Banana Cabana at Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort

 On of our our non-park days, we were meeting up with one of our friends.  We decided to take her for a ride on the Skyliner and visit some of the near by resorts.  One of our stops was Caribbean Beach.  We hadn't been to Caribbean Beach in forever so it was nice to walk around.  We decided we would stay here for lunch. Our first choice was going to be Sebastian's Bisto  since we had heard how good the food was there but at the time, Sebastian's was one of the restaurants that had not "re-opened" yet. 

              However, right next door was Banana Cabana so we thought we would give that a try.

The Best Train Adventure for Dogs

 I anticipated Fall to be so great this year.  I had plans to go to a dinner theater, take Sybie on a train ride for her birthday, go to Disney World for the Food and Wine Festival, and even run my first race since 2019!  Not to mention that the weather is just always so beautiful here in Fall, so I looked forward to walking and running on my favorite trail. It was going to be a great time of year!

Instead I ended up getting very sick and was laid up in the house for several weeks. I totally missed the transition to fall,  the trip to Disney, the race, and all the peaceful walks/runs on my favorite trail.  As I recovered I developed some health problems, and then one of my good friends whom I loved very much got sick and passed away very quickly.  What is suppose to be such a great time of year turned out to be one of the lowest points in my life.   It's been tough.  But before all this happened, I am thankful that we did get to take Sybie on an adventure for her 2nd birthday. It's the little things!

How it started: Over the summer we discovered that Sybie was intrigued by trains.  Every time she would hear a train, she would stop what she was doing and stare so intently in the direction the sound was coming from. If you've ever seen a lab stare so intently, it is the cutest thing.  

Mandara Spa at Disney

 


Our last Disney trip was longer than usual so we knew we wanted to check out one of the spas one day. Unfortunately the Senses Spa at Saratoga Springs and Grand Floridian were not operating  while we were there (Summer of 2021).  Fortunately the full service spa at Disney's Swan Resort was operating!

September Wrap Up -Coffee Date

 Happy October Friends! Are you ready for all things Fall? But first, I'm here to recap all that happened in September for our virtual coffee date! 


Harvest Festival 5K Race

 


We are back with another race recap! Last weekend I ran our local Harvest Festival 5k. I was happy to see that this race returned this year since it canceled last year. There are so many great things about local races. Small race size, easy parking, and a real restroom.  

Beaches and Cream at Disney's Beach Club Resort

 

 We didn't have one bad meal during our last visit to Disney and in fact, every one of them was review worthy!

Since we were staying in the Yacht Club / Beach Club resort area, we decided to go to Beaches and Cream one evening since we had never been there. 

The Last Virginia Beach Half Marathon

This past weekend I ran my very last Rock n Roll Virginia Beach Half Marathon. It was the 20th Anniversary of the race!

August Review

 For once, I'm not going to start this monthly review with , "wow that went fast", or "I can't believe August has come to an end", cus to be honest, I think August was just the right amount of time. 

I wasn't overly thrilled with how my July went (nothing bad, but nothing really exciting either), so I was determined to fit in a lot of stuff in August.  I had no big plans in August either but just enjoyed those "small moments".

San Angel Inn in Epcot


 We rarely make advanced dining reservations for days we are inside the parks, but this time with all the new precautions Disney was taking with dining, we wanted to make sure we got to eat somewhere we had never dined before.

Why We Love Disney's Swan and Dolphin Resort

 


We LOVE Disney's Swan and Dolphin resort!  I first stayed here way back when the Tower of Terror 10 Miler was still a thing!  The race started and ended at Hollywood Studios at night, and I knew I wanted to be in one of the Epcot/Boardwalk area resorts but because I didn't book early enough, they were all taken. That is when I looked into the Swan and Dolphin resorts and fell in love!

What you think you know about mobile ordering at Disney

 As you may know, Mobile ordering in the Disney Parks has become the thing to do now. I have to admit, I was a little nervous about this system.  Planning out ahead of time where, what, and when we wanted to eat seemed a little over whelming (on top of everything else we have to plan out at Disney) Planning a sit down dinning reservation for a certain place and time is one thing, but knowing when and where we wanted a quick service meal or snack was another. Afterall, we wouldn't know where we would be at in the parks at a certain time or what we would even be hungry for.


July in Review

 If it weren't for the fact that I want to be consistent and have a review for each month this year, I probably wouldn't even write one this month!  I think July was the most blah month this summer and usually it is so full of picnics, boating, races, parades, fireworks and all that fourth of July fun!  BUT I do want to be consistent and document what went down.

I just feel as if I haven't accomplished much this summer. Last summer in the peak of Covid, I feel like my sister and I did so much more. We went on so many hikes, we boated, and just made our own fun ( probably because we had to).  This year, we've done none of that. 

Patriotic Ice Cream cake dessert that I made.

Here is how I spent my July....

Aerophile, the Balloon ride at Disney Springs

 There is one thing I've always wanted to try at Disney Springs but in all the years I've visited, it has just never worked out.


First of all, visiting Disney Springs is not a "Must Do" for us. We don't visit it on every trip.  Yes, Disney Springs is a free activity, but we would rather spend our time doing the things that we've already paid to do, like the parks, and activities at the resorts.  




The Animation Experience at Disney's Animal Kingdom

 While visiting Rafiki's Planet Watch at Disney's Animal Kingdom, we took part in an animation class called the Animation Experience.  


