Sea World

By the time we made it to Sea World, we had spent 5 full days in theme parks.  We were tired.  Do you know how tired we were?  We only took a few pictures at Sea World.  Pulling my cell phone out and navigating to the camera was too much work.  

Sea World was the hottest day of our trip so that didn't help our moods, Kitty didn't want to ride any of the roller coasters because they all looked too scary for her so that didn't help our moods, we had to stand in line for over an hour to get lunch so that really didn't help anyone's mood, and the crowds were overwhelming.  

It had been a long week.      

The only good part at Sea World was watching the shows.  We enjoyed the Orca show, the sea otters, and the dolphins.  We were divided on which show was the best.  My favorite was the dolphins.  Kitty and Mykey liked the sea otters the best.  

We had stayed at all the theme parks until closing time but we just didn't have the energy left by the time we made it to Sea World.  We ended up leaving the park in the late afternoon and headed back to our cruddy Airbnb to pack and relax.  We ate hot dogs for dinner and watched Lego Masters while I did laundry and packed the suitcase.  Our Airbnb really was cruddy.  It had amazing reviews and I'm still baffled by this.  It was the quintessential college apartment: crappy, stained futon for a couch, Walmart furniture, a hodge-podge of dishes, and knives as sharp as pencils. But it was memorable! 

Our vacation was a whirlwind of a week with plenty of highs and lows.  I don't suppose I'll need to visit another theme park for at least 5 years.  Maybe 10.

Now we're ready to get settled in our new place!

Universal Studios

3 days of schlepping through theme parks and I'm feeling exhausted and tired of crowds.  The good news is we have 3 more days of schlepping ahead of us.

So let's go to Universal Studios!  

What's the first thing a person should do at Universal Studios?  Well, if you're Harry Potter fans, you race to Harry Potter world.  We are and we did.  

Kudos to Universal Studios for creating an extravaganza of all things Harry Potter.  It truly was a magical place, especially for Kitty. She rode Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey 4 times.  Booney rode it once and then teetered on the edge of motion sickness for an hour afterwards.  She's old and feeble.  Kitty also adopted a pygmy puff which she named Fluffy and enjoyed her first genuine Butter Beer.  She said the ones I made for her birthday party were better.  Why, thank you.    

We sprang for the Express Passes for our 2nd day at Universal.  They were spendy but ended up being worth it.  Kitty was able to ride whatever she wanted with wild abandon.  One of these wild moments was on Popeye and Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barge.  We got soaked.  And I mean soaked.  Water squeezing out of your shoes with each step kind of soaked.  The best part was that this ride was our first of the day so my feet were wet all day.  This is how my shoes became Swamp Shoes.  By the time we exited the park that evening, my shoes smelled like a pool of stagnant water.  Three times I laundered those shoes, and three times they came out of the washing machine reeking of a swamp monster.  

Because I'm frugal, I still wore the shoes for a few weeks after our trip.  But only because our moving truck was late and I had no other shoes.  I didn't want to spend money on more shoes when I had plenty in the truck.  So I had swamp feet.  Until I couldn't stand it anymore.  Then I bought new shoes. In addition to throwing away the shoes, I had to discard of a handful of pairs of socks.  They were swampy too.  Thank you, Florida.            

But I digress.  Back at Universal Studios, Kitty was eaten by Jaws, she scored a billion beaded necklaces from the Mardi Gras parade, and I found a souvenir keychain with my niece's uncommon name on it.  I've been looking for her name on souvenirs for years!  It was extremely fulfilling to finally complete that quest. 

Just one more theme park to go!  But will I survive?

Disney World

After Legoland, our theme park adventures continued on with 2 days at Walt Disney World.  Let me tell you what we did for those 2 days.

1. We stood in line for hours

2. We sweat through our clothes

3. We stood in line for hours

I wish I could say that I loved Disney World but I can't.  I can't even understand why other people love Disney World.  It was hot, it was crowded, it was expensive, and it definitely wasn't my definition of a good time.  

I'll give Disney World this: the lands they have created are spectacular.  Kitty and Michael were especially excited about Star Wars land.  Even I - a cynical old hag - must admit it was pretty neat.  But I don't think that it negates the hours of snaking lines.  Or the $6 for a Sprite.  

While in Star Wars land, Kitty adopted a porg and named it Porgy.  He went on all of our adventures with us for the rest of the trip.  

The biggest coup of Disney World was that Kitty and Michael were able to make custom light sabers.  They were wicked expensive but their shared experience was worth the cash-ola.  Plus, it was a miracle from heaven that they were able to do it.

