"You and me, we're in a club now!" - a DFTW/Disneymoon/Vacay August 2017 PTR

[Bethislucy]

Yay you are so close to trip time. I hope you have a wonderful weekend away. I also followed you on insta. can't wait to see some pictures to help pass the long 192 days till my trip.

 

[missjackiemcg]

I can't imagine trying to pack so lightly for Disney--I am a serious overpacker!!!! Good for you! I love your sponge hack, too, brilliant idea!!! Not a liquid anymore, so there, TSA!

I followed your instagram, looking forward to some pictures of your whirlwind fun!

Have a magical trip

 

[xlsm]

I'm trying to stay excited, but I actually had my first panic attack in ages (it's probably been at least 4-6 months) so I'm also a little off.

I'm so sorry! I hope you're feeling a little better today

I'm not done packing yet, and I'm running out of ways to creatively cram things into the space. Wish me luck. Heaven help us when we inevitably buy souvenirs despite our good intentions.

this would be so stressful to me! I wish you much luck and patience!!

 

[MeghanEmily]

Fiddleheads! I can't get them out here in Alberta, and it's been years since I've had them.

I live in the northeast, but apparently not north enough because I have no idea what fiddleheads are

I am glad you said what the Fiddleheads were, I was looking and thinking, "what the heck?" Sorry I'm from Maryland too far south! Great job on

Oh goodness, this is fun! Welcome to an episode of Maritime Canadian Nutrition with Meghan! Fiddleheads are a particular type of fern that's picked while it's still a little baby cutie curly-Q. They taste like spring and home and green. You eat them boiled and/or sauteed/fried/deep-fried/in a box/with a fox, etc. Some people eat them with white vinegar. I don't like overly vinegary things, so I eat them the BEST way — blanched and then sauteed, then topped with butter, salt and pepper. Which definitely takes away from their health factor. That's ok. Fiddleheads don't have to be healthy. It's definitely a thing in the Canadian Maritimes (that is, three of the eastern provinces,) but I know they also pick them in Maine and possibly elsewhere in New England. They grow along riverbeds and similar areas around Mother's Day, and only for a short window before they grow into ferns...which we'd never eat...that would be crazy! It's a common family activity if you live in a rural marshy area to go "Fiddleheadin'," (N's parents actually secured this "feed" of them for us,) and people are very secretive about their best fiddlehead spots. Fun fact: they're actually considered to have some kind of toxin in them that can make you temporarily sick if you eat them raw or undercooked, which is why you should always boil them before you sautee or fry, etc.

Tune in for next week's episode when we'll talk about: Hodge Podge, hashbrown casserole, dulse, and donairs!

 

[MeghanEmily]

And this removes any doubt as to what your favorite color is...

Absolutely! Obviously it's orange!

I've heard great things about them. In fact, I went and bought a pair just for our trip this summer. I've worn them a few times to break them in. I typically wear croc flip flops or some Nike sandals I have because even if you don't ride a water ride it seems almost inevitable not to get your feet wet at Disney World and wet shoes/socks are the worst. I wanted something with some more arch support though because I have some foot pain from wearing other types of sandals all day and I'm really hoping the Keens will help with that.

I'm quite hopeful for them! Like you, I loved the quick-dry function of wearing crocs, and I loved that they didn't give me blisters, but after a few hours my feet would always ache with the lack of support. I would wear runners all day every day at Disney, but they will inevitably get wet and stay wet for a day or more at some point, and they're hot on your feet in summer.

Your minimal packing skills are very impressive. I hope you are past your panic attack and ready to enjoy a couple of days in Disney World!

Thank you! Feeling a fair bit better today, and somehow we've managed to fit all the necessary items into the tiny tiny bag. Lots of rolled clothes stuffed inside shoes, etc.

I get them occasionally too, so scary! HUGS!

They are scary! Thanks! I'm familiar enough with how it feels now to know what's happening, but it's so unsettling, and it usually puts me in a pretty negative funk for a bit until things settle. I used to get them all the time in University and felt like a walking basket case, but fortunately lately things have gone much smoother. More physical activity also helps loads for me! Getting to the gym this morning felt good after last night's anxiety.

I'm so happy to meet someone else who uses the term "ragamuffin" !!! And at least you can do French braids. I usually just blowdry my hair straight, then look like Mufasa by lunch time

It's a great word! And I'm sure your Mufasa look is very "in" with the Disney crowd! I try not to be too vain at Disney. In December weather it was easier to look "on purpose," but once summer rolls around there's just no way I'll ever manage to look presentable. Oh well. It's vacation

Let me know how these work out! I've been eyeing them up but I'm unsure of the sneaker-like quality with no socks! I'd be worried they'd start rubbing and cause blisters.

