Tag Archives: Walt Disney World

Day 26- Epcot: Living with the Land & Circle of Life

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The day is absolutely gorgeous, a nice breeze and great sunshine! We are driving into the Epcot parking lots on this Friday afternoon and there is a constant stream of cars.  We are directed to the Discover parking lot and it is fairly close, so we walked to the gates.

Heading to The Land

Our destination is The Land to ride “Living with the Land”. It is a cool boat ride that shows you some of the working greenhouses. There are fish that are also used in their restaurants. It is amazing to hear about how the use the space is used and how much can be grown efficiently with this type of greenhouse. I want to go back through and see it all again, there are so many different kinds of fruits I have not seen before! It is very interesting how they grow some lemons that are 9 pounds. A large variety of fruits and vegetables and lettuces are grown here, too.  Sunshine Seasons and the Garden Grill actually serve some of the produce and fish that are grown here.

The next stop is, Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable. It is a film with Simba and Timon and Pumbaa. It talks about nature and the subject of conservation.

Now, off to Mexico to have Nachos at La Cantina de San Angel Their menu has just changed to have most items gluten free and we can now have most everything on the menu! Tonight, I cannot wait to have nachos! We found seating on the little area over the Lagoon.  As we finish, we are able to give our table to a family waiting to sit at a larger table. It has been a fun Friday evening at Epcot!

La Cantina de San Angel
The Menu
Eating by the water
Our view…
Nachos!

Day 25- Tokyo Dining at Epcot

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Some days life happens.  We are living in a house that was once owned by a Disney Imagineer and we have been intrigued with all of the extra wiring and history of this home. When we had our basic cable put in, it took quite awhile while the technicians figured out all the extras in the network wiring.  Today, we had the security system activated. The technician took a look at the wiring and after a short time, he advised that this is a custom security system. This was going to be a full day’s work and we might have to reschedule. He had spent an hour assessing it, soon I found that he had called in backup and the two of them went into overtime. But, by 5:40 they successfully got our system going, trained me on how it works, and off they went!

We ran and picked up the pups from day school and take them back home, so we have a very short time to go to Disney and pack in some fun!

Epcot in the evening!

Three of the parks close early today, so off to Epcot! It is 7:45 p.m. and they are still parking lines of cars. We catch the Tram and head for Epcot. It is just me and Tooti today; Twinkie is at home sick.

Me and Tooti on the tram!

We walk to Japan as fast as we can. Our reservation is at 8:00 at Tokyo Dining and this is our first time to eat here. It is a beautiful setting and very elegant, located on the second floor in the Japan Pavilion.

Checking in…
Lots of stairs! 🙂
The entrance…

We were seated in a part of the dining area where you can watch the chefs make sushi. It was so nice! We had miso soup, hot green tea and vegetarian sushi made with a special gluten-free soy sauce they have available. It was fun time for both Tooti and me! As we were finishing, we heard the patrons say, “AH!” as Illuminations was starting. We looked and the fireworks were so vivid and bright, they seemed to be so close to the widows, they are beautiful!  We soon were on the porch and could see them so bright and beautiful.  What a wonderful surprise!

Place setting…
Menu
Yum!
Making sushi!
Green tea 🙂
GF Soy Sauce!
The restaurant
Miso soup
Vegetarian Sushi
Yum!
Fireworks…
right outside the windows!
Bright and beautiful!

I looked out and the whole area is full of people. It is 9:15 and it is time to go home. We had a wonderful relaxed evening and enjoyed our strolling through the sea of people as we walked back our car on aisle 20.  As we got closer to the car, we could see the Not So Scary fireworks going off towards Magic Kingdom and even saw the beautiful finale!  So nice!

Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party Fireworks in the distance!

Day 24- Sugar Ray at Epcot

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Epcot is bustling with so many people enjoying the Food and Wine Festival! I am seeing so many families that need someone to take a picture. I love getting to help, and today, people are so happy to have someone to take a picture for them! It is a good day.

We are going to see the Sugar Ray concert in the America Gardens Theatre. My kids are very excited to go and see them! As we head out, it is a hot 92 degrees, and I am hoping those fluffy white clouds will bring a cool breeze. We get in line 50 minutes early and already the line is getting long. As it nears 5PM, they begin seating, and we can sit under the roofed area, on the third row! Yay!

