July 21, 2006: Brooksville & Orlando

Most people think of Orlando as a synonym for Disneyworld - and it well may be, since so many of its nearly two million residents work for the empire that the Walt Disney Corporation carved out of swampland. Orlando's a very real city, however, with real industry (much of it in the military and space sectors) in addition to other theme parks such as SeaWorld and Universal Studios.

But Disney's the 800-pound gorilla. Thanks to the warm climate and the four parks within Disneyworld, Orlando has grown to become America's 28th-largest metropolitan area and its number-one year-round vacation destination. Over 50 million tourists visit annually. The roads and buildings on the periphery are always being constructed or expanded. It's a perpetual boom town of big dreams and fresh starts, Las Vegas without the gambling.

You don't so much enter Disneyworld as you are swallowed up in its jaw-dropping hugeness. The freeways stop only when you reach the parking lot of your chosen destination and begin the daylong process of emptying your wallet. Before walking into Disney's Animal Kingdom, we paid more than $250 for a family of four, what with tickets and tax and parking. And throughout the day, we submitted to further dunning for food and drinks and souvenirs, doing our modest part to pump up our stock in the franchise.

The Animal Kingdom uses the Disneyland template. The "Imagineers" who brought you the Magic Kingdom did not try to reinvent the wheel; they adapted its basic layout and animatronics and thrill rides to what is essentially a zoo. The animals are real, for the most part, and instead of Main Street, U.S.A., there is Discovery Island, with its massive concrete "Tree of Life," which houses a 3-D movie.

The island is surrounded by African and Asian segments, and by DinoLand, representing the US, which is a weird blend of archeology and time travel. There are also Camp Minnie-Mickey and Rafiki's Planet Watch, both envionmentally-themed. But natural and ecological themes pervade the whole park, especially the shows (we watched the one on birds) and the trails and treks and safaris (containing most of the Asian and African animal exhibits).

There is no small irony in this, as there is nothing natural or ecological about Disneyworld's existence, nothing environmental about the mad, unsustainable excess that the parks embody. It's all very well done, of course, but you have to suspend disbelief and embrace the fantasy to enjoy the experience. And that's the point, isn't it?

The boys enjoyed the educational activities, but they got the point of the park right away: fun! Tommy went twice each on the Everest and Primeval Whirl rollercoasters, the Dinosaur adventure, the Triceratops Spin, and the Kali River Rapids, which Danny insisted on riding several more times with Debbie.

They were soaked, and Debbie had to return to the car to get changes of clothes so that they could endure the refrigeration of the Rainforest Cafe at day's end. It was quite a contrast from earlier in the day, when both Debbie and I were feeling positively faint from the heat and humidity.

Disneyworld is as far away from Seattle as we will get on this trip. It's taken us a month to get here. Our mileage: 113,110. Subtract our starting mileage of 106,360 for a total of 6,750 miles. And we still have to get back! Can we make it in only 21 more days? Will we survive this adventure? We must summon the equanimity that Tommy appears to be achieving in this photo. One day at a time...

July 20, 2006: Brooksville

Our 6-year-old turned 7 today (he was born on the thirtieth anniversary of the first manned moon landing). Happy Birthday, Danny!

The birthday boy spent the morning playing with his brother. Toward midday, we went out to buy cake, ice cream, pizza, and some groceries. When we got back, Claudia and Jim had already arrived and Debbie's cousin Christine was just pulling into the driveway with her daughter Taylor, who is 6 years old. Taylor and the boys seemed to hit it off immediately. After a few slices of pizza, they went off to play.

The adults talked about the local real estate boom and recent bust, a familiar phenomenon that always seems to take people by surprise. I wouldn't be able to acclimate to the Gulf Coast's hurricanes, its steamy summers, its rural emptiness, or its perennially anemic economy, so I can easily understand the bust. There are plenty of bustling enterprises and beautiful homes in urban areas, but the number of shabby shacks and trailer parks in the backwaters is astounding. I was also rather astonished that none of Debbie's Floridian relatives was in the habit of locking their houses except at night, trusting instead that their relative remoteness and watchful neighbors provide sufficient security.

Christine talked about how excited Taylor was to be taking her first airplane flight in a few days. Taylor, Christine, and her fiancé Don, a builder, will be attending a gathering with his family in Michigan. Chris also spoke about being between jobs. She studied to become a dental hygienist but finally decided she wasn't cut out for the profession. She's been a veterinary assistant in the past and may yet return to that line of work.

We sang "Happy Birthday" to Danny and he blew out the candles on his cake. After a slice with ice cream, he opened his presents, among them the newest Harry Potter DVD (The Goblet of Fire) from Mom and Dad, a Harry Potter DVD game (Scene It!) from Claudia and Jim, a Dragonology book from Aunt Meryl, a Blokus travel game from Christine, and a whole pile of presents from Grandmother Dorothy and Grandpa Bob.

I took a nap until the fierce lighting and thunder of an early evening storm woke me. It was over quickly, though the rain persisted a good deal longer. We took Claudia's computer over to her new house and set it up for her. Jim went to bed at a reasonable hour, but the rest of us stayed up late talking about everything under the sun.

The boys fell asleep in the car on our way back to the old house, and I had to carry them to bed. Danny was no problem, but I strained my back lifting Tommy. Danny's big brother is getting too big to carry, or his old man is getting too old.