We had Thanksgiving dinner at Ohana at the Polynesian.  This was a bit of a let down, because I didn't know that the regularly scheduled all you can eat meat fest was going to be interrupted with all you can eat turkey dinner.  I don't like turkey, and Thanksgiving dinner at my house usually includes some sort of pasta.  None to be found here.

The cranberry sauce was chunky and though it was a little too sweet, I couldn't stop myself from eating almost two bowls of it

Here is our first platter of the turkey and all the fixings except pasta.  There were about 8 green beans, and not enough gravy.  I asked for extra and was given a whole bowl of gravy.

Dessert.  Pumpkin bread pudding.  With ice cream.  And a little pitcher of creamy sauce  I liked this.  A lot.

The turkey dinner was nothing special, but that's because I don't like turkey.  The stuffing was good, and so were the potatoes, so I consumed large quantities of each.  It's hard keeping your girlish figure at Disney.

Chilling by the wood fires

In the lobby

Cushy chairs are scattered throughout the Polynesian.

There is vegetation surrounding a waterfall.  Try not to fall in if you sit here

My new friend - I think he's a drummer

More of the plants and flowers by the waterfall

See the waterfall in the background?  I was afraid I was going to fall in.

We walked from Downtown Disney to the Waffle House Thanksgiving morning.  I wanted to get a bowl of cheese grits.  I can't believe that Dean agreed to walk 2 miles to a place he can't stand.  It was the best breakfast that I have had so far.  Sad but true.

No frills surroundings - where is the Disney Magic?

Score!  Cheese Grits!  Buttered down, too!

Everything on this plate was cooked in butter!!!!

I ordered an omelette with jalapenos, cheese, and ham, and raisin toast.  And the grits.  Dean ordered the All Star Breakfast.  The coffee was good, the service was brisk, and the tiny cafe was packed the entire time we were there.  

Having loaded up on fatty grams, we were ready for the hike back to Downtown Disney, where we waited forever for a bus to anywhere.

I will admit that I was feeling a little disappointed with our meals so far.  Either the food or the service was not impressive, and the one thing that I look forward to the most on any vacation is the food.  The Yachtsman Steakhouse excelled at both, and now I'm eager for those ADRs again.

A closet filled with raw meat!

We spent most of the day wandering around EPCOT and the EPCOT resorts, grazing as we went.  I now understand what Blondie finds so appealing about her vacation in the pasture.  More on the day later, let's just get right to the food!

Oscar was our waiter, and he was fantastic  He even noticed the doll and made sure that she was a happy camper, too.  He said he was used to Mickey's at the table, but this was one of the first Barbies that he has seen.   Yea, Oscar! Every time you asked what she wanted for dinner or if she needed a refill on her beverages, your tip went up.

They serve two kinds of bread here, a sourdough and onion rolls.  Dean ate the onion rolls so I didn't have to.  Thanks for the sacrifice!  The awesome thing about the bread is they give you a little cup of warm, freshly roasted garlic.  Man, oh, man, was it good!  I quickly consumed most of it.

We started out with  Seared Maine Diver Scallops served with risotto and vegetables..  These were like butter and just melted in your mouth.  The risotto was a touch salty, but this appetizer got our hopes up that this would be a wonderful meal.

I also ordered the squash bisque with seasonally spiced cream.  I was little afraid that the soup would be inedible like at Mara, but I was wrong.  The cinnamon was a little strong, but it wasn't overpowering like at Mara.

Artfully presented lamb

Next up, I ordered Boneless Lamb Loin - 9-oz boneless loin with Shiitake mushrooms,and squash, lamb merlot reduction.  Yeah, yeah, who orders lamb at a steakhouse?  I do!  I love lamb, and this was quite tasty.  I asked for it to be prepared medium rare, and it was very tender.

