An Alphabetical, (Flower and) Garden Variety TR- V is for: Vida la Tucson! TR COMPLETE! (3/14)

[GreatBiscuit]

I'll have to look that up! Post the link again!

https://www.YouTube.com/bubbaraybiscuit

 

[disneyAndi14]

Oh my gosh I was laughing so hard reading about your mom’s scooter driving
I can picture her on the bus trying to park the thing, really funny.
I’m glad you are settling in at the RV park! I would love to be in Tucson right now, it is very cold here.
We use to spend time at the desert museum and the saguaro national park. I miss the area!
I hope work is going well!

 

[Steppesister]

Oh my gosh I was laughing so hard reading about your mom’s scooter driving
I can picture her on the bus trying to park the thing, really funny.
I’m glad you are settling in at the RV park! I would love to be in Tucson right now, it is very cold here.
We use to spend time at the desert museum and the saguaro national park. I miss the area!
I hope work is going well!

She is normally such a good driver, but this.. this was well out of her wheelhouse! LOL!

Slowly but surely, it's feeling more like home. It's just so beautiful! I can step out my door and be on hiking trails in literally a 2 minute walk in the Saguaro National Park. And hike in a t-shirt no less! Come visit! We can make tacos and have margs outside in the sun.

Not only am I having to learn all the Endo procedures which are totally (except for colonscopies) new to me, I am having to learn a new charting program (to me) too. (Cerner/Surginet). It's been a steep learning curve. But I'm getting the hang of it. We do bronchs and all kinds of biopsies with that (fine needle, etc...) EBUS, ERCPs, endo Esophogeal stuff, endoscopic biopsies of the pancreas, you name it. A lot of our census is cancer-related so it's nice knowing I'm part of a team that is giving people hope and solutions. I get a lot of hugs. After the Endo Dept is done for the day, I will float to Main PACU and finish my days there. It's busy but a LOT better than the assignment I came from. The facilities are like night and day!

 

[pkondz]

R is for: Roll-E Panics & Right on the Water

First read that as Roll-E Panics & Right in the Water

I’m slow because life goes on outside of the DIS. I know… shocker.

What? It does? What's going on out there???

Unfortunately, my folks’ flight was delayed by quite a bit and instead of arriving at 8:00PM, it was closer to 11:00.

Ugh. Yuck.

When they knocked on the door, Marcia was sound asleep and the ruckus of them settling in didn’t phase her one bit.

How does she do that?!?!?!? Tell her to teach her methods to others. She'll make a killing!

Turns out, we know now, that her knee replacement that had been done a couple of years prior had failed and the head of it had completely broken off. Her surgeon (who redid the knee only months after this trip and who also did my own knee surgery a couple of months ago) told her he couldn’t understand how she was even able to stand up on it at all.

Holy smokes. I didn't know that was even possible. I can't imagine the pain your mom must have felt.

They all started snoring, and I laid there awake for hours listening to a veritable nasal symphony.

I finally gave up and found a quieter, but horribly uncomfortable refuge in the bathtub

The bathtub????
I know you're pretty small, but... how????

No, I did not get any sleep there either, just in case you were wondering.

Would've been pretty surprised if you had!

Heh. If I find one of my DDs sleeping in the tub, I'm turning the (cold) water on.
Just for fun.

I had my timeline completely messed up. I’m sure you’ll forgive me

NO

The line and ride went as it, uh, always does, and wanna know what, uh, he said when we got off when we met up with the other two?

“That ride is *****in’! (He's such a hip dad!)

I kid you not, he declared it the best theme park ride he’s ever been on. I could have left the park very happy at that point

Great! And he's right... that's such a great ride.

a CM was very kind and let us into a little roped off area (the one just to the left of the doors as you walk inside) for us to eat in.

How did that happen? Was it because of the scooter train?

Mom, like me, decided to get a scooter for the trip and boy am I sure glad she did!!

Are you? Are you really???

Until she almost killed me.

See?

Yes, she legit almost killed us both and about a dozen other people over the course of the trip.

Please God, do not let me be stuck in a Zombie Apocalypse with my mom and our only transportation be scooters. We will die.

