This weekend, we were all feeling a little cooped up and restless, so I made the executive decision to dip into our DVC points and book a room at Riviera for just the night on Saturday. The kids had off from their usual weekend activities for the holiday and things were otherwise pretty quiet around here, so we escaped for the evening short of a back and forth or two by me to take care of the dog.
We can visit the parks any time, so when we splurge on a staycation we usually just want to hang at the resort and enjoy that space (especially when it's just for one night). We hung out in the room, ate at Primo Piatto, played bocce ball and with the giant chess set, and took long walks around the grounds of Riviera and Caribbean Beach. I had my camera with me when we were out and about and grabbed this shot near sunset Saturday night.
It was an off the cuff shot but I couldn't have planned it better if I'd set up camp and waited it out. What were the odds that in this moment the only thing over these brilliant bright yellow buildings at sunset were four matching yellow Skyliner cars and one pop of complimentary purple? The grass looks almost too perfect to be real (only at Disney, am I right?), the sky is what I always call a "Simpsons Sky"—perfect blue with a few white puffy clouds thrown in for good measure. The whole scene just looks like a palette of color and calm to me.
Love this shot because it reminds me of the time I got to spend with the kids. I didn't post the whole time. Didn't run to a park. Didn't see anyone else we knew. As they get older, I'm more and more aware that I won't have this time forever, so I try my best to be as present with them as I can when I have the gift of these moments.
Taken with my new Leica D-Lux 8—35mm equivalent, 1/400 seconds, f/5.6, ISO 200, and light edits in Lightroom. Having the wee Leica with me was great. This was exactly the sort of setting and situation I'd wanted it for. When I'm out with the kids I'm mom first and everything else second, and having a camera with me that isn't hugely cumbersome is just what the doctor ordered.