Mark L. Fendrick -- December 2000 -- All Star Music
December 22, 2000 - January 1, 2001
Starring - Mark L. Fendrick & Sandra Fendrick
Co-Starring - Iris Fendrick & Bobby Fendrick
Special Appearances as noted below
Prelude
This trip was supposed to be similar to the one we took in November, 1999 except where that one was Mark, Sandy and Iris visiting Bobby who was working at the Haunted Mansion on the College Program, this time it was going to be Bobby coming with us to visit Iris who is working at Rafiki' s Planet Watch at DAK.
However, just before he came home from college for his break, he received a letter from WDW asking if he wanted to spend his break working in his old area, and offering housing again at Vista Way. A few phone calls later we found ourselves saying goodbye to him at Newark Airport, a week before we were scheduled to leave ourselves. So now we would have to work our schedule so that we could visit him at the Haunted Mansion and Iris at DAK. Would be get to spend much time with them together? We would find out when we got there.
We left after I got back from work on Friday, December 22. We left Staten Island, NY at 5:30 PM and made it as far as Dumfries, VA the first night, and St. Augustine, FL the second night . about 2 hours from WDW!
December 24, 2000
We arrived at AS Sports at 10:00 AM and were going to do a pre-check-in, so we were surprised that we were assigned our room and were able to unpack the car before heading off to the see the kids. Iris had asked me to bring down her television so that when they found an apartment (she and 3 other CM's from Rafiki's Planet Watch) she would have her TV and VCR. What I found out was that while we were on the road, they did indeed find an apartment and were already approved and would get the key while we were down there. This was nice as we could see her apartment and bring the TV and VCR directly to it rather than into her apartment at Vista Way first.
Since Bobby was coming on duty at 4:00 PM and Iris at 10:00 AM, we decided to head to DAK first and then finish the day at MK. Since it was Christmas Eve, we had to decide if we were going to eat at the food court at AS Sports, or perhaps, if we could get the kids together after work and any place was open, have a nice meal with all four of us. (Iris and one of the keepers at DAK tried to find her a menorah for Chanukah, but were unsuccessful. Next year I will definitely send one down to her.) We got to DAK and bought Sandy her AP. (We had 4 passes - 2 each from Iris and Bobby - which we used as Chanukah presents since we would still have to buy Sandy extra time while we were down there.) As we passed the Tree of Life we noticed that with the addition of FastPass, the entrance to ITTBAB had been moved. However, before we headed back to see Iris we got out FastPasses for the Safari. With them in hand, we went to the Wildlife Express and headed to Rafiki's Planet Watch. Once again, from the time we entered the Train Station we kept our eyes open for Iris. Not at the station or along the path to Conservation Station, I spotted her coming out of the break room. Her first few positions put her by the windows so we spent about an hour with her. During that time I had both Rafiki and Meeko come over and say hello to me. When the next rotation came around and she was moving into Affection Section where she needed to keep her eyes open for guests with maps or annoying the animals, Sandy and I left for the Safari. We made arrangements for Iris to meet us at the AS Sports lobby so we could feed her. At this point, though we did not yet know if Bobby could meet us and if we would eat at the hotel, or perhaps someplace else.
We are enjoying the warm weather as we get on to the Safari. A week earlier, there was a day where it was 37° at noon, and it would be cold later in the week. But for now, the weather was in the low 70's. It was a walk on with either the FastPass line or the Standby line at this time. I had learned from one of Iris's apartment mates to be that while most of the habitats in the Safari were all natural, Pride Rock is both heated and air-conditioned. And there are 2 pairs of male/female lions, which take turns onstage so as to avoid a combat for dominance.
By the time the safari was over, we headed towards the bus to TTC and then to the Haunted Mansion to try to catch Bobby and see if we could arrange to meet him for dinner as well. Sandy was having trouble getting used to the biometrics reader until we realized that she was inserting 3 fingers instead of 2. Once she realized that she was passed through with no problem. As would happen over and over this trip, we arrived as a parade was starting so when we finally made it back to Liberty Square, we had to wait a bit to cross over and make it to the Haunted Mansion. With the new FastPass distribution center and the additional queue area installed, the area in front of the mansion was extremely congested. However, the stand-by line was at 45 minutes so we took a FastPass, which would be good in about an hour. Bobby was not at any of the outdoor positions, so we decided to get on the Standby Line (it looked as if it was really only about 10-15 minutes, and it was) and hope to catch Bobby inside the Mansion.