Will do! I've mostly had good experiences so far, but I can feel there's a spot on one foot that may have the potential to rub my toes and blister with a Disney-level amount of walking...

So sorry about the panic attack. I hope you are doing much better now!

Thank you! I'm feeling quite a bit better today and getting my bearings again. The brain can play funny tricks on you!

Great job on the packing and good luck with no souvenirs! Have a great trip!!!

Thanks! Here's hoping...my goal is just to buy small things like pins...we'll see...I'm pretty sure I'm setting myself up for failure...

Wow, kudos to you guys for packing so lightly. I don't think I could ever manage that! I went ahead and followed you on instagram I look forward to seeing your posts! HAVE A WONDERFUL TRIP!!!

Thanks! I've been taking it as a challenge because I'm totally an overpacker and I've never traveled so light before! My grandmother does it all the time. She traveled to China for two weeks with one carry on bag. She's my inspiration here!

Yay you are so close to trip time. I hope you have a wonderful weekend away. I also followed you on insta. can't wait to see some pictures to help pass the long 192 days till my trip.

I can't imagine trying to pack so lightly for Disney--I am a serious overpacker!!!! Good for you! I love your sponge hack, too, brilliant idea!!! Not a liquid anymore, so there, TSA!

I followed your instagram, looking forward to some pictures of your whirlwind fun!

Have a magical trip

I'm typically a major overpacker, too! But I've always wanted to try flying without checked bags...and this just took it to the next level of packing light! Hopefully it's worth the little challenge it's become. If not, I figure we can always bite the bullet and buy anything we need and learn from our mistakes for next time.

I'm so sorry! I hope you're feeling a little better today

Thank you! I'm definitely coming around and doing much better today. Brains are funny. Thanks!

this would be so stressful to me! I wish you much luck and patience!!

It's a whole new ballgame for me. We never travel very light. It may all come crashing down when we get there and I feel like I have no stuff!

 

[fallonkendra]

Oh goodness, this is fun! Welcome to an episode of Maritime Canadian Nutrition with Meghan! Fiddleheads are a particular type of fern that's picked while it's still a little baby cutie curly-Q. They taste like spring and home and green. You eat them boiled and/or sauteed/fried/deep-fried/in a box/with a fox, etc. Some people eat them with white vinegar. I don't like overly vinegary things, so I eat them the BEST way — blanched and then sauteed, then topped with butter, salt and pepper. Which definitely takes away from their health factor. That's ok. Fiddleheads don't have to be healthy. It's definitely a thing in the Canadian Maritimes (that is, three of the eastern provinces,) but I know they also pick them in Maine and possibly elsewhere in New England. They grow along riverbeds and similar areas around Mother's Day, and only for a short window before they grow into ferns...which we'd never eat...that would be crazy! It's a common family activity if you live in a rural marshy area to go "Fiddleheadin'," (N's parents actually secured this "feed" of them for us,) and people are very secretive about their best fiddlehead spots. Fun fact: they're actually considered to have some kind of toxin in them that can make you temporarily sick if you eat them raw or undercooked, which is why you should always boil them before you sautee or fry, etc.

Tune in for next week's episode when we'll talk about: Hodge Podge, hashbrown casserole, dulse, and donairs!

Pictures started popping up all over my Facebook of my Maritime friends/family with their bags of fiddleheads, so I was trying to explain the taste to my fiance. I told him they tasted like a gross cooked green, which was made delicious by smothering it in butter. Sometimes if they aren't cleaned properly before cooking, they can also taste like dirt. All that said, I do like them a lot, and I'm always sad to miss fiddlehead season

 

[KathyM2]

Fiddleheads are a particular type of fern

Hilarious. If I didn't already know you were a maritimer I would now lol. I have tried them because my dad is from New Brunswick lol.

Following you on Instagram now I am @kathympherson42

 

[vamassey1]

I need to spend my time doing some serious packing!

Me too! I'm so far behind in getting ready for this trip.

If you don't live far enough northeast to have ever eaten fiddleheads, just know that it's a thing around these parts to eat baby ferns.

Never heard of them but sounds interesting.

pack ONE very very TINY carryon between the two of us, and check zero bags.

Too small, I could never do it. Props to you!

For me that's crocs (which double as my blister-saving shoes,)

Love my crocs. I'm bringing them for back up.

I'm @meghanemilymclean on the Insta!

I followed you!

