We went back to our room at Port Orleans. The gators were out !
After some pool & chill time we got ready for our ADR at California Grill. I had studied the dress code & made sure we were both dressed appropriately. Grumpy insisted on wearing some high heeled shoes, but put her flip flops in my bag ... just in case
By the time we made it to the bus stop at POFQ she had already retrieved them. Flip flops aren't allowed (technically) at Signature restaurants so once we got to the Contemporary she hid behind a wall and put her heels back on.
Meanwhile I was busy giving people directions to Chef Mickey's. And kinda wishing we were going there instead...
We checked in on one floor, I think the 4th, then took a special elevator to the 15th floor. The place looked fancy but not stuffy. We were shown to a table for two next to the window. Our server Topher came over and introduced himself.
"Sorry about the view, ladies."
O-M-G !!!!!
If I looked to my left I was seeing the Grand Floridian. If I looked to my leftI was overlooking THIS :
I stopped worrying about the food immediately - the view alone was worth it.
The inside of Cali Grill is not as interesting as the outside, but it's not bad either !
We ordered. I got the California rolls and Grumpy got their lobster appetizer. According to her it was as good as it looked :
Grumpy ordered the filet but I had no idea what to get. There was chicken but I wanted something different. I almost ordered the filet as well but when I asked for it "dead, dead, burned dead" our server made a face and said it would ruin the meat. Grumpy agreed. I don't know why but I decided to get the scallops instead.
The filet was thick and Grumpy loved it. I took one bite of a scallop and that was it. Topher offered to bring me something else, but I figured I wouldn't like it anyway and the mushrooms that came with the scallops were good.
Besides I couldn't have cared less about what I was eating. I was too busy looking at these :
Oh yeah, and that thingy too
I forced Grumpy to order dessert because I didn't want to be the only one eating sweets
They were OUT OF THIS WORLD. Next time we go to Cali Grill I'm sticking to sushi and dessert.
Because our ADR had been early, we were done eating at least 2 hours before Wishes was scheduled to start. What to do ?? Topher said we were welcome to stay if we wanted to, or we could come back later and watch from the outside area.
We chose to go shop at the downstairs boutiques and come back later. Grumpy got herself a few shirts and I probably bought a Stitch or two.
Soon we were back at Cali Grill, outside this time. My mom had thought of bringing her hoodie but it hadn't crossed my mind. It was FREEZING out there but I refused to leave. So I'll be cold. Big deal.
It was worth it !
The music was piped in and we really enjoyed watching Wishes from up there. It's very different from when you watch it in the parks and you tend to pay more attention to what's going on up there instead of watching the castle. Sorry my pics aren't very good but you get the idea...
It was the perfect way to end our trip.
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EPILOGUE
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It had been a very different Disney vacation for us. We had barely done any attractions, but we had visited half a dozen resorts, dined at new places, and saw new shows. It occured to me a few days later that we had not even been on Soarin' or Splash Mountain, our two favorite attractions
And we couldn't wait to do it again, next year at Christmas.....
......
but sometimes life gets in the way.
After our "ruined" trip with Jessi & Alex, we felt we needed a redo. We were going to go back for Christmas. I really hate my current main job as a school secretary, the pay stinks, and I intended to quit at the end of the school year, in July.
I would leave October 15th, spend 2 months at the beach, then meet Grumpy in WDW. We were going to stay at Coronado Springs, and planned to see the Candlelight Processional again. And go back to Cali Grill.
We even got free flights with our American AAdvantage miles. It was perfect. I booked the flights on Wednesday May 14th.
On Thursday, I was at work #2 (the gas station) when I got called up to the Big Boss's office. I'm not the best cashier in the world, come to think of it I'm probably one of the worsts. And to top it off a few days earlier, I had left in a hurry and had turned off the computer by mistake. As a result NONE of the pumps had worked for the entire weekend.
So I was pretty sure I was sacked.
Instead I got offered a new job, full time with a big raise (more than I'm currently making with TWO jobs), taking care of their new internet ordering system. I would have my own office and 3 people working for me to fill orders and such. I could pick my own hours as long as the work was done. No more working Sundays. No one to answer to daily. Full health benefits, five weeks paid vacation a year. Starting September 1st.
I'm almost thirty years old. There was no way I could pass this up.
Unfortunately there was also no way they would wait for me to come back in January OR give me ten days off at Christmas.
What they could manage, was six days in August. It might be the last time for at least a year that Grumpy & I will be able to go on vacation together (she still has to work for one year before she retires, and I won't get time off during school holidays). So we didn't look at the costs and booked the Poly even though I couldn't get an AP rate for the whole stay. The flights alone for the two of us were over $3000... so a few hundred bucks won't make that big of a difference.
It'll be the shortest trip we've ever taken, at Disney or elsewhere. Only five days. And we'll enjoy every minute of it !!!
Anyone home in there? 
Can't wait to hear what you thought of California Grill! 
Looking forward to you starting on a new pre-TR soon 