The line…
More people! 🙂
3rd row!
Great view!

The concert is incredible; Mark McGrath is amazing, he keeps going into the crowd and taking pictures with fans. He is so fun and full of energy; what a great concert! He thanked everyone that he had met during the day for scheduling their vacations around this concert series! This is Sugar Ray’s 5th year to play at Disney World. Very nice.

Epcot is a great place to walk, so we had turned to the left towards Mexico (to walk over to the concert), so now, we turn right to go through the rest of the World Showcase. Once you get to the World Showcase Lagoon, it is 1.1 miles around through all of the countries. If you stop and go into each country, you can add quite a bit to your overall mileage for the day.

We took a detour in France to go to Les Halles Boulangerie Patisserie bakery for a crème brulee. The chef was just caramelizing a tray of these beautiful crème brulees; he smiled as we were taking his picture! We sat for a moment to enjoy our treats.  As we were leaving, we looked through the shop that is just across the way.

Torching the treats!
Smile 🙂
Yummy creme brulee…
Macaroon!
In France…
A shop 🙂

It is time to go, and again, on the way out we get to help take pictures for families! It was a wonderful day!

Birds!
Pretty scene…
Spaceship Earth…
See ya later!

Day 23- Lost and Found & Hollywood Studios

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I was having a celebration day! Want to go to Disney? Of course, but today it was cool enough to dig in the garage and find my box of clothes that has been packed since the move! Yep, celebrating a cool morning and finding my box!

Now, we have some exciting news! Last evening, Twinkie found that she had dropped a prized vintage eyeglasses case. She was heart broken and it was too late to check with Lost and Found. She did call the Winter Summerland Miniature Golf Course, where we were first, but they didn’t have one that had been turned in. Early this morning, she began her calls to Disney’s Lost and Found. She described where we were, what it looked like, and about what time she might have lost it. After several minutes I heard her screaming in happy tones! They had found it and it was waiting for her! Our first stop of the day is Lost and Found!

Lost and Found!
Across from the Transportation & Ticket Center
The sign by the road

At the first of summer, I headed back to the hotel early, and left the kids to enjoy Extra Magic Hours with their company. I had the passing thought, “I hope they remember to get their stuff out of the storage locker.” When they arrived back to our room in the late hours of the night, they had totally forgotten our stuff. The next day, Twinkie and I began the journey of finding it. Magic Kingdom first, but the locker had been emptied and sent to Lost and Found, so we went there and were able to describe and claim our stuff! I was impressed, because the young mom in front of us had lost a baby shoe, she told them where and when, and they looked, but found nothing. Then, the granddaddy that was working asked if he could borrow the little shoe the mom still had and when he returned, he had the match! It was absolutely amazing that the tiny little shoe found its way home. She was so excited and thankful. We experienced that today! Celebration #2!

Now, we are happily off to Hollywood Studios. Our celebration lunch is at the Hollywood Brown Derby! We love their chopped cobb salad, the entree size is huge! We love the appetizer-sized one, and also had some wonderful gluten free rolls! Hollywood Brown Derby is so beautiful; they have taken the original Brown Derby and translated it into a Disney wonder! There are sketches of the old actors and actresses on the walls, there are pictures of the original Brown Derby; it is an elegant place to have lunch or dinner. Usually, you need to make reservations if you are planning to have a sit down meal. It was perfect.

Caricatures!
The dining room
So nice!
The original Hollywood Brown Derby

We have a few minutes before Toy Story Mania, so I went to Walt Disney, One Man’s Dream: from Mickey Mouse to the Magic Kingdom! That will be a whole day’s blog! I love learning about Mr. Walt Disney, he made so many dreams come true. We’ll write more about that later.

Toy Story Mania is next, we have FastPass+. There is a test going on, and to ride today, you must have a FastPass. I enjoyed going through the line and seeing all of the décor. It is like you become the size of the toys; the game boards on the ceiling are huge, and you walk past the giant crayons and scrabble pieces. Mr. Potato Head is the cutest. I got the highest score I have ever had, 136,000 points!

