A Different Sort Of Disney trip - Continued
While the drive from our home to Disneys HHI door is roughly 10 hours, we are also fortunate enough to have family members
(note: that we actually like) planted strategically along our route, thus breaking our trip into 2 easy segments 6 hrs for the first leg, stay a day or two, then drive the remaining 4 hours. (Or in kid terms, thats three movies, a Happy meal, 2 bathrooms, followed by 1 movie, some radio, snacks in car, and one bathroom. ) Packing for the trip went better than expected, despite the fact the kids seemed to keep proferring forth new things to bring everytime I turned around boogie boards, sand toys, skim boards, beach umbrella, books, gameboys, 2 puzzles with missing pieces, 3 stuffed rabbits, a talking Pikachu -- the list gets fuzzy (and
really long!) from here. DH added to this with a plethora of edibles from Sams (where you cant buy anything in units less than kilos, bushels, or pallet-loads.) Like Mr. Potato Head, I drew the line at Monkey Chow, and dared anyone to cross it, lest I have to put on my Angry Eyes! So with a van load full of kids, crap, snacks, and maps, we hit the highway and made good time to my mothers home in upstate S.C. for dinner (or supper, depending upon what side of the Mason-Dixon your table typically resides). We stayed there 2 nights before restuffing our light green van again; we looked like a pregnant olive making our way towards the coast that morning. We pit-stopped with about 30 miles left in the trip for a quick lunch at Wendys nothing to mention here, except all young girls must have been acting up that day. I had to escort my dd outside for a little mom-to-overtired-dd conversation around behavioural expectations and noticed 2 other moms doing the same thing. Something in the air or the chicken nuggets, I suppose.
Anyway -- We had no real problems finding the resort. Thanks to great pictures forwarded to me in advance by Scootersmom (thanks Colleen!), it was like Disney déjà vu hey, wait a minute, havent I
seen all this before? I always love that first moment when you spy your "home". And this moment did not disappoint -- very nice.
The next 6 days at HHI pretty much blended together, one into the next, with many of the same attributes, just in different permutations (i.e. beach first, THEN pool
pool first, THEN beach
you get the idea.) Therefore, rather that do a play-by-play, day-by-day account, Ive broken the trip into several separate attributes to describe our overall impressions and experiences with HHI and our Non-WDW Disney Experience.
Check In It was smooth, and our room was ready at arrival at 12:45 pm. CM Jennifer said she had a room with a view for us. We had a 2BR villa -- #1412 near the front end of the resort. I admit it I was bummed to see it was so far from the pool and Community Hall. And we had wanted 2nd floor, too. But hey, it was a 2br, non-smoking, non-handicapped, and it was ready giddyup, lets go. I convinced the kids this was really THE place to be, since it would be closer to the beach pick up/ drop off point. And it meant close parking to the villa (Anti-valet DH has gotta love that, right?) The grounds at HHI are very well kept, but one thing we immediately noticed hmmm, everything is so much smaller than we thought! The lodge, the lobby, the pools, Murgies den, the Mercantile, basically the whole resort
It was like,
Caution, Objects In All The Photos Are Smaller Than They Appear. Mind you, thats not necessarily a BAD thing meaning, our villa was closer to the pool than we imagined from just looking on the map, and we were MUCH closer to Shelter Cove than we had imagined, too. Nothing was really very far from anything, I guess! Bike riding was a breeze. But it was definitely something to get used to I think I had spent too much time looking at that aerial view of Disneys HHI resort and it just somehow looked more sprawling, like OKW and SSR combined, from that perspective. In contrast, however, the villa itself seemed bigger inside that what I had imagined, based on experience at other villas, looking at pics and square footage, etc. Go figure.
