A Tale of Two Cities

Wednesday was an extremely big day for us!  We had a group breakfast and then a little down time in the morning after we checked out of our room and got our luggage situated.  We took a short walk and let Jayla run and play with her friends at Freedom Plaza.

Famous presidential portrait of JFK, the only one done after a president's death

White House Dining Room

After lunch, we all reconvened for our White House tour.  The group walked over and went through initial security.  I figured we'd be going through the traditional tour, but boy was I wrong!  We were classified as guests of the President and as such got much more open access.  Instead of the regular tour route, we were given open access to wander through the private dining room and the Red, Green and Blue rooms.  We were allowed to take pictures, touch things and even sit on the furniture.  I about had a heart attack the first time Jayla sat down!

Jayla taking a break in the Blue Room

Once we'd checked everything out, we all went into the East Room.  This is the room where the President makes his public statements to the country... you know, he walks down the long hallway and comes to the podium.  It was pretty amazing to be standing right there.  They placed all the kids in chairs and family on risers behind them.  A secret service agent talked to us for awhile and answered the kids' questions.  After that, we received our first visitor, Bo the 1st Dog.  Bo is pretty impressive.  He trotted around the room so all the kids could pat him and then placed himself for an official picture.  After he left, it was just a short wait for President Obama to come.  It was really neat to watch him stroll down that long red carpet lined hallway and enter the room.  Regardless of your political inclinations, there's no denying that he is a man with a great deal of charisma.  He was charming and flashed us all the biggest toothy smiles.  He spoke briefly and made a point of shaking each child's hand and many of the parents as well.  He then posed for official pictures and accepted a plaque from the people at CMN.  In no time at all it was over and he was sauntering down the same hallway to get back to work.... He indicated that he'd like to go with us to Disney World but he had a few things he needed to take care of :-)  I asked Jayla what surprised her the most about the President.  She said excitedly that he had a pimple right on his cheek and that she didn't know presidents could get pimples.  I told her I thought it was a mole, but that yes, even presidents can get pimples!

A secret service agent answered questions in the East Room

After our presidential visit (by the way, the White House hasn't provided the pictures yet and we weren't allowed to take pictures), we headed back to the hotel where we had a quick snack and then boarded buses for the airport.  It was a bit of a drive, and I think we all got a short nap which was good because there was lots more fun in store for us!

Snapped a quick pic of Jason and Jayla as we were leaving!

 Our flight from Washington DC to Orlando was like nothing I've ever experienced.  While I still have no desire to be famous, it did make me wish I was really rich and could travel like this all the time!  We had a chartered flight, so we never went into the actual airport.  We didn't have to lug our luggage around or go through security.  Our bus pulled up right next to the tarmak where a crowd of Delta employees were waiting to greet us.  We completed a very basic security screening and were welcomed onboard.  Jayla was excited because the plane was really big and had tvs in the back of the seats.  As we departed Washington DC, the fire department at the airport gave us a water canon salute.  Apparently these are quite rare and generally only done when a senior pilot is retiring.  Basically, they bring out fire trucks and shoot huge arches of water over the plane as it takes off.  We were even given a salute upon landing in Orlando!

Water canon salute

We had a wonderful flight, and the people at Delta worked so hard to make it special.  We were served a delicious dinner on the flight which was great as we were all getting hungry!  They also gave the kids coloring sheets, aviation wings and candy.

Delta greeted us at the airport when we arrived in Orlando

Jayla was a little overwhelmed by the crowd when
we arrived at the Coronado Springs

It was getting late, but we were all so excited to arrive in Orlando.  When we departed the plane, we were once again greeted by a crowd of Delta employees who cheered and waved signs for us.  They made us feel very special!  We boarded buses and headed for the Coronado Springs.  Jayla was so excited by all the Disney-themed billboards she saw along the way.  When the bus pulled up in front of the hotel, we were greeted by a huge, cheering crowd.  Everyone from CMN's Celebration were there with signs!  Once we entered the hotel, they had gift bags and Disney pins for all the kids.  They'd also set up all kinds of games for the kids to play and fun things to do as well as snacks.  Jayla had so much fun!  She was also really excited to see her picture displayed on the big video screen.

There were LOTS of people!

Jayla had fun at the welcome party and got
a balloon sword and chef's hat!

It didn't turn out great, but here's Jayla with her screen.
It rotated through all the kids.

Finally, it was time to settle into our room.  It was a bit of a hike, but we finally found it!  We settled in to do therapy and go to bed.  And then panic struck.  As we got set up for therapy, we discovered that the nebulizer we'd brought had been damaged at some point and no longer worked.  Without it, neither child could do therapy.  While it was already nearly 11:00, I called our good friends at Accurate Rx who are truly amazing.  Kirsten set to work trying to find a place to get a replacement nebulizer.  In the meantime, we did our best with the percussive portion of therapy and headed to bed.  We would have to figure out a nebulizer solution tomorrow.  Plus, tomorrow was our free day in the park so we needed our rest!