However, as always happened in the past, we went all the way through the attraction without seeing Bobby. At this point, Sandy was emphatic about not waiting on line again without knowing where he was, so she went to find a member of the Mansion's staff and see if she could find Bobby. While she was gone, a fistfight broke out in the congestion that was the entrance to the HM, and a CM first stepped in to break it up, and then though better of it. (Later in the week, Bobby would call security and handle another fight in the HM, and would receive another GUEST SERVICE FANATIC AWARD. He now has a few of those on his record.) Smartly, Sandy approached a female CM - Bobby has this attraction you see - and she found that Bobby was in Stretch Room 2, and unfortunately when we went through the first time, we were admitted by the CM who was assigned to Stretch 1- so we moved right past Bobby without ever knowing it! We got to spend some time with him here, seeing the Stretch Room cycle three or four times while we arranged for him to also meet us in the hotel lobby after work.
After we left the HM, we saw the Holiday Show at the Country Bear Jamboree . a full house! After a brief bite at Pecos Bill's we did Splash Mountain and then headed back towards Fantasyland as we started to make our way out of the park. We took a spin on IASW and then headed back towards the entrance and the bus to the hotel.
Since we were going to have Bobby and Iris together for dinner I made sure that the restaurants on the West Side were going to be open their normal hours, and we decided to head for Bongos. However, when we got there, Bongos had closed the restaurant, so we had dinner at Wolfgang Pucks. Not that it was a bad thing! The food at WP's is terrific! Having fed the kids, and being exhausted - all four of us! - Iris drove us back to the hotel and then she and Bobby headed back to Vista Way.
Tomorrow will be EPCOT.
Day 2 Christmas Day
It is December 25th . which used to be a great (empty) day to be at the MK, but since the advent of the televised parade, no longer is. So we use this day for Epcot. Sandy reads about the Candlelighting Processional and when she finds out that there is a celebrity involved (she is amazingly star-struck!) she insists that we see it. Tonight it will be Gary Sinese narrating. We decide to try to catch the first CP of the evening and perhaps even be able to head over to the MK late in the day.
The entrance into Epcot is not overly crowded, and we decide to head over to Test Track and see how long the FastPass return will be. It is just over an hour away, but we have to wait a long time to get our FP's since there are people getting a large number of them for their entire groups. The FP return time is 10 minutes later than when we got on line by the time we finally have our FP's in hand. We head over to the bakery/espresso place and get some breakfast. While sitting there we have a nice chat with a custodial hostess about many things Disney. We discover how common it is for many CP's to stay after the program and find their way into management.
Just to remind myself once again how bad JIYI really is, we decide to kill some time by riding it again. I make sure to try to notice new things, but no matter how I try to find some redeeming value in it I fail. In the shop at the end of JIYI, I stop at the WDW Forever kiosk and make myself a CD. Since I have no CD player with me and Sandy's car, in which we drove down, has only a tape player, I wont get to hear it until I get home. I have it sent to the hotel for pick-up the next day.
It is finally time to use our FP's for Test Track, so we head there and see that the FP return line is quite long in itself, but we decide to wait. In the past we would have done the single rider line, but it was over an hour at this point. This was only the second time since TT opened that Sandy and myself rode in the same vehicle. From the time we got on the line until we actually left the building was a full hour. I hear that the Standby line was now over 2 hours long!
We decide to head over to World Showcase and start our way around. In Mexico we do something that we haven't done in years and rode El Rio del Tiempo. The line was not very long and it only took about 3 boat loads until we got on. When we were done, we decided t have lunch there and went over to the restaurant. Again, we had not eaten there since almost when Epcot had first opened. Since then so many Mexican restaurants have opened at home that the novelty had worn off, so we stopped going there. It was as good as I had remembered though.
Now fed, we started a clockwise trip around World Showcase, stopping to see the Holidays Around the World presentations as we encountered them. I took the opportunity to sit and watch the shows while Sandy went into each shop for a while.
