Live the Life: Vacation Installment 1

On October 28th, we left home to head to Orlando!! Ultimately, we would continue on to Port Canaveral and our 2nd Disney cruise to the western Caribbean, but first, we had a date with a really cute Mouse on his home turf. :)

We left early - around 7 AM - that day. Our first stop wasn't very far down the road, but it's a tradition. We stop at McDonald's before we really get rolling. We planned ahead and had a picnic lunch ready for us when we hit the Florida Welcome Center. We ate there - with a very .... interesting spider - around 12:30 or so.

Jaydin was so excited when we got to the gates in front of WDW. I must admit, so was I. :) Those gates never fail to excite me. Following the signs, we made it to Port Orleans: French Quarter and checked in. The grounds at this resort are beautiful!!!

Walking towards the walking path and the causeway.

Our rooms were adjoining and very nice. We've never stayed at this particular resort, but we were very pleased with it - especially knowing that we were only there for 2 nights. The theme of the resort (all Disney resorts have themes) is a Mardi Gras theme. We were even treated to bead necklaces when we checked it. :) Those would come in handy for Pirate Night on the ship!!

Mom decided to stay in the room while the rest of us went searching for some food. We opted to use the ferry boat to go to Downtown Disney for supper.

Jaydin took a little rest as we waited for the guys to join us. She is sitting on one of the many benches spread throughout the resort.

Another unique feature of this resort is the pool/waterslide. The slide is a huge sea monster ridden by King Triton. A very cool pool!! :)

Jonah on the ferry boat riding to Downtown Disney. This was a very relaxing way to get to the DTD area.

This sand trap on one of the Disney golf courses is shaped like a Mickey head. Pictures of it from above are used in many brochures.

This beautiful swan was waiting in the water when we reached Downtown Disney. I think he was waiting for scraps from the Rainforest Cafe diners. :)

Once at Downtown Disney, we had MANY choices for our supper. So, where did we choose??????

Yep ... McDonald's. LOL!! We knew that we would have a LOT of food and a lot of food choices for the next week, so we chose something easy, cheap, and calorie-controlled. It's hard to think of McDonald's as calorie-controlled, but they are wonderful about listing the caloric value for each food they serve. Before we left, we grabbed another Happy Meal to take back for Mom in the room.

On the way out of the restaurant, Jaydin found the Lego creations. The dogs and people DO look pretty real. Jaydin was rather amused with them.

The trip down was good, and our short visit to DTD was good, as well. Overall, it was a good day - and a good start for our vacation. :)

To end our good day, God decided to paint quite a picture for us.....