The Villa : As for the room and its view
After our VERY short drive to the villa (a speed bump and a sneeze and we were there) I got out of the car and looked at the marina across from our door. I thought, Hmm
Is this the view the CM is talking about? We went inside and I looked out of the back glass doors. The villa overlooks a small planked boardwalk leading back to the lodge. From there, it looks out across a fairly vast marsh. Or maybe
this is the view? The one thing I couldnt figure out for the life of me, though, when looking at the marsh was all the pressed-down brown stuff, like dead hay, at the area extending right from the boardwalk well out into the marsh. They looked like crop circles, I swear who knows, maybe it formed a huge hidden Mickey from an aerial view. In any case, it seemed odd, all this twiggy marsh grass pressed down so neatly in flat, swirly patterns. (And we saw the same thing later over at the pier.) Our porch from which to view the crop circles and otherwise lush marshland was quite impressive we had a long balcony, plus a smaller one off of the 2nd bedroom. 2 rockers and a picnic table, all in great shape. I will confess I didnt get a shock and awe experience with the marsh view at least, not right away. For starters, it was mid-day. Sun was high, grass was green, tide was heading out, critters were resting somewhere shady. But the view grew on me, especially early and late in the day, as the sun rose and set. The birds (herons and such) would stand tall in the grasses. Boaters could be seen on the distant waters. Even though we were considered ground level, we were still up quite a ways from the ground (a nice staircase or 2). There was one view I could have done without, though -- our kids gasped in amazement to see a guy on the neighboring porch jump from his balcony down to the boardwalk to retrieve his fishing bait (I presume thats what it was, since it looked like a gnarly old piece of squid. But hey, perhaps he had plans for some really rubbery fried calamari that night
) The kids thought the leap o faith from the balcony was way cool and debated trying it themselves I quickly reminded them to think again, you little scurvy muskrats -- This aint Fear Factor. I was also displeased to see Mr. Jump The Deck and his companion smoking (cigarettes, that is not personally ablaze, thank goodness). I am assuming its a non-smoking villa, as its adjacent to mine and mine is clearly labeled as such on the door, but hey, newbie that I am, what do I know? Fortunately, the wind was in my favor, so no smoke our way. We never saw them again after the first day. I think the thing that troubled me about the scene was watching them go in and out of the villa that day with cigarettes (and squid bits) in tow, so it made me wonder if the next occupants had vestiges of smoke in their room. ANYWAY Smokin Squidman and Co. aside, we had no issues with neighbors except for the occasional Thunder on the Tundra living above us. I was really amazed in all my
DVC experiences, I have NEVER heard such loud feet. It must be something about the insulation between floors (or a lack thereof). It was truly impressive. DH said they were like elephants. More like Lords of the Phants", Id say. Flatley himself and a troop of well-heeled hoofers couldnt have rivaled their rhythmic thumping. The villa itself was very clean, everything pretty much present and accounted for, though the bed linens in the 2nd BR looked a bit tired (lots of pulled threads and a notable 2 rip right in the top of my dds sheet). I was impressed with the bathrooms, frankly coastal areas can have lots of mold issues, and I thought the shower and tubs looked pretty darn good. I did purge out the master tub Jacuzzi one night and was GLAD I did ewwwwwww. That babys pipes needed a-cleanin - nasty. The kids thought it was great fun to come back from the pools at night and take their turn luxuriating in the spa while eating a Popsicle. (Yes, Popsicles and whirlpool baths -- were just weird that way. Actually, were just lazy that way you dont have to clean your sticky, drippy kid if they eat it in the bath its like self-cleaning fun for all.)
The Grounds: The landscaping and flowers / shrubbery etc. around the Disney resort are beautiful. I was disappointed to see Bambi and Thumper were foliage fakes, though -- maybe that sort of shrubbery doesn't fare well there? Anyway, the big pots of plants, flowers, trees all very bright and lovely. DH and I thought the potted assorted greenery were Bambi-fakes, too, but not so! They were very real, despite looking way too "perfect" -- thats just how nice they are, LOL! And they are tasty too, though please know that's not by our own account. That opinion was registered by the rabbits living under the boardwalk right outside our villa. We watched with amusement in the cool mornings as 2 bunnies hopped up on the boardwalk to sniff the air and grab some brekkie out of the big clay pot planter. In an effort to save the landscaping (and treat the bunnies) my son threw out 2 baby carrots, which were quickly scarfed up. The only downside to this little nature reverie is that 20 minutes later, I found my dd crying in the bedroom, clutching her stuffed rabbit animals and wailing, But I miiiissssss *sniff* I misssssss
sniffsniff
I missss Mister Bunnnnnnns! Mr. Buns is my eldest sons pet rabbit. He is a cross between a dwarf and mini-lop (the rabbit not my son) and is incredibly spoiled by our family. He also firmly believes our dd is a rabbit too and is, in fact, the lagomorph love of his life. Theirs is a very special relationship, and a girl and her bunfriend are not soon parted. Or at least, not without a lot of tears.