We continued around until we reached the American Adventure and decided once again to see the show - one of our favorites. Unfortunately we had just missed the Voices of Freedom and went right into the show. When done, we continued our journey until we reached France. I sat once again to watch Pere Noel, while Sandy shopped for material to use in class - she is a foreign language teacher.
By this time it was already about 3:00 and people were lining up for the first CP of the day. Since we did not have the CP show package since I did not think she would want to see the show as it is basically a religious presentation and we are not Christian, we lined up right away for the best seats behind those with ressies. We were at the front of the line and did get good seats for the show - although we had to stand on line from about 3:00 to 4:00 when they let us in to sit.
Unfortunately my camera has only a small zoom and my wife wanted good pictures of Gary Sinece, but she will have to make do with what we have. Had I thought to bring my video camera I would have had a very powerful zoom.
The show itself was beautiful . even for us non-believers. I was particularly impressed with the performance of the "singer" who was signing the show and the guest conductor - being a musical director myself. I wish I could make it look as smooth and easy as he did.
When it was over we decided to try to head for the Magic Kingdom, as Epcot was getting very crowded and we were thinking that many guests were leaving MK for Epcot. When we got to the monorail we were informed that MK was still closed to new guests and so we decided to call it an early evening and head back to the hotel where Iris would meet us later that night for dinner at the hotel. Since Bobby was working until 12:45 AM we would not get to see him that day. It was important that I see Iris, though, as I needed to get the passes from her which I was going to let some friends of mine from HS use the next day. As always, Iris was glad to be fed, rather than pay for or cook her own meal. Kids!
Tomorrow, MK and the Studios
Day 3 December 26
Today is somewhat special for me. I am meeting some friends from HS and spending the day with them and their families. Norma, an old girlfriend, and Hector, her brother and fellow musician, moved from Brooklyn to Buffalo in my (and Hector's) senior year of HS. Although I visited them there for a while, there came a time, about 28 years ago, where we lost touch. In planning my HS's 30 year reunion this past summer, I found both of them - Hector is living in VA and Norma in MI. I got to see Norma and her family in MI when I visited there to see her in a show in May. I saw her and Hector at the reunion last August, so while this was not the first time I had seen them in 28 years, it was still a special day. And it would be the first time I met Hector's wife and two children. (Norma was there only with her youngest daughter, Mary.) It would also be the first time I would see their Mom (who they were visiting in FL) in 29 years.
I had made up where to meet them, but expected delays due to traffic and crowds, so wasn't too concerned when they showed up an hour late. Sandy had already gone into the MK to do some shopping/browsing. They had gotten to TTC on time, but it took an hour to get over to the MK entrance. I had two passes, courtesy of my daughter, which I let them decide how to split. When we got into the MK I found Sandy in the lobby of Tony's watching 101 Dalmations which had just finished and was about to start again. Since Sandy and I come so often and they are occasional visitors, I let them choose where to go. They wanted Space Mountain, and I explained how FP worked, and we got FP's for SM which would be good in a little over an hour. In that hour they wanted to ride TTA and see CoP which was just fine with me as they are both favorites of mine. When we got to out SM time, Dora (Hector and Norma's mom) sat outside waiting while we walked right up and got on.
From there we headed to AE which only Sandy and I had ever been on before. Mary was getting very nervous, but with her eyes closed only part of the time, she survived the experience but probably would not go back at a future date.
At this point in time, Norma was going to leave us for a while, to have lunch at DD with another friend, and I offered Mary the opportunity to run over to MGM with her to ride ToT and RnRR which she had not ridden yet. Since every one had single day passes, the only ones who could hop were Sandy and me and which ever 2 used Iris's passes which were also single day hoppers. So as not to cause a fight between Hector's 2 kids, I decided just to take Mary, and Sandy tagged along so she could spend time at the gift shops without me hounding her to leave.
