Chapter 52: No home! No home! ~ Billy
The lights had come up (somewhat) after the last strains of
SpectroMagic music evaporated into the night air. We all walked very, very slowly along the waterfront path between FrontierLand and Liberty Square, debating our options. It was, as I said, very late... almost eleven oclock.
I could have kept going up until the stroke of midnight, but Aunt Rae was dragging and Billy was yawning, so I stuck to my original proposition. Just one more ride and then it would be
Goodbye, Magic Kingdom.
Well, what should it be? I asked, thinking that it would be a really difficult task getting everyone to agree.
Ed motioned to his left towards the big gloomy house that was just appearing around the bend of the Rivers of America. How about the
Haunted Mansion, he suggested, thats close by! Amazingly, there were no dissenters, so off to Master Graceys we went.
Somehow, the old mansion looked even more foreboding in the dark of night. We passed the spooky hearse with the phantom horse and came to a stop at the end of the queue in perfect position to do a little tombstone reading! Tricia read aloud... remember, we missed this part earlier in the week when we were treated to front-of-the-line access by our
Dream Team Member. Billy paced back and forth, still singing and scripting bits and pieces of the Spectro soundtrack. (We have it at home, so he knows it by heart.) Aunt Rae was as silent as the grave; she must have been completely pooped by then, not to mention still a bit miffed about the whole park ticket incident.
I was glad to have a second chance at this attraction for Eds sake as well. Remember how he nearly came to fisticuffs with that rude guest who knocked into Aunt Rae and then challenged him with, What are you going to do, eh? Oh yeah! Remember that? Ed really didnt have a chance to enjoy the ride
then; for certain he would have more fun this second time around!
Welcome, foolish mortals... We stretched a bit and then passed down the dusty corridor to our awaiting doom buggies. Ed took AR and Billy, so I got to enjoy the ride with Tricia this time. We searched and searched for Hidden Mickeys, but again, I came up empty. We left our hitchhiker with the rest of the 999 happy haunts and we exited the mansion and began the long, slow walk toward the park exit.
I didnt take any more pictures that night; I suppose I just didnt have the heart.
Over the little bridge we went, past the Partners statue and down
Main Street, USA. The sharp pang that I had felt earlier during Wishes was replaced by a rather dull ache. Normally, I have the tradition of walking backwards as get nearer to the tunnel so I can continue drinking it in with my eyes for as long as possible. That night, I did not, although Im not quite sure why. I did turn, however, once we reached the flagpole, and stole one last look at
the Castle as it stood bathed in violet light.
Tomorrow we go to Magic Kingdom? Billy asked, and then answered himself, Yes! Okay! I smiled ruefully and took his hand. No, Billy, tomorrow we go
home.
No home! No home! he began to fake-cry.
Waaagh!
Yes,
home, Billy, tomorrow we go
home. Ed and I said in unison. Then we laughed, because we had even used the same tone and inflection in our voices.
Funny thing was... there was a
small part of me that had to admit that I was ready to go home. And to me, that was almost as sad as having to leave the next day.
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The following morning (Sunday) we slept in. We needed it. Of course, by sleeping in I mean to say we did not wake up to an alarm. Instead, Ed and I woke when Billy bounced into our room somewhere around seven-thirty, chuckling and repeating,
Its morning, time to get up! over and over again. We pulled him up into the bed between us and the three of us had a good long snuggle.
Our plane was set to take off at 3pm and car service was coming for us at one. Check-out time was 11am, so we eventually had to get out of bed, have a bite to eat, and begin the unpleasant task of packing to go home.
Fortunately, I had kept up with the laundry all week, so I would not have to face mounds and mounds of it upon our return. The morning passed quickly as we all showered and packed our things, doing the usual double... no...
triple check around the villa to make sure that nothing was left behind.
Uh-Oh!
Someone was trying to stowaway in the luggage! Oh no, out you go, Mister Stitch! Youre staying here at WDW!! Stitch
reluctantly crawled out of the bag (of course, I had to draw him out with handfuls of cotton candy from Goofys); then he slunk out to the patio to finish the rest of the bag.
I informed Tricia that I suspected he had developed a crush
on Jessica and that it would be better if he just caught the next bus back to the
Magic Kingdom before he got too attached. She agreed. Out of sight, out of mind.
With a sigh, I answered the knock at the door... it was the bellman, come to take our luggage down to be stored until our departure.
Good-bye, Wilderness Lodge Villa!
We took our last walk down the hall and across the way to the Lodge. I had a box of sundries that I wanted to mail back home. While I waited, everyone took one last turn around the impressive Lobby so they could admire the Indian artifacts and the soaring totem poles.
The only thing making an impression on
Billy was the TV showing black & white cartoons!! He made a beeline straight for one of the little chairs:
We headed over to
Roaring Fork to use up the last of our CS credits on an early lunch. On the way, Tricia stopped to say goodbye to the CM who worked the little
pin kiosk there in the Lobby. She and Tricia had become good friends over the past week. Such a pleasant girl!
Then it was down the sloping hallway to Roaring Fork
It was such a nice day that we decided to take our lunch outside to eat at one of the outdoor tables. Oh the sunshine was wonderful!
I cannot say enough how blessed we were on this trip when it came to the weather. Not too hot, not a drop of rain... just jeans and t-shirt weather all week long!
Looking out at that gorgeous pool, I had a brief moment of regret that we did not have time for a final swim. Oh well, thats what you get when you save your packing for the last morning!
We did have a little time left, however, to do something resort-y, so after we finished eating, we decided to take a walk down to
Teton Boat and Bike Rentals to see about trying out one of those surrey bikes. Naturally, Aunt Rae would not be able to participate, so she opted to go back inside and find a nice, comfy chair in the Lobby so she could relax and put her feet up. She was already getting a bit nervous about the upcoming flight, so a bit of quiet time would be good for her.
Ill just do a little people-watching, she said. Great idea!
After depositing Aunt Rae in said comfy chair, the rest of the family took the path around the pool that headed down to the white sand beach area on
Bay Lake where the marina and bikes were located. Along the way, I snapped a few last pictures of the main pool area:
We came to a little playground on the sand near the water. Before I realized it, Billy dashed over to check it out!
I dont think he realizes that hes getting a bit too big for these types of play structures!
Some views of the "beach" and marina:
We wanted to rent a four person surrey bike. They asked for my key card, and I wasnt sure if I could use it now that we had officially checked out. Evidently, it was not a problem, because they took it anyway.
Off we went to select a bike and get ourselves oriented to maneuvering it. It was actually a bit trickier than we had imagined, especially on gravel!
To be continued
.
Kathy
Thanks for de-lurking yourselves!
You don't mean.....Wow that would be a cliff hanger
No "Little Disney Souvenir!" I was talking about my Billy!!
