Williams Family: Retirement Job #4

 

Since this post is about retirement job #4 it may seem like I can't keep a job!  But after serving students, staff, and families for 33 years, I think my employment record still holds true.  And, retirement is a great time to discover other gifts, passions, pleasures, and interests.  

An interest of mine for years has been travel.  I can vaguely recall my first airplane trip as a youngster of 4 with my Uncle John to New Jersey to visit cousins.  It involved a helicopter ride, too, if memory serves.  Throughout the years, there were car trips with family within a 5-6 hour radius to see the sights and spend 1 or more nights in a hotel.  There were two longer road trips to Pennsylvania and Florida, including a visit to the Magic Kingdom and Daytona Beach in the mid 1970's.  By the time I graduated high school I had flown to Colorado with other students for a leadership conference in Estes Park and Florida, again, with a friend.  I had also spent multiple years as a Student Council travel planner. 

As a young educator, I traveled by plane to conferences in New Orleans, which included a plantation tour, swamp tour, and trolley ride during free time, and Phoenix, where an evening dining experience on Camel Back Mountain provided an incredible sunset view.  I'll note that I had more professional opportunities for travel as a teacher in Ankeny, Iowa, than I ever did as a Principal. 

Cancun was a Winter Break destination with a friend my first year as a Principal.  It was my first taste of an all-inclusive resort. 

Life trajectory fast forwarded with the meeting and marriage of my husband and the arrival of our son in short succession.  For our honeymoon, we traveled by train to Chicago and stayed at the Palmer House enjoying Italian, Greek, and Russian food along with theater productions.  And, our son had his first airplane trip when he was three weeks old!  He has been traveling ever since. 

Decades later, we now have over 25 trips to Walt Disney World under our belts, long week-ends to Minneapolis, Kansas City, Omaha, an all-inclusive stay in Cancun, trips to Houston and Galveston, Universal Studios vacations, Disneyland and Legoland in California, an Adventures by Disney Tour to Arizona, Utah, and Colorado, Spring Break stays in Destin along the Emerald Coast, and enough Disney Cruises to the Bahamas, Caribbean, and Mexican Riviera as a family to earn us Platinum Castaway Club status.  The husband and I have sailed from Vancouver to Honolulu to Sydney, Australia, with stops in between. And, our son has been fortunate enough to visit the East Coast including Washington D.C. and traveled throughout Wyoming, Montana, and the Dakotas.  We have experienced more travel than some and less travel than others, although there does seem to be a theme. 

Which brings me to retirement job #4: Travel Advisor for Memories & Moments Travel and licensed seller of travel in the state of Florida for travel worldwide.  Memories & Moments Travel is a company based in Northeast Ohio with a great reputation and long-time operation.  I was fortunate enough to meet the second person hired for the company during a Disney Cruise and was introduced to the owner, who after two virtual meetings, offered me a position with the company.

What about the world of sales?  That's in my background, too: sporting goods, women's clothing, even furniture.  I did a stint at This End Up Furniture in the Lansing Mall one summer and was proficient enough the company sent me to management training in Ann Arbor. And, there is an element of "sales" in education for students to buy in to what they are learning and coming to school, as well as staff, family, and community buy in.  

Training for this new role over the last two months has been a combination of weekly sessions with Laura, the owner of Memories & Moments Travel, along with content modules, quizzes, and final exams from various travel providers.  Memories and Moments Travel is an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner.  Here are more companies we work with:  Univeral, Royal Caribbean, Sandals, Beaches, Globus, Avalon, Cosmos, Funjet, Apple Vacations, and more! I can find you parking at a port, a stroller or scooter for theme parks, transfers from an airport, rental car, admission tickets to theme parks and beyond, tours ranging from group to private, excursions, all-inclusive vacations packages, and vacation rentals in private homes, villas, and novelty stays worldwide.  We are a Full Service-No Fee Agency.

The cost of a seller of travel license that must be renewed annually is more expensive than a multi-year teaching/administrator license.

Love of the world, curiosity, and service are behind this new endeavor.  Before technology was portable, an Atlas was on my bedside table providing end of day soothing. As a back-seat rider, I was often given the map to get us to our destination.  Geography was an elective for my AA degree and I enrolled in the evening class for more competition from non-traditional students and better discussion, only to be dismissed after the first class and instructed to return for the final exam and assigned the final project. Yes, I do know what two rivers join to form the Ohio River and the location of where they join.  Great sports team come from that location and play along the shores!

I have clients; it was too hard to keep this a secret.  I hope you become a client, too!  You can find me on social media and listed as a travel advisor on the Memories & Moments Travel website. 

“Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.”
― Terry Pratchett, A Hat Full of Sky

Williams Family: A Ride On The Sugar Express

 

We had tickets to ride The Sugar Express, a 2+ hour round-trip train ride on the grounds of U.S. Sugar in Clewiston, Florida. 

