Disney d5-resort day
Is it really possible? 5 days into this? What I love about travel is the personality stamp I get to place on this time. Lots of folks do Disney, but no one gets the privilege of doing it with my family. There are just fun tics and quirks that are specific to our experience. It us fun to be a family together.
Today is a Karen day, our designated relax day. We slept late; 0830 for me. We didn’t get fed, sunscreened, and hair braided till 1100. We walked out our door, saved ourselves 2 lounge chairs by the pool, and walked to the bike rental. We got in a two seat sunscreened, and hair braided till 1100. We walked out our door, saved ourselves 2 lounge chairs, walked to the bike rental, and got a two person pedaling quadricycle. The girls sat in the front, grocery-cart style.
The day was hot, but not sultry. We rode down a paved path to the neighboring campground. There was the promise of ponies for the girls. One family checking in their bike talked about possibly spotting a panther. So, we encouraged the girls to ring the bell often. We saw lizards darting off the road.
On arrival, we gravitated to a pen with cute white ponies. I fed the first one grass. Laura followed suit from behind. The pony chomped her finger and didn’t immediately let go. Her middle finger got badly bruised. We iced it and held pressure while Laura cried and appropriately chastised him as a ‘very, bad horse’. We settled into some grass under a shaded tree to comfort Laura. I sang songs while icing her hand. Then a wasp landed on us. Yikes! Florida’s out to get us.
We retreated home with sniffles. Getting back, getting cold, icy cokes was the best restorative. We ate lunch. Laura was able to bend her finger. We changed and played in the pool. Less crowds than evening! Sara played organized games. Diving for submerged Teddy beats, retreiving floating ducks, and relay races. More water slides.
1500 and all are sleeping. Tired out.
1800 Chevy’s dinner. We used to eat at Chevy’s in Winston-Salem with J&C all the time. We haven’t really been back for a long time. I was eager to introduce the girls. I remembered the virgin margaritas and the balloon maker who crafted silly hats at your table and the fun of seeing tortilla making behind glass.
The girls loved it. Laura declared it the “best” restaurant. We acquired a balloon giraffe and horse. The girls loved playing with the tortilla dough. Their quesadillas were great. Laura ate everything. Wayne and I split carnita fajitas and enchiladas. The enchiladas are excellent and worth being the focus of the meal.
Then we went to another theme park (not really) of Downtown Disney. This visual extravaganza of restaurants and stores is very like a park. It is difficult to park and is packed. The evening was very pleasant, but the crowds got claustrophobic at times.
The initial walk was pleasant with a cool breeze and pleasing sites. We found Lego store with dramatic statues of a sea monster made from a million legos and a similarly constructed dragon. The store was impossible to get into. The girls weren’t that interested.
We stopped for Laura to get face painting. She’d been asking for days, but we never wanted to take park time to do it. So this was a good time. She was delighted. She chose daisy flowers. I scoped out the Ghiradelli store out return trip. Sara used more of her allowance and got a pillow pet panda which she’s now sleeping on. The place called Once Upon A Toy is probably the best and most comprehensive of all the many Disney toy stores I’ve visited this trip. It had fun Mr. Potatoe themed toys including one as Darth Mall. Disney now even encompasses Marvel characters now.
I knew my treat was extending things too far. Wayne was grouchy, the kids were tired, and the lines were ridiculous. Everyone wants ice cream around 9pm after dinner. We had intentionally spaced this treat from our meal, too. The girls had already gotten a small scoop of ice cream with their Chevy’s meal. Wayne didn’t want desert. We were bumping dangerously against our 0530 rising for our park day tomorrow.
Despite all these factors, I put a proverbial steak in the ground and made my family wait. Ghiradelli has always been a foundational food for me. It was the beginning of any thought I had of trying to be a foodie. My Dad took me on a business trip with him to SF. We went to the Ghiradelli ice cream shop because it was a Roadfood. My jaw dropped. So many good things under one roof.
This was before Dagoda and Theo.
After that, I sought out Ghiradelli religiously. It’s the cocoa my kids have been raised on. The bars are opened with Willy Wonka like reverence with their golden wrappers for s’mores or chocolate covered strawberries. Ghiradelli’s appearance as a brownie mix on Costco aisles replaced my regular making of brownies from scratch from the recipe on the chocolate bar. I never really missed the difference. It became my standby for parties and events. The degree of compliments or spoon licking never changed. Since leaving the Bay area, it’s been a long time since I’ve visited that beloved ice cream shop. So it was Ghiradelli that drew me to Downtown Disney. The rest was really an excuse to maneuver us to this place in space and time. So we waited.
The result was a shared nirvana. Mint Bliss sundae. The mint is very good, a more solid, rich version of my favorite mint at 31 flavors with the mint chips light and dispersed. The chocolate clung to the sides trying to escape the spoon in rich chunks. Laura proved the best at releasing them from their hideaways. Sara pursued the pure mint free of whipped. I ate what I could get and Wsyne succumbed at the tailend. My obsession became a family project. It’s a nice metaphor for what family is.