Going Green
With the last couple of rainy weekends, the trees have almost filled in completely. It's reviving seeing all this green spring out at you for the first few weeks of the season!
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May 20, 2008
May 17, 2008
Around the World in 80 Minutes
To pack the biggest punch possible out of our brief stint on the campus, Jason and I snuck over to Epcot on the last afternoon for a few hours to see as much as we could of that park before meeting up with the rest of the gang for dinner. We nibbled and drank our way through the international section of Epcot - trying to spend our remaining snack points! We enjoyed a couple of pints in faux U.K. and Germany, and solicited spring rolls in China, to no avail... we did end up with a few boxes of Pocky in Japan, which made good gifts for the rest of the troops who were finishing their day at the Magic Kingdom. By the time we got to Mexico, we were worn out. We had a pre-dinner churro, which may have pushed us over the edge half an hour later as we sat down to buffet with chef Mickey... Excess? Yes.
Trash Talk
Rides notwithstanding, by far one of the most successful tactics I saw employed at the Magic Kingdom to entertain the masses of kids was this simple trash can on wheels. It rolled inconspicuously out of a store doorway in the park, as though someone had pushed it and it had somehow broken loose down the hill. But once it came to a stop, it started wheeling freely in various directions... and talking. The kids were baffled. They looked underneath, through the garbage flap... they ran away... one kid even kicked it! From our vantage point (tuckered out from chasing kids around all day, on a nearby bench) we could see it was being controlled by a younger guy orbiting the crowd, seemingly a college student carrying a messenger bag and holding a hand up to his face, concealing a microphone. The kids were so focused on the trash can as the electronic voice teased them and described their outfits, they never looked behind them.
Celebrate the Monorail
Here's the Walt Disney World monorail, winding around a corner, right above the red carpet leading into our hotel. When I first saw this, smoothly pulling up to let on passengers, I was thrown back to the Simpsons episode where the town of Springfield is conned into buying an unreliable monorail. I wondered, briefly, if this might be symbollic of the bill of goods we were about to be sold, but I was surprised at how we were largely undisturbed by sales people over the course of the weekend. I had read articles about Disney's monotone town of Celebration, but besides the self-promoting video on the "Magic Bus" ride from the airport and the included meal plan with impossible to spend "snack points," I felt unexpectedly un-manipulated! I was also impressed to see the train stealthily glide into each station without so much as a squeal against the rails. An impressive con if it ever was one...
May 04, 2008
It's a Small World
So small, in fact, that I finally made it to Disney World, despite having somehow avoided it this long. I was surprised to find that it wasn't as much as a sales pitch as I'd always imagined. The collision (mine with the park) occurred when I spent a couple of days with Jason's family digging into the Magic Kingdom, an area of the park mainly dedicated to the younger set. I didn't expect to encounter nostalgia for any of the characters (cartoons have never really been my thing), but was actually wowed by the cleverness of some of the movie bites we saw during our visit. I suspect that the other movie features and rides are also impressive, although we didn't get to them on this trip. But fun as it was during the day, it was great to kick back with a drink by the pool at night in the seventy degree heat, cooling our fatigued heels - the kid in me didn't quite have the energy level I remember!
The Test of Time
Flowers from Trader Joe's can be hit or miss. This bouquet called out to me; and I should mention the $4.99 price-tag called out to me even louder. I hardly ever splurge on flowers anymore. But after another day, it was dragging along the side of the vase. Thank goodness for photographs!
Having It Marinade
I love new recipes. Particularly when they involve very little elbow grease! This one came from a visiting aunt, who then passed it along to my mom, who - in a moment of eerily good timing - then suggested it to me in the heat of yet another it's-nine-thirty-at-night-and-I-haven't-even-thought-about-food moment. Mix oil, herbs, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and garlic in a bowl - marinate chicken tenders (or sliced chicken breast) in the mix and grill on 425 in a metal pan. A great complement to the bag of potato chips we consumed as an "appetizer" before getting on with dinner!
Seasonal Color
Bring on the summer vegetables! When at a loss for what to cook in the summer, there's sure to be a few great veggies at the supermarket to create a quick primavera meal. This particular version consists of an orange pepper, brussels sprouts, almonds, and thinly sliced parsnips. With a little bit of white sauce mixed in, this made a great quick-fix dinner and pretty good leftovers too!