The Crying Game?

I can be tough when I need to be.  In high school, my ankles were so bad during football season that I started and played as long as I could before the inevitable SNAP that would put me on the sidelines for the rest of the game.  At my Grandfather's funeral, I kept my composure, despite the fact that I more or less lived with him for several months.  Heck, I even remained stoic when Bambi's mother was taken down at 300 yards, as well as when Old Yeller yelled no more.

On the very remote occasion, though, I have shed a tear or two as an adult.  At Sheri's and my wedding, I had a couple of tears come out when I saw her walking down the aisle ("How could I be lucky enough to have someone like her be willing to spend the rest of her life with me?").  The tears came out again during the ceremony when, after meticulously planning to ensure that parents and step-parents were equally part of the ceremony, we realized that the florist forgot a third rose, which was to go to my Mother.  I can neither confirm nor deny a tear coming out at our first child's breath (as he screamed bloody murder).  The first ten minutes of the movie Up...well, that's a mulligan as the entire world cried at that part.  There was also a close call during "Rainbow Connection" in the recent Muppets movie (perhaps it was allergies...someone in the theater was wearing some strong perfume).

That's more or less it for my crying, though...


...until about 3 weeks ago.


I was set up to break the 20-mile barrier for the very first time during my marathon training in early November.  During this training run, I had Joe Taricani's "The Marathon Show" podcast playing through the earbuds, and I started off the run by re-listening to the last 20 minutes of Episode 213, which chronicled the 2013 Disneyland Half Marathon.  I heard a bunch of friends' voices on there, and it really got me in the mood for the run.

Episode 216 started around mile 5, which highlighted the Newport Beach Race for the Cure.  During this half-hour show, Joe interviewed many people who were survivors.  But he also interviewed family members of those who have lost loved ones to breast cancer. 


The Race for the Cure episode nearly did me in.  It started echoing thoughts that I had during training for my first half marathon.  I was stressing my body more than I probably should have; I didn't have a heart rate monitor for my first half, and I know that I was overdoing it with the pace...I finished most training runs with a pulse over 180, and the long runs found me exhausted around 8-9 miles in.  I struggled through the training, but I kept thinking to myself that what I was going through was nothing compared to what those in cancer treatment go through.  The miles I ran during this show were the fastest I ran that day.

Just a few days before my 20 mile training run, I saw Angelo Merindino's photo essay where he chronicled his wife's battle with breast cancer - a battle that she ultimately lost in late 2011.  Let me warn you now that, if you have not seen the photo essay before, click on the above link with caution.  It is extremely powerful - it is not an easy page to look at as you know what the bottom of the page will eventually tell you.  The pictures streamed through my mind as I ran.  I then started thinking about a co-worker of my wife's who lost a similar battle to cancer over the summer.  I thought about members of my wife's family who have battled breast cancer and have won.  I thought about members of my running team who have fought breast cancer and are running farther than I ever will; about friends who have family members currently battling various forms of cancer;  about a young boy I know recently diagnosed with cancer and agonizing about what he and his family have to be going through; about my grandmother losing her battle with pancreatic cancer.

I re-found my determination from my training for my first half.  I buckled down and got down to business with this 20-mile run.  I was struggling to fight back tears, though, as I continued to listen to the rest of Joe's show.

Later on in the run came Episode 218 of the Marathon Show.  This episode had Joe interviewing runners in the 2013 MedTronic Twin Cities Marathon.  The first story that got me was the interview of a family of a man running his first marathon after a stroke, and the source of pride in her voice hit me hard.  Then, around mile 22 on the course (and around mile 16 for me), Joe interviews a woman completing her first marathon.  When he asked her, "What's the finish line going to mean to you?", she started to break down as she answered the question.  This episode inspired me for a couple of miles, and I had a surge of energy (the "runner's high").

The energy soon left, however, and I hit the proverbial "wall" around 18.5 miles in.  Despite my attempts to pick it back up, my pace slowed by over a minute.  The self-doubt and self-loathing that I am all too well-known for was bouncing around in my mind, and I wanted to throw in the towel; I was worthless.  I'm failing at the training.  I'm failing at my fundraising.  I'm failing at being a good teacher.  A good husband.  A good father.  A good person.

I managed to work up a mild trot for the last few feet until I heard the chirp that indicated I had completed 20 miles.  I stopped my watch, fully expecting it to tell me that I can anticipate being swept up by the RunDisney folks and not being able to complete my attempt at a marathon finish.

I looked down at the statistics.