Seeing behind the scenes at Disney's Animal Care Center.

 On our most recent visit to Disney's Animal Kingdom, we experienced something we didn't even know was possible! We watched an animal being examined at their animal care center!


Dinner at the Grand Floridian Cafe

 


Our first dining reservation during this trip to WDW was at the Grand Floridian Cafe.  Because of our luggage snafu ( you can read about that HERE), I wasn't sure we were going to make it, but we did!  We were even a few minutes early for our 5:30pm reservation.

June in Review

 




Ya'll know how bad I am at documented one sentence each day, so I will just do a recap of the month of June. Wow, I know I feel like a broke record when I sat "this month went so fast".

Epcot Flower and Garden Scavenger Hunts and Tea Tour

 There is so much fun to be had at Disney's Epcot park but every once in a while Epcot will throw in some fun "Extra's"  This last trip we made these "Extras" a bit of a game. 


We visited during the Flower and Garden Festival. 

What to try at Epcot's Flower and Garden Festival

 


We just returned from Disney World and we'd love to share about our time at Epcot's Flower and Garden Festival. This year the Festival ran from March 3 to July 5. Even if you don't plan to go to the Festival before July 5th, hopefully you can use this post as a reference for an upcoming visit to the Flower and Garden Festival. 

And it went like.....

 Long time no blog!  I've been doing really well this year with the monthly wrap up posts but then when it came to wrap up the month of April, my motivation was lost. 

Peloton Surprises!

 




So I've finally hopped on the band wagon and purchased a Peloton. I upgraded from my old chain link spin bike. It took me awhile to take the plunge, but now that I have it, I can't believe I've waited so long to get one. If you have one, you know what I'm talking about. For those of you that don't, let me explain a few cool features on it. 

Monthly Meal Ideas -First Edition

 

In a previous blog post I talked about bringing back the WIAW ( What I ate Wednesday) posts but because we don't blog on Wednesday, I thought perhaps I would just do some random posts every now and then sharing what I ate during the month.  

Coffee Talk and March Wrap Up



If we were having coffee, I'd tell you that I'm 2 for 2 already in doing the Monthly wrap up ( which is better than me trying to do the One Sentence a Day post that I've been attempting to do with my friend Rebecca Jo..lol). So why not continue the trend in March. 

March Runfessions


As we start off with this Runfession post, I have to confess/runfess most of my picture files have disappeared from my computer! I only noticed this as I was composing this post. I have no stinking clue what is going on, so I apologize this post is going to be light on photos.  Okay, let's get into some Runfessions!

Must See Sights in San Francisco

 


Being a Flight Attendant I have been to many fun places in the U.S. as well as outside the U.S. One of the cities I have always wanted to visit was San Francisco. I finally was able to have my day in San Francisco.  

Pre-Spring Break at Kalahari Resort & Spa

 Between Covid and a long winter I know many of us have had cabin fever pretty bad lately.  Our governor recently lifted the travel ban in our state so we felt we could safely go  someplace other than just work and the grocery store! 



5 Things February- Febraury Wrap Up

 Wow, What a month it has been! I suppose this is the last "official" month of Winter, right? 


This is the most "wintery" February we've had in a long time.  I can remember in the past there would be a few days were I could run in short sleeves.  I do like Winter but I will be looking forward to Spring too. I do think that as we get older we appreciate each season for what it is


Since February was a short month, let's go with 5 Things that I remember.

February Runfessions!

 


Welcome! I'm so glad you stopped by. It's that time again to join Marcia for our monthly Runfessions!

I Runfess that I didn't exactly plan on it, but I guess I've taken a hiatus from outdoor running this winter. I haven't ran outside since before Christmas and since Spring is just right around the corner, I say why even push myself to do so...lol.  Let's just make it a solid "break" for the season!

Why do I need an "Amazon day?" And random purchases you might like

 Oh the weather outside is frightful, but Amazon is so delightful. Since we have all the time, buy it Prime, buy Prime, buy it Prime........( So I thought)! 

I Love You Winter!

 Summer will ALWAYS be my favorite season. In fact, the hotter the weather, the better!  There use to be a time when I absolutely hated winter. I hated being cold, but I think when I started running outdoors ( about 10 or 11 years ago), all that has changed.  I still don't like being cold, but I've learned to manage it a little better (and with some warmer clothes)! 


January in Review


 I'm not going to lie. we all know that I'm not actually going to write one sentence per day, because I'm not that clever to have recorded one memorable thing each day in January. So I'll just do a recap of each week. Thanks to Rebecca Jo for the link up!

Heck, I won't even call them highlights, because really, there wasn't much to highlight in January, just another month in the life of a pandemic!

January Runfessions...or something like that

 


Since we are still trying to make running a part of our lives, I thought I would visit the "Runfessional" with Marcia and our other running pals! 

Organize This Year

 Organize This Year is such an ironic title since this year already started out so chaotic, am I right?

Although I am quite frustrated with what is going on with our nation, I know the only thing that I CAN control is my little corner of the world, and that is what I am focusing on.

Who came up with 10,000 steps?

 Raise your hand if you've ever done the Runner's World Run Streak ( or any run streak) from Thanksgiving till New Years?  

I've participated in that run streak the last few years, and although the "requirements" are to only run one mile every day, the most challenging part was to remember to log it. If I remember correctly, if you submitted your miles, you were entered into a prize drawing or something.