Last day in Florida (part 3)

Remember me telling you how mom and Debbie thought the skirts were so comfy and amazing?  So much so that they took them out for a cruise around town to take in some sights.  And craziness followed with them thinking they were going to get in major trouble as Miss New Hampshire sported some Boston Red Sox gear at the Tampa Bay Rays stadium (Sox were in town for a game too).  She had me take a photo of her in her skirt "mooning" but that is on her phone.  Crazy, just like I told you.  

 Then we sat in the parked car for about 20 minutes as a terrible rain storm blew through the area with thunder and lightning.  I was intrigued by this tree:

 I got out to take a few photos of it since it was very unique looking.  Upon a closer look what you think is dangling moss is actually like a branch with roots stretching towards the ground.  That might explain why the tree looks like it has a massive trunk but closer you see some gaps in it.  I guess it "drops" roots and grows the diameter of the tree.

See how it looks like a lot of trees really close to each other.  This is a tree to be "afraid" of if you are like me and think plants are going to go Adam's family on you and eat you/wrap a vine around you and snatch you up.  Yup, irrational phobia of living plants (and dead ones too).

 The street near where we were parked.  We were quite amused while parked as well by the people walking by on their way to the Warped tour.

 Weather cleared up quickly and we stopped by the beach just to put our toes in the sand.  The water was quite warm and not very refreshing.  Perhaps if it had been a lot hotter, but in my opinion temps in the 90's are hot enough.

 I went to take a nice photo of them and mom thought she'd try to toss her to the ground.  They really are a bunch of goofs that keep you and each other laughing.

 Still laughing/smiling from the fight to topple each other over.

 We went to Wal-Mart (you never know what you will find) and it is fun to people watch.  After we stopped at a cup cake place and got these yummies.  That afternoon we went for a swim in the pool and took a nap before meeting Debbie's boyfriend for dinner.  He is a really nice guy and he makes her happy so that counts for a lot.

Florida in July (part 2)

I got up kind of early (not really) and went for a 4 mile run around the Downtown Disney area.  It was not crowded at all either when I went back after it just opened to pick up a coffee mug for someone who chipped theirs.  I loved the topiary of Lady and the Tramp so I had to take a photo.  

 We checked out of our hotel that we got a fantastic deal on and was just across the street from the entrance to Downtown Disney.  We ate breakfast at the Sizzler.  I am glad we tried this place because I remember them referencing it on Full House and was always curious.  Not a favorite of mine (most all you care to eat buffets are not).

 We stopped at a nearby Target to check out their Disney merchandise since the ones near Disney carry a lot of it compared to a "normal" Target.  Mom bought a chocolate chip cookie that got a little melty in the heat and dripped down her face.  When she licked it off her fingers she couldn't figure out why more appeared on her fingers.  Then she took a selfie.

 She always has me cracking up.  There was an RV place along the highway and part of their advertisement is this:

 I thought it looked cool on the way up to Disney so I made sure to take a picture on the way home since I was too slow on the way there.  We stopped at SparkleSkirt head quarters on the way back to Debbie's since a custom my mom had ordered was due in to the store in the next day or two.  We totally lucked out as her custom and my custom were in the store fresh from the sewing facility.  Whomp, whomp going home with a total of 5 skirts for me and a pair of mudd buster shorts.

 Love the sign on the bridge as we leave Tampa for New Hampshires apartment.  They got a massive downpour that afternoon with crazy loud thunder and basically no lightning (that I saw).  She has a great little corner apartment that overlooks the pool and courtyard type are so it is quiet.  We called it an "early" night and took a nap before going to a decent pizza place and then bed.

mini-vacation to Florida

My Momma and I had a mini-trip to Florida to visit Miss New Hampshire.  We were a little delayed getting into the Tampa airport but finally made it and settled in at Debbie's around 2:30am.  This would be a whirlwind trip since we arrived Wednesday early am (our 2:30 bedtime) and departed at 6am Saturday.  Plenty of time for my mom and her best friend to get into trouble and for me to bail them out (trouble, yes.  bailing out, no--thankfully).

We started our Wednesday off by sleeping in before heading to SparkleSkirt headquarters.  I am obsessed with my SparkleSkirts and this was on the way to Disney so we just had to stop.  I loved looking at the rows and rows of skirts and picking out a few new lovelies to take home.

