COMPLETE - "I DON'T LIKE MY FAMILY!!" — A May WDW Solo Mini-Trip Report + A Summer of Art

Joining in! I really like how your clearly energetic personality comes across in your writing :)
He works as a spray paint artist and travels across Canada and the USA doing performance art and making custom 3-minute paintings for the interesting folks he meets.
This is so cool, and he is seriously talented! Does he paint on a canvas, or is just on the ground and then it is erased? I'm intrigued.
 
I can't believe I just found this!!!! But I am here now and following along!!!

MegaCon, she called them up and had a room booked on her points for us...which she refused to let me pay for. :confused3:confused3
How nice! I wish I had a grandma with a timeshare in Florida!

We decided to go out for dinner that evening since we'd made such good time, so we went to Animal Kingdom. Having our annual passes, we never felt like it was a waste to just pop over to a park for a meal, or to spend an hour or two. We documented our visit with a photopass picture:

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Visiting Disney as a local! I love it!

N finally tried the Ahi Tuna Nachos I'd been hearing so much about. Once he figured out how to eat them, he thought they were delicious, and he would order them again.

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We didn't really love our visit to Yak and Yeti but these nachos make me want to go try it again!

so he got the battered burger and chips. While N was waiting for our food to come out,
What did that look like?!?! Interesting.

I still think this bear is doing sign language...
 
After driving 2.5 days down from a show in New Brunswick, Canada, we arrived in sunny Florida on Tuesday.
I'm not sure I could handle 2.5 days traveling. Heck I can barely handle a 2.5 hour trip o_O You also probably came just a few minutes from our house. We aren't too far off the DC beltway.

Backing up a bit, we had also made a few fun pit stops along the way, one of which was obviously South of the Border.

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Love this! South of the Border was one of my favorite stops when we drove to Disney when I was a kid. I had a Pedro key chain from there for the longest time.

...Okay. So it was a little smaller than we were expecting. More like Peachland. Or really...more like Peach Stand. But it was charming, and they had free samples of everything they sell. I got some jam that is absolutely out of this world.
Sounds good! We (may) drive to Savannah later this year - where my best friend now lives - so I'll have to remember that.

My grandmother owns a timeshare there and is always inviting us to stay. When we told her that we'd be down there over Memorial Day weekend for a show in Orlando, MegaCon, she called them up and had a room booked on her points for us...which she refused to let me pay for. :confused3:confused3
That is so nice of her!

N finally tried the Ahi Tuna Nachos I'd been hearing so much about. Once he figured out how to eat them, he thought they were delicious, and he would order them again.

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So happy to hear he loved these. I'm a total fan and they have never disappointed.

e was right that it wasn't spicy at all. It might even be a little too tame or "bland" for some people's tasts. But I thought that there were some really nice flavours from the curry, tomatoes, seafood, and coconut, and even more so after squeezing the limes over it. I'd definitely order this again.

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Glad to see they were able to make you something so good looking. Who needs gluten :P

t was at Artist Point at the Wilderness Lodge! I'd made the reservation as an excuse to visit one of my favourite resorts again, and because I'd heard the restaurant was a bit of a hidden gem. We absolutely loved it!
My favorite resort too. Its been over 2 years since we stayed there. Will definitely need to try and head to AP in August to reminisce!

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Honestly, I don't even really like mussels, but these were super delicious.
I love musses so I can only fathom ow delicious they must have been.

How could N not love brussel sprouts! I think I may like them more than steak.

The way N's business works is that he gets a request from a patron, then he paints it there in front of them in approximately three minutes, they get to watch, and then they pay for it. Others walking by stop to watch it being done, are intrigued, and decide they want in on the action next. Basically, the more he paints, the more he paints. :laughing:
Glad to hear business went well for him. Sounds like something really exciting to watch.
 
Loving this trip report (like your others...) I am fascinated by N's art and the Con life (so to speak), really interesting to see it from the other side of the table.