Dean had the NY Strip Steak - 12-oz strip steak served with peppercorn brandy sauce and potato gratin with Diamond white cheddar.  He thought the meat was very tender, and he enjoyed the potatoes.   I thought at medium well he ordered it too cooked, but we don't agree on our steak preparation preferences.

We were both pretty stuffed after our meals, but since we had skipped dessert at Narcoossee's we weren't about to do that again.  We agreed to split a trio of chocolate tastings.  I let him eat most of it because I was just too full.

Comfy chair for me!

On Wednesday morning, we got up a little early so we could eat at Boma's.  There was already a line of people waiting with their little pagers.  We didn't have to wait for every long, and were soon led to our table.  This was a disappointing seat because the sun was so blinding.  Dean had to move his stuff over to my side of the table, and we sat side by side because of the sun.

Boma is just an excuse to over eat

Boma was just a pig fest.  There were stations with pastries, fruits, meats, breads, eggs, and traditional African breakfasts.  The curried sausage was good, and there was a very spicy sauce for the turkey and roast beef.

Look, another plate loaded with fattening food

This was a reasonably priced breakfast, but mainly because of the heaping mounds of food.  The coffee was good, too.

Serving station

More serving stations

So much food!

I didn't get to try everything

Wednesday night was our dinner at Narcoossee's.  I was looking forward to this meal, and I left feeling terribly disappointed.  And irritated.  Not a good thing.

See how nice the drink menu is?  Too bad the wait staff wasn't as pleasant.

Things kicked off to a good start, as we ordered our drinks and then our appetizers.  The seating assignment was less that stellar, so I asked if I could keep the drink menu on the table.  I wanted to use it as a backdrop for my photos, since it was a very attractive book, and I didn't want to include the people behind us in my shots.  Well, after that, the waiter made a very annoying habit of not stopping by our table.

Dean's girly drink.  No alcohol.

Bread basket shaped like a fish

French press coffee!  I love it!  Unlike at Citricos, the waiter never came to make sure I had coffee or to refill my cup

We started with a seafood bisque, which had main rock crab and a sourdough crostini.  Crostini is just another word for stale bread, so don't be fooled.  The strips of seafood were a little insubstantial, but overall, the soup had a nice flavor.

I ordered togarashi spiced ahi tuna - about 20 minutes after finishing my soup.  The theme of the dinner was wait, wait, wait.  I reminded me of the horrible meal we had at the Coral Reef a few years ago, which took about three hours because the wait staff ignored us then, too.  At Narcoossee's, the waiter was busy helping out the tables all around us, but he didn't want to trouble himself taking our order.

It took about thirty minutes after placing the order the receive our meals.  We were both afraid that the food would be cold because it was sitting in the back, forgotten, just like us.  My rice wasn't hot, but since my tuna was shashimi style, it wasn't going to be hot anyway,.

The tuna was served with sticky rice topped wasabi tobiko, a soy chili glaze and vegetable rolls.  The tobiko was interesting, but the vegetable rolls didn't impress.

Dean ordered crab crusted yellow tail snapper with crushed fingerling potatoes, haricot verts, and meyer lemon sauce.  He thought the food was very good.  I was wondering how pissed off you have to be at the potatoes to crush them.

Because we were tired of sitting there, forgotten, for so long, we opted to not order dessert.  We never opt to not order dessert.  The absent waiter was rewarded for his crappy service with a dollar tip.  We won't be eating here again.

We arrived for our ADR at the Wave, and we were given a pager.  I took a few pictures while we waited,.  They were still in the process of setting up for dinner.  Then our pager went off and we were led to a tiny table in the middle of the restaurant.  The only thing that saved it from being a crappy seat was the very large pillar next to the table.

Waiting for the pager to go off

I thought the candle holder was very fashionable

We started the meal with lettuce wraps - this dish consisted of sauteed lamb and bay scallops with a soy rice wine vinegar sauce.  This was a little disappointing.  The scallops were of the pygmy variety, and the lamb was shaped in to tiny balls.  The plate was awash with onions, which I hate, but the sauce was very peppery and had a lot of flavor.  Probably to drown out the onions.  There were only three pieces of lettuce, which I did not understand at all.  Come on, give us at least four, will ya?

