3,298 miles, 10 breweries, and 1 Mega Meet - a July '16 Trip Report *New 6/5/17 - Link to new TR!*

[buddha112]

sounds like a great trip so far .. cant wait to read the rest.

 

[marmalade]

Loving this trip report so far, can't wait to read more!!!

 

[ElenaJane]

No chicken nuggets for Olivia I guess, Oysters!?! You raised an adventurous eater!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

These two most recent posts are giving me serious FL flashbacks. I don't drive through Jacksonville very much these days, but man...I saw a few of those pics and it was like - hello 1990-1997. I'll have to pass on The Whale's Rib to my parents. They are farther south, but they're now retired...they have the time to drive a bit for a change of pace

We didn't stop in Jacksonville or anything but had a neat bridge! The Whale's Rib is a fun place with pretty solid food and not too bad of pricing and it is right in that beach area so great for a post-beach meal

Olivia ordering oysters just cracks me up! You're lucky they're such adventurous eaters!

I'm not a big sushi fan, but I do have to say that the presentation of those dishes were very nice.

The place you stayed in Deerfield reminds me of a place we stayed at near Disney about fifteen years ago. It was large, clean and inexpensive. I thought it was fine, but my family still teases me about the dated decor.

Free chips are always a good thing!

Well, their tasts vary a lot - sometimes they are super picky and sometimes willing to try things. We usually have a rule that you have to try something and then if you don't like it, ok, you don't have to eat it all. For some reason Olivia is in this Oyster kick.

The presentation of the sushi was quite good - the fry/cook level on the shrimp was just off though ... we've definitely had better

We are ok with dated (especially if just for a few days) so it totally worked out ... very happy with it considered how late we booked it and the price point

Enjoying the trip report, and can't wait for the DIS Meet stuff! You sound like me with the planning - also, with me - nobody will plan anything, and then always leave it up to me to figure out what to do/how to do it, etc. So they want the maximum benefit with minimum effort, and yet still always bust me about being a ""worry wort". So you know what? I plan "behind their backs" so I'm ready when they realize they need me! LOL. Glad your place in Deerfield worked out - looks nice, and very "beachy". Reminds me of stuff I see on Waterfront Bargain Hunt. Cool you went to a place Guy did on Triple D, since you've been educating me about him.

Thanks Heidi! I get you about the planning - although this was a little different as they specifically wanted to not have plans and just go with it - and that freaked me out a bit. I don't need every minute of the day planned out but at least some guidelines and timing for meals and stuff

I enjoyed Triple D and think there are some neat things on there ... well, you know the rest of my thoughts on Guy

 

[TheMaxRebo]

sounds like a great trip so far .. cant wait to read the rest.

Thanks for joining. Some more coming up ... one last update before we get to Disney!

Loving this trip report so far, can't wait to read more!!!

Thanks for joining. Some more coming up ... one last update before we get to Disney! (sorry to copy last response, but seemed appropriate )

No chicken nuggets for Olivia I guess, Oysters!?! You raised an adventurous eater!

Olivia loves chicken nuggets too ... she gets into phases of what she likes and what she doesn't - for some reason, now is the oyster phase.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Part 13: Traveling to Disney - Day 7
Beer time​

This was our first full day in Florida so naturally we did .... laundry. Well, we started running short on things for the kids (didn't realize how many "extra" outfits they would need) and they had a washer / dryer at the hotel so figured take advantage. It was just a communal one so I tried to stay by the washer/dryer as much as I could. Figured I would indulge in one of my newly acquired beers while waiting. It definitely was refreshing on a hot day and quite tasty. Got notes of the mango and papaya without overwhelming things

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After that, we spent most of the day over at Judi's relative's resort using the pool mostly. In the late afternoon most of the crew headed out to see a movie (Secret Life of Pets) ... good to see the cousins were getting along:

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However, myself and one of Judi's cousins decided instead to make a 20 minute or so drive to hit up a brewery - one I was really excited to check out. Funny travel story in that we were following WAZE's directions and I guess they had us arrive via a back way - except there wasn't really a direct way there and in fact a train-crossing so we hit a dead end in a very residential area. We just had to go around and get across the tracks, but was just funny as we were like "um, I don't think this is going to work like you think is should WAZE!"