And as I am planning my first quick solo this fall I am really looking forward to hearing how you fare and especially what you think of solo meals. Right now, my plan is to love off of Dole Whips and Mickey bars, I figure the kids aren't there to pick up bad behaviour so go for it!
 


It hadn't gone all the way through, and the tire pressure was holding okay, so we decided to look up where there would be a Ford location off the highway and try to make it there. There was a center that took walk-ins (drive-ins?) for tires that was about an hour away. We decided to risk it. It was a tense drive from the FL border to St. Augustine, not helped by the fact that we kept driving in and out of violent downpours every few minutes, but we made it. They checked the tire and found that it was too deep to patch, and they said it was lucky that we'd caught it when we did and that it didn't blow. We had it replaced, and we walked over to one of the outlet malls to browse while the truck was serviced, which took about an hour. I found a cute little giraffe-print dress for my niece at Old Navy. Then we got back to Ford, left a little poorer but much safer, and were on the road again.
Oof! It's a good thing you guys caught it! Did you just have to replace the one tire or all 4?

My grandmother owns a timeshare there and is always inviting us to stay. When we told her that we'd be down there over Memorial Day weekend for a show in Orlando, MegaCon, she called them up and had a room booked on her points for us...which she refused to let me pay for.
So sweet! I hope you guys were able to have a good visit too!

He liked to hang out on our lawn, and he got a little too close to comfort when we first arrived. (i.e. He scarily chased me across the grass.)
Haha - I can imagine that happening to me too!

Having our annual passes, we never felt like it was a waste to just pop over to a park for a meal, or to spend an hour or two.
I know! Isn't that the best! I mean for me, its different with Disneyland, but it's still awesome to feel free to go for a couple hours and if it's too busy or hot or rainy or whatever, I can leave and come back another day.

Other than witnessing the stuffy folks at the table next to us taking themselves far too seriously and giving both the server and the manager a hard time for how inappropriately paired the side dish offerings were for the entrees—*long sigh*—we had no negative experiences to speak of. (Though I may have caught them giving me serious side-eye glances later when I left with a to-go box. Uggh.)
Some people!? Just very rude and trying to one-up the people who work there. Because the server really decides how the sides/entrees are paired. And even if it was the chef, maybe just eat your food and move on.
 
Following! :) I'm a newbie commenter long-time-lurker who binged all of your TRs a few weeks ago. Can't wait for the rest! N sounds like he has the coolest job!
 


I'm following along! It's been a LONG time since I have been on here! I am enjoying reading what I have already read!
 
Nathan is very talented. I hope we run into him someday at a Con. I don't guess he travels this far south. Danielle did do a Con in Fort Worth, Texas last week. She would love to go to MegaCon someday. I'm glad you had some time together working and playing in Disney. You have really gotten some use out of your Annual Pass. Looking forward to more.

Thanks so much! I'll pass that along to him! No, typically the furthest south he gets is Orlando once or twice a year. :( But we'd both love to visit more of your neck of the woods someday! MegaCon is an excellent event! Hopefully someday Danielle will go! The sheer number of attendees is amazing, but the convention center is so large that it still didn't feel as crowded as some of the smaller, less well-organized cons we've done. We saw some great cosplays there!

I hear you on all the conversion fees. That's a great way to make use of your US cash. I'm thinking about getting a US Visa card for my August trip, to cut down on the conversion fees. I had never bothered before, but with our dollar exchange rate as bad as it is now, I might do that.

I notice that you and @pkondz have had US dollar accounts at some point, but have either of you ever tried a US dollar Visa card? I'm just being curious.