To complete a marathon, I had 6.2 miles remaining after 20 miles.  According to my watch, if I start dead last with the balloon runner (the 16:00 pacer) at Disney World, I'll have 1 hour and 50 minutes to complete that last 10K.  That's over a 17:40 pace per mile.

I can walk a 17:30 pace.

As I stared at the watch while standing on the trail that I was running on, the realization hit me that, barring a major injury, I was most likely going to complete my first marathon.

The first tear followed about 3 seconds later.  It had to be the allergies.


As I write this, Team AllEars just unofficially passed the $60,000 raised mark for 2013.  We have all committed not just to running a race in Walt Disney World as we have the fundraising requirement, too.  I take the fundraising requirement just as seriously as I do the training for the race.  I set a lofty personal goal this year...perhaps too lofty a goal at $1,500.  With less than 6 weeks to go, your support has brought in around $400 so far on my behalf, and I am grateful for that.  Traditionally, the bulk of the funds raised come in during the month of December.  My fingers are crossed that this again happens...not just for me, but for the entire Team.  As we make our final push in our training and in our fundraising efforts, please consider a donation.  If you would like to donate on my behalf, please head over to my fundraising page.  The amount donated does not matter; Even $1 donated is $1 more raised to help fight not just breast cancer, but all forms of cancer.  While I would love to have your donation count towards my goal, you can also help others on the Team who may be struggling to achieve the $500 minimum.  If you want to help someone else out, please go to our Team Fundraising page and click on a name who has less than $500 raised so far.  Whether a donation comes in under my name or under someone else's name, the money all goes to the Avon Foundation.

I am sure there will be several opportunities for tear ducts to get a workout over Marathon weekend.  Most of you will think that crossing that finish line will be one of them.  Those who have been at a Team AllEars official Meet on the Saturday of Marathon Weekend also know what to expect.  With this being our last year, I can only imagine what the main Meet will be like.  This is an amazing, fantastic group of people who have dedicated countless hours trying to help rid the world of cancer.  These men and women, current members and past members, are living proof that we can make a difference.



Damn allergies.

Team AllEars 2014 - Mush is Running With Purpose One More Time!!

If there were ever a good time to dust off the blog, now would be that time!

For those who don’t know, I am part of a running team that is dedicated to raising funds for the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade.  This is my third year on Team AllEars - Running with Purpose, which is in its fifth and final year.  Over the past four years, the members of Team AllEars have raised over $200,000 – an amazing feat when you consider that there were only around  35 members on the Team the first year and about 65 the second year.  This year, we have just over 100 runners, and our collective fundraising goal is officially set at $85,000.

One of our members, Dave Aulen, made a great video of who we are and what we do (this is a recap from the 2011 Team):




For the 2011 team, I finished with around $870 in donations, and I am absolutely grateful for all of the support and generosity!!!  For a recap of the donations from that year, please visit this page.  I also have a write-up on the Team AllEars blog from my first half marathon..  My second year was on the 2012 team...I was fortunate enough to raise an additional $1,000 that year.  This link provides my fundraising recap of that year, and the video below (again, put together by Dave) shows some of the highlights from that weekend.

Now, I would be remiss if I didn't include this other video from Dave.  It highlights one of the most anticipated meet-ups for Team AllEars...the YeeHaw Bob meet!





One of the requirements for being a member of Team AllEars is registering to run a race in January at Walt Disney World’s Marathon Weekend.  I have signed up for my first full 26.2 mile marathon and am currently about 13 weeks into my training for it.  The 15 mile run I have scheduled later on this week is already scaring me!  The other requirement for Team AllEars is to agree to raising a minimum of $500 for the Avon Foundation...my goal this year is to break the $1,500 level!!!  

 

Please consider donating to our cause..even if it's a single dollar (imagine how much could be raised if all the online Disney freaks donated just $1).    If you would like to donate online, please visit my donation page HERE. 

If you would rather donate without doing it online (and want it to count for my goal), you can send me a check (payable to the Avon Foundation for Women) to:


Chris Mushrush
P.O. Box 55
Downs, IL 61736


There is one other way you can help raise money for our cause if you live in Central Illinois: participating in a dining event that gives a percent of qualifying sales to us.  While I'm still working on getting a couple more set up, here is the upcoming event on the calendar:

• Wednesday, October 9th - Joe's Station House in Normal, IL will donate a percent of all pre-tax sales on diners who present THIS FLIER upon payment.

Thanks to all participating restaurants for offering to host these events - it truly is appreciated!!