But in short order we arrived at Funky Buddha Brewing! That's the back of Judi's cousin in the first picture. Then a view of the inside and a close-up of the specialty beer menu which they had projected on screens in a few places)

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They are known for having some unique flavors of beer and I figured the best way to try a few of them was via a flight - and they have a neat flight glass board

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The beers are:
- upper left: Sticky Treats ... a blond ale brewed with marshmallows and really does taste like Rice Krispy Treats - surprisingly good
- upper right: Fire in the Hole ... a raspberry habanero red ale. One of the better spicy beers I have had - did overpower but was present
- lower right: Blueberry Cobbler Ale ... it really tasted like a blueberry cobbler - again, surprisingly good
- lower left: was supposed to be the vanilla porter but they were having trouble with the keg so they gave me the barrel aged imperial stout (normally they don't do barrel aged beers in flights) and it was solid - pretty strong and heavy but good for the style

I also wanted to try the Tip Ta Tip - which was a collaboration Gruit (sour fruit ale) but that was barrel aged too so I got glass of that after. And then finished off with one of their most well known beers, the barrel aged Chocwork Orange (orange added to a chocolate stout). Both were really good - I think the Tip ta Tip was my favorite of what we tried. It was a blend of a orange and rosemary gruit from Funky Buddha blended with a Cherry Strong Ale from Shorts Brewring.

They also serve food and we split an order of the kettle chips with Gorgonzola cheese and scallions - perfect munching food while having some beer

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It was a fun evening and good time catching up with one of Judi's cousins that I hadn't met in person before. After that we called it a night and headed home

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Part 14: Traveling to Disney - Day 8
Emma's Birthday!​

Today was our last full day at the beach, and also happened to be Emma's birthday - and we had set up plans to have a party for her in the afternoon.

But the day started off playing with some of the toys acquired earlier in the trip - that train Peter got at the Science Museum back in Durham (and apparently we had already started to make a mess of the place)

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We then went over to Super Nana's place and spent some time in the pool in her complex and then had lunch there (although Peter had fallen asleep on the ride over so I stayed in the car with him until he woke up - so not much pool time for me)

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We then rested up for a bit before heading over to the complex that Judi's Aunt lives in as we rented out the club house / community room for the party. This started out small but then more people got invited - including 2 of my cousins that live in the area (one who brought her daughter who had just turned 2) and that I hadn't seen in literally a decade so was good to see them.

Emma got into the fruit early. There was tons of food, including this great salmon that Judi's uncle made

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We then had a dance party as Emma loves to dance (including multiple playings of the unofficial song of this trip: "Try Anything" from Zootopia) and then some games - including Super Nana getting into some duck, duck, goose

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Then onto the cake - which we got at Publix! It was really great although it was marked as 1/2 chocolate 1/2 vanilla and we assumed that meant that the right side was one and the left side was the other so people could pick what they wanted - but it turned out to be the lower layer was one and the upper layer was the other so ever piece had some of both. It worked out fine, just unexpected. Of course Peter and Olivia had to help Emma blow out her candles

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Then outside for some bubble time ... and then I guess Emma felt she could enjoy the bubbles while lounging (you can also see some of her special Happy Birthday diapers we got for her)

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We then opened presents ... lots of Disney related toys and clothes and stuff. Everyone was super generous and it was just a really nice time. We then cleaned up and headed back to our room after thanking everyone for their help. Had to get some rest as we get to Disney the next day!

Emma didn't even make it into bed - the party for your 2nd birthday can wipe you out I guess!

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Coming up next ... we make it to Disney and the start of the MegaMeet!!!

TTFN

 

[SorcererHeidi]

I don't need every minute of the day planned out but at least some guidelines and timing for meals and stuff

What a great, fun party, looking at all that food made me HUNGRY! And I think I want to give Super Nana a big , she sounds/looks SO cool!!

 

[cindianne320]

What a great couple of days! Good beer, pool time, and family. Plus a birthday celebration! What a fun way for Emma to spend her birthday!

 

[TiggerTrigger]

OMG- What a sweet pic!!!

 

[HolRae]

Enjoying your trip report. It was cool to see you mention Shorts. That's a local brewery for us. Can't wait for Disney.

 

[ashleymrush]

Wow! So much to catch up on! First, I'm so jealous that your kids are such good eaters. I probably couldn't get my oldest to even touch an oyster shell, let alone eat an oyster. He is the reason that I refuse to ever get a regular dining plan at Disney because he won't eat off of kids menus unless there is a hot dog, pb&j, or grilled cheese. He doesn't even like french fries! QS dining plan is the way we have to go until he has more mature taste buds. What stinks is that my husband and I are very adventurous eaters but are limited to where we can go as a family.

