Back to Oregon Rain and Shine

We had a very long flight from Orlando to Seattle last Wednesday--about seven hours worth because of head winds on the way West.  After getting up at 0415 in Orlando, we finally arrived as Seattle was digging out from a big snow storm.  Since we had several hours between our flights, and a delayed flight to Portland, we were able to get a massage in the airport and still catch our Horizon flight to Seattle.

Our flight was delayed several times, and then when we finally got on the plane and it was de-iced, they could not unhook the tow bar from the plane, so we stayed on the tarmac for another 20 minutes while they got a front end loader out to disconnect the plane from the tractor.  The flight to Portland was uneventful, and Pamela's brother Seth picked us up at the airport.

We got home to Molalla and settled into our Fiver and the wind and rain storms that continued to come in from the Pacific.  It was nasty weather, but it was moderated by the fact that we didn't have to shovel the rain and that Juneau was getting hammered by snow.  The wind has died down and we have had several good days here in Oregon, and have even had a chance to look at some houses on the market in the Oregon City area.  It is encouraging that there may be several nice homes in our price range.  Pamela is getting ready for a Creative Memories event this Saturday, and then we travel to Southern California on February 2nd to visit family and watch the Super Bowl.  When we get back from that, we will talk with realtors and begin to look at houses in earnest.

Our New Samsung MiFi 4G Card

One of the techie things that we did this week was that we upgraded our wireless access point (MiFi card) with Verizon.  Neil was able to upgrade to a Samsung 4G wireless access point for nothing more than a renewal of the Verizon policy.  4G cellular service is supposed to be ten times faster than 3G, and we hope that is the case.

We also finally got our Christmas 2011 and New Year's 2012 newsletter printed and mailed out hardcopy and via email.  We are looking forward to a great 201--how about you?

Neil and Pamela

Last Days at Disney World

Wow!  Has this week gone by fast.  Here it is Tuesday night and we are already packing to head home to Oregon (that still sounds strange to say--it will get better once we have a non-mobile home, we are sure).  We have had several great days and nights here, including a wonderful dinner on Neil's birthday, some time in the sun at both Epcot and Magic Kingdom.

We spent several hours in Epcot, including a lunch at the Rose and Crown pub in the England land area and Pamela did some shopping.  We took in the Canadian exhibit, but Neil did not have a chance to tell the joke about how Canada got its name (drawing letters out of a hat:  it's a C-ay then a N-ay...).  As it got into late afternoon, Neil took the boat back to the Yacht Club to watch the Green Bay Packers get beat pretty bad by the New York Giants while Pamela "shopped around the worlds".

We both had a good time, so that is what counts.  The next morning, we got up and took the shuttle bus to the Magic Kingdom (ie Disneyland) where we immediately found a place to eat right on Main Street.

Neil at Tony's Restaurant (as in Lady and the Tramp)

Tony's Restaurant is Italian (of course) and we both had surprisingly good lunches.  We then took off to ride some rides and visit some of our favorite Disney locations.

Pamela "Channeling" Tony

A "Friend" Called Neil the Tramp and Pamela the Lady--Go Figure

We spent time in Adventureland, Frontier Land and Liberty Square and rode the paddle wheeler around the lake, took in Pirates of the Caribbean, and Jungle Cruise as well as a few others.  We wound up eating at a tavern in Liberty Square and came back to the bus before the closing parade and the major thing we were advised to try to miss:  "the running of the strollers" is what happens when you have thousands of parents with unhappy kids in strollers all running to the single exit at the end of the evening.  It has compared to the running of the bulls in Spain, but I think that there are less injuries in Spain.  Anyway, we missed it and returned to the Yacht Club Resort without any slips, trips, or goring.  Always a good thing.

Riverboat Leaving the Dock in Frontier Land

Cinderella's Castle in the Sunshine

Today (Tuesday) is our last day here in Florida, and temperatures got into the high seventies or low eighties.  It felt wonderful to walk over the the Boardwalk area across the lake, have lunch and wander back to the resort.  We are packing as much as we can tonight, because of the 0500 departure to the airport.

The Yacht and Beach Clubs from Boardwalk

One of Pamela's "Artsy" Pictures

We are returning to Oregon to the end of a winter storm that has given them some snow and colder temperatures, but it ain't nothin' like what we are NOT missing in Juneau.  Temperatures in the single digits with wind chills down to minus 20 or more.  That is the kind of weather we really don't miss--especially after 70 degree days here in Florida!