I hope everything is going well so far. I'll be looking for you on Saturday.

 

[MeghanEmily]

We're back!! Well...kind of. We're back in Canada. We still have one more driving day today to get all the way home. Then, unfortunately, Nathan is turning directly back around to drive back down to Orlando for work. Yeah, funny how things almost work out perfectly, but don't!

Turns out I'm SO behind on my Dis-ing from being away a mere long weekend. Oops!

Why do you folks all choose to write while I'm away!!

So I'll be spending my time once we get home warding off the PDD by catching up, and then I'll have an update here and a new TR for May started very soon.

'Till then, happy trails, and see you real soon!​

 

[KathyM2]

Nathan is turning directly back around to drive back down to Orlando for work. Yeah, funny how things almost work out perfectly, but don't!

Wait what? How did that happen? No way you could've just stayed somehow? Too bad...

I followed along on IG a bit but looking forward to the TR for more deets!

 

[afwdwfan]

We're back!! Well...kind of. We're back in Canada. We still have one more driving day today to get all the way home. Then, unfortunately, Nathan is turning directly back around to drive back down to Orlando for work. Yeah, funny how things almost work out perfectly, but don't!

Say what??? Couldn't he have just got a hotel room and stayed a few extra days? That's got to be a heck of a long drive.

 

[afwdwfan]

Oh, and by the way, welcome home! I'm looking forward to hearing about your quick weekend!

 

[MeghanEmily]

Wait what? How did that happen? No way you could've just stayed somehow? Too bad...

Say what??? Couldn't he have just got a hotel room and stayed a few extra days? That's got to be a heck of a long drive.

Yeah, it's unfortunate the way it worked out, and we might have been able to swing it to have him stay, but this ended up being what we both thought would be the best option, unbelievably! And you're right, @afwdwfan, it's absolutely is a heck of a long drive! Somewhere around 30 hours or so. Barf. I'll likely explain in more detail in my TR when I get to that point, but it basically boiled down to the cost of booking a new flight for him, renting a vehicle, and the extra hotel nights, (compared to driving his own truck and the cost of gas,) along with the inconvenience and uncertainty of shipping all his supplies or purchasing them from unverified vendors in Florida...and this was the option we both marginally preferred. Gross.

Oh, and by the way, welcome home! I'm looking forward to hearing about your quick weekend!

Thank you!! It's hard to leave WDW after only two days, but good to be home! This morning I think we both felt like we'd been hit by a bus as we went off to work/driving, etc.

 

[MeghanEmily]

Okay, it looks like I'm finally caught up!! If I was reading your TR, I've now caught up on everything I've missed. Sorry for the lack of commenting, but I was prioritizing reading as much as possible. Chances are, I thought everything you wrote was super awesome, because you're all super awesome. And I will do my best to be more engaged again from now on!

So that means that next on the docket will be to get all this May TR business sorted...​

 

[ariane37]

Nathan must be on his way back down to Orlando now? Poor guy, although having work is always good Safe travels to him!

 

[MeghanEmily]

Nathan must be on his way back down to Orlando now? Poor guy, although having work is always good Safe travels to him!

Yes, he was! He got in this morning. After sorting out some issues where the organizers had never confirmed with the facility that he'd actually be allowed to physically paint there...now he's ready to go! I swear, if they'd told him to turn around and drive back home today, he probably would have handled it better than me, but I was guaranteed to have a full-blown meltdown!

 

[MeghanEmily]

An update was coming tonight...but sometimes you get home from job no. 2 and waste all your leftover energy on making taco salad and watching Gilmore Girls. I'm feeling hopeful for tomorrow.​

 

[Bethislucy]

taco salad and watching Gilmore Girls. ​

No better statement has been made

 

[MeghanEmily]

May Happened and Now There Are Updates!

Ok, so the entire month of May hasn't finished "happening" yet, but our May Whirlwind trip is officially complete, it was nearly 100% a success (details to come later), and it is now providing for some fun new information!

First, and foremost...there is now a May TR:

"GET AWAY, SCURVY!!" – A May 2017 Whirlwind Long Weekend TR

You asked, I delivered!! ...well, maybe you didn't actually ask. ...maybe I just like to read my own writing and laugh at my own jokes. But it's there. Please feel free to visit. If you're looking for any more details on the May-related updates in this chapter, or if you're wondering how all these crazy plans I've been bugging you about worked out, that link will be the place to be! Also, if you want to see pictures (including a masterful selfie) of our fabulous Dismeet with @ariane37 and her husband, Steve (in which she looks flawless and summery, and I look simultaneously sweaty and awkwardly perky) they'll come soon enough.

