Ok here we are... travel blog entry No 1. for the Tash & David Alabama Civil Rights Disney Bourbon Dolly Slammer!

There are still 9 days until our great big adventure begins. The itinerary, including the very detailed Disney plan, is done. There’s a packing list but nothing is packed. The ‘to do’ list is still growing and the shopping before we leave list is finished (I think). There’s also an ever expanding ‘shopping while we’re away’ list 😳

With still so much to do... best \240I get on with it!

Until next time (when the trip actually begins)

Cheers, Tash

Blog 1

Saturday 7 December 2019

And so it begins, our big adventure - \240Tash & David’s Alabama Civil Rights Dolly Disney Bourbon Slammer ... it’s a mouthful I know!

The day began yesterday really, I started packing well after 10pm last night and conceded by 4 am that it was best to just stay awake. Our flight from Isa to Brisbane was uneventful (for us at least ... it was a tad more teary and traumatic for our friends flying out of Isa for the very last time 😭)

When we approached the service desk in Brisbane we were greeted with “oh you’re the Mount Isa people, we know about you” Holy bedazzled watermelons!!!!” \240had our reputation exploded \240behind our backs without telling us 😳😮... turns out that’s a no ... Our travel agent had used about 15 disability codes and everyone was on standby for the couple requiring 2 wheelchairs, a golf buggy, a deflibulator and an iron lung 🙄😱😬 we had a long chat about David’s needs (someone to help carry his gear up any stairs and an aisle seat) and we were on our way.

We had a lovely catch up with our friend Charlotte at the airport and now we’re just waiting to board our flight to LA

Here are some pictures of the dry brown land as we flew out of Isa, David enjoying the view ( of the insides of his eyelids) and the ever popular “departure selfie”

Catch you on the other side of the world 🤗

Until next time

Cheers Tash

Day 1

Blog 2

Sunday 8 December 2019

OMG \240I’ve \240eaten my absolute favorite dish of all time like 6 times already! how much do I love the south?? \240the answer is “I mean I am obsessed with this food 😱” ....

Surfice to say we have arrived!

Our flight from LA was pretty easy, 12 hours isn’t the shortest plane ride but it’s not the longest eirther ...a meal, a movie, a sleep, repeat and then we landed. Making our connection to New Orleans was where all the fun and games began. We had 84 minutes to make our flight and it’s usually not possible but David’s mobility status opened doors for us (we literally went through doors not available to others) ... at one point David was being escorted in his wheelchair and I was running and pushing a very fully trolly of luggage up 3 levels ... we went through quarantine and customs in lightening speed and after we got our bags on the AA domestic belt I knew we had a chance ...

David changed wheelchair drivers at the domestic terminal and I was really impressed with the special code the airport ground staff member used to alert others that a person with a disability was coming though - she just called “Walter” and everyone immediately got out of the way.... when I told David I really liked the “Walter” code he couldn’t stop laughing ... turns out there was no code ... the staff member was just calling out “wheelchair” 😳😬😆

After running/being wheeled the length of 5 football fields, jumping to the front of the security screening queue (line) verifying that my board game in a tin was safe we made it to our gate just before boarding closed... 3 super fast hours later we landed. Again we were met by airport staff who wheeled our luggage trolly and David from the gate through to the hire car transfer bus... we navigated the bus, the car hire process and the US road network and arrived at our hotel just after midnight... a crazy 30 hour day was done!!

Waking up on our first morning we weren’t quite refreshed but we were at least rested. Our first stop was Macy’s ... David has been waiting four years to revisit their amazing g sock collection! He didn’t get the socks he was hoping for but I enjoyed the shoe section very much!

We caught up with our friends Michelle and Ryan and \240the eating began 🤗🤗🤗 we tried oysters with garlic, butter and cheese, gumbo and po boys... all delicious.

We visited the WWII museum, a large detailed immersive experience... we were there for three hours but could have stayed days. We ended our visit with Michelle and Ryan at a little craft brewery where we shared a beer flight and tried sour beer for the first time (I’m not a fan but it was worth a try).

On the way back to the hotel we wanted to pick up some bottled water so we were on the lookout for a Walgreens ... we found one but as we pulled into the parking lot David discovered a more interesting grocery \240store as asked if I wanted to go to \240”Dollar Genera” ... it was my turn to laugh ... it wasn’t Dollar Genera ... it was \240Dollar General with a broken light .... one all on the language!!

We’ll see what tomorrow brings, until then

Cheers Tash

Day 2

Blog 3

Monday 9 Dec 2019

This morning we woke up rested and refreshed ... jet lag be gone! I started the day at a nail spa while David took a stroll through a park and soaked up as many green trees as he could. We met up with Michelle for lunch and tried red beans, mac n cheese and fried green tomatoes... way too yummy!

We took a drive through the garden district and this consolidated my view that New Orleans the second time around was much better than the first and spending time with a local gave us a much better insite and perspective ... Magazine St. reminded me of a mix between Charleston and Fitzroy with a little Oxford Street and St Kilda thrown in. While the garden district is like a a San Fran Charleston mash up.

After our drive, there was one more traditional NOLA dish I had to try ... so I asked Michelle where we could eat bayonets ... after the initial shock and much laughter Michelle said I think you might mean beignets 🙄🤣🤣🤣 Michelle took us to a funky little cafe almost identical to the original Brunetti’s In Melbourne and we feasted on Beignets ... which will be forever known as bayanets 😉

We said our goodbyes to Michelle and headed towards Alabama... we were on our way ... \240right after David spotted and stopped at the USA’s one & only umbrella shop!

We avoided the i10 and took the i90 so we could enjoy a more local view as we left Louisiana and although it was a slower trip, we got to see some wonderful old bridges, interesting coastal houses and drive on an ever narrowing strip of land while seeing the Gulf of Mexico for the very first time.

We managed to see some of the gulf coast beach and walk out on the pier at Pass Christian just before dark.

We cut our losses and made our way to the i10 for the rest of the drive and we were rewarded with rest stops unlike we have ever seen! (Unlike the tin roof and concrete table version we’re used to - these rest stops had disabled parking, beautifully architectures amenities buildings and vending machines). As we crossed into Alabama from Mississippi we stoped at the visitor information centre ... another impressively large well kept structure that wouldn’t be out of place at Disney.

We found our accommodation, a quirky B&B and met our host Stephen, a bloke full of history and stories about the horror guests he’s hosted 🤭😲🙃

Tomorrow we’ll explore Mobile in the daylight, until then...

Cheers Tash

Day 3

Blog 4

Tuesday 10 Dec 2019

Oh my, I don’t think I have the language to describe the last 5 days but y’all know I’ll try.  It’s Saturday night but I have to go all the ways back to Tuesday… well Monday night…

So, we arrived in Mobile late on Monday night and we met Stephen the slightly eccentric B&B host …  it was late and we were tired, so we decided to just turn in at 8.30pm (and after so much of food in New Orleans we were far from hungry). We slept like the dead and woke up refreshed and took ourselves off to the sensational lounge and dining room for breakfast.  Stephen was up and full of more stories about dreadful guests … we’ll stay with the description of “eccentric” because we’re in the south and its polite company but in Isa we’d say something much different! He kinda talked too much and complained too much and generally hated people too much to be host in the hospitality industry ... but he did cook a delicious breakfast of eggs, local sausage, squash and salsa so that was nice…

After breakfast we packed up our room which was full of lovely art deco & 50s furniture and we (I) managed to dislodge the lamp switch from the lamp. I feared this was going to lead us to being a feature of the next horrible guest story in Stephen’s oral history of the Berney Fry B&B …  I will never know for sure but his face of disapproving horror when I explained the mishap was terrifying.  I suspect the only reason he didn’t explode as I thought he might was that he was sheepish and defensive due to his error of putting medication of mine in the freezer instead of the fridge as I had asked him to the night before…. I’ll get to that later but let’s just say he was quick to apportion blame elsewhere and I was keen to leave… The B&B didn’t quite pan out as I hoped but it was a memorable experience all the same.

We took a quick drive around the historic district which was beautiful and after that we left Mobile.  Our first destination was Monroeville, known as the literary capital of Alabama and was also the childhood home of world-renowned novelists Harper Lee and Truman Capote.  

The courthouse of Atticus Finch (To Kill a Mockingbird) was the Monroeville Courthouse (reconstructed in Hollywood for the movie) and Maycomb County was modelled on Monroeville (but is meant represented many a southern town of the time).  It was a surreal experience to be standing in a real place that was used for fictional story about a fictional man who has made such an impact on my life. Atticus’ courtroom speeches and his chats with Jem and Scout are the words and principles I try to most live up to … so to be in the place where my values were if not born, were most certainly awaked and formed, was quite the moment. (as was my imagined little thank you from the babies not born who would have had to live with being Atticus and Scout forever… alright to be honest they might have been Gilbert and Anne from Lucy Maud’s pen but I digress….).  

After the courtroom visit the next best thing about Monroeville was putting our pin in the map. All visitors are encouraged to mark their home with a pin and we were the first people to ever pin Mount Isa in Monroeville .... yay us.  The third best thing about our visit was lunch and the ladies at Mel’s dairy.  It’s situated on the sight of Harper Lee’s childhood home but it’s literally just a tiny 5m2 stand-alone box and we would not have stopped at all if it hadn’t been recommended by the visitor centre staff.  We shared a double cheese patty melt and it was delicious… not one bit nutritious but so yummy!  The ladies were super excited to be serving Australians and we got extra everything including super large blessings to “y’all’s family too”. The 4th best thing about Monroeville was that I also managed to pick up a warm coat, a lumberjacket with quilted lining for $3 at the goodwill store. All in all our time in Monroeville was educational, inspirational, delicious and commercially successful … and with that we set off and headed to Montgomery.  

The interstates might be boring and without views but the rest stops are magnificently appointed and to quote David “the roads are like driving on silk”.  We got to Montgomery around 4 and decided to check out the Rosa Parks Museum before it closed.  As we have come to expect in this country, the exhibit was amazing, both concept and content were riveting and my civil rights awareness and comprehension expanded 10 fold in 45 minutes.

With our heads full of serious thoughts we headed to dinner.  Google suggested that Dreamland offered an excellent BBQ experience and it was right around the corner so it was an easy decision. As we entered the very American very southern bar the serious thoughts were almost swept away by the amazing hickory and bbq aroma wafting through the room.  Our server’s name was Pumpkin and our wings and ribs were delicious.

We checked into the hotel, unpacked (we’re getting good at that now) and plotted our plan for the next day.  Deciding that we hadn’t packed in quite enough for one day we went see Frozen II .... we loved it ... well we loved the bits we saw, I nodded off a couple of times while David missed at least a quarter and is a bit confused with the plot lines but he did see Kristoff’s power ballard.

Another big day done and dusted! Until tomorrow

Cheers Tash

Day 4

Blog 5

With a plan to quickly drop into a medical facility to sort out a new script to replace my useless medication before we set off to Selma we started our day… and welcome to American health system. (insert appropriate horror emoji face).  With no insurance the quick visit to the medical facility and the purchase of the medication lightened our wallets by US$1000 dollars! Lesson learnt … look after own medication at all times!!!!

We arrived in Selma and quickly realised that it had not changed since the 60s, Filming the movie would have been really easy from the recreation, continuity point of view.  We met Columbus in the park by the bridge and he gave us a brief history of the March.  He shared with us that his commitment to the ongoing civil rights plight is to keep the park beautiful, so he volunteers a few days a week in honour of his uncle who lost an eye in Bloody Sunday and died last year.

The museum we came to visit wasn’t open but Columbus made a call to Mr Sam who came and opened it just for us.  Again it was an amazing exhibition and very confronting.  The parallels between the African American experience and the indigenous Australian experience were undeniable.  After the museum we drove around to the First Baptist Church and Brown Chapel and then walked the bridge.  To stand where history was made and progress was achieved is such a humbling experience as is the knowledge that the work here and at home is still not done.  

On the way home we called into the interpretive centre near White’s farm which was the location of the camp on the second night of the Selma to Montgomery march. We left overloaded with new knowledge and insight (which will take a fair while to digest and use for good).

We got a recommendation to go to Martin’s for dinner, a Montgomery institution for homestyle southern food and we went to bed full of iced tea corn bread, fried chicken and turnip greens. ... the chicken was brilliant, the corn bread was too sweet the iced tea was delicious and the turnip greens were not my thing.... mushy and sour... one and done for me for that southern staple!

David took himself to sleep and I stayed up for a couple of hours to complete my annual professional development requirement for my Civil Celebrant registration (in all the rush and activity to get organised for this vacation it just didn’t happen before I left Australia).  

Another big important day done, until next time

Cheers, Tash

Day 5

Blog 6

Thursday 12 December 2019

With a fair few sights still to see we got ourselves out the door early. We headed back to the Rosa Parks museum to do part two of the tour.  It was a nifty presentation where we sat on a replica bus of Rosa Parks’ era and took a trip back in time looking at the plight and history of African Americans from the 1800s to 1955.

At the bus stop where Rosa Parks boarded the bus we got a history and recount of the events of that day in December 1955 when Rosa refused to give up her seat and was subsequently arrested. We toured the local street around the bus stop and visited the Rosa parks statue.

Next we visited the state capital building. We parked right outside the first White House of the Confederacy and walked a very cold and very windy 100m to the State Capital building.  It was grand and beautiful and of course had a domed roof.  It was with odd feelings that I toured the rooms and looked at the history, the pictorial history of Alabama as painted on the inside of the dome was particularly difficult.  There was a tour group of school children there and as the guide explained the settling and prosperity of Alabama - all I could see was entitled new comers taking and taking over and entitled white people taking and judging …. It was really quite ugly and very sad all neatly wrapped up inside an extremely beautiful building where we encountered lovely, friendly, helpful people.

Down the street from the capital is the Dexter Ave King Memorial Baptist church and we did a super quick tour which mostly consisted of multiple hugs from our tour guide who was emotional and thrilled that we had come all the way from Australia to visit. The church is where the bus boycott was organised and Dr King was the Pastor.  From there we visited the Civil Rights Memorial at the Southern Poverty Law Centre. The memorial was designed by Maya Lin who also designed the Vietnam Veterans memorial in DC (we could instantly see the similarities in her work).

Cold, emotional and just a bit exhausted by the morning’s activities we decided warm, inviting Italian food was in order. We took the recommendation of our hotel manager and ate grandma’s meatballs with Sunday sauce …. AMAZING!... the food, warmth and people watching restored us.  

