Facing the End

We've gotten to watch parades, and fireworks, and shows, and eat, and ride the rides, and enjoy each other's company thoroughly.

The only thing missing is Grandma and Grandpa, we wish they and my two older ones were here.

Every place we turn, we remember things we did with them in previous visits.  Yes, i've gotten gifts to take home for them, except for Grandpa.  For him, i'm not so sure what to do.  He has everything he needs, and doesn't collects tchotchkes. 

Our last full day here before we head home is being spent doing our favorite things one last time.  It seems we just got there, and before we know it, it's time to face good-byes.  Why does that sound like a country music song?
 

Today is:

Adopt a Goblin Orphan Day -- Fairy Calendar

Blessed Wulfric's Day

Cherry Pie Day

Clean Out Your Bookcase Day -- supposedly begun in 1985, but i can't find information on who started it; donate books you don't need any more to a local friends of the library group

Flying Car Day -- the Arrowmobile, the first flying car, patented this day in 1937 (and can you imagine, as bad as driving is, how many accidents we would have if these people were flying around instead?)

Heritage Day -- Yukon Territory, Canada

Hoodie Hoo Day (Northern Hemisphere) -- at noon local time, citizens are requested to go outside and yell "Hoodie-Hoo" to chase away winter and call in spring; sponsored by Wellcat Holidays

Khajuraho Dance Festival -- Khajuraho, India (annual gathering of Indian classical dancers from across the country and abroad; through the 26th)

Love Your Pet Day -- a day to pamper pets, like they don't get pampered enough

National Handcuff Day -- at least, it was last year, www.nationalhandcuffday.com

St Leo of Catania's Day (a/k/a Leo the Wonderworker, Patron of Rometta, Longi, and Sinagra, Sicily)

Tokamachi Yukimatsuri -- Tokamachi, Niigata Prefecture, Japan (snow fest and kimono festival; through Sunday)

Toothpick Day -- first machine used to make them patented this day in 1872

Women in Blue Jeans Conference -- Mitchell, SD, US (celebrating women in agriculture; through tomorrow)

World Day for Social Justice -- UN


Anniversary Today:

John Cleese marries Connie Booth, 1968
US Post Office, 1792 (George Washington signed the act which created it)


Birthdays Today:

Rihanna, 1988
Andrew Shue, 1967
Lili Taylor, 1967
Cindy Crawford, 1966
French Stewart, 1964
Charles Barkley, 1963
Ron Eldard, 1963
James Wilby, 1958
Patty Hearst, 1954
Gordon Brown, 1951
Ivana Trump, 1949
Jennifer O'Neill, 1948
Peter Strauss, 1947
Brenda Blethyn, 1946
Sandy Duncan, 1946
Phil Esposito, 1942
Buffy Sainte-Marie, 1941
Nancy wilson, 1937
Bobby Unser, 1934
Sidney Poitier, 1927
Robert Altman, 1925
Gloria Vanderbilt, 1924
Carl E. Stotz, 1920
Gale Gordon, 1906
Ansel Adams, 1902
Joseph Jefferson, 1829
William Prescott, 1726


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Der Stellvertreter. Ein christliches Trauerspiel"(Play), 1963
"Barber of Seville"(Rossini Opera), 1816
"Giulio Cesare in Egitto"(Opera, HWV 17), 1724


Today in History:

Orkney and Shetland are pawned by Norway to Scotland so King Christian I can pay his daughter's dowry, 1472
An unnamed comet approaches withing 860,000 miles of Earth, the closest a comet has ever come to our planet, 1491
The first recorded wine auction is held, in London, 1673
The Postal Service Act, establishing the United States Post Office Department, is signed by President George Washington, 1792
Austria declares bankruptcy, 1811
Concepcion, Chile, is destroyed by an earthquake, 1835
The US Congress prohibits dueling in the District of Columbia, 1839
Luther Crowell patents a machine to manufacture paper bags, 1872
In New York City the Metropolitan Museum of Art opens, 1872
The first minor league baseball association is organised, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1887
King O'Malley drives in the first survey peg to mark commencement of work on the construction of Canberra, 1913
A new volcano, Paricutin, erupts in a farmer's cornfield in Mexico, 1943
The Avro Arrow program to design and manufacture supersonic jet fighters in Canada is cancelled by the Diefenbaker government amid much political debate, 1959
While aboard Friendship 7, John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit the earth, making three orbits in 4 hours, 55 minutes, 1962
Ranger 8 crashes into the moon after a successful mission of photographing possible landing sites for the Apollo program astronauts, 1965
The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization disbands, 1976
Texas industrialist Ross Perot's U.S. presidential campaign begins, 1992
Spain becomes the first country to vote in a referendum on ratification of the proposed Constitution of the European Union, passing it by a substantial margin, but on a low turnout, 2005
Estonia becomes the first country in the world to establish a national electric car charging network , with cars charging in less than 30 minutes, 2013

Sing along, everyone!

To be sung to the tune of "It's a Small World".

There is just one place underneath the sun

Where a Mouse brings big smiles to everyone;

There are shows, there are rides,

But from crowds you can't hide,

This is Disney after all!

Chorus:

This is Disney after all!

Fun for teens and children small!

Hear them scream and whine and bawl!

This is Disney World!

How we love Epcot and its countries fake,

And from Animal Kingdom we need a break;

First they give you a thrill,

Then they give you the bill!

This is Disney after all!

Repeat chorus.

(And my apologies to Walt, but i couldn't help it.)

Yes, we're still having fun, today it's horseback riding for the girls at the Fort Wilderness Campground/Circle D Ranch.

