I love coming home from vacation.
No matter how much fun we've had, it's always great to come home. Sleep in our own bed. Shower in our own shower. And wear something other than the same six outfits that have been flopping around in my suitcase for the past three weeks.
That being said, we're already planning our next trip. We had so much fun at Disney World, and we think we'd like to make it a yearly tradition. The marathon, nightly fireworks and tiramisu. Does it get any better than that?
We took almost a thousand pictures on our trip and I won't even begin to bore you with the majority of them. Here's a few highlights to tempt you into planning your own winter escape.
Our top ten favorites from our 2010 vacation:
1. Keith running (and finishing!) his first marathon. Disney World is the perfect venue for your first marathon. It's loud and full of music, characters, great visuals and lots of positive energy. Keith was a little nervous about running in the heat and humidity. But we were greeted in Orlando with 29 degree weather and snow! What a shocker! Who even knew it could do that in Orlando? Keith was in his element and felt right at home. I'm sorry to all you other runners who were freezing your bums off.
2. The nightly Wishes fireworks show at the Magic Kingdom. We loved this! Can't say enough great things about it. We watched it almost every night and just stood in awe and wonder.
3. The tiramisu at Tutto Italia in Epcot. It didn't last long enough to get a picture, but good heavens, it was a-maz-ing. I knew I wanted this for dessert, so I didn't even order an entree. I ordered an antipasto plate from the appetizer menu for dinner because I didn't want to be too full for dessert. Next time, I'm getting this as my appetizer. The strawberry tart at the Patisserie in France comes in a close second.
4. The World Showcase in Epcot. This place is brilliant! We had so much fun traveling the world and visiting all the different country showcases. Learning about their heritage and cultures, trying their native foods, watching the local entertainment. We loved every minute of it. And really, where else can you visit Norway, France, England, Germany, Italy, Japan and Morocco all in one day?
5. Swimming with the sting rays in the Cayman Islands. I was terrified to go on this excursion, but didn't want to get home and have to tell everyone I was too chicken to do it. So I went. And I am so glad I did. The water was warm and crystal clear. The rays were terrifying. They're so BIG and they come at you and bump into you like blind puppies. They're soft like wet mushrooms and really flappy. I spent the majority of my time clinging to Keith like a burr, half drowning the two of us together. But at one point, I kinda sorta held a big female ray just a little bit. Maybe for a second. Just until my brain kicked in that I was HOLDING a sting ray and then I may or may not have totally lost it.
6. Visiting the ancient Mayan ruins of Tulum in Cozumel. This was something we really looked forward to doing on our cruise. We hit the mother lode with our tour guide. His name was Angel and he's an Anthropology graduate filled to the brim with knowledge. He was so friendly and eager to share the history and culture of these people. He really loved what he was doing and it made for such a fun and exciting day. And while were in Tulum, we ate lunch at this little local hole-in-the-wall joint for fish tacos and some Aye Aye Aye salsa. It's made with habañeros and you scream Aye Aye Aye! when you try it.
7. The Bahamas. Enough said.
8. Our dining companions on the ship. We had a set dining time for dinner on our cruise, at the same table, with the same six other people each night. At first, we didn't know how we felt about this, but the first night set us at ease and we were so glad we did it. We had a stellar table! There were three other couples and they were all awesome. We looked forward to spending time with them every night and had so much fun.
9. The Jam Patch quilt shop in Stuart, Florida. Holy. Cows. HOLY COWS. I have found the quilt shop of my dreams. I try to scope out local quilt shops whenever we visit a new place and it's always fun to see them. But this one takes the (Moda Bake Shop) cake! Fabric everywhere. More Moda pre-cuts than you can imagine. It was a huge space, and bolts were just arranged in piles all over the place and I didn't know where to start. They give you these little sand pails when you walk in to use as your shopping "basket". Really now, they're what little kids use to make sand castles at the beach. They hold a handful of FQ's and a couple charm packs. We need some serious shopping baskets for this place. Or a sherpa. I didn't bring my camera (duh!) so I don't have any pictures to share. I know, I know. How could I be so...well, I was on vacation. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. The only bummer about this quilt shop is they don't have a web store. They have a website, but no shopping. They were celebrating their 5th birthday when I was there and FQ's were 20 for $25. They were also doing a big sale on Christmas fabrics and 40% off any bolt you finished. I may or may not have finished several bolts, depending on whether or not Keith is reading this. I mailed everything home before we went on our cruise and it isn't here yet, so I have no fun goodies to show you.
