A couple of weeks ago, on one of my very "bad" days, I told John that he never has any fun anymore. That he never does anything spontaneous or happy for us. John, to his credit, didn't get defensive about what I was saying, but gave it a day or two before he responded to me. He decided that we needed to get away from home for a few days. That we just needed a break.
For me, I picture some fun city to explore, or even returning to Europe, but he wanted something simple and what he thought would be inexpensive. He chose Orlando.
Something about this whole process that we are living through is that I, personally, am learning to be more flexible. John needs a whole lot of support at the moment, and my needs aren't at the top of the list (nor should they be). I've come to realize that if I just go with what works for him, we both end up happy. So as much as heat and long lines and lots of people didn't really say "vacation" to me, I recognized that Orlando represented an escape from reality for him, so we booked the tickets.
We are actually both changing a whole lot through all of this, and while John thought that he would get a good deal at Universal with his military I.D., when they asked him for the expiration date (which was 13 years ago), he responded that he didn't have his I.D. on him (he was on the phone). He was hoping that he would show up and be able to talk the desk clerk into giving him the discount. I was down in the basement, and I yelled up to him, asking him if he really wanted to go that route. Within minutes, he was back on the phone, being completely truthful about it all, and he was charged the $400 additional fee. As he put it, he can't be a temple worker and be dishonest for $400.
John wanted to go a week earlier, but they didn't have rooms in our favorite hotel, Cabana Bay, so I convinced him to wait a week so that we could get the hotel. I booked the flights, and we were off! Unfortunately, John's arrangement for a shuttle from the airport to the hotel ended up costing a lot of money so he had made last-minute arrangements for a rental car....which ended up costing us an extra hour and a half once we landed in Orlando at midnight, because in rookie mistake fashion, he rented a car from a facility off site. But in what I believe was a first for me, I didn't blow my stack. I didn't get upset. I didn't make him feel guilty. Like I said, we are making a lot of changes ;-)
I do believe every school in Michigan had its spring break last week, because I almost saw more Michigan t-shirts walking through Harry Potter world than I see walking around Michigan campus ;-)
The first day, we slept in a bit (after getting in so late from the rental car fiasco), and I convinced John to take me to my absolute favorite breakfast restaurant, First Watch. It's always hard for me to decide what to eat because seriously everything there is so delicious. And how convenient that it was only an 8 minute drive from Cabana Bay!
John surprised me with what he brought to wear. In true Kennedy Harry Potter form, he showed up with his under-11 house shirt. We seriously couldn't remember the name of the house for a few minutes, but eventually it came back to us: PUFFLEPANTS! Good old Hootie, starring as the house mascot.
By the time we got in the park, it was past noon. The lines were long, but as soon as we walked up to the first ride, I noticed the "single riders" line. So the 55 minute line turned into a 10 minute line for us. And it continued for every other ride that day. And I kid you not, we still rode together on every ride. I feel like it's one of those theme park hacks to avoiding the lines! We ended up getting through all of Universal Studios that day in about five hours. It was amazing!
The next day, we did the early thing and got into the park as soon as they opened the gate. We booked it to the back of the park to Harry Potter world and rode the train over to Islands of Adventure, all open an hour early because we were staying at a Universal Resort. Unfortunately, the rain didn't hold off, and by the time we came off the Hogwart's Express, it was POURING rain. We thought we could wait it out, but John actually felt badly for us waiting in an exiting cave of the King Kong ride (and honestly appreciated that I wasn't irritated about any of it), and decided to buy a poncho for me. But I just opened it up by unsnapping it, and we ran through the park with it covering both of us. He thought I was rather brilliant, coming up with that idea.
We took the train back to Harry Potter world and ate an early lunch at the Leaky Cauldron. John got their beef stew in honor of Glo who always orders it ;-). We were back at our hotel by 1:00.
One thing about our hotel room: it overlooks Universal's newest park, Volcano Bay, a water slide park. Each morning, we were awoken to loud tiki drums, and *bong*s and screams. It turned out to be a nightmare for the mornings we wanted to sleep in, but it proved a dream for entering the park. Literally, we walked out of our building, down a short path, and we were in the park. And since we had park hopper tickets, we headed to Volcano Bay that afternoon.
I'm not the biggest fan of water parks, but with nobody there (the weather was still dicey) and no lines and plenty of chairs, it was terrific! And they have some cool slides!
