Sometimes a little fun turns up in entirely unexpected ways.
My son and I went down to Orlando (couple of hours south of us here in Gainesville) for a couple of days this past week, as we often do. We stayed at one of the Holiday Inns in the Lake Buena Vista area near Orlando.
While there, we took advantage of the hotel pool, of course, had a nice swim, and then we noticed something in the pool area that we hadn't normally seen when staying at some of the area's hotels in the past.
First, the pool area of the hotel where we stayed, pleasant and refreshing:
https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailv2&ccid=wgxutk1s&id=1c92aacadc533c72219faaddf476f3474b4db96f&thid=oip.wgxutk1s5djmguoz0myrzahae7&mediaurl=https%3a%2F%2Fth.bing.com%2Fth%2Fid%2Fr.c20c6eb64d52e4324c194399d26cab64%3frik%3Db7lns0fzdvtdqg%26riu%3Dhttp%253a%252f%252fwww.cfmedia.vfmleonardo.com%252fimagerepo%252f2%252f0%252f66%252f18%252f542%252fdisbv_3783783033_1313575648_s.jpg%26ehk%3D8tf2adwuasfzk3jlto3wuxyco85mh9%252f0b515rbzxc80%253d%26risl%3D%26pid%3Dimgraw%26r%3D0&exph=1365&expw=2048&q=lake+buena+vista+holiday+inn&simid=608048643642692806&form=irprst&ck=5b903f5afdb30bbd3f81f5b64ac565ed&selectedindex=4&qpvt=lake+buena+vista+holiday+inn&ajaxhist=0&ajaxserp=0 But what we saw in a corner of the pool area was a large outdoor chess-and-checkers set up, using large plastic pieces on a game board the size of a small courtyard area. It was there for the enjoyment of guests wanting to try their hand at either or both of these games, near poolside, in a large-piece setting.
This was it:
https://www.google.com/search?q=holiday+inn+lake+buena+vista&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=x&ved=2ahukewi0hkconn33ahuytjabhvbwcl0q_auoanoecaeqba&biw=1280&bih=566&dpr=1.25#imgrc=ffpbm9cyyz0irmNormally, I wouldn't bother to make note of something like this, pretty trivial really, but it was sort of out of the ordinary, something we hadn't seen or done before, and it actually turned out to be more fun than I thought it would be.
Darrell and I chose the chess pieces and "board" (large squares painted on the concrete) and began to play. Darrell played black and I played white.
He is much better at chess than I am, and he did indeed beat me eventually, but I made a game of it. We took some poolside chairs and moved them over to opposite sides of the "board," sat down in them, and started.
Of course we had to get up and walk over to move and remove pieces from the "board" during each move as the game progressed. Good exercise as well as a good mental challenge.
One of the things that made the game interesting was that a few times during our play, some other hotel guests at the pool, couples and individuals, came over from time to time to watch us play for a while, and would then walk off.
My! Here I am, someone with really minimal chess skills, and people were actually watching me play! How curious! Of course what they were watching was the novelty of it all, seeing a chess match being played out under such unusual conditions, outdoors, with such large pieces, and next to a swimming pool. But still, it was certainly an odd and amusing experience for me!
Also the game itself was a curious experience. Normally when we play chess, if we do, we move a piece almost instantly, from one square to another. But when I had to get up from my chair, walk over to a piece to move or remove it, doing so gave me a better appreciation of the complexity of the game, and the inevitably increased time between moves made me think harder about
the upcoming moves before making them.
Maybe I should have gone with the checkers instead, making for a less cerebral and demanding exercise? <grin!>
But it did turn out to be fun, and I would recommend the experience, if you ever happen to stay someday at a hotel that offers this option of a "giant chess" game.
You just might enjoy it. I did.
Some unexpected fun on a short vacation!