When we got to MGM, Mary and I headed back towards ToT and RnRC and decided the most economical use of time would be getting FP's for ToT and waiting on the Standby line for RnRC which while marked 45 minutes only turned out to be less than 20 minutes. We even had time to get over to and ride TGMR once before our ToT FP's became active. After riding all three, we picked up Sandy and headed back to MK where we would meet Norma coming back from lunch and the rest of the gang. Norma got back just a few minutes after we did, and in that time we decided to have lunch at Tony's, so Hector and half the gang went over there to put our names in, while we waited at City Hall for Norma. The timing was almost perfect, and just as we all got back together at Tony's, our name was called. While being served, Hector noticed that our server was from Argentina. This was a big deal since Norma, Hector and their parents moved to this country from Buenos Aires in 1963, and still visit family there. It turned out that our server was also from B.A. and they visited throughout the meal - which was wonderful by the way! My Spanish is good enough that I was able to keep up with it all, even if my ability to speak it has deteriorated over the years. Hector's wife is French Canadian and knows no Spanish, so she and my wife (who teaches Spanish but hates to use it) spoke to each other through the meal.
From there part of the group went to use FP's they had for Splash Mountain, while Sandy and I headed over to HM to see if we could find Bobby. It seems as if the addition of FP has increased the crowds at the Mansion, both the FP line and the Standby line. Perhaps it was not as dumb as I originally thought. Sandy went to find someone to check the computer to see where Bobby was at the time. Norma and Ruth (Hector's wife) had come with us. Ruth had never met Bobby before although Norma had. I would have liked to have a chance for Norma to meet Iris, but time was too tight to make it over to DAK as well. It turned out that Bobby was at Load 1 (near the console), perhaps the worst spot to talk in the entire rotation, and I had to let him know where to meet us the next morning - which was his first day off since he arrived in WDW. He got part of my message, but bad timing lead me to miss his page later when he found out that from 9 PM on he would be working parade and I would have been able to talk with him a lot more conveniently, as well as having the rest of Norma's family meet him. However, at this point in time, the CM who found out where he was "backdoored" us into the stretch room. Sandy and I had been through the "servant's quarters" a number of times before - including once on the Keys to the Kingdom tour, but this was a first for Norma and Ruth who marveled that even here, the theming was maintained perfectly. We did find Bobby at Load 1, but after a quick attempt at telling him where to meet us, it had to be settled on a 2 AM phone call.
We circled through Fantasyland where we did IASW and Buzz Lightyear, before heading out of the park. It was good to see Norma and Hector again, and I hope to see them more often than every 28 years now!
Tomorrow
MGM with my sister and nephews and DAK and MK
Day 4 December 27
Today I am meeting my sister and her two boys at MGM.
Today was also Bobby's first day off since he arrived in WDW and he decided that he would meet us in MGM and spend the day - also getting a good meal or two out of it. He met us at 10:00, and we were going to meet my sister inside at 11:00.
During that interval we rode TGMR and then Bobby and I stopped at Starring Rolls for some breakfast while Sandy went to Sid Cahuenga's to browse and wait for my sister. We had made up to meet at the tip board, and Sandy and Bobby were waiting there (Sharon and the boys were watching some Streetmosphere) when Bobby spotted a VIP tourguide. He looked to see who she was escorting and mentioned to Sandy that it looked like Gary Sinese. (I figure if I spell it every way I can imagine - one will be right .) Sandy was off like a flash before Bobby even had a chance to turn his head. (Turns out that it was him and he was doing a handprint ceremony and a Talk with the Stars later in the day.) When we finally got everyone together, we headed over to Star Tours, where the line was not very long at all. After doing Sounds Dangerous, we headed over to ToT and RnRC. Both had huge lines and FP times that were beyond the time that Sandy, Bobby and I planned to stay in the park. They got the FP's for RnRC a My younger nephew wanted to go to Pizza Planet so we split up so we could go to see the Talk with the Stars and the Beauty & the Beast show while they went to Pizza Planet. We would meet at 50 's Prime Time Café just before our PS time.
Once finished, we said our goodbyes and the three of us headed for DAK to meet up with Iris.
Once again we were back at Conservation Station, and Bobby was kidding Iris on how "easy" her job was as compared to his. Remembering, all the time of course, that this is where Bobby wants to work full time when he graduates, and is currently taking the courses that the CS manager told him he should when he was here last Fall. In addition, he just finished an internship at the zoo in Binghamton, NY where he goes to college, in which he would take animals out in the zoomobile to the schools and showed them, just as the keepers do at Conservation Station. To this end, Iris introduced him to Fred, an invertebrate keeper. The two of them spoke for over an hour, and Fred will be giving Bobby some more advise and contacts for keeping his plans on course. If you are at Conservation Station and Fred is giving an animal demo . watch it . Fred is definitely a cool guy.
