Hurricane Milton

Last weekend, Jennifer and Susan attended a book convention at a hotel near Disney Springs. Jenn signed books and visited with fans, and Susan helped her sell books. She also took part in a panel discussion. 

This week Hurricane Milton tore through central Florida. We spent Tuesday getting ready, Wednesday waiting it out, and Thursday cleaning up. Disney closed its parks early Wednesday and all day Thursday. 

Sunday morning Susan and I drove out to Vero Beach and checked into the Disney resort there. Since it was just for one night we just got a deluxe studio. 

In the afternoon we walked on the beach and took a dip in the pool. Usually we eat at the restaurant but this time we just had dinner in the room. Afterward we had dessert in the Green Cabin Lounge. 

Disney Dining

Susan and Jenn didn’t stop much on their way to and from Milwaukie, but they did stop at several Buc-ee’s, including a new one in Smith Grove, Kentucky.

On their way back, they visited friends in a suburb some of Milwaukie, and stopped at a bookstore outside Louisville Kentucky, where Jenn signed some of her books. Last week, she released her eighth book, a sequel to the Halloween themed book she released last year. 

Every October, Disney gives its cast members coupons to save money at Disney restaurants and snack kiosks and every September we realize we need to use a bunch before they expire. So Tuesday evening we stopped at Port Orleans French Quarter and had dinner at the food court, and ordered some beignets to take home.

Wednesday night we went to another Tampa Bay Lightning hockey game. This time it was at the Kia Center in downtown Orlando. It was a preseason game so tickets were cheaper and we were closer to the ice. The Lightning defeated the Florida Panthers, 8 to 7.

Yesterday afternoon Susan and I went to Hollywood Studios and ate lunch at Prime Time Cafe. A hurricane was coming up the gulf so it was pretty windy, but the park was still fairly crowded. After lunch we used our snack coupons to pick up some ice cream sandwiches, which we took home and put in the freezer.

Magic Kingdom Launches

Last Thursday I completed training on my first of the three boats at Magic Kingdom, the small launches. That night, we went to Steakhouse 71 to celebrate Bryan’s birthday. 

On Tuesday Susan and Jenn left for a book convention in Milwaukee, so yesterday morning I decided to head into the Magic Kingdom. I got there before the park opened, so I decided to a cruiser to the Polynesian to take a photo of the progress on the new island tower. 

Once in the park, I made a circuit and rode the Astro-Orbitor. When it was over my virtual que boarding group for the Tron coaster had been called, so I headed to it. A little over a half hour later, I was off, and a grabbed a pretzel and rode the riverboat, then headed home. 

This morning I got to Hollywood Studios early so I could ride the Friendship Boats and catch up with some of the captains there. Friendship Four was out with its new paint job. 

Over at the Boardwalk, the Cake Bake Shop is getting closer to being completed, but not open yet. After visiting the International Gateway of Epcot, I took the boat back to the Studios, where I rode Star Tours and ate at Ronto Roasters, then headed home. 

Universal Passholder Night

Yesterday we visited Universal Studios for one of their Annual Passholder Appreciation Nights. We arrived around 4:30 in the afternoon and headed for the main gate. Then realized we needed to walk back into the area between the exit gate and the Hard Rock to check into the event and get wristbands. A sign would have been nice. 

Once in we used our express pass to ride Gringotts, ET, and Mummy, and grab some discounted drinks.  After the park closed to regular guests we did the Villian Con, Minion Mayhem, and the Jimmy Fallon ride. This was my first time on the latter. It’s okay, a lot like the Minion attraction, as it’s a theater with moving seats. Universal won’t start their Halloween parties for a couple more weeks, but they had started putting out booths for it. 

 

We then had some snacks and went to watch the new CineSational show, which happens on the lake in the middle of the park. We were too late to get a good viewing spot, but a Universal team member suggested watching it on the lower level near Duff’s Brewery. We found an open table, but once the show started we realized we couldn’t hear the music over the music of the brewery, so ended up moving about halfway through. The show uses fountains, lights, mist screens, projections, fireworks, and drones to highlight various Universal properties. I wouldn’t mind seeing it again from a better spot.