Maybe she'd be useful.
Mow them zombies down...

We did have ponchos, but this really made my mom cranky.

With good reason. Disney shouldn't allow rain during park hours.

I’ve already showed you those photos as well, but good luck finding that chapter (pg. 22 maybe?) since I suck at keeping up with my chapter links.

This is the kind of crack TR reporting that we've come to expect!

Anyway, we’re almost to the end of the trail, and for some reason I stopped or slowed down and mom wasn’t watching, but instead of letting go of the throttle, she freaking speeds up and steers OFF THE PATH UP A LITTLE HILL AND NEARLY TIPS OVER ON TOP OF ME!

Okay... maybe she shouldn't be driving.
Did they take her blood alcohol count?

She had it in reverse and crashed into a set of seats completely tearing off the basket holding all of her stuff and nearly sails off the ramp thing.

Your mom is rough on scooters... and pedestrians!

The look on the driver’s face was priceless.

I bet!

He gently took hold of the handlebar and says in his most feigned voice of patience, “How about if I help you out a little with this.” I know he was thinking, “Lady touch those buttons again, and I’m calling security. I hate my job.”

I wonder how many times a shift he says that!

our dinner at the Boathouse. Let me just summarize and say that while the food was somewhat lackluster,

Well, that's unfortunate.

I requested a table outside as it was a perfectly gorgeous evening and still warm and luckily we got a table right on the rail. It was perfection!

Nice.

I ordered a salad which was equally unimpressive, but “necessary”. If you’ll recall, I was still on narcotic pain relievers (that surgery recovery was NOT happening very quickly) and we all know what happens with that.

You get... pain relief?
Seriously, didn't know about that until just now.

Sorry if that's TMI, but I strive for nothing but honesty in this report. Most of the time.

That's okay. We come here because there's no BS... well... okay... apparently there's S, but no B.

There was one moment, around the middle of our meal, that we still laugh about. Dad looks over and happened to catch the volcano at Rainforest going off; it’s loud and usually catches the attention of folks nearby. He says, “Oh hey, there’s an eruption over there.”.

I spit out my drink and literally choked on it. “DAD! THERE’S A WHAT?!?!”

“An eruption. Right over there. <pointing to the volcano>”

“OH my Gosh, that is NOT what I thought you said, <still laughing so hard I could barely breathe>

“What did you think I said? Ohhhhhh….”

<everyone at the table laughs for several minutes>

What word did you think he said, Liesa? Hmmm??? What word was it, exactly???

Did he think maybe they were doing some construction? Perhaps a tall building? Maybe a tower? Was he interested in its erection and developmental construction style?

Mom had decided to not take her scooter that evening I think out of fear she’d crash again, but sadly it really made it almost impossible for her to get back she was in so much pain.

I can't believe she'd not take it and walk with that knee.

I also left mine behind and was using my walker. This made for a loooooooong walk to the buses, both of us having to stop multiple times and rest

"And that's how we spent the next 3 days of our Disney trip... walking slowly to the bus stop. Spoiler. We never got there. We're still here!"

If you’re still here and reading, drop a hello so I’ll know I’m not just talking to myself.

Sorry. Not here. So can't say hello.

 

[Wood Nymph]

I have a feeling that your Mom did not have the best experience at WDW. She must have been in terrible pain.

It is really cool about your Dad enjoying FoP. It must have made that part of the trip worth it.

I love when the bus drivers part the ECV's. They do it so quickly. Let's face it, even the most experienced ECV drivers would have trouble parking one of them in that small space.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

My mom’s knee was to a point that she was in constant pain and really couldn’t walk far or without difficulty. Turns out, we know now, that her knee replacement that had been done a couple of years prior had failed and the head of it had completely broken off.

Yikes. That sounds horrible! Can't believe she was traveling with that pain.

They all started snoring, and I laid there awake for hours listening to a veritable nasal symphony. I finally gave up and found a quieter, but horribly uncomfortable refuge in the bathtub with an extra blanket and my pillow. No, I did not get any sleep there either, just in case you were wondering. I simply gave up around 4AM or so and went back to bed resigned to a sleepless night.