Bug report: There were a few issues on Day 1 and 2 with ants in our kitchen which, while preferable to ants in our pants, was still not a feature we wanted. We did our part and kept the counter spotless and the ants got suitably disgusted and headed elsewhere
maybe over to Mr. Squids? Or possibly upstairs, where they were promptly crushed underfoot. In any case, the ants were particularly bad at the beach. In the upper dunes, they were EVERYWHERE. Hmmm, I had forgotten about that. Back 15 yrs ago when DH and I were on our honeymoon at nearby Kiawah Island, we sat down one night in the sand to ponder the wonder of our love and the beauty of the ocean (but didnt ponder carefully enough where we sat). Let it suffice to say we didnt share too long of a romantic moment
those mean little suckers can BITE. There we were, suddenly jumping up from our romantic clinch, grabbing at our clothes, hopping around, slapping ourselves, shrieking and squealing
It was From Here to Eternity Meets Denny Terrios Dance Fever. Result: Not Good. Rate it R for obscene language, adult situations, and really bad ant bites in lascivious places, and give it a double-itchy calamine-coated thumbs DOWN.
ANYWAY
so about those ants at the HHI beach. We noticed them really heavily concentrated up in the higher sand and around the stairs to the beach house. I felt badly for anyone not paying close attention several folks laid their towels and such right on the anthills, especially when it was high tide. You had to really come into the damp sand to avoid them. As for the villa ant issue we didnt have any problems on days 2-5, and on the last day of our stay, Disney had pest control come in all the villas for their quarterly treatment, so hopefully that will also squelch any insect return there. Ironically, we didnt see a single palmetto bug anywhere I even looked for them, so I could show the boys, LOL! Little known bit of trivia on me my main fear is things in multitudes. Big long snake? Not an issue for me. Palmetto Bug so large it has my dds sneakers on and is fixing itself a cup of coffee? Not a biggie just makes it a better eventual target for a swift arm and well-rolled newspaper. But things in packs or multitudes gives me the heebies, big time. Ants, yellow jackets, cub scouts ooh, Ive got cold chills already. Brrrr.
Bikes: Rented them from Disney, no problems. Got the tag-along bike for our dd, who of course protested loudly. (But I dont
WANT to look at Mommys biscuits everywhere I go!!!) Who could blame her for that? Call me Brer Rabbit and put me in my Fat Pants. But after a ride or two, she recognized she could just look elsewhere for a view and have a grand, leisurely time doing it, so what the hey! No pedaling required it was like she had her own personal Rick-Shaw rental and I was her lackey. Get yer biscuits movin Mom
lets ride! (Note she didnt really say that. Ill bet she THOUGHT it, but she didnt say it.) Speaking of moving bodies, we did ride the bikes a few times to the beach house and I was pleased at what an easy ride it was. The kids loved riding around the resort, too, but I didnt feel too comfy letting them just go off on their own, namely because one of our sons isnt always observant of his environment (cars, pedestrians and other moving objects
not to mention the stationery ones, too!) Well, actually, its not that hes NOT observant hes just TOO observant of other things and hes looking elsewhere and distracted and next thing you know WHAM. Hes walked into lots of doors, God luv him. Plus, being at the front of the resort, theres a lot of come/go car and utility vehicle traffic past our villa. So it was as much for the safety of others as well as our kids that we only let the boys ride with an adult along! I think for the 2 adult bikes, 2 youth bikes and 1 tag-along, it cost $82 for the week. The bikes were in very good shape, too, as were the helmets. The staff at the rental window was very helpful but more on that topic later, in its own special topic.
Disney Doings: Ok, there was WAYYY too much to do. It boggles the mind. We left many of our planned activities out. I never did really get to shop anywhere (probably to my DHs delight!) We didnt see too much of the educational historical / museum stuff either (possibly to my kids delight?) And we didnt have to go to ANY medical centers or Quick Cares during our stay (much to MY great delight!) We did a few of the Disney offerings, including Kids Night Out, All American BBQ, Shadows Tales, Magic in the Den, evening campfire (3 of those!), Dolphin Watch, the Low Country Shrimp Boil, and the Unbirthday party.
