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  1. The Great Southwest

    June 14, 2010 by Leanne

    I just returned from a great adventure to the Southwest – visiting Sedona, Grand Canyon, Monument Valley and Moab, Utah. Mike and I traveled with Adventures by Disney which provided us an amazing vacation. If you’ve never heard of Adventures by Disney, please check out their website and look at all the breathtaking vacations they offer. It’s best described as the ultimate in guest service, giving you memories of a lifetime – the Disney way.

    Our trip started in Phoenix where we met up with our future travel companions in our group.  There were 25 in this group for the week, 19 adults and 6 kids – the youngest was 5 years old.  Interesting there were quite a few women traveling alone with their children.  Most everyone had some experience with a Disney vacation whether regulars to Disneyland or Disney World and several were DVC members.  About half the group were Adventure repeaters.

    We loaded a luxury motor coach and started our 2-hour drive to Sedona where we would spend the first two nights.

    The scenery in every location we went to was just incredible.

    Sedona, AZ

    Sedona, AZ

    Me, Mike in Sedona

    The Amara Resort where we stayed in Sedona. A beautiful boutique hotel.

    Was this Walt’s inspiration for Disney’s Big Thunder Mountain? We were told it was.

    Our last stop in Sedona was to a Vortex where we saw this stunning view of what legend has was Walt Disney’s inspiration for Disney’s Big Thunder Mountain Railroad attraction in the Magic Kingdom.  Could be!

    Funny thing at the Vortex, when we arrived around 9:00am there were three women already there circled together and chanting. I’m sure they weren’t too happy to see a big tour bus show up on their quiet ritual.  We weren’t there long and we weren’t intrusive. They just kept on chanting.

    Our next stop – the Grand Canyon!

    DISCLOSURE:   Nothing to disclose!  I work for Disney but paid for this trip completely on my own for my summer vacation.  If I hadn’t had a good time, I would say so.



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  2. High Impact Snow Storm

    March 2, 2009 by Leanne

    I was right in the middle of what the Washington Post labeled a “High Impact Snow Storm” in the nation’s capital.  For me, being a Florida girl, it was just a little bit exciting and a little bit scary. Scary only in that I knew I was flying out the next day and worried what the situation would be at the airports, if we could even get to the airport. The snow came much later in the day than they predicted. The major snow fell during the middle of the night, which meant waking up to a winter wonderland.  It was beautiful!  The contrast of glistening white snow against the dark dead limbs of the trees was breathtaking.  It was also very nice to look at from inside a warm condo with a burning fireplace.  Snuggly conditions to say the least.

    Snow at 5pm

    Snow at 5pm

    Snow at 7am

    Snow at 7am

    Me, Mike (Self Portrait)

    Me, Mike (Self Portrait)

    Washington Monument

    Washington Monument

    Dogs still have to go out even in the snow.

    Dogs still have to go out even in the snow.

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  3. Empty Plane – Sign of the Times?

    February 28, 2009 by Leanne

    I flew up to Washington, DC yesterday on a midday flight on a Friday afternoon. I was on the phone with my mom waiting to board – waiting to hear that familiar “Zone 1 for Flight 199 is now boarding”. But instead, they simply called for all passengers for Flight 199 to proceed with boarding. The plane had so few passengers they boarded everyone at once. And to top that, we boarded so quickly we pushed back 20 minutes early. Everyone in the economy cabin was free to pick any seat they wanted – it was that empty. From a passenger perspective it was very nice. We could stretch out, relax and move around freely. But from an economy perspective, it was quite scary.

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