Beach Club Babe
12-05-2008, 09:36 AM
Cast Of Characters:
Me (Heather)
DH (Ron)
DD#1 (Courtney)
DD#2 (Ashleigh)
Dates: 12/02/08 to 12/03/08
Resort: Pop Century
50's Section
Building 3
Room 3458
When I last left off we had just returned Courtney to her campus in time for her 8:00 AM class and the rest of us headed off for IHOP. After eating, we still had some time before Courtney would be finished, so we headed over to Indiatlantic Beach. We are not really beach people, but of all the members of the family, Ashleigh just loves it.
Just as we got out of our car, we pass an elderly gentleman getting off his bicycle, and he greets us before striking up a conversation with Ron. He tells us where he is from, and how he came to spend half the year here, pretty much his life story. He then pulls out a box of Ritz Crackers and asks if we would like to feed the seagulls by hand! Ashleigh and I both have an aversion to birds. Once when DS was in 2nd grade, we were on a field trip and was forced to feed some lories sp? by hand. Personally, I was never so freaked out, especially after one had an accident on my hand. The 2 of us are thinking ABSOLUTELY NOT, but dear old DH didn't want to hurt his feelings and takes a cracker. Well I think every seagull in the state of Florida descended upon us. We were totally surrounded, and they were swooping way too close to our heads. I tried my best to keep my composure, but Ashleigh was so freaked out. If she wasn't so afraid, she would have been back in the car in a second, but she was totally paralyzed with fear. She had her head down and was trying not to scream, but in a little raised voice she's stating her obvious displeasure and hoping nothing would land on her, which she was sure would happen. Luckily, I remembered I had left my cell phone in the car, and wanted to get back to it in case Courtney called. I got the keys from Ron, and was so relieved when I opened the door, the phone began to ring. Thank you Courtney, your timing was impeccable. We said our goodbyes to our bird loving friend and made our way back to pick up Courtney.
Courtney needed a few things from Target, as most college kids do, so we headed there and picked up what she needed. She said she had a long list but the damages were minimal. Once again we returned to campus, got our one day parking permit and returned to her dorm to unload her things. She was in desperate need for a shower and some breakfast, so while she did that, we took a walking tour of campus. When Courtney was finished we met up again to she could introduce us to 2 of her closest friends. We continued our tour with one of her friends, before returning to her room one last time. We did not stay long after that and were saying our goodbyes. It wasn't nearly as gut wrenching as when we left her in August, most likely because, her last final is 12/10, so in just over a week she will be returning for Christmas break. If I had known this before making arrangements for this trip, I would have done things a bit different. Next year, I think we will be spending her Thanksgiving break at WDW, giving everybody an opportunity for a good trip, and still having Courtney come home in a week or so's time.
Ashleigh had not had her fill of the beach yet, since our birdie incident took all of her time, so we returned, but stopped at Paradise Beach instead. She had a great time taking pictures and getting her feet wet, a little to cool to really go in. It was time to head west to WDW. We encountered no traffic and were checking into Pop Century, by 3:30 PM. Our room was in the 50's section, but rather close to the 60's and not too far from the Food Court and busses. I was the 1st in the shower, followed by Ashleigh and Ron. Ron then went to sleep for about an hour. I had not made a reservation for dinner, as I was not sure when we would be arriving. I went over to concierge for tickets, and to see if they could get us in somewhere. The only place we could get into, without waiting until 8:30 which was just too late, was Trails End Buffet. We took it. I went back to room, and woke Ron after he had about an hour's rest.
Our plan was to grab a bus to MK and then a boat to Fort Wilderness. When we got to the bus stop, it was apparent that that would not work. The only bus stop to have any line, was for Magic Kingdom. It was packed and there was a scooter waiting to board. We would never make it onto that bus, and maybe not even the second to come along. Instead, there was a waiting bus for Epcot, so we hopped on that. From there, we got another bus to Fort Wilderness and were lucky enough to have a Yellow Settlement bus waiting for us when we got there. A bit more complicated, but it got the job done in the end.
