Trip Report Tales From the Two Goofs Vault

Greetings again my friends. During my large amount of available free time, I have been working to digitally backup some of our old photos, as well as track down and backup any digital files as well. So far I have come across 3 Disney trips that I haven’t shared on these boards before. One from March 2019, one from September 2016, and another from June 2015. I will be doing these TRs from newest to oldest. Please note that I have no notes on our activities, so the pictures will likely not be in perfect order. I will try and provide commentary on things I do remember. So let’s get started!

Trip 1.

When: March 8-11, 2019

Who: Myself and A as always, plus our closest friends C and M.
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Where: POFQ for just one night, and Coronado Springs(more on why we did a split stay on such a short trip later).

Why: A top secret mission to photograph and celebrate C and M’s engagement.

A little background on how this trip happened.

C is one of A’s oldest and closest friends, he is the closest thing she has to a brother, and she does refer to him as her brother. He had been dating M for about a year at this point, and we all knew she was perfect for him. He’d decided to pop the question on their spring break trip to Disney. For months he had been asking A and I to come down with them to take pictures of the big event, and to celebrate with them(or console him if she said no!). It didn’t look like we would both be able to make the trip though. I finally agreed to at least get A a plane ticket and she was going to go alone for just the weekend and return.

Well as fate would have it, right at the 60 day mark I was finally able to secure the 4 days off needed to take the trip. Unfortunately there was extremely limited availability at the resorts. The only resort with full availability for the weekend was grand Floridian, which was at a non discount rate. We finally found 2 nights at Coronado, and one night at French quarter. We also purchased APs because we had already planned on being at WDW for several day’s in the summer, so it ended up being less to get the AP rather than buying separate tickets for each trip. I was also able to get the AP spring discount applied to our reservations.

With all of that business out of the way, we were able to make FP reservations right at 60 days! C wanted it to be a surprise for M that we were going to be there. We went along with this plan, but boy was it hard not to spill the beans at our super bowl party that year!

Day 0/Night1:

While I was able to get Friday-Monday off, A had no such luck, and had to work a half day Friday. This meant taking a later flight than normal. We had a 7:15 flight out of Dallas Love Field. Our plan was to be at the airport around 5:30. 5:30 on a Friday driving through downtown Dallas, what could possibly go wrong?! Fortunately while traffic was pretty heavy, and my phone told me to take the wrong exit one time, we still made it to the airport on time.

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Already a little tired before takeoff!

Our flight down went smoothly and a few hours later we landed in Orlando. Because of the time change, by the time we got down to DME it was approaching 11 pm. We were both more than ready to get to our room and get a few hours of sleep. Our bus only had a few parties on it. We stopped at riverside first, then French Quarter. Our room had been ready since lunch time of that day, so we went straight to our room. It was well after midnight when we made it to our room.

Apparently we knew that @Nunu would like some room photos at the time!😜
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Another boring redesigned room.

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The beads were a nice touch!

We finally got showered and in bed just before 1 am.
 

Loco_driver

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
More road trip.

While I was busy checking out the top of the mountain, A was down at an area called the devils playground with pickle.
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The elevation here was “only” 13000 feet.
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I found the views here to actually be better than those from the top. It was so cool to be up in the alpine tundra!
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We were a little concerned about altitude sickness, since we live at an elevation of 300 feet. Luckily neither of us had much of a problem at all. I do think pickle was having a little trouble with the thin air. So we didn’t make her walk very much.
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A took her turn at the top while pickle and I spotted a marmot on top of these rocks.
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We had planned on checking out garden of the gods in Colorado Springs after our trip up the mountain, but the weather had other plans. We also decided not to do it because there were a lot of people up on the peak not wearing masks or distancing. We didn’t feel comfortable going to another popular location that would likely have the same issues. We instead headed back to our cabin for a nap. After the rains passed we headed to a nearby trail called the tunnel drive trail.
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With a name like that there had to be tunnels!
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Notice how pickle is walking behind me? She was really struggling. Turns out the gravel from the trail was getting into her paws, and it was hurting her to walk. So being the spoiled little pup that she is, she was rescued by A!😂
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She would eventually get down and make the return trip thanks to another dog who was ahead of us that she wanted to play with. This turned out to be a great little stroll. The trail followed a ridge above the Arkansas River. The temperature was pleasant and we got to watch a few kayakers down on the water. We saw some deer back by the trailhead too!
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Swissmiss

Premium Member
I’ll admit that for the most part the gondola yesterday was not too scary, as even though you are going up, it doesn’t seem “too” high up. But your pictures @ajrwdwgirl - I think I would have needed to keep my eyes closed for a lot of it. Today we took a boat ride on Lake Brienz - the water was so turquoise blue it almost seemed unreal; either my daughter or her friend said it looked almost cartoon-like in color (the only picture I have of it on my phone my kid would absolutely kill me for posting.

