Chapter 18: KETCHUP! We Need KETCHUP!
Everything is funny as long as it happens to somebody else.
-WILL RODGERS
Still Monday, 11/5:
Tired, but happy, we rumbled along on the WDW bus bound for the
Wilderness Lodge. On this trip, however, we made a stop at
Fort Wilderness. Depending upon the time of day, the two resorts can share bus routes. The overhead audio segued into a country-western hoe-down theme as we turned into the main entrance and both Ed and I craned our necks to see whatever we could of “the Fort”. (Remember, at this time we were still contemplating renting an RV and staying here in August ’08 … those plans have since fallen through.)
We couldn’t see much. All we did was pull in past a parking lot and make one stop at the Outpost Depot. We could see the livery stables just beyond the stop, but no horses were out. We did see a few campers zipping around in golf carts and on surrey bikes, and I commented to Ed that we were scheduled to rent a bike like that on our last day as part of “resort time” (something he always complains we do not get enough of.) He just gave me a look that said, “I’ll believe it when I see it,” and pointed to a rather large RV that was turning into Fort Wilderness Trail. “There ya go, honey, that’s what we’ll be doing after I retire! We’ll just travel around the country in one of those!”
Hardy-har.
It was a short ride back to the Lodge and the rhythm of American Indian drummers was soon in our ears. Not bad, we had just under an hour to rest before our 5:50 ADR at the Whispering Canyon Café. Ed and I stopped at our door on the 1-BR side of the villa and Tricia and Aunt Rae paused at the door on the studio side. AR fumbled with her key-card and it would not let them in. Too tired to really care, Ed motioned for them to just come in through the living room, but AR was upset that she could not get into “her” room with “her” key. “It’s all one big space, Aunt Rae, just come in through this way,” Ed said. But, she walked right through and out the other door and fussed with the key some more until I promised that we would get it straightened out later. For now, she really looked like she could use a rest.
We dumped our bags and took off our shoes. Ed flopped down on the bed. After a quick stop in the bathroom, I came back into the master bedroom and began to unpack my baggalini. “Isn’t this great, honey? We can have a nice dinner and then just relax for the rest of the night. No more running around. Maybe you can even take the kids to the pool later…”
There was no reply, just a soft snoring sound….he was fast asleep on the bed! Ah well. Billy flipped on the TV to watch the “Top Ten Must-Sees” with Stacey (again) while Tricia and I took a few moments to write in our travel journals. I really had to work hard to keep Billy quiet; he was stimming loudly and bouncing around all full of energy.
“Shhh! Daddy’s trying to sleep!” I repeated over and over. Aunt Rae sat in one of the chairs and put her feet up. After finishing my notes, I threw a load of laundry into the wash. So nice to have it right there in the villa!
All too soon, I had to go in to wake up the bear, er, Daddy.
The antibiotics plus the Advil he was taking for his tooth were really knocking him out. He grunted and halfheartedly asked if we could just bag our ADR and grab something at Roaring Forks later, but I was finally able to get him up and moving with the promise of pure R&R for the rest of the evening. I made like the kids would be disappointed, but I was also really looking forward to eating there! I felt AR would enjoy all the antics, too. After freshening up, we all trucked down the hall and across to the lobby of the Lodge.
"That Thar's the Cafe, Pa!"
We checked in for our ADR at exactly 5:50…boy, it was crowded! The kids joined a few others who were playing with Lincoln Logs on a small play table set up in the waiting area, but Billy was pretty antsy and kept getting up to wander around. Lots of noise and activity can throw him off a bit, as you can well imagine. Ed finally brought him over to his seat and held him (Billy was not too happy.) We looked over the menu and made our choices. Perusing the dessert display also helped to pass the time!
Yummy!
Pretty Gosh-Darned Crowded For So Early!
We were seated by about 6:30. Forty minutes is a long time with hungry kids and a cranky hubby, let me tell you!
Fortunately, our server, Kristen, was over to take our drink order in a flash. We already had plenty of time to decide what we wanted, so we were able to put in the full order right then and there. (I hoped that it would help speed things along a bit.)
I was very happy with our table. We were actually just behind the hostess’desk and very close to the Lobby…not at all in “the thick of it.”
A Not-So-Great Pic of Our "View":
Gorgeous light fixture set on a huge log pole next to our table:
We sat the kids along the wall so they could look out at all the action. Right away, I spotted a Dad at the next table who had apparently made the mistake of asking for a refill on his soda:
See the big mason jar and the giant straw? For some reason, this really tickled Tricia’s funny bone and she kept urging Ed to ask for more Coke. He was fine with having the joke be on some other guy... he just wasn't into being the object of the servers' attention that night. Aunt Rae was greatly pleased with one of their famous strawberry shakes.
“KETCHUP! WE NEED MORE KETCHUP!!” shouted one of the servers. The other servers took up the call. KETCHUP! KETCHUP! From all corners of the restaurant, kids came bearing bottles of ketchup and deposited them gleefully on the one table. This stunt must have been another real funny-bone tickler, because it happened over and over throughout the meal!
Everyone (except Billy, of course!) had the salad and although we adults liked the apple cider vinegarette dressing, Tricia was not too impressed. The servers gathered the kids for a stick-horse race while we were grazing on our salads, but neither Trish nor Billy wanted to participate. Tricia (11) was just getting too old for that sort of thing, I guess, and Billy was not crazy about all the noise…and it was noisy!! He happily munched on chicken strips and fries while AR enjoyed her Roast Chicken and I tackled the St. Louis-style ribs (half-rack.) They were delicious. Ed scarfed down a huge plate of peel 'n eat shrimp, which he said were really good. As with her salad, Tricia was not impressed with the meatloaf. “I like yours better, Mom,” she said. How could I fault her for that?
There was a napkin-twirling song somewhere during dinner:
Billy really got into that! So did Tricia, but in the picture she was trying to hide her face, so you can’t really tell.
Having really enjoyed the ice cream/pastry-thingy dessert at Restaurant Marrakesh, we decided to go with what looked like the American-Western version for our dessert selection: cinnamon tortilla with vanilla ice cream, bananas, and banana caramel sauce. YUM!
We highly recommend it!
After a noisy, yet leisurely meal, we gave ourselves some time to explore some more of the incredible lobby.
An American Indian Garment decorated with shells...
Several really beautiful ceremonial drums....
True to our schedule, we retired to our villa for some down time. (I don’t exactly know how emptying the dishwasher and finishing the laundry gets factored into Mom’s down time, but it did.) Somehow we all got to bed relatively early and I was glad. We were having an early pre-park opening breakfast with Pooh-Bear!!
Kathy
Are you still in Denver
I've been so busy...I will try to be better at updating! As for driving to Florida as being an "adventure", well, that remains to be seen! 
for another member of the ASD family!! PM me anytime!
. Thanks for posting an update, I am almost done with mine and need distractions!! 