After much deliberation and procrastination we decided to go to the Equal Justice Initiative museum and memorial.  We had been hesitant as it’s colloquially known as the ‘lynching museum’ and that is way heavy!!!! BEST DECISION EVER.  The memorial, which opened in 2018, was both beautiful and confronting.  We were fortunate to arrive in time for the once daily information briefing which gave us context and background to the memorial and the current work of the Equal Justice Initiative.  We headed back to the museum and spent about 90 minutes immersed in the horror and stories of mistreated African Americans.  It wasn’t all without hope, the work of the EJI, the Southern Poverty Law Centre, the Obamas and others is inspiring and although I have no idea how I will process and use all I have come to know I’m sure that it will come over time.  I do know that we will go and see Just Mercy when it comes out in cinemas in early 2020.

Our plan to leave for Birmingham by lunchtime didn’t happen … it was 6.30pm but totally worth the change of plans and delay.  The drive was easy, \240we shared the driving and we arrived in Birmingham just before 9pm.  We ducked out for a healthy feed of Maccas and encountered a friendly (and way on the spectrum) dude while sharing a mcmuffin and doughnuts.

Tomorrow we’ll finish our civil rights trail but that’s \240a story for another day, until then.

Cheers, Tash

Day 6

Blog7

Friday 13 Dec \2402019

We woke to a drizzly day and after the tetras victory that is packing our car we were on our way to the Civil Rights district.  We saw the 16th St Baptist Church, walked through Kelly Ingram Park and toured the Civil Rights Institute.  (David’s feet were sore from the constant \240walking and touring so he did the institute tour in a wheelchair which worked really well.  

When I wasn’t pushing, David was able to use the chair as a walking aid so I think there will be more of that during this holiday..  Of everything we  have seen over the past few days the beautiful sculpture of the 4 girls who were killed in the 16 St Baptist Church bombing, the sculpture of MKL in the institute with the church outside the window, the photos of the dogs setting upon the children protesters in Birmingham and the EJI memorial in Montgomery have left the biggest visual impressions.

It was lunch time when we pointed our car in the direction of Atlanta Georgia to visit and stay with our gorgeous friends Wayne and Mark. It was an easy drive right up until we were in 16 lanes of traffic, in the dark, in the rain on the last Friday before Christmas, at peak period driving on the wrong side of the road (ie the right) it was TERRIFYING! But we made it to Appling Circle and we’re rewarded with warm hugs and familiar faces.

After a quick tour of their home which is filled with Mark’s artwork and Wayne’s personality and a Korean BBQ dinner we headed to a holiday party at home of their friend Christina. We debuted our ugly Christmas sweaters which were a hit. Just like parties in Australia, \240the super interesting conversations occurred in the kitchen (I also became aware of just how embryonic my knowledge of Star Wars really is). We met Mark’s boss Rachel, an expat Aussie who was born in ... yep you guessed it... Mount Isa, hilarious conversations followed (and her partner Ben loved hearing Rachel’s real Aussie coming out!) It was a night of fun, \240and old fashions for all.

We were about the last to leave the party and went home tried and happy, excited for continued adventures in Atlanta. Until then.

Cheers Tash

Day 7

Blog 8

Saturday 14 Dec 2019

Lucky we didn’t plan an early start because we didn’t wake until nearly 10am! ... After a Mount Isa slide show, banana muffins and a load of washing the boys dropped us off at the MLK centre to finish the postscript of our civil rights trail. It was \240also a full stop on our 2015 southern tour as the Martin Luther King Centre was closed due to the government shutdown last time we were in Atlanta...

It was the perfect end to our quest and also has sparked my new quest to follow the life and post presidential work of Jimmy Carter...

We were invited to spend the afternoon with Thessaly and Adam, and wow what a sensational experience... their home is perhaps my favourite home on the planet ... fun, expressive, original and authentic just like Thessaly and Adam! Talking non stop, a walk in the woods (ok it was a park but it felt like the woods) and more talking and the afternoon disappeared into night time ... not done with the visit Thessaly joined us for dinner were we enjoyed more old fashions (or was just me???) before finally calling it a night.

Knowing that tomorrow would be a day of goodbyes I was a little sad going to sleep but alas tomorrow would come no matter what... until then

Cheers Tash

Day 8

Blog 9

Sunday 15 Dec 2019

After a delicious sleep in my Olaf onesie I got to continue the delicious theme with Wayne’s pancakes, Marks muffins and the most perfect poached eggs David has ever made ... 3 boys cooking for me was a delicious Saturday morning delicious trifecta .... and then it was apon us ... the goodbye.

But wait we found a delay... we took a trip to Wayne’s new office and I tried electrolysis for the first time ... three hairs down and I was done. It didn’t hurt that much (except it did) and I am a sook!

And here it was for real ... the goodbye, with plans to meet in Hawaii, Ireland or Australia we kissed and hugged and kissed and hugged and bid farewell...

And off we set back on the interstate with our noses pointed to Tennessee. Unlike our other drives this far we had some company on this drive ...Mark had recommended a podcast called Dolly Parton’s America and we were educated and entertained by Dolly for our whole drive. \240We stopped in at the state welcome centre and loaded up with guide books, brochures and maps and pulled into our apartment block about 30 mins after dark... it was 5.30pm

After a rest we rugged up and hit broadway, \240it was as bright and fun and hectic as I remembered. We settled on the Luke Bryan Bar and shared beer and ribs.

With much to still do and see, we called it a night. Nashville adventures await... so until then

Cheers \240Tash

Day 9

Blog 10

Monday 16 Dec 2019

The touring, long drives and mild sniffles caught \240up with us and we didn’t get going on this cold grey rainy day until after noon. Our first stop was the capital building and an excellent tour.

After the capital building we visited the Musicians hall of Fame. Unlike the Country Music Hall of Fame, this exhibition focuses on those behind the scenes as well as the artists themselves ... it was informative and interactive (and I finally got the connection with the ‘Highway 65’ label name in the TV show Nashville). We had loads of fun in the recording studio with Garth Brooks. We got to lay down a track of “friends in low places” it was so much fun (but seriously I was rubbish).

We were greeted by a wet dark raining sky when we finished a couple of hours later so we hot footed it back to our apartment, picked up the car and headed to the Bluebird Cafe ... featured in the TV show Nashville. It’s a tiny venue, but the staff are practiced and skilled at getting the crowd seated. It was writers night so we heard 27 writers sing their original songs. I was surprised at the standard, all but 2 were really good, half a dozen were amazing and I bought a CD from one of my favourites. It was a very cool very local (but internationally known) Nashville event...

We stopped at Macy’s on the way home, David was on the hunt for over the knee socks, and I picked up a fabulous pair of Guess red wedge sneakers (I was on the lookout to replace my black boots that died in Atlanta but a girl can’t pass up a pair of red shoes).

More Nashville to do tomorrow including the great boot hunt .... I’ll let you know how that works out... until then

Cheers Tash

Day 10

Blog 11

Tuesday 17 Dec 2019

Boot day was a HUGE success but I’ll get to that.

We made an early start and headed out of town a little to have breakfast at the loveless cafe ... (thank you Sandra K - a great recommendation) biscuits (scones) and Jam pretty much filled us up before we even ordered but we found room for ham, eggs and a few warm beverages (I had eggnog while David took on the vodka white hot chocolate) we stopped in at a TJ Max on the hunt for the elusive over the knee socks and walked out with a stunning Michael Kors jacket for me and a jumper 3 sizes too big for David (which fits snugly over the top of his other 4 other tops and jumpers). We took the car back to the hotel added all our layers and braved the 1 degree celsius temperature and walked down to broadway for the great boot hunt to begin.

4 shops in and I was thinking I knew the favoured pair but we decided to check out a 5th store, they didn’t have the extensive range of colours but they did have a few that were an homage to the American flag which is what I was searching for... I passed up the tassels, stars and stripes for the eagle and red stitching. We were ready to pay when the shop assistant explained the three for one deal ... choose two more pairs of boots at equal or less value and they are free. I love me my cowboy boots but with three pairs at home already and a new pair in my hand I didn’t want two more pair. But I did still need a new pair of black boots and brown short boots are always handy so ... after a little more searching and trying on I had the trifecta. Happy happy happy days

We went back to the hotel for a quick rest and recharge before grabbing the car for a quick drive around the downtown area before dark (even though we knew we were travelling in winter we failed to \240think about the impact of the very short days).

For our last night in Nashville we once again found our way to broadway and settled in to a very groovy booth at arguably the most famous honky tonk in Nashville, we were at Tootsies Orchid Lounge. We shared some holiday cocktails (spiced and honey Jack with ginger, whipped vodka and lemon) and delicious wings. Space in most Honky Tonks is tight so we shared our booth with Karen and Shiela from Charlotte NC and Connecticut. Two hours later and we had plans to meet up with Karen and her son when we’re in Charlotte after Christmas 🤗🤗🤗

We decided to change venues and we ended up at the other end of the street at the Tin Roof Honky Tonk where we listened to another great band and shared a Philly Cheesesteak and Shiner Bock beer (Which I haven’t drunk since the early 90s). We took a walk over the Pedestrian bridge before strolling the length of Broadway one last time.

An excellent day! Tomorrow will be a change of pace as we leave the city and stay in a National Park for a couple of nights, but that’s a story for another day, until then.

Cheers Tash

Day 11

Blog 12

Wednesday 18 December 2019

We woke up early to deal with the explosion that is our stuff... we had luggage & new purchases everywhere in our little studio apartment and David took advantage of the washer/drier while I fapped about. He right nearly fell off his chair when I proceeded to fold the laundry as it came out of the dryer, in twenty years he’s not seen me do that (I’m pretty sure I did it once in 2006, it was a Tuesday if I recall 🤣).

We had a hearty breakfast of pork sausages and veggies which we had planned to cook earlier but didn’t get to it. We also sorted through the 367 brochures we had picked up over the past few days and kept about a dozen relevant ones.

Four suitcases, two carry on bags and seven extra bags later and we were all packed up on the cart ready for David to do the magic packing thing ... (meanwhile I did the magic debit card thing that keeps everything ticking over nicely). We drove 153m to the parking garage which as literally around one corner so we could check out a little arcade we’d driven past a bunch of times.

So glad we made this last stop, the arcade was filled with interesting shops and eateries including the Red Perch - Australian Fish and Chips!!! We were choc full from breakfast but we had to go in. We found out that it’s run by an Aussie couple originally from Melbourne and Perth and they are doing a roaring trade which was great to hear.

We wandered some more and made one last stop, the Woolworths restaurant and site of yet another civil rights historical event. It was at the counter of this venue that more than a dozen African American students peacefully protested for over 30 days by taking seats at the counter reserved for whites only.

We took a seat at the counter which while newly renovated is a modem interpretation of the original counter from the 1960s. The restaurant was renovated in 2018 and pays tribute to its 1930s original as well as the 1960s cultural significant, I had a bowl of soup and a whiskey and David had a bowl of ice cream. I loved the whiskey but David did not! .... pretty sure I’ll be drinking alone on the bourbon tour next week. (I’m not sure the video of us drinking the whiskey will play on the blog but fingers crossed that it does coz it’s pretty funny)

After the whiskey and Ice cream we wandered back to the car (ok so I skipped because ... well the whiskey really🙄🤭) and set out towards Mammoth Cave National Park.

It was a little after 1 when we left the Nashville downtown area and we were sure we’d make Mammoth Cave with plenty of daylight left ...

David, Dolly (podcast 3) and I were making pretty good time until the Bowling Green detour. I had a yearning to stop into Bowling Green for a few reasons... firstly the name, secondly because it was one of the smallest marked places on our uber huge map of USA which takes up an entire wall in our bedroom and thirdly because it’s featured as a location a few books and movies I’ve read and watched...

Our detour took a little over 45 mins (it was school pick up time) and we unfortunately discovered that there was nothing particularly remarkable (or memorable) about Bowling Green.

Back on the interstate about 2 miles on we drove under a sign indicating that Historic Downtown Bowling Green was next exit. A quick chat ensued and we decided we had to see it ... and it was so pretty. \240Unlike the part of Bowling Green we first visited, this part had a lively small town vibe, a definable down town area and a super cute town square. Detour worth it

We approached the national park in twilight and navigated around many deer and large empty car parks to the hotel lobby and check in. The place was near deserted (we thought there was just one other couple checked in for the night.) \240Our Sunset Terrace cabin was cute and cosy and just perfect for a couple of days out of the big city and bright lights.

Speaking \240of which we did have to go back out of the park and down to Cave City for dinner. Erik from the front desk recommended the Mexican restaurant and we weren’t disappointed, the food was delicious.

Even though we’d had a relatively slow and relaxed day we were still tired and plans to watch a movie snuggled in bed quickly gave way to snoring....

Until next time

Cheers Tash

Day 12

Blog 13

Thursday 19 December 2019

Peaceful beautiful and l very very cold! We woke to discover deer frolicking amongst the trees. We could also see our car with the windscreen frozen over, it’s hard to reconsile that most of Australia is sweltering in a heatwave right now.

We went up to the main lodge for breakfast but before I could even order I knew my tummy was not it’s usual happy self. Last night’s Mexican food (as yummy as it was) was running amuck with my digestive system. I also found out that David had lost his dinner in the wee hours of the morning but felt fine now. Rich food warning heeded!

We signed up for the Frozen Niagara tour and spent a fascinating 90 mins inside the longest known cave system in the world. Wr were led by Ranger Kelly and Ranger Jess. David suggested that when I go back to work that I be known as ‘Bureaucrat Tash’ ... he was joking but I like it, I think it will be so.

We learnt much on the tour, not the least was how little I understand about geology (David faired much better than I). The formation of “Frozen Niagara” \240was kinda hard to see as we were so close to it (I thought organ pipes would have been a more appropriate moniker) but the formation was really cool, especially from behind the curtain of the waterfall.

There were two confronting moments on the tour... firstly when Ranger Kelly shared with us that we were not alone in the cave and that we shared it with about 50 000 cave crickets ... (fair enough I thought, \240that’s cool) then she shone her torch on them .... CRICKETS MY A#*E !!!! They were spiders 😮🤭😱 I was in a confined space with 50 000 spider creatures. I kept my composure and my pants dry because I’m a grown up! All the scary stuff was over ... or so I thought!!! \240I was still concentrating on my breathing when I registered that Ranger Kelly was talking about the natural conditions of the cave, what it’s like when tour groups are not walking through it. She was banging on about all the species that don’t have eyes because they don’t need them and asked us what we thought that might be like? \240No no no noooooo I knew what was coming.... \240a dreadful horrific moment was about to occur 😬😲🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬😱😰 she turned out the lights. I was now in a confined space with 8 million spider creatures IN THE DARK!!!!! I have conquered much in my life - my fear of bridges and aeroplanes has completely dissipated, my fear of spiders is (mostly) contained, I’ve downsized my stuff by 40% without regret, moved to rural outback Australia and thrived, managed to win my battle with weight and body image, \240I’ve survived 137 Government restructures and 9 miscarriages ... but the dark remains my one continuing terror! I may well be a grown up but I was audibly whimpering for the entire 43 seconds of horrendous spooky angry blackness. When Ranger Kelly lit a candle I could have smothered her with delighted gratefulness.

