Afternoon pool-time
We came back to the Boardwalk after our lunch (which consisted mostly of dessert) at Beaches & Cream. I was ready for some pool-time, but soon learned that I had an errand to run first. You see, James had been texting with some friends from school, who were also at Disney World. They were girls. Triplets. And he was kind of fond of one of them. (Why just one? I don’t know. He could have taken a lesson from Fonzie from “Happy Days”, who I can hear now saying, “Yo Richie, I’ve got a date tonight with the Hooper Triplets”.) Anyway, it hadn’t worked out yet that James was at the same park on the same day as they were, but he was hoping to rectify that soon, and when he did, he wanted to have a little gift. (Do NOT tell him I wrote this stuff down!) So, he wanted me to take him to Downtown Disney to get a bracelet. I think he had seen some when we were there before but didn’t get one, or more likely, didn’t want to explain to us why he wanted to get one. Anyway, he and I set off on a drive to Downtown Disney.
Judy also tacked onto our “to do” list to get some more gluten-free coffee cake from the Erin McKenna Bakery. Speaking of the Erin McKenna Bakery, Judy and I stopped into the “real” one, the one in New York City, last summer when we were there for a mini-vacation. It was a bit of a shock after seeing the one in Downtown Disney first. It was smaller than the Downtown Disney location, and basically just non-descript. It could have been any bakery in any city. As we were going in, Judy asked, “this is it?!” But hey, they’re meeting the need of these Hufflepuff-gluten-free people with a sweet tooth, so more power to ‘em.
James and I were successful in our purchasing missions and were back at the Boardwalk around 2:30 pm. He went on up to the suite, but I took the opportunity to take some pictures around the front of the resort.
Boardwalk entrance.
Pond and fountain.
Our balcony. We were on the third floor, so ours was the top, right two. The one with the railing (and a shared awning) was outside of the bedroom. The one to the right, with its own awning, was outside of the living room.
I distinctly heard this skink proclaim, “None shall pass!”
Port cochere at the Boardwalk.
We reconvened in the suite. Some of us wanted to go swimming. Marlene did too, but said that she wanted some “alone-time” (all of this “togetherness” was getting to be a little much for her) so I suggested that she could go to the pool over at the Inn side of the resort. Lauren and James and I would head down to the Luna Park Pool. Judy, concerned about getting too much sun, was going to just rest in the suite.
Those of us at the Luna Park Pool ascended the creepy clown slide. Okay, okay, the “keister coaster”. Here’s a view from the top.
If you turn the other way, you see the walking path, leading to Disney Hollywood Studios. (You might also see part of my finger covering the lens, but let’s not dwell on that.)
Here’s some video of James going down the slide.
I took a turn also.
We decided to go over to the quiet pool, near Community Hall. I called Judy to come down since I had been able to get a table with an umbrella, and she wouldn’t have to worry about getting too much sun.
Meanwhile, James and I played some ping pong and a game of cornhole. I don’t remember who won at ping pong, but I know I killed him at cornhole. Where I worked, we used to have an annual cornhole tournament to benefit United Way, so I would get a fair amount of practice. I don’t think he liked losing to the old man. He’s gotten better at air hockey and ping pong, but now has another game to work on.
Remember how we enjoyed seeing ducks in Stormalong Bay over at the Beach Club. Well, we had our own brood right here in the Boardwalk Community Hall pool. We hadn’t seen them there before.
After Marlene came back, I went over to the Inn side of the resort to take some pictures. I walked through the lobby, past the Belle Vue Room, and descended these stairs into the courtyard.
Some of the ground floor rooms have these little gardens off of the patio entrance. Not too shabby!
Approaching the Inn pool.
This pergola is at the entrance to the pool.
Very nice entryway to the bathrooms.
Some more pictures of the gardens outside of the ground floor rooms.
One more shot of the pool before I went back.
After a quick dip in the pool, I went back to join the others in getting ready for the night’s activities.
A thought occurred to me while we were enjoying the quiet pool near Community Hall. As DVC members, we’re allowed to “pool hop”, but it seems like there are more exceptions than pools you’re allowed to use. Such as, you can’t pool hop to: Stormalong Bay and the Leisure Pool at the Beach Club, Animal Kingdom Lodge pools (both Jambo House and Kidani), Bay Lake Tower, the Volcano pool at the Polynesian, Copper Creek Springs pool at Wilderness Lodge, the Art of Animation pools, and there may be more. But...the Boardwalk Villas is not an exception. And the Community Hall pool is right off the walking path from Hollywood Studios to Epcot. I am filing that away, if I ever plan a DHS/Epcot day and want to cool off in-between. Note to self: throw in the swim trunks.
Up next:
I wish they all could be California Grills