As we were driving to Legoland, Kitty mentioned how excited she was to build her own light saber the next day.  I thought to myself, "Hmmm, I wonder if you need reservations for this experience."  Turns out you do.  It also turns out that there were no available reservations.  

Kitty was devastated.  

A few minutes went by with me trying to console her when I had the thought to check again.  Right then, a reservation popped up for Tuesday evening at 6:00 for 2 people.  I snatched that baby up!  With trembling fingers I frantically entered our information and hit submit.  It was confirmed and the world was right again.  It was indeed a miracle.

We made some good memories but I don't think I'll be rushing back to Disney World any time soon. 

(Because I'm a cynical old hag.)  

Legoland

We began our theme park marathon at Legoland!  It took us nearly an hour to drive there, and we were beginning to rethink our desire to go, but it turned out to be worth the journey.  Thank goodness.

We had a great time despite the heat and miles of walking.  Did you know Florida is sweltering even in February?!  Gross.

It was fun to look at all of the amazing Lego builds.  Nerds really are stunningly talented.

We also had fun riding the rides.  They weren't made out of Lego though.  I guess the nerds aren't THAT talented. 

Kitty even earned her driver's license. Heaven help us.

It was a wonderful first day of adventures.  (Even if I did sweat in unnecessary places.)

Lonely

We boarded Jeffery-the-girl-cat in TN while we adventured in Florida.  Kitty missed her immensely.  

I did not.  

I'll tell you why:

1. She's a cat.

2. She meowed all night long in every hotel room during our cross-country trek.

3. She's a cat.

I do have an affection for Jeffery because Kitty loves her so much, but I wouldn't call my feelings love.  I would call them, "I-think-you're-pretty-cute-but-also-I-can't-stand-you" kind of feelings.  But I'm a heartless beast so there's that.

Kitty missed Jeffery intensely and she drew a picture of her to carry around.  She even slept with it.

Now that's pretty sweet.

But I still don't love the cat.

Cross Country

Do you know how long it takes to drive a car from western Oregon to eastern Tennessee?

Days and days and days and days.

Luckily we had a cat to keep us company.  And since we sold my Highlander, we had to cram ourselves into our "spacious" Prius.  Why - we felt like royalty!

I tried to get pictures of all the states we were barreling through but failed.  Can you believe that some states don't have welcome signs at their borders?  It's appalling!  

Can you also believe that we had to add miles to our route because the Interstate in Wyoming was closed due to snow storms?  

Believe it.  

We ended up driving through southern Utah and Colorado to miss the storms.  We were incredibly blessed with safety on our long journey.  Thank goodness for modern technology that allowed us to watch the road reports and modify our route.  

We drove straight to TN then boarded a plane to sunny Florida. We decided to hit all the theme parks while we awaited our moving truck.  It seemed like a good idea at the time but...

It was exhausting - with a capital E.  

Finals

Our home was sold and under contract in 5 days.  I don't think I expected it.

Having the house sell so quickly meant that our time to fit in our last adventures in Oregon was limited.  It was a bit heartbreaking to know that the events filling our days would be the final ones, that our minutes with dear friends were scarce.  But we pushed along and savored our days.  

Everything became "the last."  The last crazy hair day at Kalapuya Elementary:

The last meal at our favorite restaurant Panezanellie's.

The last outing with our best friends.  My bestie was singing at a local restaurant and Eva and I were lucky enough to go listen.  

The last trip to the Portland temple.  During my service as Relief Society president and continuing after my release, I worshipped in the temple every other week.  It was a place I grew to love and where I spent many sacred hours. I cried for a good long while as we pulled away from the temple for the final time.  The Portland temple will always have a section of my heart.  It was where my testimony of temple work was solidified and where I experienced many tender mercies.  

The last day in our home.  

There is sadness in the lasts.  As we close our Oregon experience and embrace the Tennessee experience, I know that the sadness will be replaced with the beauty of firsts.

I look forward to the beauty.

Valentine's Day

When we decided to list our home for sale, I prayed that we wouldn't have to move out before Kitty could celebrate Valentine's day at school. She LOVES Valentine's day at school.  

In a tender mercy from God, the offer we accepted asked for a closing date of February 16th - another reminder that He is ever mindful of us.

Valentine's day at school is the best; candy, candy, candy, and fun.  Kitty scored another epic haul this year.  

She also made us epic cards and laid them out carefully on the counter the night before Valentine's day.  I love her beyond words.  

We gave her a cool 10 bones to spend on our upcoming adventure across the country.  Seems like fair compensation for uprooting her life.

Even though the moving truck arrived that evening, it was still a wonderful Valentine's day full of love!