Passing through the Panama Canal - a Passporter's Tale **Updated 8/21** About This Page:

[Colexis Mom]

Thanks for all the live updates Terri

[DrDolphin]

Monday - Memorial Day - update

Well I made it home around 11pm last night and after finally dragging myself out of bed around 930am have spent the day doing laundry, unpacking suitcases going through and putting things away, organizing photos and scanning photos. I may actually be ready to start my TR in a couple of days - still need to order the photopass CD....

[FanOfMickey]

Thanks for sharing your wonderful trip with us Terri!! Makes me more anxious for my cruise now

[Colexis Mom]

Glad you made it home Terri! Can't wait for the report

[Grammy Grumpy]

Thanks for taking all of us along for your adventure. I can only hope that the eastbound repo trip in August (which I will be on!!) is as stress-free and adventure laden as yours!

[chezp]

Glad to hear you made it home safe and sound Terri.

[MGW]

Thanks so much for sharing, I've really enjoyed reading your updates!

Can't wait for more!

[Big Baloo]

Welcome Back! Glad you're safe and am looking forward to your TR--the pictures are always fantastic!

[HeatherD]

Welcome back to the real world!

for taking with you on your trip....

[LizardCop]

for sharing your trip with us Terri!!! Glad you had fun, fun, fun.....

[DrDolphin]

*** Note - I had thought about waiting for the PhotoPass CD to arrive (ok I haven't ordered it yet - waiting to hear back from my partner in crime concerning a question before I order it) - but if I wait - I lose momentum - and knowing how I am when it comes to finishing trip reports - I figured it was best to strike while the brain is still in (missing my) vacation mode!! Not to mention I need to finish selecting, resizing, scanning, etc from my more than 2,700 photos, 35 video clips and all of Lesley’s photos.

Day 1 - May 8

Now as many of you may remember - I had been traveling a great deal before this trip (ok, ok - I know what's so new about that??) - Lesley was already in WDW and I had to teach on Saturday, go to Fort Lauderdale, St. Augustine and Miami on the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday before this trip. Joy! SO... after landing at JAX at 8pm on Wednesday night, driving home and working on scanning receipts so my secretary (thank you April!) could do all my travel vouchers while I was gone (always a good thing to pay the credit card company!) - I went to bed with the alarm set for 530am!!

That's right folks - I am starting my vacation at 530am Thursday May 8! Luckily for me - the suitcases were already packed and waiting at the top of the stairs for me to throw, I mean carry, them downstairs and load them in the car.

My goal was to be out of the house by 630am on the way to JAX (that's right - north Jacksonville - back to the airport I had left less than 12 hours earlier - in the opposite direction of Orlando.). Goal #1 – achieved (well close enough) – I left the house at 6:32am.


632am.....

I headed north – and in about 30 minutes to Jacksonville International Airport, pulled into Park Space and started to unload the car while waiting for the shuttle bus. Park Space is my usual parking location when I travel.

They have a frequent parker program. For every 45-days you park with them – you get five free…. Ok – remember – I travel too much – since I had 3 free five day certificates that I had saved for this trip. 15 nights of 17 free – not too bad! I unloaded the bags and Shelley (the driver) came and started to load them on the bus. I warned her they were very heavy. After we got on the bus – she asked me which airline I needed and warned me about overweight fees. I told her I was not flying and was just picking up my rental car. She recommended that instead of dragging the bags through the airport – that I leave them here, get the car and come back for them. Ok – I like that idea. SO – we drove to the front, unloaded my bags that had just been loaded and set off for the terminal. She dropped me at baggage claim, and I headed to the Hertz desk to pick up the car.

Although I am a Hertz Gold Club member – instead of telling me to go to the gold desk in the garage, the print out told me to go to the regular counter. Ok – weird but who am I to argue? So – I walked up to the desk, and checked in with Petra – the manager – who asked me what I was doing at the desk. I showed her my printout and she said – “Oh – that’s cause you booked something different than your saved profile” (that’s right sister! Who wants to rent a mid-sized 4-door sedan like the car I just left for vacation?). She told me she’d caught it – and to head for the garage. Out of curiosity – I asked what I got – and she told me a white sebring convertible (insert Terri doing mental snoopy happy dance here!). I thanked her and bopped off to the garage. I picked up the keys and headed for stall F56… and there it was!! So – I ran over, opened the doors, put down the top and took a bad photo in the dark garage. I am such a DORK!