After the tour we wandered down to the historic entrance to the cave and on the way we were enamoured by the icicles on the trees and rocks. The juxtaposition of ice, rocks, moss, water and sunlight made the entrance quite magical. I’m hoping our photos will do it justice but I suspect it’s a place one must visit to truely experience the wonder.

Our last walk was a short stroll to a lookout with a view across a valley in two directions, the sun was warm and low in the sky and I promptly fell asleep 💤💤💤... David captured pictorial evidence of this rare event.

We had long decided not to leave the park all day which meant we needed to have a very early dinner. We met a family from Michigan \240and during the conversation we learnt that the area an hour north of Detroit (where they live) is nowhere near as cold as Chicago. \240They don’t suffer much in the way of snow or ice... apparently Chicago’s bitter chill is due to the lakes rather than distance from the equator.

Dinner done, sun down and we were in our PJs watching Christmas movies and snacking on chocolate cookies ... it was 5.30pm

All in all it had been a wonderfully relaxing day (apart from the cave crickets and horrific spooky dark days incident).

Tomorrow will see us return to the big city, but that’s another story for another day. Until then

Cheers Tash

Day 13

Blog 14

Friday 20 December

An easy morning, (but alas no deer at our window) and I finally got to have sausages, biscuits and gravy for breakfast. We were packed up (getting easier and faster by the day) checked out and on the road a little after 10.30am. We chose to take Flint Ridge Road out of the park rather than the main road, it was narrow and windy but it was worth the extra miles and the slow drive. it was pretty with rolling hills and dotted with cute houses and barns.

Back on the I-65 and it took a little over an hour to reach Louiseville.

Now before I go further let’s all stop and practise how to say Louisville ... you don’t bother with the ‘is’ or the ‘ville’ at all ... in fact just toss away the whole word and start again ... the best explanation/phonitic match we’ve found so far is Loo-a-vul but the ‘loo’ and the ‘a’ run into each other - don’t stretch it out at all. I think Aussies will find it almost impossible to get it just right but it’s better than Louiseville which just earns you confused and sad stares.

As we drove in to the downtown area we were pretty much alongside the airport runway and we had the awesome and slightly scary sight of a 747 flying right along side us, I don’t think I’ve ever been that close to an airborne jet before.

The Brown hotel is magnificent, The lobby With its pressed tin ceiling lived up to the hype and is on par with New York City’s Plaza Hotel. My first impressions of Louiseville is that it is in many ways a mini NYC, there is a sophisticated, urban funky vibe mixed with an old world and criminal underbelly history. There is no doubt that the bourbon and horse racing industries have given this place its backbone and from the stories I’ve read thus far, it’s the people who provide the heartbeat.

We had a late lunch at the Brown, our server Jess and David had a wonderful conversation about language and words after he had thanked her with ‘cheers’ which she thought was awesome.

We checked into our room and had about an hour of downtime before heading out for our first prearranged organised tour of the trip so far.. I booked us into a Merry Jingle Tuk Tuk tour. We walked about 4 city blocks to another hotel to meet our tour guide.

We had a private tuk tuk and our driver was Amos, we had coats, beanies and blankets and the plastic wind protectors were very effective so we weren’t cold. Our first stop was a pop up bar in an emerging district call “NuLu”. This area had lost favour and businesses in the early 1990s but is making a comeback, we had Christmas flavoured shots followed by eggnog. I thought it would be fun to wear our matching ugly Christmas sweaters (and it was) but 80% of people in the bar were also wearing ugly Christmas sweaters so they didn’t have the impact I was hoping for that night ... seems like ugly Christmas sweaters is totally a thing worldwide now.

Back in the tuk tuk and Amos gave us a good history of the establishment of bourbon in Louisville as well as a great run down on the prohibition era. Driving around in the different districts and the historical importance of the river provided even more parallels with NYC.

Our next stop was a very cool very exclusive speak easy, David had a beer and I had a tall glass of yummy consisting of bourbon rum black tea biscotti cognac frangelico vanilla bean and cream. We struck up a conversation with Ilene, a local who recommended about 137 \240places to visit over the next 4 days (we’ll try).

Back on the tuk tuk and I was warm, mostly on the inside. our last stop was Alex&ers (alexander’s) a very cool bar In the butchers’ district, we shared truffle fries (OMG so good) \240and I had a warm eggnog type cocktail while David has a brandy with ginger beer (and helped with my cocktail)

We stopped by the city Christmas tree and cruised past “4th St live” where part of the road is closed in favour of family and community focused activities ... ok there are lots of \240bars so get a babysitter and leave your cherubs at home..

Amos dropped us back at the Brown hotel after the tour so we didn’t have to walk the 4 blocks home which was lovely. \240David is currerly snoring softly beside me reeking of bourbon (or maybe it was me) 🤭😱😉

Tomorrow we are on a full day bourbon distillery tour. I’m sure that alone will generate some stories, but until then...

Cheers Tash

Day 14

Blog 15

Saturday 21 Dec 2019

We were up bright and early, ate a quick breakfast in our room (my innovative use of the single cup coffee machine produced lovely porridge) and packed a bag full of winter woolies. We were out the door and meeting our driver for the day (Montana) before 8.30am.

Our first stop was Woodford Distillery which is east of Louisville, \240towards Lexington in the heart of Kentucky horse country. The distillery was amongst beautiful picturesque green rolling hills. \240We did the distillery tour with Kathy, \240a former school teacher (who was both knowledgeable and entertaining). We got the rundown on the process and the ingredients required to make bourbon. In short... cook and mix grains (at least 51% being corn) with soft limestone rich water to make mash, add yeast and ferment to make alcohol, distill to separate and purify the alcohol and then stick it in a charred American oak barrel to flavour and mature it.

With an improve knowledge of how it’s made and a welcome experience of how it smells while maturing (which is bloody gorgeous) we got diwn to the business end of the tour ... the tasting ... I learned two things very quickly. 1 - I really really really like bourbon & 2 David really ready really does not! I also learnt how to smell it, sip it, taste it and feel it. finally I learnt that I like Woodford double oak bourbon a lot... it’s my new favourite bourbon.

We stopped for lunch at a little restaurant in Versailles (pronounced ver-sail- ease by locals) and I tried catfish for the first time. It was much lighter and delicate than I imagined it would be.

Our next stop was Markers Mark and it was BEAUTIFUL... the Christmas decorations took it up to the next level and it was magical to stand in amongst the buildings and barns. We were in a very large tour group (around 30 people wheteas our first tour group had been about 10 people). Our guide was knowledgeable and efficient but somewhat on auto pilot and as the group was large it was harder to to see hear etc.... on the upside the tour was fairly similar to the first so we understood much more.

Distilleries all outline how they are different, the process and ingredients are standard. It’s the grain blends, barrel prep and finishing process that changes the characteristics flavours. On to tasting ... and I was slightly disappointed, the guide talked about the sweetness of their bourbon as the stand out element of their product and I just could not get that. I liked the private selection but not enough to even think about buying it. so it turns out I really like everything about Makers Mark (their branding and marketing is fabulous) other than one tiny detail ... I don’t care for their bourbon 😲

Our last stop was just up the road and on a totally different scale to the first two. Limestone distillery produces two barrels a day, they are a craft distillery but they have a pretty awesome bourbon pedigree... it’s owned and run by Steven and Paul Beam, 7th generation Beams and the only Beams to currently own a Beam family distillery. They are the great grandsons of Minor Case Beam who was a distiller before prohibition. Our tour was with the head of production and operations but Stephen Bean came around too. It was the best and most fun tour of the day. I got to thrive bourbon straight from the barrel (take a sample using a copper funnel) and the tasting was fabulous... 3 bourbons all yummy, a rye whiskey and a fabulous gin! It was at Limestone that I did me some shopping! We actually bought a bourbon related souvenir from each stop but I only bought bourbon and whiskey from limestone. \240It was almost 6 by the time we finished and we were back at the hotel by 7.30 (after a wee little nap in the car on the way back). It was a great day of bourbon, hills, horses and history.

We finished out the night with stroll down 4th street, a bowl of lobster bisque and derby pie. Americans sure do love their sweet pies.

Tomorrow we’ll take ourselves on some more bourbon adventures but until then ...

Cheers Tash

Day 15

Blog 16

Sunday 22 December 2019

We planned an early start but we didn’t make it out the door until nearly 11.... it actually worked well because it turns out that Louisville is not an early morning city with not much open before 9.30am anyway. We drove out to Churchill Downs and signed up for the tour, my knowledge of the Kentucky Derby was restricted to the movie Secretariat. We watched a fabulously produced movie in the round and then did a tour of the track and grandstands... the most startling thing about Churchill Downs is the track ... it’s dirt not grass. \240The tour guide explained that grass was way too expensive but with the money this town has for horse racing I think they could swing it.

After Churchill Downs we headed back in the direction of Nashville to Bardstown, a little town full of distilleries, we called into Jim Beam which is another lovely property but with so many products available at home (and their urban stillhouse just minutes from our hotel) we skipped the tour and tasting... we toured around the township (all 3 streets of it) and shared a home style southern lunch at Momma’s. \240Note to self and others ... do not order the pork bits EVER! ... (pork cracking fried until it’s like a prawn cracker) first two are delicious then you feel your arteries clogging up with every bite.

We strolled up and down the main drag in an effort to give our cardiovascular systems a fighting chance and then we headed to one of the newest distilleries on the scene - the Bardstown Bourbon Distillery... it was a very modern minimalist clean lines and negative space kinda place. They are doing bourbon blends with 40-60 their blend mixed with blends from other Kentucky distilleries - at 122 proof I thought it would blow my head but it was smooth and sweet ... I was very keen for a bottle but the base price put it out if my league \240but it was so much fun to taste it. We had a private tasting of three bourbons, they were all excellent but the most fun was when I then tried a nip of the first bourbon in three different glasses... it smelt and tasted completely different in each glass ... this was astounding... the distillery master explained how the glass influences how the aroma gets to your nose and therefor what you smell and taste... so now I have a coll room of different shaped and size bourbon glasses

It was cold outside but I was very warm... (and after 6 tastings and two extra sneaky sips probably a wee bit tipsy) it was only 5.30pm. as it does in these parts at this time of year it was getting dark so we headed for home. On the way back David suggested Skywalker so I got my fingers googling as fast as they could go (allowing for the bourbon factor) and I found a cinema at a mall on the way back to Louisville. We got our tickets and had a successful shopping experience at Kohls on the way - our check out lady was so excited that we were visiting from Australia she applied her family discount to our purchase. We went in search of a quick dinner before the movie and had a glorious eat-in meal at Whole Foods... we munched on carrots, celery and tomatoes. The fresh crunchy food was a blissful change.

Skywalker was awesome! I was a bit teary, more because of the end of an era than the story but no spoilers from me.

We got home a tick after midnight, still \240a 13 hour day even though we started late.

Tomorrow we’ll stay in Louisville and check out the urban bourbon trail, until then...

Cheers Tash

Day 16

Blog 17

Monday 23 December 2019

Early starts are eluding us, but we managed to get ourselves to Angel’s Envy just after opening and got in the 2nd tasting of the day. I have now mastered the art of viewing, nosing and tasting bourbon ... which means I’m starting to work out what I like ...and \240I like Angel’s Envy! As well as liking the bourbon I like the story and ethos of the company and I adore the bottle ... and now we own one (filled with bourbon and everything lol).

After the tasting we headed over to the highland district which was very funky and was little Fitzroy or West End. We had lunch at the Eagle which was recommended by Shelia our lovely host at the Brown hotel. The friend chicken was excellent, the chilli honey was a winner but I just don’t like grits, I gave them a second chance and 2/10 at best. I had a bourbon punch cocktail which was a refreshing cut through to the chicken.

We headed back to the Brown after lunch for a quick private tour of level 16, the open Terrance. It’s not usually open other than for private parties but Sheila organised for us to get an escort up there... great views and as it’s the sunniest day we’ve had in 2 weeks it was quite lovely

When I choose Louisville as a major destination and stop on this adventure, I had no clue how close to the state of Indiana we would actually be. \240It’s right across on the other side of the Ohio river which serves as Kentucky’s northern boarder, we couldn’t not visit another state in such close proximity so we set out and walked interstate. Lucky for us, the cities of Louisville, Kentucky and Jeffersonville, Indiana (known simply as Jeff) have made that plight very very easy. They have converted a disused rail bridge to a walking bridge... it’s a lovely bridge and a lovely walk. We stopped in at the bar on the other side of the bridge (they are doing a roaring trade) and shared a beer. \240The sun was dropping rapidly so we walked back to Kentucky after just the one beer.

We are currently at the biggest laundromat I’ve ever seen, out of socks jocks and t-shirts are currently on the spin cycle while I catch up on the travel blog some of the mundane things in life are unavoidable on long holidays but strangely some of the most fun we’ve had have been in laundrymats all o we the world🤣

We have had a great time in Louisville, Kentucky. It’s not what I was expecting ... it’s way more cosmopolitan and I’d certainly return. Tomorrow we leave Louisville and head for the south eastern courner of Kentucky on route to Dollywood for Christmas... we’ll be on the hunt for some very southern cheer... until then

Cheers Tash

Day 17

Blog 18

Tuesday 24 Dec 2019

We woke a bit earlier this morning and managed to be packed and rolling out of Louisville by 10am. Our first stop was about an hour down the highway in Frankfort to see the state capital building and one last distillery. The capital building is not small but after two laps of this fairly tiny town we were stumped 🤔... we finally worked out that google was trying to send us to the state office building ... (yep we are blaming google). A quick drive over the river to historic district and there it was, hard to miss really. Being Christmas Eve and all, it wasn’t open but we had a lovely stroll around the grounds chasing the sunshine.

Next up was a visit to one last distillery, Buffalo Trace, as we’ve come to expect the grounds were impressive, rolling green hills and big old red barns. I’d heard about the buffalo Trace bourbon cream for a few days and was keen to try it. We passed on a tour (which was just as well because we missed the last one of the day by 15 minutes) but we signed up for a tasting. They do a vodka ... a ten times distilled tipple without a lot of flavour but very smooth ... it would make a great cocktail base. Their main bourbon was a little rough and the sherry barrel finished bourbon was a solid 7 out of 10, And then we had the bourbon cream and it was AWESOME!!!! , so yummy, about 73 times better than Bailey’s and my new favourite dessert. The last tasting we had was a root beer float, the Irish cream topped with root beer... and ... Huston we have a problem! as David enjoyed the taste sensation that is bourbon cream and sarsaparilla I urgently looked around for the nearest bathroom ... I made it ... kinda .... and let’s thank the Americans for always having well stocked towel machines! Note to self don’t drink sarsaparilla and never mix carbonated fizzy drinks and cream based beverages together 🤢.

