Happy Easter!
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Our Disney Trip: Princess Dinner
After spending the day at Animal Kingdom, we had reservations with a princess at the Grand Floridian Hotel (for dinner, not to stay). The girls changed into their gowns and freshened up in the hotel lobby's powder room. Ally had chosen her fuchsia "Anastasia" ensemble while Cora dressed the part of "Cinderella-in-Dora-sneakers" for the evening's dining experience. Both played their parts perfectly and had arms and skirts outstretched as we were escorted to our table.
As we ate we watched the characters circulate through the dining room, waiting for our turn to meet the step-family, Prince Charming, and Cinderella herself. I think Ally was most excited about meeting Anastasia so she could point out that they were twins. I enjoyed the steps' voices and facial expressions.
The food was pretty good. I don't remember what we ate, except the delicious strawberry soup and the little desserts. One of Cora's favorite parts of the whole night was getting to eat a handful of jelly beans at the end of her meal.
Some kids got to dance with Cinderella and Prince Charming, but our children weren't so lucky. There was, however, a live band playing in the upper balcony of the hotel lobby. Cora and Ally both took the opportunity to strut their stuff after dinner.
The hotel was beautiful, and as with everything else, it was decorated for Christmas with multiple lighted trees, garland, a fancy birdcage, and a large gingerbread house. We walked up the huge staircase and explored a few shops before heading back to our budget resort for some much-needed beauty rest. Too bad we couldn't really ride the carriage home.
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| Happily Ever After |
As we ate we watched the characters circulate through the dining room, waiting for our turn to meet the step-family, Prince Charming, and Cinderella herself. I think Ally was most excited about meeting Anastasia so she could point out that they were twins. I enjoyed the steps' voices and facial expressions.
The food was pretty good. I don't remember what we ate, except the delicious strawberry soup and the little desserts. One of Cora's favorite parts of the whole night was getting to eat a handful of jelly beans at the end of her meal.
Some kids got to dance with Cinderella and Prince Charming, but our children weren't so lucky. There was, however, a live band playing in the upper balcony of the hotel lobby. Cora and Ally both took the opportunity to strut their stuff after dinner.
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| Lucky Shot |
The hotel was beautiful, and as with everything else, it was decorated for Christmas with multiple lighted trees, garland, a fancy birdcage, and a large gingerbread house. We walked up the huge staircase and explored a few shops before heading back to our budget resort for some much-needed beauty rest. Too bad we couldn't really ride the carriage home.
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Shivering in Savannah, Day 3
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| Forsyth Park. Who wouldn't want to play here? |
After Ally and Cora had their fill of the swings and the other playground equipment, it was time for American Idol tryouts. We play AI whenever the girls find a stage (real or imaginary), so this means we play it pretty much anytime and everywhere.
They sang. They danced. They drew both crazy looks and happy smiles from strangers. They were evaluated. They both received golden tickets and are going to Hollywood. Yay!
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| You better vote for these two in 15 years! |
Next, we wandered over to the downtown market. Ally got to meet Justin "Beever". She likes some of his songs, but he's not her favorite artist. All the other girls in her class, however, swoon at the mere mention of his name. Naturally, she had to take a picture with him to make them all jealous. |
| Another star sighting. |
We tried our luck at Lady and Sons for lunch, but we had no reservations and didn't want to wait until 3 pm to be seated. We ended up going back to the market and eating at a gelato shop. My salad and Chris' sandwich were good-- just not as buttery as Paula Dean would have made them.
After one last potty break and a little more running around another park (Savannah has over 20 parks/squares), it was time to head home.Maybe next time we'll go on an actual tour. Maybe next time it will be a lot warmer!
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| Chess, anyone? |
Friday, March 1, 2013
Shivering in Savannah, Day 2
Our second day was still cold and cloudy, but thankfully the rain held off. We wanted the girls to sleep in, but of course they didn't. We ate our free hotel breakfast (very important!), watched TV, went to sacrament meeting, got changed, and then drove to Tybee Island.
Grammy and Grampy Hoffman had told us about The Crab Shack. To get there, we took one of the first right-hand turns after crossing the bridge and then followed the signs past some old mobile homes on stilts. I don't think we would've known it was there (or trusted the quality of the food) if Chris hadn't researched it ahead of time. The parking lot decorations and signs had a tourist trap vibe to them, but there were plenty of cars parked out front. We walked past an alligator pond, took some pictures, and entered the warm, heated dining room.
Since we were near the beach we wanted seafood, so Chris had deviled crab and I had a shrimp salad sandwich. The girls, of course, had a cheap pizza and a hot dog. If we're ever out there again around dinnertime, we'll definitely go for the low country boil. It looked and smelled delicious, it just would have been way too much food!
The restaurant's tagline is "Where the Elite eat in their bare feet." Maybe no one famous was there that day, or maybe it's because the weather was cold and you have to go outside to visit the restroom, but everyone I saw was wearing shoes. I think Cora's favorite part was getting to use those double outhouses.
Our next stop was the Tybee Island Lighthouse. We explored the grounds which included the light keeper's home, an assistant's home with an educational video, and the lighthouse itself. The summer kitchen and first assistant's home were both closed to the public. The fuel storage shed was open, but it now houses a coke machine instead of lamp oil.
The light keeper's home has been restored to what it looked like in the 1940's. The head keeper at that time had 3 or 4 children, so the girls had fun looking at the toys in the girls' bedroom upstairs. Chris had fun trying to convince the girls that this really is an old phone and not just a strange kitchen decoration.
We found this original traveling library in a downstairs room. The government sent an inspector to each lighthouse once a quarter to collect the logbooks and check on the condition of everything. When he made his visits, he would swap out the "library" for another box from a different lighthouse. Chris says if we ever have "all the money in the world", we will be tracking down one of these-- original books included-- and purchasing it. I'm glad we weren't lightkeepers; Ally never would have been able to wait three months for a new set of books!