Ok – back to the car. I got settled in – all mirrors adjusted, etc and pulled out headed back to parkspace. By now I was behind schedule. Very quickly we threw all my stuff (ok heaved and grunted since the bags were so dang heavy no one was throwing them anywhere) into the backseat (remember – the top was down = no room in the trunk – oops didn’t think about that when I booked this….) and I was off –headed south toward Orlando. I passed the exist for my house at 8am – only an hour and a half after I’d left home.
As I drove down with my Ipod plugged into the Aux jack of the car stereo –

it was overcast and cool – so cool in fact I had the heat blowing on my bare feet (I was wearing my new croc flip flops). At about 945am I made the call NOT to take 417 around Orlando – but to risk driving through downtown on I-4. I just prayed the traffic would cooperate. At 10am I stopped, went to the bathroom and broke out the sunscreen – since the sun had broken through the clouds and it was getting warm. I called Lesley to let her know I was close. I arrived on Disney property right about 1030am and headed over to Shades of Green to get my new Annual Pass (I am usually a Seasonal Pass holder - but I need an AP this year).



Shades of Green

$344.00 and 15 minutes later I was headed out the door. I talked to Lesley again, and we agreed I would head to the Boardwalk, check in and wait for her and Alice to complete their EPCOT flower tour and head over to meet me.

Next up - Checking in, and waiting...

[DrDolphin]

Day 1 - continued

After pulling into the Boardwalk, valeting the car, and leaving my bags with bell services, I went to check in. There was a problem with the reservation. It appeared that my name had been deleted from the reservation and replaced with Lesley’s friend Alice… SO – I called Lesley, left her a message and headed over to EPCOT’s international gateway to convert my new AP voucher into an Annual Pass, took photos heading over and back and chatted with my friend Kelly on the phone for a bit while sitting on the Boardwalk.



After awhile, I went into the lobby, picked up a copy of USAToday and waited for Lesley to finish the tour. At almost 1230pm, I got a hold of her, and the tour had run late, but they were finished. Originally we planned to eat lunch at Beaches and Cream, but instead we opted for the Tangerine Café in the Morocco Pavilion. I walked over to EPCOT, took a few Photopass pictures (which I will post when I get them) and waited for Lesley and Alice to arrive on the bridge between the UK and France.


After hellos and hugs were exchanged – we headed for lunch since I was HUNGRY (no breakfast for me…). Alice and I headed into to get food first, Lesley held the table. I had the lamb wrap (basically a gyro) and it was very good – too much food for me!

After lunch – we explored Japan for a bit, saw the drummers, explored the stores (I found things I want to go back for) and looked for a butterfly necklace for Alice’s granddaughter. Then I could no longer resist the pull of my favorite EPCOT dessert – kaki gori!! Rainbow flavored (honeydew, mandarin and strawberry) – YUM!

We took some photopass photos in Germany with the Snow White and Seven Dwarves topiaries and lots of photos in Italy.


For our own Miss Dopeygirl!!!


Lesley took a photo of me tossing a coin in the “Trevi” fountain (I need all the help I can get to get back to Italy in 2010) and even caught the coin in mid-air!!! Lesley got an Italian margarita and shared a bit with me – yummy!! We headed off to Norway, China and Mexico for more window shopping (I am making a list for stuff to pick up in August – when I have my car and can take all my stuff home!).


After our trip around half of World Showcase, we decided to head back to Boardwalk. Lesley and Alice had driven to EPCOT, so they drove back and I walked back. I stopped in Canada and the UK to take a BUNCH more photos.






I ran into my first character of the trip - Chip.

Dale would not come take a photo with us... he said Chip stank. So I took a photo with Chip - and then took the slow boat to Boardwalk since it appeared I was developing a blister. I went into the Boardwalk lobby, sat down and within a few moments, Lesley and Alice arrived and we were checked into Room 4105 - a standard one bedroom villa - very nice!!

Next - Animal Kingdom, EE and Yak and Yeti!!!

[DawnDenise]

I'm so glad you decided to start your report Terri!! Love all the pictures, especially the one of you throwing the coin into the fountain!! Hope it does the trick and you can get to Italy in 2010!! Looking forward to more!!

[mcc0313]

I was so happy to see the start of your report...I figured it would take a few days (not that I am complaining)...I am so looking forward to reading all about your trip...

Glad you made it to WDW in good time...great car by the way and a great way to start your trip with dining and wandering around the WS....

Looking forward to more....(see I am hooked already )

[HeatherD]

Loving it so far! Now if only I can figure out how to get pictures into the actual post before my next trip....