We drove on for about an hour and decided that we really needed to eat KCF before leaving the great state of Kentucky... It was easy to achieve, we were in the interstate and there are fast food options every 20 miles or less. We pulled off the highway in a little town called Vernon and shared a plate of the famed fried chicken. The young girl serving us was so excited to meet Australians for the very first time. As excited as she was, she was \240a bit miffed as to why we were there exploring this ‘boring and small’ part of Kentucky. After a quick chat with the big man himself, we set off for our stop for the night, Corbin Kentucky, on the edge of the Daniel Boone State Forrest and Cumberland falls.

We arrived and checked into our hotel and then went downtown to check out the Christmas Eve activities, we found the Central and 1st Baptist Churches and discovered that we were just in time for the 6pm service at the 1st Baptist Church. So there we are, arriving at a church 1000s of miles from home in a place we’ve never been and as we walk in we discover that someone knows us 😮. It was a lady who was on the Makers Mark tour with us a few days ago. We had also briefly seen her as we left the limestone distillery that same day and there she was welcoming us to her church. Jennifer Dawson Scott, was so glad to see us!

The service was the most Anglican Baptist service I’ve attended (other than the grape juice)... hearing our Australian accents in amongst the southern voices was funny and everyone wanted say hello to us during passing if the peace. We had lots of complements on our sweaters and I realised that few realised that they were Christmas humour 😳.

After the service we chatted with Jennifer and her husband Ted and it turns out that she thought we were travelling around the USA with own chauffeur 😱😆.

She had been talking to Montana our driver from the tour and the circumstances of our tour were not obvious. We had actually signed up on a reasonably priced group tour but as there was only two of us - instead of the usual tour bus and group experience Montana drove us in a SUV limo and booked us into general distillery tours. We didn’t realise what a statement this made to others touring the same facilities that day.

Montana had told Jenifer that we were from Australia and touring the south for 6 weeks, she assumed that meant with him and because we had splurged and were staying at the Brown this added to the absolutely wrong picture she had of us 😉 We set her straight and taught her the meaning of the phase “we are big dags” and also explained the homour behind our ugly Christmas sweaters. Hugs and Christmas wishes all around and we said good night and headed back to our hotel and made a few Christmas calls back home before snuggling in to watch another Dolly Heartstrings movie on Netflix... a wonderful Christmas Eve.

Looking forward to our very Dolly Christmas but until then...

Cheers Tash

Day 18

Blog 19

Wed Dec 25 2019

Christmas Morning 🤗🤗🤗🎄🎅🏻🤶🏻

We were up very early with breakfast done and the car packed before day break. We were at the Sanders Cafe, the original Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant just outside Corbin at first light. By sunrise we were at Cumberland Falls, we had the place to ourselves and we witnessed a fabulous display of nature at the falls, so much water. We didn’t hang around long because we had lunch reservations and it was FREEZING 🥶

Back on the interstate with Dolly chatting to us (podcast no 7. of Dolly Parton’s America) we headed for Tennessee’s Smoky Mountains. We arrived at Dolly’s DreamMore Resort at 11.30 and bucket list item no. 17 was ticked off 💜💜💜💜💜

We checked in, took in the Christmas decorations (stunning) checked out our room and sat down to lunch. Uuuummm Yummmmm! Snow crab legs, prawns, ham and even lamb! Salads, cheese, nuts and veggies we filled ourselves up... leaving a little room (or in David’s case - lots of room) for a wee bit of dessert. We also tried a Bloody Mary but couldn’t get past the savoury taste so we switched back to iced tea.

After lunch the early start and big lunch caught up with us so we indulged in a Christmas Day mid afternoon nap, delightful!

Waking up refreshed (3 hours later) we settled into “the living room” at the resort and played board games while sipping on warm apple cider. We joined in around the campfire for some s’mores but the cold air was a bit too much so we retreated back into the lobby for warmth around the Christmas tree.

It was a lovely day, we were in a beautiful setting, surrounded by lovely Fuurnishings and we ate like kings but on this most special of days we were also surrounded by families and for the first time on our trip we did miss family and understood more clearly that one of the joys of Christmas is being with family ... \240in all it’s complicated imperfections.

Tomorrow is our first theme park day, Dollywood awaits 🤗🤗🤗 so we settled in for an early night (David in my onesie) and we’re watching Dirty Dancing ... a cozy and romantic Christmas night.

Until tomorrow...

Cheers Tash

Day 19

Blog 20

Thursday 26 December

DollyWood

We woke up bright and early for Dolly Day and we were on the first bus to the theme park. We rope dropped and through the gate before opening and headed straight to the accessible services office where we had a discussion about David’s leg braces and received the equivalent to a Disney DAS pass.

Once the park opened properly and like all well-trained liners (Disney loving people who discuss and plan Disney trips in a way that makes others shake and tremble) we turned right - the opposite direction to the majority of the crowd and discovered that we had taken the short cut to one of the two most sought after rides in the park – “Lightening Rod”.  Within minutes (thanks to the back entry reserved for those with the accessibility card)  we were loaded in and shooting towards the sky at about 75 miles an hour.  After an exhilarating 2 minutes and 13 seconds coaster no. 1 was done!  We later learned that Lightening Rod is the fastest wooden coaster in America and was just voted “wooden coaster of the decade”.  

We sampled the famed cinnamon bread … (just like a big warm cinnamon doughnut) and spent some time at the replica of Dolly’s two bedroom Tennessee mountain home.  We rode some more big coasters and spent more time upside down at negative G forces than humanly advisable for folks in their late 40s!

We had a ball, I didn’t realise that Dollywood had so many big roller coasters and I was very brave on Mystery Mine which was mostly pitch black and my worst nightmare.  David’s favourite coaster was Thunderbolt; another wooden coaster. David enjoyed it so much because it rendered me not only speechless but completely silent!!!.  It was a rickety, bumpy noisy, twisting, high, phenomenal experience.  Those who have ridden coasters with me (or have been within a 10km radius of me on a coaster) know that I am notorious for my cackling screams and rather blue language but on the Thunderbolt I was totally and utterly silenced!

 David is currently making enquiries on how to have a replica thunderbolt rollercoaster installed in our home.

We saw a live show dedicated to Dolly’s music and her family, shared a hamburger and went back out to do some more rides.

The Christmas lights were lovely but it was much harder to navigate a dark park that we didn’t know well.  We re-rode the Wild Eagle – a very tall and fast coaster where you dangle out each side of the structure and had one more spin on lightening rod before heading to the Dolly Museum as our last stop.  

 We were devastated to discover that although the park hours had been extended for the night -the museum hours had not.  It was closed! Our only day at Dollywood and we had missed one of the “must dos” on my list. I tried to hold onto what a great day we had and the fact that I was fortunate to be there at all but I was so disappointed and worked hard to not cry at this whopping first world problem and take responsibility for my bad planning.  I took a seat in Dolly’s Wardrobe shop (yes all the retail was still open) and while it didn’t quite cheer me up at least I was surrounded by glitter and rhinestones.

 David suggested we talk to guest services to see if there was anything we could do, as DreamMore guests we’d already had a number of privileges, and there was nothing to lose by asking.  I told an abridged version of our story to the gate staff and a security guy before meeting Edie-Gaye in guest services.  Edie-Gaye (who would have been in her early 60s and had immaculate hair and makeup) was delighted that a pair of Aussies were at Dollywood, and that we were so keen to see the museum. After we told her our story and explained we only had this one day to do Dollywood and had stayed out on the coasters at the back of the park because we’d heard the extended park hours announcement she printed us some special “rain check” tickets. We were only asking to see the museum and we’d been prepared to pay a fee to do that but our tickets from Edie-Gaye were complementary full day admission tickets which meant we’d be able to come back in the morning before heading to Asheville. I was struggling to hold back my tears for a second time in an hour!  It was a happy ride back to DreamMore after that.

Back at the resort the realities of travelling caught up with us and I spent the next couple of hours washing and drying clothes. Yes people I did it … on holidays I’m sometimes the washing lady It’s weird but we often swap roles while on holidays – I’m fastidiously neat and organised and David flings his gear around the room like a 16 year old boy 🤣

Washing done (and a wee little conference about where we might purchase of a new plastic stool after a hotel room incident which we shall call “David tripped over his stool and broke it because he’s sometimes to proud and stubborn to let Tashie help him after walking 12 kilometres in a single day”) we were well and truly ready for bed!!!!!

Tomorrow will bring a tad more Dollywood before checking out and heading to the great state of North Carolina where I’m sure more adventures await, until then …

Cheers, Tash

Day 20

Blog 21

Friday 27 December

Much to achieve today but first the pack … and we’re getting better and faster every single time … we have enough spare room for at least 4 teaspoons!

With the car packed and ready to go we jumped on the DreamMore bus to Dollywood and as we saw the traffic and the carpark we were mighty mighty mighty pleased that today was not our real Dollywood day.  We were in the park just after opening an as expected there were very few people in the museum.  It was a wonderful exhibition of photos, memorabilia, letters and Dolly’s shoes and clothes.  Dolly’s original coat of many colours was on display as well as the versions made for the movie of the same name.  There were costumes from all her other movies, concert outfits as well as dresses she wore to award shows and movie premiers. There was a pair of high heeled pink cowboy boots decked out in rhinestones and glitter that I just adored and stared at for a good 10 minutes.  There were video extracts of award show speeches, singing with Porter and Kenny as well as a few rare photos with her husband the publicity shy Carl Dean.  It was well worth the visit and I will always remain greatful to Edie Gaye who helped make the visit possible and easy.

 We were back at the resort, in the car and on our way to Asheville before noon.  To achieve our extra Dollywood time we had to cut our visits to Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg short.  The research I did the night before indicated that both places are somewhat the entertainment playgrounds of the smokies, a drive through Pigeon Forge downtown area conformed this and we were able to glean the vibe of the place without stopping our vehicle so we drove right on through with a plan to stop in Gatlinburg for lunch.  We took the Gatlinburg bypass which meant that we essentially descended upon Gatlinburg from way above and we got a birdseye view of this popular mountain valley playground, as we arrived in town we realised just how crowded the place was, with both people and infrastructure.

To me it was Vegas meets Surfers Paradise meets Walmart. I’m sure it could provide a really fun vibe and I’m sure New Years Eve is going to be huge but too many people, too many cars, too many tourist buses, too many authentic (not) log cabins and too many advertising signs promising the BEST AND MOST EXTREME whatever they were selling all indicated it would be best to just drive on through – which still took a good 45 minutes of crawling bumper to bumper… 

Back on more open road, we passed through a few more small towns before finally joining up with the interstate for the last 45 minutes into Asheville.  The drive up and over the smokies was largely relaxing and entertaining, and we were able to listen to the second last Dolly podcast when we finally had mobile reception on the North Carolina side of the Smokies.

 We arrived at the Lion & Rose B&B around 4.30pm and met the owners Karen and Steve, we knew instantly that this (our second B&B experience on this trip) would definitely surpass the first.  They are friendly, approachable, generous hosts.

Also, unlike the first B&B in Mobile, it’s full so we’ll meet and dine with the other guests at breakfast each morning.

Karen recommended a Jamaican inspired restaurant just up the street for dinner so after a short rest and a cup of tea we took ourselves to Nine Mile and shared a delicious pasta and seafood meal ending it with and a simple but very yummy key lime pie.

We curled ourselves up in the parlour for a last cup of tea (well I was curled in the palor with tea and David was at the dining room table with an ice coffee) before retiring to our first floor bedroom and I’m sure waking everybody up by activating every squeaking floorboard of this late 19th centaury house.

Tomorrow we plan to have a very easy and relaxed day, the blog might just be about the sounds of us reading … but until then

Cheers Tash

Day 21

Blog 22

Saturday 28 December

No alarms,, no packing no driving … a blissful Saturday morning! We woke to the smell of a scrumptious breakfast and made it to the table showered and dressed by 8.57am… we left the table just after 11.30…. we got to talking lol!!!

The others guests staying at the B&B are a couple from Charlotte and a family from a small town an hour north of Atlanta.  We had a great conversation covering many topics … including but not limited to, American, Australian and British politics, public education and home schooling, Italy and Italian food, the French, physics, the harp, Irish whistles, literature (the classics and the trash) and flatwear.

We headed out around lunchtime and ferreted in and out of shops and cafes in the Ashville downtown area.  It’s a hotchpotch of retail, cafes, music venues and art galleries.  After we explored the shops I based myself in a café come bookstore for about an hour while David photographed the historic and civic buildings. We found a book each for Kimmie and Amanda (girls staying at the B&B with their parents LaVonne & Pete) and it was an easy and relaxing afternoon.  

We had a short rest back at the B&B and then drove back downtown and shared a pizza for dinner before seeing Little Women in a cute little arthouse cinema.  It was a great version of the book. I loved it. If it was a piece of music I would comment on the new interpretation of the original orchestration of the piece but I don’t know what the equivalent is in writing …  it wasn’t an adaption as such because essentially nothing was different other than how it was told… A lovely way to end a quiet easy day in a busy and bustling little town.

Tomorrow we journey on towards the center of North Carolina …. A few long days on the interstate are ahead … who know what mischief we’ll create to pass the time … until then

Cheers, Tash

Day 22

Blog 23

Sunday 29 December 2019

Sooo hard to get up from a warm and comfy bed with a view of leafy green trees in the crisp sunshine ... but the lovely smell of breakfast and fresh coffee wafting up the stairs helped.... David was up much earlier than I, he wanted some photos of a building downtown with the sun just so .... I stayed in bed dreaming about brown paper packages tied up with string (no really ... I was worrying about all the packages in our PO box 🙄😳).

Breakfast was another scrumptious talkfest, Amanda and Kimmie loved their books and relaxed when they realised just how inexpensive they were. We gave Amanda a book on creative writing and we gave Kimmie a mystery book, i.e. a book wrapped in brown paper (no string) with just an abstract quote to give a hint on the subject matter.

After breakfast I connected my laptop to the TV in the parlour and we all sat down to watch Isa in 50. A little slideshow I put together to show people our life in Isa. I still can’t believe that I didn’t also play the wedding video (or as it is now ... \240the wedding dance YouTube clip) what a lost opportunity... I won’t be making that mistake again 🤣🤣🤣

Slide show over it was time for our favourite game... pack and stack the car. This time we had many hands to help. Steven and Karen as well as Pete and the girls all helped carry our bags down the stairs and out to the car, they were all sceptical about our gear actually fitting and were equally surprised when it did ... with a special spot for just about everything!

