It's a Small Room, after All

What a day! After all of the excitement from yesterday's vehicular malfunction, and knowing that we had all day to make a mere six-hour drive to Walt Disney World, we took our time getting out this morning. We even used the thirty-minute grace period allowed by our motel after regular checkout time. We were in no hurry at all. Anyone who has ever seen a movie knows that nothing good could have come of this. If only we had thought about that!

About two miles from our motel, Andy discovered that he had left his telephone in the room. We would later come to regard that as a stroke of good luck for us, but at that moment, we felt greatly inconvenienced. Oh, well, we would still have plenty of time to get to our Disney Resort and check in for a nice, relaxing evening.

As we pulled into the parking lot, the car's electrical systems again failed. Andy retrieved his phone from the desk clerk and immediately used it to dial AAA, which was, to say it in the nicest of possible terms, less than helpful. Kala scoured the phone book on her own to find a garage that was open on Saturdays, and finally found Walsh Honda, approximately one hour before closing time. They called us a tow truck and, although they are supposed to close at 1:00, they stayed until after 2:00 to replace our alternator. That done, we charged the battery, bought some pecans, and set out for Orlando, feeling a little less relaxed about the time.

By the time we arrived at Downtown Disney to obtain our passes, it was after 10:00. Still, for a bright, shining moment, our fatigue and anxiety over our previous car problems were completely forgotten as we entered this enchanted realm that is Walt Disney World. Andy was positively giddy. Really, it's a good thing it was Kala's turn to drive.

After purchasing our passes, we picked up some fast food and headed for Disney's All-Star Sports Resort, where we had reservations for the week. Our room was not what we had been expecting. We had been assigned a "smoking" room containing two tiny beds (and no high-speed Internet access!). Not exactly the ideal accommodations in which to celebrate our first wedding anniversary.

Andy called the front desk to request a new room and, after far too much time on hold, was told that there were no other rooms available for tonight, but that we would be able to switch rooms tomorrow. We'll see if that actually happens. As for the cigarette smell in our room, well, we were told that an "air purifier" would be sent up right away to take care of that. This turned out to be an old, disgruntled maintenance guy with a spray bottle of some sort of liquid perfume. He squirted the carpet a few times and the curtains once, revealed to us his desire to "hang" the front desk staff, and left us again in a room which smelled pretty much exactly as it had before his visit.

In any case, here we are, in Walt Disney World at last. Tomorrow is our anniversary, and we're not going to allow these minor hiccups to get in the way of our celebration.