Joyful June: Through Despair and Hope, Through Faith and Love (Orlando: Part 1)
Part 1 of our Orlando trip!
On Monday morning, we caught the plane out to Florida; it took all day, and I found myself next to a man on the plane who slept almost all the way, missing lunch completely. When he did wake up, and wasn't listening to headphones, he was quite friendly; even put some of my litter in a bag with his (a good thing: when people are helpful).
I was trying to reframe some of my worries, like thinking about what could go wrong when flying, just remembering that disasters are very rare, and reminding myself that everything should be all rihgt.
When we got to our hire car though, things got more difficult, as it wasn't big enough for us and our cases, and after we asked for a new one, we were directed to a space that contained some random car from Texas that appeared to belong to someone else. More worries an anxieties to try and put into perspective.
So, we went back another time, and were eventually taken to a decent sized car, but the whole thing seemed to have taken over an hour, and we were relieved to get to our hotel room. It was quite a nice spacious one, with an amazing view.
I like the way they fold up the towels to look like swans; whether it's in good taste (one of the new photo_scavenger prompts) is a matter of opinion (I like it).
We had a look at the hotel, and even had a quick drink outside the pool, and then went to bed.
Looking for things that give me joy in Animal Kingdom:
This tree makes an amazing centre point.
Then, this brilliant costume.
Also, monkeys.
The exciting stuff about Animal Kingdom this year was all the new Avatar-related stuff that they had added; the simulation was worth waiting for, although the ride queue had two random kids who would show up at random points, just sitting by the queuing area with no sign of parents, staring at their phones (something that makes me almost despair for younger generations). The river ride was less interesting, feeling too short - and too tame.
I was starting to let my chimp get the better of me towards the end of the day; things getting to me with other people, and then in the restaurant we went to I was given a 6oz steak when I'd ordered 10oz.
So, with all the little frustrations that threaten to put a damper on the trip...
I wrote down three things I am grateful for:
1) Jesus;
2) Family who care for and understand me; and
3) Having lots of good friends (more good things).
We spent the day at volcano bay, the new Universal water park today; it was an okay place, but certain aspects made me realise you can't beat the Disney water parks; a chaotic lazy river for example, and staff who don't seem quite as friendly (one did blank me when I tried to ask for help). I confess that I did manage to lead family in the wrong direction at one point, and took them all around the park trying to find one particular spot. I was getting frustrated at Mum around the end, and saying things I regretted, but we eventually got over it at all, and went to visit the Irish pub near the hotel, and then had a walk around outside.
Here's Volcano Bay.
On Monday morning, we caught the plane out to Florida; it took all day, and I found myself next to a man on the plane who slept almost all the way, missing lunch completely. When he did wake up, and wasn't listening to headphones, he was quite friendly; even put some of my litter in a bag with his (a good thing: when people are helpful).
I was trying to reframe some of my worries, like thinking about what could go wrong when flying, just remembering that disasters are very rare, and reminding myself that everything should be all rihgt.
When we got to our hire car though, things got more difficult, as it wasn't big enough for us and our cases, and after we asked for a new one, we were directed to a space that contained some random car from Texas that appeared to belong to someone else. More worries an anxieties to try and put into perspective.
So, we went back another time, and were eventually taken to a decent sized car, but the whole thing seemed to have taken over an hour, and we were relieved to get to our hotel room. It was quite a nice spacious one, with an amazing view.
I like the way they fold up the towels to look like swans; whether it's in good taste (one of the new photo_scavenger prompts) is a matter of opinion (I like it).
We had a look at the hotel, and even had a quick drink outside the pool, and then went to bed.
Looking for things that give me joy in Animal Kingdom:
This tree makes an amazing centre point.
Then, this brilliant costume.
Also, monkeys.
The exciting stuff about Animal Kingdom this year was all the new Avatar-related stuff that they had added; the simulation was worth waiting for, although the ride queue had two random kids who would show up at random points, just sitting by the queuing area with no sign of parents, staring at their phones (something that makes me almost despair for younger generations). The river ride was less interesting, feeling too short - and too tame.
I was starting to let my chimp get the better of me towards the end of the day; things getting to me with other people, and then in the restaurant we went to I was given a 6oz steak when I'd ordered 10oz.
So, with all the little frustrations that threaten to put a damper on the trip...
I wrote down three things I am grateful for:
1) Jesus;
2) Family who care for and understand me; and
3) Having lots of good friends (more good things).
We spent the day at volcano bay, the new Universal water park today; it was an okay place, but certain aspects made me realise you can't beat the Disney water parks; a chaotic lazy river for example, and staff who don't seem quite as friendly (one did blank me when I tried to ask for help). I confess that I did manage to lead family in the wrong direction at one point, and took them all around the park trying to find one particular spot. I was getting frustrated at Mum around the end, and saying things I regretted, but we eventually got over it at all, and went to visit the Irish pub near the hotel, and then had a walk around outside.
Here's Volcano Bay.