Before I jump into the trip-related updates, a few other new things:

First, I had to be a grown-up today and make an appointment for my car. It's only four years old, and to this point it's been incredibly well-behaved. This week it started making a "ka-thunk" sound once in a while when I try to accelerate from a full stop...which totally caught the pedestrian who'd just crossed the street off-guard this morning! Me too, pedestrian, me too. When I called, the guy asked me to describe the sound. How else do you describe "ka-thunk" other than by saying "ka-thunk??" I'm sure I sounded more than a little silly trying to make car noises on the phone in my office this morning. I wonder how he wrote that down in his notes...

Today I also went to my appointment for my wedding dress alterations! The tailor was surprisingly political in our conversation (we have a provincial election coming up next week) and was saying some very uncomfortable things. I had a hard time standing there and being polite. But I felt good about his sewing skills and I think he'll do a nice job with the dress...I hope. I bought my dress as a sample from a perfectly quaint independent salon in someone's basement. (Not as sketchy as it sounds, I swear.) I wanted a dress that had been discontinued, and that was the ONLY place within hours I could find it. But it meant that they didn't do alterations on site so I had to find someone else. Enter: this tailor guy! He's a Universal fan and just tolerates Disney. *shudder* But I think he can sew.

Now, on to what was decided in May...

We had our cake tasting at Erin McKenna's.

Well, technically it didn't end up taking place at Erin McKenna's, but I'll save that story for the May TR. Originally, when we didn't think we'd get to taste anything before the wedding, we had thought we'd go with brownie cake (chocolate with chocolate chips) with mint frosting. We'd basically already eaten this combination in the form of brownie mini cupcakes from several WDW quick service coolers on our last two trips, and we knew it was decently good. However, getting a chance to try things shook up our plans, and now we're between a few different options, but it looks like our cake will either be red velvet with vanilla frosting, or brownie with cinnamon frosting (or both if we end up going with cupcakes!) Brownie and cinnamon shouldn't work. It absolutely did. We also got to talk to the manager about decor options, colours, flowers, etc. So I went from being really ambivalent and lukewarm about our wedding cake, to pretty excited about it! We're in conversation with the bakery at the moment about it, and once something is decided, I'll post about it. My biggest fear had been that the cake would be dry and taste gluten free based on cupcakes I'd eaten from Erin McKenna's in past, but fortunately that didn't seem to be the case this time at all with any of the flavors we tried! We were so stuffed with cake. More on this soon in the May TR.

Another wedding thing we did was checking out the timeshare where we'll be staying a few nights on our honeymoon. We really enjoyed it there. We had a lovely two-bedroom suite since that's all that was available at short notice, and it worked really well for this trip. It was clean, everyone was friendly, and nobody tried to sell us a timeshare. We were so busy we never got to check out the pools, but they seemed to be a big hit, especially the lazy river. The biggest thing we noticed, though, was how HUGE it was. It was about a 20-minute drive from most of the parks, but it took an extra 5-7 minutes just to drive OUT of the property! I can't imagine staying there without a vehicle. They have an internal shuttle, but it seems like a pain. Much larger than even places like CBR from what we could see.

The final wedding thing from this trip was meeting our officiant, Reverend Kevin Knox, a.k.a RevKev. We met him at the GF on the Friday, and he was really lovely. We both feel really good about our choice to have him officiate our ceremony. He understood our wishes, had a nice speaking voice, and a good appropriate/cheesey sense of humor. We also think N's parents will approve, which is a bonus! He's a lovely man and reminds me a lot of a southern-gentleman-version of a lot of the ministers we've had at our churches at home.

I'll have a few more little updates here and there, but I suspect that the next big update will come once I hit FP+ day. (SOON!) Then I'll start sharing our itinerary. Until then, I'm going to try to divert more of my focus to the May TR to get that all written while it's still fresh. Thanks so much for following us along on our journey!​

 

[chunkymonkey]

We're back!! Well...kind of. We're back in Canada. We still have one more driving day today to get all the way home. Then, unfortunately, Nathan is turning directly back around to drive back down to Orlando for work.

Whoa! That must have been tough. Will he be sneaking in some time at Disney when he's not on the job? I think that will be a well-justified break!

He's a Universal fan and just tolerates Disney. *shudder* But I think he can sew.

That's a lot of trust you are putting into someone who's a fan of the "dark side" but I'm sure it'll be fabulous!

our cake will either be red velvet with vanilla frosting

Oooh this was our wedding cake almost 9 years ago! They all sound yummy though!