AKA: "Makes You Wonder What the Poor People Are Doing..."
Aug. 18—Part 1
I promise you that we were not the ones who said that second quote. But it was so surprising and appalling that we kept going back to it again and again during the trip! I will explain...
And I will comment...
Yay! We're going to explore a fire station! Haven't done that since I was a kid.
("PRETTY SURE WHEN YOU GO TO DISCOVERY COVE THERE'S A BIG SIGN AT THE FRONT THAT SAYS 'DISCOVERY COVE,' HONEY!"
Very subtle, Meghan.
So.... no firehall?
Gorgeous!
we had signed up for an extra experience that took place first thing in the morning before the rest of the park opened. But when we got inside there was nobody there!
Most people would
kill for an empty park, you know.
they all looked like the kinda folks who would also feed rays,
What do ray-feeding people look like? Do they have webbed toes or something?
The parent (I think it was a mom? Seems right in my head...) said, "Yes. I understand that. But personal space!"
Early in the morning and already just about at the end of her rope.
Cutie patootie.
Except... you kinda look like you work there, ya know?
I don't have any photos of this because cameras aren't allowed, and because we wanted to just participate and enjoy the moment without worrying about documenting it.
I do that too.
And yet... afterwards, I wish I'd taken pictures!
First we observed a southern ray feeding, and we were able to pet the ray as it swam by. These rays are super large—5 to 6ft wide.
Whoa!!
Then we fed little silver fish to the smaller rays.
But... fish are friends!
Wait. This isn't Disney...
Nevermind. Eat away, rays!
They suck the fish into their mouths, so we were taught to make a fist holding the fish, so that half the fish stuck up out of our hand. Then when the ray sucked the fish into its mouth, we would let go.
Huh! Cool!
"fish jello." It contained shrimp, fish, and a nutrient-rich gel of some sort.
Chef Renee was absolutely super (better than the chef who had helped me the previous year by far,) and she went out back to get me eggs, bacon, sausage, and some fruit.
Nice of her to accommodate.
N reminded me of how I have to wait an extra 15-20 minutes at most every quick service place at Disney while everyone else gets their food in minutes, and then I decided that it was more than fair.
Exactly right.
And yet...four different people, on four separate occasions, asked me to do things for them as if I worked there.
No way!
The napkins were gone, could I refill them? Sorry, I don't work here, I don't know where anything is. Can you get me a cup of juice? Sorry, I don't work here, but you're welcome to get some yourself at the pop machine just outside these doors. I need a fork! Sorry, I don't work here. I'd like a coffee. I'm sure you would, but sorry, I don't work here.
I like your answers to the juice and coffee...
I would probably have taken a very different tack...
At first I assumed this was just because I was the only one in the area in a wetsuit, but it happened again later a couple of times throughout the day. And also, most of the people in the area who DID work there were not wearing a wetsuit. And you'd think that even if I DID work there, if I was wearing a wetsuit I probably would be working in the water with animals and might not be the first person you'd want to call on to get your juice anyway!
But maybe you know someone who
does fetch juice.
What if I'd just given medicine to a shark or something and hadn't washed my hands!?
Oh, no. A shark's mouth is so clean it's practically an antiseptic. Millions of years of evolution have created an enzyme in a sharks mouth that actually sterilizes and protects the shark from infection.
You probably find that surprising, which doesn't surprise
me, since I made it all up.
Anyway, maybe people who have pink hair just seem like the kinda spunky people who would work in marine biology?
Or maybe I just look super at home in a soggy clingy wetsuit?
Cute as a button.
Some of them were quite rude, too.
In that case.
"Coffee? Absolutely. Just take a seat and I'll have someone bring it to you right away. If they don't get there within a few minutes, just keep waiting."
(Also, I joke...but if Discovery Cove wants to hire me and sponsor my Visa, I'm SO IN!)
I bet!
Chef Renee came back with my breakfast and asked where my family was sitting. I told her that N was still in line, so she WENT AND GOT HIS BREAKFAST TOO SO WE COULD EAT TOGETHER!! Above and beyond, I tell you!
she replied that "it's not special treatment; it's fair treatment."
Wow! Just... wow! I am
very impressed with her!
She told me how she knew that allergy diners almost always have to wait for each other's food to get cold, or eat separately, so if she can help people avoid that at DC then she's happy to.
This is our typical plan of attack at Discovery Cove: eat early, do the aviary (before the water opens up, before it gets too hot to be out of the water anyway, and while the birds are still hungry,) and then go get wet
Huh. Smart. Wouldn't have thought of that.
Great photo!
You look partially happy, partially perturbed.
Then it was time to hit the lazy river. We started out, not tooooo "lazy," by swimming a lap without noodles while we still had the energy.
You're doing the lazy river wrong!!
Cool! (Yes I know it's man-made.)
I took a break for my first of many ICEEs. My philosophy is that if it's included, I'll drink my ICEE fill.
I would too!
We did go snorkeling in the Grand Reef next, but of course I don't have any decent pictures of actual marine life. It was lovely, albeit chilly, and the fish were mesmerizing.
That's something I'd like to do.
N managed to end up with a little bit of everything, which turned out to be a good thing since some of the food items were better/worse than others.
Typical of a buffet.
I was admiring how my pretty rose gold vacation nails were glittering under the water...
Purty.
Nice! I could se myself chilling there.
I swear, I'll never get tired of languorous palm trees and azure skies as long as I live.
But he does, however, occasionally enjoy a nice stereotypically "girly" drink.
I'm the same way, actually. I don't drink much, but when I do... it's a girly drink.
think he preferred the pina colada slightly. (In case you're curious, he also likes getting caught in the rain.)
(P.S. when I retire, I definitely want to work as a sand sweeper at DC! None of that Walmart greeting for me! I want to spend my days in the sun with after-work-access to bottomless ICEEs!)
"I'd like to work here?"
"Here's your apron. Go peel shrimp. Don't come out until you've done 800lbs. See you next week."
Then he sighed and said, "...makes you wonder what the poor people are doing."
Okay... so I didn't bother quoting all your comments about that.
It's actually a
very common saying. It's not meant to be malicious or demeaning or negative in any way.
It's just an expression that refers to the fact that life is good.
If you're sitting on a porch drinking a lemonade on a hot day, you could say "I wonder what the poor people are doing"... even though the "poor" people could be doing the exact same thing.
It's a comment on comfort and happiness as opposed to an arbitrary monetary situation.
Oh look! A spirit of a car is going up to heaven!
While at the resort, I dyed my hair a slightly darker and more obnoxious shade of cotton candy pink, in prep for my MNSSHP costume the following week.
Can't wait to see!