The other night, i stayed at the park long after the rest of the family had gone home and rode roller coasters in the rain.  My inner child is having the time of her life!
 

Today is:

Armed Forces Day -- Mexico

Birthday of Minerva -- Ancient Roman Calendar

Birth Anniversary of Shivaji -- Maharashtra, India

Chaoflux -- Discordianism

Chief Leschi Day -- US, especially Washington State (Native American chief wrongly executed for murder on this date in 1958; fully exonerated 2004)

Cracker Jacks Prize Day -- the first prizes were added to the boxes of caramel popcorn this date in 1913

Flag Day -- Turkmenistan

Fly-By for Goblins and others -- Fairy Calendar

Georgia National Rodeo -- Perry, GA (winners here qualify for the National Finals in December; through Saturday)

Lunar New Year/Chinese New Year/Lhosar/Seol-Nal/Tet -- celebrations throughout Asia before and after, some for up to a month; Confucian, Daoist, and Buddhist celebrations
     Sonam Lhosar -- Nepal (Tamang New Year)

Montreal Hunting, Fishing, & Camping Show -- Montreal, Canada (weekend long celebration of the outdoors)

Mother's Day -- Israel (Shevat 30)

National Chocolate Mint Day (because every day needs chocolate in some form)

Newport Seafood and Wine Festival -- Newport, OR, US (featuring seafood and wine from Oregon, Washington, California, and Idaho; through Sunday)

Ottawa Boat and Sportsmen's Show -- Ottawa, ON, Canada (weekend long celebration of all things outdoors)

Simplot Games -- Holt Arena, Idaho State University, Pocatello, ID, US (Indoor track and field for the top high school athletes from the US and Canada; through Saturday) 

Solar System Day -- birth anniversary of Copernicus

St. Conrad of Piacenza's Day -- (Patron against hernias)

Straw Wrapper Appreciation Day -- an internet spread holiday to remind you of how much fun it was as a kid to blow the wrappers off the straws

Temporary Insanity Day -- anniversary of the first time someone successfully pleaded temporary insanity in a court of law; Daniel Stickles, in 1859

Vassil Levski Day -- Bulgaria (Bulgaria's "Apostle of Freedome")


Anniversary Today:

Knights of Pythias founded, 1864


Birthdays Today:

Haylie Duff, 1985
Andrew Shue, 1967
Benicio Del Toro, 1967
Justine Bateman, 1966
Jonathan Lethem, 1964
Seal, 1963
Prince Andrew, Duke of York, 1960
Ray Winstone, 1957
Jeff Daniels, 1955
Margaux Hemingway, 1955
Amy Tan, 1952
Stephen Nichols, 1951
Lou Christie, 1943
Smokey Robinson, 1940
Lee Marvin, 1924
Merle Oberon, 1911 (some sources say Feb. 18)
Willam III, 1817 (last king of the Netherlands -- there have only been queens since)
David Garrick, 1717
Nicolas Copernicus, 1473


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"A Woman of Independent Means"(TV Miniseries), 1995
"Crazy For You"(Musical), 1992
"Eastenders"(TV), 1985
"Rumours"(Album release), 1977
The Feminine Mystique(Publication date), 1963
"Picnic"(Inge Play), 1953
"Alexander's Feast"(HWV 75), 1736


Today in History:

Emperor Lucius Septimius Severus' defeats beats Clodius Albinus at Lyon, 197
Emperor Constantius II shuts down all pagan temples, 356
The second Medieval Iconoclastic Controversy ends as a council in Constantinople formally reinstates veneration of icons in the churches, 842
Jews of Tyrnau, Hungary (then Trnava, Czech) are expelled, 1539
The Peruvian stratovolcano Huaynaputina explodes in the most violent eruption in the recorded history of South America, 1600
Britain and the Netherlands sign the Peace of Westminster, and New Amsterdam formally becomes New York, 1674
British explorer William Smith discovers the South Shetland Islands, and claims them in the name of King George III, 1819
The first practical coal burning locomotive in the US makes a trial run, in Pennsylvania, 1831
Tin-type camera is patented by Hamilton Smith of Gambier, Ohio, 1856
Daniel E. Sickles is acquitted of the murder of his wife's lover, Phillip Barton Key (son of Francis Scott Key), on the grounds of temporary insanity, the first time this defense is successfully used, 1859
Tsar Alexander II abolishes serfdom in Russia, 1861
Thomas Edison patents the gramophone (phonograph), 1878
Kansas becomes the first US state to prohibit all alcoholic beverages, 1881
WK Kellog and Charles Bolin found the Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flake Co., 1906
The first prize is inserted into a Cracker Jack box, 1913
Ed Wynn becomes the first talent to sign as a regular radio entertainer, 1922
Ezra Pound is awarded the first Bollingen Prize for poetry, 1949
Bill Keane's "Family Circus" comic strip makes its debut, 1960
Artificial heart recipient William J. Schroeder becomes the first such patient to leave hospital, 1985
The Soviet Union launches its Mir spacecraft, 1986
NASA's Mars Odyssey space probe begins to map the surface of Mars using its thermal emission imaging system, 2002
NASA loses communication with the International Space Station's for three hours as a result of updating the station's command and control software, 2013

If it's Tuesday, this must be Germany

We are having a great time, and there is so much coming and going, that i've lost track of a lot of it.  The one thing that has held is our meal reservations each day.  Those have kept me anchored in time.

Mardi Gras day yesterday was a hoot.  Every time we saw anyone with beads, we knew we were looking at people who understood, and yelled "Happy Mardi Gras!"  Most of the time, they returned the greeting, all of us laughing because we aren't in the middle of that touristy madness, we are in the middle of this touristy madness!