The conversion fees are so frustrating! I've had both a USD account, as well as a USD Visa. I closed down the account, but I've still got the Visa now. I rarely use it, but it's not hurting me to have it because, thanks to a benefit from my main credit card, I don't have to pay any annual fees on it. I don't know what bank you use, and if their fees and policies are different than mine, but for my USD Visa, I don't pay any conversion fees on the US purchases I make with it (since it's operating entirely in US dollars,) but I DO still pay the bank rate (which includes the conversion fees) on the CAD that I put onto the credit card to pay it off. So for the most part, I only use the USD Visa for purchases where I'm worried that I might need to return something or have my money refunded, for example, if I'm booking a hotel room with a deposit but I think I may end up cancelling the hotel, etc. Or rarely, I'll also use it by putting a credit on it (positive balance) if I'm worried that our dollar may be about to take another dip and I want to secure that exchange rate for later or something. (e.g. Say I have $200 CAD sitting around now to put toward a Disney vacation, but I don't have anything booked yet, but right now our dollar's looking pretty good, and it's forecast to go down in the next month, etc.) I used to use it more frequently when I had the USD account because I could transfer money as USD straight onto the card, but now I probably wouldn't keep it if I had to pay much of a fee for it.

I can't believe I just found this! Woohoo for a solo trip! (Something I never expect to get to do - but think I would completely love)

Welcome!! I hope someday you get to try out the solo trip life and that you enjoy it! Even maybe just for a day or two in the context of a longer family trip. I really enjoyed myself!!

Joining in! I really like how your clearly energetic personality comes across in your writing :)

What a lovely compliment, thank you! Welcome! So glad you're here!

This is so cool, and he is seriously talented! Does he paint on a canvas, or is just on the ground and then it is erased? I'm intrigued.

Thanks so much! I'll pass that along to him! He paints on canvas, so people purchase his paintings and get to take them home. He has been at festivals with other types of artists though where they do exactly what you mention with it being done on the ground and erased. That's really common with chalk artists at some of the events we go to. Sometimes he paints on a literal stretched canvas if somebody wants a larger size, but most of the time he paints on 16"x20" boards called masonite. It's basically just a thin pressed hardboard, cut to size, that you can get at art stores, or even just at the hardware store. Since we buy in bulk, we usually get ours in 4'x8' sheets from Home Hardware (Canada) or Home Depot (USA), and we have our regular locations where they know how to cut it properly for us.
 
I can't believe I just found this!!!! But I am here now and following along!!!

Welcome! Glad to see you here!

How nice! I wish I had a grandma with a timeshare in Florida!

It really is the dream. She enjoys it a lot. She and my aunt are headed back down in a couple of weeks. I would be jealous if our August trip weren't also coming up so quickly!

What did that look like?!?! Interesting.

It was kind of strange! It was a regular burger, but the patty itself was breaded and deep fried. Nathan said it was a little bit greasier than a regular burger, but not as greasy as he expected it to be, and that it was quite good.

I still think this bear is doing sign language...

Haha I love this! Sign language seems a likely possibility here! Or maybe tai chi? I remember there being a lot of tai chi in the parks and things the only time we ever went to China. Maybe the pandas picked it up from their local Chinese human friends? :laughing:

I'm not sure I could handle 2.5 days traveling. Heck I can barely handle a 2.5 hour trip o_O You also probably came just a few minutes from our house. We aren't too far off the DC beltway.

Yeah, I'm getting more used to it the more we do it, but I'm NOT a huge fan of long road trips. If we make it through without and physical injuries or majorly hurt feelings, the trip is a success! Driving makes me cranky. :laughing: No way—we probably drove right by you. :) We usually take some combination of the 95 and 495 through that area around DC. I don't remember exactly what Nathan did this time because my sense of direction is terrible, and I get anxious so I always leave the heaviest traffic to him. :angel: But I'm sure we were right in your neck of the woods!

Love this! South of the Border was one of my favorite stops when we drove to Disney when I was a kid. I had a Pedro key chain from there for the longest time.

I loved it as a kid, too! The first time I went back as an adult, I was surprised that it was a little less grand than I remembered it to be. :laughing:

Glad to see they were able to make you something so good looking. Who needs gluten :P

Exactly! Yeah, they did a great job. And Nathan loved the tuna nachos. Big win!

Loving this trip report (like your others...) I am fascinated by N's art and the Con life (so to speak), really interesting to see it from the other side of the table.

