Category: Vacation

Distracted TechyDad

Sleep, Twitter, Vacation

Lately, I feel like I’m being pulled in a dozen different directions at once.  In addition to the usual stuff (work, family, blog, etc), I’m also working on My Upcoming Twitter Application (getting closer to launch), a freelance project or two, and helping B plan our 10th anniversary trip.  Yes, we’re actually taking a trip together without the kids.  I feel such a weird mixture of happiness and guilt.

Anyway, with all of this happening, I’ve been staying up late trying to do it all.  This means I don’t sleep well which means I’m not feeling 100% the next day.  Right now I’m hungry (why is it I get hungry when I’m tired) and headachy.  I just want to take a nap, but I’ve got so much to do.

Luckily, the weekend is almost here.  I’m going to try to get at least one night of decent sleep.  Then, perhaps, I’ll be better able to focus and get stuff done and be less distracted.  Until then, please bear with me if I seem a bit… oh, I really should work on this project now.  *shuffles off*

A Guilty Getaway For Two

Anniversary, B, Disney, Guilt, JSL, NHL, Parenting, Vacation

I’ve written before about feeling guilty, whether it is leaving for work, having a night out to myself or even just dedicating some time to me instead of putting everyone else in my family first.  Right now, I’m feeling a different sort of guilt.

You see, last month B and I celebrated our 10th anniversary.  For the past 8 years, though, we’ve only had one trip away from the kids: BlogHer 2010.  (Having the kids sleep at their grandparents for one night while we sleep at home less than a mile away and then get them first thing in the morning doesn’t count.)  Of course, BlogHer was fun, but it was very rushed and often B and I were going in different directions.  Not the kind of trip you go on to help rekindle those romantic sparks.

So we began to look into trips to take together.  Ten years seems like an appropriate length of time to have a Honeymoon Part 2 and we loved Honeymoon Part 1 so why not go to the same place: Disney World.

Now, I should note here that our plans are still very much up in the air.  We might wind up going to Disney.  We might wind up doing something else.  We might even scrap the whole “take a trip with just the two of us” idea entirely.  Still, the planning means that I’ve been thinking a lot about going to Disney World and leaving the kids behind (possibly in the care of my parents).

Here’s the guilty part.  Our kids love Disney World.  No, that doesn’t sound strong enough.  They ***LLLLOOOOVVVVEEEE*** Disney World.  JSL, on a nearly daily basis, asks when we’re going back there.  I can just imagine the screams of horror that will erupt when they find out that we’re headed to the home of Mickey Mouse without bringing them along.  There will be crying and screaming and guilt trips galore.

Part of me keeps saying “Why not bring the kids along?  They’ll love it!”  But, then I realize that we love Disney World too.  Why should their desire to see Disney World again trump our desire to have one “just the two of us” trip every ten years or so?  We’ve gone to Disney World every year for the past 3 years (once on a family trip and twice for Disney Social Media Moms).  The boys have gotten hooked, but we were hooked first.

There are things we’d love to do at Disney World that you just can’t do with little kids.  I’d love to go on the African Safari trek and some of the backstage tours.  I’d want to spend time lazily walking through the countries in Epcot while holding B’s hand without screams of “I’ve got to go potty” ringing in my ears.  I’d like to try some of the more upscale/romantic, less kid friendly restaurants.  I don’t want to spend every meal wondering whether JSL will eat anything other than Mac & Cheese or pizza today.  It will be wonderful to navigate through crowds without lugging a stroller and changes of kid clothes.

In short, as much as it is fun doing this:

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I want to have a bit of time to do this:

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Just please don’t tell NHL and JSL yet.  I’m still steeling myself for their response.

A Look Back At Disney: Kilimanjaro Safari

Animals, Disney, DisneySMMoms, Photos, Vacation, Wildlife

One of my favorite “rides” at Disney’s Animal Kingdom is Kilimanjaro Safari.  I use “ride” in quotes because, despite the “chase the poachers” storyline at the end, it feels more like an actual African safari than a ride.