It has been very busy and crowded, so we've kept on our toes to take advantage of the fewer crowds in the early morning and late evening "extra magic hours."  So far, we've been able to see and ride pretty much everything, with the exception of poor Little Girl. who has sat out several rides to take care of Dre.  Sometimes he gets scared of the big rides at the last moment, and won't go on it.

Little Girl and i hung out together for a good while Monday night, though, and she got to see her favorites.  Then we met up with #2 Son, who had bought himself a pirate cutlass and pistol, as he put it, "To let my inner 10-year-old out to play!"  We then took all of our inner 10-year-olds to meet the Disney princesses Anna and Elsa.  Yes, he wanted to meet them, too!

And then yesterday, Mardi Gras was Tuesday, so yes, it was Germany for dinner.  Oktoberfest, anyone?

Today is:

Ash Wednesday -- Christian (beginning of the Lenten Fast)
     Oskudagur -- Iceland (with the special tradition of hanging oskupokar [ash bags] on people, as girls try to hang bags of ash on men's clothing, and boys try to hang bags of stones on women's clothing; begins Langafasta, and during the fast, you may not even mention meat at all)

Celtic Tree Month Nuin (Ash) begins

Clean Out Your Cubby Holes Day -- internet generated, but if you have any cubby holes, give them a look today, make sure nothing is in there you don't want to see

Cold Day in Hell -- snow fell in the Sahara today in 1979

Day of Spenta Armaiti -- Zoroastrian (goddess of earth and fertility, especially celebrated by women; originally on Esfand 5th, which corresponds to 24 February, but is now celebrated on the 18th for reasons i can't figure out)

Festival of Women -- Persian (traditional, it has been kept even among those who are no longer Zoroastrian)

Fly-By for Fairies and Elves -- Fairy Calendar

Hadaka Matsuri -- Inazawacho, Japan (thousands of loincloth-wearing men try to touch the closely guarded Shin-otoko [a man chosen, stripped naked, and shaved totally] as he is on his way to the shrine)

Independence Day -- Gambia(1965)

Lunar New Year's Eve
     Seol-nal -- South Korea (Lunar New Year Holiday begins)
     Spring Festival -- China; Taiwan (Chinese New Year's Eve, start of the festival)
     Tet Eve -- Vietnam

National Battery Day -- probably created by the battery manufacturers, but they won't claim it

National Crab Stuffed Flounder Day

Pluto Day/Solar System Day -- the planet/planetoid was discovered on this day in 1930, and then considered to "complete" the solar system

Rastraya Prajatantra Dibas -- Nepal (Democracy Day)

Rites of Tacita -- Ancient Roman Calendar (goddess of silence, rites to keep people from speaking out in anger)

Saidai-ji Eyo -- Saidai-ji, Okayama Prefecture, Japan (Spectacular and atmospheric naked festival dating back to the 14th century, in which up to 10,000 loincloth-wearing [and sometimes drunk] men battle for sacred wooden sticks [shingi] tossed into the air by priests.)

St. Bernadette of Lourdes' Day (in France; the remainder of the church celebrates her on 16 April)

St. Fra Angelico's Day (Patron of artists)

Tanigumi Odori -- Tanigumi-mura, Gifu Prefecture, Japan (dance festival)

Thumb Appreciation Day -- your first digit does more than just get mashed when you use a hammer and hit the space bar on your keyboard; take time to appreciate the complexity that is your thumb.

University Mental Health and Wellbeing Day -- UK (to focus on ensuring the positive wellbeing of people with mental health difficulties)
  
Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous -- Whitehorse, YT, Canada (mad trapper competition, flour packing, beard growing contest, old-time fiddle show, and more, with this year's theme being "The Magic and the Mystery"; through Sunday)



Anniversaries Today:

Tommy Lee marries Pamela Andersn, 1995
Ohio State University is chartered as the first US land-grant college, 1804


Birthdays Today:

Jillian Michaels, 1974
Molly Ringwald, 1968
Dr. Dre, 1965
Matt Dillon, 1964
Vanna White, 1957
John Travolta, 1954
Juice Newton, 1952
John Hughes, 1950
Cybill Shedherd, 1950
Andrea Dromm, 1941
Aldo Ceccato, 1934
Yoko Ono, 1933
Milos Forman, 1932
Toni Morrison, 1931
Gahan Wilson, 1930
George Kennedy, 1925
Helen Gurley Brown, 1922
Bill Cullen, 1920
Jack Palance, 1920
Hans Asperger, 1906
Enzo Ferrari, 1898
George "The Gipper" Gipp, 1895
Wendell Lewis Willkie, 1892
Boris Pasternak, 1890
Nikos Kazantzakis, 1883
Sholem Aleichem, 1859
Louis Comfort Tiffany, 1848
Ernst Mach, 1838
George Peabody, 1795
Count Alessandro Volta, 1745
Uesugi Kenshin, 1530 (Japanese samurai and warlord)
Mary I Tudor, 1516
Saint Jadwiga of Poland, 1374


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Roots: Next Generations"(TV Miniseries), 1979
"Any Wednesday"(Play), 1964
"The Telephone, or L'Amour à trois"(Comic Opera), 1947
Trouw(Publication, Dutch Resistance newspaper), 1943
"Simple Simon"(Musical), 1930
"Cities Service Concerts"(Radio), 1925
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn(Publication date), 1885
The Pilgrim's Progress(Publication date), 1678


Today in History:

