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Issue #196, Epic Road Trip, June 18, 2018: Jonathan Dickenson State Park, Florida, Disneyworld




June 18, 2018 Waking up here at Disneyworld. I slept a lot better last night as my fever reduced after reaching a high point of 102. Despite feeling crappy I tried to do several sketches. The first was in the evening as the sun was setting; I sat in front of the Cricket and sketched it in front of the tall pines and Sabal Palms behind; but I was sweating, the gnats were relentless, and I felt disconnected. The second drawing I attempted was at 5:30 a.m. - even though I felt bad, I still resolved to get up and try and catch the morning light on the marshy flats a short way from camp where there was a good reflection of the pines over standing water with a line of mist under the row of trees, symmetrical yet un-symmetrical; however, here, too, I did not feel like I could draw at all; I was still a bit feverish, and any precision I once had for drawing tree limbs disappeared.

(written from Disneyword) Well, now we are standing in line once again. We just went into “Spaceship Earth” after waiting for about 50 minutes in line - the ride took about half that time. Now we are standing in line for “Soaring around the World”.



Anyway back to yesterday - my energy greatly lagging, I was barely able to do what we needed to do to pack up - which involved putting Paige’s bike on top of the car; folding my bike up and putting it in it’s bag; strapping that to Paige’s bike; taking down the awning, taking out the power and water lines; closing the Cricket up and putting the kids’ bikes on top (which involves me getting up on top of the Cricket while Paige hands me the bikes). Everything seemed very sandy and humid.

Before we left the park, we made a short detour to the “Hobe Mountain Viewpoint”, a wooden viewing platform built on what is the tallest patch of land in southern Florida. From here we could see all of the State Park plus the ocean, so with a cool breeze at the top we enjoyed the panorama, and were soon on our way.



I drove, feeling only marginally better, but well enough to navigate the roughly three hours to “Fort Wilderness”, stopping once at a “Wynn Dixie” grocery store to stock up on items. The Cricket is getting quite full of food items; it seems we need another box in which to put all the extra stuff we keep accumulating. Once we got checked in and everyone had received their “Disneybands” (which are like electronic tickets that stay secured around your wrist), we found our spot, set up and Paige immediately did the laundry. The kids and I got out the bikes and figured out where the pool was, and a few drops of rain fell; I got a text from Paige asking “Do you have the keys?” (because the windows of the Volvo were open). I had them. She wrote, “You better hurry”! and indeed when we got back to the car a torrential downpour crashed down upon us; trees were swaying in the wind, the force of the storm had thrown one of the poles that hold the corner of the awning down to an undisclosed location, which left Paige - and then me - trying to hold up that corner while it poured - and we searched for it to no avail, finally giving up after becoming completely soaked, and completing the Laundry in wet clothes. Later I took a shower and changed, but lost my Disneyband” (which I discovered this morning under my mattress, but only after I had made a separate trip to the office to get a new one).

Following the drama of the storm, Paige made a great meal of pizza using green tortillas - and I felt well enough to drink a beer - and then we tried to see a “sing along” that was going to lead into a movie, but once we got there, the kids decided they wanted to go swimming instead - so I took them to the pool once they had changed into their suits back at camp, getting there on our bikes by taking a short cut through the various camping areas. They insisted they could make it back by themselves, and so I headed back to camp; but at the appointed time they did not show up, so we ‘tracked’ them using our iPhones. It looked like they were moving about in confused circles - and then Orion texted me that “They couldn’t figure it out” so I went to get them, and brought them back safely.



not just a drizzle
more like inches per second
Disney deluge

before the first ride
I lose my disneyband
bad Disney dad



alligators lurk
while vast Disney outgrowth
develops the land

at Fort Wilderness
many species of RV’s
rest on shady pads



citing their failure
to find their way back to camp:
‘kid-term memory’




solo/group kukai
drawing/writing/photography
jonathan machen