just another day at Epcot

the best thing about theme parks may be the exercise... well, no, the best thing is the fun and sharing the fun... the next best thing is the kid can come out to play (which is similar and may be the best thing at that... but one of the best things, for sure, is the exercise... I've never been to the parks with someone who lead me around and took me past my endurance limits, but even if I get to 50% that's a lot better than sitting around...

so Jackson and I ran around Epcot today... there wasn't enough time to do all we wanted to do (especially since two of the things I wanted to do were out of service for part of the day and so we didn't get to do them... another time, but I did notice more down time and closed attractions than ever before... and there were other signs {like unrepaired areas, fewer fireworks, closed restaurants, and exhibits replaced by merchandise tables, for instance} that lead me to think that Disney is cutting corners)... possibly because attendance is down (that's what it looked like to me)...

still, Disney is a magical place and theme parks are wonderful escapes into an energetic child-world... and we definitely got great sunshine and good exercise today... I decided to treat for dinner cuz I wanted to eat at one of the more expensive Epcot restaurants and we chose France... delicious... seriously delicious... enough to give references...

we shared a cream cheese bacon and onion flat bread appetizer (Menu: Les Tartes des Chefs Original Flatbreads from the brick oven A la flamme Alsacienne - Alsace specialty. Cream fraiche, onion and bacon)... then I had onion soup (Menu: Soupe a l'oignon gratinee,
The classic onion soup topped with gruyere cheese)... then shrimp/scallops dinner with a spinach quiche and cream sauce (it's not on the online menu) and a chocolate torte with banana, coconut and chocolate ice cream for dessert (not on the online menu)... Jackson had broiled chicken with mashed potatoes and braised tomatoes (Menu: Demi poulet fermier a la broche, pommes puree au basilic et tomate braisee,
All natural rotiserrie chicken, basil flavored mashed potatoes and braised tomato) and creme brulee for dessert (Menu: Creme Brulee, Vanilla creme brulee served with a madeleine)... we also shared a bottle of Vouvray, a chenin blanc 2005 wine... I added a chocolate chip cookie and chocolate mousse to my dessert at the bakery after leaving (something to munch on while walking around... seriously yum)... yeah, food is magical too...

Epcot was still a second home for me with nooks and crannies so familiar and personal... space open and full of international energy and space semi-enclosed perfect for almost surreal quiet moments in the midst of the party... for many years I visited Epcot (and the other parks in Orlando and Universal holds many intimate memories for me as well, but especially Epcot) regularly, on vacations and then, living close enough to see the nightly fireworks from my front lawn every night... while the semi-tropical climate was a prerequisite for me when I finally left NYC, I probably chose Orlando due to the theme parks...

anyway, I never kept track of how many days I've spent at Epcot or the theme parks over the years, but a conservative estimate would make this at least the 500th day I spent at an Orlando theme park and probably the 300th day I spent at Epcot... it is the energy it attracts and inspires, especially the energy that the kids generate in a theme park, but personally it is the freedom and comfort I feel in an environment that is meant to be a playground for everyone...

wish you were here :)

and I wish I could find more friends who felt as I do and had the means to buy annual passes and the energy to run around from before the parks open to after the parks close, even for days in a row until the experience becomes surreally beautiful as the fatgue and endorphins and magic lifts the brain to alternative planses of consciousness (like running a marathon through the playgrounds of the real world and of the mind and best of all, sharing it with someone on the same wavelength)...

Jackson is one of those friends, though she can't afford to go as often as I'd like to... but today was a serious YAY day and that's the celebration I am enjoying right now...

meanwhile, getting home, there's Ody on the couch looking pathetic (he looks {posture, expression, cleanliness, demeanor, movements} like a depressed homeless person even though he's riding a gravy train in our living room... no one can be helped unless they want to be helped, but they can definitely be enabled and that's what's happening here which is why I think the only thing left to do is put him out recommending professional help... the water is out there if he wants to drink) and of course the TV on again... Raspy appears to be asleep in his room... Precious is in her room either asleep or at her computer... so catching a bus out oif here Sunday or Monday did not happen on Sunday (as I expected) and we shall see if it happens on Monday...

nothing's gonna bring me down (I read the news today, oh boy...) and memories of walking through the twilight with a scruptious chocolate chip cookie and chocolate mousse after a delicious French dinner into an English garden to hear a Beatle's cover band singing some of my favorite songs shall send me off to dreamland tonight with a magical feeling and an infinite smile...

I hope your days was as blessed :)