It was the best vacation, it was the worst vacation

The average rainfall for the month of May in central Florida is 3.4 inches. It rained that much in the first few hours last week after we arrived for our vacation. As a matter of fact it rained every day. By the time we left Florida the rain had totaled as much as 25 inches, easily a record for May. There were millions of dollars worth of damage from flooding.

We had been looking forward to being with our two-year-old grandson and taking him to Disney World for months. I know, a two year old is a little young to experience all of what Disney World has to offer, but tell that to an excited mother. And that was fine with me because I could be there to witness his first adventure to the big park and being with him was my biggest priority.
But because it rained constantly much of the fun was left under a parka and umbrella. The poor little fella had to look through a plastic cover which draped his stroller most of the time as we went from attraction to attraction. I also carried him under my umbrella as much as I could.

My main concern was to keep him dry and we did. But the rest of us got a foot soaking. As we moved around the park I kept saying to myself that all those people out in that kind of weather must be crazy. I was one of them and I guess we were, but when you pay that much for tickets and drive that far you try to make the most of it.

Disney World is not the place you want to be in rainy weather. There is not that much shelter space. But when you make your reservation a year in advance you expect to have mostly good weather in Florida in May. We didn’t see the sun shine at all during the week. What a bummer.

Just staying with my grandson and getting to play with him every night until bedtime made it all worthwhile though. From the way he laughed and played he appeared to enjoy being with his poppy also.

My first trip to Disney World was during its second year of its operation. That’s when my grandson’s mother was a little girl and we shared some of the same experiences with her. After that we made several trips with our younger daughters.

I would go again but only if I could be with my grandchild. It is too much of a hassle and I’m too old. You get pushed and shoved and stepped on by the big crowds. But for young parents with plenty of money and lots of patience it is one of those things you would like for your child to experience.

The vacation turned out to be both the best and worst one I’ve ever had. Obviously it was one of the best because of my grandson, but the conditions made it the worst I’ve ever experienced.

Today I talked with Harry Alder who works hard at making the Whitley County Fair the best it can be. He was pleased that the fair board had contacted a carnival and it will be part of the program this year.

It is not as easy as you would think to get a carnival to come to an attraction. The fair had one at one time but it chose another location.

Since then they have been looking for one and they received the good news this year.

Fairs and carnivals go together. Having to do without a carnival did hurt the fair attendance. This year attendance should pick up because of it. The Whitley County Fair will be held July 17 and 18 with other events starting as early as July 8th.

There is a lot to look forward to this summer with the fair and Nirroc, the Main Street programs and other events that happen locally.

It sure is a lot better than driving for hours and hours only to be rained on. Save your money and spend it  on the events coming to this area.