It is now getting late and CS is mostly empty when Iris's manager tells her to give one of the girls a break and then when she comes back just walk around and do something useful. Alright, so Bobby wasn't too far off saying that Iris's job is much different from his ! When Iris is done, we head out to MK.
Iris is hungry when we get there and we go to Plaza Pavilion . which we do at least once each trip . for pizza. Sandy is exhausted at this time so she decides to meet us on the porch in front of Tony's while Iris, Bobby and I go on a few rides. First we hit JC which was rehabbing in August when we were there and we didn't get a chance to go on when I was there a month ago. The boats no longer have the circus stripped canvas on top, and the skipper' s costume is a bit changed, but otherwise everything seems as it was. Bobby is disappointed that none of his buddies are working JC that evening.
Then we head to the HM, and the first few CM's we encounter are unknown to Bobby. As we finish the ride, Bobby notices that Little Leota is not working so he heads to the office to report it. After a few minutes he comes out and informs us that all his buddies are in the break room! When he reports Little Leota not working, the response was, "still?" (She was working the next day.) If she were not the only effect out, the attraction would have had to go "101" (close down) until they were fixed.
We finish the night on Buzz Lightyear and then head to get Sandy and leave the park. Back at AS Sports I now have to drive Iris and Bobby back to Vista Way . on the other end of the property . and then drive back. Talk about exhausted!
Tomorrow ..
Downtown Disney, Animal Kingdom, Chef Mickey's
Day 5 December 28
Today is an unusual day in that both Iris and Bobby are off. They meet us at the hotel . they get breakfast that way, and then we transfer the TV and VCR from the backseat of my car to the trunk of her car. It is raining pretty hard by now. We have a few stops to make before we head to Iris's apartment . which is right by Universal. First we have to head to Animal Kingdom Wardrobe so Iris can get another 5 costumes. (Unlike Bobby and the CM's at MK who get their costumes in the utilidors under the MK, she has to go to a separate location, and wears her costume to work from home. That goes smoothly with no hitches and then we head to Disney University where Bobby will catch a bus to the MK utilidors and hopefully pick up his check. It takes almost an hour, and we know something is not right. Since Bobby is an active Campus Rep, his check was issued to him through that department, so AdLib did not have his check. After some checking around he found that 1) his paystub was at the WDWCP marketing department office at Casting, and 2) the direct deposit order to his Vista Credit Union account was still active and his money was in his account already. Luckily he had his Vista ATM card with him (they simply reactivated his old account luckily), but he did not remember his PIN. There is a branch right at DU so he went in and they allowed him to change his PIN to something he would now remember. We would pick up his paystub at Casting since we were meeting my parents (and my sister and nephews who were staying with them for the week) in Downtown Disney.
Then we headed to Iris's new apartment. It is a lovely apartment, which she will be sharing with 3 other CM's who are currently CP's at Conservation Station. One of the girls, who did not get along with her roommate at Vista Way had already moved in, although the apartment has absolutely NO furniture yet. What it does have now is 4 TV's and 4 VCR's! Oh well, who needs furniture?
We head back to the West Side to meet my parents and sister and nephews. My father wanted to eat (they went to Bongos) and since we were going to Chef Mickey's that evening it was a perfect excuse to excuse ourselves early. Iris and Bobby made arrangements to drive to Tampa to visit my parents the following week.
With more time on our hands than we had planned, Iris suggests that we go to DAK. Only I understood why she made this suggestion. All she ever gets to see is Africa and Rafiki's Planet Watch, and none of the rest of the park, so off to DAK we go!
It is raining again, so we get DAK ponchos (nicer than the traditional yellow ponchos available other places in the parks) and head towards First Aid. Bobby had ripped his knuckle open when carrying Iris's TV, so he wanted to get some antiseptic and a Band-Aid. From there we take the Safari, and then get a quick bite to eat in Asia - just to hold us until 8:15 at Chef Mickey's. We then head to Dinosaur which was a long line and a FP time that was after we had to be out of the park to make our PS's, so we went to see Tarzan Rocks and then left the park and headed to the Contemporary Hotel where we killed a bit more time by looking through the shops on the 4th floor until it was time to check in at Chef Mickey's. And then the fun started!