But along with the cool slides comes dizziness and nausea which John and I have discovered we both suffer from now that we are "older". John is always hit with nausea on rides (I'm not sure why he continues to want to ride them), but this time, with an enclosed water tube, slipping and circling, and me riding backwards, I got off that inter tube and thought I was going to hurl into the pool. And when I finally made it up the steps, I had to sit down because while my body was still, my head was spinning. Ugh. I hate getting older.
However, we found a really cool lazy river that I originally thought was for kids because everyone in it was required to wear Coast Guard approved flotation devices (or life vests). Nope, everyone is required to wear one, because it is a ride in and of itself. It was my favorite part of the park. It's a super fast lazy river complete with intermittent waves and fountains, but everyone is being pushed along at break neck speeds. We ended up going around it four or five times because it was so fun.
We only needed three hours in the park since we're such nausea lightweights now, but it was plenty of time.
The next day, we covered all of Islands of Adventure and spent more time in both Harry Potter worlds. We were sorry to see that Universal has gotten rid of the dueling dragons ride. John wanted to see Blue Man Group that night (something we've wanted to see since the kids were young but could never afford).
Side note: traveling without kids is a dream financially. We were able to do all kinds of things that we couldn't have done with kids.
Blue Man Group is a terrific show! It's awesome from a percussionist stand-point, but it's also funny, and so entertaining. It's 90 uninterrupted minutes of entertainment, but it goes by so quickly. We were both so glad we went.
As one final stop in the park, I had found an actual mail box. I could hardly find one in a five mile radius around our hotel, but there was one right in the front of the park. So after I found a pack of postcards in the park (they don't sell postcards anymore), I wrote some fun notes and sent them off "rocket mail".
The next day, we headed to First Watch (for the third and final time), but our flight didn't leave until 9:00 p.m. So, with no dress clothes packed, and with no intentions of going to the temple, we went to the Orlando temple. We've been several times before, and it's such a beautiful temple, but we really had no plans to go. When we left on our trip, we had just completed three days of temple shifts, and I didn't figure we needed to go. However, the temple seems to just call to us. John thankfully had some nondescript clothing in his suitcase, but I had nothing but graphic t-shirts. The best I could do for going into the temple was to wear the t-shirt Glo sent me from the Mexico CCM. I figured it was semi-righteous clothing, right?
The temple workers had obviously paid attention during the video training of not judging people when they walk in, but we all had a good laugh as I explained why we were dressed so inappropriately. And bless the greeter's heart who just ushered us quickly to the rental counter <3
Universal had allowed me into a back room when we checked out to log into my Family Search account to find a name for each of us to take and to print up the cards, so we were set with family names. And as much as I don't like to wear temple rental clothes, it felt so nice to be in the temple.
I have to share this funny story though from the name issue booth. We are given strict instructions as workers that once people enter the name issue booth, there is supposed to be little to no conversation. It's the beginning of the endowment experience, and it's very sacred. However, when I walked into the booth, I couldn't help but comment on the worker's gorgeous white shirt. I mean, to be honest, in true Floridian fashion, she was dressed from head-to-toe and looked amazing. She was wearing a stiff, lacey shell over just a plain white knit shirt. She proceeded to tell me that she got it at the Dillard's Clearance Center on E. Colonial. And no joke, we were talking about the place and how to get there and the discounts it has for a good two minutes. At one point, she leaned her head back, looked up to heaven and said, "Oh goodness, this is so sacrilegious!" But she kept talking, and I loved it. In the end, she wanted to give me her phone number so that I could call her and tell her if I'd found anything. There is just never anything bad about going to the temple. I tried to find her on Facebook afterwards, but she's not there.
Our session was super tiny, and John and I were once again asked to serve as the witness couple.
Afterwards, we agreed to get out to the car as quickly as possible (I don't really want to be slowly walking through the temple in my capris), but I was probably waiting 20 minutes before John came out. Turns out, the man at the recommend desk had run into John afterwards and had asked him to move to Florida ;-) He then struck up a conversation with John and John was able to share some of the craziness that is going on in our lives (#tendermercy). Once again, John was offered words of comfort from a stranger.
