Winter to Spring 2018 - 1/1 - 4/08

2018 was ushered in by doing what we did a year ago; drove to the cast member parking area behind Magic Kingdom and watched the New Year’s Fireworks. Since Byron didn’s schedule availability for New Year’s Day, we were able to enjoy the special show together even through from a distance. By the way, we were not alone. Several other carloads of castmember view the display from there, too.

One of the perks Byron receives from Disney is complimentary admission to Walt Disney World (based on number of hours worked in a calendar year). Who better to use them on than family? We entertained our grandsons, Ben and Luc (Luciano) for a few days. Martha took them to Magic Kingdom one day and we all went to Disney Springs to enjoy the sights there on another day.

The Lego Store at Disney Springs (formerly Downtown Disney)

offered Ben and Luc the opportunity to gaze at all

that can be made if you have enough Legos.

The nightly fireworks show started a new production in May of 2017. This was after we left to go to Jackson, WY for the summer. We finally got to see them from the front side of Sleeping Beauty Castle when we went in February. We had Chapel and Ben with us to share in enjoying the nightly pirotechnic program. It is a production in a very real sense; complete with synchronized music, projected animation, and aerial as well and lower level fireworks. Since Byron occassionally picks up hours serving as an attendance control cast member for the show, “Happily Ever After,” he knew just where we needed to be and at what time to get a good viewing spot. (A hint to others wishing to see the show; be sure to arrive 30 minutes early to get a suitable place near the hub at the end of Main Street.)

The nightly fireworks presented in Magic Kindgom now feature animated

graphics designed for the unique shapes of the castle. Two projectors

facing the castle plus one from each side (four in all) provide

quite a display that always attracts thousands for

viewing each evening. The production is now Disney’s

nightly feature presentation since the Electric
Light Parade was retired two years ago.

Since we are official KOA Work Kampers and have spent three summers working a three, different locations, we were contacted with regard to answering some questions about our experiences. The result was the publication of our interview on the KOA Blog. The blog can be found at the following URL: https://koa.com/blog/whats-it-like-to-work-kamp/

This photo accompanied our interview in the KOA Blog. For those

of you that don’t know, KOA stands for Kampgrounds of

America. The reason “K” is uses is because the

term was disallowed for trademarking by using

a “C” for the company name.

We returned to the Kentuckiana region by leaving Kissimmee during the second week of March. We visited with Lewis and Marcia, Byron’s brother and sister-in-law, who live in Johnson City, Tennessee. While in Clarksville we experienced three or four different snowfalls and unusually chilly weather for that time of year. This was not Martha’s idea of an appropriate way of being welcomed. Byron, while not complaining much about the cold, did join Martha in complaining about the many days of rain and gray skies. One thing we did accomplish was to remove the carpet from the living area in our motorhome and install vinyl plank flooring.

The installation of luxury vinyl tile planks called for a good

team effort. We did get the job completed and have enjoyed

having a floor that’s easier to clean.

This view shows the floor as completed. Carpet remains on

floor of the slide (living area extension). Curving around

the tile of the kitchen was not difficult.

While in our “home” area we, of course, get to visit with some friends. This is always a special treat as we get to catch up with each other. This time it included dinner with the Bashams at their home and dinner with the Harmons at one of our favorite places, Mark’s Feed Store. Of course, we had a few times of sharing meals and good conversation with Jeremy and Jody.

Our Easter photo for 2018.

Before leaving Louisville we enjoyed Kentucky Hot Browns

in Jeremy and Jody’s home. The entreé followed Jeremy’s

own recipé though using the traditional one as developed at

the Brown Hotel as a guide.


In December we had to put Redford, our male English cocker,
at rest from the cancerous condition that had developed.
In March we had to make the decision again regarding
Julie, our female English cocker. They shared the
same father and returned to sharing time together
when we acquired them a year apart
from a breeder in Tennessee.