Scenes from a Roadtrip (Read 8,383 times)

[fluffysmom]

I like the girls coming across Maison Blanche and deciding not to go inside.

[André DiMera]

Chapter 32

BOURBON STREET
CLAIRE: Bourbon Street? You mean, the place that goes crazy every year during Mardi Gras?
CIARA: Thankfully, we missed that. But, yes. And it seems just as crazy when it's not Mardi Gras.
CLAIRE: I've heard things about Bourbon Street. Let's get out of here, Ci.
CIARA: You don't have to tell me twice.
The girls took each other by the hand and turned around.
CLAIRE: I don't think we're going that way.
The wall of people behind them was even thicker than the crowd in front of them.
CIARA: I think you're right.
A large Cajun man walked out of a strip club and up to them. His eyes were bloodshot.
MAN: Where're you ladies goin' in such a hurry?
CLAIRE: Um, just going for a walk.
MAN: You look lost. Come with Cyriaque. He take you back to his party.
CIARA: We're not much for parties.
CYRIAQUE: Ah, come on, petit'. The night is young, you two li'l ladies are hot, and look like you could use some lovin'. I know Cyriaque sure could.
CIARA: We're all loved out at the moment, thanks.
The man grabbed Ciara by the arm, but Claire kicked him hard and he let go. Ciara and Claire quickly ran from the man, and from Bourbon Street.

ROYAL ST. CHARLES HOTEL
The girls kept running until they got back to their hotel room.
CLAIRE: You okay, Ci? He didn't hurt you, did he?
CIARA: No, he didn't. I'm okay. Just a little shaken, that's all.
CLAIRE: It's okay.
Ciara and Claire hugged.
CIARA: And that is why we stay away from Bourbon Street.
CLAIRE: Man, that place is creepy!
CIARA: Yeah. Did you see how hard that guy went down when you kicked him?
CLAIRE: I used to take kick boxing lessons when I first came back to Salem. Plus, I wasn't about to let him hurt my best friend.
CIARA: I appreciate that. Thanks, Bear.
CLAIRE: No problem.
The girls hugged again.

FRENCH QUARTER
The next morning, Ciara and Claire were walking down the street.
CLAIRE: So, what's this place we're going to called?
CIARA: Cafe du Monde. From what my parents have told me, it is one of the best places to eat in New Orleans.
CLAIRE: Cool. What kind of stuff do they have.
CIARA: Only one food item on the menu at Cafe du Monde: beignets.
CLAIRE: Um, maybe I'm mistaken, but isn't that a cream used for muscle and joint pain.
Ciara laughed.
CIARA: No, not Bengay. Beignets. A beignet is one of the most amazing fried pastries ever! They've covered in powdered sugar. And, they are the only thing you can get to eat at Cafe du Monde.
CLAIRE: Sounds cool. Can't wait to try them.

CAFE DU MONDE
Quite soon, the girls came to Cafe du Monde. They ordered their beignets, and both ordered a cup of café au lait. After receiving their items, they took a seat.
CLAIRE: So, if I'm remembering my French correctly, from what little time my parents and I spent in France, café au lait means coffee with milk, right?
Ciara nodded.
CIARA: Coffee with hot milk.
Claire took a drink.
CLAIRE: That's really good.
CIARA: Just wait until you try to beignet.
Claire picked up one of the pastries that sat on her plate, and took a bite.
CLAIRE: Oh my gosh. This is probably the most amazing pastry ever!
CIARA: I told you they were good.
CLAIRE: I didn't think they'd be this good, though!
CIARA: I know, right?
CLAIRE: They're awesome!
The girls spent a while eating, drinking and laughing. After they'd gotten their fill of beignets, tey were finishing their drinks.
CIARA: So, what do you wanna do after this?
CLAIRE: We could go down to the French Market. I wanna get something for grandma and grandpa from New Orleans.
CIARA: Me too, actually. Let's go.
They finished their drinks and went off to the market.

[heroicmuse]

Remind me not to read your stories when I'm hungry. LOL. Those beignets sound sooo good.

That was a scary moment out on Bourbon Street! Glad Claire took self-defense lessons.

[Kpatch]

Scary encounter.

LOL and the homophone: beignet/Ben Gay. Good one!

[fluffysmom]

Go Claire! I'm glad they made it back safely to the hotel. Yum to the pastries.

[unavitasegreta]

So what a fitting time to sit down and catch up on your story to then discover that Ciara and Clare are in the city and visiting the places that I was just at this morning!

