That last image there is one of the concept drawings from the fluffy little film that has been shepherding yall through this rambling mess of a TR. I forget where I found that one but I like it for a couple of reasons. First, it gives you an idea of how the storytellers originally visualized that part of the tale they wanted to relate. Secondly (and more importantly for my purposes), it also illustrates how different the finished product would end up being once actually completed.
There are elements that would be exactly as anticipated
There are other parts and even characters that would be anywhere from slightly embellished up to radically altered.
Its a good metaphor for life in general and certainly for traveling. Even the grandest of plans, need to have an allowance for change and adjustment built in. Often you must be flexible just to circumnavigate the obstacles that arise, but you may also need to alter course in order to take advantage of opportunities. The expedition about which Ive been writing for a good while now is no different, and even the process of the writing has taken me on many side trips and along a number of unfamiliar roads.
But this next road is familiar.
Its the road home.
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One Last Look
I suspect that yall are rather tired of random pictures form the various resorts that we encountered. But even so, youre just gonna have to get over it, cause Ive got just a few more to inflict upon ya. So just hush up and deal with it (or skip this part of the update
either way is fine by me).
As usual I was up early this bright Sunday morning, so I decided to take one more look around the Wilderness Lodge. Chances are rather good we wont be back here anytime soon, so it seemed the thing to do. First Stop (as made apparent from the last image)
Artists Point.
This restaurant reviews very well, but just couldnt be worked into our plans this time around. The menu can also be challenging for families with young ones, so its probably also not the best place to go on a lark. Lastly, its expensive even by Disney standards. But given all of those potential pit falls, I do believe that I could easily find that a leisurely high end meal accompanied with views of this caliber
is still something that I would have enjoyed. Maybe some other time.
The other elephant in the room is the one bit of décor that the WL is particularly famous for and yet I havent mentioned even once. That would be this little bit of whimsy
.
Not much little about a five story stone fireplace actually. But the more relaxing way to view this site is plopped down in one of those rocking chairs on a cool evening and just enjoying the warmth and grandeur.
This bit of architecture was inspired by
Mary Colters "geologic fireplace" from the
Bright Angel Lodge at the Grand Canyon. The layers in the stonework represent the rock strata in the canyon itself and are in essence a time machine for seeing how the Earth was made.
The display case on the right includes a nice explanation or what youre looking at as well
I thought about doing a dissertation on the subject, but its getting late, so rather instead Ill just let you discover this bit of geology and natural history for yourselves. Besides, I believe that youll agree that Ive probably been yammering on quite long enough at this point.
Of course being as we are at Disney, even an homage to another great structure comes with a little extra hidden magic. Youll find it somewhere in the reddish band of stone just above the mantle and it looks like this
Ive probably already made t too easy to find so Ill stop there but rest assured, youll find it if you look.
OK
here are the last few random images from around this area and then Ill shut up about it. I promise
scouts honor
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See You Real Soon
Weve put this off as long as we can, but the clock doesnt care who you are
it just keeps on ticking. Checkout time is here and its time to get ourselves back home and back to our normal reality. After a bit of breakfast, all the bags got packed up and stowed in the trunk. Then the three of us climbed in and started that melancholy egress away from the land of magic and back toward the land of work and school.
The last image we got of the mightily Wilderness Lodge...
This one
the backside of the entrance gate. It was telling us that we were headed off in the wrong direction, but that just couldnt be helped. All that was left to do now was to follow the signs
to this sad sight
and then on to the main highways heading north. As we were settling in for the drive, one last little image form the area did get captured though
and oddly enough that one made me feel ever so slightly better. It said to me: The magic is always here, you are always welcome and may the fair winds of life bring you back to us soon.
And just maybe they will.
The drive home was fairly uneventful. The Florida part of the interstate more often then not, looked like this
After a few hours we were back over the St Marys River and into Georgia
The only thing we got into while traversing this 109 mile stretch of I-95 was a little bit of lunch and a swapping of driving duties. Tamara doesnt much like driving in unfamiliar places but interstates are basically straight lines and there really were no big traffic headaches between here and home, so she decided to spell me for a bit. As such, I got a different perspective of the crossing of the Savannah River then usual
But the same basic view of our welcome back into the State of South Carolina
We were in our home state, but we werent home by any stretch. We live all the way on the other side of the place so near half of the drive was still ahead of us.
It was somewhere along I-26 that our obligatory rain storm was encountered
To this day, Ive never traveled any great length by car with out getting rained on at least once.
Picking up I-77 revealed scenery that was just exactly the same as before, but there were still hints that the journey was coming to a close.
A little bit after this point we did do one thing that had never been done by use before though. We let Max do some of the driving
only about an hour of it, but still a new experience for someone that that only just gotten his official license a few weeks before. The sun was getting low in the sky as we reached familiar roads, passed though familiar neighborhoods, and finally Max pulled the car nimbly into our own garage.
Trip ended
Memories still forming
Stories to be shared
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Unpacking
Dont worry, Im not planning to give yall a blow by blow account of the way we went about unloading the physical baggage (Im crazy, not sadistic and youve suffered enough already). What I had in mind was the unpacking of mental baggage
the memories and experiences. Thats what this exercise has been for me. In writing this obviously pointless trip report, Ive been attempting to pull all the thoughts and sites form our adventure out of my mind and organize them so that others could share in the process (and so I dont loose them either). It wasnt necessary that I do so, and it certainly wasnt required of any of you to actually read about it. I am, however, glad I undertook the task.
And yet
the telling of a story is like an adventure in that at some point it does come to an end. Honestly, in talking time to do this, I believe that Ive actually been able to make the experience that much better. For instance, I now have the added memories related to all the comments and reactions I received from those that decided to follow along. And for that I thank you.
I intended to tell a story
thanks for allowing me the time and forum for doing so.
I also wanted to offer up our experiences as a guide of what to expect aboard a
DCL cruise. If Ive succeeded in helping any of you even a little, Ive exceeded my expectations.
But Id like to gratefully acknowledge the folks that followed along on this ride and offered up the running commentary that makes a TR both more readable and more memorable. To you folks I offer up my greatest heart felt appreciation. I dont believe that the endeavor would even have been worth the time were it not for all of your assistance. You helped turn this run of the mill tale into something a bit more special.
A bit more magical
And an experience Ill always treasure.