Origin of the Kali Yuga Epoch ("age of vice" or Dark Age) of the Hindu/Buddhist calendars, BC3102
Jerusalem is taken by Emperor Frederik II, 1229
Amda Seyon I, Emperor of Ethiopia, begins his campaigns in the southern Muslim regions, 1332
Henry Tudor (Henry VIII) created Prince of Wales, 1503
Zeeland falls to Dutch rebels, 1574
John Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress" is published, 1678
Fort Saint Lewis, Texas, is founded by Frenchmen under LaSalle at Matagorda Bay, the basis for France's claim to Texas, 1685
Quakers conduct their first formal protest of slavery in Germantown, Pennsylvania, 1688
The premiere of George Frideric Handel's oratorio, "Samson" takes place in London, 1743
Trinidad is surrendered to a British fleet under the command of Sir Ralph Abercrombie, 1797
The Detroit Boat Club (still in existence) forms, 1839
The first continuous filibuster in the US Senate begins, lasts until March 11, 1841
The first regular steamboat service to California begins, 1849
A direct telegraph link between Britain and New Zealand is established, 1876
Mark Twain's "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" is published, 1885
The Cave of Winds at Niagara Falls goes almost dry for the first time in 50 years, 1896
Winston Churchill makes his first speech in the British House of Commons, 1901
H. Cecil Booth patents a dust removing suction cleaner, 1901
The first official flight with air mail takes place in Allahabad, British India, when Henri Pequet delivers 6,500 letters to Naini (a distance of about 10K), 1911
The US and Canada begin formal diplomatic relations, with the appointment of Vincent Massey as the first Canadian ambassador to the US, 1927
The first Academy Awards are announced, 1929
While studying photographs taken in January, Clyde Tombaugh discovers Pluto, 1930
The first Church of Scientology is established in Los Angeles, California, 1954
The Space Shuttle Enterprise test vehicle is carried on its maiden "flight" on top of a Boeing 747, 1977
Snow falls in the Sahara Desert in southern Algeria for the only time in recorded history, 1979
Dan Jansen skates world record 1000m (1:12.43), 1994
Pope Benedict XVI announces seven new saints - including American saint Kateri Tekakwitha - and appoints 22 new cardinals, 2012

Lions and Tigers and Gnus, Oh My!

We've done the Magic Kingdom, more than once, and found that when you go in the middle of the night, you get to do almost everything with no wait.

It doesn't quite work that way at the Animal Kingdom, but since all i like to do there is the safari ride, and the rest of the animals i can see on foot, that went great.  There were lions and tigers, gnus and okapi, rhinos and cheetahs and giraffes and zebras and, well, everything!  Except the bats, they had gone to bed already by the time i got there.

We've even been to Epcot, and are going back.

It's fun, and funny, and i'm still up late at night and up early in the morning.

The crash will come, but not yet, i'm too busy.

Mickey is waiting, gotta go!
 

Today is:

Day of Cancelled Expectations -- according to William Least Heat-Moon in his autobiography, Blue Highways

Dita e Pavaresise -- Kosovo (Independence Day)(2008)

Feast of Shezmu -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (god of the winepress; date approximate)

February 17 Revolution Day -- Libya

Hachinohe Enburi Matsuri -- Hachinohe, Japan (festival with prayers for a good harvest; through Wednesday)

International Pancake Day

Last day of Celtic Tree Month Luis (Rowan)

Maha Shivaratri -- Hindu (festival of Shiva; local observances and government official days off will vary)

Mardi Gras -- Fat Tuesday, Carnival, the last day to feast before the Lenten fast begins tomorrow, greeted with revelry in many parts of the world; related observances and names:
     Scotland, Fasten's E'en or Bannocky Day
     Portuguese, Terça-feira Gorda
     Italian, Martedì Grasso
     Swedish, Fettisdagen
     Danish, Fastelavn
     Norwegian, Fastelavens
     Estonian, Vastlapäev
     Spanish, Martes de Carnaval
     German, Faschingsdienstag
     Hawaiian, Malasada Day
     Lithuanian, Uzgavenes
     Icelandic, Sprengidagur (literally, Bursting Day)
     also Pancake Day or Bursting Day, the day to eat the last of the eggs and butter in the form of some kind of fried cakes, and to eat until bursting

My Way Day -- today, determine your identity all by yourself, apart from what other people say you should be; sponsored by Wellcat Holidays

National Cafe Au Lait Day

National Indian Pudding Day

National PTA Founders Day -- US

Practice Your Free Throws Day -- spread around the internet by someone who really loves basketball

Quirinalia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (a/k/a Feast of Fools)

Random Acts of Kindness Day -- US (unofficial, but a great idea) 
 
Shrove Tuesday -- Christian

Snow Ice Cream Day -- internet generated; if you want to try it, and are sure your snow is reasonably clean, add sugar, milk, a touch of vanilla, and enjoy

St. Fortchern of Trim's Day (Patron of bell-founders)

Tanis Diena -- Ancient Latvain Calendar (To honor pigs)



Anniversaries Today:

League of United Latin American Citizens (Lulac) Founded, 1929
Miami University is chartered by the State of Ohio, 1809


Birthdays Today:

Vanessa Atler, 1982
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, 1981
Paris Hilton, 1981
Jerry O'Connell, 1974
Bryan White, 1974
Billie Joe Armstrong, 1972
Denise Richards, 1972
Michael Forbes, 1967
Ronald "Bell Biv" DeVoe, 1967
Michael Jordan, 1963
Lou Diamond Phillips, 1962
Richard Karn, 1959
Rene Russo, 1954
Brenda Fricker, 1945
Jim Brown, 1936
Alan Bates, 1934
Barry Humphries (Dame Edna Everage), 1934
Lee Holby, 1926
Hal Holbrook, 1925
Arthur Kennedy, 1914
Clarence Lindon “Buster” Crabbe, 1908
Red Barber, 1908
Dorothy Canfield Fisher, 1879
William Cadbury, 1867
Samuel Sidney Mcclure, 1857
Friedrich A Krupp, 1854
A. Montgomery Ward, 1844
Rene Theophile Hyacinthe Laennec, 1781
Thomas Malthus, 1766
Arcangelo Corelli, 1653


