As I write this entry, I’m wrapping up some final items at work and preparing to jump on a plane so I can complete the back half of the coast-to-coast challenge I blogged about a few weeks ago.  It’s a bit hard for me to accept that the Fall has zipped by as fast as it has; when I got back from the Disneyland portion of the challenge, October felt like it was (literally) months away.  Now it’s here and all of those same worries that my preparation for running 19+ miles over three days are woefully inadequate are hitting me hard – again.  There is some hope there, though: my wife and I ran the annual A-Mountain 4-miler prior to departing Tucson, and despite it literally being straight up for a mile (and, of course, straight down for the same distance) both of us are still moving pretty well; maybe, just maybe, all of our weeks of preparation are going to pay off. 

We haven’t been to Disney World during this part of the calendar in a number of years; in fact, I was so unsure of the last time we munched our way around Epcot’s World Showcase during the Food and Wine Festival, I had to dig through my photo library to turn up evidence that it was, in fact, 2017.  Somewhat ironically, I ran across a water tumbler I bought for the race weekend we attended that year while searching for a favorite coffee; seeing the smiling Mickey Mouse in a cooking apron emblazoned across the side of the tumbler brought my own smile and an additional flood of memories from that last trip.  Our dear friends from California had joined us for that sojourn, and their youngest – now in fifth grade – was at that time barely at the minimum height on many of the attractions.  Still, we had an amazing trip together and often talk about doing it again.  With schedules and the ever-higher costs associated with getting from here to there, though, I’m not certain when we’ll pull that together; fortunately, that hasn’t stopped us from being frequent visitors in SoCal, with as many of those trips including a day at Disneyland as our respective wallets can handle.

If you’ve never experienced the Food and Wine Festival, it truly is something to behold.  It’s also not something for those trying to keep their waistline in check, for the breadth and depth of things to sample are about as tempting as anything can get.  Each of the country pavilions has something themed to their area of the globe; I’ve seen it take a full day to work from Mexico to Canada, slowly sampling exotic dishes elegantly paired with wine you can’t easily get elsewhere.  And that’s just the eating part!  We’ve never had the time to go to any of the cooking classes offered, or one of the many, many wine tastings hosted by people far more in the know about such things than I am.  Partly that’s because our attendance at the Food and Wine has always coincided with a running event, forcing hard choices about how we spend our days; once I’m fully retired, I hope to be able to get there as a true food tourist, spending the entire week diving deeply into all that is offered.  (My wife would likely need to intervene, however, for one of the booths is all chocolate, all the time – a deadly spot for someone like me.)

Back in 2017, we did manage to sign up for one special activity, though.  We had an adult night out riding the monorail around Disney’s Seven Seas Lagoon, stopping at each of the major resorts it served for a particular portion of our meal.  Cocktails were at the Contemporary; appetizers, at the tropical paradise that is the Polynesian Resort.  Dinner was at the incredibly elegant Grand Floridian, followed by dessert on a balcony back at the Contemporary watching the fireworks above the Magic Kingdom.  The evening was incredibly spectacular, even if someone stole our seats at the very end.   I’ve been tinkering with this being something Vas and Alex do as part of their wedding festivities, but I can’t quite decide; while Vas would completely get into it, I suspect Alex would prefer other, quieter ways to celebrate their nuptials.  We’ll see who wins that argument in a few months.

Once the out of office message goes on my email, my brain will shift over to the worries that always accompany the start of any vacation trip.  Thankfully, I’m spending it with my level-headed wife who will (unfortunately) have to constantly remind me to relax and enjoy the moment.  I’ve tried harder to do that these past few years; maybe I’ll surprise her this time out and be super chill while we wait to board our flight and ignore my fears that our bags won’t make an appearance at the other end.

Here’s hoping…