Spring Break - Short and Sweet (the trip, not the post)
We're back from our Spring Break relatively unscathed. We went to Orlando for a few days with the youngest. (Oldest is too cool for us and went to Philly to see her cousins.) Youngest had never been to Orlando at all, hubby was last there in high school, and I was there waaaay back at the age of 4. I only remember two things from that visit: 1) drinking orange juice out of a little plastic orange with a green straw and 2) being traumatized for life by the horror of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. (Hey, I was four, it was scary!)
Our hotel was nothing special, but close enough to all of the action. I had pre-purchased tickets to Universal, so that was what we did on the first day. We chose Islands of Adventure because the rides looked cooler on the brochure the hotel gave us. They did not disappoint, especially the Incredible Hulk coaster which I had to ride TWICE because my daughter said she missed it the first time because she was distracted by holding her glasses on. Likely story. It nearly snapped my neck, but I survived.
Wisely, we saved the water rides for the end of the day. Unwisely, we didn't stop after ride #1 when we were merely damp, but continued to ride #2 where we got completely soaked. Nothing like drenched jean shorts for maximum comfort! Hubby is smarter than me and stayed off the water rides altogther, so at least my bag with camera and phone stayed dry.
Proof that I took my camera and actually pulled it out now and then:
No daughters were nibbled in the taking of this picture.
Our aching feet made it clear that day #2 would have to be a break from the amusement park circuit. The weather was hot and sunny, so we hopped in our rental car and drove about an hour east of Orlando to Cocoa Beach. The water was too cold for me, but the polar bears in my family jumped right in.
Hubby and daughter far in the distance. (I was too lazy to leave my beach towel.)
Day 3 was our last full day in Orlando, so a Disney park was inevitable. Daughter agonized over the brochure for hours, debating the merits of each of the four parks. Much to my surprise (and delight), she chose Epcot, which I have always wanted to see.
We rode a couple of the space rides, and then spent the rest of the day walking around the world showcase. The buildings are truly amazing, with Disney's customary attention to detail. I didn't take half enough pictures, but here is a shot of the China exhibit just to illustrate my point.
The little red carpet in the foreground is where we watched a troupe of very young Chinese acrobats. We also saw Paul Revere and the Raiders, a Beatles tribute band, and a very loud Moroccan ensemble complete with belly dancer.
I thought daughter would get bored, but she became fixated on collecting a smooshed penny souvenir from each country and that kept her busy. The shiny penny stash in my change purse held out and she accomplished her goal and dragged her exhausted parents back to the car. We could have visited Epcot for twice as long and not seen everything, so I really hope we make it back there someday.
On Sunday morning, we had to get up at what my eldest calls "the butt crack of dawn" to get to the airport for a 6:35 flight. Imagine our delight when the ticket agent informed us that our flight had been oversold, there were no seats left, and the next possible flight was until 4:30pm. We had to pay extra for another day of rental car, but my husband managed to finagle us back into our hotel room by pretending we had locked ourselves out by accident. We crashed for another 3 hours of sleep, had a nice lunch, and headed back to the airport nice and early so they couldn't screw us over again we could get through security with time to spare. Our modified itinerary meant we didn't get back home until after 9 last night, so I was extra excited to climb back into my own beloved bed.
Okay, enough travelogue, on to the knitting! Before our trip, I started a Rambling Rows Baby Afghan. (Check out some Rambling Rows on Ravelry if you can, there are some really pretty ones.) Baby stuff should be soft AND machine washable, so I'm using Berroco Comfort.
Forgive the wonky camera angle - it was hard to get it all in the frame. This pattern is easy, has miters, and is seamless. What more could you want? The only problem is that it requires 5 different colors, meaning you have to schlep 5 balls of yarn around all the time. Not a big deal at home, but not exactly convenient for travel.
I was worried that sock needles wouldn't get by airport security, so I started a neckdown sweater on circular needles on the way to Detroit. I've had the pattern for quite awhile and hadn't tried it yet, and I found a bag of DK yarn that I don't exactly remember buying stuffed under my bed. The pattern is the "Summer Cardigan" from Knitting Pure & Simple and you can see it here if you scroll down a little. Very ladylike, don't you think?
The simple stockinette proved to be the perfect knitting for planes and standing in lines at the parks, so I made good progress. I put the sleeves on hold while we waited in the airport yesterday and now I'm working on the body. I did add an eeny-weeny subtle cable to the front edges just to keep me from going completely crazy.
I have never knit a beige sweater before, so it will be a relief to return to my gaudy Rambling Rows, but I'm going to try to finish the cardigan first while I have forward momentum. It will be a perfect sweater for my office this summer when the nurses crank up the AC. (Mmmmm...summer - can't wait!)
Anything exciting happen while I was gone?
P.S. Yarn for cardigan is Meredith Bay from Patternworks, 95% wool and 5% alpaca, in (yawn) beige.
