So my sister NSalz turned 40 on July 5, 2006.
You will remember that as part of the NSalz turns 40 celebration, she and RSalz talked us into foregoing our Cape Cod vacation for a vacation in sunny hot humid thunderstormy Florida (ok so what if I loved it and it was actually hotter and more humid in NY while we were at the muddaland! So Day 6 was the celebration of NSalz’s birthday. It is very painful for me to do this TR outta chronological order, but I have promised the secret green club that I would post this days events before NSalz turned 41 and as you can see, I have brought it right down to the wire!!!! Of course Day 6 sticks out pretty well in my mind, while all the other days of our trip kind of blend into one another and are no longer clear, sharp memories……so here goes:
DAY 6!!!!!! Invisible ink warning!
This is the day …the grand celebrate NSalz’s birthday
day….which is a very good day for PD112, because I get to do whatever she gets to do, because I am the big sister!!!!!
The first order of business is to get rid of the DHs and the DDs!!! So we ship them off to MGM and we are off on our adventure. We are doing something that neither of us has ever done at Disney….We are getting massages at the Grand Floridian Spa!!! SO off on a bus to the Magic Kingdom for the first leg of the trip. After we get to the Magic Kingdom, we very happily make our way to the dock for a boat ride to the Grand Floridian.
The boat to the Grand Floridian is beautiful. Lots of polished wood. It is a very peaceful trip over to the resort.
We decide that we will eat at the Grand Floridian Café, as it is about noon time and our spa appointment is not until 2:00. I have never been to the Grand Floridian by boat; I’ve only been there by monorail, which drops you off right where you need to be! From the Boat Landing NSalz thinks she knows her way to the Café, but of course we are going into the back of the building. It’s kind of like “let’s make a deal” and we keep picking the wrong door. Behind door #1 there is a little vestibule surrounded by elevators to nowhere. We choose an elevator, but it goes only to resort rooms…and no one seems to have a room service tray waiting outside the door, so back to the elevator for a ride down. Door #2, same thing… and this section of the resort is deserted, there is no one to bug about directions! So we wander around outside a bit more and finally find Door #3 which looks much more promising as it is surrounded by windows and looks somewhat more like a public place. In we go and ta da! Easily make our way to the Café. The Café is very beautiful. It is an elegant yet relaxed place to eat lunch and the staff seems to be very accommodating. I can’t remember what either of us had for lunch, but I do remember that we were both pleased and thought lunch was very good.
When we finished lunch, we still had quite a bit of time before our spa appointments so we decided to walk around and browse the shops in the Grand Floridian. A terrible thunderstorm had started while we were eating lunch, so we purchased Mickey Mouse umbrellas. They keep them behind the counters at the cash registers, just ask and ye shall receive.
After a bit we decided to make our way to the spa, which is in a separate building. We passed the pool, which was closed due to the weather, and followed the pathway to the spa. The rain had stopped, but the walkway was flooded. Absolutely no drainage! No way around the puddles, so we end up walking through about 4 inches of water on our elegant spa day! We enter the spa looking like drowned rats and ready for the massages.
A lovely attendant showed us to the women’s spa area, which could very well be the most relaxing place on earth. She gave us a little tour of the lounge the locker room, the Jacuzzi area, and the shower area, apologizing that only one of the 2 showers was in service as they were renovating the spa. We assure her that this is no problem. The second shower area is sort of taped off…making one wonder if it is actually a renovation or a crime scene. The attendant gives us each a big fluffy robe and a pair of spa sandals to use. She tells us we can pick out whichever lockers we’d like and enter our own code for access to the locker. So we change into our spa gear and look around a bit after she leaves. In the bathroom area the sinks are the basins that sit on top of the counter. They look like the beautiful basins in the magazines that show all the wonderful things we could never afford. They have crocks and baskets filled with anything you could possible need …razors, shampoo, soap, cotton balls, q-tips, tampons, vodka (just checking to see if you’re paying attention!) you get the idea. The tile in the bathroom, shower room and Jacuzzi are beautiful, reminds me of how I imagine an expensive Italian villa.
We then go into the lounge area, where there are bowls of fresh fruit, and large canisters of green tea, lemon water, etc. The lighting is very dim and there are magazines to read while you are waiting for your treatment. I sit down and read a magazine and then NSalz comes out and does the same. NSalz then gets up for a moment to use the restroom, or snoop around
…who knows what she was really up to. She works for a police dept. so I suspect that she was nosing around the crime scene tape/ shower under renovation area. While she is gone an attendant comes in, sees her magazine on a chair and picks it up and puts it away. NSalz comes back and looks for her magazine…that’ll teach her to snoop around!
Well the first masseuse comes out her name is Josie and she is to be my masseuse. She brings me into a massage room and tells me what scented oils they have and asks what I would like, no discussion as to what the different oils are supposed to do for you, just says pick a scent. So I pick something or other and she says she will leave the room and that she will give me a bell to ring when I’m ready…oh well the bell’s missing, so she’ll just be back in a few minutes…I’m paying big bucks for this massage I want a bell! Oh well I’ll live! She comes back a few minutes later and asks if there are any particular areas I want her to work on. I tell her nope! She gives a decent massage. I have to say that I’ve had much better massages here, for ½ the price, but what can you do?
NSalz had a masseur named Tim, who apparently was the most wonderful masseur of all time. He spoke to her at length about any medical problems she might have as well as explaining all the different scents and oils. I believe he even went to find one for her that he did not have in the room, but that would be good for her…I bet she even got the dang bell.
Oh yup that's right we were celebrating your 40th birthday! I guess that means 41 is coming up soon!
- if not timely! Your Winnie makes me think of me when I was a little cub!!
3rd of three girls, begging to go swimming when the older sisters SO didnt want to! And, ofcourse, there's the whole "we're both bears" thing (honestly, my nickname as a kid was Pooh - as in "Ginny-the-winnie-the-pooh" .... love what sisters can do to a name
I hate to swim in the pools but my kids 
and winnie could be with my little ones... I can dream right? 
I (Hi LizzY)
please hurry!!! 
