DECEMBER 22 – TRAVEL
December 22 – Travel
How did you travel in 2010? How and/or where would you like to travel next year?
(Author: Tara Hunt)
I got out and got some last minute shopping done –actually got out and went shopping. It was only a 45 minute sortie into target but I did it. That was after Hobby Lobby for glassware to make our gifts. This year I made a cocoa mix with cayenne and got folks a yule gift pack from http://www.darkcandles.com . Then we had a tasty Thai lunch with the LN(one of my oldest best friends from high school) her husband and sister LC (another one of my oldest best friends from high school) and her intended. Rock star parking right in front too, thank god.
Also, while out I got several compliments on my sparkly converse.
We finally managed the big trip to Disney World this year. It was the perfect year for it. Em fully believes in the Princesses. She has a big love for Ariel and Mulan.
I have read many things about how horrid the Disney Princesses are for girls. I have thought so myself at times. That’s why the princesses that we have watched WITH HER are the active ones. Snow White , Sleeping Beauty etc (she has seen those, but I told her why I didn’t like them—that they just waited for rescue and she’s never been interested) she likes Ariel (the singing of course) and Mu Lan (Kung Fu) and we actually do talk about each one. Like why are the Moms always gone, why is the stepmother evil and is it really important to have a Prince? And really—isn’t it that Ariel wants independence way more than a Prince?
I think that way—by talking about it — we’re paying attention to where the questionable stuff is while still enjoying the fantasy. Yes Disney manipulates—but they do it so well! And there is NO entity that does kid’s vacations nearly so well. The Grand Floridian was amazing and the people that worked there were extremely accommodating and friendly. People went out of their way at the parks in so many different ways. When Em was crushed that she couldn’t try out for the American Idol show (we don’t actually watch it, it was about getting to sing for ‘a real show.†) a kind older ‘cast member’ saw her tears (not a tantrum at all, just sorrow) and arranged for her to go through the whole tryout and told her she would have made it if she was old enough. She got the entire treatment. They didn’t have to do that and that kindness made the whole amazing trip even better.
Like I said she was the perfect age. She knew she was talking to the REAL Ariel, the REAL Mulan…and her face when she saw the castle was one of those pictures I’ll have in my mind forever. I can’t possibly forget how she got to sing “Part of Your World†for the REAL Ariel and how Prince Eric gave her a kiss on the cheek that made her blush. And this is my computer geek, mud digging biscuit. We had a week without one cross word from anyone about anything and THAT is worth every penny we saved for three years.
No it isn’t like when I backpacked through Europe or spent a week in the old part of Puerto Vallarta but it is one of the best vacations ever because it was a complete dream for our kidlet that we could give her. And I’ll admit it—so much of Disney has great memories for me. Also—there is nothing cooler than the Haunted Mansion and the Pirates of the Carribean.
In 2011 I hope I’ll get to visit my friends in San Francisco. It’s been far too long. I don’t want to let those folks slip out of my life just because of distance. I’m hoping too we’ll at least make it to Galveston if not another Disney Trip (hey there are two age groups this works well for—young girls and teenagers…we’ll go a couple of times now and then again when she’s 14 and 14—at least that is MY plan). I have figured out though—after years of not being able to take vacations (we moved instead) taking one and having a family adventure—however prosaic—is much much better than just good.