The bread was very flavorful, and the butter had little brown chunks of salt sprinkled on top.

Dean's tough guy drink

I ordered the seasonal vegetable stew, served over a multigrain rice.  This had a lot of onion as well, but they had been simmering in broth for a while, so when I occasionally ate one, I wasn't grossed out.  The sauce had a strong taste of lemon, which I liked, but overall, this was a pretty bland meal.

Dean ordered the linguini with littleneck clams and rock shrimp in a chunky tomato sauce.  Again, the seafood was tiny, tiny.  Dean wasn't overly impressed and thought the meal lacked flavor.

For dessert, I ordered Braised Pineapple spears in vanilla sauce, almond raisin baklava, and carrot zucchini cake.  Now, before you start thinking that I'm a big pig, these were served as a trio tasting, just a bite or two of each.  I liked the carrot cake the best.

Overall, this wasn't our favorite meal at Disney.  I only booked here because it is a new restaurant.  The service was not very memorable, either.  He did a good job, but there were long, long gaps between visits to our table.

Rating:  I'll give this a C

Jumping for joy to finally be on VACATION!

As is typical, I didn't sleep well last night.  I just I get pre-trip excitement and it keeps me up all night.  We ate at Pei Wei last night, and after checking into the Baymont, I did sleep like a log until 1:30 - then I was up the rest of the night.  Suck.  I haven't mastered the art of sleeping on planes, either, so now I'm pooped.

Healthy breakfast burrito

We arrived at Orlando early, but then I had this monstrous line to stand in to check in for the Magical Express.  That is the free bus that ships you off to Disney.  The terminal was hot and humid, and it was not fun waiting in that line.  Then we had to move over to a different part of the terminal to stand in another line to actually board the bus.  Welcome to Disney!

A little light reading material for the plane ride

After stopping at two other resorts, we made a mad dash to the front desk and were the first in line at Animal Kingdom Lodge.  Check in was smooth and painless, as was getting our park hoppers added to our Keys to the World.  Then it was up to the room, and decide where to go next.  Since we had advance dinner reservations at the Wave at the Contemporary, we headed over to Magic Kingdom.

Look at how they fold towels in Disney!

It was extremely crowded, but we were able to breeze aboard Pirates of the Caribbean.  They have rehabbed the ride since the last time we were here, and Capt Jack was added to the attraction.  Other than that, it's the same old ride.  I still like it, but I am easily amused.

Next was Transit Authority, which Dean thinks is about the lamest ride, and then Carousel of Progress, which I don't remember ever seeing before.  It was interesting, though the song was a little annoying.   After, we scurried over to the Monorail to the Contemporary for dinner.  Review of the Wave to follow.

Harley

Bronchitis, horse shows, and 17 degree weather don’t make for a good mix.   Needless to say, the first show of the academy season won’t go down as one of my favorites.

Friday night, I rode Harley for the first time in a few weeks.  It was a rough ride, to say the least.  We walked/trotted/cantered, and then tried to do the serpentine pattern.  That was ugly.  Couldn’t even post the first two times I tried it.  Finally started getting it down, but I still wasn’t feeling good about doing it in public.

Yesterday morning, I headed to the new show location a little early.  Too early, actually.   I wasn’t sure where it was, or how long it would take to get there. I was in the first two classes and didn’t want to miss them.  Instead, I was first person there, and all of the horses were late.  For both of the other barns.  Now I know not to leave so early.

I helped get the three horses off the trailer, and then started getting Harley ready.  He was perfect in the warm up, but I had a terrible time getting him to stay in the canter during the classes.  Both directions.  The pattern class was last, with rail work and then the pattern.  I didn’t feel that I made any mistakes during this, but couldn’t keep him moving at a consistent speed during the pattern. 

