Let's see, where to start? I think I'll start at my arrival at PHL. I sat on the plane next to a couple who were all lovey-dovey. I overheard they were going to WDW for 3 days, staying in an RV. Obviously dating. No ring (at least not on her left hand). (This will be important later).

I arrived at MCO 25 minutes early and awaited Rhonda's arrival. Everything went smoothly until we checked in to Saratoga Springs and had a very scary, extended encounter with a CM who we felt was harassing us (long story, including sworn statements for Disney's Legal Dept). After getting something to eat and unpacking, we headed to DTD and the Adventurers' Club. After seeing all the shows and one kungaloosh and one pamelia's punch later, we caught the last show at comedy warehouse, then headed back to SSR. We were up chatting until about 3:30 am.

Saturday morning came quickly and we headed over to Chef Mickey's to see if they could squeeze us in. After a quick loop on the monorail and some window shopping, we had breakfast with Mickey and friends. On our way out, they had just put out chocolate croissants (my all-time favorite Disney treat) and we each grabbed one as we headed back to the shops.

Then, off to the expo, where we were disappointed to find that the official race shirt was not the white tee shirt we were seeing everywhere. Nor was it a pink or red tee shirt that would have been so perfect for a women's event. Black singlet (I have not worn anything sleeveless in years!), but it came in a great sport bag with lots of other goodies -- Anne, thanks for remembering everything that was in there! We wandered around the expo and even bought a couple of shirts -- Rhonda got a "yoga princess" tee shirt and I got a "running princess" long sleeved skinny tee (XL and it fits-- YIPPEE!). We made a quick stop at walgreen's for water and little mist bottles for the race.

Our next stop was the Grand Floridian where we took some pix, explored the shops and finally made our way to the Garden View Lounge for tea. My blackberry tea was wonderful, but Rhonda's green tea was really, really wonderful! I couldn't believe how much food there was -- 5 little finger sandwiches and a sweet onion tart, then a scone and a raspberry tart, then dessert -- mine was a trifle to die for. Lots of custard and fresh whipped cream and sherry soaked cake. (My mouth waters even now!)

We had a little time before our WISH meet at EoS and enjoyed exploring some of the shops at the Marketplace. It was soooo exciting to meet everyone at EoS. I quickly handed out name labels for everyone to write and had a chance to chat with Cathy, Erin, Lynne, Anne, Anne's DH (I can't believe I am drawing a blank on his name! ), Kamy, Christy, Nancy & Barry. I know I am forgetting a lot of other people, but it was GREAT to see how many WISHers took time out of their schedules to come say hi. After a couple of quick pix, the crowd dispersed and Rhonda and I spent some absolutely wonderful time with Cathy, Lynne and Erin as we wandered in and out of a bunch of shops. Erin was so darling to help me look for graduation merchandise for Jenn and I was soooo happy to see that Lynne was surviving exams/boards so brilliantly and that Cathy was able to walk with us without too much apparent pain. (Thanks so much, guys, for your wonderful company -- it was a LOT of fun!!!) Oh, and BTW, we were still so full from tea that we didn't eat anything at EoS or DTD.

When we split up, Rhonda and I did a bit more shopping and then headed toward Boardwalk where someone told us we'd find a suitcase she wanted for her DS3. So, we drove over to Boardwalk. We parked and then found the suitcase at Threads & Needles (?). We took it with us on the boat across the lake to find Mel and her family at Cape May Buffet. Waved to them from outside the restaurant and Mel came over for a quick hug. We arranged to meet at Beaches & Cream, where Rhonda and I were headed for medicinal purposes (we both had sore throats and convinced ourselves that splitting a malt was a medical necessity!) We had a great visit with Mel and her mom and the girls --I think the wild todd took 3 years off my life, but she did give something back -- grey hair! She looks like an absolute angel but has the energy of a whirlwind and she is wayyy too athletic! Mel's DD13 is so wonderful with her little sister and it was sweet to watch them together.