 Of course they have a red carpet down the center of their warehouse.  My mom and Debbie decided to try on a skirt.  Debbie came out of the dressing room and was very surprised by how comfortable it was.  Both of them left with a skirt and proceeded to wear them the rest of the afternoon and very much enjoyed being "hands free."  Meaning they didn't have to carry a purse or other stuff since they shoved it in the leg pockets and waist band zippered pocket.

 I was excited to see this sign:

 We also stopped in the Disney-esqu town of Celebration to go to the RawThreads retail store.  RawThreads is a bamboo clothing place.  Their shirts are beyond amazing for comfort.  Still not sure if I want to run in one but they are so soft and cozy for wearing around.  I saw the Disney Vacation Club building (and other buildings in the area) that reminded me very much of classic California around the time Disney was building his Disneyland.

 The very BEST sign in the world.  Yup, we went to Disney World.  We did not go to any of the parks but we did go to Downtown Disney so I could get my Disney fix.  We did some shopping and then I had the brilliant idea that I would venture on my own if mom and Debbie didn't want to come with me. I was going to go to a resort and catch the Magic Kingdom fireworks and come back.  Lucky for me they decided to go on this adventure.

 We ended up sitting on the beach at the Polynesian resort and having dinner and watching fireworks.  While waiting for fireworks they had The Little Mermaid playing on the beach.  I haven't seen the movie in a long time and it was nice to catch a little bit of it.  Unfortunately they had to end the movie early (after the intermission for the fireworks) due to a storm in the are.  I guess we were also very lucky since some lady said it was the first time all week they had fireworks cause of rain and storms.

I was a very happy girl to have a little bit of my Disney fix and am very excited I get to go back for the races in January.  The only thing that would have been better would be if they had Dole Whips but due to renovations they did not.  This was just day one of our adventures with Miss New Hampshire in Florida.

This weekend...

This weekend I tied all the Girls on the Run shirts up with sparkly pink ribbon so I can give them to the girls.  I think that will make it much more fun to finally get their shirts.  I also put their names on the tags so I am not having to check the size list a whole bunch.  

 I was told my hair was gorgeous.  So I had to take a picture.  I guess it looks pretty decent despite all the running and such that I put it through.  Still could go for a trim but realized the length I want would put me back into the category of looking "identical" to Stacy Pensgen again.  What do you think?

 In the past I've had random people stop me to tell me I do a great job with the weather.  And in other news...

I love all things pumpkin.  I am very disappointed when things don't look as good as the box.  I followed the directions and the pumpkin bars taste great.  I am only bummed that they look better on the box.  A dollop of whipped cream and some cinnamon sticks aren't going to fix my version.  Anyone else have the problem of boxed baked goods not coming out "as advertised."  Have a great week!

Weekend Getaway

Over the weekend Luke and I headed to Albany to meet up with my best friend Miss D (Dani) and her husband Greg plus their almost 9 month old Michael.  Luke and I arrived at the hotel early Friday night and they would arrive much later so we'd meet up for an early breakfast and head out for our Saturday adventure.

 Dani had asked me if I'd be interested in doing the Spartan race.  I didn't hesitate and said yes thinking it would be like some of the other races I've seen advertised with just lots of mud.  I should have read up on the race before making the decision.  The boys dumped us off at Killington Ski Resort in Vermont and had their own adventure for the day.  Photos in this post are what the boys did. When I get the photos from our race I'll do a re-cap of that.

 The boys went to a pancake breakfast at a nearby local restaurant.  Apparently they went to pay and there was no one there with a note to call a guy.  They called the number and the guy said to leave some $ on the table and have a great day.

 All around town were these hay sculptures.  The boys liked the abominable snowman from Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.

 After their breakfast they went to a local gift shop and took turns going in since Michael was sleeping in the car.  Greg bought Dani and I matching coffee mugs.  Mine is a blue green color and Dani's is purple.  They are really cool with a "nook" for your hand to hold the cup instead of a handle.  Hand crafted pottery.

 Shopping completed they spent the rest of their time hanging out at a place called Liquid Art.  It was basically a coffee house/bar combo with lots of art on the walls.  They just waited there and drank until Dani and I called to let them know we were not dead from our "race."

 Why would we be dead?  These are just the start of some bruises beginning to show on my knees and some scrapes acquired from the adventure race.  It was supposedly just over 4 miles and it took us about 2 1/2 hours so that should give you some indication of the difficulty.

 Photos of us racing will be available later this week or early next week according to the site.  There was no way I could have had my camera survive the course.  Despite the difficulty we are already in talks of getting together for the longer version of the Spartan Sprint called the Super Spartan (8+ miles of obstacles and such nonsense).