Impressions of EPCOT (Or, What I Learn About Myself)

On Saturday, I had the privilege of spending at day at Disney's EPCOT theme park here in Orlando.  My sister Barb was in town with her husband Dave and three (teen/adult) kids for a multi-park Disney vacation.  Thanks to free tickets from one of my daughters (a Disney photographer), five of my own family were able to enjoy this time with them. 

As I put together this photo post, I am miffed at myself for accidentally deleting more than half of the pictures I took. AARGH! Really!  I know my sister got Photo Pass shots that I haven't seen yet, but I'm known for always wanting some on my own camera.  As it is, the ones I still have are almost all from the United Kingdom and Canada areas in the World Showcase section of the park.  That's what you'll see here.

Anyway, I'm always thinking about something or other wherever I go, and while at EPCOT, I thought about what I'm learning about my family and myself through the things that either appeal to me or aggravate me.

Barb and I in one of our dozens of "sister pics."
One thing I learned:
My sister LOVE-LOVE-LOVES
Disney and Dr. Who (see her t-shirt)
but she loves me even more.
She tells me so very often.
And I love her, too!

What I like in this picture
is the impish amusement
on my face, dimple and all.
It reminds me of my mother.
Barb and I did a lot of
remembering our mother.
She loved to see us have fun.

We decided to take advantage of
our meal discount and eat a large lunch
at the Rose & Crown.
We had to wait until it opened at noon.
I don't like waiting much,
but we found stuff to do,
like getting our picture taken
with Mary Poppins.

While waiting to get in
at the restaurant,
my son and nephew
enjoyed arm wrestling.

Cottage pie, though filling and tasty,
was not nearly as substantial a meal as
the English breakfast burgers and chips that
some of my kids ordered.
That was one minor aggravation since
I had asked the waitress about that
when trying to choose between the two.
One thing I know about myself
is that I like to get the best deal possible
for my money... and I like to eat.
It's a good thing I ordered a side of chips
and that one of my kids shared bites of burger.

Pomegranate
lemonade is yummy!

Seven of the 13 cousins
on this branch of the family tree
= good times!

  

After lunch we split up.
Barb, Dave and I
went to see Off Kilter,
the Canadian Celtic rock band.
I know this about myself:
Family heritage is a huge deal to me,
and that's a huge understatement.
I'm Scottish on my dad's side,
and I love bagpipes and kilts.

Another thing about me:
I love visual details,
even if they are
directly above my head
on a chandelier.
I especially love
historical architecture.

  

I guess since I love historical architecture,
I'd love living in an abbey! Thing is,
I've never even watched Downton Abbey.
While I love beauty and art,
I'm not much into pop culture.
As I told Barb, I haven't ever watched
Dr. Who or Duck Dynasty either!

What I am into is finding a nice comfy place
to rest my weary feet and head.
It helps that it's pretty, too.
Barb and her husband are outside listening to
a Brit rock band play Beatles songs.
I can hear it fine from here.

I discovered recently that though I love people,
can easily give a speech in front of a big crowd,
work in a classroom with a bunch of kids,
or talk to complete strangers anywhere,
I am also an INTROVERT.
I require solitude every single day,
quiet space for my thoughts and I
to talk to each other.
Even at EPCOT.

You should also know,
if you don't already,
that I love flowers,
especially in variety beds or vintage planters.
And I especially love to enjoy nature
just rambling around slowly.
This is in ironic contrast to the fact
that when I am at theme parks
I also like to cram in as much as I can.
Ambling around drinking in beauty, yes!
Dawdling, no.

Nature lover?
What reminded me of this most
was the Soarin' ride, a simulation of
touring over California on a hang glider.
(We went on it twice.
Barb loves it as much as I do.)
We lived near San Francisco
for many years as children.
Our parents always had the sense
to take us to see the grandeur of creation.
I said to my kids yesterday,
"This was my California childhood.
Mountains, rivers, waterfalls,
wine country, beaches."
I miss Yosemite. I miss my Mommy.

What else did we miss
on the EPCOT photos that got deleted?
Here's what.

Italy.  
This area is where I took
most of my architectural photos.
I got some good ones.
They're gone.  I'm feeling it.
I love that the cultural decor in all of the countries
is classic, clean, simple, tasteful and orderly.
Typical Disney image, of course.
I kept saying, "When I get home, 
I need to to clean and declutter the house!"
Seriously.
That's what I'm doing today.
Ice cream. 
Two of us went off to bring some back
for ourselves and two others.
But it was a long walk. Ice cream drips.
What classic photos
that you will never get to see.
Oh, I love smooth ice cream!
This stuff was heavenly.
With all that chocolate dripping
off my son's ice cream onto my hand,
I just wanted to take some
big licks off of his cone!
He would not have been amused.

Chinese acrobats.
Beauty, grace, humor, and amazing agility.
Those I like. What's not to like?
One thing.
The young ladies seemed like
bobble head dolls,
such a shallow caricature
of their true strength and poise.
It seemed like their
femininity became infantile.
Trying to be deferential,
they looked silly
and lost their real dignity.
Know this:
I will not raise my daughters
as bobble heads.
 Lots of other stuff, too.
But never mind that.
So I lost some photos.
I still had a great day.
And one thing you might now about me...

I try to take life as it comes.
Savor the moments.
Don't sweat the small stuff.
Give it to God.
Laugh a lot.
Love much.
Live well.

HEY!  GUESS WHAT!

I FOUND MY ITALY PHOTOS!

You can see some of them here: 

Good Words from Colossians 4