One of the women that Bobby worked with last Fall at the HM was now a friend of Mickey's at Chef Mickey's, including Thursday nights, which it now was. However, he realized that she probably would not be there until next week since she was off for a while. We sat down, and right away the server recognized Bobby as a CM and started socializing. Shortly thereafter Mickey makes his rounds and since there is no recognition when he gets to out table Bobby realizes that his friend has indeed not come back to work yet. However, in a bit Chip pays our table a visit and becomes very animated. Chip then points to his eyes and then his nose and then Bobby (eye nose you - I know you). It takes Bobby a while but then he realizes that Chip also has a good friend who has worked in the Haunted Mansion with Bobby. Later, when Goofy stops by, he shows Bobby and Iris a note and they both crack up . and Goofy is doubled over in obvious glee. (I can't tell you what the note said, but I can say that it wasn't going to be shown to a guest, only another CM!) It certainly made for an interesting meal.
On the way out, Bobby needed to ask a question about his room discount (he has some friends coming down next week) so stops off at Guest Relations. Surprise! At the desk is another one of Bobby's friends from the Fall 1999 College Program who is working full time at WDW now. Not bad for someone who had been down for less than a week at this point.
Tomorrow..
MGM & DAK & MK
Day 6 December 29
This will be our last full day at WDW and we head over to the Studios to pick up some of the stuff we missed earlier in the week. However, being there so often has taken away the urgency of seeing anything in particular during any visit, so despite having many attractions that we did not do, there is no pressure on us in that regard. When we get to the entrance, the lines are longer than I have ever remembered seeing them. Even the CM's are taken by surprise, as it was not expected. To ease the entry bottleneck, there are Security Guards at non-turnstile gates stamping passes with a date rather than passing them through a machine. My question - which goes unasked - is if these folks do not park hop, have they just gained an extra day of park admission? Not that it would affect anything, but Sandy had her AP stamped in this manner.
The rain the day before was the leading edge of a cold front which was now starting to make itself felt . big time!
We decide to head back towards the bookstore next to the Sci-Fi Dine In where Sandy wanted to get a coffee and a cookie. It seems as if everyone else in the park had the same idea and the line there was many times longer than either of us had ever seen. From there we headed towards the Back Lot Tour. We noted that the preshow video of the special FX in Con-Air has been replaced with a trailer for Gone in Sixty Seconds. And to rush folks through the water effects tank portion of the tour, the two volunteers had been replaced by dummies, and the hostess spoke so fast that it was at times hard to follow unless you already knew they spiel. Our host on the tram portion of the tour was great, but it was obvious that he was just learning his spiel and made some faux pas along the way. One of the funniest moments was as we left Catastrophe Canyon and a plane with a trailing banner flew overhead. He read it and it said something like, "The most fun at night." He then said that he wondered what it was advertising and then he could read it . CITY WALK! (Oooops!)
Next we stopped by Momma Melrose and since it would be only about a 20 minute wait we decided to have lunch there.
After lunch we decided to catch the Hunchback of Notre Dame once again, and walked in during the juggler pre-show. (We love this guy who has been here as long as the show itself!) The show was as enjoyable as ever, but I found myself getting real cold while watching it - very unusual for me. As it was I was wearing a tee shirt and a sweatshirt and a jacket. Sandy and I decided to go back to the hotel to add yet another layer (I would change into my heavy jacket and add a much warmer sweatshirt. We also brought an additional sweatshirt for Iris, who we would meet just before her area closed and would come with us to MK to see Bobby.
It seems as if the temperature was dropping rapidly because as we got to Rafiki's Planet Watch, although we were now warm, everyone else was freezing! Iris was on break when we arrived, so I looked around and noticed that the keeper at the Food area was Dale, a friend of Iris's and the one who had helped her look for the menorah a week earlier. I introduced myself to him and was talking when Iris came up from behind me. She was glad that we brought the extra sweatshirt, but didn't like the one we brought so she took my nice warm, hooded Mets Playoff sweatshirt. She had to remove her DAK overcoat when we got to MK, but that was no big deal because although they look like nice warm long coats, they are very thin and not very warm at all. Unlike the Great Coat that Bobby likes to wear all the time at the HM, which is quite warm.
