2024-02-12 - Islands of Magic and Wonderment

A trip is still a trip even if you are in the company of a man who you think your relationship with is slinking towards a breakup.

But a trip to an amusement park less than a year old? That's special. Erika knew that was where her excitement was but she didn't know if Axel knew it. He seemed to be both happy about her excitement and a bit distracted during the ferry ride from mainland Michigan to Spellbound.

And what a way to enter a park. Sure, Disney had a ferry, but it was an optional method of entry among a number of choices. Here, you cannot get to the island without taking the slow and luxurious boat ride - officially at least, Erika was certain that there are helicopter ready for emergency departures but that represents a special case. They even had heat on the boat to fight off the winter chill so her gloves were in her pockets and her coat open so that she doesn't get overheated before arriving at the island.

She tries to engage Axel in watching the island grow as they approach, to take in the dark blue buildings with accents of violet and gold - the latter in the form of sprays of stars while the former in the form of filigreed swirls that evoked a sense of wonder and beauty. But rather than enjoy the approach with her, Axel seemed intent on scheduling events for the trip, particularly the attendance of a joust on the 14th... well, that'll be something they'll both be able to enjoy together Erika thought.

As she disembarked the ferry, Erika felt as if she was stepping out of the modern, scientific world into a world of possibilities. Some of the passing performer's costumes were so realistic she felt she was being transported into a living wainscot society with elements of fantasy (Those horns look real! Their costuming department must be staffed with genius fabricators!) right along side the practical needs of a park (there's the hint of a helipad on top of that clinic, but most guests might not notice it when not in use! Erika was happy to see that and happier that she'd predicted it before hand.) and it's guests.

Another, shorter, boat ride got the couple to Storybrook Resort which continued the ongoing theme of a fantasy land come to life and after they checked into their room Axel seemed to set aside his distractions to be the charmer she had fallen in love with.

Dinner at Chapter's Restaurant was charming, literally like walking into a book. The house salad was excellent and she had a fettuccine alfredo dish with perfectly cooked King scallops while Axel had insisted on a steak and lobster surf and turf dish with golden fried, wedge cut pommes frites (or "French fries" in English). In exchange for half of one of her scallops she got a bite of the steak and they both agreed that the chef must be one of the best around due to how well prepared all the dishes were.

After dinner they watched a fireworks show from their hotel room balcony before returning downstairs for what Erika had anticipated to be a relaxed evening at the Tales and Tails Bar. Axel managed to sour the experience a little by spending the time talking about his 'expertly crafted' itinerary for the trip but Erika salvaged the time by watching the servers. Again the costuming stood out for her because, their waitress for example, had a functioning prehensile tail which she used to carry one of their drinks over along with their cheese sticks.

After the trip, she would describe the park as a wonderful and magical place - in the sense of how it made her feel because, of course, any hint that it might have been real magic that developed while she was there had vanished - but on that first evening Spellbound opened her thoughts and emotions to the potential that real magic was possible and that this park was the place to experience it. All this despite Alex and what would happen in two days...