DONATIONS AS OF 12/13/2013

Anonymous.......................................................$250
Dan and Jen Metsch.........................................100 
Avanti's Dine to Donate Program.........................80
Susan..................................................................50
Thia Wagner........................................................50
Joe's Station House Fundraiser...........................50
Barb and Bob Gilhaus.........................................25
Kristen.................................................................25 
Meatheads Restaurant Fundraiser.......................25 
The Mouser Family..............................................25
Sandra Perkins....................................................25
Louise Wallace...................................................25
Kurt and Tricia Williams.....................................20 
Sara Rhodes......................................................10










TOTAL: $760

.

Hello...Is This Thing On??

Wow...time flies when you're having fun...and it flies even faster when you're completely overwhelmed and have little hope of getting caught up!!

Yes, the blog is still alive...I've just had one of the most intense few months I've had in a long time.  I took on quite a bit more than I could handle, and some things had to "go to the back burner" for a while.  The blog was one of those items.

While I still am busy (we all are), there appears to be a little respite from all that has been going on: the training for the half-marathon (and the corresponding fundraising efforts) is wrapping up; the job search is over for now (I didn't get the tenure-track position, but I learned a lot in the process, and I know that there will be another position opening up in the next few years at the same institution); I am now so close to having the proposal of my dissertation taken care of that I can almost taste it; some of my A.D.D. projects have been finished; my Committee work for Cub Scouts is over for now (I'm still Aaron's den leader and the Tiger Cub partner for Eric, but the really time-consuming portion as Tiger Cub Coordinator is done until next September)...and the popcorn sales/distribution is DONE; my night class is done (I LOVED teaching that class...most were MBA students, but I left for work as soon as Sheri got home and didn't get home until after the boys were in bed); my role as academic advisor has slowed down for a bit (it will pick back up in February/March, but I'll take the break!); ...the list goes on and on!  For the most part, I absolutely love what I do, and, as many friends and family members tell me, I'd probably be bored out of my mind if I weren't overwhelmed.  This was one of those times, though, where, despite my best efforts, I just couldn't keep all the balls in the air at the same time without dropping one or two.


One casualty of all that has been going on is the set of posts for the Disney podcast updates.  As you can probably guess, this, sadly, is something I just can't do any more.  I feel bad, because I had a few readers who really looked forward to seeing those.  There are a few others in the Disney Universe who are doing similar things with regards to keeping people in the loop on what's going on with the podcasts, and they are able to keep it more current than I would be able to.  To those who do the shows (Lou, Ricky, Matt, Mike, Mike, Len, Rikki, Mike (lots of Mikes), Paul, Shawn, Katie, Scott, Tracey, Mortis, Matt, Nate...I could go on for hours listing y'all), keep up the great work!  To the Betamouse crew...happy trails!  While I will definitely miss hearing the shows, it sounds like many of the hosts are moving on to new and better things.  Best of luck!

I'll work on getting some more posts up here in the coming weeks.  I still have 1.5 trip reports to get up here, and there will be another trip coming in over the next couple of weeks (Marathon Weekend).  If nothing else, I can post chapters of my dissertation for you to critique :)  .


Hopefully everyone has a safe and happy Christmas and New Year!


Mush

We Interrupt This Trip Report to Bring You This Public Service Announcement

Well, technically, this is somewhat of a continuation of the June 2010 report, but there's a more important theme.

The cast members at the Walt Disney World resort always seem to go above and beyond what you would expect at any other place…that’s one of the main reasons we love going there over and over again.

But then there is the rare diamond in the rough who is so amazing at what he or she does that you will remember them for a very long time, if not forever.  This post is part trip report and part acknowledgement to one such cast member.

We were introduced to Aladdin by some good friends of ours.  Mare and I hung out at an online community and first met in-person in December of 2005 at (where else) Epcot.  You can read about that one here.  We quickly became friends with Mare, her husband Mark, and their daughter, Renee (we affectionately call them the Badelves family...inside joke).

In October of 2007, Sheri and I were down at WDW for a great meet-up with nearly 70 friends, all from the same online community that Mare and I hung out at.  During the main meet-up, we walked around with Mare’s crew as well as with another close mutual friend (Debbie, Dan, Lexie, and Austin).  It was this trip that we first met Aladdin.  He didn’t know me from Adam, but, taking a cue from Mare, he starts interacting with us like we’re close friends (i.e. talking with Genie about how the Moose Meet was going, repositioning the order for the pics so I could be next to Jasmine (THANKS, MARE!!!), etc).  It was a very brief meeting, but it was the first of several memorable ones.

