The Dry Heat Expedition (Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Disneyland)--UPDATE 6/12 (KSC and DTD)

Mark, Julie and family, have a wonderful time on vacation! Really looking forward to the TR on this one. Jodi and I have been wanting go were you're going for a long time.

And Mark, Thanks for the mini TR on KSC, we'll be there in August, and now I know! :thumbsup2
 


We wouldn't have been able to get ourselves out so easily, that's for sure.

What?
Scotty doesn’t keep a miniaturized power rip-saw in his back pocket?


Just don't ask what percentage of the budget constitutes debt service now.:scared1:

As requested: 6%... Down from around %12 about a decade or so back.


I leave for my vacation in 5 days!

You are wrong sir… You left this morning.
Which means that you won’t be reading this for a while.
It also means I’m 5 days late in getting back over here.

Stupid work and responsibilities…


The Kennedy Space Center was chosen to be the home of the Space Shuttle Atlantis. An entire exhibit building was constructed to house the shuttle.

And well they should have.


Once inside, you get to see an elaborate pre-show before entering the main exhibit room itself.

Well…
Depending on what all else might just be going in the building that day.


There are all sorts of computer screens giving you more information about the shuttle than you could ever possibly remember. There’s a mockup of the cockpit for the kids to try out as well.

“Kids”…
Riiiiiight…


Here’s a mockup of the International Space Station you can crawl through (if, unlike me, you can fit inside comfortably).

I take it that they didn’t install the antigravity feature allowing everyone to simply float through the exhibit.


Traveling down a floor is great fun, as there is a slide simulating the angle of descent the shuttle takes back into the earth’s atmosphere.

You forgot about the bits that demonstrate the weaving motion used to slow that brick down during the unpowered descent. I suspect someone (and I ain’t mentioning any names) may have taken those at a dead run a couple times as well.


You may need to travel between floors a few times, just to make sure you understand it properly.

Yes you may, and you probably ought’a, but like I said earlier…
The opportunity to do so may depend on what all else might just be going in the building that day.


I think both the bus tour and this building are worth the price of admission by themselves.

“Copy that, Flight”


There’s also a ride here…
…Another time, perhaps.

Yes, and **a-hem** also yes. :sad2:


And we explored the Rocket Garden a bit.

‘Cause they grow some mighty impressive rocket down there.


There was a full-scale Lego model of the Mars Rover right outside the gift shop.

A tip of the hat to a nearby neighbor.
Actually much about the Visitors Center reminded me of another place in the general area.


I thought these mugs were cool, too. It also showed that NASA engineers are very familiar with the actual taste of Starbucks (sorry, Kathy):

I’m pretty sure Rocket fuel is a bit smoother with a somewhat more floral bouquet and notes of almond and coriander.


What did you think of the Kennedy Space Center, Scotty?

Sigh. Why do I even bother?

Because he loved it and will realize that later on.
Admit it… no, but realize it? ::yes::


After checking underneath our car for stray alligators, we drove out of the parking lot.

See…
Y’all did learn something, didn’t ya’?


The fuel light was still on. Fortunately, we made our way back over the causeway and found a station right by the turn-off for the Beachline Expressway.

Good thing…
The adventure you’re headed for now should be far less stressful than the one you just avoided.


soon we were driving barely onto the corner of Walt Disney World property to check into our hotel for the evening, the Holiday Inn at Downtown Disney.

So…
What’d ya’ think of the place?
It’s something I’m considering as part of a short low budget (well, low-ish budget) stop-over that might come to pass next spring.


she promptly informed me that the traffic around Downtown Disney, in technical engineering terms, “sucked”.

Well, that’s nothin’ new. It’s always sucked ‘round there.
‘Though I suspect that the construction had raised it to new levels of exquisite torment.


No problem for us, though—we could walk down a path from the hotel.

Score one for the Holiday Inn


I saw Disney buses pulling away and immediately felt a pang of sadness, knowing that I wouldn’t be getting on any of them.

Look away… just look away…


In fact, the whole purpose of being at DTD was to buy peace offerings so those who didn’t get to come to Florida would let me back into the house.

You didn’t think that one through clearly…
What’s to prevent them from accepting the gifts on the front porch and then just slamming the door?


Kathy (KatMark) was here and we couldn’t pass up the chance for a quick hello.

Very cool!
Glad y’all were able to put together a classic Dis meet up.


We went into Earl of Sandwich for dinner.

Natually…


I went with my old standby, the Hawaiian BBQ:

And only fitting…


Scotty went way out on a limb and had a pizza sandwich.

Now there’s a surprise.
I think I'm gonna have a heart attack and die… from that surprise!


“Thanks for announcing that,” my dad said. “Maybe you should say it a little louder.”

Touché! Grand Pa-Paaa…


With that, I was off on a mission to get gifts for my poor family members left behind in boring old Delaware.

This endorsement has been brought to you in part by a grant from…
D.R.A.T! (The Delaware Roundtable on Adventure and Tourism)


I tried to scheme my way into getting new decorations for my house:

Cool!


But at $150 a pop…

Eeek!... Not So cool.

Well, actually they’re still cool.
They just ain’t happening.



…I was successfully allowed to re-enter the house.

Yeah, luckily for you…
they didn’t think that through either.


Look for the next TR in the DIS Dads sub-thread under DIS For Family, starting sometime in July after we return.

Wouldn’t miss it.




.
 


Catching back up. Love KSC. I was lucky enough to watch a launch a few years ago and its one of the highlights of my life. I love that SpaceX has a presence there now. I'm such a space geek.

