Vacation (Part One)
Narrated, but essentially unedited.Thursday
It took us 2:45 to fly from Austin to Orlando. It took 2:00 from the time we landed to get to the Animal Kingdom Lodge. I texted my friend Mike:
We're still on the bus. I think we're being taken to a work camp.
We were not. Here is the view from our Animal Kingdom lodge patio the next morning:
Yes, those are two giraffes in the background.
FRIDAY
We go to Universal to see Harry Potter world. Disney has an elaborate bus system, but not to go to the competition. We did make it there as the park opened.
We just stood in line for twenty minutes for a ride that lasted thirty seconds.
I've never seen so many churro stands in my life. Fucking churros.
Welcome to the International Line Disguise Institute (ILDI)
Ratio of places where you can spend money versus places that are free: 5-1.
An uneasy alliance of joyful and soulless.
Harry Potter World is a two-hour experience, if you go slow. Thanks for that.
I'm behind, and I'm more behind Poseidon's Fury. Very good, to come up here. I have no idea what the hell that meant, but here's a picture of Poseidon's Temple:
There are Blondie and Beetle Bailey stores here. What am I, 100?
Eli played a game on the Midway and lost. He pouted for a few seconds because we didn't let him play it again, then I said, "You lost. Get over it and move on with your life." He laughed. Pouting over.
A glowering cab driver's seemingly personal comment on a recent cab robbery: "You should never rob a cab. It's stupid. What you should do--is rob is a bank."
Universal is an actress who only gets character roles now. Genial, a little faded, past her prime.
During another cab ride, I texted Mike again:
We have a Thai cab driver and Girls Just Want To Have Fun just came on the radio. I desperately hope that he starts singing.
There's a huge arcade in Downtown Disney. It costs a small fortune and it's not worth it, but they did have part of a floor dedicated to old sports games. And out of the twenty or so on display, the best two, by far, were World Series Baseball and Virtua Tennis.
This was a machine so old that the Mets were batting Mike Piazza, Robin Ventura, and Todd Zeile (1997, I believe). Oh, and "M. Alexander", which made me curious enough that I looked him up. That would be Manny Alexander, light-hitting utility infielder with a lifetime batting average of .231 and 15 HR in 1271 career at-bats. Incredibly, he was still playing in Italy in 2009 after playing for six different major league clubs.
Virtua Tennis was also ancient, but it reminded me of how tremendous the animation was in that game. Jim Courier, in particular, was perfectly modeled. right down to his dives.
Gloria looks like the Unabomber in that hoodie.
She did not appreciate the reference.
Later, I got a picture of her in a signature stylish moment, just before playing a 3-D game:
Asleep by 9:30. Not wearing the glasses.
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