Fast forward 2 months.  In a record number of trips to WDW that has since been unmatched, the entire Mushfam found themselves back down at WDW in mid-December.  We met up with Mare’s crew and Debbie’s crew on our arrival night.  After touring DHS that evening, we met up with the Badelves again the following morning along with Todd and Maureen’s family (another online friend) at MK.  Our boys think it’s totally awesome being in the parks with friends, so we try to find a time to meet up with others again.  The goal was to meet up with Mare and Renee at MK on our last night.  While we were coordinating via text, I mentioned that we were going to do the AAA Storytime, and Mare replies that she thinks that “our Aladdin” (that’s what everyone started calling him) was doing that.  Sure enough, he was…you can read it by clicking here.  The funniest thing was that Mare talked to Aladdin prior to the Storytime, and he joked around with me about Jasmine not being there, called Sheri by name, etc.   That is one of his special gifts…he makes every meeting a personal event with whoever he’s with.  Check the top of the blog page, and you'll see the pic from that meetup.  Oh, and the boys still have the bookmarks signed by him.

We met up again with Mark/Mare and Dan/Debbie in December of 2008, but we didn’t see our Aladdin during this trip, unfortunately.  Well, technically, we did see him at Epcot, but we didn’t get in line as we were on a mission to do an attraction.  Still, I paused for a quick minute to watch him interact with a family.  Sheri saw me stop, and she also paused for a moment to see what he was doing.  We both left the meeting area with smiles…the people who just met him were all smiles, and the children were wide-eyed with excitement – they had just met the real Aladdin, Jasmine, and Genie.

Now we come to June of 2010...this is where the trip report picks up.  After returning from DHS (the previous installment of the trip report can be found at this link), we returned to Epcot, knowing (thanks to Mare), that Al was currently in Morocco.  The boys protested vehemently as we told them that we were going to check out Morocco.  Mare told us when he’d be there, and we made it to the meet-and-greet area in the Nick of time as Aladdin was coming out for his last set before heading back to Agrabah for the night.  While we waited, I was in a text-fest with Mare.  I mistakenly told her that I thought Jasmine was drop-dead gorgeous…she replied with “I’m going to have to find out who’s there today and let her know.”

In case you haven’t figured it out yet, the Badelves know a lot of the cast members at WDW.

His time to be off-shift was just about to be up before we even made it near the front, but he and Jasmine stayed out there to make sure every guest got their time with them.  As we made it to the front of the line, I got to see the family in front of us talk to them.  One of the girls in the party was wheelchair-bound.  The attention that he and Jasmine gave her was unparalleled, and you could see tears welling up in her parents’ eyes.  The best part was that they were having fun while they were talking with the family.  For example: both girls had coloring books that they were hoping to have Jasmine and he autograph.  Aladdin flips through to the page he was looking for and said that the girls colored in Jasmine really well.  Then he opens up the book for everyone to see, and it’s turned to a page with Maleficent.  Jasmine, of course, puts her hands on her hips and turns away (I think trying to stifle a laugh).

I was so awestruck at what he did for the family before us that I almost forgot that we were next.  We let the boys go up by themselves, while we stood back to watch.

Aaron brings up Renee, and they get to talking about them a little.

(someone on Facebook thought Aaron was checking out Jasmine in that last pic…he truly is my son).

As we talked, the BeeGees tribute band started up nearby in the America Gardens Theater, and he paused momentarily to comment on a garbled refrain that got me, Sheri, and the Photopass guy laughing.  We hopped in for a family Photopass pic and, as we say our goodbyes, I quietly said to him that it was absolutely amazing what he does and he truly is Aladdin to so many people.  We talked a bit about Mark/Mare/Renee before thanking him, saying goodbye, and relinquishing them to the next excited family ready to meet them.

Sheri and I just turned to each other, smiled, and watched the interaction of the next family out of the corner of our eyes as we started towards the Japan pavilion.

I recall Mare posting an emotional entry  where “their Jasmine” was leaving WDW to head to the Theme Park in Hong Kong.  While the Badelves have come to know the alter egos of Aladdin and Jasmine outside of the parks for a while before that day, reading what Mare wrote and seeing the pictures with Renee inside Epcot shows that, while it can be just a job for some, the tears being shed by everyone shows that the cast member makes the character.  It was the last time Jasmine was going to be Jasmine, and it was like a part of her was going to be gone forever.  I then realized how much personality “our Aladdin” puts into Aladdin.  He makes Aladdin who he is because he, in essence, becomes the character.  I have seen it in others, too…not just face characters.  Bus drivers, food service workers, attraction operators, janitorial staff…I have seen a remarkable job done by all sorts of cast members.  They create and evolve the role that they do in ways that get what needs to be done actually done while still entertaining those around them.

