Trudy here. I didn’t realize how long it’d been since we published our last installment of Nanea’s “Florida Trip”. Things have been crazy around here, ever since Eliot decided that the wiring in the Gazette office was too old and needed to be updated. You know how it is, though; things have a way of snowballing. All the fresh plaster on the ceiling and walls meant a new coat of paint. Then Eliot thought the new paint made my desk look shabby, so he got Mina to refinish it. While she was working on that, Pete was sent over to put a fresh coat of varnish on the floor. I heard a rumour that the Merry Men had been asked to replace the sidewalk on Main Street, but nothing’s been “set in concrete yet”. That was a joke, a bit of newspaper humor. Ha ha.
Anyway, I’m going to try and sneak in another column of fun from Benny and Nanea’s Florida trip journal, illustrated with Sarah’s trip photos. So, let’s get on with the show and join Benny & Nanea on their “Dream Vacation”! Just click on any photo to enlarge!
Our room at the Walt Disney Polynesian Resort is AMAZING! I can’t believe we’re actually here! Everything is so “magical”, like the people say! I wish I could draw, because the decorations in our room can’t really be described. The tiniest little detail is Moana-themed. Even the grillwork over the A/C vent! The lampshades, the walls, the rug, the headboards and sheets, everything feels like you’re living in Moana’s Polynesian village! It’s a good thing Sarah took a lot of pictures, because I want you all to see how beautiful it all is! I think Benny is getting ideas about redecorating our own house . . . fingers crossed . . .
[Editor’s note: DISASTER! The new wiring in the office just shorted out for a brief moment. Long enough to delete the resort-room photos on Sarah’s camera card. Guess I’d better call Eliot before going on. While I’m working this out, you’ll find a really fabulous walk-through of a WDW Polynesian Resort room here: Polynesian Resort Room Walk-Through. It’ll take you to another site, but don’t worry. Clicking on the link will open a new tab. When you’re done looking, just close the new tab and click back on this one. Sorry! Gotta run!]
While Grammy and Auntie unpacked our things in the room, Sarah thought the three of us should take a quick trip to the sandy area just down the walkway. A bit of a rest on the beach was just what we needed, and our special desserts would taste so much better (and colder) after a warm lay-around in the sun. Auntie said we should leave our shoes in the room, so Benny thought he’d leave his shirt and hat there, too, just in case he wanted to take a quick dive. We weren’t expecting pearls or anything, but a nice dip in the cool water is always a good way to end an afternoon on the beach, don’t you think? I didn’t want to take off my beautiful dress, so Benny was going to stay close to shore by himself. It isn’t every day a girl gets to wear a new dress that came all the way from Hawaii, you know. Besides, Sarah might want to take a picture of us, and it wouldn’t do to be standing there with no fashion accessories on. A girl should always be prepared with her fashion accessories, I always say. I wore my favorite necklace, made of Hawaiian coconut beads and the very first pearls that Benny found in our lagoon.
Barefoot and hatless, we said good-by and headed to the beach. Benny kept saying, “Man, this concrete is hot! My feet are burning!” I told him to get off the sidewalk, but he wouldn’t walk through the grass with me. Not after he stepped in the duck poo. I didn’t want to burn my feet, though, so I just watched very carefully where I stepped. Anyway, when we rounded the corner, even Benny didn’t notice his hot feet anymore! “DANGER. ALLIGATORS AND SNAKES IN AREA. STAY AWAY FROM THE WATER. DO NOT FEED THE WILDLIFE.” It was a BIG sign, with drawings of a snake and an alligator on it. And I don’t like snakes and alligators.
Even Benny didn’t want to go in the water, and he’s not afraid of sharks! He said something about not feeding the wildlife with a Benny entree, Sarah said something funny about a “dream beach excursion”, and then they laughed so hard they couldn’t stop. I didn’t think it was funny, but I laughed anyway. I didn’t want to hurt Sarah’s feelings, and Benny would just say I was “being a girl”. I found some chairs for us to sit down in, while my brother found a spigot to wash his feet off. The warm sand felt nice between my toes. Benny turned my chair so I couldn’t watch for approaching people-eating wildlife, and Sarah talked me into posing for a few quick snapshots. Without my shoes on, I think you might be able to see my birthmark on the bottom of my right foot. Auntie always says not to worry about it, because it means I’m special. I always tell her that EVERYone is special, even if they don’t have a birthmark. Benny doesn’t have one, and HE’s special.
It’s warmer in Florida than it is on Islandshire, but the skies are just as blue. And they have the same soft, white sand that we have around our lagoon. I’m glad we don’t have a fence around our beach, and I’m even gladder we don’t have to fence out the dangerous wildlife. Isn’t it funny? Even in the middle of my “Dream Vacation”, I can’t help thinking about our little house and lagoon back home.
Benny really enjoyed the “beach”, even if he didn’t find anything in the sand after digging all over the place. (I don’t know what he was hoping to find, but he doesn’t sit still for very long.) After a while, Sarah said it was time to get back to the room and change for dinner. I said, “I’m not going to change. My dress doesn’t look used, and it’s too beautiful to hide in a closet. I think the other people will be happy to see me in it.” I like to make people happy. P.S. Benny walked in the grass on the way back.