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

[Steppesister]

I tried to do the whole rainbow yesterday, grabbing any color I could, and I believe that I came up sort on blue....I'll look at my pictures when I get home...

Yay! Good for you!! I'll check your FB to see if you posted any. It's amazing what new things you can see with a theme in mind.

Halfway through yesterday I realized I hadn't got much purple, but I think I made up for it by the end of the day.

Where did you find the purple ones? I'd think DLR would be a bit tougher than WDW for that color.

All of your pictures are so creative and unique. They're a pleasure to look at.

I especially enjoyed the Festival of Arts pics and cant wait to be there soon. Single digits today! I just realized that! I need ro post on my own thread!

Thanks, Alison! It was a fun way to share new stuff.

You're almost there!! Enjoy every single minute!

We really enjoyed it in October 2019. I'd goback again if there weren't so many other places I need to try!

I know!! It's so overwhelming to hit all the things you've wanted to do for so long. By the time you can get to it, it's gone or changed.

Take your time! If I'm lucky I'll get in one more update before I leave, and then I'll be off the grid again for weeks!

My goal is to start reading all my threads (the ones I'm subbed into) and at least let folks know I"m caught up. Not sure I'll be able to more than quote a few lines though.

ETA: I just noticed @Captain_Oblivious posted an update yesterday. So not caught up anymore.

I'm sickeningly behind. UGH.

 

[Steppesister]

That's fun! Which was the best? And were there any that you would never get again?

Hmm, let me see. For RED I got a strawberry cider at Spice Road Table. This wasn't my favorite one I've ever had, and I'd order a different one next time. Didn't hate it, but didn't love it either.



Orange? I honestly can't remember! Right!! Didn't get an orange drink cuz I was at Uni's Anitjitos and I HAD to try to the marg with a popsicle in it. It was green, but I did take a photo of my orange chips and salsa.

Oops!! Went back to my photos and also had this!! I DID have an orange drink! No idea what it was but it was from the Dockside Poolside Bar. YUM!



Yellow? LOVED this one. I was at Yak and Yeti and said, "I need a yellow drink..." "I've got the perfect one!"

It was this:

South Seas Traveler: Created by the Yak and Yeti Bartenders...Myer's Original Dark Rum and Captain Morgan Spiced Rum, Monin Lychee Syrup, and citrus juices- $12.00

Sooo good!!



Green? I ordered a Vodka and gingerale and asked for a glow cube. Then I turned it to green. Voila!! Delicious. Of course.



Blue... this one I did miss/skip. I was in MK and too busy trying to get on all the rides.

Purple: I was in AK and again asked the tender at Dawa to make me a "purple drink". He had to think for a bit and while it wasn't the most delicious cocktail I've ever had, he ended up mixing vodka, curacao, and some red stuff (no idea what!) to make purple, cuz blue and red make purple. The drink, while purple, was unmemorable, but where I drank it and what I was doing was pure bliss! Tam Tam Congo for the win!!!! I bee-bopped to my sipping and loved every minute.



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

 

[Steppesister]

Sounds really good.
I have not been outside very much of late.

Your weather, as with much of the upper Midwest and our East have had horrid weather this year! YUCK! I have TONS of neighbors in RVs down here with Manitoba, Ontario, Minnesota, et al... plates. With temps in the high 60's/low 70's it's a bit of an improvement.

That took guts to admit.

Yeah, when you fall behind... it can be a bit daunting to catch back up.

It's pretty hopeless at this point. I'll read for sure, but I may only be able to comment here and there.

I think that's universal in North America. And it seems that the rest of the planet is much more reasonable.

Our phone service and internet in Kaz were 1,000 times better. Not even kidding. And WAY cheaper.

Glad you figured something out!

Me too!!

 

[Steppesister]

Wow! I was five pages behind! Lots going on these last few weeks even after Christmas, but I'll catch up!

I'm probably whole TRs behind!! LOL!