Oh joy. I'm usually the guilty party here, or at least I was until I got put on a CPAP machine. Now everyone seems to sleep much better.

The line and ride went as it, uh, always does, and wanna know what, uh, he said when we got off when we met up with the other two?

“That ride is *****in’! (He's such a hip dad!)

I mean, he's not wrong!

Anyway, we’re almost to the end of the trail, and for some reason I stopped or slowed down and mom wasn’t watching, but instead of letting go of the throttle, she freaking speeds up and steers OFF THE PATH UP A LITTLE HILL AND NEARLY TIPS OVER ON TOP OF ME! Another guest runs up to her, “Are you alright?”

This is hilarious. The mental pictures that go along with the description are just priceless!

She had it in reverse and crashed into a set of seats completely tearing off the basket holding all of her stuff and nearly sails off the ramp thing. The look on the driver’s face was priceless. He gently took hold of the handlebar and says in his most feigned voice of patience, “How about if I help you out a little with this.” I know he was thinking, “Lady touch those buttons again, and I’m calling security. I hate my job.”

It just gets better!

Let me just summarize and say that while the food was somewhat lackluster, the company and table and view were spectacular. I requested a table outside as it was a perfectly gorgeous evening and still warm and luckily we got a table right on the rail. It was perfection!

Beautiful light for those photos.

He says, “Oh hey, there’s an eruption over there.”.

I spit out my drink and literally choked on it. “DAD! THERE’S A WHAT?!?!”

“An eruption. Right over there. <pointing to the volcano>”

“OH my Gosh, that is NOT what I thought you said, <still laughing so hard I could barely breathe>

“What did you think I said? Ohhhhhh….”

<everyone at the table laughs for several minutes>

And you totally looked, didn't you???

 

[Disneycampfan]

Dropping a hello! love your reports, lurking along!

 

[suse66]

I’ll leave off there. Only one more park day and then the travel home and that’ll be it for this TR. If you’re still here and reading, drop a hello so I’ll know I’m not just talking to myself.

Hi Liesa!

Still reading along and enjoying! You had quite the adventure with your Mom. I don't know how she managed the parks at all with her poor knee. And you just recovering from surgery! You two were troopers. Glad to hear you are settling in well and enjoying your job!

 

[vamassey1]

My mom’s knee was to a point that she was in constant pain and really couldn’t walk far or without difficulty.

I'm in pain just thinking of this. I hope she's much better now.

Anyway, problem solved, we settled into our beds and went to sleep. Well, some of us did. Everyone but me, that is. They all started snoring, and I laid there awake for hours listening to a veritable nasal symphony. I finally gave up and found a quieter, but horribly uncomfortable refuge in the bathtub with an extra blanket and my pillow. No, I did not get any sleep there either, just in case you were wondering. I simply gave up around 4AM or so and went back to bed resigned to a sleepless night.

Poor Steppe. This happened to my oldest once. We went to DH's family hometown for a funeral and he got stuck in the room with DH's Dad. Poor Brent ended up in the tub too and no sleep.

The line and ride went as it, uh, always does, and wanna know what, uh, he said when we got off when we met up with the other two?

“That ride is *****in’! (He's such a hip dad!)

This makes the whole day worth it.

Now, about that knee… Mom, like me, decided to get a scooter for the trip and boy am I sure glad she did!! Until she almost killed me. Yes, she legit almost killed us both and about a dozen other people over the course of the trip. Mom, if you’re reading this, I love you, but you cannot drive a scooter. Please God, do not let me be stuck in a Zombie Apocalypse with my mom and our only transportation be scooters. We will die.

I have to admit I did snicker a little while reading this. Would have made a great entrance in AFHV.

She had it in reverse and crashed into a set of seats completely tearing off the basket holding all of her stuff and nearly sails off the ramp thing. The look on the driver’s face was priceless. He gently took hold of the handlebar and says in his most feigned voice of patience, “How about if I help you out a little with this.” I know he was thinking, “Lady touch those buttons again, and I’m calling security. I hate my job.”