We did end up going to Dillard's on E. Colonial, but let's face it--I'm just not a shopper, and I can't find the amazing finds. However, if I lived anywhere in the area, I would head back there because the clothes were really terrific, and the prices were even better ;-)
We had a great time. I'm not sure that John and I have ever gone five days without fighting (especially spending 24/7 together), but we are growing up, I guess. I had to thank John for being so low-key and relaxed (something he usually is not when traveling), but he told me that he felt our success was all because of me and not being irritated with stupid things he did. Whatever the case, it worked!
For me, I picture some fun city to explore, or even returning to Europe, but he wanted something simple and what he thought would be inexpensive. He chose Orlando.
Something about this whole process that we are living through is that I, personally, am learning to be more flexible. John needs a whole lot of support at the moment, and my needs aren't at the top of the list (nor should they be). I've come to realize that if I just go with what works for him, we both end up happy. So as much as heat and long lines and lots of people didn't really say "vacation" to me, I recognized that Orlando represented an escape from reality for him, so we booked the tickets.
We are actually both changing a whole lot through all of this, and while John thought that he would get a good deal at Universal with his military I.D., when they asked him for the expiration date (which was 13 years ago), he responded that he didn't have his I.D. on him (he was on the phone). He was hoping that he would show up and be able to talk the desk clerk into giving him the discount. I was down in the basement, and I yelled up to him, asking him if he really wanted to go that route. Within minutes, he was back on the phone, being completely truthful about it all, and he was charged the $400 additional fee. As he put it, he can't be a temple worker and be dishonest for $400.
John wanted to go a week earlier, but they didn't have rooms in our favorite hotel, Cabana Bay, so I convinced him to wait a week so that we could get the hotel. I booked the flights, and we were off! Unfortunately, John's arrangement for a shuttle from the airport to the hotel ended up costing a lot of money so he had made last-minute arrangements for a rental car....which ended up costing us an extra hour and a half once we landed in Orlando at midnight, because in rookie mistake fashion, he rented a car from a facility off site. But in what I believe was a first for me, I didn't blow my stack. I didn't get upset. I didn't make him feel guilty. Like I said, we are making a lot of changes ;-)
I do believe every school in Michigan had its spring break last week, because I almost saw more Michigan t-shirts walking through Harry Potter world than I see walking around Michigan campus ;-)
The first day, we slept in a bit (after getting in so late from the rental car fiasco), and I convinced John to take me to my absolute favorite breakfast restaurant, First Watch. It's always hard for me to decide what to eat because seriously everything there is so delicious. And how convenient that it was only an 8 minute drive from Cabana Bay!
 |
| I never order French toast, but their Floridian French toast is mouth-watering. |
John surprised me with what he brought to wear. In true Kennedy Harry Potter form, he showed up with his under-11 house shirt. We seriously couldn't remember the name of the house for a few minutes, but eventually it came back to us: PUFFLEPANTS! Good old Hootie, starring as the house mascot.
By the time we got in the park, it was past noon. The lines were long, but as soon as we walked up to the first ride, I noticed the "single riders" line. So the 55 minute line turned into a 10 minute line for us. And it continued for every other ride that day. And I kid you not, we still rode together on every ride. I feel like it's one of those theme park hacks to avoiding the lines! We ended up getting through all of Universal Studios that day in about five hours. It was amazing!
 |
| Frozen Butterbeer. No heat, exhaustion or long lines can't be assuaged with Butterbeer. |
The next day, we did the early thing and got into the park as soon as they opened the gate. We booked it to the back of the park to Harry Potter world and rode the train over to Islands of Adventure, all open an hour early because we were staying at a Universal Resort. Unfortunately, the rain didn't hold off, and by the time we came off the Hogwart's Express, it was POURING rain. We thought we could wait it out, but John actually felt badly for us waiting in an exiting cave of the King Kong ride (and honestly appreciated that I wasn't irritated about any of it), and decided to buy a poncho for me. But I just opened it up by unsnapping it, and we ran through the park with it covering both of us. He thought I was rather brilliant, coming up with that idea. |
| Guinness stew in a bread bowl. So yummy on a rainy morning. |
One thing about our hotel room: it overlooks Universal's newest park, Volcano Bay, a water slide park. Each morning, we were awoken to loud tiki drums, and *bong*s and screams. It turned out to be a nightmare for the mornings we wanted to sleep in, but it proved a dream for entering the park. Literally, we walked out of our building, down a short path, and we were in the park. And since we had park hopper tickets, we headed to Volcano Bay that afternoon.