And we were off. Our first stop was Chimney rock, just outside of Asheville... it’s a big steep climb with a great view but it also has a nifty secret.... inside the rock is a 26 story elevator so it’s completely accessible for David.! Unfortunately it was a super foggy day and visibility was poor. Given that we could barely see our hands in fount of us, we had no chance of seeing any kind of view from the top so rock climbing via an elevator was a miss for us.

We plugged in Dolly episode 8 (I finally thought to download the podcast so we could listen offline) and set towards Charlotte...

Our original plan for Charlotte was to use it as a stopover place and jam in some thrill rides at a local amusement park but with the weather so cold and wet we decided to change the plan and bypass Charlotte altogether. We headed for a little place called Mathew where we found a comfortable hotel just down the road from a few department stores (So David’s quest for over the knee socks could continue) and also near a cinema still showing “Last Christmas” which I really wanted to see before it finished it’s run.

It was a heart warming quirky British film, Emma Thompson was gold and we ended the night with a wee nip of bourbon cream!

More driving to come tomorrow and we’ll be rewarded with ocean views, until then

Cheers, Tash

Day 23

Blog 24

Monday 30th December 2019

So for something completely different we got up, ate breakfast and packed the car 😆🙄😉

Another day of driving ahead we were on the road by mid morning, we made a few sock stops and travelled east. We didn’t have Dolly to join us, (The final episode is not out yet) so we found \240Connie and Bruce on Unlocking the Magic, a Disney podcast. They are a husband and wife who love to banter and love Disney. David and I are now trying to think up ideas for our own podcast. so far we have “living weird, twenty years of tips”, “how to never pack light” and “useless facts and information we’d like to share” any other ideas are greatly welcome.

The hours passed, I had a snooze while David drove, David snoozed while I drove and we pulled into our hotel at Carolina Beach around 5pm. We checked in and there it was ... the ocean 🤗.

Dinner was an easy choice, the closest beer and raw bar. We shared some local oysters and prawns (shrimp) with old bay dressing and a beer... and how I have missed the North Carolina coast and it’s simple yet stunning food.

Over dinner our conversation turned to Disney and the popularity of the Peter Pan ride but how much of the ride was lost on us due to our very basic knowledge of the story. So we decided to watch the movie. It was a great plan right up until we fell asleep about 7 minutes in 🙄😆

At least we have a few more days to watch it. But only one more day of the year and of the decade..... until then

Cheers, Tash

Day 24

Blog 25

Tuesday 31 December 2019

I woke up warm and cozy with the sweet sound of David’s ALARM 😳... Since we were right on the ocean we wanted to see the last sunrise of the year and decade ... and I’ll be honest it wasn’t ridiculously early - it was 10 to 7 ... but it was COLD! Rugged up in my PJs plus my onesie plus 4 more layers I lasted 3 minutes outside to capture the first morning glow before I retreated back to the warmth for a little minute then braved the chilly (Arctic) breeze to see a magnificent sunrise. and then back to bed for cozy warmth with a view 🤣.

Netflix or a Disney plus marathon sounded like a great final day of the year but we got up and got going. We took a drive down to the Fort Fisher Ferry terminal and the whole area reminded us very much of the Outer Banks, where we stayed on the NC coast 4 years ago, big brightly painted cheerful beach houses lining narrow streets, just gorgeous.

Unfortunately both piers in Carolina Beach are closed for maintenance. They both looked like they took a heavy battering from Hurricane Florence earlier in the year but we were still able to get up close and near them on the beach.

After a swing in the sun we drove into Wilmington. Like many towns we have visited it has a modern functional utilitarian part and a historic old downtown part. We wandered around and checked out the shops scampering out of the shade and towards the sunny spots as much as possible (completely opposite to how we deal with the sun in Isa lol). We found a warm pub and stopped for lunch.

It was over lunch that I discovered that our friend Kim who we met on our last trip to the USA was right near by. In fact she had just boarded the ferry from Port Fisher and had stayed in the same hotel as us last night😮

We were on the phone planning a catch up in minutes, we couldn’t believe we were so close and almost missed each other... but we didn’t 🤗🤗🤗

We arranged to meet at the battleship North Carolina and when Kim arrived a couple of hours later it was hugs all round 😍😍😍. Kim’s kids Carly-Anne and Bobby had grown so much (it had been 4 years) and it was just so great to see them all.... We sat an chatted and laughter and took pictures right through sunset and had a thoroughly delightful afternoon. The Underwood’s had bought us some gifts (naughty of them) and they were fabulous... some fudge and taffy we could enjoy right away, and a Christmas ornament each that we can hang and think of them each year.

It wasn’t until we were at risk of turning into ice figurines that we reluctantly said our goodbyes (more hugs all round) and headed to our cars where we were intercepted by a bloke who turned out to be the ship’s night watchman. Our cars \240were the last in the car park and he wasn’t sure if we were still touring the ship (we actually never got on it). He actually stays in the captains quarters every night and shares the ship with the supposed ghosts of the two two seamen who are said to have never left the ship ... spooky stuff, don’t think that’s the job for me.

We had one last photo to take before parting ways ... It’s Kim’s kids who go/went to the school that makes us laugh the most ... Root Elementary, where every year they have a Rootin’ Tootin’ fundraising party 😮😳🤭😝... so we just had to take another picture of “that” car sticker ... this year Bobby photo bombed it which makes it even more hilarious (I can’t wait for him to one day work out why we laugh)

With much tootin’ (and no rootin’) we drove our separate ways... but the good news is we’ll see Kim next week ... she’s coming to Disney 🤗🤗🤗🤗

We needed one more thing to make the year complete ... one last visit to Walmart and there was a 24 hour superstore right around the corner ... and Walmart... \240she always delivers! Giant cheese balls, giant dark m&ms, giant water and a spoon... we were done. We had a quick dinner, (we broke our Cracker Barrel drought) and made our way back to the hotel.

It was a little after 9pm and the party on the boardwalk was just getting started so we rugged up (I had 5 layers on) and took a stroll. It was starting to get busy and festive but with a balcony that would give us a perfect view of the fireworks and a warm room attached we didn’t stay too long out in the throng. \240We decided to watch the end of Peter Pan (but we set the alarm just on the remote chance we’d fall asleep) ... and for the second time on that same day I was woken from my warm cosy sleep by David’s alarm ... we had 4 minutes to rug up and get outside 😱😬🙄... we made it and were treated to a very pretty fireworks display (I watched while saying a quiet thank you to all those fighting bushfires back at at home) ... with the new year rung in “Hello 2020” we headed back to our warm cosy spot ... and Peter Pan \240remained unfinished lol

A new year full of new adventures awaits, until then...

Cheers, Tash

Day 25

Blog 26

Wednesday 1 January

Carolina Beach

Such an easy perfect start to the new year. We woke up mid morning(ish) and pottered around, it was a cool crisp day but the sun was out, we could see the ocean and the sky was clear blue... a perfect winter’s day by the beach.

We headed back down to Fort Fisher and wandered around the foreshore, I was surprised at the number of geese flying in perfect formation, just wave after wave of them flying out to sea.

We photographed lots of beach houses, the brightly coloured dwellings look fabulous in the sunshine. Yesterday we’d seen a bloke painting his house and we were surprised to see that he had finished one side and had started the next ... high on a ladder painting the weatherboards one by one. We think there must be regulations about colours you can use and how houses must be painted, either a local by-law or state legislation, but it’s certainly something to research when we get home.

We stopped for lunch at “The Spot” and headed back to the hotel. We spent the last of the daylight on the boardwalk down on the foreshore, just soaking up the beach and the ocean views. We walked to dinner and enjoyed more local seafood, talked to our server about how busy it gets in summer and shared a ridiculously large banana, rum and ice team dessert!

After dinner we finally finished Peter Pan and I think we had more questions and concerns than before we started ... it was made in 1953, it was a different time, they did not know! Disney plus has added a cultural warning at the start of the movie but it was still hard to watch and boy one could write a thesis on The relationship between Peter, Wendy and those mermaids 😳

It was a lovely relaxing, easy slide into the new year (and as I drifted off to sleep my heart bled for those back home battening \240devastating bushfires who did not have the same easy start to the year 😭)

I am so thankful for all I have and have the opportunity to experience 💜

Cheers, Tash

Day 26

Blog 27

Thursday 2 January 2020

Carolina Brach to Hilton Head via Southport

Up super early this morning because we have the longest drive of our trip... \240460km to do in one day. . We also really want to see the town of Southport because it’s by all accounts a beautiful town and also the location of a Nicholas Sparks movie - Safe Haven (starring Julianne Hough and Josh Duhamel). It was a short Ferry ride from Fort Foster to Southport and I’d tell you all about the 40 min journey but I slept through the whole thing. We had a chat to the park ranger (who’s grandmother was born in Kangaroo Flat just outside of Bendigo) and then we were magically in Southport 😱😳🤭

And it was so pretty! A delightful seaside town. \240We had bread at a local cafe where David found out that the normal population is in the 1000s and swells to the 100s of 1000s in the summer. We took ourselves on the Safe Haven self guided movie tour - 12 locations in 23 minutes \240(thank you google maps and two phones) and then got started on our drive towards the most southern tip of South Carolina.

It was a long drive! Lots of small roads and small towns, we rejoined the interstate late in the afternoon and arrived at Hilton Head in the dark. Connie and Bruce complete with their banter and Disney musings entertain us for much of the drive and I think I can confidently say we have discovered the joys of podcasts on this holiday.

Being dark meant it was hard to make a fair assessment but Hilton Head was not what I imagined and it was a bit odd- disconcerting. There was an enormous amount of retail (even by US standards) kinda hidden behind thickly treed streets and many many hotels that also kinda looked the same.

We got a recommendation for dinner and took ourselves down to harbour Town. Hilton Head does not have street lights so it is very very dark... we also discover that much of it is gated and to get to the harbour town area there was an entry fee. The entry fee was worth it, dinner (more fresh seafood) was delicious. We drove back on the dark dark roads and settled in to watch Safe Haven ... how could we not 😉.

I’m really looking forward to seeing Hilton Head in the daylight tomorrow, until then...

Cheers, Tash

Day 27

Blog 28

Friday 3 January 2020

Hilton Head to Fernandina Beach

So Hilton Head is ... well a bit weird really ... and as beautiful the beach is and how well the place is maintained ... it’s just not for me. Having said that I’m very happy we visited and stayed here . For me, given how much I love the colourful beach houses on the North Carolina coast, Hilton Head’s vast expanse of of unrelenting brown does not appeal. This deliberate earthy tone is obviously to blend with and not interrupt the natural environment but it leaves me a little uncomfortable, it’s not a place that sings with joy and community .. it sternly says leave me alone, don’t cross the line, stay in your designated lane ... and maybe that’s the point ... those frolicking, unicorn loving, talkative, glittery types don’t like it, don’t hang out here and are not missed! \240Who knew town planning could have such an effect one one’s emotional response 😉 😳😆.

The Hilton Head lighthouse was not scheduled to open until 10am so we had planned to be packed early, do some errands and then eat breakfast before going to the lighthouse but Hilton Head is not a morning person! Nothing opens before 10 at this time of year so we drove around (up to lots of gates - Including Disney’s Vacation Club) and were first in the lighthouse door at 10am. The view was good but I was done with Hilton Head and more than ready for the most exciting portion of the day ... which was next!

We drove about an hour west to a little town called Brooklet to meet Beth and Hansi and their kids Matilda and Charlie. And meet them we did! Beth is Disney loving kindred spirit who I have “known” for a couple of years through an online Disney chat group and we took the opportunity to meet in person. it was a raging success. They are a lovely family, and like us have moved from big city life to a small remote town (although they are only an hour from Savannah). We had a wonderful afternoon getting to know each other, laughing, talking, eating and touring their town and nearby Statesboro.... I just know we’ll be seeing Beth and Hansi again somewhere some time.

We reluctantly said our goodbyes and got back on the road a little after six and with the magic that is the interstate road network we pulled into our hotel in Fernandina Beach Florida a little before nine. We had the choice of a late supper or a cuppa (and a cookie) and watching the end Safe Haven ... we chose the latter🤭

Another brilliant day, it started with weird and ended with wonderful and tomorrow brings the start of a few days with our dear friends Mike and Erin.

Until then...

Cheers, Tash

Day 28

Blog 29

Saturday 4 January 2020

Fernandina Beach to Orlando

We woke up early ... not to pack (but yes there is that too) but to enjoy yet another sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean ... it just never gets tired and as the sun broke through I knew we had another glorious day ahead... I was so wrong by the time I was ready for breakfast 30 minutes later the sunshine had gone and the rain had set in. We did a quick tour to the historical area (from the comfort of the car) and set google maps for Maitland, Orlando.

And we arrived 🤗🤗🤗. We were back in familiar territory at Mike and Erin’s place and it was so great to see them again after 4 years. We caught up for a couple of hours (talking at million miles an hour and covering many subject matters... we’ll that was just me) and then got ourselves organised for the game ... Erin had managed to get us tickets for the Orlando Magic V Utar Jazz basketball and on top of having awesome seats it was Star Wars night so there was much entertainment and excitement.

We watched a little football when we got home and also saw Jake, their youngest son who has grown 2.4 meters since we last saw him 4 years ago.

Such a lovely day reconnecting with dear friends and tomorrow Mike and I are going to cook, until then...

Cheers, Tash

Day 29

Blog 30

Sunday 5 January 2020

We started the day with David in the kitchen, teaching Mike the fine art of poaching eggs so Erin and I sat back and let the boys cook... poached eggs, wilted spinach, and sautéed tomatoes while we enjoyed a coffee.

We had an easy morning chatting and catching up before we got ourselves organised to go downtown towards Winterpark for a boat tour around the grand estates on the lakes and canals. It was a glorious sunny day and lovely to find out about the local history however at some points it felt like I was on the jungle cruise at Magic Kingdom ... in Orlando everything leads to Disney.

After the boat tour Mike David and I headed to whole foods to do a big shop for the evening feast ... \240it was time for Mike and I to cook together again for the first time in four years. \240(We last cooked together for Thanksgiving 2015 \240and it was the extravaganza to end all extravaganzas). But back to whole foods lol, we grabbed our supplies, inspected the plantains (David is a fan of all banana like produce) selected some cookies and sorted out the sunshine/ ginger debacle and headed back home to my favourite kitchen in the USA.

David made himself useful in the kitchen - preparing drinks for all of us. Mike broke his whole 30 plan to join me with a nip or seven of bourbon while David had his Bourbon cream and root beer concoction while Erin \240stuck with water.