Very nice shots! I like this idea of the rainbow. You have given me an idea for a future update on my TR! Mind if I steal it?

Hopefully not! Cause I'm going to!

Not even a little. It's a fun challenge and I'm glad you did one too!!

Stupid neighbors! How come you always get the rowdy ones?

I know! Just WHY?!

For just yourself or were you traveling with someone?

Nope, just me. I tried for quite a while to find a travel partner but no one could go. Such a bummer!!! I posted on our No Steves thread, my other FB groups asked Kari, but in the end it was just me.

Very nice! I would not have imagined that there was that much orange!

Right?! Orange is my least favorite color, so I very rarely look for it.

Sorry about your knee. I know how it is at US, it doesn't take me long there to see what I want either. Injuries are why I finally gave in to the scooter, especially in Florida. Before the pandemic I had gotten to the point that I really didn't need the scooter for DL/DCA unless it was an intense day.

I did build back my stamina by cleaning my house for eight days straight before my parent's arrival two weeks ago. So much so that I let my Mom ride my scooter and I walked for a very intense day at Disney. I did over 17,000 steps!

That is a LOT for you!! A TON!! Wowza!! Bet you were sore after that!

Why does this not surprise me? Something has get lost!

Of course it does!! Wanna hear something funny? After spending ridiculous amounts of time trying to hunt them down and buying new ones (even cutting my time at Uni short because of them) I found them in a random suitcase pocket after I got home. I'm so brainless sometimes.

I like those, you never really think about yellow things. Unless you are on a rainbow scavenger photo hunt!

Yellow is often so muted and blends well it's hard to really notice it.

Green is definitely beautiful. Whether or not it's easy being green!

It's my favorite color by far!

 

[pkondz]

Your weather, as with much of the upper Midwest and our East have had horrid weather this year! YUCK!

Actually...

I was thinking (along with everyone else here) that this winter has had well above average snow. But apparently, we've had below average for the last few years and we all forgot what "normal" was really like!

I have TONS of neighbors in RVs down here with Manitoba, Ontario, Minnesota, et al... plates.

This surprises me not at all.

With temps in the high 60's/low 70's it's a bit of an improvement.

Just a smidge.

Our phone service and internet in Kaz were 1,000 times better. Not even kidding. And WAY cheaper.

The former surprises me, but the latter definitely does not.

 

[Wood Nymph]

Yellow? LOVED this one. I was at Yak and Yeti and said, "I need a yellow drink..." "I've got the perfect one!"

It was this:

South Seas Traveler: Created by the Yak and Yeti Bartenders...Myer's Original Dark Rum and Captain Morgan Spiced Rum, Monin Lychee Syrup, and citrus juices- $12.00

We will be at Yak & Yeti next week and this drink sounds really good. I usually get the Yak Attack but I'm up for trying something new.

 

[Steppesister]

We will be at Yak & Yeti next week and this drink sounds really good. I usually get the Yak Attack but I'm up for trying something new.

I think you’d like it and it’s certainly worth a try. Sweet and tropical!

 

[franandaj]

Yay! Good for you!! I'll check your FB to see if you posted any. It's amazing what new things you can see with a theme in mind.

Nope. Didn't post a thing. Due to the nature of this trip, I felt bad posting anything about what a good time I was having when the original participant was stuck at home in sub zero temperatures.

Where did you find the purple ones? I'd think DLR would be a bit tougher than WDW for that color

Well the first was on RSR, but the rest you'll have to wait until I post it!

 

[vamassey1]

Whew, I'm finally caught up. Loved seeing the color photos. I enjoyed them on FB too. Very creative idea. I'm happy you got some FARTS before you had to leave.

 

[Steppesister]

Nope. Didn't post a thing. Due to the nature of this trip, I felt bad posting anything about what a good time I was having when the original participant was stuck at home in sub zero temperatures.

OH that's too bad. Sorry she wasn't able to make it out.

