ABC Wednesday: "X" is for X-tinct

So sue me... X is a bad letter.  We all know this.  Moving on. :)

To see all of the X-citing and hopefully not X-tinct photos for the week visit ABC Wednesday.

More Wilderness Lodge

The creek where it leaves the back of the Wilderness Lodge:

Waterfall:

Wide angle of the waterfall and back of the resort:

Take a dip

The hot spring inside the Wilderness Lodge lobby that becomes the creek outside just beyond the wall visible on the other side of this small bridge.

Up a creek

No paddle needed - its shallow.

This is actually a fake creek, created by Disney that begins as a bubbling hot spring inside the lobby of the Wilderness Lodge resort, then flows outside underneath the back wall, forms this creek, then becomes a waterfall that turns into another creek that empties into the main swimming pool.  A very creative a beautiful path.  I'll post some more shots of the whole thing tomorrow.

Before and After

Beignets for breakfast from the French Quarter food court.  Yummy! :)

Sky Watch Friday

A series of sunrise photos this week for Sky Watch Friday, taken at dawn on December 6th on our vacation at Disney World.  

Visit the Skywatch home blog for all the great shots and Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, etc.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all my blogging friends and family!

Pictures of Christmas trees from around Walt Disney World:

ABC Wednesday: "W" is for Water-rise

I imagine there will be at least a few waterfalls this week, but how about the more rarely seen water-rise?  This one is found in EPCOT at Disney World - many jets shoot the water up into a pool at the higher level instead of the other way around.

I like it better at night, when it is illuminated by colored lights.

Rise or fall to the ABC Wednesday Anthology for all the weekly fun.

Port Orleans Riverside: 3

Some pictures of the room interior:

Everything but the kitchen sink...

The main swimming pool at Port Orleans (each building has a small pool to itself as well, called "quiet pools", though they can get noisy as well, just normally not as crowded). 

First shot taken before dawn when the temperature was pretty cool out and there was steam rising off of the heated water:

View of the water slide:

The other end of the pool... what's that on the island?

Guess this pool has everything including the kitchen sink! 

Port Orleans Riverside: 2

The main building at the center of Port Orleans Riverside features a water wheel on one end.  Here is a shot taken before dawn one morning:

The wheel from one side:

And from the other side:

Inside the food court you find the gears and beams that the wheel turns:

And a view of the full building in the daylight:

Port Orleans Riverside: 1

Earlier in December we spent a week in Disney World (thank you to Blogger for its advance posting feature - love it - who knew we were out of town by just looking at the blog?  Nobody!).

We stayed at the Disney resort named Port Orleans Riverside, a resort that depicts deep south along the Mississippi River north of New Orleans (it has a sister resort next to it named Port Orleans French Quarter).  The buildings closest to "New Orleans" are ornate mansions on the outside, and the farther away from the city you get, the less fancy the building exteriors become.  After a while, the mansions are gone entirely and the buildings are just "wooden shacks" on the outside.  (Inside amenities are the same in all rooms, just the exteriors change and interior decoration changes in look only).

I will say that over the almost 6 days we were there I took over 2,250 photos and edited those down to around 1,693 "keepers".  So if I post one per day I can keep the blog going for 4.64 years, haha.  Don't worry.  I won't do that.  (Though maybe I should start a Disney Photo Per Day blog separately... some other time, perhaps.)  I'll just post some of the better favorites for now. :)

Sky Watch Friday

Looking to the skies and seeing the Spanish flag, guarded by a cannon, flying over the Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine, Florida. Why a Spanish flag in Florida?  When the National Park Service has reenactors on site on any given day, they fly the flag of the country those reenactors represent - if the English are represented they fly a British flag. :)

Flutter over to the Skywatch blog for all the great images each week.

Day and Night: Lightner Museum

Another day and night comparison, this time of the lovely Lightner Museum in St. Augustine, formerly the Hotel Alcazar, built in 1887.

ABC Wednesday: "V" is for Vicious

This week's ABC Wednesday is "V" is for Vicious.  

This poor pink mouse obviously did not realize what it was getting into when it wandered too close to our vicious kitten...

It quickly learned its mistake via her vicious claws....

And don't forget the vicious teeth.  "Roar!" she says.

Not really.  It was actually a big yawn.  All of that mouse getting had made her quite tired. :)

Valse* your way over to the ABC Wednesady blog for all of the fun.

*Valse is French for Waltz... so dance your way over...

Day and Night: Casa Monica Hotel

Some daylight shots of the famous, elegant, and not cheap Casa Monica Hotel in downtown St. Augustine:

And some night shots: