bert425

your point is well taken, and I absolutely agree. but please do recall that not all victims were LGBT.. several of them (including a straight girl there with her cousin, a straight man who was dancing to the latin night music with his girlfriend, and the Mother of a gay man out with her son) were if not outright allies, but at the very least, comfortable enough with themselves to go to a gay bar to dance. I keep telling myself this as I'm seeing several news outlets focusing on straight victims (not their fault, they are talking to the families that will give them access). it was ABSOLUTELY a hate crime. but the pain is being felt by all, and I'm more than willing to share some of this pain inside me if others wish to help us shoulder it. (hugs)

I was on a weekend trip to Little Rock, and don't watch news on my "vacations". . .but started getting texts from some of my friends who work at Disney around 4am telling us they were "safe". . I had no idea what that meant, so got up and turned on CNN . . . been just gutted for 2 days now. Very glad to hear those folks I "know" here on TPR from Orlando are OK (tho I don't think any of us are gonna be "ok" for a long, long time. just stunned that such evil exists in this world still, and that it's *encouraged* by some. as I said. .just gutted.

thanks! I'm hovering right around -70lbs. (and that's actually a shirt - longsleeve w/ patches on front and back), rather than a jacket. . but it was too warm to wear closed)

and as to the other big move in last night's episode. . . here's what i posted on FB earlier (that has a LOT of my friends going "hmmmmmmm") Everyone caught up on GoT from last night?. . . good, cause I"m gonna say something that may or may not be a spoiler. . . . . . No way in Hell was that Arya. The "clues" don't add up: 1) was too casual and blatant walking around the market and booking passage to Westeros (what???) 2) where was Needle? 3) how did she get *any* money? she was barely scraping by as a begger. Nope. . I think that was a "test" of the waif, and one she failed. Remember, Jogen told her to kill Arya swiftly and not to let her suffer -- something stabbing her repeatedly in the stomach is NOT doing. . . . SO.. . that wasn't Arya, that was Jogen testing the Waif (and she failed). *if* by some chance in hell that WAS Arya? . . then it was a set up with the Actress from the theater troupe (using lots of padding and stage blood) to draw out the assassin Arya knew was coming. But i'll stick with my theory that it was Jogen wearing Arya's face.

after telling myself I wont look.. of course I went and looked! (darn you!). tho I think she's wearing a flesh colored (or pink) bra, rather than topless. you have to get the pause JUST-RIGHT. ;p

Great pics, and good report! and best of luck on hitting your goal in a few weeks! (I just dropped 70lbs, and really looking forward to getting my (thinner) butt into some coasters soon!) -- BGT here we come in ~6 weeks

when we go, we rarely eat in Magic Kingdom (just snacks, usually).. we do park-hopper and eat most meals at Epcot, despite what park we've spent the day in (Marrakesh in Morocco is a favorite, as is the food in the Pyramid in Mexico). * edit -- we DO try to get a dinner reservation at Cinderella's Castle, and while not "great". .the food is OK, and it's fun to eat in the castle! but you didn't like Peter Pan? it's flying! (hands down my favorite in the park, and will wait in those insane lines to ride it several times on trips to Magic Kingdom)

yay!. . glad to hear he's doing so much better.

she's a great Wondy. . but ugh.. the blue boots??? DC, with Rebirth, change back to the classic Red!

looks absolutely STUNNING. we aren't planning on doing Disney during our Tampa trip, but since we DO have a day planned at Seaworld 1 day, I'm thinking a stop by DisneySprings before heading back to Tampa that night *needs* to happen.

getting me excited for our trip in 6 weeks! we're doing the exact same parks/stops. . but staying in Tampa (and adding in the Weeki Wachee mermaids!). . . we love crappy roadside stuff too.

great report, and loving the pics! (tho it just seems "wrong" they served shrimp and tuna (?) on the buffet at SeaWorld!

brilliant, brilliant episode. no spoilers from me, but one character is quickly becoming the "Wesley Crusher" of GoT. . . . mind your own self, and bad things won't keep happening to other people, Wesley!

we were there on a good day. . .the lady next to me? Her two (large) kids, were on the opposite side of the ride, and we were the only 4 folks on it! (later in the afternoon the line got much longer). you must go back to ride it. . you swing really, really high, and the forces are amazing.

No unfortunately, the park was not able to get the licensing for either to be possessive. then they should have just put the chracter image up, and called them "Whip" and "Revenge" at the end of the day, the rides are a fantastic addition to the park, it just bothers me to see them do something half-assed (tho really, it's Six Flags, so I should expect perfection? )

the rides look fantastic! tho the English Minor in me (from UT Texas), cringes every time I look at those gorgeous signs "Catwoman Whip" and "The Riddler Revenge" why not: "Catwoman's Whip" and "The Riddler's Revenge" ? did Six Flags save money by not using apostrophes???

he's only 14. . he might be short enough. but yeah. . if you want to guarantee all coasters, and actually, you know, ENJOY the park instead of racing from coaster to coaster? spend the money and buy Fastlane. (and this is coming from someone who NEVER buys fastlane/fastpass. . we just do 2 or more days at a park, or just skip things, if we only have 1 day)

we stayed at Courtyard Marriott (less than 5 minutes from BGW, 7 minutes from CW, and 10 minutes from Water Country). Since the passes included the parking, we had no issue staying at a less costly hotel (than on CW property) and still going often to BGW (we do shows and all rides, so ended up doing two full days and an afternoon (morning of that day in CW).

it is

Wow...That didn't last long. It says sold out now. We're coming to Kings Dominion and BGW this summer and this would have helped out a lot. Snooze you lose I guess. I suggest looking at Colonial Williamsburg options too. . . when we went a couple of years ago, we got a pass that included 7 day unlimited visits to BGW, Colonial Williamsburg, and Water Country, w/ free parking at all. they're still offering it, but the price has gone up a bit. .still good deal tho: $138 (remember it includes the parking!) it's called the "Summer Bounce Ticket" (scroll down towards the bottom here): https://www.colonialwilliamsburg.com/plan/tickets/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=ticketswww.colonialwilliamsburg.com/plan/tickets/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=tickets?nck=8669909514&gclid=CKqa48HU7MwCFQmSaQodGg4J3g

I would actually suggest Exterminator first, UNLESS when you pass by Phantom's entrance the line is rather short. . in that case, do Phantom 1st, then Exterminator. Black Widow does seem to get long lines, but if you hit it still early in the morning, won't be more than a 2-3 cycle wait, so I'd do that 3rd. have fun!

^^ the green & blue hair looks really good on you!

at this point tho, ANYONE who is paying attention knows who will be sitting on the Iron Throne (s) in the final scene a song of Ice and Fire indeed!