And as I am planning my first quick solo this fall I am really looking forward to hearing how you fare and especially what you think of solo meals. Right now, my plan is to love off of Dole Whips and Mickey bars, I figure the kids aren't there to pick up bad behaviour so go for it!

Thanks so much!

I was a little unsure about solo table service meals, so I didn't book many. Just Skipper Canteen, really, and then also Be Our Guest breakfast. I still don't know exactly how I feel about them. But it wasn't as strange or awkward as I expected it might be. I fully support the decision to live off Disney snacks though! The benefits of travelling solo! :)

Just finding your trip report! Can’t wait to read more!

Thanks so much, and welcome!!

Oof! It's a good thing you guys caught it! Did you just have to replace the one tire or all 4?

Right?! Freaky! Thankfully, te other three tires were still in good shape, and they were all only a couple of months old, so we only had the replace the one.

So sweet! I hope you guys were able to have a good visit too!

It was really nice! Unfortunately, my grandmother ended up having to go home early to deal with some issues at home. But for the couple of days she was there it was really nice to spend some time together in such a beautiful place.

I know! Isn't that the best! I mean for me, its different with Disneyland, but it's still awesome to feel free to go for a couple hours and if it's too busy or hot or rainy or whatever, I can leave and come back another day.

It felt so nice! I love the relaxed vibe most of our visits have taken since getting the APs. It's great to have that freedom. Being a local would just make that even more possible, I'm sure!

Some people!? Just very rude and trying to one-up the people who work there. Because the server really decides how the sides/entrees are paired. And even if it was the chef, maybe just eat your food and move on.

I'm always surprised at people like this. Maybe if you don't like the food pairings, you could just hold your tongue and choose to go somewhere else next time. I don't think it would have hurt them any to have the provided options of potatoes, or veggies, etc., with their steaks

Following! :) I'm a newbie commenter long-time-lurker who binged all of your TRs a few weeks ago. Can't wait for the rest! N sounds like he has the coolest job!

Thanks so much for joining in! And for reading all of my musings! You're a trooper to get through all that! :faint:

N's job is really pretty dreamy. :lovestruc There are definitely pros and cons. For one, it's exhausting, both physically and mentally. I didn't really appreciate that fully until I started travelling with him. But it's also creative, and sometimes fast-paced, and such a great way to meet wonderful people! I'm glad that he can make a living doing something he enjoys. Not everyone has that luxury.

I'm following along! It's been a LONG time since I have been on here! I am enjoying reading what I have already read!

Welcome! Thanks so much for joining in!
 
Joining in. I love that you have Haynnk as your trip mascot. I have a build a bear that comes all over the world with us, he gets lots of attention from people :rotfl2:
 
Finally was able to make it over here and enjoy your first couple of chapters. :D

That soup at AP is so outrageously fantastic!! I could swim through a bowl of it with my mouth open and be very happy!

The last time I saw a painter like N is was on the Embarkadero in San Fran. Fascinating to watch, but not in the budget usually.

And yikes! That tire! I am planning to get new tires tomorrow after having been told now for a year that I need new ones.
 
Joining in. I love that you have Haynnk as your trip mascot. I have a build a bear that comes all over the world with us, he gets lots of attention from people :rotfl2:

Welcome! Thanks so much for reading! Haynnk has made himself quite the staple in our lives these days :) It's fun to take him places and photograph him—makes me stop and appreciate little details I might have overlooked otherwise. I love that you have a little friend to be your trip mascot as well!

That soup at AP is so outrageously fantastic!! I could swim through a bowl of it with my mouth open and be very happy!

So delicious. Against my better judgement, I just booked us another ADR there for August, and the plan is to just go for appetizers and dessert, because those were definitely the most exciting parts of the meal last time.

The last time I saw a painter like N is was on the Embarkadero in San Fran. Fascinating to watch, but not in the budget usually.