We saw where the Wandering Oaken’s Trading Post had been, and we followed the signs to the new location! Oh, look, there is Olaf’s flower growing in the snow. Oh, wow, this area used to be the AFI store, near the Studio Backlot Tour, and it has been transformed into Wandering Oaken’s Trading Post and Frozen Funland! I Love the snow; you can even build real snowmen in the snow play area!

Walking to Wandering Oaken’s
Olaf’s Flower!
Olaffff!!
Going to see the snow!
You can play in “real” snow!

I heard the sounds of the city, the trucks and the car horns, as we were rounding the corner into the Streets of America! It is like stepping back in time, and as you look down the street, it is as though you actually have, complete with old buildings and vintage window décor! Love these streets! I cannot wait until the Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights Christmas are lit!

Hidden Mickeys!
Streets of America

We are heading out; Hollywood Studios is open until 6 tonight, so we catch a glimpse of Star Wars: Jedi Training Academy outside of Star Tours.

Darth and Storm Troopers!

I miss the sand sculpture of Olaf at the front gates, so we got a picture with the Hollywood Studios sign!  Although I miss Olaf, someday, maybe he will be back, I don’t know for sure, but I hope so.

The 3 of us! 🙂

It was a relaxing, celebratory day, complete with beautiful clouds rolling in!

Day 22- Winter Summerland Mini Golf & Magic Kingdom

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This morning was absolutely beautiful. It was a bit cooler, only getting up to 84 degrees today, and perfect with the clouds. Our plan is to go Miniature Golfing at Winter Summerland Miniature Golf Course. I am thinking that I am OK with not going directly to the parks. So, off we went to enjoy the cooler weather… well, cooler for Florida.

We arrived at Winter Summerland Miniature Golf Course, and it is so very cute! As we were going in, we were greeted by a really nice family coming out of the course, so I greeted them back and I asked, “Who won?”  The dad said, “I think he did!” as he pointed at his son. The little guy was smiling the biggest smile and said, “Oh! Yes, I did!” I congratulated him and we all were off. We saw Santa’s sleigh pulling an Airstream trailer as we rounded the corner. As we walked toward the Airstream, we offered to take a picture of the family that was climbing into the sleigh! I asked who won; the mom said they really didn’t keep score, and the dad said that he was sure the little girl won! “Congratulations! High five!”

We got checked in for the summer course and picked our color of golf balls! Purple for me, Pink for Tooti, and blue for Twinkie! We started the course and it is the most fun I have had in years on the mini-golf course! We laughed at how funny each of us are hitting the ball and trying to play on such a clever course. Each new hole has a hint of how to do your best if you get the clue. I would highly suggest getting to play this course; it was a hoot!

Hidden Mickey!
Tooti hit one out of bounds! LOL
#golfie

Then, we exited reading the signs and got into the car to head for Magic Kingdom.

There was a nice couple on the Ferry Boat; the wife wanted to talk and I found that they were visiting from Houston, so the weather was fine for them. Before moving to Houston, they came from Pakistan. As we were exiting the ferry, I hollered back at them, “Have a wonderful day!” and got the nicest, unexpected, happiest words of thanks for chatting! It was very nice to hear those kind voices.

At the dock…
Passing on the waters…
Crossing Seven Seas Lagoon

The park was more relaxed today and Main Street seemed more elegant. There was something about today – the shops looked crisp with the cloud cover and the windows looked softer with the lace curtains. Even the lettering on the storefronts gleamed with gold lettering. We did some pin trading and then split up to get a bite for lunch. Tooti and Twinkie off to order our gluten free hot dogs at Casey’s Corner, and I went to get some iced tea at Starbucks in the Main Street Bakery. We sat outside Casey’s Corner at the tables with umbrellas. We could hear the Dream Along with Mickey music in the background; it is a very relaxing spot to eat.