After we left them, we took the boat back across the lake, and after realizing we should really eat something before bed, back to the Screen Door for some sliced turkey and cheese and bagels. The ride back to SSR was quick and we munched on a late dinner as we laid out race clothes and tried to get our numbers pinned on straight. I must say, my list worked like a charm -- the only thing I forgot was the one "new thing" that I hadn't written down -- the mister bottle. We remembered to fill them with water and freeze them and even took them out of the freezer on race morning, but I left mine on the table. Fortunately, Rhonda brought hers and cooled us off once or twice on the course.

Coming up in part 2 -- the Minnie, the spa and another plane ride with the lovebirds!

I slept really well from about 11:30 pm until the alarm went off at 4:10. Mickey and Stitch called at 4:15 and I hit the speaker button rather than lifting the receiver so Rhonda could hear my favorite mouse hustling us out of bed!

We had turkey & cheese bagels again and picked Kamy up at 5:15 for the drive to AK. Were in place near the start by 5:30 and I immediately got on the ground to stretch my hamstring/hip. There was no line for the portapotties, so I didnt' feel pressed to get over there. Soon Rhonda said "looks like we are sitting in the portapotty line" and I hustled myself to get in line. I left all my stuff with Rhonda and Kamy which I later regretted when I couldn't find them at the start and didn't have a phone to call Rhonda. After more than 40 minutes in line I pottied quickly and headed back to where I thought the WISHers were, but they were long gone, lined up and ready to start. I started praying to find them and soon Mel's DD13 told me she saw Rhonda heading for the front of the line, so off I went and soon found Christy and Tiff and Kamy and Rhonda (I am sure I've missed some), literally minutes before the start. We had time for a couple of quick pix and then heard the National Anthem and heard Minnie count down the start. The very strange thing I noticed was that some people started moving across the start mat before the start of the race. Rhonda and I stuck together and started out at an easy jog. I can't report too much on my observations because I was pretty quickly in the worst hip pain I've had for months. Yep, when it came right down to it, the one thing I absolutely swore I would not do was what I did -- I started the race without stretching and being warmed up. UGH!

Here is what I remember -- It was great going with Rhonda and Kamy who are both such upbeat, positive women with the hugest, sunniest smiles! I was so proud that we were part of the same "team". I pretty quickly figured out we'd need to move as quickly as possible at the beginning because I wasn't sure how my hip would hold out for the distance. The fog was a welcome though unexpected blessing -- it really cut down on the intensity of the sun. Before we got to the turn around near WWoS we saw the sweeper bus. We also saw Mel ahead of us on the other side and it was great to scream for her and exchange waves. The mile markers were simple Minnie heads with the mile number on them -- no pace clocks. I was grateful to have a Garmin and when Rhonda's lost about .3 miles, I was REALLY grateful that we both had them so that there was a better chance that one of us would have an accurate read on our progress. Ann was pretty much at our pace and was so focused and determined that my attitude instantly improved when we saw her. Then we came upon her DH who was doing intervals and was with us for a couple minutes until he started running again. What a sweetie! We met a very nice pregnant lady named Jo who complimented us in awe on how fast we could walk. She'd jog every once in a while and come apace of us, and we saw much of her throughout the race. Her new baby's name will be Macy, I believe and she has done a distance event in each of her two previous pregnancies as well. She was so cute and very inspiring.

The distance to MGM seemed very long and I think there was a significant incline before entering the park, because I definitely remember my pain level spiking before we got into MGM. It was a lot of fun to see Mrs. Incredible and Jessie, but we were surprised they were the only characters in MGM. Going through the costuming tunnel was a welcome respite from the sun.

It was soo beautiful around the lake and in front of the swan/dolphin/boardwalk area. As we came around to the Yacht & Beach Club I was so excited to know that in 7 months, those landmarks would signal nearly the end of my first full marathon. Kristi joined us around that point and we had a quick chat before she pulled ahead just before the International Gateway.