Well the first was on RSR, but the rest you'll have to wait until I post it!

Well, okay then!! LOL!

Whew, I'm finally caught up. Loved seeing the color photos. I enjoyed them on FB too. Very creative idea. I'm happy you got some FARTS before you had to leave.

I'm so glad it was fun for you too! I love coming up with new ways to find little hidden details I wouldn't see otherwise or in a new light. I was SO sad to not have had time to find Danielle! I HAD to be on my way out of the park by noon and had JUST enough time to grab some notecards for someone at the IG shop on the way out. I probably only missed her by an hour or less.

 

[Steppesister]

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

Marcia and I had enjoyed a delightful day at AK, just to remind you all where I’d left off far too many weeks ago. And this, Friends, brings me to a transition point of that trip almost a year ago. It really shouldn’t surprise any of you that it’s taken me this long to do a TR. I’m slow because life goes on outside of the DIS. I know… shocker.

As I said, the evening would bring a transition with the arrival of my parents who would join Marcia and me in the Coronado room. Unfortunately, my folks’ flight was delayed by quite a bit and instead of arriving at 8:00PM, it was closer to 11:00. When they knocked on the door, Marcia was sound asleep and the ruckus of them settling in didn’t phase her one bit. 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. 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. I knew myself how bad it was when, after travelling all day and being exhausted, she literally could not get up onto the bed. It was just too high. After several futile attempts and feelings of dread and “what now?” Mom and Dad came up with the solution of turning the trash can on its side and using it as a stepstool. Genius!

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.

And now, here is where I am realizing that I had my timeline completely messed up. I’m sure you’ll forgive me, but it does reinforce my notion that TR's don’t really have to follow a chronological order. And, in this case, it also falls into my favor. I’m further along in this TR than I had thought when I started looking at the photos for this chapter. But it also means I need to go back and fill in a few holes with some of the more amusing moments.

We did not rope drop AK the following morning (the photos from which I’ve already shown you, which makes me wonder if what any of what I have written was completely fiction?) but close to it. Back then, lines were still very short and manageable, so we wandered in sometime after that lackluster breakfast from the CSR QS place. Remember that shriveled up and desiccated sausage? The timestamp on my first AK photo was 10:19, so maybe we’d arrived at 10:00? Neither my mom nor Marcia could ride FOP, but my dad and I sure could, and I couldn’t WAIT to have him try it out. We ended up having to wait about an hour I think, quite possibly less, but I assured him it was well worth it.

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, but of course we stayed the rest of the day. That meal I showed you from Satuli? Yeah, they were with us then too, and 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. It was nice and relatively quiet in there and we all really enjoyed our meals.

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.

So, first off, this was our one and only rainy day. Not the whole day, but we got a nice little thunder soaker not long after Dad and I got off FOP. We did have ponchos, but this really made my mom cranky. I assured her we’d dry out quickly, but I’m not sure she was buying it. I suggested we go visit the baby gorilla and explore the Harambe Trail. 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. 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?”

She was beet red and so embarrassed, but holy crap, I about wet myself. I think he should have asked ME if *I* was okay too! This was far from the only time she struggled with how to drive that silly thing. Jumping ahead to one of our bus trips, perhaps it was even that afternoon going back to Coronado to freshen up for dinner, she was trying to park it on the bus, (Let’s all give her credit for trying… it is NOT easy!!!) she did it again- mistaking the throttle as a brake. 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.”

Anyway, we finished up our trail explorations and it wasn’t long before we were dry and headed back to CSR for a rest. Since there aren’t very many photos in this update already (because I screwed up my timeline in past chapters and you’ve seen the ones from that day in AK) I’m going to include the very few I have from our dinner at the Boathouse. 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!





