I know that I have not been very regular with my writings these last few months. In fact, it is now April and I have only made two prior blog entries. Unfortunately, I have had many other obligations to take care of. Since I blog on the side as a creative outlet, things like my job, my Nebraska National Guard obligations, family, etc., all have to come first.
As you can see from this title of this blog entry, I am currently on vacation. Last week, my family and I spent time at Walt Disney World. We left on April 6th and returned this past Sunday, April 15th. It was a great vacation, though there were quite a few ‘challenges’ along the way.
Probably the biggest challenge that I am still facing is an inner ear infection that I picked up a week ago. When I was a kid, I would occasionally get a bad ear ache. I remember laying in bed, crying, because of the pain. Usually it was one ear or the other. But, at least on two different occasions, I had an ear infection in both ears at the same time. Needless to say, that was a very miserable week or so. Although I had a lot of pain, I did not have any major problems with vertigo along with my ear aches. However, this time, it has been a major problem for the first few days. Since Friday, vertigo has not been nearly as big of an issue. However, the first few days…
The ear ache asides, it was a very enjoyable trip all together. It was definitely wonderful getting away from my full-time job at the prison. And, it is always nice being able to spend time with the family ‘making magical memories.’ There are several things that really stand out in my mind that were memorable. Of course, my wife and two kids may not agree with my choices.
One of the perks with being in the Military are the discounts that it opens for us. Because of this, and the fact that my wife is very good at finding deals, we were able to enjoy a lot of things that were within our budget. One splurge that we did indulge in was staying at the Yachtclub Resort. Because we were both celebrating a birthday this month, and because we will be celebrating 10 years or marriage later this year. At, let me tell you what, it was definitely worth it! What a wonderful, and roomy, corner room we had! Although we didn’t have the pull-out bed that we were hoping for, the extra room was definitely appreciated. That was a real highlight for the trip!
Top on my list, and probably also for my wife, was having dinner together sans (without) kids. We did this on Wednesday at the Yachtsman’s Steakhouse. This was very fine dining, indeed! Our waiter was a gentleman from Haiti, and he really went out of his way to make our meal very memorable! We each received a complimentary glass of champagne in celebration of our 10 Year Anniversary. We also received an anniversary version of the menu that we could keep, which he rolled up and tied with a bow.
Another thing that I really enjoyed was ‘touring the nations’ at Epcot and having snacks from ‘around the world’ for supper. Some of the meals we enjoyed more, others not so much. But, it was a real learning experience tasting different kinds of foods from different countries. Unfortunately, by nightfall, my ear was starting to really hurt, so I returned to the room early while my wife and kids stayed for the fireworks.
As a high sensing introvert, I kind of struggled at times with being at Walt Disney World in October of 2016. I pretty much felt overwhelmed every day at some point. Although that did detract a bit from enjoying the vacation, my wife worked with me. At one point, she utilized one of my skills of maneuvering quickly through a crowd. As an INFJ, one of the more unique things that I can do is judge spaces and who people are moving in a crowd pretty well. Because of this, I was able to guide us from the middle of Magic Kingdom to a ride on the far end in a fairly short amount of time. If memory serves, this enable use to enjoy a ride twice. Once, because the lines was short at the moment, and once with a Fast Pass.
This time, I tried something a little different in order to make the times at the parks more enjoyable for me. Because of my love for writing, I decided to do a journal of our trip. It was of things that I experienced, so things that my wife and kids did might not have been included. Because my wife is very extroverted, and we have two young kids, she planned things out so that we were very busy throughout four of the 5 ½ days at the parks (including half a day at Disney Springs). So, I often found myself writing while in line, sometimes while actually walking. So, some of my writings are quite readable, and some of them not-so-much. There were times, though, where I was able to write fairly well even though I was walking. But, this was an exception, not the rule. But, it did serve its purpose. Not only was I able to document a lot of the things that we did, when we did it, and how well we liked it, but also was able to get some ‘introvert-time’ in. In fact, it worked so well that I did not fell very drained at all during the trip. My only regret was not being able to have more time to write my reflections.
One of the new rides at Animal Kingdom was the Pandora ‘Flight of Passage.’ We did that Monday afternoon and it was greatly loved by all! If you have not watched the movie Avatar, it might be hard to understand. In a nutshell, you are able to ride a flying creature called a banshee as it flies around the jungles of their world. It is 3D, and exceptionally well done! Both my wife and I watched several videos on this particular ride, either people talking about their experiences or someone actually doing the ride. We both agree that the videos that we watched *do not* do that experience justice!
I could write pages and pages and pages of our experiences, but I think I will hold off for now. It was a really wonderful time, in spite of the challenges. Speaking of challenges… As I mentioned at the beginning of this blog entry, I started having a really bad earache during this trip. In fact, I am still suffering from it. Although the pain has mostly subsided, unless it is getting close to my next round of ear drops, I still cannot hear well out of my left ear. And, when you ear is ‘stuffy’ and you have tinnitus, the ringing becomes more than just a little noticeable. Thankfully, I have a follow-up appointment with our family doctor tomorrow about it. The sooner I can get it healed up, the better.
I hope that this entry finds all of you doing well. I have quite a few things saved for blogging on. Although I have many other things that I have to do, I hope to do at least one more blog this week. If not this week, hopefully next week.