I've been witness to something like this on the bus too. Those poor bus drivers.

Let me just summarize and say that while the food was somewhat lackluster, the company and table and view were spectacular. I requested a table outside as it was a perfectly gorgeous evening and still warm and luckily we got a table right on the rail. It was perfection!

I'm sorry to hear the food was subpar, but you did get some lovely views.

I’ll leave off there. Only one more park day and then the travel home and that’ll be it for this TR. If you’re still here and reading, drop a hello so I’ll know I’m not just talking to myself.

Of course I'm still here just trying to get caught back up.

 

[YYCmom]

Drink winner? The Orange thing from the pool bar and the yellow one from Y&Y.

I won't be at US, but the yellow one looks good!


I see you were reading The Alchemist. (Nice to get a shot of it with your drink to add to the color theme.) What did you think of it? I read it a few years ago, and I thought it was good but not great.

 

[Steppesister]

First read that as Roll-E Panics & Right in the Water

That was my mom's job.

What? It does? What's going on out there???

A little this, a little that. Which amounts to a lot.

How does she do that?!?!?!? Tell her to teach her methods to others. She'll make a killing!

She had earplugs.

Holy smokes. I didn't know that was even possible. I can't imagine the pain your mom must have felt.

I know! I had no idea that could happen!

I will neither confirm nor deny that I might have "coughed" to gently stir them.

The bathtub????
I know you're pretty small, but... how????

It was a tight squeeze, no doubt!

Would've been pretty surprised if you had!

Heh. If I find one of my DDs sleeping in the tub, I'm turning the (cold) water on.
Just for fun.

At your own risk. I'm sure they'd be cranky from no sleep.

How did that happen? Was it because of the scooter train?

I have no idea. I just chalked it up to great Disney service and left it at that.

Are you? Are you really???

No.

Maybe she'd be useful.
Mow them zombies down...

Brains....

Your mom is rough on scooters... and pedestrians!

Indeed!! Watch out!

I wonder how many times a shift he says that!

I'd love to be a fly on the wall when he gets home at night and gripes to his wife.

You get... pain relief?
Seriously, didn't know about that until just now.

The #1 side effect. Although yes, in our industry we do joke that the best side effect is indeed... pain relief.

That's okay. We come here because there's no BS... well... okay... apparently there's S, but no B.

Except when I forget who is where on what day. Then I just make it up.

What word did you think he said, Liesa? Hmmm??? What word was it, exactly???

Staaaawp!!!

Did he think maybe they were doing some construction? Perhaps a tall building? Maybe a tower? Was he interested in its erection and developmental construction style?

I can't believe she'd not take it and walk with that knee.

I know... but PTSPS.

"And that's how we spent the next 3 days of our Disney trip... walking slowly to the bus stop. Spoiler. We never got there. We're still here!"

We could mobile order margs and have them Uber Eated.

 

[Steppesister]

I have a feeling that your Mom did not have the best experience at WDW. She must have been in terrible pain.

I think she enjoyed it well enough, but we really had to go slow and be mindful of what we were doing.

It is really cool about your Dad enjoying FoP. It must have made that part of the trip worth it.

It really did! They only stay a couple of nights when they bother to come, but this one sure was worth it!

I love when the bus drivers part the ECV's. They do it so quickly. Let's face it, even the most experienced ECV drivers would have trouble parking one of them in that small space.

I know! I just ended up telling them, "know what? Let's just save everyone time and frustration and you do it. They always happily obliged." Imagine that!

 

[Steppesister]

Yikes. That sounds horrible! Can't believe she was traveling with that pain.

I don't even think she could have imagined the reason she was in so much pain. I think when she got home and got it diagnosed she was as shocked as we all were.

Oh joy. I'm usually the guilty party here, or at least I was until I got put on a CPAP machine. Now everyone seems to sleep much better.

Good for you!!! I know they aren't fun, but you are doing your heart and every other body system a favor. Now you will probably live a lot longer so you can annoy your grandkids too.

I mean, he's not wrong!

I still can't decide between this and Hagrid's for Best of Orlando.