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"A Prairie Home Companion"(Radio), 1979
BC(Comic Strip), 1958
"Madame Butterfly"(Puccini Opera), 1904
"Un Ballo in maschera"(Verdi Opera), 1859
"Siroe, re di Persia"(Handel HWV 24), 1728


Today in History:

Miles Standish is appointed the first commander of the Plymouth colony, 1621
The first volume of Gibbon's "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" is
published, 1776
The first ship passes through the Suez Canal, 1867
Women's suffragist Esther Morris is appointed the first female justice of the peace in the US, in South Pass City, Wyoming, 1870
Sardines are first canned, by Julius Wolff of Eastport, Maine, 1876
Madame Butterfly receives its première at La Scala in Milan, 1904
The first minimum wage law in the US takes effect, in Oregon, 1913
Johnny Weissmuller sets the 100-yard freestyle record (52.4 seconds), 1924
The first telecast of a sporting event in Japan, a baseball game, 1931
The first issue of "Newsweek" magazine is published, 1933
Vanguard 2 – The first weather satellite is launched to measure cloud-cover distribution, 1959
Sales of the Volkswagen Beetle exceed those of the Ford Model-T, 1972
Garry Kasparov beats the Deep Blue supercomputer in a chess match, 1996
Kosovo declares independence, 2008
In racing, Danica Patrick becomes the first woman at the Daytona 500 and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series to win pole position, 2013

No Sleep 'til Disney!

Schedule:

Friday, 4am, wake up

            6am, head to Bible Study

            8am, get to work, deliver flowers

            1:30pm, home to pack

            4:15pm, leave for vacation

            11:45pm, check into hotel for the night

Saturday, 4am, wake up

                6am, head out to drive the rest of the way to Orlando

                2pm, arrive an  hour later than expected because we forgot the time changes from Central to Eastern and we lose an hour

                3pm, let the kids go meet up with Uncle J, Brooke, and Dre while Sweetie books the very last dining reservation available at any Disney restaurant in the whole place

                4pm, go relax and explore until dinner at 9pm

                9pm, dinner

                11pm, go to the Magic Kingdom, where they are open until 3am for resort guests only, and ride on almost everything with no lines after midnight!

Sunday, 4:15am, finally get into bed

              8:15am, get up and the fun begins again!

Yes, 3 hours sleep between Friday at 4am and Sunday at 4am.  Can you tell i'm running on caffeine and adrenaline? 

Today is:

9-1-1 Day -- the first 911 call in North America was placed, demonstrating the new system, on this day in 1968

Akiyoshidai Yamayaki -- Akiyoshidai, Japan (dry grass on the mountain side is burned in this coming of spring ceremony; date subject to change)

Bonten Matsuri -- Miyoshi-jinja Shrine, Akita, Japan (two day festival to ask for good crops this year)

Chip Week begins -- UK (a general celebration of chips)

Do a Grouch a Favor Day -- internet generated attempt to get us to either get the  grouches on our side, or make us cynical

Family Day -- AB, ON, SK, Canada

Independence Day -- Lithuania (National Day/Restoration of Statehood)(1918)

Islander Holiday -- PEI, Canada

Kyoto Protocol Day -- International (treaty on climate change; today is proposed as "Wear purple for Kyoto Day")

Louis Riel Day -- MB, Canada

Lundi Gras -- Fat Monday, Carnival, one of the last to days to feast before the Lenten fast begins Wednesday
     Bolludagur -- Iceland (Bun Day, the children wake the parents with a "spanking" while calling for cream buns that will be eaten that day)
     Old Mask Parade -- Oranjestad, Aruba (with the Burning of the Momo tomorrow, marking the end of Carnival)
     Rosenmontag -- German-speaking Countries (Rose Monday, highlight of Karneval)

Maslenitsa -- Russia (between Meatfare Sunday and Cheesefare Sunday is Butter Week or Pancake Week, when you stuff yourself before the Orthodox Church Great Lent)

National Almond Day

Presidents' Day -- US and Territories

Respectable Tales of Kelp-Koli -- Fairy Calendar (5 minutes only) 

St. Juliana of Cumae's Day (Patron of the ill)

St. Onesimus' Day (runaway slave of Philemon, converted by Paul, of whom the Letter to Philemon was written)

Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show (through tomorrow)


Birthdays Today:

Christopher Eccleston, 1964
John McEnroe, 1959
Ice T, 1959
LeVar Burton, 1957
James Ingram, 1956
William Katt, 1951
Richard Ford, 1944
Barry Primus, 1938
Sonny Bono, 1935
Vera-Ellen, 1921
Patty Andrews, 1920
Jimmy Wakely, 1914
Hugh Beaumont, 1909
Richard McDonald, 1909
George Kennan, 1904
Edgar Bergan, 1903
Robert Joseph Flaherty, 1884
Johann Strauss, 1866
Nichiren, 1222
Emperor Yingzong of China, 1032


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"What's My Line"(TV Game Show), 1950
"Le Voyageur Sans Baggage"(Anouilh Play), 1937
"The Marquise"(Coward Play), 1927
Chung Sai Yat Po(Publication; first Chinese daily newspaper in US), 1900
"Werther"(Massenet Opera), 1892
Ladies' Home Journal(Publication), 1883
"Orpheus"(Liszt Opera), 1854
"Elegy Written in a Country Church Yard"(First Publication), 1751


