Maholo
Food, food, food, food, food. There, a quick summary of my blog. Or at least a quick summary of my last several days. I am so stuffed from eating the last few days I don't think I will ever be able to eat again.
Saturday was our Animal Kingdom day! I consider DAK to be my home park, even though I work at the Lodge. I love how you always leave the park feeling connected to the Earth, with a renewed sense of wanting to take care of it. Festival of the Lion King is my favorite show, and I could easily sit and watch it all day.
However, I'm not sure it would be one of my blog posts if we didn't start it off with... FOOD! We got to DAK and my Papa was ready to eat right away. As we walked in, we just so happened to see that Rainforest Cafe was seating right away. We eat at Rainforest Cafe in Chicago, which has a bigger menu, but isn't nearly as fun. The Rainforest at DAK is the largest in the world, and it has 4 separate dining rooms. Vines hang from the ceiling and it's always raining somewhere. Our server, Kelly, was so absolutely fabulous and wonderful. She knew how to have fun, she made great recommendations, and she was so willing to go above and beyond to help us. Papa was on a Bloody Mary kick, but they don't come with celery, so she went back into the kitchen and cut it up for him herself. I had the best barbecue bacon cheeseburger on a (not stale and disgusting) gluten free bun. It's been a long time since I had a burger that good, and I would get it again in a heart beat.
After the show we headed over to Kilimanjaro Safari's, where we had a fantastic Safari guide named Brooke, who had only been at Safari's for a week or so but who seemed to have already mastered the many different animals. A lot of the animals seemed to be in hiding, but the closer you looked the easier they were to spot. We saw elephants, okapi, giraffes, hippos, lions, and more. Of course, five minutes into the safari my phone decided it was a good time to become full and refuse to allow me to take any more photos, but that's besides the point.
After Kilimanjaro, we walked around for a bit, just enjoying the beautiful park, before heading to my home - Animal Kingdom Lodge! Papa wanted to check out my pool(s) and I figured we'd be able to talk to one of the Safari Guides that hang out at the over looks, so we hopped on a bus and off we went to Jambo House!
Of course, none of the safari guides were by either of the main over looks we tried, but I was still able to point out more animals than they could see by themselves. We went down and looked at the pool, which is my favorite of my pools. Then we headed over to check out the flamingos, who are very loud and very smelly. I can hear them clearly from the pool at Jambo, and they fight all day long. From the overlook by the pool we could see several gazelles, giraffes, red rivers hogs, and other animals (whose names I forgot, and whose names I bs'd to my family).
We headed over to the overlook by the lobby, where the animals tend to get a lot closer. There were several giraffes right up front, but most of the animals had been scared away by the safari truck rumbling around the savanna. The animals at DAKL aren't as used to the trucks as the one's at DAK, as they run much less frequently. Of course, no trip to DAKL outside of work hours is complete without a trip to The Mara for zebra domes. If you've never had zebra domes and you're a CP, drop everything you're doing and try one now. They are so incredibly decadent and delicious, and they make them gluten free for those of us who can't have the sponge cake.
Sunday was our hotel day, so of course bright and early Papa wanted to know where we were going , what we were doing, and why we didn't have plans. We had rented him an electric wheelchair (not an ECV, one that's more of a wheelchair) like the one he has at home, but it was going haywire, so we had to get that replaced. We hung out at the pool for a good bit, walked around the resort, and just generally took our time enjoying things.
We headed over to Disney Springs to do some shopping and eating. Somehow, the embroidery store was completely out of adult sized mouse ears, so a trip to World of Disney was in order. I wont lie, I go out of my way to avoid World of Disney at any cost. It's crowded and chaotic and generally (but certainly not always) the cast members are miserable because it's not a fabulous place to work. We found the mouse ears, along with several Mickey mugs for Papa's nurses. I love staying in a resort, so that things can be shipped back and we don't have to carry them with us. The Poly even delivers them to your room so that you don't have to remember to pick them up later.
After that we headed to Raglan Road, where we checked in ridiculously early so that we could make sure to get a table in the main room. While we were waiting, since we were ridiculously hungry, we munched on some Garlic Parmesan Chips from Cookes of Dublin. They are so addicting and good, I'm bound and determined to find a way to make them at home. While we were sitting there, I realized that St. Patrick's Day is coming up, which means that this Irish girl needs to find her Irish Soda Bread fix. So I ran over to Erin McKenna's to ask if they're going to have it, or if I need to make it myself. The girl behind the counter had never heard of it, but the guy was so much fun and joking around with me, asking me to bring some in if I make some. However, I don't particularly want to make it, so I need everyone to call/ask them about it next time they go in so demand gets high and they make it, kay?
Once we finally got into Raglan Road, we got seated right in front of the stage, which was fantastic and really loud. The band they have in there right now, Jigjam, is fantastic, and hopefully my friends and I will be back to see them for the St. Patrick's Day festival. The River Dancers are always so much fun to see, but the best part is when they bring the little kids up on the stage and teach them to "Irish Dance". The looks of joy on their faces are so contagious, you find yourself smiling and laughing the whole time.
We had another fantastic waitress, Kaitlyn, who gave really good recommendations. I can't help but have fish and chips every time I go there, just because they make them gluten free safely. I love talking to people who started out as CP's who either stayed with the company or who stayed local because they loved their CP so much. That's what I want to do eventually, so I'm always happy to see it working out for other people.
I'm so grateful for the place I am in my life right now. I had a hard few weeks, but things are finally looking up. I have great friends, great roommates, and I love my job. I'm finally starting to really settle in and get comfortable in a way I didn't realize I wasn't before. My life doesn't have to revolve around trying to make other people like me, because the people I choose to surround myself with like me for me. Awkward, dorky, hippie me. I hug trees, and get my feet dirty climbing things, and sing to loudly and a bit off key, and that's okay. It okay that I wear flower crowns and take pictures of things twelve million times just to be sure I got one that turned out. In fact, it's great that I dance along to Move It Shake It every day, making an absolute fool out of myself while my friends do the same next to me. Because that's who I am, and it's who I want to be. So Mahalo to everyone who makes it easier to be me, I love you all.
0 comments:
Post a Comment