Rhonda had been very disciplined about spotting mile markers and designating some landmark for when we'd start to run to run past every mile marker. I KNOW I would not have had all those jogging "intervals" without her positive spirit and determination and it is definitely to her credit that we finished under the 15:00 pace. As we came upon the mile marker in EPCOT, I was so grateful to know the end was approaching and really wanted to savor the last 1.3 miles. We stopped for a quick picture with Cinderella and Pocohontas and Belle -- I apologized for being sweaty and thanked them for being so generous to stand next to all of us sweaty, stinky women! They all gave me hugs and sent us on our way. As we approached the backstage exit, Rhonda reminded me that we'd seen the Gospel choir there at the end of the half, singing "for amber waves of grain. . . " -- She has a much better memory than me. Then, to my utter delight and with profound gratitude we saw Cathy and Erin and Lynne sitting on the curb, encouraging us to the FINISH. Lynne held her gorgeous medal up -- "keep going! This is what's waiting for you!" That young woman is amazing. I swear I am so proud of her and I only know her. I didn't parent her. And yet I am so proud to know the next generation has women like Lynne and Erin who are kind and generous and smart and all things good. I wonder that Cathy doesn't just burst with pride!

Rhonda urged me to run across the FINISH and I kept telling her it was too early to start running, but finally we did. We crossed at exactly the same time, about 30 seconds under total required time and half a minute faster pace than the half marathon. I quickly staggered to the barricades for a hug from Mel and her DD while a very kind volunteer said "You get your hug. I'll cut off your chip while you do that!"

We grabbed some food and drinks and went over to wait in line for pix with Minnie and Daisy. We enjoyed a visit with Cathy and Lynne and Erin while we waited in line together. We were psyched to catch up with Kamy and her family and to congratulate many WISHers as we all headed back to our resorts.

One thing I forgot to mention about post-race accomodations -- scattered around the parking lot there were water coolers with packages of dixie paper cups. That water was even better than the bottled water and powerade that was at the table. It was nice and cold!

When we left the parking lot we had no idea where to go and ended up at the regular bus stop that takes you from EPCOT to AK. While waiting for the bus (20+ minutes, I think) I left a message for Judy and spoke with Liz.

Once back at SSR, I made us a hodgepodge brunch of cheese on bagels, almonds, apple, and goldfish, I think. After a quick shower, we headed to the DVC Preview Center to get Rhonda a replacement membership card. The preview center was gorgeous and there are beautiful murals of national landmarks on the upper walls which have a lighting effect where it looks like there are fireworks on certain scenes and then pixie dust scattering over other scenes. Beautiful!

We left the preview center and met with the resort manager for about 1/2 hour about our very uncomfortable encounter with a security guard Friday night, and ended up giving sworn statements. The manager was very generous in putting a credit on our account to buy us dinner that night. (We had the dining plan, though, so we ended up using it for a nice lunch and drinks at the Turf Club after our spa appt.)

Our spa pedicures were very nice -- the maple sugar exfoliating scrub they used on my legs was decadent -- it smelled good enough to eat. And whatever they next put on our legs, before wrapping them in foil, went a long way toward comforting our tired legs. Very nice! After our pedicures, we popped in to the women's locker room where one of the lockers had a glass front instead of wood, and there was Minnie's dress -- apparently Minnie had changed her clothes and was partaking of the spa, too! Gotta LOVE those Disney details. The women's locker room had showers and a wonderful whirlpool -- the jets felt amazing on my lower back and my hip. There were two saunas -- a dry one with gorgeous cedar-looking wood benches that were very comfortable, and a steam sauna that had eucalyptus in the air and immediately cleared my sinuses. From there, we headed to the Turf Club where we shared crab cakes and buffalo chicken and a cheeseburger and I had a delicious raspberry seabreeze.

There is a gorgeous pool near our building and we spent the next couple of hours napping, reading and doing sudoku puzzles. It was absolutely gorgeous to stand right outside the pool area and look across the water to Downtown Disney's West End. What a great location!