Surprisingly, when we arrived at the HM Bobby was assigned outside. From wheelchair assist to Fast Pass Distribution to Validation and all the other outdoor positions, we were able to spend time with him. When I took a picture all the female CM's wanted to get into it with Bobby - all the women love Bobby! But when one of them told me that Bobby had a problem, he had lost his shoes, I was a bit puzzled. It seems that he left his black shoes out of his locker the night before and when he returned to work this day, they were gone, and not in lost and found or anywhere to be found. Concerned that he would not be able to work that day, he went to entertainment to see if he could borrow a pair of black shoes for the day. So today he was working in black parade dancing shoes. That's Bobby for you! He asked if after work he could meet us and go to Wal-Mart to buy another pair of shoes. We agreed. (We later decided that everybody would be happier if we did it the next day as he didn't have to be at work until 6 PM.) So after work he met us at the bus to AS Sports and while I didn't take him to Wal-Mart that night, I did drive him and Iris back to Vista Way for the night.
I was already getting nervous about the snowstorm hitting NYC as we were still in WDW. I had two cars that would have to be dug out when I got home, as well as needing a space for the one I had with me. I also would need to shovel my walk. Oh well, can't worry about that now!
Tomorrow .. DAK, Wal-Mart, Red Lobster, and the start of the journey home.
Day 7 December 30
Bobby is actually getting up early this morning (remember this is my son who used to go to work in the HM in his sleep clothes because they give him clothes when he gets to work, after all!) But he realizes that this will be his chance for his last good meal until he comes home on January 12 and before he leaves for school shortly after that. Also he still needs to go to Wal-Mart and either borrow Iris's car keys or have us drive him. (We decide to drive him.) Also, we have stayed and come back to DAK this morning because Iris is scheduled to do her Conservation Station show and we want to see (and video tape) it. She has made up with Bobby to use him as her volunteer from the guests. However, we realize that with the weather so cold, the show will probably be cancelled - too cold for the animals. The show is indeed cancelled as we realize when we arrive at the CS station and Iris is working the platform. However, in the video camera, I have the tape I took of Iris and Bobby and friend at CS during our very first visit to DAK shortly after it opened. Ironically, during this visit Bobby started getting tips on how to eventually work there . a year before his stint on the College Program in the Fall of 1999. I show Iris the video and she tells me to show it to her apartment mate, Cissy, who is currently working in Affection Section and is really into "her" goats. I do that and Cissy recognizes her kids . they look the same, only younger. Everyone is quite sad this day, although they never let the guests know it, or why. One of the goats has very bad arthritis that has crippled it and will be put down later this day.
We hang around for a while, and then regretfully leave, knowing that we will be heading back home. As we pull out of Conservation Station's platform, seeing Iris all bundled up it really hits me . perhaps for the first time. She is not coming home when the program is over in a few days, but is now a Florida resident with her first non-college, non-program housing. Her car has Florida plates and her legal address is Orlando. I am proud, but sad at the same time as we pull away and I see her grow smaller in the distance.
We take Bobby to Wal-mart where he buys shoes and soap (a good combination) and odor-eaters. We take him to Red Lobster for lunch . still trying to postpone leaving as long as possible. Finally we drop him off at Vista Way and start the trip home.
Postscript
December 30, 31 and January 1
The trip home is uneventful, and we spend New Years Eve in a Days Inn in Fredricksburg, VA. We don't see any snow most of the way home, but when we do start to see it, it comes fast. We get back to Staten Island about 3 PM on Monday, January 1, and were happy to see that our parking space had been plowed OUT rather than having all the snow piled into it. My neighbors looked out well for me and while the plow did originally use my empty spot to pile the snow, they made him remove it, only hours before we returned home. One neighbor had even shoveled my walk. I have GREAT neighbors! I only had to dig out my other two cars which were in better shape than they looked. Both started right up, and life goes on. Time to start thinking about my next trip down. Happening very shortly I promise you!
