Monday, January 27th: the conclusion
Our goal that day had been to see the three shows - - Dolphin Days, Sea Lion High, and Orca Encounter - - and to do the Penguins Up Close Tour. Everything and anything else we managed to squeeze in was a happy bonus.......that is, except for one attraction that we intentionally saved right until the end of the day, for obvious reasons.
Much as it had been a simply lovely weather day, it WAS still January and that meant that it never got super hot. We wanted to ensure we rode Infinity Falls but didn't want to spend the balance of the day, especially knowing we had significant time planned for being inside Antarctica, in damp clothing. Nor was I planning on walking around the park looking like a drowned rat with wet, air-dried hair. A girl has to have some standards, right?
So, with about a half hour left of our park day, we headed to Infinity Falls to cap off a fabulous day with a splash.
There was no line at all, so we donned our ponchos and headed through the queue right to the boarding area. We were seated in a raft with another family of 4 who followed us up the walkway, a mom and dad with their two young daughters.
We always seem to have the greatest luck in meeting some of the nicest people. It turns out that the father was originally from Michigan and lived many years in the same general area as we currently reside, so the six of us enjoyed some friendly chat as we bobbed our way through the rapids. The little girls were super sweet (and more than a little nervous ... it was their first time riding) but they got a huge kick out of us giggling right along with them when one of us got a cool wave of water splashed up over our heads or cascading down our backsides. If you're gonna ride a water ride, ya might better get wet, right?
We ended up riding 4 times in a row, all with the same family (the little girls even let another couple go ahead of them so that they could ride with us again LOL). Mom eventually took a leave on the 3rd and 4th time down, leaving just dad and the girls to join us. I think she'd had enough of being doused with those chilly waves that late in the day.
When we finally got off for the final time, I asked if they had Photokey and they told me they did not. Especially since it was the girls' first "big" ride of their trip, I thought it would be really special if they had their ride pictures so I offered to text them to them if they didn't mind sharing their cell phone number. They were SO grateful ..... but I was more than happy to give them those memories. So as we parted ways, they headed to one of the giant dryers (ponchos don't really keep you dry but DO help protect cell phones and purses at least somewhat) while we headed to the Photokey desk to get all the pictures on our card. One of the nice things about the cameras on that ride is that they capture several different angles, so regardless of where you are riding, you can generally get a picture of those in your group. The ended up with a nice one that featured just their side of the raft, where we are hardly visible. It was perfect!
By the time we headed out of the park, it was just past 6 and everything but the shops were slowly closing to guests. We had opened the park, and closed the park. A good day all around.
Arriving back at the villa, we enjoyed a short rest and a chance to both edit some of our pictures and catch up on social media, then we donned our swimsuits (and grabbed a couple of adult beverages) and headed out to enjoy the Fountains recreation area on such a perfect winter night.
It was swimming weather for us northerners, but apparently not for anyone else LOL. Despite the early hour......it couldn't have even been 8 pm yet.....we were the ONLY people at the pool.
The Tiki Bar itself was closed (thank goodness we brought our own drinks), but the fire pit was on so we sat for a bit and just savored the peacefulness of the night. It's not often we get that big, beautiful area all to ourselves.
Not a soul came down to occupy any of the empty deck chairs as we enjoyed a luscious swim in the pool. The pool is heated and was wonderfully warm, so it was baffling as to why no one else was down there for a swim (cool night air or not). Their loss was our gain. What a lovely way to end a busy day at the parks.
After our swim, we headed up the stairs behind the waterfall for a soak in one of the two hot tubs that serve the Fountains area. We thought *maybe* there might be some folks back in those two areas (hot tubs are the place to be in the winter!) but nope. Still deserted.
I always love the nighttime view from the hot tubs. The deep green of the palm trees, back lit by the warm glow of the lamp posts against the inky night sky, is breathtaking. So far removed from the cold, barren, snowy landscape that we left just a few days earlier.
Once we were sufficiently waterlogged, we headed back to the villa and pretty much headed straight to bed. Our plan was to get up early the following morning (one of the few times we would actually set the alarm to ensure we didn't oversleep) and make the drive to Busch Gardens for our first-ever visit. We wanted to be rested and ready for a big day.....which had an unexpected surprise in store once we got there!
Coming up: going wild at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay
