JULY 27TH PART FIVE: ME, MY HAMMOCK, AND I
Well, hello there, DISboards. Long time, no see. I'm really sorry about that. Life, y'know? Anyway, considering the fact that I WILL BE ON MY WAY TO FLORIDA ONE MONTH FROM TODAY (Speaking of which, my ticker stopped working! I hate to start a new one so late, but I guess I have to...), I figured it was time to wrap this thing up and maybe get started on a PTR. We'll see. I also need to catch up on all of your fabulous TRs. I'm so behiiiiiind, but I'm thoroughly excited to read all about your adventures.
But, without further adieu, here's a BRAND SPANKIN' NEW installment of the greatest trip report you will ever read.
When I last left off (ages and ages ago), we were headed back to the Polynesian for some afternoon R&R. I know that I’ve already posted like 60033838938583 pictures from the MK/GF/Poly boat, but I took a lot, so you’re just gonna have to suffer through some more.
When we disembarked (I love that word) at the Poly, the boat driver (captain? I don’t know proper nautical terminology) gave out Walt Disney World Watercraft stickers to all of the kids, including Katie and I. You’ve gotta love a place where an 18-year-old and a 20-year-old are still considered kids. I mean, I’m a month away from being 21, and I still have a hard time identifying as an adult. So, thanks, WDW, for playing along with my Peter Pan-esque delusions.
I practically skipped up the dock and to our room to drop off my bag and grab my refillable mug before heading over to my favorite spot in all the world - and I don’t just mean in WDW – my hammock. Well, there was a quick detour to Captain Cook’s thrown in there, but right after that I went straight to the beach to claim my hammock.
*My* hammock is the one that runs parallel to Sunset Point and is closest to the lagoon. I don’t have a picture of the hammock itself (I don’t know why I didn’t think to take one) but here are a bunch of shots of the gorgeous view.
And, of course, the absolute best part of the view: Cinderella Castle!
I absolutely love the shadow of the palm tree in that first picture. And the castle ain’t that bad either.
At one point, Katie came over from the pool and joined me for a little hammock time.
Though I do love her face in this picture, it's best if I also post a "Smile, you're at Disney!" pic as well so she doesn't hate me forever.
And here's our little cheerleader at work...
It took a good twenty times before we finally got this shot. As I’ve complained a million times before, my camera has the worst delay (Thank goodness my parents are buying me a new camera for my birthday/our upcoming trip), so it took quite a while before we got the timing right.
After some quality sister time and a lot of laughs, Katie headed back to the pool leaving me to do what any normal person would do while lying in a hammock in their favorite place in the world: contemplate the meaning of life.
Ok, not quite, but I did do some thinking. As I looked across the lagoon at the Grand Floridian, I couldn’t help but think about just how cool it was that while I was lying there in my hammock with the palm trees rustling in the breeze and the Polynesian area music serenading me, there were people not too far away lying on the GF beach having an entirely different experience in a completely different environment. And that’s when it hit me…Walt Disney World really is its own little world. You get to enjoy countless different destinations all in one vacation. I mean, where else can you go to partake in an African safari, a space shuttle launch to Mars, a Polynesian luau, and a journey to Neverland all in one day? Sure, we’re not experiencing the real thing as those who don’t get Disney are apt to point out, but really, what does “the real thing” even mean? No, Kilimanjaro Safari isn’t actually in Africa (Thank goodness because I don’t know if I could handle the 3034544400504 malaria shots we’d need to get before riding), but we’re still getting the chance to see animals that most of us don’t typically encounter on a regular basis. At least, *I* don’t encounter giraffes and hippos on a daily basis. I don’t know about you guys.
Ah, I’m rambling. Ok, moving on…
After spending a decent chunk of time in my hammock, I decided it was time to head back to the room and take a nap. I guess I could’ve just napped in the hammock, but it was quite warm and I was ready for some AC. Of course, I couldn’t just walk back to the room without incident. That would’ve been much too normal for someone as abnormal as me. Because I don’t like wearing flip flops in the sand, I carried my shoes to the path, dropped them down on the ground, and then stepped directly into them, thus successfully avoiding contact with the scorching hot pavement. Except, stupid me wasn’t looking, and I managed to completely miss my shoe. It hurt like heck. I hobbled over to the pool to put my foot in the cool water. Also to whine about how awful it felt to my parents. I can’t be the only one who finds that whining to someone about whatever illness/pain I’m experiencing makes me feel a little better. After whining for an adequate amount of time and getting the “Seriously, kid, suck it up” look from both of my parents, I walked back to our room. My foot still hurt a bit and I probably looked like a total weirdo because I was trying to avoid stepping down completely, but I made it back without crying out in pain and falling into the foliage. I even managed to take a little detour because I really wanted to get a good picture of these particular flowers outside our room and I was afraid I’d forget to do it before we left…
Aren’t they just perfect? Gosh, I miss the Polynesian. Why doesn’t Ohio look like that?
Anyway, I hobbled back to the room and moved this towel animal out of the way before collapsing into bed and falling into a deep, air-conditioning induced sleep.
CONTINUED IN NEXT POST~