All too often, I see guests in the parks take the cast members for granted.  Some think that, simply because they paid money, they are entitled to 100% perfection in an imperfect world.  There have been times where I have seen so many members in Guest Services having to patiently accept being screamed at because the weather forced the parks to cancel an event.  I have read on discussion boards about how mad people are because they heard one family having “X” (where “X” is a ‘cool’ event) happen, but, when they tried it, they didn’t have “X” occur.  The things that most would consider special about Disney are expected to be routine to them.  They fail to see the magic.  They also fail to realize that it’s the cast members who are responsible for the magic.  Imagine trying to be a magic maker when only one or two out of every hundred guests are disinterested or upset, yet it’s the one or two who are upset that you hear about rather than the other 98 who are happy.  Aladdin breaks the mold when it comes to creating memories for people.  I hope that he, and all cast members, see the appreciation and gratitude in the guests’ eyes and expressions, if not in reviews.

If you see a cast member do something that meets that “wow” factor, please take the time to thank them and, if you have time, stop by Guest Services to give them some positive feedback (trust me…they’ll appreciate it as 98% of those in there will be giving not-so-positive feedback).

This post is also for those anonymous CMs who go on stage every day without fail and create the magic that is Walt Disney World.  This post is a reminder for those guests in the parks who take what the CMs do for granted in the hopes that they’ll appreciate what it takes to provide you with the experience that makes us go back over and over again.

But mostly, this post is for you, Al…you rock!!! 

Mushfam Disney Family Vacation Vacation, June 2010; Day 5, Part 2: HOT! HOT! HOT

Part 1 of this day can be found HERE.


Eric’s not big enough to do RNR, but Aaron is, so I run up and grab FPs for it since the wait is already over 60 minutes. We then stop at Starring Rolls for the first entry in the battle of the best snack at DHS: the Butterfinger cupcake! We walk in just as they were taking the newest batch out of the chiller. We grab some water and a cupcake and head outside. The verdict? Not bad…extremely rich, but not bad. It’s a mess to eat, too, especially when trying to split it four ways. I can’t wait to try the carrot cake cookie to see which is better.

Eric is a total mess, so we hose him down and make our way out. The crowds are really swelling now, and the sun is baking everything in sight, so we decide to look for a long, cool respite. That can only mean one thing in DHS…the Great Movie Nap!!! Wifey was thrilled because we were in the holding room while a lot of Mary Poppins was showing. Eric was so enthralled with the movie that, while trying to walk through the switchbacks in the queue while watching the screen, he missed the turn and face-planted the end of the queue line. The bruise formed immediately. DCFS was almost called.

This is another one of those rides that Sheri likes a lot more than I do. Still, we’re out of the heat, and it’s the first experience for both boys. I’m a little concerned about the Alien scene, but I go along with it. We start off with a female CM for the beginning, and we could barely hear much of what she was saying. We’ve done this attraction probably 3 times (2 times too many for my liking), and we get the Western scene for the first time. The CM swap gives us a guy who we can hear with no problem whatsoever (it was distorted…yeah, that loud)! At Indy, we get the girl again and continue on through. Sheri and the boys loved Oz sequence, and you can’t prove that I sang during this part. The alien scene was fine because we were near the back of the vehicles and weren’t near the scary part. One of my favorite parts of the attraction is the end…no, not because it’s over. I like watching the montage of movies in that last room. I’m still “meh” on the attraction, and, judging by the boys’ reactions, they’re with me on this (though I don’t think GMR is geared toward children anyway).

We head out into the convection oven that is the Florida heat and make our way down towards Muppets! This is Sheri’s penance for making me do GMR…I’ve always loved the Muppets and watched the show religiously in the 70s when it was on (those born after 1974 can keep quiet about this). This is our first experience with the film cleaned up and the new TVs in the preshow area.


WOW!!!


The boys again loved this attraction, and I even think Sheri was a bit impressed with the cleaned up film.