We had never eaten at Trail's End before, and were not really sure what to expect. I think we have to give it mixed reviews. We had only a short wait before our table was ready, but it was located down in the bar area. That made for a lot of schlepping for this very tired, old, pregnant lady. Also, the line to get the food was very long and did not move to well. However, the food was delicious, and we had an excellent server, who kept our glasses full and our empty plates cleared. The other drawback for us was the bathrooms being located outside. We probably wouldn't go out of our way to eat here again, but if we were in the neighborhood or even staying at FW, we would consider it again.
We would have a long day tomorrow, beginning early, and well, not really ending, as Ron would be driving after our day at MK tomorrow. He needed a lot more rest, so we sent him back to the room, while Ashleigh and I headed for DTD for just a tiny bit of shopping. Ashleigh really wanted a new purse and to get a little something that she promised to a boy back home. However, our 1st order of business was to stop at Guest relations to get a new Disney Rewards card, and transfer the points. A quick bathroom break, and were off to see what we could find. After a few stores, Ashleigh had not seen what she wanted, but did find that Jack Skellington Pen for her friend back home. On our way back to the busses, we were stopped by a survey taker and obliged him. He was the 2nd person to say "Just one night?" Yeah, I know, and I explained the situation to him. Of course, by taking the time to answer his questions, we just missed our bus by a few seconds. We had a good wait for the second, but not too long. However, our ride back was pretty unpleasant as a tired, crying 15 month who wanted his mother to hold him was spanked repeatedly by his grandmother. Eventually, he was turned over to his mother and he immediately calmed down. It really could have easily been avoided in hte 1st place. Back at the room, Ron woke up just briefly and muttered about how much he liked this place better than our last visit when we stayed off site. Back to sleep he went, we popped the TV on briefly, just enough to see "the weirdo", it made miss Emily, so off to sleep we went as well.
Day 2 to follow
Me (Heather)
DH (Ron)
DD#1 (Courtney)
DD#2 (Ashleigh)
Dates: 12/02/08 to 12/03/08
Resort: Pop Century
50's Section
Building 3
Room 3458
When I last left off we had just returned Courtney to her campus in time for her 8:00 AM class and the rest of us headed off for IHOP. After eating, we still had some time before Courtney would be finished, so we headed over to Indiatlantic Beach. We are not really beach people, but of all the members of the family, Ashleigh just loves it.
Just as we got out of our car, we pass an elderly gentleman getting off his bicycle, and he greets us before striking up a conversation with Ron. He tells us where he is from, and how he came to spend half the year here, pretty much his life story. He then pulls out a box of Ritz Crackers and asks if we would like to feed the seagulls by hand! Ashleigh and I both have an aversion to birds. Once when DS was in 2nd grade, we were on a field trip and was forced to feed some lories sp? by hand. Personally, I was never so freaked out, especially after one had an accident on my hand. The 2 of us are thinking ABSOLUTELY NOT, but dear old DH didn't want to hurt his feelings and takes a cracker. Well I think every seagull in the state of Florida descended upon us. We were totally surrounded, and they were swooping way too close to our heads. I tried my best to keep my composure, but Ashleigh was so freaked out. If she wasn't so afraid, she would have been back in the car in a second, but she was totally paralyzed with fear. She had her head down and was trying not to scream, but in a little raised voice she's stating her obvious displeasure and hoping nothing would land on her, which she was sure would happen. Luckily, I remembered I had left my cell phone in the car, and wanted to get back to it in case Courtney called. I got the keys from Ron, and was so relieved when I opened the door, the phone began to ring. Thank you Courtney, your timing was impeccable. We said our goodbyes to our bird loving friend and made our way back to pick up Courtney.