Laurie managed to spill a cup of hot chocolate on Zoe’s riding pants, and then dumped a cup of coffee on a horse cooler.  We need a new rule whenever she’s around – no  beverages for you!  Usually she just spills on herself, though.

I liked the new location, and I liked that there are fewer classes.  There were about 4 turbo heaters going, so it wasn’t uncomfortably cold.

Next time I want to take Nyk.  I already mentioned this and was told that we would.  I want to see what he’s like at an academy show before taking him to a big one. 

I was pretty tired by the time I got home at noon.  We went to Mexico Lindo for lunch, and I spent most of the rest of the day napping – don’t want to be sick on vacation!

Sammy

Well, I’m sick again, so that means one of two things – either there’s a horse show or I’m going on vacation.  In this case, both happen to be true.  Suck!

Monday’s lesson was on Nyk, and we really have the trot down.  I’m excited to show off how cute he is when he trots – his little legs are like little pistons as he marches down the rail.  He even bridles without any fuss.  Kim commented that he has a serious little walk.  He’s just a serious little dude!  He is business like and professional, and he knows what he has to do – look cute and show off while he’s doing it.

The canter is still a bit troublesome, and I’m at my wit’s end about it.  We actually cantered the left lead around the arena, and that went much better than previous attempts.  That right lead, though, just messes me up.  We started using the entire arena, but then went back to smaller circles at one end when he started getting too fast.  I don’t know if I need to put the western saddle on him and just canter around forever, or what.  It’s stupid and it makes no sense.

I am going to ride Harley at the show on Saturday.  While I’m not terribly thrilled about it, it’s probably a good thing for two reasons – 1. I don’t want to have a bad first ride with Nyk at a show.  2. I have bronchitis and don’t know how I’ll be feeling on Saturday.  Right now I feel pretty crappy, and I wheeze like a balloon with a small hole in the side when I breath.  It’s uncomfortable, and I hope the antibiotics start to kick in soon.  I did a nasal rinse with a saline solution the day before I went to the doctor (before I realized how awful I felt), and I think that staved off a sinus infection.  And my head isn’t all plugged up anymore.  Amazing what a little salt water can do.  Too bad I couldn’t rinse out my lungs.

Not much is going on in the world of riding lessons.  On Wednesday, we worked on patterns in the group lesson, and I rode Nyk because M thought it would be easier than trying to use Blondie.  When I discovered that we would be cantering a serpentine with simple lead changes, I was glad to be riding Nyk.  When it was our turn to try it, he did everything perfectly except stop when I asked him to. 

Thursday at the other barn, I rode Lucky again, and Erin rode with me.  She rode a new horse that they traded for, and he looked like a really nice one.  I am getting better with my hands, but I am still leaning forward going the second way.  S placed a whip across my elbows and told me to trot around the arena.  The first time I tried, I only got a few steps, but the second attempt, I made it all the way around.  It’s hard!

I also had to canter with no stirrups.  That still makes me very nervous.  Any no stirrup work makes me very nervous.  I’m afraid that I’ll fall off.  Will I ever not be afraid of falling off?

One of the little dogs was stepped on by a horse running off a trailer, and had two bones in her leg broken.  Ouch!  She had to have two plates screwed to the bones, and she was hopping around on three legs.  She seemed to be doing pretty well on Thursday, but I was told that she hadn’t been feeling very good prior to then.  Poor thing – those Jack Russells are so small.  Glad she is going to be ok.

Last night I drove to Hartland to see Laurie’s new horse.  She bought the mare in Ohio, from people who didn’t do anything with her.  She’s four, and probably has never had her teeth done.  She’s also underweight and probably wormy.  Laurie told me that I could ride her after they work with her for a few weeks.  I’m thinking more like a few months.  I’m looking forward to seeing what the horse looks like after she’s been taken care of for a while.