Tonight, we are splurging for a dinner at the Yachtsman Steakhouse here on the property.  We have heard pretty good reviews so are looking forward to it.  We will then turn in early and hope to get a few hours of sleep before we have to get up around 0430 to get our day started.

We hope that you are doing well where ever you are, and thanks for visiting.

Neil and Pamela

Disneyworld Days Two and Three

 

Wow!  Does time fly, or what.  Another two days in the sunshine and warmth here in Florida.  It really isn't WARM, with it being in the low seventies and high sixties and all of the outdoor Disney folks are actually wearing jackets with hoods and gloves, but it feels pretty good to us.

Disney Yacht Club with Sunshine

Yesterday afternoon was the first day of Pamela's sessions, and the in the evening there was a pirate theme dinner on "Shipwreck Beach" next to the ship/water feature on the lake.  We did not stay too long, and took a boat across the lake to the Disney Boardwalk for dessert, and then watched the Epcot fireworks from one of the bridges facing that direction.  They were not as good as they will be from Epcot itself, but the crowds were a lot better.

The Sign Says "No Swimming", Instead of "Beware of Gators"

Today (Friday) is Neil's birthday, so he celebrated by not doing too much.  He did some reading, walked around the grounds, and listened to some TV drivel about who is going to win which NFL football games and why.  He hopes to watch as many of the four games this weekend as possible, but may have to miss one to visit either Epcot or Disneyland on Sunday.

Neil's Next Boat?  The Price is Probably About Right

Neil did find a nice little boat that Sam in Alaska needs instead of the heavy inflatable we had on the Joint Adventure.  He can use this to get back and forth to the beach and just throw the deer and bear carcass across the bow--we are sure that he can use another boat.  It is called a Sea Raycer by Sea Ray, and we may rent one just to play on the lake for an hour over the next few days if we have time and good weather.

Neil's Birthday Shirt

Tonight, we are going across the water to the Disney Dolphin Hotel to the Shula Steakhouse for Neil's birthday dinner.  The Swan and Dolphin hotels are the ones with the huge sculptures on top and they are connected to the other resorts via a canal.  They have some high end restaurants and stores in them, and are popular for weddings and some corporate meetings.

Neil got a really nice Carhart (two pocket) shirt from Pamela with an embroidered image from a photo of his old boat.  It is really neat, and was a big surprise.  She had it done by a Creative Memories friend of hers in Juneau who has a computer that scans photos and turns them into embroidery

Swan and Dolphin Hotels in Walt Disney World

We have several more days here before we return to Oregon at "O' Dark Thirty" on Wednesday, so we will see a lot more on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday before we leave.  We will have to rest up when we get back "home" to the Fiver in Molalla, but that should be easy to do.  Thanks for visiting,

Neil and Pamela

Disney World Day One

Disney Yacht Club--Our Home for a Week

We made it!  We had an uneventful flight from Portland to Seattle and a nice overnight at the airport Hilton at SeaTac on Monday.  A wonderful dinner at Spenser's Steakhouse in the Hilton.  We got a good night's sleep and got up way too early for retirees, to catch the morning non-stop flight from Seattle to Orlando, Florida.  The flight was actually early and thanks to friend and boat partner Sam, we had MVP status and were able to score two exit row seats on the aisle across from each other.  The flight was five hours long, but it was quite bearable thanks to snacks, books, and naps.

 

View of Yacht Club Lighthouse and Pirate Ship 

We got to Orlando airport and took our time getting down to the Disney Shuttle and waited a little while until our shuttle bus (Disney Magical Express) brought us right to the Disney Yacht Club Resort.  We did not have to find or mess with luggage as we put the Disney tags on the bags in Seattle.  We got checked in, walked around a bit and then found a place to eat.  When we got back to the room, two of our four bags (we know, we tend to pack a tad heavy...) were "magically" in the room.  We checked and found out that the other bags were just a little late, and they came in ten minutes or so.  We guess some magic takes longer than others, but it was sure nice not to have to mess with bags--but it does require some trust.

Our Room is on the First Floor, Second from Right

We have a very nice room, on the first floor (no elevators!) and we can walk right out to the "marina" where they rent boats and you can do some charter fishing for what Neil is sure is not up to his Alaska fish standards.  It is catch and release anyway, but Neil was tempted to get a picture of him with a eight inch bass to send to Sam and Dave in Alaska.

