Where is my favorite Tumble Monkey?

So I made it to Animal Kingdom and started playing with my camera to see what kind of pictures it could take:

I grabbed a schedule and saw that the Festival of the Lion King was starting soon so I made my way over to Camp Minnie Mickey.  The crowds were really low on this particular day:

I got a seat in the Lion section.  That was a new section for me!  ROAR!

I love the Tumble Monkeys.  I must admit that I've had a bit of a crush on one of them.  Unfortunately, he wasn't part of this show.  I was disappointed because I had excellent zoom on my new camera.

Not my favorite Tumble Monkey...

I then gave my video camera feature a try.  I got a few seconds of video from the show:

After the show, I needed to find Donald so that I could have my picture taken with him and my medal.  It was a fairly easy task since I was right near the Character Greeting Trails.  Donald loved my medal and made a big deal about it.

Again, the Christmas decorations were still up, so I had some fun taking pictures of them:

While I was watching the show, I got a message from Tim saying that he wasn't going to be able to make it to hang out later, so I made my way further into the park...

Making my way to Epcot

So I hopped off the Friendship Boat at the Dolphin and headed towards the Yacht and Beach Club area so I could walk along the race course to cheer on the runners.  I would walk along the course for a little bit, stop and cheer on some runners, then turn around keep moving.

I made my up to the bridge that leads to Sea Breeze Point and hung out there cheering on the runners and looking for my teammates.  I was there for maybe 10 minutes when I saw my teammate Lanie.  I didn't have my camera out in time, but I knew that she needed to run backstage before she would enter Epcot and that I had the shorter line through the International Gateway. 

I ran to the entrance and up to where the runners were going by.  I got there maybe a minute before she did and I wasn't ready again!  I followed her along the course until a cast member yelled at me for running onto the bridge into France.  The World Showcase wasn't open to the public yet!

I rushed back along the course and after crossing the course into Canada, I hurried towards the Christmas tree so that I could wait for Lanie there and get a picture of her.

I spotted this, um, gal:

Then I saw Lanie!!

When I saw her the next day, she said how surprised she was to see me all over the course.  I just knew the shortcuts that she couldn't take!

I then made my way back to the backstage entrance in England and waited for friends and more teammates.

One of my coaches and her husband

I finally saw my friend Tim and walked with him to France, all along the way offering him pretzels, offering to run ahead and get him a beer in Germany.  He declined but said he would call me later to hang out.  Since I was in France, I headed back to the bakery and got myself some goodies.

I also got myself some yummy champagne to sip on while I ate my goodies.  I sat down on one of the benches and had many of the runners beg me for the champagne.  Nope, no sharing.  I earned this, but they weren't done yet. 

After I finished, I went back to the bridge to wait for the rest of my teammates.  I saw my roommate and our coach.  Our coach marveled at how much energy I had and how nicely I was walking around after my race.  She told me that my teammate Laurie was a few minutes behind her.  Laurie was the last person I wanted to see, I waited for her and when I saw her, I hopped on the course and made my way around the
World Showcase with her.  I held my poster that I had been using to cheer on the TNT runners in front of me where the bib would be.  There are actually picture of me running the marathon (with Laurie)!

I snapped a picture of her out in World Showcase:

And then one more of her and her sister heading into Future World:

Once we got over the bridge and to the fountains I separated from them before getting myself kicked off the course.  I was able to wander around and get some photopass pictures then I remembered that it was Sunday, and the best park to be in on most Sundays is Animal Kingdom.  And I hadn't been there yet on this trip.  Hmmm...

So that is where I headed!

Marathon Day!!! Sunday, January 10, 2010

My original plan was to get up with my roommate and go with the team to the start line, then run from the start line over to the Magic Kingdom or over to the Ticket and Transportation Center and the Polynesian.  I was so exhausted from the late dinner and walking around the parks after my race that I decided to sleep in a little bit and meet everyone at one of the parks later in the race.

I think I ended up getting up around 8.  That's pretty darn late for a Disney day for me!  I took my time getting ready then made my way over to get some coffee to warm up and wake up some more.  I even took my time getting over to get the coffee and I meandered around the resort and found the Dig Site pool.  Unfortunately, it was still way too cold to take advantage of it.

Eventually I made it over to get my coffee...

Looking at the time I figured it was best to make my way over to the Studios since everyone would be almost at, or through, Animal Kingdom by then.

I saw this as soon as I got there:

I made my way over to the friendship boats and caught the one that was waiting for me.  I sat down inside, but quickly realized that I would be able to get better pictures if I stand at the back of the boat.

Here's some shots that I got:

When the boat got to the Swan/Dolphin dock, I decided to get off there and walk the rest of the way!

To be continued...

Dinner in Epcot!

So I made my way over to Epcot and stopped at Spaceship Earth for a look at the past and my future!

Since I was on the ride by myself, I was given a new partner in my future!

I then made my way to Japan for my dinner!

I order hot tea and I think I ordered tempura for an appetizer.  Then I had the beef and fish entree.  I'll just post some of the highlights from dinner:

Yup, by the time my beef was done, the shrimp was almost gone!

In the time I was sitting there, my feet were starting to swell, so I loosen up my shoes, but I was able to tie them before I needed to leave.  After dinner, I decided it was time to head back to the room and get to bed.  I snapped one more picture of the tree.

And I happened to catch this bit of water art on my way out too!

To be continued...