Today in History:

9th recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet, 374
Pope Gregory the Great issues a decree saying that "God bless you" is the correct response to a sneeze, 600
English king Charles I accepts Triennial Act, requiring the king to assemble Parliament at least once every 3 years, 1641
The first known check (cheque) is written, for 400 English Pounds Sterling (currently on display at Westminster Abbey), 1659
Kentucky passes a law permitting women to attend school under certain conditions, 1838*
Weenen Massacre: Hundreds of Voortrekkers along the Blaukraans River, Natal are killed by Zulus, 1838
American Charles Wilkes discovers Shackleton Ice Shelf, Antarctica, 1840
The Battle of Sobraon ends the First Sikh War in India, 1846
Studebaker Brothers wagon company, precursor of the automobile manufacturer, is established, 1852
The French Government passes a law to set the A-note above middle C to a frequency of 435 Hz, in an attempt to standardize the pitch, 1859
The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks forms, 1868
The "Ladies Home Journal" begins publishing, 1883
The first Chinese daily newspaper in the US, Chung Sai Yat Po, begins publication in San Francisco, 1900
The first US Esperanto Club organizes in Boston, 1905
The first synagogue in 425 years opens in Madrid, Spain, 1917
Howard Carter unseals the burial chamber of Pharaoh Tutankhamun, 1923
The first patent is issued for a tree, to James Markham for a peach tree, 1932
Wallace H. Carothers receives a United States patent for nylon, 1937
Canadians are granted Canadian citizenship after 80 years of being British subjects. Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King becomes the first Canadian citizen, 1947
Britain abolishes the death penalty, 1956
Fidel Castro becomes Premier of Cuba after dictator Fulgencio Batista was overthrown on January 1, 1959
In Haleyville, Alabama, the first 9-1-1 emergency telephone system goes into service, 1968
The first computer bulletin board system is created (CBBS in Chicago, Illinois), 1978
The trial of John Demjanjuk, accused of being a Nazi guard dubbed "Ivan the Terrible" in Treblinka extermination camp, starts in Jerusalem, 1987
The Kyoto Protocol comes into force, following its ratification by Russia, 2005
The last Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH) is decommissioned by the United States Army, 2006


*This is the same US state that still has a law on its books requiring every resident to take a bath at least once a year, whether the person 
needs it or not!

Aloha, Friends!

So, to pick up the story, we connected with Uncle P and he got a hotel just past Pensacola.  By the time we got there, it was almost midnight.

We were up at 4am, and back on the road by 6, but not Uncle P.  He's a smart man, and stayed in bed!  So much, then, for us caravanning.

Sweetie wanted to drive, he really did.  He doesn't do well on long distance driving.  After about an hour, i took over for him, and he was asleep before he knew it.

We hardly stopped, and ended up at the Polynesian Village Resort at 1:30pm.  It was like arriving in paradise!

These people do everything big, and they do it right.  Our room was ready, checking in was a breeze, and some very helpful gentlemen emptied our vehicles and get every bag, of which we have tons, into our room.

Of course, you have to tip everyone, but hey, it's worth it!

#2 Son and Little Girl scattered to the winds before you could say "Aloha!" and Sweetie and i made a dinner reservation for the two of us.  Then we explored, and relaxed, and had a nice time together.

There's a lot to be said for coming to Disney with young kids.  There's just as much to be said for bringing them when they are big enough to hand a cell phone and be told to behave, you will see them at the next dining reservation the whole family has together!

 

Today is:

Candlemas -- on the Julian Calendar, and in the Orthodox Christian Churches

Carnival of Binche -- Binche, Belgium (famous carnival dating back to the 16th century, which includes a giants parade, childrens parade, fireworks, orange tossing, and more; through Shrove Tuesday)

Church Action on Poverty Sunday -- UK (Visions of the Good Society)

Daytona 500 Pole Day -- Daytona International Speed-way, Daytona Beach, FL, US (qualifying, and earing the right to lead the pack)

Decimal Day -- UK (anniversary of the 1971 currency conversion to the decimal system)

Fasching Sunday -- Germany and Austria, and among German speaking peoples; the Party before Lent kicks up now

Flag Day -- Canada (Maple Leaf adopted this date 1965)

Hall Sunday -- meaning Hallowed Sunday, the Sunday before Lent, which has many traditions associated with it

John Frum Day -- Tanna Island, Vanuatu

Kamakura Matsuri -- Yokote, Akita Prefecture, Japan (Snow Cave Festival; through tomorrow)

Kuromori Kabuki -- Kuromori, Yamagata Prefecture, Japan (traditional Kabuki, through the 17th)

Liberation Day -- Afghanistan

Lupercalia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (remembrance of the she-wolf who suckled Romulus and Remus)

Meatfare Sunday -- Orthodox Christian (final day on which meat may be consumed before the Lenten fast)

National Gum Drop Day

Nirvana Day -- Buddhist; Jain

Remember the Maine Day -- US (remembrance of the Spanish War)

Scout - Guide Week -- Canada (Scouts Canada and Girl Guides of Canada plan and hold special activities; through the 22nd)

Singles Awareness Day -- although some celebrate on the 14th as an anti-Valentine's Day

Sretenje -- Serbia (National Day)

Stop and Smell Your Compost Pile Day -- snort away the winter blues and think about spring (but i think this one is just plain weird)

St. Sigfrid's Day (Patron of Sweden)

Susan B. Anthony Day -- US (birth anniversary)

Total Defense Day -- Singapore

Transfiguration Sunday -- Christian


Birthdays Today:

