Monday, February 1, 2016

Now It's Time to Say Goodbye...

For anyone still reading along, it's finally the last of the Disney blogs, as we make another pass through the Magic Kingdom for one more round of memories.
(Regular blogs about running, Springsteen, and other important chronicles of life will resume shortly)
To gird yourself for a full day at the parks, it's always good to load up on a breakfast, the size of which you would never eat on any normal day of your life.  So that means a visit to the buffet at Chef Mickey's, where the Cooks get to thank the cooks in person.
From there, it was off to Tomorrowland, where Andrew and I proudly hung a champion's medal on Buzz Lightyear - at his request, I might add.
He was proud as a peacock to wear the medal.  Not as thrilled to have to give it back.
Speaking of medals, here's a pair of park-goers who did the Dopey Challenge - the 5K, the 10K, the Half-Marathon, and the Full-Marathon, over the span of four days - 48.6 glorious miles.  Truth be told, I tried to sign up for the Dopey Challenge, but it had sold out within minutes!
Besides the glory of boasting that you did the crazy thing, you get to brandish 6 medals as your swag (the Goofy Challenge, which is the racing series minus the 10K, gets thrown into the mix as well.)
Ah well, maybe next year?
One more visit with the park's host, this one the talking version on Main Street U.S.A.  He was quite excited to hear we were from Massachusetts.
And then he asked Andrew and I to go for a run with him.
This was the sunniest of all our days there, only bolstered by Heather's adorable smile.  Ironically, it was also the coldest temps we experienced this trip.
Like Walt Disney himself, Jack's a big fan of choo-choos.
And flying elephants, too.
Andrew and I met this dragon the previous morning, but she didn't seem to remember us today and just passed us by.
No shorts in sight for this chilled foursome
But nothing warms you up like a chili dog.  (This is for everyone worried Andrew hadn't had his fill at the a.m. feedbag.)
A fabulous mother-daughter picture, also featuring you-know-who
Because you're never too old to be a little kid again
And for yet another It's a Small World encounter, Heather ran into her Stonehill College dorm roomie, Jen Lepine!  Ears to these two buds!
Because doesn't everyone stage a Titanic moment on the bow of the steamboat?
The sun's going down on this vacation, but not this pair
Jack should actually have the medal for putting up with me this long
You can't complain about the view
Beware of Hitchhiking Cooks
And finally, a fireworks farewell in the middle of Main Street
Thanks for following along everyone, that's a wrap!  I don't expect our next marathon outing will produce a marathon series of blogs like this, but I can't help but share some of the great memories that fill a Cook family weekend in Florida.  Hopefully my fellow Disney fans out there have enjoyed tagging along via the photos.
Not sure if we'll see it next year, but I suspect there's another one of these 26.2 mile weekends packed with family memories somewhere in our not-too-distant future.
Until then, keep wishing on those stars!

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