Day 6- Part 1- The Shadows Gave Way To Light
(Yep, Rent lyric titles are back! And I just realized that for our Tea afternoon, I should have used I had a tea the other day! You couldnt pay! Oh yeah.)
Take a moment to picture it: A cool Florida morning- a little chilly, but much warmer than you would be at home for sure. Its still dark outside, and everything is quiet. If you look carefully, you can see a group of wildebeest laying out between some trees, most of them still asleep. It seems like the whole world is still asleep, and youre the only one experiencing this moment. You settle into a chair, sip your coffee, and watch as a set of headlights appear- a truck of CMs checking the savannah for the morning, putting out food for the animals. Slowly, gradually, the sun starts to peek up over the horizon, light spilling across the sky. Down below, exotic birds are performing their morning songs, their rituals of greeting the day. Eventually, the stillness is broken as doors around you start to slide open, and voices begin to spill through the air. Morning. The people are waking up, the savannah is turning from darkness to color, and the day is beginning. Soon, everyone else will be piling onto busses for a day full of adventure. But what about a different kind of adventure? What about just spending the entire day in this place?
Marilyn Monroe says that What the hell? is usually the best answer. So, why not?
Today, we dont leave the Lodge. Today, we soak it all in.
Ready to join in?
Getting up to watch the sunrise and spending an entire day at the Lodge has been in my plans through most of the trip planning process. There is SO much to see and do at this resort, I felt like the only way to really get the experience was to spend a whole day there, soaking it all in.
One thing I learned- if youre wanting to watch the sun start to rise on the savannah in the morning in the winter in FL
think 7am, not 5. My original plan was to get up at 4:30am for this day, but back on the first day of my trip when I woke up around 6am and it was still dark, I knew that I could modify my plan! I set my alarm for 6:30 this morning, but it didnt start to get light until around 7. Good to know!
While it was still dark out, the only thing I could see was a truck driving around the savannah. At one point they stopped and looked around on the ground with flashlights for a really long time. I wonder what they were doing? Looking for a missing animal, or collecting samples or something? Either way, they kept me entertained until the sun started coming up.
I dont think its warned enough that if you are noisy on your balcony, EVERYONE hears you. Not just the people on the balcony next to you, but more like the people on the 50 balconies next to you. Some of it even echoes to the building across the savannah from you. Sound carries like crazy here! Of course, that does give you the opportunity to overhear some hilarious stuff!
There were two kids outside with their parents somewhere near me, and they were out watching the animals. One of the kids had an
unexpected
favorite animal.
The scene: Two graceful giraffes are making their way across the savannah just below us.
Kid: Theres a giraffe. OH! Hey! LOOK! DUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! DUCKS!!!!
Sounds like someones parents could have just taken him to the lake and saved a few hundred dollars a night!
Now, overhearing voices is bad sometimes, but other things are worse. Someone had something that kept beeping about once a minute. It sounded like maybe a phone or some kind of alarm clock- it went on for probably 20 minutes- drove me nuts!
So, what do you have for breakfast if youre spending the day at AKL?
I cant believe Im admitting this.
Here, my friends, is breakfast:
When I went down to the Mara to pick up my healthy, nourishing breakfast, I noticed that there were already quite a few swimmers in the pool:
Say it with me now. LOOK! DUCKS!!!!
After my super-nutritional breakfast, I went out to the stairway to see what was going on out there. I had perfect timing to witness one of the best free shows at WDW! All of the animals from Arusha were gathered over here, waiting to be let back into their barn area. ALL of the animals! The giraffes were particularly frisky, bucking at the Ankole cattle to freak them out. It was so much fun to watch!
Finally, the bell rang, and they let the animals into their area, and they were all so excited! The funniest part was that they had an obvious hierarchy- they all entered the area with their own species, and in what was obviously a certain order. The giraffes went first
.
Okay, instead of trying to explain it all, Im just going to share the video!
Yes, finally, a video!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8PtUa9M6HE
I obviously took a TON of animal photos today. Instead of sorting them out in chronological order, I think Ill just group em by species here! (Oooh, lazy!)
Lets start with graffes!
I love watching them eat! Their long tongues crack me up!
More coming up momentarily!
wise woman! Keep up the good work and if you could drag it out a bit, because I for one do not want your trip to end 
!
I literally felt like I had the angel/devil on my shoulders like they do in cartoons. 
I'm so glad you are sharing your solo WDW adventure with us!