This is hilarious. The mental pictures that go along with the description are just priceless!

You know what was priceless?? So this guy sees it all happen and he runs to MY MOM who is clearly fine and completely ignores me who was nearly killed by Cruella de Scooter. I almost DIE and this guy goes straight for the perp. Senseless act of sympathy.

It just gets better!

You have no idea.

Beautiful light for those photos.

I am never sorry for having eaten outdoors at DTD.

And you totally looked, didn't you???

I was so stunned and confused I had no idea what he was even talking about! After about 5 seconds what I *thought* he said registered and I literally burst out laughing and couldn't stop for several minutes.


And yes. Who doesn't want to see a... structure?

 

[Steppesister]

Dropping a hello! love your reports, lurking along!

Oh yay!!! I'm so glad you checked in to let me know you're here!!

 

[Steppesister]

Hi Liesa!

Still reading along and enjoying! You had quite the adventure with your Mom. I don't know how she managed the parks at all with her poor knee. And you just recovering from surgery! You two were troopers. Glad to hear you are settling in well and enjoying your job!

Hey Susie!

I'm so glad you're still here. Almost to the end. Promise.

I really did. She's a hoot but this wasn't an easy trip for her OR for me. We took it slow mostly but those scooters were quite a learning curve for us.

My job is VERY nice this time around. I LOVE living here in Tucson with the weather and beautiful landscape. Just perfect. I love that I have 4 days off in a row every week and the time is just flying by!!

 

[Steppesister]

I'm in pain just thinking of this. I hope she's much better now.

She is right as rain although she did have a bone spur removed a few weeks ago. But already back to wearing shoes again and walking normally.

Poor Steppe. This happened to my oldest once. We went to DH's family hometown for a funeral and he got stuck in the room with DH's Dad. Poor Brent ended up in the tub too and no sleep.

It's the WORST!!! They do use CPAP machines at home but they are cumbersome to travel with so don't

This makes the whole day worth it.

For SURE!

I have to admit I did snicker a little while reading this. Would have made a great entrance in AFHV.

It was hysterical after it was all said and done and I realized I was not indeed saying hello to St. Peter.

I've been witness to something like this on the bus too. Those poor bus drivers.

They sure do put up with a lot!

I'm sorry to hear the food was subpar, but you did get some lovely views.

This meal's priority was the company and general ambiance anyway. The next night's meal was MUCH better!

Of course I'm still here just trying to get caught back up.

Thanks, Vanessa! I'm just so horrible at DISsing here in Tucson. My RV is a lot of work with my makeover projects and outfitting it. I haven't really even taken advantage of the things to see and do around here. I am hoping that on Monday I can spend the day getting caught up on reading everyone's TRs.

 

[Steppesister]

I won't be at US, but the yellow one looks good!

The tenders at the bar area are very nice and accommodating. Good with chit chat for a single so it's not awkward too. I loved my service there!

I see you were reading The Alchemist. (Nice to get a shot of it with your drink to add to the color theme.) What did you think of it? I read it a few years ago, and I thought it was good but not great.

Meh, so so. I'd agree with your take on it. It's "ok". I honestly have put it down for a while since I'm super busy with my RV makeover projects and outfitting it. It needed a lot of start up maintenance since it'd been in dry storage for 2 years under the hot sun with no shade. Hopefully soon I can start enjoying the pool and other things to do here at my rural setting park.

 

[pkondz]

That was my mom's job.

She had earplugs.

Ah.
I've tried that and it doesn't work for me.

I will neither confirm nor deny that I might have "coughed" to gently stir them.

Be less subtle next time...

At your own risk. I'm sure they'd be cranky from no sleep.

That's okay. I'm bigger and stronger than they are. I could take 'em.

No.

I'd love to be a fly on the wall when he gets home at night and gripes to his wife.

"So? How many today?"
"32... 32 crashes."
"A slow day, huh?"

Except when I forget who is where on what day. Then I just make it up.

I know... but PTSPS.