Casey’s Corner
Cool Baseball Theming!
Love the inside…
Eating outside…

As we were pin trading back toward the front gates, there were a couple of games going on: the beanbag toss, and the word scramble game.  We stopped and played the word scramble game and chose to hang around until a good crowd gathered. A preteen little dude actually went up and unscrambled a word. I turned to his mom and said, “That takes a lot for a preteen guy to do this!” She said, “I know!” She was so proud of him! When he finished unscrambling the word, Timon, we gave him a standing ovation! He was so cute!

Pascal is on his shoulder!
Word descrabling… Tooti did the Rafiki one!
Can you guess the others?
Me and PUMBA!
Another participant…

Now off to the Monorail and head home! It was a refreshing day!

A creative way to locate rental cars!

Day 21- Magic Kingdom & Goodbye to Maelstrom at Epcot

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Happy Sunday Morning! Happy Sunday Morning! After eChurch with T.D. Jakes of the Potter’s House in Dallas, we are off to Magic Kingdom to grab coffee on our way to Epcot. It is a beautiful, cool day.

I believe everything happens for a reason. We were running a bit behind today, but we finally got on the Monorail heading for Magic Kingdom. We started talking with a lady and she was fascinating! She is in her 3rd day of retirement and is a wonderful conversationalist. Come to find out, she had to go back to her car once, and there we were, chatting and having fun! We exchanged info and found that she was a Colonel, a gun-shooting wonderful lady! I was totally blown away, but so honored to have the pleasure of meeting her! She said that she believes everything happens for a reason. I totally agree.

The thing I remember about going to Disneyland when I was little, were the flowers in the entry that are shaped like Mickey Mouse! Here, at Disney World, Mickey Mouse is in his fall colors.

We did some pin trading as we headed for our Starbucks, only to realize that the Festival of Fantasy Parade was going to begin, so we sat on the steps in a doorway next to the Main Street Confectionary as the parade began. As the music was beginning to play, I started to gently cry. I had the realization that one man’s dream started this beautiful Disney dream and I get to be in these parks. The floats and all of the characters in the parade are beautiful in their colors and detail. The characters are gorgeous and there is such high energy; it is just beautiful!

After the parade, we headed for the Main Street Bakery and then did some more pin trading. We were in front of City Hall in our way out, and I noticed a family getting their picture taken, but the dad was not in it since he was taking it! I offered to take their picture, but realized I didn’t know how his phone worked. “Would you like me to take a picture?” “Oh, yes! Thank you!” “Here, Tooti!” The laughter started as they saw me hand off their phone to Tooti! It was pretty funny.

Then, we were off to Epcot to ride Maelstrom on its final day.

At Epcot…
To Norway!
Arriving at Maelstrom
At the FastPass+ Entrance
Stand-by line was 70 mins!
Norway flags

As we were heading to Canada, we found that a friend of ours was going to be at Epcot, so we got to see them and have dinner in Morocco. I feel so refreshed getting to visit with friends.

Spice Road Table
Yummy food!

We headed home and found that we can see fireworks so clearly at the end of our street! So we grabbed the pups, and headed back to see the fireworks! It was such a beautiful, cool evening.

Day 20- Animal Kingdom & Pin Trading at Coronado Springs

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Yay! I want to go to Hollywood Studios to explore the Walt Disney: One Man’s Dream attraction. As we approach the parking lot, we see it is pretty full and it is not quite 11:00 a.m. This morning there was a 5K and then tonight there is the Tower of Terror 10 miler. As I assessed the growing crowd, we chose to go to Animal Kingdom instead.

On the way to Animal Kingdom, we were going past Coronado Springs Resort (one of our favorites!) and decided to drop in for some pin trading. Pin trading is a fun event, especially if you are in the parks for more than 3 or 4 days. It is fun looking for specific pins. We also took a moment to look at the beautiful lake.

Coronado Springs Resort
Front entrance
Walking in…
A fountain inside…
Looking up!
The Store and Restaurants
Trading pin!
Trading “Pin”ata!
Burrito!
Pins to buy…
Pin packs!
The lake…

Animal Kingdom proved to be a great choice. The weather was hot, but the clouds were rolling in and soon there was a good cloud cover. We parked in the Peacock parking lot and I caught the Tram while the kids walked to the gate. We arrived at the same time! I forgot my regular shoes but had a spare pair in the car. I try to keep backup shoes in the car just in case it rains or if I accidentally make it out to the car in my heeled Crocs slides.