Mike and I hit the bowls and picked up our knives and prepared the feast. \240I worked on prawn dumplings with an avocado sweet chili sauce will Mike made a \240Yotam Ottolenghi inspired African fish stew. I also made my favourite crispy salad of apples beansprouts and mint with a hot chili sauce. Jake, Jenna and her boyfriend Sam joined us for dinner where we talked laughed and ate... a perfect evening in!

More Orlando adventures await, until then

Cheers, Tash

Day 30

Blog 31

Monday 6 January 2020

It was bound to happen sooner or later but we Completely missed most of the morning because we slept in. As much as I wanted to get up early, \240the comfortable bed and relaxing atmosphere meant it just didn’t happen. We were up and ready to get going a little before midday

David had found a sock shop at the shopping mall nearby so we went and checked that out and discovered firsthand the impact of Amazon on retail in America ... big malls lots of closed shops and not many people... \240it was a bit depressing but we remedied the situation by finding a Barnes & Noble and immersing ourselves in the world of books for a few hours.

We returned to Mike and Erin’s in time to get ready for a little Disney preview... I’d organised dinner at Disney Springs with my good friend Jen and her family Shaun and Conner as well as Tracey and Dan from Brisbane and Dan’s \240parents Dan Senior and Pat from upstate New York. it was so exciting to be able to see good friends from home here in Florida And introduce them to Mike and Erin I love it when worlds collide.

On the way to dinner we called into the electric wheelchIr rental company to enquire about hiring one for David for our time at Disney. , He tried it and was sold in seconds, it was immediately clear how liberating this chair was going to be... worth every cent of the 10 day hire fee!!!!

Dinner was a hoot the food was delicious and the company was entertaining and I think we were the rowdiest table in the restaurant I had a feeling everyone would get along well and I realise this was in fact the case when I looked around and saw that we were amongst the last table left in the restaurant and it was almost closing time.

Another great day on the Tash and David adventure done and dusted, \240until tomorrow

Cheers, Tash

Day 31

Blog 32

Up early! It was our last full day with Mike and Erin so we were keen to make the most of it. After the raging success of poaching eggs with Mike, David turned his attention to tutoring Erin through the process ... and it was 3 out of 3 for his American culenary classes featuring the poaching of eggs (he’d successfully tutored Wayne in Atlanta earlier in trip.

Mike and Erin drove us down to Blue Springs Park to see a local phenomenon... herds of manatees lounging in the natural warm spring waters. It was peaceful and beautiful. At first it was hard to spot the manatees but then as the sun shone on the water we saw a few and then more and more... there were so many it was quite the sight.

We spent the afternoon doing some life admin ... Oohh and chatting!

Mike treated us to an absolute delicious BBQ steak for dinner ... I can confidently say it would challenge the finest steaks I’ve ever tasted... the cut, the cook, the rub were all on point... David who rarely goes for seconds was quick to ask for the bone to chew on.

After dinner we rugged up and went to watch Jake play soccer. ... well we watched Jakes time play doc or as he is the reserve goalkeeper and didn’t get a run on the pitch but it was fun to be in the bleachers at a high school game.

All in all it was another relaxed and easy day on this amazing adventure

Tomorrow we enter “The Last Phase” until then

Cheers, Tash

Day 32

Blog 33

Author’s Note: Disney days entries ….

This blog is the last 10 days of our USA 2019/2020 adventure. \240Little did we know back then that these were the last few days before the world as we knew it would significantly change …. Social distancing wasn’t a concept, masks weren’t a thing, buses were body to body crowded and sneezing in public didn’t turn you into a social pariah ….

The events of the past 12 months have strengthened my resolve to live in the moment, enjoy the present and take the opportunities when they arise….

So I’m writing these last few blog entries just over twelve months after we got home, I always have real trouble finishing my trip blogs… a bit like a great book, I find it hard to read the last few pages because I’m not always ready to say goodbye or in this case put the trip to bed … but now’s the time…

Given the long break between events and these blog entries I’m relying on photos and memories…so the chronological order might be a bit questionable but I can tell you that our Disney days in January 2020 were filled with joy, laughter, sore legs, great food, new friends, old friends, great rides, Disney buses, s’mores and a fire pit.

Woke up this morning and realised that it was time for the second last pack of our holiday - so I got up and plonked myself on the couch and sipped on a coffee for a good 45 minutes. Nothing like a good dose of procrastination to start the day.

With Disney calling I reluctantly started the pack … it wasn’t that I didn’t want to get to Disney, and I wasn’t daunted by the pack … after over 30 days I was a certified packing Ninja! No the procrastination was a delay tactic to avoid the inevitable goodbye. \240Saying good bye to Erin and Mike is always really really hard, (as is saying goodbye to each of our friends across the States) but saying good bye to them usually means we are entering the final phase of a holiday and real life is just around the corner and seeing our friends in the USA becomes a long way away all over again …. It’s a bitter sweet feeling that I never get used to … how can I be so excited and so sad all in the very same moment.

Alas, time marches on without choice and the inevitable moment of hugs, final photos and goodbyes is upon us. \240We drove off with a final toot and a quick spin around the corner before I wiped the tears streaming down my face…. The only thing that could cheer me up at that very moment was a smile from David and the promise of the happiest place on earth.

We drove under the iconic sign in the early afternoon and instantly we were in the “bubble” the road signage, the vegetation, road quality and colours were all so Disney and all so familiar …. There really is a feeling of coming home. \240We got to Pop Century, our home for the next ten days and after working out the car parking and picking up David’s new toy (his ECV) we set about the great unpack. \240The rooms at Pop century had been upgraded since our last stay in 2013 and the new fold up 2nd double bed gave us so much more space as well as an excellent table.

We took one last drive in our Buick Encore, she’d been good to us, despite our cautious start and worry about packing everything in. \240From Louisiana to Florida she served us well, we managed to fit our ever grown load into the boot and backseat, we covered 5400kms from small back roads to the horror of 16 lanes of traffic in Atlanta at peak period on the Friday before Christmas! \240We managed to do the whole drive incident free (other than the few occasions that we drove on the wrong side of the road – mostly in shopping mall car parks).

We arrived at the airport and after a few laps and wrong turns we found the largest rental car return facility we have ever seen. The final driving instruction we had to follow was a doosey! \240“pull forward” it was hilarious to end our driving experience with such an incongruous sign … we had to take a picture

Giving up the car meant we had really entered the last phase of the holiday and for the first time that day I started to feel the “Disney bubble”

We arrived at Disney with mixed feelings having just said goodbye to our very dear friends Mike and Erin, we always stay with them prior to entering the Disney bubble so this bitter sweet feeling is not new…

As soon as we arrived we bumped into a Disney friend who’d I’d chatted with online for over 3 years but never met …( and by bumped into I mean she spotted us in the check in line, called out, \240and made a beeline to us through a number of queue barriers) \240it was a fleeting catch up, time for a selfie and that’s about it but it was a fun way to start this last leg of our trip. \240We arrived mid-morning but by the time we checked in, picked up David’s electric scooter, unpacked took the hire car back to the airport and caught the Magical express bus back it was well into the late afternoon so we hot footed it to the Disney transport area and made our way to Disney Springs for our dinner reservation at Raglan Road… an Irish pub smack bang in the middle of Florida USA, we went traditional with a Guinness pie and lamb shanks and we weren’t disappointed … yum…. It was loud and hectic but the Irish tunes and dancing and the noise made it a fun atmosphere. After dinner we strolled around Disney Springs (well I strolled and David rolled). \240Back to Pop and with the scooter all stored and on the charge it was early to bed … ready for the first of 10 BIG days.

Cheers Tash

Day 33

Blog 34

Magic Kingdom

There is no other park I can even think of starting our trip in …. MK is a must do first day tradition for me and I have to say that David is always incredibly agreeable and generous when it comes to the Disney part of our adventures … he was also in way better spirits because he was rolling and not walking… First up, the bus was a slightly different experience with the priority loading ( and not queueing with most other people) but we still had the opportunity to chat to lots of other peeps around us once we were all loaded.

Our arrival to Magic Kingdom was as magical as ever, the music, the smells and the sights, going through the tap-styles, walking under the railway station and entering the top of Main Street USA never gets old… it’s exhilarating every single time…

As we strolled ( and rolled) down Main Street … ok let’s clear this up once and for all, please assume that when I refer to strolling, walking, \240or running (although one would never run in WDW) that I’m the one on legs and David is the one keeping up at speed in the scooter… \240So as I was saying…as we strolled down Main Street we saw the main street trolley show for the very first time. \240As we stood in the warm dappled sunshine of the early morning, we were treated to the song and dance crew’s finest … it’s the little things that make MK and the whole of WDW really pop for me and this was the perfect start to our return to MK after almost 5 years.

We made our way down to the castle and lined up for the obligatory main street castle photos and for the first time ever we decided to turn left first instead of right and head to Liberty square…and to really indulge in our Disney nerd cred we headed straight into the Hall of Presidents…Now I know this is a favourite place for people to take a load off and snooze in the air con but for us it’s a must do … and not for snoozing. \240After HoP we wandered over and did the Country Bears Jamboree for the very first time. \240After hearing such poor reviews about this show for years, we had low expectations but I actually really liked it. \240Sure it was dated but for its time it would have been very modern and I think it held it’s own very nicely. \240We decided not to do splash or line up for Tom Sayer island so we indulged ourselves with back to back to back rides on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad … still sooo much fun.

We headed back towards the castle and caught the end of Move It Shake it and saw Mickey and Minnie for the first time, after a quick wave and photo op we headed towards Tomorrow Land and a whirl on Buzz… no idea how people get high scores, I’m rubbish but I love the ride anyway. \240… after an extraordinarily long wait in one of MKs longest lines … the Joffrey Coffee line!!! we took a back to back ride on the people mover. \240Inspired by Unlocking the Magic Podcast’s Bruce and Connie … (well Bruce more than Connie to be fair) I was determined to sneak my Joffrey’s coffee onto the people mover. \240First try , thanks to a very handy backpack and a cup holder, mission accomplished…. it was lovely sitting back in the PM sipping my contraband coffee, it’s the naughtiest I’ve ever been at WDW (this naughtiness would soon be topped but that’s a story for another blog on another day).

We headed over o the other side of tomorrow land and had some fun in the line for Space Mountain, the ride was great as usual, lots of screams in the dark but I was disappointed to discover that the refurbished exit means that the travellators are no more.

It was time to claim a spot in the disability viewing area to see a parade I’ve been waiting to see for over 4 years, I’d seen it on line many times but there’s nothing like the live version of just about everything (except rugby union … that’s way better on TV) the xxx fantasy parade was awesome… I loved it and the disability access viewing area was excellent for David, he was able to stay in his scooter without an obstructed view and without obstructing the view for anyone else… he had a great time too… no so much watching the parade but watching me watch the parade. \240Afterwards we wandered into fantasy land for a ride on the mine train and a ride on the carousel. As luck would have it the line for Peter Pan was ridiculously short so we jumped on for a flight over London before heading to It’s a small world. \240David of course asked if I would like to wear my sunglasses. \240This was in reference to our first and only visit to Disneyland where after riding it’s a small world I commented that whilst it was a good ride it was a bit too dark …. It was then that David informed that I was wearing my sunglasses … for the entire time. \240I got the last laugh though …. I maintain it was this diminished experience on that ride that finally convinced David that we needed to visit WDW so I could experience It’s a Small World in all it’s wonderful colour.

We wandered about a little longer, I checked out and swapped some pins, it was the first time doing trading pins for me and I found it a great way to interact with cast members. \240We wandered through the shops in Main Street and found a Dumbo drawing that we just couldn’t resist.

Our day at MK had been an easy one full of people watching, rides, laughter and a couple of delightful surprises. \240We left well satisfied and headed to the friendship boats and took a ride to Fort Wilderness to Meet Tim and Pat for dinner at Trails End. We were a little bit early so we took the opportunity to enjoy the rustic surroundings in the rocking chairs on the porch …. I may have had a wee little nap.

Tim and Pat arrived and we enjoyed a great buffet of chicken, ribs, pasta and puddling together all the while talking and laughing non-stop for a good few hours. \240Travelling hoe late in the evening on Disney transportation is always a little slow but the trip to Disney Springs and then back to Pop was interspersed with random conversations with people also out and about in WDW.

Another great day done and dusted… tomorrow is HS day … and a ridiculously early start!

But more about that tomorrow, until then

Cheers Tash

Day 34

Blog 35

Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom

4.15am! \240The alarm went off at 4.15am!! WE’RE ON HOLIDAYS AND THE ALARM WENT OFF AT 4.15AM!!!!!!!!!!!! … and we set it to go off at that hour … this proves that we are 100% certifiably insane!! \240But thems the breaks if you want a chance at riding the most popular attraction in WDW, Orlando, Florida, The USA and quite possibly the world! \240We were up at this ungodly hour to make it to Hollywood Studios by 5.45am so we could be near the top of the line and through the gates and at a ‘secret location’ with excellent wifi to log on and get a boarding group number for Rise of the Resistance… I was certain that we were being overly cautious and we’d be met with only a handful of other similarly crazy people but no … there were many, by 4.45 the bus stop was packed (I was quietly thanking the gods for the disability loading line… we were 1st in line) … I thought maybe there are more people at Pop doing this because buses are reliable and plentiful but on arrival to HS I saw that nope, people had come from all the resorts…. We stood in the dark silence acknowledging the madness, listening to the instructions and directions coming frequently over the loud speakers.

Once inside the gates I had about 20 minutes to find my spot and get set up. \240David headed towards RnRC and ToT to join one of those lines and I found the perfect spot on a bench seat, not too close to the buildings, and wet at the other end so just room for me… and my wifi had 4 bars…. I logged into MDE… tested my wifi and waited… and waited… and waited… those 16 minutes took forever. At 6.59 I started the process and as the clocked ticked over to 7.00am I pressed the green button… heard screams of delight almost immediately from people near and far and then my phone came to life … BG 28!!!!!!!!!!!! \240so much relief and a little fist pump of victory! \240As squeals of delight continued to ring out around me I made my way down the throng of people still focused on their phones and found David hanging about RnRC … we made our way through the FP line and had a quick ride before making our way to another galaxy far far away….

Oh wow, the theming was awesome, we only had time for a quick look on the way to Rise of the Resistance (RotR) but I made a note that we’d need plenty of time to explore when we came back later in the week. \240RotR didn’t disappoint. \240It’s one of those lines that you actually don’t want to rush through, so much detail to take in and the pre ride expedience was truly next level and CMs were outstanding. \240At one point I worked really hard to crack one of the cast members in character but he was too good for me. \240The ride itself was fabulous, like nothing I’d ever experienced … excellent from beginning to end. \240We trotted down to ToT for a quick ride and scream before hotfooting it over to AK … the park we actually planned to go to… with FPs at 12noon we needed to make good time.