Amber Riley, 1986
Renee O'Connor, 1971
Jane Child, 1967
Chris Farley, 1964
Matt Groening, 1954
Melissa Manchester, 1951
Jane Seymour, 1951
Marisa Berenson, 1948
Susan Brownmiller, 1935
Adolfo, 1933
Claire Bloom, 1931
Harvey Korman, 1927
Kevin McCarthy, 1914
Irena Sendler,1910
Miep Gees, 1909 
Cesar Romero, 1907
Harold Arlen, 1905
John Barrymore, 1882
Ernest Shackleton, 1874
Alfred North Whitehead, 1861
Elihu Root, 1824
Susan B. Anthony, 1820
Charles Lewis Tiffany, 1812
Cyrus McCormick, 1809
John Augustus Sutter, 1903
Henry Engelhard Steinway, 1797
Abraham Clark, 1726
Galileo Galilei, 1564
Pedro Mememdez de Aviles, 1519
Babur, 1483 (founder of Mughal dynasty in India)
Claudius Drusus Germanicus Caesar Nero, 37 


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Come Back, Little Sheba"(Play), 1950
Cinderella(Disney cartoon), 1950
"The Little Foxes"(Play), 1939
"An der schönen blauen Donau"(The Blue Danube)(Strauss Waltz), 1867


Today in History:

Philosopher Socrates is sentenced to death, BC399
Khosrau II is crowned as king of Persia, 590
Ho-tse Shen-hui, Zen teacher, disputes the founder of Northern Ch'an line, 732
The city of St. Louis, Missouri, is founded by Pierre Laclade Ligue as a French trading post, 1764
The first US printed ballots are authorized, in Philadelphia, 1799
Sarah Roberts is barred from attending a white school in Boston, 1848
Great Ormond St Hospital for Sick Children, London, admits its first patient, 1852
A fire in Rotterdam, Netherlands, damages the Museum Boymans, 1864
American President Rutherford B. Hayes signs a bill allowing female attorneys to argue cases before the Supreme Court of the United States, 1879
Nine inches (23cm) of snow falls on New Orleans, Louisiana, 1898
The USS Maine sinks in Havana harbor, cause unknown-258 sailors die, 1898
The first Teddy Bear is introduced in America, made by Morris and Rose Michtom, 1903
Gerald Lankester Harding and Roland de Vaux begin excavations at Cave 1 of the Qumran Caves, where they will eventually discover the first seven Dead Sea Scrolls, 1949
The Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China sign a mutual defense treaty, 1950
Canada and the United States agree to construct the Distant Early Warning Line, a system of radar stations in the far northern Arctic regions of Canada and Alaska, 1954
A new red-and-white maple leaf design is adopted as the flag of Canada, replacing the old Canadian Red Ensign banner, 1965
The decimalisation of British coinage is completed on Decimal Day, 1971
The 1976 Constitution of Cuba is adopted by the national referendum, 1976
The drilling rig Ocean Ranger sinks during a storm off the coast of Newfoundland, killing 84 rig workers, 1982
The Soviet Union officially announces that all of its troops have left Afghanistan, 1989
At the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in China, a Long March 3 rocket, carrying an Intelsat 708, crashes into a rural village after liftoff, killing an unannounced number of people, 1996
First draft of the complete Human Genome is published in Nature, 2001
YouTube, the Internet site on which videos may be shared and viewed by others, is launched in the United States, 2005
A near-Earth asteroid, 2012 DA14, comes within 17,200 miles of the Earth's surface, a record-close approach for an object estimated at 50 meters, or 160 ft in in diameter, 2013

Out and Away?

The plan was:

#2 Son would have no classes or work, so he could have the joy of sleeping in and then getting ready for us to leave.

Bigger Girl would take Little Girl to school in Happy the Honda, then go do whatever ti is she does on Friday (i think she goes to the tutoring center, then has fun with her friends, and then goes to work).

Sweetie would take Cicero to have her tires checked, then take #2 Son's car, Humphrey, for an oil change.  After that, he was to pick Little Girl up from school, checking her out early to go get her driver's license.  Then the two of them could go home to pack.

As for me, Bible study at 6:30 am, then high-tail it to the flower shop and see how many deliveries i could get done.

After a route or two, depending on how much they could give me, i would go home in the early afternoon, get stuff packed up and ready, and we'd be gone by 3pm.

Fat chance.

Upon arriving at home, after two successful routes and 22 completed deliveries (yea! over $100 earned!) we were tripping all over ourselves and each other in trying to get ready, and then discovered the worst glitch.  Bigger Girl's old insurance card on Cicero expired on the 13th, and her new one picked up on the 14th.  She only handed Sweetie the new one, so we would have no insurance the first lap of our trip.  (Yes, you have to have both with you.  The one that picks up tomorrow is no good if you get stopped today.)

The Sweetie realized the registration had expired on Cicero, too.

Of course, it was too late to get back to the DMV.

Bigger Girl had to haul herself home in Happy so we could take it, despite the fact that it was too small for the luggage and we hadn't had it vetted for a trip.  She will have to go on Monday and renew the registration.

By the time she got back, and we got it all straight, and we got out on the road, it was 4:30pm.  Because, of course.

And there were four construction zones, because, of course.

And there were 3 accidents, all of them off of the road, for which the traffic came to a complete stop, because, of course.

It was almost 6:30pm before we even crossed into Mississippi, and miles to go before we sleep.