We head out and almost stop for the carrot cake cookie (thanks to Lou Mongello for introducing us to this), but we’re still in a sugar coma from the Butterfinger cupcake, and our pancreas would likely have shut down had we gotten the cookie. I make a mental note to make sure I try this next time I’m in DHS. It’s about 30 minutes before the Star Wars Weekend parade, so we decide to start making our way to our lunch location – the 50s Prime Time Café and watch the parade a few rows back so we can bolt over to the restaurant for our ADRs. A woman with a couple of boys around the boys’ ages notices us behind her and offers to let the boys grab some pavement next to her boys. We weren’t planning on getting up front, but we graciously take her up on the offer. About 15 minutes before the start, 3 families sign an alliance to guard the area around us as there was no more room for anyone, though many were trying (all adults, I might add, except for the family who walked up 2 minutes before the start of the parade and expected to sit up front on the road). They boys don’t know what the parade is about, so we surprised them again. One of my online friends from Lodgeboards was also in the Studios today and, after a few texts back and forth, was trying to get across the street before the parade started. We weren’t able to meet up before the parade, unfortunately.


Now, if you’re a Star Wars fan, you’ll love the series of videos below as well as the pics that Sheri took (it was hilarious…she was taking pics as fast as she could, even though she had no idea who most of the characters were). If you’re not a Star Wars fan, just scroll down about 10 feet to the end of the parade. The video is chronological…the pics, well, I have no guarantees on the order.

















Pics:



































STOP HERE IF YOU BLEW BY THE STAR WARS STUFF!!!



Sandra and I continue texting to find each other, and we eventually meet up near the entrance to Indy. We talk for a few minutes and introduce the families to each other.






There's never enough time to catch up, especially since this is our first in-person meeting (we've known each other for several years from talking online, so it wasn't like we didn't know each other).  After a few minutes together, we say our goodbyes and head over to 50’s PTC before melting commences.




EVERYONE was trying to see if they could get in to dine because of the heat, but only the ADRs could get in (which is why I always tell the folks I help plan trip for to make those reservations EARLY!!). We head inside and wait for our kinfolk to call us to dinner. While waiting, I grab the video camera to zoom into the bar to see what they have on draft.

YES!!!! THEY HAVE BLUE MOON!!!!!


They call the Mushrush kids in, and we’re seated in the kitchen (for those who haven’t eaten there, every dining area is a kitchen/dining area setup from the 1950’s…thus the name).






As we look around, our server, Cousin Nicole, stops by to say “Hi.” As start to say “hi there”, the puts the silverware in front of me and orders me to set the table. Then she walks away.


That’s all the boys needed to see…they were in love with this place.  They were even excited to meet a new relative (to this day, they think Nicole is our cousin).


After a couple of minutes, she stops back to ensure that I distributed the silverware properly and then takes our drink order. Both Sheri and I order a Blue Moon, which elicited a long and loud “BLUUUUUEEEEE MOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNN” (a la the Marcels…always loved that song, and it was my first acapella song that I did..yes, I had the “bompapabompabompabombom” part. I’m still waiting for the Dapper Dans to call me).


That’s all I needed to see/hear…I was in love with this place.


While we were waiting, Sandra texted me…just as Nicole walked by. Yes, I got in trouble for having the phone on at the table. The boys wanted Sheri’s phone so they could call me and get me in trouble. They also tried pulling my elbows up on the table every time she walked by.


Brats.


They rewarded the boys with extra straws…check out Eric’s drink:






I ordered the meatloaf, and it was good…not the greatest I’ve ever had, but it’s not bad at all for mass-produced food. Every few minutes, our cousin would walk by and give us another rousing medley of “BLUUUEEEEE MOOOOOOONNNNNNN”. It worked…I ordered another one. Sheri’s chicken was also good…again, not the best, but still pretty good.


Dessert was up next, and the boys got the make your own sundaes (duh). Sheri got the cobbler, and I had a brownie sundae with caramel.








We got a pic with our long-lost cousin:




It was fun…the food was a bit better than anticipated, and the server really did make the experience memorable.


We headed out and started to make our way over toward RNR for the fastpass return. Sheri and Eric bear off of the road and head into a store, more so for the cooler air than anything. Aaron’s already getting a little nervous about the coaster, after thinking back to the terror of Tower of Terror. Still, he’s doing okay as we make our way through the FP return line. We’re in the recording studio within a couple of minutes, and Aaron gets cold feet. When we get into the final queuing line he starts saying that he doesn’t want to ride it. I try talking him down (as do 5 others around us), but his mind is made up. I decide not to push him, and we take the chicken exit out just before our limo arrives.

Sigh…maybe he’ll ride California Screaming next summer. (Foreshadowing for the July 2011 Mushfam trip).


Continued...