I really like to have something on the needles while traveling, but the current security procedures add a lot of uncertainty to that. So last year I picked up a set of short Bryspun double-pointed needles, figuring that they’d be so harmless looking that I wouldn’t be asked to ditch them by the TSA. It was a successful gamble, and last year I managed to finish half of a pair of socks, between a trip to England and a trip out to Chicagoland (which sounds an awful lot like a theme-park, but isn’t). After that, I’d put the project aside, because I much prefer magic loop, or even 2 circular needles to dpns. My family’s trip to Disney World last weekend turned out to be a perfect opportunity to pick my traveling socks back up again.
For symmetry’s sake, I decided to take a sock picture outside of the British Pavillion at Epcot Center. It’s really amazing what they do with forced perspective to make the buildings look realistic (both here and on other rides throughout the park).
As an aside, the yardage on the Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sport is insane. I have average-sized feet, and I got one entire sock (with an 8″ cuff) and about an inch past the heel turn on a second one, in this feather-and-fan pattern that I’m using. With a shorter cuff, it looks like I can get two socks comfortably out of one skein. I also love how fast it is to knit with sport-weight. If I hadn’t botched the toe twice on the plane on the way down, I’d be well past the heel turn, having only worked on the sock sporadically for 5 days.
Of course, I could have gotten more knitting done had I not spent so much time on the various roller coasters like Expedition: Everest. We went to the animal park on a chilly, overcast day, so the crowds were fairly minimal, and when I went in the single-rider line, I managed to ride that one twice in a row with no waiting whatsoever. It was hard not to get jaded about lines, actually–the longest posted wait we went for was 40 minutes, and the waits were never quite as long as what they posted. Plus, the weather was warm, which is much more than could be said for the Northeast (we weren’t the only ones who went south to avoid the cold).
The other bonus to going to Disney early in December was that we got to see the Christmas decorations there for the first time. There were plenty of whimsical touches all throughout the parks.
They also extended the fireworks shows, by several minutes in some cases. At Epcot, they even added a segment narrated by Walter Cronkite.
We also loved the trees that they set up in the parks and at the hotels. The one in the Magic Kingdom in front of Cinderella’s Castle looked especially pretty at night.
But the nicest part of the trip was definitely getting to spend the extra time with my family. It can be hard to get away, but it’s so worth it.
