Vero Beach: Day 1

We had a breakfast reservation at Kona Café at Polynesian, and although we didn't think we’d see too many people, what a great surprise to discover that the entire place was practically deserted!

After breakfast, we walked over to the Wedding Pavilion, and my family's Walk Around the World brick was on the way there, so of course we had to find it and take a picture! We probably wandered around for close to an hour, and during that time, we saw two other people for about ten seconds, as they walked past us in the opposite direction. That's it. Two people!

As you can see from the photos, the resort really was empty! If you follow me on IG, you may have seen the videos I posted in my story and there's no one as far as the eye can see! What an amazing morning!

After leaving WDW, we drove to Vero Beach and checked in. Our room wasn't ready yet, which gave us plenty of time to walk around figure out where things were, since it's our first time here. The cast members are very helpful and friendly, and the resort itself is beautiful! Once our room was ready, we brought our bags in from the car, and then went for a drive. The room is spacious and has a balcony with an ocean view; as I am typing this, I can hear the waves crashing on the shore and I love it!

Before returning from our drive, we stopped at Publix, which is a grocery store, and picked up a key lime pie. We have been dreaming about this key lime pie for 14 months, which is the last time we had one. It is seriously the best key lime pie ever!

had to take a picture of this empty entrance
on our way to Polynesian!

such a beautiful day!

who named this?!?

we thought it was weird to get a
WDW key card instead of one
that had the resort's name on it

the best!

Happy Tails to you!

A Quick Getaway to Florida

Back on March 1, we booked a reservation at Disney's Vero Beach Resort for this week. We once again rented DVC points and were very excited about the trip because we hadn't ever visited Vero Beach before!

Obviously we didn't know that the entire country would come to a screeching halt two weeks later!

We had a few nights both before and after Vero Beach booked at WDW, but we ended up canceling those two legs of the trip once the parks closed. The Vero Beach portion of the trip, though, had been paid in full and came with a no-cancellation policy.

As the weeks wore on, we unsure about what we were going to do about the trip. We were definitely leaning toward not going because my mom's health is always at the forefront of our minds, and things were not looking great in Florida. Then Ginny gave us a scare last weekend and we had pretty much given up the idea of going.

However, with Ginny getting a little better each day, we started to think maybe the trip would happen after all. We were obviously still worried about her; between having to watch her like a hawk, giving her meds, and carrying her everywhere, she is a lot of work and we didn't want to put that on anyone else. But my mom insisted we go so we didn't forfeit the money we'd paid, and by Friday, with Ginny seemingly doing better than expected, we decided to go ahead with a quick trip. The only person that I believe can take better care of Ginny than me is my mom, so I know she's in good hands this week.

We left this morning at 2:00 am and drove straight through to Florida. I say "we," but C drove the entire distance! He is seriously the best! We planned to stay in Orlando for one night and then head over to Vero Beach tomorrow. Unfortunately, WDW was not allowing any new resort reservations, so we got a reservation at the Hilton Garden Inn five minutes from WDW.

We'd read that there was a "checkpoint" for cars entering Florida, and there was a major slowdown that added a big chunk of time to our drive, but it was just lane reductions and countless signs about a checkpoint. No actual cars were being checked. Completely pointless.

We went to Disney Springs this afternoon, and it was fairly deserted (it was also raining, so I think that helped to keep people away). Masks are required for everyone, cast members took guests' temperatures before they were allowed to enter Disney Springs, and I saw constant cleaning happening everywhere we went. Overall, we felt very safe, we wore masks and used lots of hand sanitizer, and we kept our distance from others.

After Disney Springs, we drove all around WDW property and it was like a ghost town. So few people around. Practically no vehicles on the road. A little unsettling, to be honest!

We had a late dinner at Beaches and Cream, which was our first visit back since it was completely renovated. It's much more spacious now, but with social distancing requirements, there were far fewer people in there than we had expected. It remains one of our favorite spots at WDW and we reminisced about all of the great memories we've had there over the past 26+ years. A really fun dinner with great food and excellent service, and our first meal inside a restaurant in almost four months!

We wanted to walk over to the Yacht Club Wedding Gazebo to further our stroll down memory lane, but various resort areas are closed off and we couldn't get over there. We were able to walk down to the water and enjoy the view of Boardwalk, which was a lovely way to end the evening, as there was absolutely no one around and it was so calm and peaceful.

Overall, I'm really impressed with the efforts being made to keep everyone safe. I don't know how things will be once the parks begin opening this weekend, but based on my experiences today, Disney is doing a great job. Every cast member we interacted with was cheerful and friendly and everything seemed clean and well cared for. We've canceled all of our planned WDW and Disneyland trips for the remainder of 2020, so I'll be watching from afar and keeping my fingers crossed that our trip for early next year can happen.

Off to Vero Beach tomorrow!

Ginny's face when we were leaving

pulling out of our driveway at 2 am

almost there...13 hours of driving!

on our hotel room door

Beach Club - completely empty!

Beach Club - completely empty!

Beach Club - completely empty!

Happy Tails to you!

Things are looking up!

We've had a very quiet week with Ginny as she's been healing, and the medication and strict bed rest seems to be working because she has been getting a little stronger each day!!

We're not letting her walk except to go out, and even then, we carry her out to the grass and then carry her back in. We aren't seeing any wobbling, stumbling, or knuckling of her paws when she's on the grass, so that is highly encouraging! She's been sleeping in the playpen at night (I sleep beside her on the couch), but during the day, we let her sleep on the couch as long as one of us is sitting right beside her. She'll finish up her meds in a few days, and I think that's when we'll be able to get a better sense of how she's actually feeling. I absolutely believe she is getting better, but I think the meds can mask the pain/discomfort, so I don't want to mistakenly assume everything is great.

the better she feels, the happier I feel!

pretty much my view all week as she slept
beside me on the couch during the day

moved the playpen into the kitchen
so I could watch her while I did a little baking

chocolate chip banana bread

cake mix cookies with Smarties

colorful birthday gifts I finally put to use!

Canada Day

Canada Day

Independence Day

sharing my coffee

napping with Mr. Toad

Because my mom is an amazing human being, she's going to be watching Ginny for us for the next few days while we are away. Ginny is about to be loved and doted on like never before!

Happy Tails to you!