Kids Night out was, according to our kids anyway, excellent. I hesitated over the price ($20 per head), but in retrospect, its reasonable, given that the pizza is ordered in from Papa Johns, the movie is an evening show at the nearby theater, and the CMs also give the kids treats and such to nibble during the movie, and the whole event lasts 3 hrs long (versus $10 per head per hr at WDW). One thing that did trouble me, though, is that the CMs did not seem concerned with getting a number at which they could reach you. At many places like this, they give you a pager, in case you are needed. When I asked the CM about leaving a cell phone #, she seemed nonchalant about it, sort of, Oh, you can leave it if you WANT to, but there shouldnt be any problems. Umm, I think thats why they are called accidents because they occur when you ARENT expecting them. That made me a bit nervous. Couple that with my embarrassment to realize I did NOT know the kids would be leaving the resort until DH and I actually came to pick them up! When I had asked about Kids Night out, I was told They get pizza and a movie, ages 5-12, $20 per child for 3 hrs. Naïve me figured they would be holed up in the Community Bldg eating pizza and watching a video movie there I had no clue the plan involved mass transport to a local movie theater. Mind you, I think thats great for the kids they got to see a current film (Sky High) on a real screen, and it certainly makes me feel like the $20 was a lot more reasonable. But that also makes me all the more feel that with the kids leaving the resort, driving to another public facility, etc., some sort of contact ability to the Mother Ship should be required. My kids school requires that much Disney should too.
BBQ and Shrimp Boil: Both were quite good, though in retrospect I seriously doubt our kids got their moolahs worth out of it. There is too much activity going on for that to ever happen! 9 bucks for my son to take a bite or two of a hot dog and wash it down with a swig of lemonade is pricey. Mind you, all of my kids found something to like about the meals their favorite edibles were well represented there just wasnt the interest, relative to the action going on around them. We would have almost done better to just plunk out an extra $30 and let the the kids go on another Kids Night Out instead of the Low Country Boil, and let DH and I have another low-key evening together. Compared to the BBQ, the Low Country Shrimp Boil seemed sparsely attended, though. Perhaps thats because it was Thursday, and the resort was starting to thin in anticipation of the Friday Night points-gouge? Or maybe folks would rather get their seafood at a local seafood restaurant, with more plentiful choices? Who knows. The food was good at both the BBQ and Boil ribs, chicken, burgers, dogs, etc at the BBQ; shrimp, pork, gumbo, chicken strips, etc at the Boil. My youngest and eldest ate their weight in watermelon, I swear. They had someone painting faces at both events, but the paint came right off with water. Considering both parties were held right near the POOL, that was a bit of a bummer. Maybe they could consider those face pencils that require a bit of hand lotion to remove them something that allowed the kids to still get wet but wasnt too terribly permanent? Just a thought. All in all, Im not sure Id feel compelled to do either dining event again we would probably just as soon eat in our villa or at a restaurant, then come over for the games. Mind you, Im glad we did it, and
certainly dont regret it it just might not be as important to try it next time.
Character Meet/Greet: Aha, fooled you, didn't I -- you thought maybe we had drifted into a WDW vacation, eh? Well, no Mouse and pals here, my friends. HHI does try hard to inject some character into their resort, though. They have elected not to rely on the obvious Disney spokesmodels for their resort. Instead, they have the whole "Shadow the Dog" low country legend thing going on, and in tandem with that, they have BLou Crabbe. Im not sure if they have had the same BLou all these years, but I did notice that in the DVC planning video, if you look verrry carefully, there is someone dressed just like a trim version of BLou getting pushed into the pool in slapstick fashion. Somehow, I dont see this BLou being as carefree and happy as the guy in the video if that were to happen to him. He seemed like a character you might find on the old show Evening Shade. Very likable, with a dry, subtle sense of humor but maybe it was just something about the week we were there, the heat, what he had for breakfast, or the lack of reaction folks gave him he didnt seem like a very happy Crabbe. We first saw him over at the BBQ, but later got a better look at him during Shadows Tales on Thursday, when he and a certain golden retriever came over to the shuffleboard court to prove Yes, Virginia, there is a Shadow. And poor BLou Crabbe couldnt get a lick of attention, it seemed, except what that dog happened to give him when she snagged a treat from him now and then. All the kids quickly crammed in around Shadow and totally tuned BLou out. The only tale they seemed interested in was the one that was wagging. Im not sure any of the kids could even tell you a word of the tales, thats how upstaged BLou was by the dog. They probably should have held the event in Murgies den, let him tell the tales, THEN produced the dog. It was rather hot and muggy out by the shuffleboard court at high noon anyway, and even Shadow was getting less receptive as the minutes passed. At the magic show, folks must have been hot and tired or comatose or something, because it seemed like BLou felt he was talking to a dead crowd. He kept making comments about the silence of the audience (and I have to say, it was pretty quiet). At the pool games Tuesday night, he came by us in the conga line and said, as he clacked 2 sticks together, Do you know why I do this? Before DH and I could respond, he added, Because they PAY me to do it! And he congoed off into the night. I know this hes gotta be one tough cookie, because they could not have paid me to wear his outfit in the Carolina summer heat. That standard issue Crabbe-shell (vest, long pants, heavy boots fly-fishin gear) has gotta be stifling hot especially in August at high noon in the Low Country humidity. Ick.