I'm so excited that you got to go to Funky Buddha. We always get some when we go to visit my dad in Panama City Beach. My sister brought me one of the sticky treats on our last trip. It definitely tastes like a rice krispy treat. She brought me a tall can and it was about all I could do to finish it. It was very sweet. It was good but definitely a one and done for me. The chocolate with the orange sounds really good. I love a good stout.

That last picture of your daughter passed out in the chair is adorable. I love pictures like that. They make this whole parenting thing worth it!

So happy to see you're getting to Disney soon! Can't wait to hear about the mega meet!

 

[MarbleBob]

Getting caught up again! I love that you mentioned South of the Border. We stopped there once when I was kid and I remember it being quite the spectacle! I totally forgot about it.

Loving all the details of Savanna. We've never been there, but I have a business conference there this coming January. We'll be at the Hyatt on the river, which judging by the photos, should be very close to where you stayed. Stephanie will be coming with me to explore while I'm in meetings, so I'm sure we'll be gleaming all sorts of nuggets from your TR. (And back to your PTR for a review too!) Being a fan of candy, there is no question that I'll be hitting that candy shop. And also the alcoholic slurpee bar. Yum!!! Vic's looks pretty good too! I haven't really been excited about this trip until this weekend, so I'm stoked to see how your visit went.

Too bad the Florida visitors center was closed. You probably didn't miss much on the inside. It's like a little dixie cup of orange juice, but it's become a tradition for us. Glad to see you picked up a SunPass too!

Too bad the sushi wasn't amazing, but it looks like a fun experience anyway.

Love the beach updates too. Did you personally ever sit in that inflatable beach chair thingy (the one with the smiley face kids)? I saw those online before our last trip and almost purchased one, but never got around to pulling the trigger. Wondering if they are as cool and practical as they look.

And how fun that Emma was able to celebrate her birthday with her family at the beach! That's pretty awesome. (And I've got a sweet tooth, so her birthday cake is looking pretty darn appetizing right now!)

 

[annie170]

Super Nana's quite a gal to be playing Duck, Duck, Goose!

What a nice party you were able to have while away from home. I would have thought the same thing regarding the cake. It looked tasty, though.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

The best parties always end asleep on a chair, couch or the floor! So, nice that you could celebrate with family down in Florida!

And the beer at Funky Budda sounds excellent!!!

My oldest doesn't eat oysters but she did discover the joy of sushi! And real sushi, sashimi! It's great but $$$$ to get sushi now!

 

[rteetz]

Awesome update Phil!

The brewery looks nice and i love the name.

That's so nice that everyone was there to celebrate your daughters birthday. I've never been on vacation for my birthday.

Overall just seems like a fun, relaxing, and memorable day.

 

[missangelalexis]

The rest of your time in Florida with Judi's family sounds like it was great! Glad you got cross another brewery of the list. And Emma's party looks like it was a hit! Such a cute pic of her wiped out after the long day!

 

[amazingact21]

Sounds like you were enjoying your time in FL. It was a nice perk that you got to spend some quality time with family before the Disney portion of your trip. Emma seemed to have had a great time at her birthday party. Those Publix cakes are surprisingly good! My wedding cake actually came from there, and I had a really snooty aunt be downright shocked when she learned that. (I miss that store...)
The photo of Emma passed out in the chair is too cute.

Seems like you found several good breweries. It's a shame you can't venture over here to my neck of the woods. We have beer in abundance here in Germany!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

What a great, fun party, looking at all that food made me HUNGRY! And I think I want to give Super Nana a big , she sounds/looks SO cool!!

The party worked out really great - a little stressful getting everything set up and organized with doing it remote - and of course Judi's aunt didn't want to let us pay the fee for the rental space (so we left a check on her fridge to force her to take it )

What a great couple of days! Good beer, pool time, and family. Plus a birthday celebration! What a fun way for Emma to spend her birthday!

It was fun - like I said, the planner in me wished things were a little more organized (not to the minute but just more of "this afternoon we will do X and then eat out for dinner" or something) but it worked out in the end and guess I just need to learn to go with the flow more

OMG- What a sweet pic!!!

Thanks! yeah, she was pooped out!

Enjoying your trip report. It was cool to see you mention Shorts. That's a local brewery for us. Can't wait for Disney.

