had not noticed before.

When the line is short, we enjoy getting our pictures taken with the many characters that roam around the parks (Russ is convinced that Minnie has a crush on him.) We enjoy seeing the look on a small child's face as they see Cinderella or Mickey for the first time. We also smile when we see tired parents dragging their children back to the hotel at the end of the day and think to ourselves "ah, there but for the grace of God". We have dined at most of the restaurants and have always enjoyed our meal and have never felt out of place even at those that offer character dining. The Dole Whips are great as are the Mickey Ice Cream Bars! The parades and nightly fireworks always amaze and always allow you to finish your day with a smile on your face.

Disney World is probably not for everyone, but everyone should try to make it at least once. Our favorite time is the first couple weeks of December when all the hotels and parks are decorated for the Christmas season and the crowds are low. Weather generally ranges in the 50s with a light jacket or sweatshirt needed in the evening. This is also the time when the Candelight Processional is a nightly fixture at Epcot. Held every year, the it is an event not to be missed. A mass choir, joined by a 50-piece live orchestra and a celebrity narrator, tell the story of Christmas in words and music, in a very moving performance and has left us sitting there just totally enjoying the moment.

We could go on and on but until you catch the fever, you will probably never understand. Disney World is about everything that is good and decent. It is not perfect, but they do everything they can to make it seem that way.

Another lesson we've learned

Before starting this grand adventure, we had done a lot of reading on the fulltime RV lifestyle and one of the suggestions we read several times was to be sure and make a checklist to cover everything you need to do before pulling out and starting to drive. This is suggested because you might get interrupted by a fellow camper dropping by, or you get in too much of a hurry, or you just stupidly totally miss something very obvious. Well, the latter is what happened to us. As we were getting ready to leave St. Louis on Tuesday, we had disconnected all the hoses, pulled in all the slides, and took the dogs for one last walk before we hit the road. What neither of us thought to do was make sure to close the big awning. STUPID! STUPID! STUPID! We were slowly (thank goodness) making our way through the campground when BANG! We managed to get it rolled back up with the help of our campground host and headed on our way. When we finally got to Orlando today, we stopped by Camping World and spent over $2,300.00 to get a new one ordered. Since we will be heading back through this way in mid-Oct., we scheduled the replacement work for that time. We also decided that this is what insurance is for, so our stupidity only cost us our $500.00 deductible.

We had planned to take 3 full days to cover the 1,032 miles from St. Louis to Disney World, while driving the last 70 miles on day 4. Our awning mishap changed those plans and we drove over 800 miles during the first 2 days, actually checking into a campground after dark on day 1, and arrived at Camping World a little after noon on Thurs. Thursday morning we had called ahead and reserved an additional night at Ft. Wilderness Campground in Disney World and managed to check in around 3pm on day 3. Checking in a day early really worked out well in that it allowed us an early start for our 10 days at Walt Disney World.

On this trip we finally figured out what our gas mileage was in driving over 32,000 pounds down the highway powered by a 340 HP Cummings diesel engine. Fearing the worse, we were pleasantly surprised that we averaged 7.8 miles per gallon over the first 850 miles of our trip. We were always told to expect somewhere between 6 and 8 miles per gallon so it was nice to see we were near the high end of the range.

We have also set our itinerary for the month of October. We will be leaving Disney World on Oct. 1 and spend two days near Lake Okeechobee in FL followed by three days at the Florida Keys about 50 miles from Key West. From there we will be heading to Ft. Myers for about a week and then back across the state to Titusville for ten days and hopefully see a shuttle launch during that stay. From there we will head across the panhandle to visit some friends near Ft. Walton Beach, and originally thought that we would be heading back to Baton Rouge around Nov. 1, but we are now considering staying in FL till Jan. 1. The main consideration for this change of plans is that we can stay for 3 months in FL for the price of 1 month in Baton Rouge! We didn't realize that Baton Rouge was a such a hot destination spot during the winter months. Go figure. We will let everyone know when our plans are firmed up because as it stands now, our last reservation is confirmed through Oct. 23.

Winding down

Well, we're winding down our trip here in St. Louis. Russ says it's getting cold and time to move on....funny guy! But it did get down to 45 one night.

We've spent the last several days seeing some friends for one last time this trip. Thursday Mike dropped by for a brief visit to bid us farewell till next year. Then that night I met up with several of my friends at La Casa Frijole (The Bean House), and this time another friend from high school (another Diane) was able to make it. We had to get one last picture of all of us together plus one of my two new friends, Linda and Mary.











Friday we picked up Rick and went to the American Legion Fish Fry, which Russ and his friends talk about fondly from when they were kids. Of course the price of the fish has gone up significantly but still tastes great!

Saturday John and Steve came over to watch the Cardinals on TV and listen to the Missouri football game on the radio, all at the same time. It was such a nice day, we watched and listened to the games on the outside entertainment center. As you can see, Russ was checking some other game scores on his laptop! We grilled some burgers, had some brews, and reveled in the team wins.

Sunday we went to the Cardinals/Cubs baseball game with Steve, Patty, their son Dave, and Patty's brother Brian. Seats were great as was the company, good game, but unfortunately Cards lost....bummer.

Monday, Rick came over to help us get the RV ready to hit the road. We had to gas it up and Russ wanted to get it weighed since we hadn't done that since we left Denham Springs, and we've taken some heavy stuff off and added a couple small items. It was helpful to have a third person along. Then we had Steak 'N Shake for one last time in St. Louis before hitting the road. That night another friend from high school, Maribeth, stopped by and we had a great visit. She is a City District Attorney and had some interesting, and sometimes funny, stories to share. Maribeth not only sang in our wedding but also sang (on tape) a song my mom specifically requested to have Maribeth sing when she passed away, and we played it at the memorial service in Connecticut.

Tomorrow we hit the road for Disney World, so until then!