[André DiMera]

Chapter 33

Ciara and Claire spent another day in Louisiana, looking around at the French Market, and other things in the French Quarter. Then, they went off to Mississippi, where, among other things, they got a good look at the Jackson Volcano. Then, they went to Alabama and explored Red Mountain, which is part of the Appalachian mountains. Following this, they went to Tennessee, and among other things, saw Graceland. After that, they made their way back down south to Georgia. Which is where we meet them.

WORLD OF COCA-COLA – ATLANTA, GEORGIA
The girls were looking around a huge museum all about Coca-Cola. Both had bottles of Coca-Cola products in their hand.
CLAIRE: I love this!
CIARA: Me too! This is so awesome!
They came to a gallery with all different pictures of Coca-Cola throughout the years. They stopped when they got to a specific one.
CLAIRE: New Coke?
CIARA: That's what it says.
CLAIRE: What is that?
CIARA: You remember hearing about that one “digital” TV guy from the 1980s, Max Headroom?
CLAIRE: Vaguely, yes.
CIARA: After becoming fairly popular, Max became the sponsor for New Coke, which was exactly the same as Coca-Cola, but with a slightly different flavor.
They read the history about New Coke.
CLAIRE: Doesn't look like it lasted very long. It died out after only a few years.
CIARA: I guess people preferred the taste of regular Coca-Cola. Why change something that's working for you?
Claire nodded in agreement.

CAR
After looking at other things around Georgia for a few days, the girls were back in the car.
CLAIRE: I think this next stop is gonna be one of my favorite parts of this whole trip.
CIARA: Same here!
The car drove past a large sign.
CLAIRE: We've made it. We're in the Sunshine State.

LENNY'S RESTAURANT – CLEARWATER, FLORIDA
The girls were sitting down to breakfast.
CLAIRE: Okay, so, we're still about an hour and a half away.
CIARA: Yeah, well, we kinda got lost for a little bit.
CLAIRE: I know. But, at least we're gonna make it there.
CIARA: I am so excited!
CLAIRE: Me too! I can't wait!
CIARA: Happiest place on earth, here we come.
The girls clinked their glasses together.

CAR
The girls are now driving to Disney World.
CIARA: You know, I still can't believe we actually saved up enough money to do all of this stuff.
CLAIRE: Well, I've been saving for years.
CIARA: So have I. And we both worked two jobs.
CLAIRE: And somehow juggled school. Plus, our parents gave us a little help.
CIARA: Yeah. That was nice. But, still. Disney World. I never thought I'd end up going to Disney World.
CLAIRE: Well, we are now. And if it's anything like the one in Hong Kong, it's gonna be awesome!
CIARA: You went to Disneyland Hong Kong?
CLAIRE: A long, long time ago. I barely remember any of it.
CIARA: Isn't this one we're going to the largest?
CLAIRE: I think so, yeah.
CIARA: Cool.

[Kpatch]

Interesting history of Coca Cola.

Lenny's in Clearwater! I'm waving to the girls now. I've been to Lenny's. Yummy breakfast.

I hope the girls have a blast at Disney.

Thanks for clarifying how they're affording this trip.

[heroicmuse]

I knew it! I knew they were going to go to Disney World! LOL. I've only ever been to Disneyland so I'm looking forward to the tour.

LOL about Max Headroom. I was obsessed with that show when it was on for some reason. I chalk it up to having been a kid at the time.

[fluffysmom]

If I remember correctly New Coke tasted kinda like Pepsi.

The girls are having so much fun. I'm looking forward to their Disney visit.

[André DiMera]

Chapter 34

DISNEY HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS – DISNEY WORLD – ORLANDO, FLORIDA
The girls were now experiencing all of the magic of Disney World. They had just gotten off the Tower of Terror, in Disney Hollywood Studios.
CIARA: That was awesome!
CLAIRE: Totally!
CIARA: I'm not normally a fan of scary stuff, but that was just too cool!
CLAIRE: You know, the waiting line was so detailed, it was almost as good as the ride.
CIARA: Totally! So, what next?
CLAIRE: Rock 'n' Roller Coaster.
CIARA: Nice!
Ciara and Claire spent the whole day looking around and going on rides in Disney Hollywood Studios.

HOTEL
The girls were tired, but happy, after their first day.
CIARA: That was so cool!
CLAIRE: Yeah. I'm really glad we came here.
The next morning, the girls had to get up early.
CIARA: Remind me again of why exactly we have to get up this early today.
CLAIRE: Because, according to what I've read, this is when the most animals are out.