Of course, a big reason why I like it is taking photos of the animals.  This can be a bit frustrating, though.  The car you’re riding in goes over bumps and doesn’t always stop for every animal.  Some animals might be right in the clear, giving you the perfect shot.

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“Who says I need a bath?  Want to come closer and say that?” *sharpens nose-horn*

Other animals hang back and make you use your camera’s zoom to the fullest… and then make you wish you had an ultra-super-mega zoom lens you could attach.

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I promise there’s an animal in there.  Lying down.  No, really, there is.

Of course, when you go on safari, you never quite know what to expect.  One trip can be a washout for elephant sightings while another one can have the most unexpected cuteness around!

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Yes, that’s Mommy and Baby Elephant walking to the pond.  Isn’t Baby Elephant so cute?!!! Lots of awwww’s were uttered, I assure you.

The big things (like elephants) are great, but it’s the small touches that turn this from a “ride through a glorified zoo” into “African safari moved into Florida.”  Small things like these termite mounds.

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Given Disney’s quest for realism, we’re left wondering if that’s a fake termite mound or if they imported actual African termites.  I’m leaning towards fake only because real termites would be tricky to keep confined.  They’d tend to get out and munch on other sources of wood.  Pretty soon you’d have these mounds popping up all over Disney World and that wouldn’t look too good.  As a side note, while impressive, I’d *hate* to see one of these pop up in my yard.  I think I’d just wave a white flag and surrender my house to the wood-munchers at that point.  Those things can clearly out-build me!

If you find yourself in Disney’s Animal Kingdom, whatever you do, don’t miss the Kilimanjaro Safari!  But before you get on, make sure your camera is ready.  You’ll need it!

The Great Epcot Twitter Experiment

Disney, DisneySMMoms, Photos, Travel, Twitter, Vacation

On Friday, March 18th, while B was in the DisneySMMoms conferences, NHL, JSL and I went to Epcot.  We sought out the characters and topiaries (more on those later), but at one point we happened upon the phone booths in the UK.

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Seeing it, I remembered reading that all of these booths were actual working pay phones.  They even had numbers that people outside of Disney World could call.  I wondered: If I tweeted the number from one of these booths, how long would it take before someone called me?  What kind of conversation would I have with a Random Twitter Follower?

My kids were not too keen on this experiment.  They just didn’t see the fun in it.  My seven year old actually said: “Dad, this trip is not about you.  It’s all about us!”  That clinched it!  The experiment was on!

I walked up to one of the booths, looked for the number and tweeted:

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Then, we waited.  We didn’t have to wait long, however.  Soon the phone rang.  I picked it up and was asked if I was “TechyDad.”  After I answered “yes”, I had a nice (if short) conversation with @moth_editor and @cheimbuch!  (Short because the boys were getting restless and I wasn’t going to make them wait too long.)  We waited a couple of minutes after the phone call ended to see if anyone else called, but nobody did so we left.  I couldn’t help wondering how many times the phone rang that day leading Disney parks-goers wondering “Who is TechyDad and why is someone calling Epcot for him?”

Thanks to everyone who participated and those of you, like @BabiesGottaHavT, who tried calling and just got a busy signal.  By the way, if you want to try calling the Epcot UK phone booths to see what random people you get, here are the numbers:

Left Booth: 407.827.9862
Center Booth: 407.827.9863
Right Booth: 407.827.9861

That information comes from @adisneymom who had a similar idea (and coincidentally executed it the same day as my Twitter Experiment).

A few days later, when back in Epcot, I stopped to take some photos of my boys in the phone booths when the center phone rang.  I answered, but it turned out to be a wrong number.  At least I got some nice photos of my kids placing some calls (as NHL attempted to dial the phone without entering an area code… or putting in any money).

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