From Huggin' Molly to Hugging Mickey

While resting from our genealogical ‘work,’ we decided to get our twin grandsons a week early in preparation for the upcoming Disney trip.  They have never been to Disney or stayed with us in the RV so it was going to be new experiences for all of us.  Mama was still finishing school (she’s a teacher) but they had just finished their last day.

We planned on keeping them ‘fresh’ for Disney so they would not have to make the hard two-day drive with mom and dad in the car.  Our plan was to let them swim every day to keep the natural energy at manageable levels for Gran and Bibi.

Our first stop with them is where we are currently located on Lake Eufala for a couple of days.  While there, we wanted to introduce them to ‘cooking their own supper.’  This involved long campfire forks and all-beef wieners roasted over a campfire; followed by toasted marshmallows for dessert.  They just looked at me like I had lost my mind when I announced they would not eat if they did not cook.  Long story, short; they had a blast and thought it pretty ‘cool’ they were entrusted with food and fire.

We also had a 'scavenger' hunt for the boys.  They were truly dedicated to their tasks as evidenced in the picture below.  

Studying the scavenger list for items to check off.

Before we leave White Oak Creek Campground, I have a question for you.  Do you notice anything unusual in the picture below.  It is the interior of one of the campground's restrooms which is marked ADA compliant on the front door.

What's wrong with this ADA room?

Well it struck me odd the soap dispenser is very high.  It is even high for someone standing who is an adult.  It is almost impossible for an eight year old munchkin to reach and I'm pretty sure someone in a wheelchair (I have experience in this area due to breaking my leg and surgery) can only sit there and wonder why.

We next made a move towards Santa Rosa Beach, Florida for a few days before beginning our trek southward toward Disney World.  This particular area of the Gulf Coast has the whitest sand beaches and the clearest emerald green waters.  Truly a beautiful area and we chose to stay a few days in Topsail Hill Preserve State Park.  

Upon arrival we had indications that something might be awry.  The car would not start after it was unhooked from the RV.  The battery had gone down, even though it receives a charge from the RV when being towed.  After putting the trickle charger on it and letting it rest, it did start and we had no other issues while in the area.

Days spent at the beaches proved informative, fun and very interesting.  First of all, the two boys' personalities are very different.  The one with all the energy and inability to remain still was the first one to declare he was ready to leave the beach each day.  While the quieter more introverted personality was still whooping it up and having too much fun to leave.  Who woulda thunk it?  Certainly not me!

Somebody's getting buried while the other continues in the water.

Fun, fun, fun!!!

Yippee!

We found some small body surfing boards to use and found out that was the best $20 investment in fun times we could ever make.  These guys had a blast learning to watch the waves to catch the biggest and best.  In a very short time they became quite proficient at riding waves all the way into the shore.  We were very glad to have the outside shower connection on the rig to rinse off the sand prior to entering the rig after each visit to the beach.

The day came to head to Disney, so we rolled up the camp and hooked up the car to begin our trek.  We had one stop in our two day drive.  During the first day while driving on I-10 we heard a loud BANG and felt a big BUMP in our backsides.  For the first time in my 20+ years of driving a Class A motorhome, I experienced a blowout on a tire.

Yes, that is a hole from a blowout!

The great news is it was the outer rear dual on the driver’s side and we were able to safely pull over to inspect and assess our situation.  The second part of the great news is we were only one mile from an exit and close to a larger city.  If you have ever traveled I-10 in the panhandle of Florida, you know that these type of exits are few and far between.  God definitely watched over us and kept us safe.

The best news of all is we have Roadside Assistance with Good Sam that allowed me to make a single telephone call for help.  The lady on the other end was very helpful and found our location on a map enabling her to look for repair help.  In just a short time, she had located, secured and arranged for help calling me back with the information.  The serviceman and new tire arrived within the time frame promised and he quickly had the old tire removed and new tire mounted.  All told, the entire ‘lost’ time cost us about 3 hours.  Not bad considering it could have been much worse.