Courtney needed a few things from Target, as most college kids do, so we headed there and picked up what she needed. She said she had a long list but the damages were minimal. Once again we returned to campus, got our one day parking permit and returned to her dorm to unload her things. She was in desperate need for a shower and some breakfast, so while she did that, we took a walking tour of campus. When Courtney was finished we met up again to she could introduce us to 2 of her closest friends. We continued our tour with one of her friends, before returning to her room one last time. We did not stay long after that and were saying our goodbyes. It wasn't nearly as gut wrenching as when we left her in August, most likely because, her last final is 12/10, so in just over a week she will be returning for Christmas break. If I had known this before making arrangements for this trip, I would have done things a bit different. Next year, I think we will be spending her Thanksgiving break at WDW, giving everybody an opportunity for a good trip, and still having Courtney come home in a week or so's time.
Ashleigh had not had her fill of the beach yet, since our birdie incident took all of her time, so we returned, but stopped at Paradise Beach instead. She had a great time taking pictures and getting her feet wet, a little to cool to really go in. It was time to head west to WDW. We encountered no traffic and were checking into Pop Century, by 3:30 PM. Our room was in the 50's section, but rather close to the 60's and not too far from the Food Court and busses. I was the 1st in the shower, followed by Ashleigh and Ron. Ron then went to sleep for about an hour. I had not made a reservation for dinner, as I was not sure when we would be arriving. I went over to concierge for tickets, and to see if they could get us in somewhere. The only place we could get into, without waiting until 8:30 which was just too late, was Trails End Buffet. We took it. I went back to room, and woke Ron after he had about an hour's rest.
Our plan was to grab a bus to MK and then a boat to Fort Wilderness. When we got to the bus stop, it was apparent that that would not work. The only bus stop to have any line, was for Magic Kingdom. It was packed and there was a scooter waiting to board. We would never make it onto that bus, and maybe not even the second to come along. Instead, there was a waiting bus for Epcot, so we hopped on that. From there, we got another bus to Fort Wilderness and were lucky enough to have a Yellow Settlement bus waiting for us when we got there. A bit more complicated, but it got the job done in the end.
We had never eaten at Trail's End before, and were not really sure what to expect. I think we have to give it mixed reviews. We had only a short wait before our table was ready, but it was located down in the bar area. That made for a lot of schlepping for this very tired, old, pregnant lady. Also, the line to get the food was very long and did not move to well. However, the food was delicious, and we had an excellent server, who kept our glasses full and our empty plates cleared. The other drawback for us was the bathrooms being located outside. We probably wouldn't go out of our way to eat here again, but if we were in the neighborhood or even staying at FW, we would consider it again.
We would have a long day tomorrow, beginning early, and well, not really ending, as Ron would be driving after our day at MK tomorrow. He needed a lot more rest, so we sent him back to the room, while Ashleigh and I headed for DTD for just a tiny bit of shopping. Ashleigh really wanted a new purse and to get a little something that she promised to a boy back home. However, our 1st order of business was to stop at Guest relations to get a new Disney Rewards card, and transfer the points. A quick bathroom break, and were off to see what we could find. After a few stores, Ashleigh had not seen what she wanted, but did find that Jack Skellington Pen for her friend back home. On our way back to the busses, we were stopped by a survey taker and obliged him. He was the 2nd person to say "Just one night?" Yeah, I know, and I explained the situation to him. Of course, by taking the time to answer his questions, we just missed our bus by a few seconds. We had a good wait for the second, but not too long. However, our ride back was pretty unpleasant as a tired, crying 15 month who wanted his mother to hold him was spanked repeatedly by his grandmother. Eventually, he was turned over to his mother and he immediately calmed down. It really could have easily been avoided in hte 1st place. Back at the room, Ron woke up just briefly and muttered about how much he liked this place better than our last visit when we stayed off site. Back to sleep he went, we popped the TV on briefly, just enough to see "the weirdo", it made miss Emily, so off to sleep we went as well.
Day 2 to follow