Food Blog Forum 2013 part one

Before reading this post I highly suggest visiting this post first.

A few weeks ago I was blessed with the opportunity to attend the Food Blog Forum Conference. I wasn’t fully sure if I would go solo, or if the family would tag along. (If you read the above post you’d know why…) But, at the final moments of purchasing tickets, I opted in for the latter. The weeks preceding the event were filled with excitement and anxiety, unsure of just what to expect.

The event was being hosted by Walt Disney World, and – although I’m a native Floridian I had only been there three times. I’m not sure if I can count 40 minutes in a park as an actual visit, either. So, visiting Disney for me makes me feel like I’m eight years old again. Then I realize I’m an adult. And I can eat Dole Whip for lunch and breakfast without anyone telling me no. (Which I did)

This is how the above photo took place:

Me: “Baby, get our pic with a Dole Whip.” Translation: Baby get a picture AS SOON as I get my paws on this Dole Whip because it’s Africa hot and it won’t look pretty in 30 seconds.

Him: “Okay, just let’s get out of this crowd first” Translation: I will in a second… but I’m not going to be “that guy” holding people up for food pictures (as I hand him my phone/camera)

Me: “Okay we’re ready: CHEESE!”

Yep. I wouldn’t get out of the way and made my hubby be “that guy”.

But, before the Dole Whip breakfast/lunch there was the road trip. I can’t possibly share a travel story without first sharing the whole event of preparation… because without the journey, no destination can be reached.

So begins the journey:

Last year, I had moments where I wondered how many more days we’d have ahead of us.

This year, I was amazed at his excitement and energy. As far as my daughter went, she was pretty much like her mama. She was wondering if we would spend 7 hours in the ER, and she has such a brief taste of Disney- that she really didn’t fathom the whole statement of “We’re going to Disney World!” To her, it was just a place where something bad happened to daddy and he had to go in an ambulance and wheelchair.

I don’t know about you, but do-overs are awesome.

We scored a deal on a rental car since the air conditioning dies in my personal vehicle. For $13.90 a day we were expecting something similar to a Yugo or a Gremlin, except perhaps with a FM radio. When we got to the rental station, the gentleman informed us the the “excess” autos they had reserved for that rate was a minivan.

My husband and I looked at each other. We were expecting a tiny fuel efficient ride, not a gas hog soccer mom bus. Then, we shrugged and said, “more room for the dogs!”

My hubby and I joked that we needed to have more kids to fill up the extra seats, but quickly remembered that we were only temporary soccer mom bus drivers.

We were lucky enough to stay at The Grand Floridian Resort, and I couldn’t help but get giddy when we got our room and saw the Mickey towels on the bed…I’m thinking of doing that instead of folding my own towels at home. You know, to pretend I live in Disney World…

 

We spent a few hours visiting Magic Kingdom, and my husband insisted I snap a picture of the place his incident had occurred last year. I did so, very reluctantly- because I never want to step foot in that area again.  I still don’t know why he wanted a photo of it. He’s weird sometimes. but, I’m weirder so it all works out.

Later that evening the bloggers had a meet and greet reception at the Grand Floridian, complete with mojitos and appetizers. I had a dinner invite later that evening, so I opted for the liquid diet at the event, and happily chatting with some of my old blogger friends and made a few new ones. Unfortunately, I neglected to snap pictures of my drink, friends or the food. Whhhhhaaaat?! I know. Damn mojitoes.

I did have the opportunity to be invited to The Brown Derby I had a drink that tasted like Tinkerbell herself made it, complete with glowing ice cube.

( I got to keep the cube.) Now I have one glowing ice cube. I need more. Who can throw a party with just one cube? This clearly warrants a trip back to Disney. The Brown Derby was phenomenal, but I am saving that for a later post. You see, they have this grapefruit cake… and I was lucky enough to score the recipe. So, I have to save some of the restaurant pics for that post.

There is also a part two and three of this post: One for the bloggers out there that want to know what we learned, and one for those of y’all that what to see what else I ate. And did. And didn’t do. 😉

For right now, I have exactly two hours before I pick my kid up from school and lose the daily free hours of childcare for a few months. Which means that right now I need to quickly go make sure all the hidden save for Christmas/birthday gifts are well hidden. 😉