Both Marcia and I ordered wine and Mom and Dad had water and Coke. Along with my wine I ordered the Duo Dips and Chips, Pimento Cheese, Fresh Salsa Roja, White Corn Tortilla Chips $8.5 for us all to share. Not the most amazing starter, but it gave us something to nibble on nonetheless. I have ZERO idea what anyone else ordered but am going to guess Mom and Dad ended up with some fish dish that they split. I don’t recall them being overly impressed. 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. Sorry if that's TMI, but I strive for nothing but honesty in this report. Most of the time.







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>

We lingered at the table enjoying the setting sun and vibe of the Springs in general, not only because we wanted to, but because our server held us hostage for at least 30 minutes after we were done with the check. I have NO idea what took her so long, but it took far longer to cash out than it should have.









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 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 on that exceedingly long trek to the stop. Eventually, we made it and got all tucked in for the night. Marcia gave me some earplugs to use and it was the best night’s sleep I’d gotten the entire trip.

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.

 

[missjackiemcg]

This chapter could've been the scooter follies Your mom's bus debacle reminded me of a lady trying to park her scooter on one of the buses after a long night at MK. She hit the gas, jumped the ramp and ran full force into the bus, knocking a piece of the front end of her scooter. The bus driver had a similar reaction--he just asked her to stand to the side, put the broken parts into her basket and masterfully got her scooter onboard. I felt so bad for her, but it was hilariously funny at the same time!

 

[Steppesister]

This chapter could've been the scooter follies Your mom's bus debacle reminded me of a lady trying to park her scooter on one of the buses after a long night at MK. She hit the gas, jumped the ramp and ran full force into the bus, knocking a piece of the front end of her scooter. The bus driver had a similar reaction--he just asked her to stand to the side, put the broken parts into her basket and masterfully got her scooter onboard. I felt so bad for her, but it was hilariously funny at the same time!

LOL!!! I could feel his eyes rolling into the back of his head! They probably see this multiple times a day and just cringe. It IS both horrifying and funny at the same time.

 

[juniorbugman]

I am here and reading along I just don't comment. I do enjoy reading about your journeys.

 

[GreatBiscuit]

Trying, GB! Trying. Lots of moving parts and more to come. I bought a "Mighty Wifi" and it seems to be working pretty well. Plenty of speed, although I haven't tried to stream a movie yet. Just don't have time.

How was your trip?

It was amazing!! Doing my TR in video form. Just uploaded the first one to my YT channel.

Glad you got a solution. We use a MiFi at the radio station to stream our away games. It works really well.

 

[irene_dsc]

Still here, even tho I rarely comment - sorry! Those scooter mishaps are a bit scary!

 

[GreatBiscuit]

Oh my! Sorry to hear about your mom’s knee. Andattempt at vehicular homicide. Glad you both survived. I’ve been the guy in the tub at 4 AM when I was kid at my grandmas house at Christmas with all my extended family.

That ain’t fun.

Love the pics of Disney Springs

 

[Steppesister]

It was amazing!! Doing my TR in video form. Just uploaded the first one to my YT channel.

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

Glad you got a solution. We use a MiFi at the radio station to stream our away games. It works really well.

The folks who recommended it thought I'd need an antenna, but so far so good without.

Oh my! Sorry to hear about your mom’s knee. Andattempt at vehicular homicide. Glad you both survived.

LOL! She's all better now and walks great!

I’ve been the guy in the tub at 4 AM when I was kid at my grandmas house at Christmas with all my extended family.

That ain’t fun.

Nope! Really, it's NOT! Those earplugs saved the day, er, night.

Love the pics of Disney Springs

Thanks!! Love the vibe there. For as much fun as I poke at the name change, I really do like what they've done to it.

 

[Steppesister]

Still here, even tho I rarely comment - sorry! Those scooter mishaps are a bit scary!

Just glad you're here! Thanks for checking in!

Yes, they are. I saw someone get really clobbered in AK a few trips back; awful!

 

[Steppesister]

I am here and reading along I just don't comment. I do enjoy reading about your journeys.

Thanks for chiming in and dropping a line! It's good to know there's still a few out there who are enjoying it.