The Joy of the Festival

Food, Wine, Wine, Food.......Beer, Sangria, Champagne, Food. It was a whirlwind of a weekend. A fabulous time spent with loved ones and new friends. When you add food and alcohol into the mix, you are just never quite sure how the weekend is going to go.

Look what appeared overnight

When we walked into the park on Sunday, we noticed something had changed, but couldn't put a finger on it. Was there something new in EPCOT? We couldn't place it. So we decided to have a drink by the Craft Beer booth.

Upon closer inspection

The magical Disney elves had been hard at work Saturday night putting up several of the EPCOT trees. Now my question is: Was this tree up Saturday night after the run??? Because the parks closed at 4 a.m. due to the after party. I guess it could have been done between 4 am and 10 am, but holy cow!!! Disney sure does know how to work a transformation.

She did it!

She did it! Cheryl had a drink. Last time we were at the food and wine festival she basically tried a sip or two of a drink, but didn't explore the long list of wines available for the festival. Now you have to remember. Cheryl was born during my sophomore year of high school. Until IMLOU we had never had a drink together and even then I had to twist her arm. She was in serious Ironman mode. Me? Nah. I wanted to experience every aspect of Louisville possible. So for me, old Aunt Carla, I was stunned when she voluntarily went to a booth and got her very own drink. I don't think Cheryl appreciated me taking this picture, but I was shocked.

The other Jeff

Everyone was very relaxed on Sunday. The Other Jeff spent a few hours by himself Saturday night walking around Magic Kingdom and EPCOT. I can't imagine how surreal it would be to walk around your childhood fantasy land getting to do whatever you wanted whenever you wanted. We were worried he'd be bored during the 4 hours he had to himself from when we had to go to the ESPN complex and crossed the finish line, but it sounds like it was a heavenly experience for Jeff. Now I'm not quite sure, but I believe he's expressing how full his belly is outside of the Hawaii booth after having another pork slider.

Mary Poppins

For some reason, the guys weren't as interested in seeing the characters as we were. My husband only wanted to see Jasmine. Unfortunately, every time we saw her she was "covered up" with her evening cloak so it wasn't worth the wait for him. Hey, I would have stood in line to see Aladdin. You know I like a guy with dark hair and dark skin, right? Heck yah.

Belle: "You can have Gaston"

When we finally met Belle, Cindy & Cheryl explained that I had been looking for Gaston all weekend. Belle looked at me in utter surprise. "Why would you want to meet Gaston? He really has nothing going on upstairs." Now how do you explain to a fictional woman who puts her nose in a book about the allure of all those muscles? No, she would never understand. I realize his degrading attitude toward women detracts from the overall attraction, but it still doesn't mean I wouldn't like to see him.

Someone is in denial

Unfortunately, our fabulous weekend had to come to an end. On Monday, the temperatures were getting into the 80s while back home friends were posting about snow!!!! UGH!!! Are you kidding me? I swear if I could get my husband to move to the south I would, but he seems to enjoy the changing seasons. I do, too! I just want them to change from 90 to 60 and back again. While everyone else dressed for the return home, I was determined to lap up every last minute of sunshine. Instead, I packed my jeans in my Ironman book bag so I could change at the airport. Was I in denial? Completely. Who would ever want to leave the place/event which brings them so much joy time after time?