We got the sky-liner (torture chamber) over to Caribbeana Beach and waited as a bus stop for about 15 minutes before working out it wasn’t the right one (we used the time well with David showing off his stellar driving skills) Once we got to the right bus stop an AK bus came quickly and we were on our way.

Pandora … wow… what can I say … absolutely mind blowing. \240The detail was amazing and so immersive, we rode Navi river and then took our time wandering though the Flight of Passage line… again the pre ride experience was terrific but nothing … absolutely nothing prepared me for the following 4.5 minutes, it was absolutely exhilarating. I can’t even try to describe it because I don’t have the words, I could use a whole dictionary of superlatives but you would be none the closer to understanding the experience…. So let’s leave it at wow, we’ll be doing that again before we leave.

After so many new experiences it was time for some old favourites, a couple of climbs up Everest and a bumpy dinosaur chase followed before leaving the park to head over to our storybook dining experience … another first for us.

Storybook dining is a Snow White themed dinner, with Snow and the dwarves mingling with diners throughout the meal. \240For those brave enough, you can take an audience with the Evil Queen. \240The experience is aimed at kids but so enjoyable to attend as an adult and watch the kids. \240They light up when they see Snow White, giggle with the dwarves and scream, cry or hide when it comes to the Evil Queen. \240The meal is delicious and whimsical and only adds to the whole experience. \240When it was our turn to meet the queen I thought I’d have a word or two with her about the virtue of kindness… you’d think I’d learn my lesson about taking on cast members after my morning experience at Rise of the Resistance but no I had to have a shot… suffice to say I lost the battle … she was on point, delivering her message of disregarded and insult with the perfect amount of disinterest and self worth… these cast members are fantastic…

After dinner we meandered home to Pop via Disney Springs, Tomorrow see us at Epcot and a very special party, can hardly wait, until then

Cheers Tash

Day 35

Blog 36

Epcot

We woke this morning at the much more reasonable time of 8.15 and had a leisurely breakfast to be out the door at 9.30am. \240The most reMARKable thing about the day’s touring was my outfit, yes we had the obligatory matching t-shirts ( Miss Piggy & Kermit) yes I was wearing the obligatory mouse ears (Betsy Johnson pink pom poms) but it was my socks … I was rocking my MND Big Freeze 5 socks … I looked rather ridiculous but any opportunity to talk about MND (ASL in the US) is another opportunity that might just lead to a donation, a breakthrough or a cure…

Anyway, back to the day at hand … Epcot day which meant another ride in the sky-liner. \240I thought I was uber brave this time but on review of the video footage … not so much. \240Did I mention that although I absolutely love thrill rides I’m ridiculously terrified of chairlifts and gondolas. \240It doesn’t stop me from riding them, it just stops any people joining me from enjoying them… I whimper and shake like a fall to my death is immanent.

Epcot is such a great park for a wander, we usually take this park real easy and today was no different. \240We started with a photo opportunity with Goofy before having a spin on test track and having some fun with the new ‘you beaut’ cars on display. \240We found a quite spot to take a load off and I spotted a great background for a photo, actually I thought it was a great foreground of greenery so I climbed through and popped my Betsy Johnson decorated head back out through the foliage. \240We got a great photo… right before a cast member came along and demanded (in a very pleasant but firm tone) that I removed myself from the backstage area and stay within the boundaries of the guests area … And that’s the story about the time Tashie got in trouble at Disney world!!! \240We wandered some more, took in the delicious sounds of the Voices of Liberty, enjoyed the American adventure and checked out China and Morocco

It was mid-afternoon and I was in need of a drink … so we hot footed it to Germany! \240We met up with our Dinner partners from a few nights ago, Timmy and Pat and had a refreshing ale or two together before parting ways. \240We had a very important date to make…

Although only January 11 we were within the year of our 20th wedding anniversary and I really wanted to celebrate it at Disney World with a party. \240Unfortunately to pull that off on July 1 our actual anniversary, right in the middle of summer at a Disney World sanctioned event was going to cost in the vicinity of $10,000 … so we planned something a little more in line with our budget. \240We booked a seafood feast at Blue Zoo followed by drink in the bar with friends. \240By friends I mean peeps I’ld chatted with on Lines over that past few years who were in the parks at the same time as us. \240We put out an open invitation and were delighted to meet a dozen fellow Disney fans who were able to join us that night. \240What a fantastic night we had, full of stories and laughter and friendship.

The highlight, other than making such wonderful new friends, was when David was gifted his very own popcorn bucket in the shape of the Millennium Falcon or is it the Millennial Falcon???? I’ll never ever get it right. \240It was a super way to celebrate our anniversary and it set up a fare few group meet ups over the next week. \240One of the wonderful delights of Disney World is meeting people and sharing experiences, it really take the visit to a new level.

Tomorrow is our official Hollywood Studios day, this time without the ridiculously early start…. Looking forward to checking out all the bits we haven’t seen before, until then

Cheers Tash

Day 36

Blog 37

Hollywood Studios

We arrived at Hollywood studios (via the death buckets, but I was massively braver today) and found another group of crazy people who had a ridiculously early morning, but these peeps had taken it to the next level. \240We had gotten up early a few days ago to stand and sit around … a lot… but these crazy people were running… they were participating in the last day of the runDisney marathon weekend and they were running through every single park … we stopped and cheered for a while, I think they are all as mad as a cut snake but you gotta applauded the effort the dedication and the costumes.

We headed to ToT and RnRC ( that’s tower of terror and Rockin’ Rollercoaster) for a quick early morning adrenalin rush before heading over to Toy Story world to experience it for the first time. \240It was delightful, bright happy and fun. \240The toy soldiers were out and about, they are so entertaining and easy to watch. We didn’t do the Slinky Dog Dash as we had a fast pass for late in the afternoon so we took in Muppet Vision and as we came out we bumped smack bang into MoJoe and his family.

We headed to a world far far across the galaxy for a better look at what we missed when we last visited and the attention to detail is absolutely amazing, one moment you’re in Hollywood Studios, with a music, smell and visual sensory overload \240then you walk through a tunnel and come out into the muted tones of a world you’ve never seen before, it’s \240magical transition (and from the imagineers of Disney I really shouldn’t expect anything less).

We had a hilarious encounter with some storm troopers, checked out the Millennium/Millennial Falcon, waved to Chewbacca and watched Rai expertly hide from Darth’s boys. \240We managed to score a table at Oga’s for some wacky drinks that had a life of their own and \240then we settled into a shady corner to watch a group of kids being interrogated by storm troopers, a very entertaining afternoon!

We left Galaxy’s Edge and wandered over to my absolute favourite live show in all of WDW, Frozen the sing along and got to enjoy the fabulous Equity Ben for the very first time. I just love that show and EB made it all the more hilarious. \240After the show we lined up for a photo op with Olaf before racing over to Prime Time for an early dinner, we were roused for being late, having elbows on the table and not eating all our vegetables…. 50’s Prime Time is so much fun and I just love the 50s time capsule that you get to enjoy while eating there.

We took in the beauty and the Beast live show \240and a quick ride on RnRC before headed back to Toy Story land for a spin on Toy Story Mania before our first ride on Slinky, which was really fun. \240We managed to grab a ride on Alien Swirl without any line at all and then headed back to the Chinese Theatre area to watch The Star Wars Galactic Spectacular. We ended the night with a meet and greet with the Toy Story cast where David totally dissed Bo, (he’s not over the fact that Woody didn’t end up with Jessie). \240We headed home via the death bubbles and I was way too tired to be scared, I was just grateful to be off my feet after 26,583 steps.

Tomorrow we’ll be back at Magic Kingdom for a very special event but that’s a story for another blog.

Cheers Tash

Day 37

Blog 38

Magic Kingdom

We woke up to another gloriously sunny Florida fall day and had a quick breakfast before heading for the MK bus. \240Lots of people must have had a late night or schedules pool days because there was hardly a crowd at the entrance. \240Once through the tap styles and under the railway station we walked straight into a first time experience for us… We caught the Dapper Dans show … it was fabulous and I couldn’t help thinking how much my mum and grandma would have loved the music and the costumes, a lovely happy way to start the day at the happiest place on earth. \240After ther show and a few fan photos we made our way over to the theatre for the start of our Keys to the Kingdom tour. \240I’d been wanting to do this tour for the longest time so I was really excited.

There were about 20 people on the tour which was a great size and we set off right on 10am. \240 Due to the extensive access to backstage areas the tour was strictly no photos but the opportunity to access those usually off limits places was worth the ban. \240The guide was very entertaining and knowledgeable, we walked the length and breadth of Magic Kingdom and my favourite part was the utilidors - the famed underground tunnel network under MK.

For, as bright and cheery MK is - the utilidors are dark and industrial, built for function. \240There is lots to see and take in and I was interested as much in the posters about goals, achievements and workplace culture as Inwas about who and what we saw… It’s definitely not the place to go if you want to suspend reality and stay in the bubble but I was happy to break out of the bubble… just for a few hours. \240While down there, we saw peter pan (a girl), Mickey sans head, two Alices swapping shifts and a very animated Snow on her mobile telling her boyfriend what she wanted him to buy from Whole Foods.

We wandered around the backstage floats area and watched a dance rehearsal that was preparing 4 new dancers for their first performance later that day. We learnt about the back and front of house performance requirements, attitudes, and behaviours required of every cast member as well as information on how to become a cast member. \240The guide told us much about Walt’s vision for the park and also showed us the many tributes the park has for Walt, Roy and other key people who played a significant role in the foundation and establishment of WDW. \240We got to ride the jungle cruise and learnt how the cast members craft their really terrible jokes and we had a very in-depth personal tour of the haunted mansion and learnt some of the secrets of the stretching room as well as the lowdown on some of the tricks and illusions used throughout the ride. By the end of the tour we had walked the length and breadth of Magic kingdom and then some! We visited every land and half a dozen backstage areas ... suffice to say my legs were tired and heavy.

We finished in time to grab a great spot to watch the afternoon parade (which gave my legs a well earned rest) and then we headed to Tomorrowland for some Space Mountain and Buzz action before hitting Astro Orbiter as the sun started to set (my absolute favourite time to take a spin up there on the top deck). \240We grabbed some food on the go, did a little pin trading and wandered through the shops in main street. We found a great spot to watch Once Upon a Time and Happily Ever After and caught great view of Tink flying overhead from the castle. \240I love the spectacular of the castle lighting up and changing colours, it never gets old. \240After the show we joined the throng and headed for home. \240On arrival back at Pop we grabbed a hot chocolate nightcap and were asleep in minutes….

Cheers Tash

Day 38

Blog 39

Animal Kingdom

A nice easy start this morning but we were still out the door and on the bus to AK by 8.30am and on our Kilimanjaro tour by 9.30. \240Lots of animals out and active for our tour and we got a fantastic close up of some rhinos. We took in a couple of Everest climbs before heading back to pandora for another ride on the banshee and a float down the Navi river. \240We took our time exploring the detail of this magical land before crossing over to Africa for one of the most entertaining and energetic live shows … The Festival of the Lion King… those tumble monkeys are brilliant!

We left AK around lunchtime to meet our lovely friend Kim at the Boardwalk Inn near Epcot for a very special afternoon. \240We were booked in for a sip and paint session with Kim and a few of her friends. And what a wonderful, hilarious afternoon in turned out to be, David found a comfortable chair so I knew what would happen next for him, but the girls couldn’t believe that he could sleep (and snore) through our laughter and antics. \240We had a lovely (and patient) art instructor and over the course of the afternoon and a fair few glasses of wine we all came away with our Disney snack food masterpieces.

We all decided that one (or two) more drinks down at the ESPN sports bar would be a great way to finish off an already fabulous afternoon. \240David and I had a couple of hours before we were due for our dinner reservation in Disney Springs so it was perfect timing.

We wandered downstairs to the ESPN sports bar. After being totally immersed in the Disney bubble for a week it was a bit weird stepping inside… no kids no Mickey, just a bar with sports on every single screen and a whole lot of beer … I’d also found the Disney dads’ hideout and sanctuary. \240After a couple of rounds of drinks and more laughter we reluctantly said our goodbyes and headed to Disney Springs for dinner.

Tonight’s choice was Jaleo, a highly recommended Spanish restaurant and from the moment we walked in I knew it was going to be a treat and I was not wrong!!!!! It was divine. From the delicate but tasty croquets to the garlic prawns with a side of potatoes \240…a fried ham and cheese sandwich to die for and a cream and merengue pastry desert that had David keeling over with joy. The food, the service and the aesthetic were all wonderful …. it also won the “best bathroom” award for its red and white stripes and polka dots.

With dinner over and our tummies and hearts full we headed home after another very successful day in the mouse house…

Tomorrow new adventures await but they are other tales for another blog on another day.

Cheers Tash

Day 39

Blog 40

Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom

Well let me start at the end … It was a rip snorting, you beaut, hum dinger of a day, totally fantabulous from dawn to well well well after dusk!

We took the the bus over to Hollywood Studio … we went early but not stupid o’clock like a few days ago, but we still managed to get into the park by 7am and I scored Boarding Group 35 for Rise of the Resistance. \240We took a ride on the tower of terror (not the absolute best choice straight after a morning coffee but I survived). We also had a random liner meet (matching shirts and a giant liner button are so worth it) before heading over to meet Chewbacca. We took our time geeking out on all things Star Wars and I tried hard to study that thing I am destined never to Master \240…Millennium Falcon or is it the Millennial Falcon … I took a picture and stored it in my favourites (right along side to my other 6483 important photos)…

We walked through One Man’s Dream and then hung out in the joyful colour that is toy story and had another ride on slink and Toy Story Midway Mania (I’m still rubbish). Afterwards we headed over to enjoy a real highlight of our trip … a liner meet up and sing along at The First Time in Forever starring the fabulous Equity Ben… what fun what joy what laughter (and that was just me). \240Afterwards we headed over to the Baseline Taphouse for a few adult beverages and even more liners joined us. \240We hung out for quite a while sharing Disney and other travel stories, enjoyed fair few beers and each others company. \240Anyone walking by would have thought we were a large group of old friends not a group of Disney tragics meeting for the very first time.

Some of us could not resist … we did the sing along for a second time because why not and afterwards a group of us wandered together checking out the new merch, taking crazy group photos \240as we headed out of the park and toward the buses and buckets of hell.

We headed back to Pop for rest but we didn’t quite make it because our favourite cast member was setting up the fire which meant it was s’mores time. \240We were entertained by a sassy precocious 5 year old who was going to be a great movie actress (she confidently informed us). She told me that I was totally fashion forward and that my hair really works… I don’t envy her parents over the next 10 years… she’s going to be a handful and a half.

