2023 Block Party

Saturday was the annual block my neighbors have held for years and I’ve headed up for — I don’t know? — maybe five years or so. It was a long, fun day as usual, with a few surprises.

First of all, the weather. For once, it was lovely. Usually it’s miserably hot, and sometimes there’s a giant rain shower. And mosquitoes, always mosquitos. But this year it was pretty mild, maybe 80 or so, with only a little light rain (and a rainbow!) and few bugs in sight.

And second, the sparkles. Our driveway hosted a craft table, and a neighbor or two brought down containers of glitter. Which, of course, were promptly spilled all over our driveway. So thick that I could make designs with the air vac when I took a turn to sweep them up. There are sparkles on the porch, in the yard, up and down the street and even on our kitchen counters. I will be finding them for years.

But it was fun to catch up with neighbors I haven’t talked to in a while and hang out with the neighbors I know, love and see almost every day. Of course, the kids loved the piñata and riding their bikes up and down the barricaded block. And when the kids went to bed, we stayed up way too late with our friends. Til next year!

WDW: Getting There, Animal Kingdom

Walt Disney World in the summer -- I had never been there then and never had a great desire to, either. Don't get me wrong: I love Disney World. But we have mostly gone later in the year, either in September or November. Or spring break when I was younger. Either way, not in the heat of summer.

Our trip earlier this month changed that. And despite temperatures in the 90s, it wasn't as bad as I expected. Oh for sure the sun was hot -- it sometimes felt like the sun's rays were pricking into my skin -- but in the shade it wasn't so bad. Yes, there were moments during the last couple of days that it felt like the humidity was sucking the breath out of me, but we were in air conditioning most of the time. Have I convinced you to go on a June trip to Florida yet?

The weather wasn't as bad as I feared, but I still wouldn't take the chance of going later in the summer unless there was a very compelling reason. The crowds also weren't as low as our November trips, but we rode everything we wanted to ... maybe just not as many times as we would have preferred to ride them, in some cases.

Anyway, I'll break down our trip over a few posts. Overall, we spent two days each at Magic Kingdom and Epcot, and one each at Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom. I awoke earlier on each park day than I typically do at home, and went to sleep earlier as well, exhausted. But it was a rewarding time.

We caught a 9:45 a.m. Saturday flight out of Columbus and landed in Orlando around noon. The kids were eager to go swimming, but that got delayed til after supper thanks to a storm that shut down the pool. We stayed at Pop Century Resort, so we couldn't resist a quick Skyliner ride before bed, and we even managed to catch some fireworks from the sky.

On Sunday we went to Animal Kingdom, and that night Atticus said it had felt like we had already been on vacation for a week! It was a full day, and an early one. We were out the door by 7 a.m. to catch a bus for the park's 7:30 opening. We hit all of the main rides in the morning and the shows during the heat. Atticus loved Flight of Passage and Edith Expedition Everest (which we got walk-on rides onto in the evening before the 8 p.m. close, in addition to the morning ride). 

Great start to the trip!

A Disney World Vacation

I’ll keep this short today — we just got back Sunday evening from a week at Walt Disney World, and I need a vacation from vacation! I got up earlier than I normally do and walked miles longer — mostly in 80- to 95-degree heat. But we had a blast despite the weather and crowds. A few photos today, and more next week: