The Sweatiest Place on Earth

I feel as though I've had to write a month's worth of blogs in advance. I nearly have. I was supposed to be home today, but then family drama strikes, as it does time to time. Instead, I'm going BACK to Florida this weekend to deal with my grandmother and her situation. Fortunately, it will also mean nights in a heated, screened in swimming pool at my aunt's place. Not too bad.

So, I'm going to entertain you with pictures from last weekend that have nothing to do with writing. I'll preface these pictures by saying it was 90 and sunny and I very nearly sweat (or is it sweated?) to death. I was soaked at one point and I hadn't been on any water rides. I don't even want to know how I smelled. Ugh. Anyway, not the pictures I'd send in with my Miss Alabama submission...

I hit Animal Kingdom first. You can tell by the energy and hygiene level in this picture. All downhill from here. This was my first time to this park and it was very cool. Elephants, tigers, gorillas, giant fruit bats, hippos, rhinos...all in a very natural environment. I also got to ride Expedition Everest. My friends ended up working a half day and met me at the park because her husband was a coaster freak and she wouldn't ride with him. So, I ended up on every thrill ride I was certain I wouldn't go on.


This includes a horrible ride at Disney Hollywood Studios called the Tower of Terror. Bad. Bad. Bad. I don't know what I was thinking. I hate rides with big drops. This one dropped me 14 stories six times. My friend's husband told me that was the most he'd ever dropped. (The ride is random and you never know how many times you'll fall or when.) I rediscovered religion as I plowed to the ground the 4th or 5th time. Fortunately I got to follow this up with the Aerosmith Rockin Roller Coaster which was the best ride all weekend. I loved it.



Late Saturday morning we got up and hit Magic Kingdom. I was in awe by the castle. We went straight to Pirates of the Carribbean since I'd never ridden it and now it has 3 animatronic Captain Jack's. Didn't get to meet the impersonator, though. :( Instead I got some pirate mouse ears. That was pretty cool. I resisted the urge to pay $35 for an "I love Jack" shirt in the gift shop. My friend and I covered Adventure and Frontier Land, hitting the Tiki Room and the Jungle Cruise before we took the Monorail to Epcot. When it's 90 degrees, I have to say the Mickey Mouse ice cream bars are the best tasting things on Earth.


Epcot closed at 9 that night, so we headed over there to the Flower and Garden Festival they were having. My favorite part were the character topiaries. They had Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Peter Pan, Captain Hook, Tinkerbell, Snow White and all 7 Dwarfs, Lady and the Tramp...more even. Very cool. We also met up with some other friends for what they consider to be the Epcot highlight - drinking around the world. I had cider in England, Champagne in France, some tangerine drink in Morocco. By the time they got beer in Germany, I had to grab a pretzel and cut myself off.


My friend who doesn't ride roller coasters got a surge of confidence fueled by alcohol, so when Epcot closed, we went back to Magic Kingdom until it closed at 12. We went on Big Thunder Railroad and Space Mountain. My favorite, however, was the teacups. Would you believe there wasn't a line for it at 11:30? There was a line for Peter Pan and the others, though, so we went through It's a Small World and made our way out for the night. The castle looked even cooler lit up.


I walked so much last weekend, I wore holes in my socks.

I don't know if I'm going to be able to take a week there with Little Sister. That might be more than any one human can stand, even if there are fewer crowds and lower temperatures. We'll have to see. Maybe 4 days.


What's your favorite ride? Are you a teacups girl or a coaster freak? Have you ever ridden the Tower of Terror? Ugh.

SP

Last week's blog winner is lauraJ. She picks up a book and a giant Mickey Mouse lollipop I bought at the Main Street Confectionary Shop. Please email me at smartypants@writingplayground.com to claim your sweets within 7 days.

Circle of 5 Status:

1 Agent Partial that has vanished into the 7th circle of hell, never to return
1 Novella pending with Nocturne Bites
2 Laurie Entries Pending
2 Short Stories & 4 Short Features Submitted to Trues

This was a sad week for the Circle. It seems like a good idea to send out 20 queries, until you get back 20 rejections all at once. My circle is shrinking to nothing. I didn't win a Nocturne pitch appointment, I got an R back on one of my short stories, my full and partial agent requests were rejected, as was my last of 5 agent queries. Writing this, the Laurie finalists haven't been announced yet, but who knows how that will turn out.