I wanted to stop at Guest Relations to check on how many days have we been to Disney World Parks. Yesterday, we were stopped three times to take a quick survey and one of the questions was, “How many times have you been to Disney?” I said that we should pick 40 and the kids said 80… they were closer. We upgraded our Disney Tickets to Annual Passes last fall and the total to date for the annual year is 83. Then, we added in the trips since 2012, and the one trip we made in 2001. So, our grand total is, as of today, 100 park visits!

Trading pins with a Cast Member!

There was such a quiet bustling to the day. It was laid back, and the animals were busy enjoying the cooler air. Of course, our first ride is Kilimanjaro Safaris, my favorite. It is busy, but calm today. Our time out on the Safari was longer than normal, as some of the animals were crossing the road at a slow pace. I love these days; I can enjoy watching the giraffes and the rhinos, of course all of the other animals too, but these two are my favorite. The question of the day is: Are zebras white with black stripes or black with white stripes? The Safari was about twice as long as usual and totally amazing.

As we were walking to get tea, I noticed that the owl on the Tree of Life was standing out more than usual. The cloud cover and angle of the sun made me need to stop and take a picture. It is the most amazing tree.

Tree of Life

We grabbed a peach tea and went to sit by the water on Discovery Island to watch the birds and reflections on the water. Now, off to find more pins and head for the front area.

As we were walking down the Oasis, a lady was talking and her friends asked her what she was saying. She told them that she was finishing a conversation from something someone in another group had said; she likes to do that. I leaned in and said, “I never do that. I never say anything about a conversation someone else is having.” They busted out laughing. I love fun people. She ended up on the same Tram we were on! I know because the guys behind us, from England, joined into our conversation and I told them about the lady at the Oasis, and she, sitting two rows in front of us, said, “That was me!”

A fun day!

Day 19- Epcot & Starship

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Epcot is in our view; we are headed for the American Gardens Theater in the American Adventure Pavilion. During the Food and Wine Festival, there are plenty of concerts for those who like music. Tonight’s band was Starship. That sounded familiar, so we went. This time I chose to ride the Friendship Boats from the Showcase Plaza to Germany and walk from there. On the way, I saw a group of people trying to get a photo. I offered to take their picture so they could all be in it together. I like helping visitors who want a group photo, so it is normal for us to offer to take pictures for people!

Arriving in Germany!
Leaving Mexico
On to Norway!
Across the waters…
Passing China…
Africa…

After we got seats in the theater, Twinkie was sweet and got some Kaki Gori shaved ice to keep us cool in this heat while we waited for the concert to begin. I looked up, and there was a rainbow in the clouds! Here, it seems that we see the rainbows before the storms! It did rain a bit near the end of the concert. The theater was packed as the music began. It has been years since I’ve heard these songs, except for the one that is in the movie, Guardians of the Galaxy.

Starship time!
Rainbow!

After the concert we went back to the Kaki Gori stand to see the tiny origami Yoda that one of the cast members had made! She let us take a picture of him; we were so excited to see it!

Origami Yoda!

Now, we continue our walk through Japan, Morocco, France, Canada, and the UK. Oh, we must stop and see the Downton Abbey merchandise room! I love the Tea Caddy shop; there are glasses in there that I want! We walk on through to see the British candy and teas! I like this shop and all of the British teapots and aprons.

As we are leaving the World Showcase, we see there is another rainbow (a double)! It is so vivid you can even see the purple in it, so beautiful.

Double Rainbow!
Rainbow!

Now, as we are leaving, it seems that there are just as many people coming into Epcot as there are leaving; it is bustling and busy.

Day 18- Magic Kingdom

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Today was school day for the pups and then I was off to Magic Kingdom for teatime with my kids. The park was bustling with excitement and anticipation. We did see a bunch of what we call “the third day meltdown.” It is that moment in time when little ones are saturated with so much to see and so much fun that their little bodies just cannot handle it! At the moment of the meltdown, it is time to just hold them, cuddle them, and give the kids a moment of quieted hugs. The parents who do that seem to hit a restart button and the kids are off to have fun once again.

