Reprieve

The original plan for Saturday was to go to Universal Studios and leave Orlando from there.

By Saturday morning i was too tired to think, and we changed the plan. First we packed the van, because we had to be out of the room by 11am anyway. Since #1 Son and #2 Son wanted to go to Universal more than the rest of us, we bought them tickets over the phone that they could print out when they got there, got them a shuttle reservation, gave them cash for food and to pay the shuttle driver, and sent them on their way. The rest of us turned our 7 day Disney Park Hopper passes into 8 day passes for only $5 per person. We got a reprieve, and got to spend a bit more time on site.

Little Girl was thrilled and took off for Space Mountain, over and over. Bigger Girl, Sweetie and i rode and played wherever we wanted. They ate hot dogs, which they hadn't done since we arrived. In a move very rare for me, i played child and had Rice Dream, a vegan "ice cream" that has no sugar but only agave. Isn't that every child's dream, to be able to eat ice cream instead of a meal?

The three of us went back to Epcot again to wander more, and ate Moroccan when we got hungry. Sweetie always talks about how he doesn't like Middle Eastern cooking much, and he hates curry as well, but he actually enjoyed this. By the end of the meal we got a call from the boys, they were on their way back. Little Girl also checked in about then, wondering when and where to meet us.

We met up at Old Port Royale where the shuttle dropped the boys off. Because we had just enough meals left on the meal plan, everyone ate one more time so we wouldn't waste the money my father had already spent on it. #2 Son changed his wet clothes, everyone went to the rest room one more time, and we were on the road at around 5:15pm.

Since i had gotten directions, it was easy to find our way back to the toll road, then the turnpike, then the interstate. Once on the interstate system it's very hard to get lost and we practically flew, with only one stop, to Tallahassee. The nice young man at the hotel even remembered us, and they put us back in the same two rooms we had stayed in before.

Because we had left so late, it was close to 10pm by the time we checked in and got to a restaurant. Bedtime was close to midnight, another long day, but we were on the way home.


Today is:

Absolutely Incredible Kid Day

Campfire Girls Day

Evacuation Day -- Suffolk County, Massachusetts, US

Green Ribbon Day

Kustonu Diena -- Ancient Latvian Calendar (no planting today, to ward off insects)

Make Your Own Web Page Day

Submarine Day

St. Gertrude's Day (patron of travelers and protector of gardeners)

St. Joseph of Arimathea's Day (patron of funeral directors, pallbearers, tin miners)

Saint Patrick's Day -- a public holiday in the Canadian Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Montserrat, and Ireland, and widely celebrated throughout the world.

Trefuilnid Treochair (Feast of Triple Bearer of the Triple Key) -- Ireland (Ireland's National Day)

Violet Day


Anniversaries Today:

Wellesley Female Seminary is established, 1870
Franklin D. Roosevelt marries Eleanor Roosevelt, 1905


Birthdays Today:

Caroline Corr, 1973
Mia Hamm, 1972
Rob Lowe, 1964
Arye Gross, 1960
Gary Sinise, 1955
Kurt Russell, 1951
Patrick Duffy, 1949
John Sebastian, 1944
Paul Kantner, 1941
Rudolf Nureyev, 1938
Nat "King" Cole, 1919
Bobby Jones, 1902
Shemp Howard, 1895


Today in History:

In his last victory, Julius Caesar defeats the Pompeian forces of Titus Labienus and Pompey the Younger in the Battle of Munda, BC45
Marcus Aurelius dies leaving Commodus as the sole emperor of the Roman Empire, 180
Led by Muhammad, the Muslims of Medina defeat the Quraysh of Mecca in the Battle of Badr, 624
Edward, the Black Prince is made Duke of Cornwall, the first Duchy made in England, 1337
Saint Patrick's Day is celebrated in New York City for the first time (at the Crown and Thistle Tavern), 1756
George Washington grants the Continental Army a holiday "as an act of solidarity with the Irish in their fight for independence," 1780
The Italian Republic, with Napoleon as president, becomes the Kingdom of Italy, with Napoleon as King, 1805
Henry Jones of Bristol patents "self-raising" flour, 1845
Stephen Perry of London patents the rubber band, 1845
John Joseph Montgomery makes the first glider flight, in Otay, California, 1884
The first practical submarine leaves the dock at NYC and submerges for one hour forty minutes, 1898
A showing of seventy-one Vincent van Gogh paintings in Paris, 11 years after his death, creates a sensation, 1901
Luther Gulick and his wife Charlotte found Camp Fire Girls (now Camp Fire USA), 1910
Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley announce the creation of element 98, which they name "Californium", 1950
Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, flees Tibet for India, 1959
Golda Meir becomes the first female Prime Minister of Israel, 1969