On our way back to our car, we stopped in CityWalk to see the new Epic Universe Preview Center. Besides merchandise to buy and videos of what the park’s areas will look like, there was a great model of the park.

Epcot and Magic Kingdom

While Susan and I were in Pittsburgh, Jennifer took a break from writing and selling books to spend a few days in the parks to celebrate her birthday. Wednesday the kids went to Epcot, and had lunch at the Chefs de France.

On Friday she and a friend spent the morning at the Magic Kingdom, then met Bryan and another friend at Epcot in the evening.

They had dinner at Le Cellier.

This weekend, some writers that Jenn has met were in the area for book signings. After the one on Sunday afternoon Susan and I agreed to get them into the Magic Kingdom. We didn’t spend much time in the park. Disney had just started Halloween parties so put up the decorations in early August.

Back to Ohio

Yesterday morning we left Charleston and drove northwest for almost two hours. The wooded hills of West Virginia gave way to the fields of Ohio, and we arrived at the Hopewell Culture National Historic Park. This park protects a half dozen Native American mound sites of the Scioto valley. There is only one visitor center and it’s at the smallest mound site. It was a fairly small visitor center with few exhibits but a pretty good movie. We watched it and walked around the mounds a while, then left. 

We continued northwest for a little over a half hour and stopped at an outlet mall for lunch and some shopping, then turned southwest and drove about an hour to the last hotel of our trip, the Cincinnati Marriott at RiverCenter, which is actually in Covington, Kentucky. They gave us a room on the 14th floor with a partial view across the Ohio River of downtown Cincinnati. 

We settled in a bit then headed across the river to the Cincinnati Hard Rock Cafe, which was inside a casino. I was planning to eat there, but then we noticed there was a Brewdog Pub across the street. We had enjoyed one in Scotland so we decided to eat there, and just have a drink at the Hard Rock, which was my 47th. Even though it was in a casino, it was better than the one we went to last year in Indiana, because there was no smoking allowed. Also, parking was free. 

This morning after breakfast we checked out of the hotel and headed across the river again to visit the William Howard Taft NHS. This sit consists of his birth home and a visitor center next door. We watched the film and looked at the exhibits in the visitor center, learning more about the life of President and Chief Justice Taft, then walked through the house, which contained more exhibits about Taft, although some of it repeated information from the film and the visitor center exhibits. Still, it was cool to see several items that were owned by the Taft family. We spent a little over an hour at the site; we might have been able to stretch it out to two if we read everything instead of skimming some. 

We then headed back across the river to the airport. We turned in the rental and went to the Delta Lounge to have lunch and wait for our flight. We got upgraded to first class. Although our flight was delayed a bit due to weather, we got home safe and sound.

New River Gorge

 

This morning we drove east along the Kanawha River, winding through small coal towns that had seen better days. After about an hour we reached the Canyon Rim Visitor Center of New River Gorge National Park. This park was founded in 1978 as a National River, and upgraded to a National Park in 2020. We looked at the exhibits and watched the movie, then walked out to the overlook to see the bridge. 

After about an hour, we headed to the Gauley River National Recreation Area, about 15 miles to the north of the Canyon Rim Visitor Center. Gauley River doesn’t have a visitor center, just a campground and places for rafting and fishing. We drove to the Summerville dam, then, around noon, headed south to see more of New River Gorge NP. As we did, intermittent rain started, heavy at times. 

After about 45 minutes, we reached the Thurmond Historic District. Thurmond was a boom town along the railroad line in the early 20th century but died out when trains switched from coal to diesel. There was a small visitor center in the restored train depot. 

We stopped in the city of Buckley for lunch and gas, then continued to the Grandview Visitor Center. This was another small visitor center, but there is a large amphitheater and trail system that includes a great overlook of the gorge.

The last visitor center we visited was Sandstone, near the south end of the park. It had some nice exhibits about the river, including cool maps. They also had a different movie than the one at Canyon Rim, but it wasn’t working. I would have liked to continue south to the Bluestone National Scenic River, or checked out the Sandstone Falls boardwalk, but those would have taken at least an hour each, and it was already after four and we had an hour and a half drive back to Charleston. Instead we drove five minutes to the falls overlook, then headed back to the hotel to grab food at the concierge lounge.