The Continuing Adventures of Jud

note: for all the pictures go to my album

I got up real early today, 6 am, and made it to the Cape May Cafe at Disney’s Beach Resort just in time for breakfast with Goofy. Some characters were there too... nyuk nyuk nyuk... Joined Wendy of the UK and her DH Alan, Colleen and DH Dave, and daughter, Deedee for a character breakfast. I gave Wendy her present, the carved Mickey I had done for her and then we were called in for our seating. They are not really set up for parties of 6, and wanted top split us to two tables, but we managed to make do and stay together. Filled my tummy with lots of bacon and eggs and fresh fruits and an omelet, had a great waitress, Rhonda, and we all had a great time. (rumor had it that Rhonda sielined as a pro wrestler, but she laughed it off and denied it)Deedee was dressed in what was clearly a character dress, and I guessed Snow White, but couldn’t get it, and it turned out to be Minnie Mouse! She looked adorable. And of course, when Minnie Mouse came out, that was the best for her. Personally, I love Goofy and I practically walked into him as I entered! Also saw Chip and Dale. All of them were in pretty wild outfits- sort of Hawaiian goes Goofy. We spent at least an hour there, and then we all went our separate ways.

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I decided to spend a bit of time exploring the resort and walked about the grounds. This is on the shore opposite the Boardwalk and I finally got to see what that wrecked ship on the beach is! It’s the entryway for a long tube water slide into the resort pool. Had a nice figurehead on it- a bit out of the ordinary.

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I was to possibly meet Wendy and Alan again at 4, so had some time to kill if I were going to stay, so I decided to head over and take a ride on the monorail around Epcot. Headed over to the Contemporary, parked and went up to the concourse level to await the monorail back to the Ticket and Transportation Center, TTC, where I could switch to another train for the Epcot trip. While waiting, I looked around and took some shots through the windows of the Magic Kingdom, and the mural inside the Grand Canyon concourse inside the Contemporary.

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The train came, got a nice shot of it entering, and I relaxed and observed the scenery as we sped over to Epcot on the elevated concrete mono-track. The woods around us still showed signs of the hurricane damage of two years ago which had taken down a lot of the trees. We made the loop around Future World overlooking World Showcase on the far side of the turn and I remained on board for the return trip. Switching again at the TTC, I made the long resort loop back to the Contemporary and decided to head up to the 15th floor for the exterior overlook. Went out on the long walkway to the end and the Magic Kingdom was lit up brightly on this sunny day. But big clouds were also fluffing their way across the sky so the lighting kept switching from bright sun to overcast moment to moment.
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I headed back to my van and drove over to Down Town Disney, DTD, took a nap in the back while awaiting my afternoon appointment.
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At about 3:30, I got up, set up my ECV and decided to kill some time in the World of Disney store. The store is undergoing major rehabs; apparently they are turning the corner sections into specialty stores for Adventure and Princesses. I looked around in general and specifically for some PVC character magnets, found a couple but then realized that Wendy had an Annual Pass and thus got a discount so decided to wait on the purchase. When I again headed outside I heard my name called and looked around to spot Wendy and Alan. I zoomed over to the table they had claimed along the waterfront just outside Ghirardelli’s. We chatted on for quite a while covering the days events and other trip highlights- Wendy does a lot for Give Kids the World and had had some adventures getting special Valentine gift bags filled and delivered over the previous week. Alan on the other hand was clearly anxious to show off his new treasure, a huge Valentines Day card that had been signed by all the Disney characters! What a treasure! And Wendy had a couple of gifts for me- a new Stitch cap and a pair of The Incredibles socks. I put both on and frankly the extra socks helped with the cooling day, aside from being cool anyway! Eventually, we made our choices for ice cream treat, and Wendy went in to order them. I stayed a bit conservative as usual, choosing basically a scoop of vanilla with a few add-ons. Wendy went with a banana split and Alan had some big fancy sundae that, once the waitress delivered it, seemed destined to make a terrible mess as he worked it from the overfilled glass to his mouth- chocolate dripping everywhere... there are worse things... Wendy pretty much inhaled her oversized treat while Alan and I yapped and more slowly delighted in our smaller, though equally delicious servings. Wendy finished first.

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By this point, the sun was heading down, assisted by some heavy clouds and it was getting decidedly cool. Alan went to their car and got a sweatshirt for Wendy, gray, with bright pink script spelling out “Tink”- what else should Wendy of the UK wear??? We spent the next half hour or so perusing some of the shops and in the Christmas shop I modeled the gold 50th mouse ear hat, the first time I have ever put such upon my head, amazing to think! And I discovered a stall in the walkway where was advertised hand carved portraits. These were highly colored, almost like a printed photograph on wood, and I couldn’t tell to what degree the face is actually carved, though certain details clearly were. I got the name and phone number of the man who does these (they are sent out) and maybe I shall explore this further. They were quite striking.

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-Jud

3AM Wednesday and the carving is complete. See the next two entries for the earlier progress shots. Not certain what I am going to use for the finish, but will deal with that tomorrow.

I used my Corel to find a font I liked then stretched it to the hieght and width I wanted then taped a piece of tracing paper to the screen and traced it out with pencil, then transferred it to the piece with carbon paper.



There ya go!

:)

The following group covers from about 5PM yesterday through about 2AM this morning. See the next entry down for the earlier shots.

Started on a whim while demonstrating a week or so ago, I am trying to get it done for delivery this Thursday to a friend visiting from England.