Disney Shuttle Boat to Disney Boardwalk and Epcot

Today was a bit cloudy and it is supposed to be sunny for the next several days, so we walked over to the Disney Dolphin Resort for lunch and then on to Disney Boardwalk, which is just across Crescent Lake from our resort.  We did a little bit of shopping and then took the shuttle bus back to the resort in the afternoon.

Disney Candy--Note the "Mine, Mine, Mine" Guppies from Finding Nemo

Pamela was having coffee withdrawal upon returning, so we went to one of the nearby pubs and she got her coffee fix.

When we got to the room, the house keeping staff had cleaned up and left us with a "towel bunny" like they do on cruise ships.  So far, the service and accommodations here have been very good, as you would expect that a Disney Resort would be.  

Pamela with the Towel Bunny Today

In case you can't tell, we are having a great time, and we haven't even gotten to any of the parks yet, and Pamela has not started her Creative Memories conference--that starts tomorrow.  Neil is planning on watching some NFL playoff games on Saturday and Sunday, but more about that later.  

We will close with a couple of pictures from the past couple of weeks.

Neil and his Dad in Silverdale, January 2012

Some of you may remember that we had a lot of Stellar's Jay visitors when we were in Alaska.  We kinda miss the little camp robbers, and when Pamela looked out the window of the Fiver last week, she saw something blue in the trees.  Sure enough, it was a Western Scrub Jay.  We haven't decided if we will see if they like peanuts or not, but it was neat to see one so close to our new home.  We are not "homeless" as Pamela's brother likes to put it, but our home is pretty mobile!

Western Scrub Jay

Well, this was a lot longer post than intended, even though we don't have much to say, but we did have some photos to share.  We hope that you are doing well, and we thank you for visiting.  Please send us an email to let us know you are "listening".

Neil and Pamela

Getting Ready for Orlando!

We had another good week here in Oregon, including the final closure on our house and a good visit with Neil's folks in Silverdale, Washington.  We are really happy that all of the paperwork and waiting is over, and it allows us to begin to think about looking for a new place here in Oregon.

On January 2nd we drove the VW Passat north to visit Neil's folks for a few days, and we had a good visit with them and got caught up on a few things.  Neil also brought back some family heirlooms that his Dad did not want to store any longer.  The weather was not all we would have hoped for, as it rained very hard and there was some wind, but it was better than the snows in Alaska, so we are not complaining.

Neil Showing His Dad a Map on His iPhone

We came back on Wednesday and Neil had his one week dental implant checkup and things are going well on that front.  This week, we also had a good visit with close friends John and Joan and then came back to the Fiver so we could do some packing for our trip to Orlando, Florida.  We are really looking forward to the warmer weather, and Pamela is going to be taking in the Creative Memories classes there as well.  Neil is planning to do as much swimming, reading, and enjoying the pool-side scenery as possible. 

Our Home at the Walt Disney World Resort next Week

We will be in Florida for about eight days, and should come back tanned and rested and ready to start looking at neighborhoods here in Oregon.

Another View of the Disney Yacht Club 

We hope that you are enjoying the New Year where ever you are.  We FINALLY completed our holiday newsletter this weekend, and will be mailing and emailing it out to folks soon, as well as posting it here on this Blog later this week.

Thanks for visiting,

Neil and Pamela

Happy New Year 2012

We had a good New Year's Eve last night with a movie (Mission Impossible) and an Italian dinner out before returning to Molalla with Pamela's family to play cards (3-13--which Neil won) and stayed up to usher in the New Year with some fireworks and champagne.

A Sunny New Year's Day in Oregon

 Around noon, Seth, Cathy, Pamela and I went to visit Gordon and Sandi Kelly (Finney relatives) for a family lunch and visit and then came back to Molalla for some TV and to pack our bags for our drive up to Silverdale on Monday to visit Neil's folks.  We did not have a chance to visit them on the way down from Alaska with the big Fifth Wheel trailer, so we are looking forward to the visit.

Neil's dental surgery for the tooth implant went well, and he has a check up next Thursday to make sure that it is healing properly and that all is well.  Next weekend, we will be getting ready for our trip to Orlando Florida beginning January 9th.  We will be at a Disney resort for over a week--yahoo!

Below are a couple of photos from this past week here in Oregon.

Neil at the Barbeque Outside the Fiver

Christmas Day

We hope that you had a very good New Year's and that this finds you in good health and spirits.  Thanks for visiting,

Neil and Pamela