Campfires: The evening campfires were quite good we went to 3 of them while we were there. Disney had two very lively young CMs from Scotland Gregor and Chris that were quite popular, especially with the kids. My own trio thought the antics of those two guys were hilarious. What I personally found hilarious is that even now, a week later, my kids are still singing the campfire songs with Scottish accents!
Da Moooose, da Moooooose! Swimming in da wah-teh
. Apparently the Moose song was a real fave of Gregors, though barely tolerated by the other CMs. The anti-Moose CMs explained that they felt the ending was in poor taste (not to spoil it for you, but the Moose ends up dead.) Personally, the song didnt bother me. I had greater reservations about singing the also infamous Baby Shark song wherein a swimmer loses various appendages and they perform CPR (or as my dd sings it, Sleepy Arms). My qualms with this otherwise cute song stemmed from the fact that (a) whats described in the song is actually happening lately and (b) there was a young girl about 7 or 8 yrs old at the campfire who literally had no left arm. Granted, nobody said a shark did that or a moose either, for that matter. Nonetheless, since the kid seemed unphased by the shark song and was singing right along, I cant see how the moose song would be any bigger a problem. Its no worse than Go tell Aunt Rhodie with the goose that croaks and all those goslings crying
Whatever. Hey, how did I get on this depressing subject, anyway? Oh yeah Scottish campfires. Back to topic - ahem. Sooooo
.. On the 1st night (Sundays campfire), the wood must have been wet from a brief rain, because the fire smoke was horrendous. Really bad and going everywhere. People were holding their eyes in pain, self and family included, and especially the CMs standing right by the billowing inferno. At one point, CM Chris, dodging the smoke as best he could, alluded to the earlier showers of the day and asked the crowd, Because, aftah all, whots the wuhrst thing that can happen on vacation? To which some smartie quickly blurted, Ummm, a Bad Campfire? (They left themselves wide open for that one.) The 2nd campfire (Wed.) was much better, at least in terms of air quality. There was less smoke, a new story, the Moose song (again!) and lots of fun. The 3rd campfire (Fri night), however, Gregor and Chris were not there (much to my kids great dismay). Not to be sexist, but something about Boom-Chicka-Boom - Arnold Schwartzenegger Style performed by an all-female cast just
isnt the same. There was one male CM there that night (Rich) that we had not seen all week, and I got the distinct impression he didnt do the sing-alongs very often. He seemed like someone who had been coerced to fill a gap and felt dorky doing it. And yet, he did seem to know the basic songs, so maybe he is a regular and its just his way. (Anybody else seen this guy at a campfire?) When my kids cried out for The Moose Song! The Moose Song! Rich jumped in quickly and responded, Oh NO you dont there will be NO MOOSE SONG Not tonight! Not on MY watch! He noted that he didnt like the ending, and he wanted to change the words to it so even though it seemed like he was just following behind the female CMs there, someone had at least briefed him on the music du jour, or the Moose song, if nothing else! He also said, And no Freebird, either. That Party Pooper
. As for the chow -- the smores were very tasty. I think thats such a neat treat for Disney to provide its guests, and the kids of course loved it. Speaking of good things to nibble, I should also note that only on the last night (Friday) did we find the skeeters seeming to enjoy a taste of us
maybe all that smoke on Sunday had kept them away! (Sometimes even the thickest clouds have a silvery DEET-like lining
) When you consider that the whole resort is right by a marsh, this factor (the relatively low skeeter bite ratio) is even more impressive.
And more impressive STILL is how confounded LONG those wacky campfire songs can stay ingrained in your brain. My kids were singing the Baby Shark song all the next day (interspersed with the Moose one, of course). Going to a campfire every other night or so only further deepened the retentive powers. I am one of those sorts of people that, if I go to see a musical, I will feel compelled to say everything in song for the next several hours
days
perhaps weeks. It drives my kids nuts but alas, they are my spawn, and so too are they cursed with the Singing Gene. It seemed like every bit of commentary in the days that followed lent itself to the Shark tune
Lets go eat
. Doot doot doot-dee-doo
lets go eat
doot doot doot-dee-doo. "Ride your bike... doot doot dootdeedoo! Ride your bike... doot doot dootdeedoo! " "Sunburn hurts.. doot doot dootdee-" oh, never mind,. you get it, right? Even now, home for over a week, my kids are still prone, for no apparent reason, to suddenly sing out, I said a BOOM chicka BOOM! My DH (lacking the necessary gene of appreciation) just shakes his head and says, "How long will this last?" Apparently quite a while. I heard my dd playing with the rabbit just the other day, and singing to it, C'mon, Rabbit Style! I said a BUN-chicka-BUN! I said a BUN-chicka-BUN! I said a BUNNY-carrot-LETTUCE-carrot-LETTUCE-carrot-BUN! Uh HUH! Oh Yeah! One More Time! Thats my girl. Shes got my gene
and THEN SOME.
