Disney, Day Two (a.k.a. Our Day at Epcot)

I must admit that we arranged much of this trip around food. The best reviewed restaurant in Epcot is Le Cellier in the Canada pavillion and it's so popular that we could only get a lunch reservation at any point during our stay. As a result, day two at Disney World was Epcot day with a delicious lunch. In the morning we went to Test Track where we did some baby swapping so both Matthew and I could ride. After lunch we walked around about half of the World Showcase and then got hot (even though it's September, Florida was still running in the mid 90s) so we took the boat back to Future World in search of air conditioning.

That evening we went to the Land pavillion and rode Soarin' -- a must-see if you're ever at Epcot. It's not a thrill ride, but it's truly awesome. It's too bad Benji couldn't ride it. We also went to Turtle Talk with Crush at which Crush from "Finding Nemo" completely interacts with the audience. I have no idea how they did that and Crush was really funny. Overall the Magic Kingdom is still more fun for Benjamin, but Epcot is our second-favorite of the four parks there. I've always liked it since it opened in the early '80s and it still pleases.


While Mommy rode Test Track at Epcot, Benji test drove a new GTO in the showroom.


Or does he look more at home behind the wheel of a Hummer?


Matthew and Benji both wore Blue Jays outfits for our lunch at Le Cellier, the wonderful restaurant in Epcot's Canada.


Despite the many rides at Disney World, climbing on the stroller is still a favorite activity.


I love this place!


Benjamin decided to do a bit of exploring of Epcot on his own.

Disney World, here we come!

We (and I really mean mostly I) have been looking forward to the trip to Disney World for months. We called this trip our "cruise on land" since we were staying on premises, our tickets covered all our entertainment for the week, and our off-season deal included all of our meals for free (including expensive delicious meals at Epcot). And I must say that this was the way to go. No hassle, all-inclusive, and long enough to relax instead of rushing through two parks a day.

We arrived at Disney World in the early afternoon on Saturday, so we had plenty of time to go to the parks and get our bearings. Benjamin was taking a nap when we arrived at the Magic Kingdom so we headed over to Pirates of the Carribean, thinking he might sleep through the ride. He woke up in the line, but we went on anyway. During the ride I think he got a bit scared so he stood up on my lap and grabbed me tightly around the neck. Once he was holding on to Mommy, though, he seemed very content and curious about everything. After that, we headed over to Fantasyland, where we tried out "it's a small world", the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, and a play area for little kids. In the evening we took the monorail over to Epcot for our dinner reservation in the Living Seas attration.


Benji's a real take-charge guy, reading the map and telling us how to get to Fantasyland.


Benjamin was quite taken by "it's a small world". During our trip, we ended up going on "small world" four times. When the boat would go from one room to the next, Benji was never quite sure if he wanted to look back at the room we were leaving or see what was coming next.


We found a great little playground area in Fantasyland where Benji could get out and crawl. We came back several times during the week.


The play area was Pooh themed, with honey pots to climb through, a treehouse-themed slide, and a water play area with fountains in the ground. Apparently Daddy needed some crawling time, too.


The first time we visited the play area, Benji was a bit suspicious of the water area. He was very curious about the fountains and would crawl up to them but he wouldn't get too close to the highest fountain. As the week wore on and he got more familiar he would crawl up to all of the fountains. It's funny how he hates having water on his head in the bathtub but would let the fountains sprinkle on his head.


Benji left us behind to check out the castle on his own.


Our first evening we ate dinner at the Coral Reef, the restaurant inside the Living Seas pavillion. Although we didn't get a seat next to the fish tank, the food was great. The mahi mahi was delicious, and Benjamin agreed.


After a long day of flying to Florida and exploring both the Magic Kingdom and Epcot, Benji fell asleep on the way home to the hotel.

To whet your appetite

Our Relatives Like A Nice Dozing Off.

In all likelihood, no posts in HPS for the week or so. (Except every time I say this, Kim or I finds a way to post anyway, so I'm probably lying.)

Two teeth

Since there is always great interest in Benjamin's dental progress, here are a few shots of his two pearly whites. These are from about two or three weeks ago so the second tooth has pretty much caught up to the first now. However, this is a rare time when he had a "tooth and a half" and I thought you all would enjoy this view.