Okay... don't know what that is.
Partial Tree Sharing Protocols?
Proceed to Select Protocols?
Payment Terminal Service Providers?
Physical Travelling Salesman Problems?
Perishables and Temperature Sensitive Products?
Public Transportation Subsidy Programs?
...

We could mobile order margs and have them Uber Eated.

 

[Steppesister]

S is for: So Many Flowers and Savoring the Senses! ​

After a MUCH better sleep, (Marcia had some extra earplugs) our little group headed to EPCOT for a day taking in the Flower and Garden Festival. But first Mom, Dad and I went to the QS for a bite. I avoided the excuse of a breakfast I was served the day before of shriveled up sausage and fake eggs and played it safe with a choco croissant and coffee. Dad was anxious to talk about the business of my purchase of half ownership of the house, so we carved out some time that morning to make some decisions. I think we spent a couple of hours in all figuring out what we needed to and then headed back to the room to see if Marcia was ready.

​

The bus was left unscathed and I’m happy to say that I did not die when Mom parked her scooter. On the way to FW to ride SE and Soarin’ I had a bit of fun with the butterflies.

​

Other than those, I have no photos of what we did before we landed in WS. The plan was to take one circuit around the Lagoon snacking along the way. I focused on the topiaries more than anything, after all, it was Flower and Garden. We chose to start in Mexico which goes against what I usually do, but well, Mexico’s La Choza is a bit of a game changer. I mean… there are margs and empanadas. And since EPCOT doesn’t open until 11:00 it’s lunchtime when you get there. Yes, there are food booths and yes, we did try a couple, but this was not the focus since we were having a very special dinner and wanted to give it due justice.

​

In an effort to not drag this old, tired TR out any longer, here are the photos without too much more commentary. We came, we saw, we enjoyed…

​

One highlight was the Affogado from the Italian ice cream place: “Affogato” Espresso Gelato,Fresh Italian espresso poured over vanilla gelato with an amaretto cookie- $11.75 While grossly overpriced, I do admit, it was probably one of the best Disney snacks I’ve ever had. The CM was so fun and was just gushing about how this was the best kept “Hidden Mickey snack on property”. Kinda love that!

Sadly, we missed VOL, but did thoroughly enjoy Mariachi Cobre quite a bit. Equally entertaining was this heron poking around in the plants for his own snicky-snacks.







​

Continued in next post...

 

[Steppesister]

Another pretty good kiosk item I tried was from the Moroccan Pavilion: Moroccan Seafood Couscous with Shrimp, Mussels, Olives, Preserved Lemons, and Anchovy Breadcrumbs- $7.25 I shocked myself and also ordered: M.I.A. Beer Company Pink Hibiscus Orange Wheat Ale; $4.50. It tasted like every other beer I don’t like. Bitter. Once in a while, I try again with the same results 99% of the time.

​

It was around 4:00 when we all had decided we’d had enough of walking or scootering around in the warm afternoon sun so went back to the Coronado.

​

Marcia and I were anxious to have a pre-pre-dinner drink so after a short time at the pool we headed to the Dahlia. I adore the photos of Walt working alongside Salvador Dali!

​

I wanted to try the: Ham and Cheese Bocadillo, Jamon Serrano, Manchego Cheese, Roasted Garlic Aïoli, Honey, Toasted Baguette- $14 which is indeed AMAZING! Seriously, it’s big enough for a small meal and so, so good. The bread was very fresh and the ham was an authentic Spanish-style smoked typical for a tapas place. I only ate a few bites because I didn’t want to spoil my dinner, so took the rest back and ate it on the plane the next day.

​

Unfortunately, neither of us loved our drinks. Hers was made with a house made saffron infusion and it just wasn’t good.

​

I ordered the Manzana Fizz- Agustín Blázquez Felipe II Solera Reserva Brandy, Harveys Bristol Cream Sherry, Lemon, Apple, Freixenet Blanc de Blancs Cava Brut. Contains pasteurized egg whites-$14, but it came without the egg white which is the whole point of a “Fizz”. I was disappointed for sure. Oh well…

​

By the time the check came we were pressed for time, so we scurried out and met up with the others for our bus ride to dinner…