I'm not the biggest fan of water parks, but with nobody there (the weather was still dicey) and no lines and plenty of chairs, it was terrific! And they have some cool slides!
But along with the cool slides comes dizziness and nausea which John and I have discovered we both suffer from now that we are "older". John is always hit with nausea on rides (I'm not sure why he continues to want to ride them), but this time, with an enclosed water tube, slipping and circling, and me riding backwards, I got off that inter tube and thought I was going to hurl into the pool. And when I finally made it up the steps, I had to sit down because while my body was still, my head was spinning. Ugh. I hate getting older.
However, we found a really cool lazy river that I originally thought was for kids because everyone in it was required to wear Coast Guard approved flotation devices (or life vests). Nope, everyone is required to wear one, because it is a ride in and of itself. It was my favorite part of the park. It's a super fast lazy river complete with intermittent waves and fountains, but everyone is being pushed along at break neck speeds. We ended up going around it four or five times because it was so fun.
We only needed three hours in the park since we're such nausea lightweights now, but it was plenty of time.
The next day, we covered all of Islands of Adventure and spent more time in both Harry Potter worlds. We were sorry to see that Universal has gotten rid of the dueling dragons ride. John wanted to see Blue Man Group that night (something we've wanted to see since the kids were young but could never afford).Side note: traveling without kids is a dream financially. We were able to do all kinds of things that we couldn't have done with kids.
Blue Man Group is a terrific show! It's awesome from a percussionist stand-point, but it's also funny, and so entertaining. It's 90 uninterrupted minutes of entertainment, but it goes by so quickly. We were both so glad we went.
As one final stop in the park, I had found an actual mail box. I could hardly find one in a five mile radius around our hotel, but there was one right in the front of the park. So after I found a pack of postcards in the park (they don't sell postcards anymore), I wrote some fun notes and sent them off "rocket mail".
 |
| The Bacado Omelette |
The temple workers had obviously paid attention during the video training of not judging people when they walk in, but we all had a good laugh as I explained why we were dressed so inappropriately. And bless the greeter's heart who just ushered us quickly to the rental counter <3
Universal had allowed me into a back room when we checked out to log into my Family Search account to find a name for each of us to take and to print up the cards, so we were set with family names. And as much as I don't like to wear temple rental clothes, it felt so nice to be in the temple.
I have to share this funny story though from the name issue booth. We are given strict instructions as workers that once people enter the name issue booth, there is supposed to be little to no conversation. It's the beginning of the endowment experience, and it's very sacred. However, when I walked into the booth, I couldn't help but comment on the worker's gorgeous white shirt. I mean, to be honest, in true Floridian fashion, she was dressed from head-to-toe and looked amazing. She was wearing a stiff, lacey shell over just a plain white knit shirt. She proceeded to tell me that she got it at the Dillard's Clearance Center on E. Colonial. And no joke, we were talking about the place and how to get there and the discounts it has for a good two minutes. At one point, she leaned her head back, looked up to heaven and said, "Oh goodness, this is so sacrilegious!" But she kept talking, and I loved it. In the end, she wanted to give me her phone number so that I could call her and tell her if I'd found anything. There is just never anything bad about going to the temple. I tried to find her on Facebook afterwards, but she's not there.
Our session was super tiny, and John and I were once again asked to serve as the witness couple.
Afterwards, we agreed to get out to the car as quickly as possible (I don't really want to be slowly walking through the temple in my capris), but I was probably waiting 20 minutes before John came out. Turns out, the man at the recommend desk had run into John afterwards and had asked him to move to Florida ;-) He then struck up a conversation with John and John was able to share some of the craziness that is going on in our lives (#tendermercy). Once again, John was offered words of comfort from a stranger.
We did end up going to Dillard's on E. Colonial, but let's face it--I'm just not a shopper, and I can't find the amazing finds. However, if I lived anywhere in the area, I would head back there because the clothes were really terrific, and the prices were even better ;-)
We had a great time. I'm not sure that John and I have ever gone five days without fighting (especially spending 24/7 together), but we are growing up, I guess. I had to thank John for being so low-key and relaxed (something he usually is not when traveling), but he told me that he felt our success was all because of me and not being irritated with stupid things he did. Whatever the case, it worked!
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