Another hour, another day, another week, soon another month...It seems to matter little how much time is put between us for the haunting void that is her absence remains our constant companion, and there is little we can do, no place we can go, and nothing that we see which will ever fill the chasm in our hearts. I close my eyes to see you everywhere, and at times I can hear your voice ~ a whispered "momy"...that makes my heart pound and convinces me, if just for a moment, this has been some ghastly dream. But while my heart can feel your presence, my eyes confirm that you remain lost from our lives, and again my world crashes in around me. Yes, this really happened; a thousand nightmares, the sum of all my fears. So tonight I will once more lie awake, forcing myself to not return to see your room and wonder the "what ifs" and "could have beens" which flash like lightening in my mind and strike at my soul. The thunder of it all is too much to sleep, but yet in the sweet silence of my dreams is where we never part...
~Drew Genneken~
This was written for Tyler Genneken by his Dad. Though I have never met Tyler's parents, we are members of the worst club on the planet. The grieving parents club. His thought are my thoughts, his words are my words. Welcome to a glimpse of my world.
"The Tree of Life"Disney Animal Kingdom
We have learned it is good to set goals. One of our goals is to visit every Disneyland in the world. Heather loved Disneyland so much she planned to get married at Disneyland. That was her dream. I think that she would be pleased to know that we are planning to visit every Disney in the world. It means something very special to us. Bill and I ventured to Walt Disney World in Florida, the week after Thanksgiving. It was our first time to visit Florida. We heard many different things about visiting Disney World. Those that love Disneyland, stick with the old favorite. Disney World is much more spread out and has 4 the different theme parks.
A special spot Bill and I foundThe castle in Disney World is Cinderella's castle. It is very breath taking. All the spires and the grandeur make it very impressive. The lights hung on the castle for Christmas are something that the eye can behold but photos do not bring the true beauty of the castle lit up at night. Sleeping Beauty's castle in Disneyland will always be a beautiful castle, but Cinderella's castle in Disney World is stunning. Heather would have loved to have seen that castle.
Same special spot at nightNotice the full moon above the castle
We flew in on Monday. It was a very long flight. Before we left Phoenix we attached tags to our luggage that checked it all the way to our hotel. We never touched our luggage once we checked it in at Sky harbor. We were greeted by Disney World cast member that directed us to a tour bus to go to our hotel. We checked in and went to our room for a minute. Then it was hit the bus for a trip to downtown Disney shopping area. This was about a 35 minute ride to get there.
Cinderella's CastleOur first full day we went to Magic Kingdom. I really loved Fantasyland at Magic Kngdom. I think it was the true vision of what Walt originally dreamed for Disneyland but fell short of money. It's A Small World is much better in Magic Kingdom because the marionettes are at eye level instead of being on a 5 foot ledge. Haunted Mansion was really good especially because it was not decorated as "The Nightmare Before Christmas" as in Disneyland. I don't care for the movie. I like the original ride. Yes, it is still a favorite ride...does not bother me till you get to the end..the tombstones just make me think for a moment. I like Pirates of the Caribbean better at Disneyland. I like the backwoods Kentucky look of the beginning of the ride. I think that Disneyland decorates much better for Christmas. Disney World contains 4 different theme parks so I understand why they cannot decorate as much. There are only 2 parks at Disneyland. That night was our Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. We had cookies, hot chocolate and were allowed in the park for an extra 5 hours. It was nice, because there were not many people there. We had a special firework show and saw the Christmas parade that will be shown Christmas Day. They were taping it while we were there.
Fireworks with the castleThe second day was spent at Epcot. That park really deserves 2 full days if you are going to see it the right way. It is like 2 smaller parks in one. There is Future World that has the big Epcot ball, future technology and some amazing rides. Mission Space has 2 of the same ride. One is for a weaker stomach and the other is for the thrill seeker. Bill and I did the lesser one and then I did the thrill seeker one. Oh my gosh..the rush was incredible. Would go back just to do that ride again. Then there is World Showcase that is the 2nd part of Epcot, that has 11 different countries with shopping, attractions and food that represent the culture and cuisine of the countries. We barely scratched the surface of the different countries. They have a huge lake area where an amazing fireworks display is performed. We experienced a downpour during the fireworks and then quit. They only cancel fireworks at Epcot if there is a hurricane warning. Otherwise it goes off without a hitch.
Sherry at Epcot
Bill and Sherry in Animal KingdomEverest ride in the background
The third day we were quite adventurous. It was the last day of our 3 day pass. We began at Animal Kingdom. This park was amazing. We began with an animal safari. It was earlier in the day so all the animals were out. There is a Dinosaur ride that copies the Indiana Jones ride of Disneyland. We still like the Indiana Jones ride better. Then it was off to the popular ride Mt Everest. We had been told that this is the ride to do. It was really awesome..neat ride. Halfway through the coaster stops and you go backwards. It was Yak & Yeti's for a wonderful lunch. The park has a jungle feel to it with all the trees and plants. So, we had been to 3 out of 4 theme parks and I really wanted to be able to say we did all 4 theme parks. It was off to the bus to get the Hollywood Disney. The feel of the park is that of a 50's back movie lot. Disney has been known for their stage shows. Just so happened that Beauty and The Beast was being performed at Hollywood Disney park. That was Heather's favorite. Looked around for a while and then decided to go back to Epcot to eat dinner. We rode the boats across the lake to get back to the hotel. The lights on the water were amazing.
Beauty and The Beast stage showHollywood Disney
Hollywood Disney main streetOur last day in Florida and the day we flew home it poured rain most of the day. We went back down to the downtown shopping area for a few hours. We then visited the Grand Floridian Hotel. We should have spent the morning over there instead. We forgot that this is where all the Disney gingerbread houses are displayed. There were hundreds of people all over the floors watching a choir sing Christmas carols. As I bought an ornament in one of the shops I learned that Celine Dion was making a surprise appearance to sing later in the afternoon. It was being taped to be played on Christmas Eve I believe. I so wanted to see her perform but we had a flight to catch. The hotel is stunning, really a site to see..
The Grand FloridianPreparing for Celine Dion
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