BOAT TOURS: Some of my fellow DISer DVCers may recall how I debated long and hard on one particular event of this trip Dolphin cruise or Beach Combing trip? Dolphin cruise or Beach Combing Trip? Aughhh! Dolphins: 2 hrs on boat, at $30 per head, with 10% DVC discount (so 27 X 5). Beach Combing is same trip, but add 1 hour on a island beach shell-gathering and an extra $20 per head (and no DVC discount so 50X 5). In the end, I chose the dolphins
and in retrospect, alas, I chose wrong. I went with the dolphin cruise because I was very unsure of how my kids would handle the boat ride itself. I figured 2 hrs was long enough to test their stomach stamina on the water and that seeing the dolphins would be enough reward. Of course, I realize now that a boatload full of little water-chummers might have actually HELPED bring dolphins to us to make the trip more memorable, LOL. But my childrens newly discovered tolerance for watercraft is not what makes me think I chose wrong. It has to do with sustained gains. Let me explain
We had Kyle as our captain and he was excellent he did his best to find the dolphins, and at one point sidled us up to a fishing boat and let the kids see / hold live shrimp. He was clearly quite knowledgeable about the area, the waterways, the fish and general sealife
But from our conversation, I quickly inferred that (a) the friendly dolphins that come close to the boats are the older ones who used to get hand-fed and (b) once those guys meet the fate of the Moose, thats probably theend of dolphin touring as we know it. The new dolphin crop has no real reason to ever come up to the boats. We did see a few dolphins up very close on our tour. These were some of the oldies and both Kyle and Scott (and most any other boat driver we saw) knows them by name, thats how distinct they are. Scott had taken another family out at the same time as us, and when we re-docked afterwards, my DH overheard him making apologies for the relative lack of dolphin activity as they got off the boat. We did see dolphins, but certainly none were coming up to our boat trying to shake our hands and audition for Sea World the way the pictures in the travel books represent them. Kyle told us that if we came back again, we should really try fishing instead more excitement, and more fun for the kids. I later spoke with the family that toured with Scott, and it seemed they too had been told to consider a fishing trip next time. This family had never heard of the beach combing trip (These folks werent DISers, thats for sure! And the Beach Combing trip is what was really advertised on the resort, both on bulletin boards and even on the resort TV station). Another family we t met later in the week also did a tour with Kyle, and he had recommended fishing to them as well. Now granted, they get more moolah on a fishing trip, and maybe some captains just like to fish more than they like to cruise around the waterway in pursuit of a dolphin. But what I meant about sustained gains is that I think taking an extra hour and getting something tangible out of the trip (even just one seashell) would have helped my crew immensely. They needed something to have and to hold to really make the trip a wow experience. Just the brief visit with the fishing folks (and getting to hold the shrimp and such) added greatly to their experience, so I think if they had something they could have brought BACK with them (as in ,all the way to WV, and lets face it that shrimp would have been mi-tee RIPE by now, so that wouldnt have worked), well, it would have made a far bigger, better impression. You know kids if theres a souvenir involved, theyre in! We went to Harbor Town later that same day and what did our trio choose to buy for themselves? Sand dollars and conch shells. Yessiree, next time, Im splurging on beach combing. I think fishing might be too long and tedious for little ones (my dd doesnt last too long fishing from a pier
I cant fathom her holding up long trapped on a little boat), but Ill keep that idea in mind for when the gang is older. We were very happy with Kyle and would gladly take him as our captain again! Interesting side note he was soon leaving for Indonesia, then off to Hawaii for the winter months. What a life a job where you never have to wear long pants or even socks!
