Magic Kingdom/Clearwater

We had to set the alarm to get up EARLY this morning. We have a big day ahead of us! Roan started the day out tired.

The poor kid was just not getting enough sleep. And he said his stomach hurt which was no wonder since he fell asleep before eating his dinner at the Rainforest Café. We went back to the Magic Kingdom first thing for breakfast at the Crystal Palace.

Roan was excited to see the Winnie the Pooh characters, but his joy was temporarily interrupted by a brief episode of vomiting in the bathroom! No wonder his stomach hurt! Fortunately it was empty! After that, he naturally felt much better and even ate a full breakfast. That was the end of that! He was fine. He even got pictures with all the characters.

The buffet was very good. Amy is the one who recommended the Crystal Palace Breakfast Buffet. Thanks Amy!

The other thing on our ‘to do’ list was to go ride Thunder Mountain Railroad which was closed the first day we were here but open now. We all loved it, even Roan! He had gone on several ‘Big Boy’ rides, this one being number 4. (Yes, he was keeping count!)

In the next picture you can see Dean and Roan right in the middle.

The ‘plan’ was to leave at this point but you and I know that was highly unrealistic. There was no way we were getting out of there yet. We rode Splash Mountain again, then walked through Adventure Land to buy something in a shop there. While passing Pirates of the Caribbean we saw an outdoor performance of Captain Jack and another pirate. Man, they were good! And the guy who played Captain Jack looked JUST like him! He even did a fair job of acting like him. We then walked back past the Castle catching the end of a show, and on to Tomorrow Land where Dean took Kai and Alyssa on Space Mountain again while I took Roan on the People Mover. THEN we left. The kids got to ride up front again in the monorail.

Now is when I potentially make a lot of people mad at me. We went to Clearwater. (ducks and hides) Yes, we did. In my defense, our plans weren’t concrete, we almost didn’t go at all and we were only there for a very short time. I apologize to all friends and family for not being able get together with you.

We arrived in Clearwater about 2:30. I had two goals. One, to show my kids where I grew up, and two, to show them a REAL beach. We’ve been to beaches here on the East Coast, and maybe there are some good ones, but in our experience, they are narrow gray beaches with more broken shells than sand. The water is dark and very wavy. I longed for the miles of powdery white sand and calmer waters of my youth. All three kids fell asleep in the van. Any wonder? We drove straight to Post Corner Pizza right on the beach for a late lunch. I love greek pizza and hadn’t been to Post Corner in 10 years. Also, Sherry called us that morning and when it was confirmed that we were coming, she met us there. I was happy to see Sherry, but I felt guilty that we were unable to see everyone else. After lunch, we just walked across the street to the beach so the kids could wade a little bit and squish their toes in the sand. (I wish we’d had time to actually go swimming) They had a blast. We asked the kids not to get their clothes wet and they sort of tried. But, Roan, who are we trying to kid? They collected shells, I took pictures and Sherry took this one of the family: What's wrong with this picture?

Anyway, quick lunch, quick wade in the ocean then we stopped at Dairy Curl on the way back up Gulf to Bay. Had to, revisiting the childhood and all. Then I drove the kids past what I still and always will call Maranatha Chapel, my schools, and the house I grew up in, which has been all ‘tacky-fied’. They tore down the magnolia tree and three palm trees and replaced it, the whole front yard, with a circular drive-way! There is a giant C on the side of the house, too. Hmmph.
We then needed to head back to Orlando for dinner reservations in Downtown Disney at Wolfgang Puck Café. Dinner was very good and yes, once again Roan fell asleep in the restaurant before his dinner came. Here he is asleep in daddy’s lap with his arms in his shirt because he was cold. Gotta love him!
Roan Quote: “So far, I want to live at the Magic Kingdom!”