Vacation Day 1: Orlando

Day one began at 3 a.m., when my alarm shrilled and I got up and shoved the dogs out into the pre-dawn darkness. An ice storm had moved in and was making a mess of the roads. Mom and Dad were at my house promptly at 4, and we loaded my carry-on bag into the car and set off for the airport. It was a good thing we'd allowed extra time, because the normally twenty minute drive took just under an hour. Once at the airport, we got everything unloaded and ourselves checked in. The plane was supposed to leave at 6, but it took forty-five minutes to de-ice, so we left late.

Leaving late meant we missed our flight from Atlanta to Orlando, but Delta was very efficient in handling the situation. Only moments after we got off the plane, there was a Delta CSR asking for our boarding passes and getting us standby on a 9:25 flight or confirmed for a 10:20 flight. We elected to go with the confirmed flight, and made it to Orlando by noon.

We caught the Disney bus to the resort, and Dad immediately wished for his TV B Gone. There were monitors throughout the bus, showing a Disney infomercial for cruises and Disney World, which made it impossible to sleep. When we arrived at the Caribbean Beach Resort, I got very excited to see a cute lil blue car in the parking lot, and pointed and yelled to Mom & Dad that Sherri was here before us.

We checked in to the hotel, and I called Sherri, who came in from the parking lot. She looked absolutely gorgeous in pink and black (her hubs has been helping her expand her warddrobe). She had gotten a birthday cake for my niece and some pink and white frosted cookies as well.

NB: My niece has now outgrown the name "Baby Mathgeek" and will henceforth be known as "Tinkerbell."

The cake & cookies were handed off to Mom, Sherri was introduced to Dad, and they headed for the room while Sherri and I headed off to her house. I got to hear a bit about her growing-up years in Florida, and after a shortish drive, we were at her house.

All five of Sherri's cats have mad cuteness skills. I wanted to scoop them all up, hug the stuffing out of them and steal them.

Nobly, I refrained.

We spent the afternoon chatting about everything under the sun, catching up, petting and playing with kittehs, and eventually, it was time for me to head back to the hotel. At first, we couldn't find building 35 (yes, each Disney hotel is that large), but after a phone call to my brother, we managed. I had intended to show Sherri the royal blue dress I brought for formal wear on the cruise, but when I opened my suitcases, I discovered I'd forgotten to pack it! To be honest, I spent the rest of the evening alternately sulking and kicking myself just to get the disappointment out of my system.

Still, Sherri and I had a good time, and she chose to leave when the rest of the family came back to the room from dinner. She did get to meet at least some family members, and Bookworm Mathgeek asked me to pass on big thanks for the birthday cake. We had a small birthday party for Tinkerbell, and then everyone headed off to bed.