#77 - Sidecut Metropark

My wife read an article in the local paper that there was a fishing lake at Sidecut Metropark. My oldest son needed to go fishing to complete a Cub Scout elective. I had put together some fishing gear for camping, so my wife picked up some nightcrawlers at Wal-mart and we headed out for Sidecut. Silver Lake turned out to be little more than a pond, but we had a good time catching fish anyway. Ok, only one fish was caught, but Becky did feed several with the nightcrawlers right off of her hook.

#10 - Wolf Scout

I mentioned in a previous post about my motivations for helping Alex go as far as he wants to in Scouts. We squeaked out his Tiger Cub badge requirements at the last possible moment. As we finished the last requirement, we found out that his aunt - my brother's wife - was dying of the breast cancer that we thought she had beat. Within hours, we were on a plane to help bury her and the boys missed their first day of school in the process. On the first day of second grade Alex had to stop working on Tiger Cub acheivements and start on his Wolf badge, so we couldn't have cut it any closer. As of today, Alex completed his last requirement for his Wolf badge. He has really thrived there, as I suspected he might, and he will likely be receiving several other awards at the end of the year Blue & Gold Banquet next month, in addition to the formal ceremony for his Wolf Badge. I am very proud of all of the hard work that he has put in. When I made this one of my goals, I didn't picture how involved his mother would be also. She made this possible by volunteering her time as his Den Leader. She's going to take it a step further next year by being both his Bear Den Leader, but also the Cubmaster for all of Pack 90. As long as he is interested, it is something we plan to encourage and support.

#63 - Walt Disney World Magic

My wife and I went to Walt Disney World in Florida for our honeymoon, and we had been back twice since, but neither of us had been in 10 years. Our kids, 4 and 8 yrs old, had never been. Some of their classmates had been and they were aware vaguely that it was somewhere they wanted to go. Our oldest even described it as his "dream" to go to Walt Disney World. Becky's parents announced to us last fall that they would like to take all of us and we decided to plan for this year's Spring Break. We told the kids at Chrsitmas and they've been counting down the days on the calendar. Disney World did not disappoint.

We stayed in the Polynesian Resort which gave us great transportation options to every location on the resort property, including riding the Monorail to Epcot and the Magic Kingdom, and even shuttling around by boat (both much more enjoyable than the Disney buses). The Polynesian had a pool with a steaming volcano rising out of one side of it that the kids enjoyed. We hit all of the major parks - first Epcot, then Animal Kingdom, the Magic Kingdom, and the newly renamed Disney Hollywood Studios. We took a day off in the middle and had a leisurely brunch at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, and midday fishing excursion for the guys while the ladies were shopping, and a performance that evening of La Nouba by Cirque du Soleil in their own dedicated theater in Downtown Disney. Becky and I even got a night to ourselves while the grandparents watched the boys where we dined at the top-tier California Grill and partied (gently) at Pleasure Island (mostly taking in a few comedy shows).

The parks were the highlights of course and were universally loved by all of us. They had fun mixes of thrill rides, educational experiences, shows and playscapes that the kids could burn off steam on. The weather was fairly reasonable - warm most days but not sweltering with a couple of annoying rain showers that are typical for this time of year. We were disappointed in having to leave, but we vowed to go back again someday.

#70 - Dining at the Top of Walt Disney World

When I envisioned this meal for the List, I never thought it would be at Walt Disney World. Becky and I left the boys with their grandparents while we went to the California Grill atop the Contemporary Resort on the Seven Seas Lagoon overlooking the Magic Kingdom.  The setting was gorgeous with an open-air kitchen and large windows looking out over Walt Disney World.  It is one of several five-star restaurants located on the property.

For our apppetizer, we shared the Triple Cheese, Pecorino, Asiago, Provolone Flatbread with sun-dried tomatoes and basil pesto which was a delicious start.  Then I had the Seared Jumbo Day Boat Scallops with farro risotto, roasted wild mushrooms, and banyuls reduction for my entree while Becky had the Oak-fired Filet of Beef with cheese orecchiette pasta gratin, sauteed asparagus, and teriyaki BBQ sauce.  We each took about half of our respective dishes and traded so we could both have some of everything.  I preferred the scallops which were perfectly seared, but the filet was excellent also. While I loved my risotto, I could have eaten a whole bowl of Becky's cheese orecchiette pasta gratin, which was effectively the best macaroni and cheese I've ever had. For dessert we did the same divide and conquer routine to share a Warm Chocolate Cake with molten center with blood orange sorbet and raspberry reduction and the Inspired by "The Year of a Million Dreams" Honey Crunch Cake with chantilly cream, oven-roasted golden pineapple and crunch candy crumble.

Afterwards we took a walk on a railed section of the roof accessible from the restaurant and took in the sunset over the lagoon and let our meal settle before enjoying the rest of our evening.  It was a wonderful meal and one we'd love to repeat.  We'd like to also thank Becky's parents for the opportunity to be at Walt Disney World and their significant contibution to the cost of the meal through the Disney Dining Plan.