Part One Groundhog Day
Not
the Groundhog Day, as in asking a smallish brown rodent when winter might end (which sounds pretty ridiculous when I spell it out, no?).
Groundhog Day as in the movie.
As in repetition of the same events.
Over.
And over.
And over.
And over.
So begins the beginning of my August 2008 trip to The World. Nearly identical to the beginning of my August 2007 trip to The World...
Last year, Gramma drove Leo and I through torrential rainstorms.
To arrive late-ish at Pt. Orleans Riverside (POR), after missing the turn and circling back past Downtown Disney.
Where we were placed in a ground-floor room in Parterre Place.
That smelled funny and felt damp.
This year, I drove myself and Leo through less-than-torrential rains, courtesy of Tropical Storm Fay.
To arrive earlier than late-ish at POR, after missing the turn and circling back past Downtown Disney.
Where we were placed in a ground-floor room in Parterre Place
That did NOT smell funny or feel damp!!!
But did come with a leering neighbor sucking down beer whilst eyeballing me and chatting loudly on a cell phone. Outside his door. Whilst smoking a cigarette.
Groundhog Day.
In actuality, the drive across I-4 wasnt bad at all, despite the rain.
Check-in was a snap, and the room was clean and nice. I had a feeling one of those nagging ones about the neighbor, but I tried to let it go and focused on getting us settled in before heading out for some dinner.
I had a small cooler full of perishables to store in the fridge overnight, and it seemed like a good time to get the room ready for bed, so the pictures reflect the condition of V & Leos occupation
While we were there, I took the opportunity to check in on a fellow guest, who I knew was planning on hanging around the resort that evening
DisneyJo! Now, Jo didnt have a cell phone with her, so I had to go the old-fashioned route of calling the front desk and asking for her room. Only I wasnt at all sure the room would be under Jo I mean, Ive always figured Jo was short for something, but never bothered to ask! Fortunately, I did know her DHs real name, unlike the case with other DISers (coughcoughMelcoughNOTBobcoughcough), and I was patched through to their room.
David answers and, (youve gotta love this), I bust out with: Hi, can I assume this is David?
As the words come out, Im thinking, DOH! The poor guys probably like Well, who else would be answering the phone in our room with a male voice?!?! Im an idiot. Fortunately for me, Davids a good guy and if he thought I sounded like a fool, he didnt let on. Thanks David!
Anyway, Jo was getting cleaned up, so I let her DH know that Leo and I had arrived safely and were heading for the food court for some dinner.
Having learned a critical lesson during the Great Saratoga Monsoon of Jan. 2008, Leo and I got back in the car and drove to the main building at POR, snagged a closer-than-close parking spot and headed for the food court. Counter service. Quick food. Whatever.
I dont know if it was the rainy weather or what, but as we entered, I saw a man walk past with a tray full of turkey dinner-looking food and
knew I needed the same. Sure enough, one of the counters offered a yummy turkey platter and Leo grabbed a burger. A cheese hamburger. In Leo-Speak.
As I paid, I looked past the cashier to get a feel for the dining situation
and it was nearly all clear! Where was everyone? It was definitely dinner time, but the place was mostly empty. We had our choice of tables, and Leo selected one near the moving mill parts, overlooking the water wheel outside.
Dinner was GREAT! Really, it was a terrific first meal. Filling, but not overly so, and tasty. Yum.
Doesnt the turkey look good? The one in the foreground I mean. Though the ham in the back is pretty handsome, too.
We enjoyed our leisurely-paced meal and talked some about what the ensuing days might hold. I took the opportunity to explain, again, to Leo that there was a tropical storm hanging around for a few days and it
would be rainy. So wed just have to be tough, pull on our rain jackets and deal with being a little wet. Leo agreed.
As we finished up, I spied a family headed our way Jo!!! Oh my word, it was sooo good to see her again! All of them; David and their girls Jessica and Ellie, too. No matter that Jo and I chat frequently, if not daily, online. Nothing replaces seeing people you care about dearly in person.
Hugs went all around. Jess and Ellie filled me in on their trip so far. Leo flirted with them while Jo and David and I chatted. It was a nice catch-up and a great way to start the trip. Thanks for coming to find us guys!
While Jo and family set out for some pin trading in the gift shop, Leo and I finished dinner. We made a quick stop at the gift shop, too, for ponchos and a little something for Leo. For the life of me, I cant remember what he got, but boy do I remember what I saw. And wanted. Very much. On the back wall, they had an assortment of organic cotton T-shirts. Really cute T-shirts. With peaceful, environmentally-friendly messages on them.
Im a tree-hugger dontcha know.
I wanted a couple of those shirts badly. But they were not cheap. At all. So I instituted the stop-gap measure designed to save my wallet: Ill sleep on it and if I still want them tomorrow, Ill find them at another shop, since we wouldnt be back to POR.
Famous last words.
I did buy us some ponchos, though I was highly skeptical of their usability. Remember, Ive been a Floridian for nearly 20 years now and I know how rain works in FL: its frequently horizontal. And the ponchos are gapey and open on the sides. Still, it was one extra layer of protection from the elements, and the nice CM ringing me up explained that I should leave them folded exactly as they were, and if I never used them, I could always return them at the end of the trip.
Remember that.
With that, I drove us back to our room and we got showered and into bed. The whole purpose of this extra night was to hit Extra Magic Hours at the Magic Kingdom (MK) the next morning. In addition to actually getting to the MK on time, I also had to check us into Saratoga Springs and leave our luggage and cooler with bell services. It was going to be an
early morning, so we needed to get to sleep early.
Not much problem there. We both
got to sleep just fine.
It was the
staying asleep that was a tad problematic.
For V.
Remember the neighbor?
He had a lady-friend. Wife. Something. They slammed into their room around 9:30 and proceeded to argue. Loudly. With slurred words. And much banging of drawers and doors.
Juts about the point I was ready to call the front desk, it stopped with one final slammed door.
Phew. Back to sleep.
Until about 11pm.
When the kids joined in.
And the arguing got louder. The adult slurring stronger. The banging more frequent.
Quite frankly, they were scaring me. It was one of
those arguments, filled with accusations, disrespectful tones, name-calling and threats of bodily harm. The kids seemed to be left out of the melee, thank goodness, though listening to it couldnt have been good for them.
Again, I was ready to call the front desk. But I stopped. Why? Well, I was afraid the neighbor might hear me making the call and retaliate. Hed seen me alone with a small child, and he knew which was my car. Really, I was scared.
So I grabbed a towel and stuffed it along the bottom of the connecting door to drown the noise a bit, read until the noise settled down again and finally fell asleep.
What a night. And it wasnt even late September, let alone 63.
(NO Four Seasons.)
Coming soon: Ask Not Part 2
That's the one!
I've even got it written - in INK! - on my calndar!