The train was pulled by a 1920 steam locomotive that is now fueled by vegetable oil, or diesel fuel if needed.  It is one of three steam engines in the United States certified to run at 40 mph, which it did!  Stepping on board is like stepping back in time.  I kept imagining the train scenes from the movie White Christmas.  Even the lavatory on the train was a throwback. 

In addition to the train ride, sweet treats are served including ice cream sandwiches, drumsticks, and bars followed by cookies.  The ride is also known as the Ice Cream Train. 

As we were driving south on highway 27, I noticed the change from frequent populated areas dotted around lakes to more expansive land spaces featuring orange groves and cattle ranches.  We were sharing the road with a truck and trailer hauling a lovely young bull who was checking out the view from all angles and eventually laid down.  And, given the number of financial intuitions we passed on the drive, I said to the husband, "there's agriculture money here." 

U.S. Sugar Plant in the distance

U.S. Sugar, a privately owned agricultural company in Clewiston, employs 2,500-3,000 people at the plant and farms over 230,000 acres across several counties.  The plant sits on 270 miles of land west of Lake Okeechobee and has created its own wireless network that spans those 270 miles and features driverless tractors that utilize precise GPS Navigation.

The miles and miles of crops are irrigated with runoff from Lake Okeechobee through canals crisscrossing the fields.

U.S. Sugar produces sugar, molasses, and many other crops. The conductor told us that U.S. Sugar produces enough food to feed 165 million families each year. 

This was not our first train adventure or even our first steam locomotive train adventure, but it was our first with John and Diane Williams, who drove from Lakeland and met us at the train.  John and Diane enjoy searching for adventures, especially ones involving ice cream as John is a decedent, as is Todd, of the Williams Dairy family.

We ended our afternoon with a lakeside meal in Sebring at Sunset Bar & Grill.  

Click below for more Williams Family train adventures!

Riding the Rails. . . Moravia to Albia and Back

Tickets to Ride. . . To The North Pole!  Another steam locomotive trip! 

Williams Family: Disney Retirement Job Update--It's Been Three Weeks

 

It has been three weeks since I began employment with the Disney Company.  I have experienced two days of training at Disney University, one day of training at the Magic Kingdom that required business casual dress and comfortable shoes for our four-hour tour.  And, have completed four days of training in costume (uniform) at Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.  I have two more to go including an assessment day.  

Most of the training days have been early or opening shifts beginning at 5:30, 5:45, or 6:30.  I have a closing shift coming up.

The husband has been dropping me off at the Magic Kingdom Cast Member parking lot bus stop as I take the internal shuttle to the utilidors, then walk to the Frontierland door to get upstairs and "on stage", then walk to the breakroom to store bag, lunch, use the restroom, clock in for my shift, etc.  We leave the house 45 minutes before I am expected to clock in at my station.

The learning curve has been steep.  Many new words, phrases, and procedures to demonstrate in action and/or on an assessment.  The physical part has been challenging, too.  As a morning track walker, it required climbing to the top of the second highest mountain in Florida.  I will say as a guest there would be more walking and standing than I am experiencing as a Cast Member due to the rotations through positions, about 45 minutes in each, and the breaks (two paid 15 minute breaks and a 45 minute unpaid lunch).

Speaking of pay, hourly Cast Members experienced a raise as of December 3.  Either $1.00 more per hour, bringing the hourly rate to $18, or a raise of 4%, whichever was higher.  Automatic deposit of weekly paychecks (EPCOT--Every Paycheck Comes On Thursdays) can be directed to up to four accounts and I am using our account here in Florida as well as a new account at Partners, a credit union for Disney employees, which offered specials for new enrollees. 

Fellow Cast Members have been friendly, welcoming, and helpful.  It is definitely a team endeavor to operate Big Thunder safely and efficiently and offer great service to guests.  The question I get most often is, "Are you new to the company?" I'm sure my age has something to do with it as I am on the older end of the scale for the group.  When I respond with yes, some are curious about what I did before and I say I worked in education.  One of the trainers told me that he could see that as I had a nurturing vibe. 

Serving guests is the best part, for me.  I enjoy interacting with guests and am still amazed when they call me by name as I forget I'm wearing a nametag.  Had a guest from Omaha try to figure out where I was from and Highway 34 sealed the deal. 

There are many positions to rotate through on the mountain and I have done all of them except the specific closing roles. There are some that are easier and more enjoyable for me and interestingly, the opinions vary among the Cast Members as to which positions they prefer. 

As I was riding to work at 5:00 am in the dark, I was thinking that there are guests waking up right now and getting ready to come to the Magic Kingdom.  Some, possibly for the first and/or only time.  And, it is up to me to make sure their visit is magical!

P.S.  No pictures as phones aren't allowed.