*Above photo from the Jam Patch website.
10. My SECOND trip to The Jam Patch quilt shop. (Too bad we don't have little emoticons in blogging. This is where I'd put the little embarrassed face one.) After our cruise, we rented a car to drive from Ft. Lauderdale back up to Orlando where we were flying out of. We just happened to pass by the exit where this quilt shop was. I couldn't help it. Those rental cars have a mind of their own and before we could figure out what was going on, we were magically back in the parking lot in front of this quilt shop. I swear. All during our cruise, I had been thinking about this giant Gathered Over Time 2 Fat Roll by Windham that I kicked myself for not buying when I was here earlier. Thank goodness no one bought it while I was gone cause that would have been depressing. I also picked up a couple Gobble Gobble charm packs just out of principle. They're so hard to find and here were TWO.
Well, that's the run down. I'm happy to report laundry is done, house is clean and I'm busy sewing. I'm working on a Round Robin and hopefully it'll be done today and I can show it to you tomorrow.
Have a good week!
Sounds like you had a wonderful time. I'm sitting here with cabin fever feeling envious.
Posted by: Robin Booth | 02/08/2010 at 12:28 PM
Fabulous! And Gobble Gobble is the cute one that we couldn't find, right?! I want to join you on this tradition...let's see if we can convince Kurt...
Posted by: Chamaine | 02/08/2010 at 03:36 PM
What fun to read about your trip. How funny that Disney World would have been cold for the marathon...but as you said, perfect for Keith's run. Glad you're back.
Posted by: Christine Thomas | 02/08/2010 at 04:24 PM
Seriously AMAZING vacation...like 3 in 1! (By the way, I only recently found your blog and have been trying to catch up...you are SO talented!) Glad you had so much fun. LOVE YOU!
Posted by: Alicia | 02/08/2010 at 07:30 PM
What a trip! 6 outfits, you were kidding right....
How do you get Keith to visit quilt shops on vacation? You're a lucky girl! Any sporting event in any city we can make time for, quilt shops...never!
I LOVE the lights on the castle, it looks like ice. I didn't know Epcot had such good food! The last time I was at Disney World I skipped that park!
Welcome Home
Posted by: Thelma | 02/09/2010 at 03:32 AM
Wow, it sounds like you had a great trip. We were all frightened about how cold it was for the Disney marathon this year, I didn't run it, but I had friends there who said the water was freezing on the ground at water stops and that people were slipping and breaking things. It sounds like it wasn't a big shock for you guys though. Your cruise sounds just great! I have one coming up next week and seeing you pictures is making me even more anxious to get through this week. Thanks for stopping by my blog, now I'm off to check out yours. Isn't blogging fun?
Posted by: Angela | 02/09/2010 at 03:33 AM
Sounds like you had a truly wonderful time! Welcome home, I missed you!
Posted by: Lisa D. | 02/09/2010 at 05:27 AM
Now that is my kind of vacation! Isn't Disney World awesome? I was there a couple of years ago on business, and managed to get away for a day with one of my colleagues. We did it all! What a blast we had.
I am with you about the sting rays. Ooooh, not sure about that.
Seeing that Bahama beach makes me question whether coming home to my own shower would be worth it!
Posted by: Nicole | 02/09/2010 at 06:42 AM
Sounds like a wonderful trip. My husband and I visited Tulum when we went to Cancun in '97. Loved it. Also went to Chichen Itza. I loved Mayan ruins.
Posted by: Susan Ramey Cleveland | 02/09/2010 at 08:01 PM