Loved meeting up with you guys this week! Thanks for take a little time out of your vacation to meet up. Hope you have a blast on the rest of your vacation!

Jill in CO
 
Hi everyone! I'm finally back home and getting settled into the routine again.

First things first: we had a great time out west. We put a little over 3,000 miles on the rental van and hiked over a dozen miles and it was all worth it. Lots of amazing sights to share. And we got to meet up with Jill as well, which was very cool.

Unfortunately, when we arrived home, we flew into Philadelphia, turned on the phone, and found a message waiting from my father-in-law's neighbor. She said to call right away as there appeared to be an emergency involving paramedics. We called but could not reach her. We tried the hospital in Dover, DE where FIL lived and were informed that he was there but they could not give out medical info over the phone. So we dropped the kids off at the house with my parents and drove to the hospital in Dover where we received the bad news that my FIL had passed away.

It's a surprise in that it was sudden, but not a surprise in the sense that he didn't take care of himself and had a host of medical issues. Julie was much closer to her mother, so our feelings now are more complicated. In any case, Julie is the only child, so we are left to handle the estate and set up the memorial service. So that's been our work since we came back.

I have our vacation photos uploaded for the most part, so I will be able to start the next TR once things settle down a bit. Look for a link here! In the meantime, I am woefully behind on everyone else's TR's, so I will do my best to get caught up!
 
I can't wait to hear all about it.

I was so sorry to hear about Julie's dad. I also understand where youa re coming from with being closer to one parent than the other and makign things complicated (this is how I was...I ws very close to my dad, but not close to my mother at all).

Please send a bat signal when you start your TR. I'm off to Disney on Friday.
 
Mark, I am very sorry for your and Julie's loss. Even if you were not close, losing a parent is always sad. :hug:

Take your time to get settled back into life, but I can't wait to hear all about your trip!! :jumping3:
 
Already passed on condolences, but you hadn't gone into as many details.
Not the greatest way to end a vacation.

Will look out for the new TR.
 
Welcome back and so glad you had a great trip, but so sorry to hear about your FIL. What a rough thing to come home to. I hope you are all doing well, all things considered.

Excited to hear about your trip!
 
Prayers to your family, may you all find peace.

Ready to hear about the west this year. Glad to hear it went well, even though with the very sad ending. Take your time.
 
I know I already expressed my condolences on FB but I'll echo them here again.

I can't wait to hear more about your adventures when life settles down a bit and you have time to get the TR started.

Jill in CO
 
So…
What’d ya’ think of the place?
It’s something I’m considering as part of a short low budget (well, low-ish budget) stop-over that might come to pass next spring.

I thought it was a nice place. Clean, bright, decent-size rooms. Not a bad spot at all. Only downside is you don't get a free breakfast.

I can't wait to hear all about it.

I was so sorry to hear about Julie's dad. I also understand where youa re coming from with being closer to one parent than the other and makign things complicated (this is how I was...I ws very close to my dad, but not close to my mother at all).

Please send a bat signal when you start your TR. I'm off to Disney on Friday.

Thanks, Kathy. As you know, life and relationships are messy sometimes. The bottom line is that I'm thankful for my FIL because without him, I wouldn't be married to the woman I love. The memorial service is this Friday and then I think the biggest job will be cleaning out his house and getting it ready to sell.

Mark, I am very sorry for your and Julie's loss. Even if you were not close, losing a parent is always sad. :hug:

Take your time to get settled back into life, but I can't wait to hear all about your trip!!

Thank you, Magdalene. It is definitely a sad time. But there are some things to be thankful for as well. He didn't have to go through prolonged suffering. If it had happened sooner, we would have had to cut our trip short. It's both sad and stressful taking care of the details, but we'll be fine.

Already passed on condolences, but you hadn't gone into as many details.
Not the greatest way to end a vacation.

Will look out for the new TR.

Thanks, pkondz. I appreciate it.

Praying for peace for your family Mark.

Thanks, Randall.

Welcome back and so glad you had a great trip, but so sorry to hear about your FIL. What a rough thing to come home to. I hope you are all doing well, all things considered.

Excited to hear about your trip!

Thank you, Dugette. Like I said earlier, we'll be ok. We have a lot of work to do, but there are some blessings to be found in all of this.

Prayers to your family, may you all find peace.

Ready to hear about the west this year. Glad to hear it went well, even though with the very sad ending. Take your time.

Thank you, Lynne. We have made good progress in taking care of details and the memorial service, so I think we should be coming through initial shock and work load.

I know I already expressed my condolences on FB but I'll echo them here again.

I can't wait to hear more about your adventures when life settles down a bit and you have time to get the TR started.

Thanks, Jill. We'll be back to our regularly scheduled programming soon.

I am sorry to hear about your FIL.

Thank you! And :welcome:
 
I am so sorry for your loss, Mark. What a difficult and sad situation to come home to. Your family is in my prayers.

I don't think I said yet how much I enjoyed your report about your Scotty's birthday weekend. Even the golf parts. I am really looking forward to getting out to Kennedy Space Center again sometime (it's been about 30 years, so I have no memory of it).

Glad to hear you enjoyed your big family trip, too! I'm excited to read about it when you have the time to get started.
 
I'm sorry about all the circumstances and things going on. Sad about the passing of your FiL, but it seems you have come to terms with the silver lining of the situation.

I don't envy you on the part about clearing the house and tidying up the estate. Fran was an only child too, and we dragged our feet on that one. I hope you two wrap it up in a timely matter and are able to move on quickly.
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!





Top