Masks are required on all public transportation in Switzerland, and boats are considered public transportation. Nearly everyone wore them on the boat and kept them on ... except an Spanish-American family who were trying to not wear theirs until the boat started moving, because it was ”too hot in the sun”. Really?!
 

Loco_driver

Well-Known Member
Original Poster

Loco_driver

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Road trip update

We woke up Thursday with no real plan. I’d originally hoped to hit a few nearby trails, but the dogs feet were killing her and there were no stores nearby to get her some boots. Instead we jumped in the car and started driving with no real destination in mind. This turned out to be an incredible day!

We ended up on the collegiate peaks scenic byway. A beautiful drive surrounded by some of Colorado’s highest mountains
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The road also runs alongside the upper Arkansas River. We picked a random turnout and were rewarded with a great spot for a picnic!
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We saw a few kayakers and rafters braving the rapids.
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The water was crystal clear and ice cold. The lodge pole pine and spruce trees made the air smell fresh too! I scrambled down to the water to get a feel.
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Further down the road we saw Mt. Elbert, the highest peak in the Rockies. There was still quite a bit of snow on top.
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We took a turn towards the mountains for another drive through the sky. This time with rain! That ridge just below the snow is the road. Being a loco driver, I had no fear!
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We ended up at independence pass. As you can see it was raining pretty good up there, with some sleet and snow mixed in for good measure.
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The views up here were spectacular though.
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We were up above some of the clouds!
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The rain, sleet, and snow mix made for an adventure getting back down the mountain!
 

Darstarr

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
Ok ok ok. I am here. I have been so busy at work! Not a complaint (since I didnt work for a couple months I do not complain about working) just a statement.

@Songbird76 the Iranian lady said heat gives you energy because Iran is a fricken oven!
You believe that hot is awesome or you parish!

Loco, while you were checking out the mountains I was chillaxin in the Hamptons
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That is my husband, the lone fisherman.

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drinkin’ the 9.6👍

( @Tuvalu I call party foul on the nacho pix!!!)
 

ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Ok ok ok. I am here. I have been so busy at work! Not a complaint (since I didnt work for a couple months I do not complain about working) just a statement.

@Songbird76 the Iranian lady said heat gives you energy because Iran is a fricken oven!
You believe that hot is awesome or you parish!

Loco, while you were checking out the mountains I was chillaxin in the Hamptons
View attachment 485151
That is my husband, the lone fisherman.

View attachment 485152
drinkin’ the 9.6👍

( @Tuvalu I call party foul on the nacho pix!!!)

The beach and the beer (especially the beer) look lovely.
 

Loco_driver

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Loco, while you were checking out the mountains I was chillaxin in the Hamptons
The Hamptons, huh? Sounds fancy.

Wish I could visit, but Texas is a “hotspot” and all that jazz, so I’m banned. Nice choice on the beer though!

Glad you’re working again. I start back tomorrow! I couldn’t be happier about having to wake up at 4:30 in the morning!
 

Swissmiss

Premium Member
@Loco_driver I thought of you and A yesterday morning when we were on our way to get here:

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Other than a 2h20 minute hike up (whch we didn’t have time for, not to mention my DD would have complained about every 10 feet or so), the only other way is the funicular - the website says the AVERAGE gradient is 64%. I’m pretty sure that there were stretches where it was nearly 90%. Now a couple of days back in the office and we‘re off again to catch some BTMRR rides at DLP. 😉
 

Loco_driver

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
@Loco_driver I thought of you and A yesterday morning when we were on our way to get here:

View attachment 485242View attachment 485243

Other than a 2h20 minute hike up (whch we didn’t have time for, not to mention my DD would have complained about every 10 feet or so), the only other way is the funicular - the website says the AVERAGE gradient is 64%. I’m pretty sure that there were stretches where it was nearly 90%. Now a couple of days back in the office and we‘re off again to catch some BTMRR rides at DLP. 😉
Thanks for thinking of us! What a beautiful place! I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little jealous about that and you getting to ride big thunder in a few days! Hope you guys have fun! Also, tell your DD that it doesn’t hurt to smile every once in a while. 😉
 
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Swissmiss

Premium Member
Thanks for thinking of us! What a beautiful place! I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little jealous about that and you getting to ride big thunder in a few days! Hope you guys have fun! Also, tell your DD that it doesn’t hurt to smile every once in a while. 😉

We’re even because I get kind of jealous seeing some of your trip pictures 😉.

Ah the “joys” of teenagers and pictures. @Darstarr knows what I’m talking about, though I think my DD does smile more frequently in pictures than one of her sons (is it your middle son?)
 

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