We climbed the 178 steps to the top of the lighthouse. And by we, I mean that all of us walked the stairs under our own power. I was impressed-- and extremely grateful-- that Cora wanted to climb on her own and that she had enough energy to do it herself.
Ally felt like she was going to fly off the top when we went outside, especially since the wind was making her coat look like it was covered in bird feathers.
The base of the lighthouse dates back to 1773, the top was only reconstructed just after the Civil War. It was pretty neat to be in a building that old!
What goes up, must come down. So we all walked the 178 steps down (easier but scarier than going up) and then took a little rest / had a photo shoot before moving on to our next stop.
Next we drove to the Bonaventure Cemetery, which sits between Tybee Island and the historic Savannah district. We had seen amazing photos of sculptures surrounded by eerie, moss-laden trees in the cemetery, and I wanted to get our own.
Ally and Cora helped me explore the first family plot that caught our attention. They found a tombstone with Cora's birthday on it-- off by just a century. They also found a double grave marking the final resting place of two small children.
I snapped some pictures, Chris snapped some pictures, and after awhile the girls got bored and fell asleep in the car. They both slept for a good two hours (the remainder of our touristy time for the day), which was wonderful. Here are some of my favorite photos:
I was very impressed at how expressive and life-like the sculptures were. This angel appears to be on the verge of tears.
We drove into Savannah, and Chris took some pictures of another cemetery while I stayed in the car with our sleeping beauties. During the Civil War some soldiers camped out on the grounds for awhile. They broke and outright vandalized many of the tombstones, so now they are lined up along the boundary wall.
The epidemiologist makes a historic discovery:
After the cemetery, Chris sat in the car with the girls while I took some pictures around the main square. Then we got dinner and went swimming again at the hotel pool.
Grammy and Grampy Hoffman had told us about The Crab Shack. To get there, we took one of the first right-hand turns after crossing the bridge and then followed the signs past some old mobile homes on stilts. I don't think we would've known it was there (or trusted the quality of the food) if Chris hadn't researched it ahead of time. The parking lot decorations and signs had a tourist trap vibe to them, but there were plenty of cars parked out front. We walked past an alligator pond, took some pictures, and entered the warm, heated dining room.
The restaurant's tagline is "Where the Elite eat in their bare feet." Maybe no one famous was there that day, or maybe it's because the weather was cold and you have to go outside to visit the restroom, but everyone I saw was wearing shoes. I think Cora's favorite part was getting to use those double outhouses.
Our next stop was the Tybee Island Lighthouse. We explored the grounds which included the light keeper's home, an assistant's home with an educational video, and the lighthouse itself. The summer kitchen and first assistant's home were both closed to the public. The fuel storage shed was open, but it now houses a coke machine instead of lamp oil.The light keeper's home has been restored to what it looked like in the 1940's. The head keeper at that time had 3 or 4 children, so the girls had fun looking at the toys in the girls' bedroom upstairs. Chris had fun trying to convince the girls that this really is an old phone and not just a strange kitchen decoration.
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| Funny face on the wall. |
We found this original traveling library in a downstairs room. The government sent an inspector to each lighthouse once a quarter to collect the logbooks and check on the condition of everything. When he made his visits, he would swap out the "library" for another box from a different lighthouse. Chris says if we ever have "all the money in the world", we will be tracking down one of these-- original books included-- and purchasing it. I'm glad we weren't lightkeepers; Ally never would have been able to wait three months for a new set of books!
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| Any kid books inside? |
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| Long way up! |
We climbed the 178 steps to the top of the lighthouse. And by we, I mean that all of us walked the stairs under our own power. I was impressed-- and extremely grateful-- that Cora wanted to climb on her own and that she had enough energy to do it herself.
Ally felt like she was going to fly off the top when we went outside, especially since the wind was making her coat look like it was covered in bird feathers.
The base of the lighthouse dates back to 1773, the top was only reconstructed just after the Civil War. It was pretty neat to be in a building that old!
What goes up, must come down. So we all walked the 178 steps down (easier but scarier than going up) and then took a little rest / had a photo shoot before moving on to our next stop.
 |
| "Good Adventure" |
Ally and Cora helped me explore the first family plot that caught our attention. They found a tombstone with Cora's birthday on it-- off by just a century. They also found a double grave marking the final resting place of two small children.
 |
| Paying their respects to the siblings. |
I snapped some pictures, Chris snapped some pictures, and after awhile the girls got bored and fell asleep in the car. They both slept for a good two hours (the remainder of our touristy time for the day), which was wonderful. Here are some of my favorite photos:
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| Release the Kracken! (or maybe not) |
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| Cross and Moss |
I was very impressed at how expressive and life-like the sculptures were. This angel appears to be on the verge of tears.
When I realized there were no sculptures of men, I started reading the names on all the ornate headstones. Even the male names had women sculptures on top. Apparently when the husband died, they'd sometimes chisel out a representation of the grieving wife he left behind. I guess that's one way to be together even beyond the veil of death.
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| The Mournful Widow. |
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| Another Mournful Widow. |
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| The Flower Girl. |
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| The Jewish section. (I wish I could read Hebrew.) |
We drove into Savannah, and Chris took some pictures of another cemetery while I stayed in the car with our sleeping beauties. During the Civil War some soldiers camped out on the grounds for awhile. They broke and outright vandalized many of the tombstones, so now they are lined up along the boundary wall.
The epidemiologist makes a historic discovery:
After the cemetery, Chris sat in the car with the girls while I took some pictures around the main square. Then we got dinner and went swimming again at the hotel pool.
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