When we arrived at our overnight stop, it was already late and dark.  Being tired, I forgot to turn off the key on the car and woke up the next day to a completely dead battery on the car.  God and a Good Samaritan RV neighbor in the park came to the rescue once again.  The neighbor had a battery charger with a built in boost to crank cars.  With his help, we cranked the car so I could drive a few miles down the road to have the battery tested.  Sure enough it needed replacing (as hinted a few days earlier) and so we bought a new battery.

Finally with a new car battery, a new tire on the RV we were ready to make our entrance to Fort Wilderness Campground at Disney World.  I decided to wait until after the Disney experience to address the situation with the remaining five RV tires.

Upon entering the registration area, I was encouraged to hear from the person checking us in that we had a very good site and location.  Sure enough, when we moved to the site her declaration was confirmed as accurate.  We were in a loop very close to one of the campground stores, a swimming pool, activity location where the nightly campfire sing-a-long and movie showing take place.  Not to mention, a bus stop is only 150 yards from our front door.

Our arrival day was spent exploring these areas but when we got to the swimming hole, the bottom fell out of the sky and we were trapped under the pavilion/snack shop area.  Luckily one of the lifeguards decided to play Disney trivia with those of us ‘trapped’ during the rainstorm which was fun.  We all got our first Mickey ‘ears’ (what we call the Mickey Mouse shaped vanilla dipped into chocolate ice cream bar) of our visit.  When Bibi wanted to take our picture to send to mama, she told us to hold up our Mickey ears for a picture.  To which Shawn replied, ‘my ears are gone.’  Sure enough as you can see, he had already devoured that much of the bar before the rest of us could even take a bite.

I think they like the 'ears' - who wouldn't?

Our second day involved introducing the boys to the Disney transportation system and giving them an overview of what they would be seeing and experiencing without going into any of the parks.  We did not want to use a day of their park tickets until mom and dad arrived.  So we rode a boat launch to Magic Kingdom from Fort Wilderness, rode a monorail around the resorts from Magic Kingdom, took a bus to Port Orleans Riverside resort, rode the river boat to Disney Springs, ate and looked through a bunch of stores then finally took the bus back to Fort Wilderness and the campground bus back to our bus stop inside the campground.

Very first Disney Transportation ride.

While at Disney Springs, Shawn built a Lego car and he came in second in a race with other Lego car builders.  He was quite proud of his accomplishment.  Konnor spent his Lego time with Mr. Potato Head inside the store with AC to Bibi’s relief.  The humidity was pressing down on us this day.  After a brief swim, mom and dad showed so we all met up to attend the Hoop-De-Doo show and dinner.  We had a great time and the boys whooped, hollered and laughed during the show; especially when yours truly was chosen to be picked on by one of the lady performers in the show.

Proud of the creation and race results.

In the spotlight, notice everyone hoo-haaing at my expense?

The next day was the first day in the parks and the boys thought they were pretty cool when they could show mom and dad how to navigate the buses to/from the parks.  Interestingly, Florida has been experiencing a drought.  Since we arrived at Disney World, it has rained every day.  I do not mean sprinkle rain either, I mean rain, rain.  The ponchos have gotten quite a workout but it has not dampened the enthusiasm or spirit.  For their first visit, I can say they have had a blast.  The seemingly perfect age (8) to enjoy both the adult rides and the not-so-adult rides as well as understand most of what they experience.  They will remember this trip for their entire lives.

Scary snake faces

A little tailgating going on here.

The day to exit came and went with the grandsons leaving with mom and dad to head back home to Texas.  Gran and Bibi continued on eastward to the Atlantic Coast of Florida around Titusville and the Kennedy Space Center.  We decided to take a couple of weeks for R&R in preparation for moving on up the East Coast of the United States this trip.

Cinderella's castle fireworks show in Magic Kingdom

One more shot of fireworks show