Today we were ready for adventure but looking for something a little more low key than a theme park. It was a beautiful day out – sunny, a tad breezy, with the temp hovering somewhere in the 70s. Who could say no to an adventure on a day like this?
Our plan unfolded and we decided to ask Jen, Danny, and Lily to join us again. We wanted to take Hunter over to Fort Wilderness and capture some natural photos of him so we wouldn’t have to do the inevitable Sears run for portraits. Jen and Danny just purchased a new camera and were eager to try it out, so they were quick to join us. We picked up some Subway for lunch and headed to the Fort.
The Fort is one of our favorite places at Disney. It truly feels like you have left Florida and entered a rustic, yet pristine, wilderness where the chance of encountering a scary animal is pretty minimal. The people there tend to be very friendly and there are miles and miles of paths to explore. When we arrived, we walked about a mile or so to a clearing and set up our picnic lunch. After we ate (leftover cupcakes were a hit!), we let Hunter run around while we took a few photos. He thoroughly enjoyed being a boy and throwing sticks and little burr-balls in the water. At one point he almost hurled himself in the water, and I made like a baseball player stealing a base to catch him. What? Did I just make a sports analogy?
Miss Lily was ready for her closeup after her bottle, and I think between the four of us we captured about 200 priceless portraits of her. She was in a very smiley mood, enhanced by my literal jumping around behind the camera like a monkey. Danny and Jen, I again apologize for the monkey noises in your ears. Lily liked it. Getting Hunter to sit with Lily for a picture was a bit of a challenge, as he was more interested in poking her with a sharp stick, but we managed to keep her safe from *most* of his swordplay.
After pictures we walked awhile longer and found the playground. We knew it was close because Hunter’s chorus of “go playgrounnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd” got louder with every step. After some climbing (Hunter) and swinging (both – and Lily’s first time!), we lured them away with the promise of horsies. We trekked over to the Tri Circle D Ranch, where all Disney’s show horses are kept in a stable that anyone can walk through. The horses were out in full force and we saw the lead horse in the 8 horse hitch as well as the horse used for the Headless Horseman on Halloween. Cool! Also, the little white ponies who pull Cinderella’s coach were having a bath out front, so that was cute to see. One horse’s name was Dan and when I told Hunter, he went over to Danny and said, “This is Dan.” Yes, yes it is. Funny how his little mind works!
After the horses someone pointed out it was 4:30, so we decided it might be nap time for our little ones. We took the long walk back to the car and made a plan for dinner. Since it is March Madness, I needed wings, and Jen and Danny never turn down wings! They came over around 6:30 and the boys went and picked up wings from delicious Greg’s. Hunter woke up from his nap in a foul mood and displayed some terrible two’s for his friend Lily, who sat placidly in her high chair smiling and giggling. Pretty shortly after dinner, it was night night time for the kiddos, so we bid our friends adieu and tried to get Hunter back on schedule.
Fun day with fun people… we will definitely be doing that again soon!
