Mima & Papa

Jake & I were invited to spend the weekend with his grandparents, Jim & Barbara Roosevelt who are lovingly known as Mima & Papa. They recently bought an A-class motor home, so we met up with them at Fort Wilderness campground in Orlando to help them break in their new RV. 

We arrived on Saturday, got to know the RV & caught up with Mima & Papa. When our tummies started rumbling, we went to lunch at Trail's End, a restaurant at Fort Wilderness that has been open since the 70s. Papa had rented a golf cart so that we could drive around the campground at ease. J & I got to sit on the back of it while we drove around the different loops. The loops at Fort Wilderness all have sweet little nature-themed names such as Cottontail Curl, Quail Trail, Possum Path & Jack Rabbit Run. We were staying at site 526, which was part of Buffalo Bend.

Later that day, Mima & Papa had a visit from their friends of over 50 years. Drew, (Twinkle Toes) Tommy & Mary Ann shared some old stories with us & we even learned about Tommy's past as a performer in the 70s. Turns out that J & I get along famously with older people because we are a couple of old souls ourselves. Our childish tendencies quickly kicked in & we started to crave a caramel apple. Papa drove us over to the bus stop & we headed to Downtown Disney so that we could pay a little visit to The Candy Cauldron.

After walking around Downtown Disney for a little bit, J & I headed back for dinner at the RV. Mima & Papa made us a delicious lasagna, garlic bread & salad, and I tried extra hard not to get any of it on their light upholstery. After dinner we watched the fireworks & boat parade while we reminisced about the classic Disney stories we've all accumulated. 

 The next day, we spent the morning exploring more of the campground loops & had a wonderful breakfast together. During breakfast, Papa said something that really stuck with Jake & I. He said, "There aren't many people who enjoy life more than the two of you". Hearing him say that made us so happy because it's nice to know that people appreciate my & J's sense of adventure, especially Mima & Papa. It also became clear to me just how lucky I am to have a partner-in-crime who's as cool as J. He's always got my back when the heat gets hot, he's always ready for another adventure with me & I just love him madly.
 
 J & I packed up our stuff & we all decided to head to Downtown Disney together as a last hurrah for the weekend. We leisurely wandered in & out of shops together. Mima convinced Jake to ride on a carousel with her. They were so cute & Mima dismounted ever so gracefully from the high horse she had chosen. We didn't want to say good-bye after having such a lovely weekend, but J & I are already planning our future adventures with them.

If there is one thing that I've learned over the weekend, it's that Mima & Papa have the very best stories. I could listen to them talk for days. They have been married for nearly 50 years, so they've been on tons of adventures, taken thousands of photographs & made millions of memories. J & I are forever inspired by the love that the two of them share for each other.

Love,

A