Oh I'm not surprised there are painters doing this in San Fran! It seems like the perfect place for it. It's also pretty popular in NY and Vegas. But around our area, N is one of the few. It's really mesmerizing to watch it done. It comes together so quickly and unexpectedly.

And yikes! That tire! I am planning to get new tires tomorrow after having been told now for a year that I need new ones.

Yep—scary! Glad we got it sorted before it turned into a much worse situation. Sounds like it's about time for new ones for you, too!
 
Hi Meghan, Wow Nathan's art is amazing!!! I can't believe he can do that in just a few minutes. I'm looking forward to reading about your solo time.
 
We usually take some combination of the 95 and 495 through that area around DC. I don't remember exactly what Nathan did this time because my sense of direction is terrible, and I get anxious so I always leave the heaviest traffic to him. :angel: But I'm sure we were right in your neck of the woods!
You'll have to let me know if you ever have time and are passing through again. If you passed it we are about 15 minutes (traffic depending) off of 495 up Interstate 66.

I loved it as a kid, too! The first time I went back as an adult, I was surprised that it was a little less grand than I remembered it to be. :laughing:
I haven't been as an adult, but I'm sure it could never live up to my childhood fantasies. Though I am sure Casey would love it!
 
Hi Meghan, Wow Nathan's art is amazing!!! I can't believe he can do that in just a few minutes. I'm looking forward to reading about your solo time.

Hi there! Thanks so much! And thanks for following along :)

You'll have to let me know if you ever have time and are passing through again. If you passed it we are about 15 minutes (traffic depending) off of 495 up Interstate 66.

Will do! :goodvibes
 
So delicious. Against my better judgement, I just booked us another ADR there for August, and the plan is to just go for appetizers and dessert, because those were definitely the most exciting parts of the meal last time.

We were comped a cheese plate, but would order one next time even if I had to pay. It was amazing!
 
Remember that time I thought it would be a good time to start my solo trip, writing it in tandem with my super well-attended-to Disneymoon trip!??

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Moving on!

THE SOLO DAYS

MONDAY—Part 1:


Okay, so this would soon become my first solo day, but I wasn't quite ready to give N up just yet. (More like he wasn't quite ready to make the sad, sad drive back to Canada all alone. He would be returning to eastern Canada for a supply run, then driving westward to Niagara Falls. I'd be flying in to meet him there after a few days of solo WDW fun.) We checked out of the timeshare, and then had one more shared Disney experience left on the docket. I had booked us a breakfast ADR at our favourite spot, Boma! I didn't bother requesting our favourite server, Theresa, but we did end up in the section next to hers, so we got to say hello and enjoyed catching up with her.

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Afterwards, we went to check me in to All Star Movies.

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It was still early, so my room wasn't ready, but I dropped off my luggage with bell services except for my park bag. Then N and I ran some errands. N had a large painting to ship to someone who was deployed overseas, and it was less expensive to ship it from the USA, so we bought supplies at Walmart to ship it. It was Memorial Day, however, so he had to wait to get it to the post office until the following morning. We also went to Trader Joe's for the first time so that I could pick up a spice blend I'd been coveting, and we had fun walking around there and picking up new weird things to try.

Then N dropped me off at Epcot. He tried to convince me that he had time to stay a little longer and go back to the park with me, but I gave him some tough love and encouraged him to get on the road. Inside, however, I was starting to feel strangely nervous! I'd never had so much time in the parks by myself planned before, and I didn't know how it would go. With nothing but my little backpack and my determination, I watched him pull away, and marched into Epcot, where I saw this beauty:

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I was glad to get another taste of Flower and Garden on the very last day of the festival before they started taking everything down.

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I headed toward the World Showcase with the intention of taking some beautiful pictures and trying some tasty treats! Some of you may know that I'd set out a challenge for myself on this trip, to take one interesting photo that I like from each pavilion in the WS. I'll share them in a later post after I'm done writing about this day, and you can decide how successful I was!