ANIMAL KINGDOM
The girls made their way to Animal Kingdom and got onto the Kilimajero Safari tour. As they rode along in the safari vehicle, they saw all kinds of animals.
CLAIRE: Look at that.
Claire pointed. Two lion cubs were play fighting with each other, while a lioness, presumably the mother of one or both, watched on.
CIARA: That's adorable!
Soon, they heard a loud noise, and looked over to see an elephant grazing.
CIARA: Wow!
At one point, a heard of antelope ran by. Ciara and Claire saw many more animals throughout the day. But, all too soon, the safari ride was over. They thanked their tour guide, and got off to look around at other parts of Animal Kingdom.
CIARA: Okay, now I totally see why we got up early. That ride was amazing!
CLAIRE: It was so cool! Did you see the cheetah way up on top of those rocks?
CIARA: Yeah. Did you see that crocodile down in the swamp portion.
CLAIRE: You mean the one eying the warthog. Yeah.
The girls walked a bit farther to a huge tree, known as the Tree of Life.
CLAIRE: Whoa! This thing is huge!
CIARA: It kinda reminds me of that one tree from Pocahantas. You know, the one with a face?
CLAIRE: Grandmother Willow.
CIARA: Yeah. That one.
CLAIRE: I can see that.
CIARA: How big is this thing?
CLAIRE: At its base, 50 feet wide, and 145 feet tall.
CIARA: It's massive!
On one side of the tree was a meadow, where the girls saw a kangaroo bouncing around.
CLAIRE: That is so adorable!
CIARA: I know!
They came upon a small pool, where a family of tortoises lived.
CLAIRE: I love this place! It's so peaceful!
CIARA: I love it, too.
The girls spent quite a bit of time at the Tree of Life, and spent the rest of the day looking around at the rest of Animal Kingdom.

[André DiMera]

Chapter 35

EPCOT
The girls spent a day at Typhoon Lagoon Water Park, and the next day at Epcot. They started by looking around all of the different sections that represented different countries. They stopped to have lunch at the British portion of Epcot.
CLAIRE: How's the fish 'n' chips?
CIARA: Good. How's yours?
CLAIRE: Really good.
CIARA: This place is really nice.
CLAIRE: Yeah.
Later that day, they went for a tour of the coral reef and saw lots of aquatic life.
CIARA: This is so awesome!
CLAIRE: I know! Those fish are adorable!
Then, they walked to the center of Epcot.
CLAIRE: You ready for this, Ci?
CIARA: Oh, I'm ready. Are you ready for this, Bear?
CLAIRE: Always. Let's go.
Together, the girls walked to Spaceship Earth, the giant ball that everyone pictures when they think of Epcot.
CIARA: Okay. That, by far, was the best part of Epcot!
CLAIRE: For sure! That was awesome!
CIARA: I had no idea what to expect, but it was great!
CLAIRE: Same here!
They spent another day in Epcot, seeing more of the sights, and took a tour on segways that day.

MAGIC KINGDOM
The girls had saved the best for last. They had gone to all of the other parks, including the two water parks, but now it was time for the big one: Magic Kingdom.
CLAIRE: Okay, we went on Splash Mountain.
CIARA: And Haunted Mansion.
CLAIRE: That was cool. So was Space Mountain.
CIARA: All three of the mountains were cool.
CLAIRE: Which was the third again?
CIARA: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.
CLAIRE: Oh, yeah. That was awesome!
CIARA: Carousel of Progress was a nice, relaxing break.
CLAIRE: Yeah. Plus, we saw Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, Daisy, Pluto and a whole host of various Disney characters throughout the week.
CIARA: I still say Mickey was giving you the eye.
CLAIRE: Oh, please, He's a mouse.
The girls laughed.
CIARA: So, it looks like there's only two things left to do.
CLAIRE: Three, actually.
CIARA: Tomorrowland, watch the fireworks, and what?
CLAIRE: Oh, you know.
CIARA: Oh...that ride.
CLAIRE: Hey, I think the song's as annoying catchy as you do. But, we can't say we've had the full Disney World experience without going on it once.
CIARA: Okay, but only once.
So, the girls went on Small World, and had that song stuck in their head for the rest of the day. They also went on Tomorrowland. As it was getting dark when they got off, they walked over to the Castle. There, they watched the parade that went by on a nightly basis, and watched the fireworks.
CLAIRE: This has been awesome, hasn't it?
CIARA: It sure has. And, we've still got the East coast to go.
CLAIRE: Can't wait! But, what I mean is, Disney World has been awesome.
CIARA: Oh, totally! Happiest place on earth.
CLAIRE: It definitely is.

[heroicmuse]

Great tour of Disney World! I was right there with them. LOL Mickey giving Claire the eye. That conversation was funny.

Where will the girls be going next week André DiMera?

[André DiMera]

All will be revealed in the previews tomorrow morning, heroicmuse.

[fluffysmom]

I really enjoyed the visit to the Animal Kingdom. I want to go there now!

The tour of Disney World has been a lot of fun André DiMera.