Thanks you! I hadn't heard of Shorts before and looks like they don't often do collaborations so it was neat to get to try one! Disney is coming up next set of updates!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Wow! So much to catch up on! First, I'm so jealous that your kids are such good eaters. I probably couldn't get my oldest to even touch an oyster shell, let alone eat an oyster. He is the reason that I refuse to ever get a regular dining plan at Disney because he won't eat off of kids menus unless there is a hot dog, pb&j, or grilled cheese. He doesn't even like french fries! QS dining plan is the way we have to go until he has more mature taste buds. What stinks is that my husband and I are very adventurous eaters but are limited to where we can go as a family.

I'm so excited that you got to go to Funky Buddha. We always get some when we go to visit my dad in Panama City Beach. My sister brought me one of the sticky treats on our last trip. It definitely tastes like a rice krispy treat. She brought me a tall can and it was about all I could do to finish it. It was very sweet. It was good but definitely a one and done for me. The chocolate with the orange sounds really good. I love a good stout.

That last picture of your daughter passed out in the chair is adorable. I love pictures like that. They make this whole parenting thing worth it!

So happy to see you're getting to Disney soon! Can't wait to hear about the mega meet!

My kids are sort of odd eaters in that they flip-flop over what they like and some times are super picky but then also get into these kicks of wanting something specific and unusual. We try to get them to at least try new things - sometimes they like it, sometimes not so much. We definitely still have our share of mac n cheese and chicken nuggest

What you just described (you being adventurous and your kid(s) not being so much) I think is what hurts places like Skipper's Canteen as if you have a family member that won't give it a try, well, then you can't go there as a family (though I think the renaming they did to dishes to make them seem less exotic will help)

The sampler is the way to go at Funky Buddha as they have a lot of interesting things - and a lot of them taste good, but yeah, not sure if I need a huge glass of the Sticky Treats or Blueberry cobbler

Getting Disney and registration for the mega meet is coming up in the next set up updates!

Getting caught up again! I love that you mentioned South of the Border. We stopped there once when I was kid and I remember it being quite the spectacle! I totally forgot about it.

Loving all the details of Savanna. We've never been there, but I have a business conference there this coming January. We'll be at the Hyatt on the river, which judging by the photos, should be very close to where you stayed. Stephanie will be coming with me to explore while I'm in meetings, so I'm sure we'll be gleaming all sorts of nuggets from your TR. (And back to your PTR for a review too!) Being a fan of candy, there is no question that I'll be hitting that candy shop. And also the alcoholic slurpee bar. Yum!!! Vic's looks pretty good too! I haven't really been excited about this trip until this weekend, so I'm stoked to see how your visit went.

Too bad the Florida visitors center was closed. You probably didn't miss much on the inside. It's like a little dixie cup of orange juice, but it's become a tradition for us. Glad to see you picked up a SunPass too!

Too bad the sushi wasn't amazing, but it looks like a fun experience anyway.

Love the beach updates too. Did you personally ever sit in that inflatable beach chair thingy (the one with the smiley face kids)? I saw those online before our last trip and almost purchased one, but never got around to pulling the trigger. Wondering if they are as cool and practical as they look.

And how fun that Emma was able to celebrate her birthday with her family at the beach! That's pretty awesome. (And I've got a sweet tooth, so her birthday cake is looking pretty darn appetizing right now!)

I think you both will really like Savannah - let me know if you have any other questions (not that I am a true expert or anything). Just checked the map and your hotel is literally at where we got on the carriage ride - so you are right there and basically right next door to Vic's on the River - so good location. If it is just you and Stephanie and you want to do a "fancier" dinner you are also only a 5 minute walk from The Olde Pink House

I was still bummed the visitor center was closed after reading in your trip how you stop there all the time - just seemed like a fun little break and like "we made it to Florida" mini-celebration.

So I didn't sit in the inflatable beach chair thing but did see them setting it up and definitely didn't look quite as easy as they make it look in the commercial, but once they had it set up people definitely looked comfortable lounging in it

More birthday cake coming up in the next update!

Super Nana's quite a gal to be playing Duck, Duck, Goose!

What a nice party you were able to have while away from home. I would have thought the same thing regarding the cake. It looked tasty, though.

I think Super Nana just got a kick out of seeing so many of her great grandchildren and wanted to participate ... I am sure she was pretty tired out by the end!

The cake definitely was good and it all worked out fine in the end - just caught us off guard