 

Today is:

Bird Mating Season begins -- according to legend, in honor of St. Valentine

Blessing of the Salmon Nets -- Norham, Northumberland, England & North Shields, Northumbria, England (just before midnight, nets are blessed and right after midnight, the first nets of the season are thrown out; anything caught is presented to the officiating vicar)

Carnaval de Barranquilla -- Barranquilla, Spain (four days of pre-Lent celebration and street dances that mostly shut down the city)

Day Sacred to Juno Lupa -- Ancient Roman Calendar (Juno of the Wolf)

Feast of Vali -- Asatru/Slavic Pagan (archer god, an Asatru answer to the Valentine celebration, which is really a thinly disguised Lupercalia)

Ferris Wheel Day -- birth anniversary of G.W.G. Ferris, Jr.

Fjortende Februar -- Denmark (Danish lovers send each other snowdrop flowers.)

Galesburg Historical Society Chocolate Festival -- Galesburg, IL, US (home made and commercially made chocolates, all you can eat for the price of the low admission fee; through tomorrow)

International Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Day

International Quirkyalone Day -- a day to value your individuality, whether you are partnered or not

League of Women Voter's Day -- US

Library Lovers Day -- for those whose favorite companion is a great book

Lemon Festival -- Menton, French Riviera (through Mar. 4)

National Call In Single Day -- what a lot of men who feel pressured to be romantic on this day wish they could do, i'm sure!

National Cream-Filled Chocolates Day

National Have-a-Heart Day -- to create awareness of the impact of our food choices on the environment, world hunger, animal welfare and human health—especially heart health

National Nest Box Week -- UK; US (begun in the UK, this is a week to build or put up a nest box in your yard to encourage our avian friends and give them safe places to raise their young)
 
National Organ Donor Day -- US, but no matter where you live, consider leaving instructions about this to your loved ones

Quirkyalone Day -- for those who prefer to be single and not dating just for the sake of dating 
 
Race Relations Day -- originally on Lincoln's birth anniversary, now on the day promoting love

Rafik Hairi Memorial Day -- Lebanon

Read to Your Child Day -- to start their love of learning early (and do it daily!)

Sts. Cyril & Methodius' Day (Patrons ecumenism, unity of Eastern and Western Churches; Bohemia; Bulgaria; Czech Republic; Europe; Moravia; the Slavic peoples)

Trifon Zarezan -- Bulgaria (Viticulturists' Day; since Thracian times, a day to celebrate Dionysus and wine)

Valentine's Day (St. Valentine of Rome, Patron of apiarists/beekeepers, betrothed couples, greeting card manufacturers, greetings, happy marriages, love, lovers, travellers, young people; Bussolengo, Italy; against epilepsy, fainting, plague)



Anniversaries Today:

Jerry Garcia weds Deborah Koons, 1994
US League of Women Voters formed, 1920
Arizona becomes the 48th US state, 1912
Oregon becomes the 33rd US state, 1859


Birthdays Today:

Drew Bledsoe, 1972
Jessica Yu, 1966
Zach Galligan, 1964
Enric Colantoni, 1963
Meg Tilly, 1960
Renee Fleming, 1959
Raymond Joseph Teller, 1948
Gregory Hines, 1946
Carl Bernstein, 1944
Michael Bloomberg, 1942
Andrew Prine, 1936
Florence Henderson, 1934
Vic Morrow, 1932
Hugh Downs, 1921
Mel Allen, 1913
Jimmy Hoffa, 1913
Jack Benny, 1894
George Washington Gale Ferris,Jr., 1859
Winfield Scott Hancock, 1824
Frederick Douglass, 1817
Mary Ann "Aunt Mary" Prout, 1801


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Cloud Nine"(Play), 1978
"The Maltese Falcon"(Publication date), 1930
"Sinbad"(Musical), 1918
"Importance of Being Earnest"(Play), 1895


Today in History:

The annals of the monastery of Quedlinburg make the first known mention of Lithuania, 1009
Approximately 2,000 Jews are burned to death by mobs or forcibly removed from the city of Strasbourg, 1349
Roman Catholic emperor Leopold I chases the Jews out of Vienna, 1670
The United States Flag is formally recognized by a foreign naval vessel for the first time, when French Admiral Toussaint-Guillaume Picquet de la Motte rendered a nine gun salute to USS Ranger, commanded by John Paul Jones, 1778
James Cook is killed by Native Hawaiians near Kealakekua on the Island of Hawaii, 1779
John Jervis and Horatio Nelson lead the British Royal Navy to victory over a Spanish fleet in action near Gibraltar, 1797
The apple parer is patented by Moses Coats of Downington, Pennsylvania, 1803
US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall declares that any act of the US Congress that conflicts with the Constitution is void, 1803
The original Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is formed in Kirtland, Ohio, 1835
In New York City, James Knox Polk becomes the first serving President of the United States to have his photograph taken, 1849
Esther Hobart Morris is appointed the first female Justice of the Peace in the US, in South Pass City, Wyoming, 1870
A.G. Bell and Elisha Gray both apply for a patent for a telephone; Bell first by only 2 hours, and is ruled the rightful inventor, 1876
The first trainload of California grown fruit, oranges, leaves L.A. for the east,1889
Voting machines are approved by the U.S. Congress for use in federal elections, 1899
The Soviet Union adopts the Gregorian calendar, 1918
The League of Women Voters is founded in Chicago, Illinois, 1920
The Bank of England is nationalized, 1946
ENIAC, the first general-purpose electronic computer, is unveiled, 1946
The Knesset (Israeli parliament) convenes for the first time, 1949
Element 103, Lawrencium, is first synthesized at the University of California, 1961
The first of 24 satellites of the Global Positioning System are placed into orbit, 1989
Space probe Voyager 1 takes photograph of entire solar system , 1990
Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) spacecraft becomes first vehicle to land on an asteroid (433 Eros), 2001
Love letters written between poets Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning are published online by Wellesley College and Baylor University, 2012