Unbirthday Party: On a last-minute whim, the kids signed up for the Unbirthday parties for their respective age groups. They enjoyed this immensely. DS was bummed he never got to paint a dead fish (gyotaku) but it just seemed like we were always doing SOMETHING as it was
(so much for What are we going to DO, huh!) While the boys went to the party, DH and I watched our dd enjoying herself in the pool. Several times we thought we heard thunder rumbling nearby. I was surprised they didnt close the pool, as notable as the thunder was, and finally went to ask a lifeguard for confirmation (as in, hint hint do you hear what I hearrrrrrr?). Well, the raging storm was even closer than I thought because what we were hearing were all the 7-12 year old kids upstairs in Community Hall, at the Unbirthday Party, playing games and running around! Man, that was one ROWDY party. When DH went to collect the boys to take them to the beach, Evan was wearing most of the cake on his nose and cheeks. Ryan was a bit cleaner, though not by much. I took Caroline to her age groups party and an hour later when I came to retrieve her, I understood how this came to pass, as I watched her personally eating her cake off a paper banner on the floor. She said she was eating it like Shadow does. The kids loved the parties. My sister confirmed that the parties must be universally popular, because while she was at Vero that same week, their Activities Sheet went so far as to remind people to limit themselves to only ONE Unbirthday Party per stay, LOL!
Meals: Aside from dining at Disneys events, DH and I ate at Scotts Fish Market (Shelter Cove) and we took a party of 9 over to San Miguels on Friday night. Scotts was good DH and I both had cups of the seafood gumbo. Mine had more seafood, his had more gumbo. As a token of my affection, I split the big honkin scallop that was in my cup with him. What can I say, Im a giver. For dinner, I had the swordfish with the feta / artichoke topping while DH had the sautéed scallops. It was all very fresh and very good, with nice dining by the water. They had a guitar player who did the usual songs guitar players do (and 10 bucks and a beer says hell play Bye-Bye Miss American Pie before the night is through.) Pretty sure he played Freebird too, though The Moose song never did come up. San Miguels had good food, but a few oddities I am compelled to note. I ordered a Tecate beer and was surprised when they brought it to me
in the can! Huh? Whats with that? With a lime, no less, which let me just say doesnt work too well. Kept blockin the hole of the can. Next time they should bring a glass (bottle or mug). Also the menu says that only your first basket of chips / salsa is free after that, expect to pay. Eventually we caved and asked for another basket of chips because we still had oodles of salsa left they in turn brought us 2 baskets of chips and 2 more bowls of salsa, but none of that showed up on our bill. Maybe that clause is just for the folks who come drink and nibble chips all night and leave sans a meal, LOL! The food was good there, though I have been told umpteen times now by our more HHI-savvy friends we should try Santa Fe instead. One more thing to add to the Next Time list, I guess! By the way, we used our Restaurants.com coupon over in Sea Pines at Giuseppis and it worked fabulously well for us! Recall that this is the $25 coupon I got for $8 for the pizza place in Sea Pines (NOT to be confused with Giuseppis over near the Disney resort this is a Giuseppi of a whole nother breed.) Well, I was lucky enough to have a friend staying the same week as us over at Sea Pines, so she got a guest pass for us (saved us the $5 entry fee!) After some aimless wandering (for what sparse info those little tiny maps they hand out at the Sea Pines Gate will give you, they may as well hand you a rusty compass) we finally found Giuseppis a tiny little place down the road from Harbor Town on Lighthouse Road. We ordered a large pepperoni pizza for the kids, strombolis for DH and me, and cheesy breadsticks for all, with big sodas all around. It was all very good, and there was oodles of food DH couldnt even finish his stromboli, and we had half a pizza left to take home and nibble that night as well. The bill would have come to about $44 but we were spared $17 of that, thanks to the coupon. A pretty good deal! The boys were intrigued by the décor the owners must be huge Pittsburgh fans. Steelers and Penguins and Pirates Oh My, as far as the eye could see. My dd wanted to know just WHO was this Joe Green guy, and why did he have to be so mean? Of course, being a total diehard Philly Fan, my DH wasnt THAT impressed
but hey, looking at sports stuff (even if it was the wrong team) beats looking at a blank wall any day of the week, so for that reason, he liked it, nonetheless. Would he have liked an 8X10 of McNabb better ,yes indeed, but hes a reasonable man, he can compromise. And his boli was good, so no complaints there, either! (Everybody sing! "Food was good... doot doot doot deedo, Food was good...doot doot dootdeedoo...")