The end of an era

Last night I saw a disturbing commercial. It showed landmarks across the country and happy people with their Macy's shopping bags. And at the end it said something about how wonderful it is that Macy's is now across the country. It disturbs me that this now means the end of a great business and experience with the closing of Marshall Field's. And it disturbs me that so many other established regional department stores are now gone, too. These stores date back to a different era, when shopping was an outing, not something to run in and out as quickly as possible. They had elegant cafes or tea rooms, exceptional selection, and arrays of goods in enticing displays. I dare you to find that in the average suburban mall.

Many of these classics were also founded on, and continued to provide, excellent customer service. It was Marshall Field who originally said the famous mantra "the customer is always right" and you felt that in Field's. My mom may not know the sales clerks by name, but they know who she is and what products she likes. When I come home to visit, the clerks are happy to meet me since they've seen all my Christmas presents as Mom was shopping through the year. I feel nothing like that at Macy's.

Now, while I am biased and I think that Marshall Field's was the best, other great downtown department stores have made their mark on communities. Shortly before we moved to Richmond, there were two classic department stores downtown, Thalheimer's and Miller & Rhodes. People from this area still tell stories of the service and the experience. There's a nice PBS special about them that I've seen a few times. I'm sure in other cities across the country one would find similar stories of a bygone era.

It's just sad that this era seems to have come to its final end as Macy's completes the conversion of Field's and many other regional stores. While I don't think Benjamin and I would ever have mother-son bonding time while shopping, I would have liked for him to have experienced the Christmas windows and some of the ambience. It truly is the end of an era.


A few parting shots from our Chicago visit this summer:

My Iowa tripologue

After my visit to Grandma and Grandpa, we drove to a new state for me, Iowa, to visit Gramma and Grampa. It was so great to be able to see all these people who love me so much!


After being stuck in the car all day, it sure was nice to have some time outside at the band concert with Gramma.


Grampa had a good seat at the concert, too.


Gramma and Grampa had a special treat for me with the bouncy chair. I loved how much I could bounce around!


Mommy and Daddy took me to a wedding in Minnesota. I'm so smart that I can read the program and sing along for the songs.


I had my very own placecard at the wedding reception! I also tasted several new fruits -- grapes and cantaloupe -- from my kids meal.


I love interesting ceilings and this atrium was the best.


Gramma took me around to visit and meet her friends at the wedding.


Mommy, Daddy, and me.



Peek-a-boo!


I still love to bounce!


Can we get a hammock like Gramma's at our house?


Bye bye, Gramma and Grampa! Thanks for a great visit!


This vacation was my last time in my baby car seat. I look so much bigger than when I came home from the hospital in it.

In the future, everyone will have a 15-minute CD.

Let's say you're a musician. Like every musician, you've recorded a few tracks, and like every musician, you want to produce a CD. Of course you want this CD available on Amazon for people to purchase, and of course you want this CD available on iTunes for people to buy individual tracks.

The problem: You only have $100.

Amazingly, this is what you can do with about $100:

* get set up at Amazon Advantage, which means your CD will actually be in stock at Amazon for them to dropship ($30)

* get your CD set up at iTunes (free, amazingly!)

* get 40 copies of your CD produced, with full-color CD printing, full-color CD insert, full-color tray card, a UPC bar code, and shrinkwrapped ($64, plus $15 or so S&H)

That simply boggles my mind -- that for just over $100, you could practically be a legitimate recording artist. I am sure there is something useful to be done with this information, and I hope to someday figure out what.

"God said to Noah, 'There's gonna be a floody, floody...'"

...but not around where we live -- our end of Richmond got away pretty unscathed. On the other hand, 20 percent of the Richmond area has been without power for the past eight hours or so, there's a lot of street flooding, a couple neighborhoods had to be evacuated, and football games had to be postponed (gasp!). It's not a lot of fun, certainly, but at least it's no Isabel.

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Music? Without handbells? Pish posh.

Occasionally, because I am that wild and crazy of a guy, I will write music that does not use handbells. So a couple weeks ago, I finished a choral octavo for the hymn "Sleep! Holy Babe," which I've always liked the words to while finding the music ho-hum. (Which is why, y'know, I came up with my own music.) So here is a decent midi realization of "Sleep! Holy Babe," with strings covering the vocal lines and harp covering the harp/piano part.