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F&G season is hands down my favourite time of year to visit WDW :goodvibes

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I decided that it was time for a dole whip! I wanted to take a quick insta-worthy photo of my sweet frozen nectar of the Disney gods...but it was so hot this day that in the time it took me to walk a few steps from the food booth to a good photo backdrop, all the definition in the swirls of my dole whip were quickly melting away!

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I almost always tour the WS in a counterclockwise direction, so I began with Canada.

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There was a family down here taking photos with the gardens from every possible angle, with every possible combination of family members, so it took some real patience and a hint of photoshop to get the lovely empty photo above. :goodvibes

I enjoyed revisiting the familiar spaces that are forever imbued with happy memories from our wedding there last summer.

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This looked familiar! I think I remember marrying my best friend right here...

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Because I knew it to be gluten free, and relatively safe for me to eat, I ordered myself another scallop dish from the food booth in Canada. But I was shocked and disappointed when mine came out with only one scallop on it! I mean, it was a reasonably-sized scallop, but still. I know scallops are pricey, being from a place in Canada where some of the loveliest scallops in the world are served, but I'm still dumbfounded by the cost-to-value ratio of some of these festival dishes! :headache:

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(Sorry, forgot to take a photo before snacking on the potato there. :laughing:)

I made my way around to the U.K., stopping in to pick up some more of the Buttermint Twinnings tea I like so much.

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Then it was over to France, where I caught the very end of the Serveur Amusant's set.

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I got a chocolate macaron lollipop at the kiosk, and I was so proud of how pretty and chocolatey it looked! I asked the photopass photographer to take my picture with it, and to her credit, she didn't look at me like I was ridiculous.

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She also gifted me with this adorable little magic shot:

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:goodvibes

I found the macaron ended up being a little too rich, without anything to balance out the intense chocolate flavour. I don't seem to be the only person who thinks so, either. But I still enjoyed it, and I just basked in the glory of eating a sweet festival treat that was gluten free and relatively harmless in terms of my other dietary restrictions.

Next, Morocco...oh, you guys know the pavilion order as well as I do, I suppose...so here are some pictures...

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Japan, including a trip to Mitsukoshi, naturally.

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When I finally made it to the American Pavilion, I stopped for longer than I usually do so I could finally enjoy Voices of Liberty! Normally I just catch a snippet of their set, but this time I timed it properly to make sure I heard the whole thing.

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They were so lovely! My first degree is in music, and I have a particular aptitude for, and interest in ensemble singing. I loved that VoL was accessible and enjoyable for anyone of any age in the room, regardless of their level of "classical" musical knowledge, but that the performers also are obviously very skilled and dedicated to their craft. Their ensemble and blend were remarkable, often sounding like just one balanced voice, and I stayed behind after the show to tell them that. They told me that no matter how long they've been performing together, they still practice every day. I hope to get back soon to hear them again!

Continuing on...

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When I stopped in Italy...

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...I decided that now was as good a time as any to take the plunge and try something else on my Solo Trip Must Do list: colour my own Duffy Bear!! I asked the CM if there was an age limit, and she said no and handed me a blank Duffy. I made a few modifications, and Captain Duff-Merica was born!! I did a bit of colouring, filling in CapDuff's mask, and I chatted with the CM about where she was from [Italy, duh! :laughing:] and how much longer she had on her college program [it was her last day!] This Duffy activity was already working as I'd hoped, giving me a respite from the hot sun, and a chance to talk to some CMs.

Captain Duff-Merica, in progress:

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I guess I ended up giving him more of a helmet than a mask, but I figured a traditional Captain America mask would be uncomfortable on a bear with his face shape and nose, etc.

It was time to continue on. It was supposed to rain later, and the sky was beginning to look a little ominous—Florida summers, amirite?—and I still had a fair bit of WS left to conquer.

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Along my way, I saw the cutest furry friend, trying to make the best of the heat. I casually snapped their photo:

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Would I make it around the showcase? Would the heavens open up? Tune in next time to hear about the rest of my first solo day!
 
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