We did manage to have a 30 minute nap before we headed back to Magic Kingdom for some night time magic hours . We headed straight for our favourite night time roller coaster Big Thunder railway and after a couple of rides we walked back to fantasyland for seven dwarfs mine train and then into Tomorrowland for space mountain and the people mover. \240We ended the night in what is becoming a Magic Kingdom tradition for us by taking a spin on the Astro Orbiter before wearily walking out and taking the bus home.

Cheers Tash

Day 40

Blog 41

Epcot and Animal Kingdom

We woke up a wee bit weary so we were very glad it was an Epcot day … and therefore a later start! \240Disney is a world of fun but it takes a lot of legs (for me – David was loving his chair!!). Today we were determined to take our time in some of the pavilions that we never quite find the time to do slowly so we spent lots of time around the gardens in Britain and also the gardens in Japan. \240We caught the wonderful drumming performance in Japan, it was mesmerising.

Lunch was a special occasion, teppanyaki at Teppan Edo to celebrate our anniversary. \240We shaded the table with two other couples and had a wonderful afternoon being entertained by a very creative and talented chef while catching eggs, fried rice and prawns. \240We ended the meal with a celebratory anniversary cake which was bright green … I was a bit tentative about trying it but it was a sweet and delicate sponge cake.

Afterwards we spent a couple of hours in the Mitsukoshi Department Store looking at all the crazy gadgets, the beautiful haberdashery and the kooky food. \240We were able to do ¾ of our (late) Christmas shopping in the store including picking out a fresh pearl from an oyster for my mum.

We walked over to the American Adventure to see the show once more and to also listen to the glorious Voices of Liberty. We bumped into a lovely family who we’d met on the bus a few days before. \240They were a big family group of grandparents, parents, 4 kids partners and their babies. \240A big happy \240Mormon family from Minnesota. \240Two of the brothers were telling us about their missions, one went all the way to Adelaide and the other got as far as Iowa. \240We had some fun taking silly photos ‘discovering America’ together

We ate an early dinner at the Rose and Crown pub and although the fish and Chips were nice we agreed that nothing beats Melbourne fish and chips.

We had tickets for Animal Kingdom after dark so we made our way to the park for our first night time experience there. \240It was lovely having the run of the park without big crowds, we rode Everest until our heads were spinning and our ears ringing… we mastered the perfect photo over about 4 rides but unfortunately the one where we were reading our park maps was deleted ( I don’t think it met the Disney photo standards :-0 )

We floated along the Navi river and noticed even more detail as we drifted along and of course we climbed the back of our banshees for our flights of passage… We only managed two rides before we were overcome with tiredness and dizzy heads. \240We welcomed the chance for a sit down to watch the river of light show which while beautiful doesn’t have the wow factor and wonder of the night time spectaculars at Magic Kingdom. \240We picked up our complementary popcorn and hot chocolate and decided to ride Everest a few more times. we knew quickly that we were one and done, although the night party had over an hour to go we were spent… knowing that we had a huge day planned for tomorrow we headed for the buses and a good night’s sleep. \240We would wake up to our last day in the parks and the last full day of our holiday adventure …

But that my friends, is another blog for another day.

Until then

Cheers Tash

Day 41

Blog 42

Epcot, Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom

And so it arrived … they last day of our time at WDW and the last day of the Tash & David Alabama, Civil Rights, Disney, Bourbon Dolly Slammer… and the day’s agenda is LARGE. \240First stop on the final day of touring was Epcot and a liner meet … not just any old liner meet … today we were meeting up with the original liner, Len who created touring plans, liners and this crazy fabulous Disney community. Before catching up with Len however, David had a fabulous interaction with Mickey, who spotted David’s Minnie socks and came over to tell us how much he loved them, it was a really cute moment.

So we met up with Len and a bunch of other liners and decided that champagne in France was the best way to celebrate, while I was minding the table I ran into Grandpax, another legendary liner. \240We drank a champagne of 3, and shared our best ( and worst Disney stories) Some of our group were on an unofficial food tour of Epcot so they disappeared quite quickly once we’d finished 3 bottles and others had tickets to the new Beauty and the Beast sing along – they were sufficiently lubricated for some boisterous singing. \240By a stroke of luck (related to who you know ... Len himself) they were able to secure a handful more tickets for another screening later that day so we were lucky enough to see the new show on opening day which was really special. \240We also managed to finally meet up with another famous liner who I’d been hoping to meet for years. \240We met Ray, AKA PodforChrist which was really lovely – albeit very fast as he was on shift and the art festival was busy!!!

We left Epcot and jumped into a sky liner and headed to Hollywood Studios to see if we could fix a problem. \240 A couple of days earlier we met and had photos with Chewbacca but they never turned up on my memory maker so I visited the HS photo store to see if they had copies. \240After looking through the records they discovered that photos taken on that day during the time period we were there had been accidentally lost. \240Disney then did what Disney does best, they rectified the situation. The photo dude made a series of phone calls and then gave me some names to ask for and directed me down to Launch Bay (where you get the photos with Chewie) I made a detour to pick up David in toy story land, (he was sitting in the shade while I had borrowed his chair) and we headed to Launch Bay, we were greeted by name as we arrived and then taken through a short cut straight into the area for Chewie photos… our interaction with him was even better than the first time with Chewie very bemused by David’s height and lack of hair …. It was handshakes as usual (chewie doesn’t hug) and the cast member made sure our photos had been captured and registered properly.

Since we were there we checked out the Frozen Sing Along Schedule and discovered that Equity Ben was playing the next show … it was a no brainer we were there!!!!

Couldn’t leave the park with one last scream on the Tower of Terror or a rush across town to make the Aerosmith concert on Rockin’ Rollercoaster …. and then it was back on the sky high fear pods to make our way to our last park of the day…We visited Arial in her grotto for the first time ever … it’s so much fun discovering new things even on our very last day. Arial was besotted by David’s socks, our matching t-shirts and my hair, I think she actually liked the adult banter and she was true to character the whole time. We hi hoed on the mine train, bounced on big thunder mountain railway, zoomed through space, ate a dole whip and took one last ride (without sunglasses) on It’s a small world. \240We then spent the last hour of our time in the park wondering around, people watching and soaking up the atmosphere.

It was with a small sprinkling of tears that we headed for the bus who knew when we would be back but I was glad for all the fabulous experiences and memories we made at Disney and throughout the whole trip.

But hold up, we weren’t quite done, I remember how sad I was leaving MK for the last time on our last trip so I planned a very special last treat. \240We were booked into the late night Hoop De doo Review. \240What a fabulous way to end our vacation, great show, great food great laughs. \240I remembered how cold we were last time we’d come to the show so we were rugged up and prepared and the show was as funny and entertaining as I remembered it, and the homestyle fried chicken was as I remembered it too … simply yum!

Until then

Cheers Tash

Day 42

Blog 43

MCO, LAX

I can’t remember what we had for breakfast exactly but I do know it involved m&ms, s’mores and all the random food we had left in our room … and I remember the packing, we had SO MUCH STUFF …. With an extra suitcase full and all of the others bulging we had a struggle on our hands … we managed to get it onto one trolley and we knew that once we off loaded our three big suitcases and had assistance at the airport we’d be fine …

Oh ignorance is a blissful state of mind … we had no idea what was about to hit us.

We were packed and ready for our Magical express pick up at 10am and we were at the airport nice and early for our 2.00pm flight to LA … it was before 11am so we had over 3 hours … stacks of time …. Or so we thought!

We unloaded from the Magical Express, the official end to our fabulous Disney experience, found two trolleys and headed to the American Airlines desk. \240We realised that our suitcases were all very different weights so we stopped and took some time to repack we also grabbed some items that we thought we’d need on the plane with us). It took over half an hour but we still had over 2 hours before our flight.

We headed to the check in desk to offload our three large suitcases and to find out where we would be meeting the disability assistant … and it was at this point the experience took a turn …and not for the better ….

On our outward bound flights all the notes regarding disability assistance, extra suitcase requirements were front and centre for the staff to see, in Brisbane and LA staff could not do enough for us, the service was excellent. \240

As we had experienced such wonderful service throughout our whole holiday it was a shock to be faced with the worst ever customer service at the AA desk. \240There were no notes about disability assist, and no notes about the extra suitcase as a solutions person I was still ok at this point… paying for the extra suitcase would be a pain but no the end of the world. \240I was promply told extra baggage needed to be paid for 24 hours in advance and that there was no way I could make a payment to have it taken … I enquired again about the disability notes and the staffer said, ‘I can’t ring Qantas it’s the middle of the night in Australia and it’s time for my tea break’ … and she walked off … nothing resolved and us standing there with carry on luggage and extra suitcase and no disability support.

Feeling shocked we looked around and saw a wheelchair attendant ( and lots of wheelchairs) about 100m in the distance, we slowly made our way to him thinking all would be ok… but alas no, all the wheelchairs had been booked and he couldn’t leave his post to help us. \240He was however a little more helpful than the rude lady we had just had the misfortune to deal with. \240He told us with only 90 minutes to go before our flight we needed to really hurry and to use the disability line at security…

We took off as fast as we could, which was slow because of all our bags and because David’s feet were sore and in the process of forming large blisters…. I was so worried because I knew that our suitcase was way too large for carry on but without any other choices we kept going. \240The lines at security were really long but we managed to find the disability line which was mercifully short … it was only at this point that I realised that the suitcase needed to go through the x-ray machine and I had a mental blank about what was in it … were we about to lose 4 bottles of bourbon an other souvenirs? OMG my stress levels went through the roof. \240I was shocked that none of the staff battered an eyelid at the size of the suitcase but we did lose a jar of fig jam (thank god the bourbon was in one of the other suitcases).

Once through security I breathed a sigh of relief, all we had to do now was make our way to gate 37 and we had 40 mins …. Easy … NOT … gate 37 was in another terminal and we had to take a shuttle train… I picked up the suitcase and my bag and started to run…. I turned to David to see how he was going and he wasn’t beside me… he was 50 meters behind me, in pain and crying. \240I wanted to give him a hug but there was no time … I ran back and told him to suck it up sunshine, I picked up his bags and with strength and dexterity I didn’t know I had made my way to the train with all 5 bags and David hobbling behind me …

I don’t know quite how we did it but we made gate 37 just as they were making their final boarding call, they were also looking for volunteers to check in their carry on luggage … finally after 2 nightmare hours we had a win … with sweat pouring down my face I strode up to the flight attendants and volunteered our suitcase and asked for it to be checked all the way through to Mount Isa. …. We were last to board the plane and surprisingly there was space in the overhead locker for our bags. \240Once seated and settled I burst into tears and David fell asleep! I don't know how we did it but we made it...

Next stop Australia (well LAX to be perfectly honest) \240but that's another blog for another day... until then,

Cheers Tash

Day 43

Blog 44

Nowhere but somewhere

So this blog entry will be brief because for us January 19 2020 didn't happen!!

We gained a day when we flew over to the USA and we lost it on the way home.

January 19 2020 disappeared in amongst the clouds as we flew home...but here are a few of the professional phots from Disney and a handful of my favourite pictures from the whole trip.

So I think that I've come to realise that within the hardest part of a big holiday adventure (being the journey home) is that the very last leg home is the hardest of all ... and this time was no different.

After all the drama that was our experience at Orlando International Airport the flight to LA was really really quiet and easy. The flight was almost full but David and I had plenty of room (albeit we were in a window and middle seat which is unusual for us).

We landed in LA about 6 hours after take-off and we had a 5 hour wait until our flight back to Brisbane. Without luggage, check ins or security lines we had 5 blissful incident free hours at LAX. We found our gate and David settled into a a seat and promptly fell asleep. \240I went on the hunt for food and a few last duty free bargains. I found a lovely bottle of bourbon in the duty free shop and some woodfired pizza… I headed back to the gate and with David half asleep and drowsily declining any food I ate the whole thing myself!

I woke David when the staff opened the gate so he could organise his early boarding – which he did befor returning to his sitting position slumber. \240I got stuck into looking at photos but I must have fallen asleep because 3 seconds later ( it was actually 2 hours) there was a flight attendant tapping my shoulder and asking if we were on the flight to Brisbane … they were doing last calls… so much for early boarding. \240We discovered that boarding last when staff are trying to ensure the plane takes off on time is almost as good as boarding first, the flight attendants helped us, carried our bags, made space for David to remove his leg braces and stowed everything we didn’t need at hand for us… super easy and great service … it was wonderful to be back on a Qantas plane.

The flight home was long… David slept of course but I was both restless and sad. It had been another wonderful adventure but over all too soon.

We arrived in Brisbane weary and not looking forward to the last wait for the last flight home, we were coming up on 26 hours of travel and in need of a shower and a bed! \240We had to collect our luggage, clear customs and them recheck our bags domestically, I wasn’t looking forward to the inevitable conversation about the extra luggage but I resolved that it would be best to just pay whatever fee we had to just to make it happen easily. The good news was that with a few hours between flights we didn’t have to rush or run or panic. \240With our luggage collected and loaded on to a couple of trolleys we cleared customs with nothing to declare.

We got to the check in desk to transfer our luggage and the bloke processing it clicked through a few screens and made a couple of phone calls before asking us about the extra luggage. \240He could see that a few extra bags had been checked all the way through to Mount Isa but there were no notes about allowances or payments. I told him that there had been a bit of confusion at Orlando Airport but all our luggage was checked in (I strategically left out that some of it was check at the gate at the last minute). \240After a few more clicks and one last phone call all our luggage was checked in domestically no questions no fees … I think we saved about $450 in extra luggage fees.

The flight to Isa was ridiculously quick and in a blink of an eye we were outside in the blazing heat surrounded by our 137 bags waiting for a taxi.

Arriving home after a big overseas trip is always a surreal experience for me, everything is as it was before we left but dosen’t feel quite right, I’m happy to see familiar things but also feel an overwhelming sense of loss… something special is over. \240The planning, the anticipating the experiencing all leads back to where we started. \240I had a much needed shower and then wandered around the house a bit aimlessly. David on the other hand clicked into “David at Home” mode … suitcase unpacked, washing piles made, washing machine loaded. Realities of life soon hit and I realised I better get to the supermarket so we could eat. \240Once at the shops Isa life hit me in the face … I bumped into a some friends and they welcomed me home and asked me how was the trip …and just like that I was in my happy place … with so many fantastic experiences, stories and memories flooding into my brain … my face lit up like a Christmas tree and I said awesome!

The trip may have been over but the memories would be there for a lifetime ( a bit like this blog).

That night, as we ate dinner in front of the news, we watched a report about a strange and deadly virus in China in a place called Wuhan … Little did we know how much the whole world was about to change and how lucky we were to have travelled when we did…

Until next time, when the world is safe and beautiful again…

Cheers, Tash

Day 45

Blog 46