Our next stop was the Poly for some browsing in the shops, a monorail ride and dinner at Ohana's. I was disappointed that they'd run out of pineapples, so unfortunately, I had to forego a lapulapu. Whatever drinks we ended up with were delicious! We had the perfect window table for 2 to watch WISHES and later, it was fun to realize we'd been watching WISHes when something very special was going on at the castle, unbeknownst to us (remember the loveydovey couple?)

We had been looking forward all day to another foray to Adventurers' Club, and it was fascinating to me that the actors we had seen Friday night were playing different roles on Sunday night! We stayed through the final show and then headed back to get some sleep.

Monday morning was a flurry of packing, then exploring Port Orleans Resort. We wanted to check out the Sassougoula Food Factory for the WISH meet in January and concluded that it would be the perfect location -- lots of food choices and plenty of seating. I had a muffaletta sandwich and beignets and both were absolutely delicious. Rhonda said her veggie sandwich was delicious.
We spent the rest of our morning and afternoon at DTD. Lots of shopping at WoD, then we picked up chinese chicken salads (in cool chinese takeout containers) at EoS for airport or plane dinners for both of us. Then off to Goofy's candy company where we got mickey head marshmallow treats for our families.
Next stop was Wolfgang Puck's for an early dinner. The service was excellent and the food was out of this world -- we shared crab cakes and fried calamari for appetizers, pumpkin ravioli and sesame crusted mahi mahi for entrees, and key lime pie and white chocolate raspberry cheesecake for dessert. We couldn't finish any of it but loved all of it.

We stopped back at SSR to make sure Rhonda's luggage had been sent to the airport and to make sure my credit card wasn't charged for food that day -- there was some confusion about our meal plan ending when we checked out instead of at the end of the day.

I wanted to pause for a minute to mention the Disney Dining Plan and how it worked out for us. I definitely would say we ate more food than we would have without the plan. Or we ordered it, I should say. I left more food on my plates this weekend than normal, just because we had the luxury of trying food without the cost.

We certainly saved a small fortune by using the dining plan. Our counter service meals were: Friday night at SSR (I had rosemary chicken and Rhonda had a chicken & spinach flatbread); Monday at Port Orleans food court; and salads w/grilled chicken & cookies & fountain drinks at Earl of Sandwich.

We also made the most of our table service options: Chef Mickey's on Saturday, Ohana's on Sunday and Wolfgang Puck on Monday.

We never used our snack options so we each got 3 chocolate eared mickey marshmallow treats to take home.

Heading to the airport was sad and our goodbye was tearful. I was especially worried because Rhonda had been really, really sick all weekend and was so congested that she'd lost hearing in her right ear and had horrible ear and sinus pain. She was such a trooper and never slowed down so that we maximized our time away, but I was concerned that the plane ride might really damage her ear. We went to our separate gates, and I settled in for my 2 1/2 hour wait with the Disneyland books Rhonda had brought me (now I can plan for the DL 1/2!).

Shortly before my flight, I noticed the lovey dovey couple . I re-introduced myself and asked if they had fun. He said "great" with a huge grin on his face and she said "We got ENGAGED!" with more animation than I'd seen Friday night the whole flight. He said he proposed at the castle and she elaborated that he'd proposed Sunday night right after the fireworks and that she'd burst into tears and said "YES!" I was so excited to realize Rhonda nd I had watched WISHes the night they got engaged. Her ring was gorgeous! I sat with them on the ride home and learned they'd met on match.com and were looking forward to a happy life together. They were so cute and their story was wonderful. As my DD17 would tell you "wishes do come true" at Disney!

Well, I am sure I have left out lots and lots, but this turned into a novel by a very untalented author (who I'd never read, given a choice!)

I'll try to post pix later of the highlights!

Thanks to all the WISHers who supported and inspired me before the race and for all the great company throughout the weekend! Love you guys, mean it!