One thought for future trips while on our aquatic journey with Captain Kyle of the Dolphin Tour, he pointed out to us that on the tip of the Disney resort resides one of the many guest grills and it is strategically located such that you are right on the end of the marina, looking out at the edge of the marsh and marina as it feeds into the larger water areas (down near bldg 30, if youre looking at the map). He said if HE were staying at the resort, he would (a) get his food stuffs together and (b) drive or bike or walk whatever down to this point and fix his food (grill some shrimp and steaks, or even burgers and dogs whatever) and eat by the waters edge overlooking the marsh at sunset every night. The man makes a strong, valid point. I would surely give this a shot for at least one night on a future visit so add THAT to the List, too!
Another thing to point out about HHI apparently this is a real drinkers town, because it seemed like every restaurant around came with the recommendation of Oooh, its a great place to get a drink
. And just as many times this recommendation was then followed by the vehement qualifier,
but DONT eat the food there! Just get a drink and enjoy the view. I dont know how other folks enjoy themselves, but I personally LIKE to actually have food at dinner. Im just crazy that way. Looking through the HHI restaurant guide and on-line reviews, youll find many places are judged on their (a) ambiance and (b) wine list. I guess food quality rates as a distant (c)
(of course, if you have enough of (b), then who the heck cares about (c), right? ) Anyway, it makes it difficult to choose a place because on the one hand, you want a place with some ambiance, but on the other, we didnt want to land in a tourist trap. And many times, the very places on the prime property that were lauded for their view or atmosphere were the same ones that folks claimed were not as good in food quality. Puts you between a rock lobster and a hard roll in terms of choosing and there are LOTS of places to choose from, too!
Groceries: We did our grocery shopping at Piggly Wiggly I found the veggies and basics to be quite decent here. Meats, however, were somewhat lacking, but maybe Im too picky. (We buy our beef by the half-cow from a friend who has his own beef cattle. Spoils you for anything else.) Couldnt find a decent ham, either, so had to change my whole meal plan around. No harm done, but would probably seek out a different grocer if I was inclined to need more support from the butcher.
On the whole we didnt eat out a lot. And we didnt really care. My eldest was determined to eat at Tide Me Over for some reason, though. This never did materialize for him, though I did end up getting lunch for us all on the day we left over at Signals at the Beach House (close enough same type food, with some of the same people that were at Tide Me Over! Talk about job rotation -- those HHI CMs work every job, everywhere!) I have to admit, this was neither exorbitantly priced nor bad-tasting chow in fact, as grilled cheese and fries and such fare goes, it was quite delicious. I think $4.25 for a grilled cheese, fries, pickle wedge and drink is pretty darn good, frankly. The fries were especially excellent for some reason! The kids scarfed it all down in seconds they dont do
that at BK or Mickey Ds. Score one for Signal's in my book!
Hey, you're still here?
C'mon, let's do it, trip report style!
I said a BOOM chicka BOOM!
I said a BOOM chicka BOOM!
I said a BOOM chicka "I'm-writing-all-this-because-I'm-so-bummed-it's-over" Chicka-BOOM!
Uh huh...
Oh yeah...
One more time!
Don't make me put this lesson in a shark song for ya. 
) and the BGs buddy and his galpal, so we surmise (incorrectly or not) it was 2 couples together. I said to DH, What parent gives their kid permission to come to HHI with his girlfriend and another couple for a week? To which my once-a-teen-guy DH replied, Ahh, but maybe his parents dont KNOW he and his buddy brought GIRLS along
Ok, always so VERY nice to know my DH was a teen-dog, too
In any case, I told my former-juvenile-rascal DH that no way Jose were any of OUR kids doing that (or at least, not with our knowledge and/or dime!) Seventeen sure seems awfully young to be set free in a pricey resort with your girlfriend and hormones and no supervision of any sort. The rents should have come, too
Nuf said. 
In any case, Im sure she is trying hard to purge the scare out of her mind. It was a very nice balloon bouquet, by the way, and the resort also put our names on the resort TV channel. BWVDenises ds had a birthday that week and his name was up on the TV resort channel too just another special touch they add to special occasions at HHI! 
We really enjoyed meeting your family and we were so sorry when it was time to go home. 
), then sprayed a combo of vinegar/sea water on it. He was fine and back in the water a few minutes later. That was nothing compared to the wasp problem we had outside our villa! Our younger ds was stung in the head walking down the stairs, and they were a constant bother on the porch. We called repeatedly and a contracted exterminator came and sprayed twice, but we finally picked up our own can of wasp spray to protect ourselves.
(Although I missed the day to day excitement involving your extended family descriptions and Ear-yore's saga...) Great job!
