January 15, 2013: The Old Man on the Mountain

We have ice, rain and snow all falling outside. Our van is white with crystallized precipitation and my daughter said that the driveway is crunchy. I just checked the temperature and it is 30 degrees Fahrenheit (that’s -1 for our centigrade friends). All of this is excuse enough to go to Walt Disney World but if you need more, we’ve got more.

It is hard for me to imagine the Magic Kingdom without all of its Mountains in place but on this date in 1975, 3+ years after the Magic Kingdom opened, Space Mountain debuted at Walt Disney World. Col. James Irwin, the pilot of the Lunar Module on Apollo XV, took the first official ride on Space Mountain. After retiring from NASA, Irwin, a devout Christian, started a ministry, the High Flight Foundation, stating, "Jesus walking on the earth is more important than man walking on the moon". Keeping with our mountain theme, Irwin led several expeditions to Mount Ararat, Turkey in search of the remains of Noah's Ark. In 1982, he was injured during the descent and had to be transported down the mountain on a horse and then to the nearest hospital. You don’t have to have that much love for adventure to adventure into space on Space Mountain so get to the Magic Kingdom today.

We’ve talked before about how much Walt loved trains and my own father worked for the C & O Railroad for 36 years; so let’s have a little love for the trains at the Magic Kingdom today. On January 15^th, 1831, the first US-built locomotive to pull a passenger train makes its first run. I live on a peninsula between two rivers that combine to form The Big Sandy River and I can hear the CSX trains run through Louisa, KY and the N & W trains run through Fort Gay, WV. The trains are an attraction on their own and an easy way to make big strides around the park and save your legs. So while you’re at the Magic Kingdom hit the trains and enjoy a few restful moments off your feet.

Remember, your best excuse is always: waiting for your dreams to come true.