Disney trip: Day 2....Animal Kingdom

 My brother and I finally won 1st place at the new trivia place (started in February here). It all came down to the final/championship question which is the usual. You can bet nothing or up to all of your points which is what we did as we were in 3rd place heading into that one question. Name the G7 countries. Got it as did 4 other teams that also doubled up, but none of those that were ahead of us. My brother is very happy. Trivia is his thing.

Going to get right at it for the day two activities (Saturday). Started the morning grabbing breakfast off of the resort. My daughter likes trying new places to eat, which is actually limiting because my grandson only eats a few things period. Pancakes, Waffles, cheese pizza, some pasta, and chicken. Doesn't matter the meal as those are the only foods he eats. Now I wouldn't allow such things, but Hunter does. She picked out a place called Maple's. They had chicken and waffles and that is what both of them ate. I had bacon and eggs with hashbrowns and a biscuit.

Yes, the little guy ate it all. With that said, the resort also had chicken and waffles or Mickey pancakes which is what he had Sunday. Love that expression.

Hopped on the bus to head over to Animal Kingdom. He was supposed to leave the Buzz at the hotel.

The thing that Elijah wanted to do the most was go to the "mountain". It is actually a scary roller coaster ride(with a Yeti inside) and he fell one inch short (I am thankful). I should say that when we got back to the resort after breakfast and we were walking from the parking lot I knew my back was going to be an issue, more so my hips. I rented a scooter inside the park. Turned out to be a great idea!

Elijah was a little pissed off because he couldn't go inside the mountain, but he got over it. The next thing we did was hit up the basically a live musical of Finding Nemo. The "gate keepers" decided to not just put us in the "Lightning Lane", but put us at the front of it... Super cool! No waiting! I didn't take pictures inside because they said not to, although some people didn't follow the rules....I did!

E loves dinosaurs, they rode this ride a couple of times back to back. My daughter is having a ball because she let the little guy control the tilt. Look at her face.

After the triceratops it was time for an ice cream and something to drink. He had just bitten off Mickey's ear when I snapped the pic. Then we found a place to eat you guessed it....chicken strips. Hunter wanted to do the Safari all the way across the park. The line was long when we got there and no bump there. Shucks!

Scooped up Elijah while we were still in line for a quick pic.

Lots of animals throughout the Safari ride (those animal pics are on my daughter's phone). I had this one. After spending the day (5-6 hours) we headed back to the resort so they could do homework (2 days worth), eat dinner and hit up the pool before bed. Their bedtime, not mine.

I knew that I would be heading back out once they were in bed and planned to get some pics of the Fireworks this time. I got there early and noticed that on the lake were tugs pulling lighted displays before the boom boom time.

The colors on the water were good. I was switching back and forth from photo and video, and overall my pics and vids sucked. I'm sorry.

Had to get a closer shot with the ferry coming in from Disney.

We had breakfast at the resort (it was so much cheaper there than at the parks and about the same as the cost eating away from the resort).

Tried to get the little guy to pose for a pic by the fountain, but he was more interested in getting to the pool. We were going to head over to Hollywood Studios after checking out, but decided to chill in the pool and then get home earlier than planned. We were all wiped out including me even though I did the scooter thing the day before.

This shot was easy.... poor bird lol.

Well folks that was the 3 days/2 night trip away from home for his birthday (which is actually this Friday). It was a good trip although I believe he would have had a whole lot more fun in a few more years from now. With Hunter graduating this summer, she changed jobs (she worked with children with autism until last week. She started her new job (now a behavior specialist) at the very Elementary school she and her sisters attended. I wish her well (and praying for her). Maybe an adjustment moving from one issue to ALL issues, and so many kids in one place. She now has a State retirement plan and benefits which are pretty good even though the salaries in Florida for school workers teacher's included are not. Wages here were never really an issue because everything here was proportionate....That is except for the last 3+ years. Now, it is a big deal. Housing is 4x higher than it was just 4 years ago, food is up just like it is everywhere, and utilities are up 50% with those dang companies pushing for two more 50% bumps. Lord I hope our State leaders shoot them down. I miss my $50.00-70.00 electric bills (2 months would actually hit a hundy.... August and January). I know that sounds crazy low to most of you folks, but that is what it was until last year. I take that back, while I was in Georgia, my daughter would run the a/c constant even when not home and that would keep it near a hundred to 150.00. I run my heater 7-8 months out of the year and could avoid that 3 digit utility bill except for Jan. Not anymore. 

No idea how I got on that rant, I do know that the hottest month is coming in a week. Stay cool everybody and stay hydrated :).