We saw the Mayor of Main Street; I have heard about him, but today I got to meet him! It is quite an honor for me.

The Mayor

Then, we went to the Main Street Bakery, got our Starbucks, headed for the Tomorrowland Terrace and had our teatime there. We had a view of Cinderella’s Castle in front of us, Tomorrowland to the right. There was a relaxing, cool breeze as we rested and listened to the Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! Street Party. The Mad Hatter was dancing today; we don’t always get to see him, but he is really fun to watch! After our nice break, we were off to explore more of Magic Kingdom.

Our view…
Chai and Iced Teas
Towards Tomorrowland

Pirates of the Caribbean is one of our favorite rides. With the sun so bright outside, it is really dark as you walk through the corridors of Pirates! I finally got to see the mermaids in the water! When you exit, the pirate shop is really great to look around in. Twinkie had to check out the pirate hat!

At the ride…
Photopass Photographer!
Pirate garrrrrrrrb.
Pirate supplies!
Guns!
Twinkie likes the hat!

A favorite shop is Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe. They have some really beautiful ornaments, stockings, books, and other holiday items.

On the way to the shop…
Ye Olde Christmas Shop
Love it!

We caught the last few minutes of the Dream Along With Mickey Stage Show at Cinderella’s Castle. It is so beautiful and features so many fun characters! It even has a few daytime fireworks!

The Philharmonic Band came out and they are amazing. They played a medley of classic Disney tunes with a marching band twist. Sometimes, they even play fun older songs like, “Tiger Rag (Hold That Tiger).” I love all of the unusual characters and music that you find on Main Street!

The Main St. Philharmonic!

It was so sunny and hot today! It was time to go home, so off to the Monorail and Tram to the Heroes parking lot! A beautiful time on a beautiful day!

Day 17- Happy Birthday to Magic Kingdom & Epcot!

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Magic Kingdom and Epcot are both celebrating their birthdays today! Magic Kingdom opened October 1, 1971! Epcot opened October 1, 1982! Happy Birthday to you both!

Monorail…
Off to Epcot!
From the monorail…
We’re here!
Under Spaceship Earth…
There’s a rainbow in the fountain!

We decided to go to Epcot first! Celebrations began with eating soup in France. Les Chefs de France has the most wonderful French Onion soup. The chefs there are amazing and make a great Gluten Free soup for us!

France Pavilion
Les Chefs de France
The sign…
Entrance…
Place Setting
Beautiful seating in this room!
GF French Onion Soup & Bread

Next, we are going to see the Air Supply concert in the America Gardens Theater. It was great; the weather was cool.

Air Supply Concert!

We enjoyed the 1.1-mile walk around the World Showcase Lagoon.  Magic Kingdom is our next stop, so we grab the Monorail from Epcot and head over to the Transportation Center to catch the next Monorail to Magic Kingdom. It is so beautiful this time of the evening.

Leaving Epcot…

We arrive as the Main Street Electrical Parade is happening. We make it to Starbucks and get a couple of hot drinks to warm up before the fireworks. We have FastPasses to watch the Wishes Nighttime Spectacular fireworks show from the Rose Garden. It was beautiful to see Cinderella’s Castle light in the Celebrate the Magic projection show before the fireworks. The Rose Garden is a wonderful place to sit on the wet grass and watch the projection show and the fireworks! Spectacular!

Dresses for the Birthday!
At the Transportation & Ticket Center…
Waiting for the Monorail 🙂
Electrical Parade
So fun!
Cute!
UP!
Fireworks
Wishes…
Wishes…
And all our Wishes will come true!

We have met so many people from Texas all during the day. We waited in the longest lines for the Monorail tonight; people waiting to get on seem to be very restless tonight. We go to the last car and began to get on as a nice gentleman said to me, “I was saving this seat for you.” How kind. I was talking to his wife and found that they had friends in North Texas! They both were so excited that I had lived there; their best friends live there and the couple goes there often! How cool! They got off at the first stop and another family got on. As I was talking to the wife, she said they were from Texas, in Louisville! We met fellow Texans all day! It was good to have that camaraderie with nice and kind folks! A good ending to a wonderful night!