Carnage, Mayhem & Pixie Dust: a “frightful” & delightful Halloween-Inspired, Offsite TR (Oct. 2015)

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Woohoo! You started your trip report!!! Looking forward to reading about your trip, Gina!

Welcome aboard! Happy to have you joining in!

 

[bankr63]

Oh well. When I could take my pants off and trade them for shorts, I was a happy camper.

Carry on.

Did you put the shorts on after you traded with someone, or did you just camp in your gitch? And who would you trade with? Someone going back North no doubt?

Sorry, but you did say to carry on...

 

[bankr63]

And (obviously) reporting for duty ma'am. I'll do my best to keep up this time, I promise.

Hardest part is finding out where you are going to post your next TR. Always a mystery...

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Did you put the shorts on after you traded with someone, or did you just camp in your gitch? And who would you trade with? Someone going back North no doubt?

Sorry, but you did say to carry on...

Ah, one of my favourite witty Canucks has joined us . Welcome, my friend!

I just had a feeling that when @Lynne G mentioned about taking her pants off, this thread was poised to head in a whole different direction .

In fact, speaking of witty Canucks....I'm wondering where @dancin Disney style is.....this sounds like its shaping up to be her kind of party.......

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

And (obviously) reporting for duty ma'am. I'll do my best to keep up this time, I promise.

Hardest part is finding out where you are going to post your next TR. Always a mystery...

Unpredictability is part of my charm .

I am so happy you found my report....its always nice to have a guy's perspective .

 

[JaxDad]

I am so happy you found my report....its always nice to have a guy's perspective .

I'll just keep providing a gal's perspective...

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

I'll just keep providing a gal's perspective...

hee hee .... I didn't forget that you're a guy too. But gentlemen, on the whole, are a fairly rare commodity around here. So its notable and nice when ya'll come around and chat on my TR threads.

 

[ArwenMarie]

Yay, found the new Gina trip report!

You and your husband are so cute.

Looking forward to the rest!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Yay, found the new Gina trip report!

You and your husband are so cute.

Looking forward to the rest!

Yay! You decided to join in! So happy you're here .

Hope all is going well in your busy life!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Check-in at the Days Inn was quick and easy. We walked right up to a front desk clerk, who quickly found our reservation. The park and fly package had long since been pre-paid (I’m a bit anal about having as many expenses pre-paid as possible before travelling) so there wasn’t much to do except register our vehicle for the long-term lot. We didn’t end up parking it just then…..we still had dinner to attend to…..but we filled out all the necessary forms and took one of the permits for the dash. They handed me a package that I had had shipped to the hotel (saving me a nice chunk of change on duty and shipping fees) without me having to ask about it, which impressed me a tiny bit. Normally I always have to ask the front desk for packages when we arrive (then get that blank stare that says Package? You had a package shipped here? ).


We brought all of our luggage from the Journey to our room on the 5th floor. By early evening, it was windy and damp and just plain miserable outside. We had a king room reserved for the night, and that’s exactly what we were assigned.














This is an older property, and the décor is pretty dated. I have to say that the bedspreads they are now using (which are different from our last stay at this hotel in 2012) look like they are straight out of 1977. Definitely not my taste. BUT…..it was super clean, which is my biggest requirement . It looked clean and it smelled clean, so for that reason alone, we were satisfied. Everything was in good condition, just ugly (I hope I’m not insulting anyone here).


We had a view of the airport from our room. I am amazed at how BUSY this airport is. There were planes coming and going constantly…..including all through the night.







The hotel has a decent sized pool and a nice hot tub. We didn’t end up swimming anytime that evening…..too full and too lazy after dinner …..but again, the area was well maintained, clean, stocked with lots of towels, and I had no complaints. Had Jake been travelling with us, I can guarantee we would have all been in that hot tub after dinner to soak the car trip stiffness from our legs. We just opted not to have to stick wet swimsuits in our luggage in the morning, because hung on the shower rod or not, they never seem to fully dry overnight.











After stretching out on the bed for a bit (checking the Jays score, emails…..) we donned our jackets and headed out for dinner. Plans called for us to visit the Cheesecake Factory for the first time, so we plugged the address for the Walden Galleria into the GPS and headed to the mall.


There were a lot of cars in the Galleria parking lot, so we were less than surprised when we saw the HUGE line that stretched out the door of the Cheesecake Factory and snaked its way down the hall. To be fair, we inquired as to how long the wait for a table would be and our question was met with an apologetic smile from the greeter and a response of “30 minutes? Maybe an hour?” (complete with question marks). I asked Steve if he wanted to wait, and without hesitation he said no. From there, we checked out the menu of PF Changs (we’ve seen their commercials on TV) but the offerings really didn’t appeal to either of us, so we gave that one a pass too. We strolled around a bit more, vetoed the Italian place and a few other restaurants, and browsed a few shops as we laughed at our obvious picky-ness. We went back to the car and opted to tour the area for something that appealed to our fussy palates.


We spied an Olive Garden just a stone’s throw from the mall, but again….we could see the line winding out the front door and into the cold (if we had to wait outside, it’s definitely off the list ). However, glimmering in the darkness across the parking lot from OG, there stood a Smokey Bones that seemed to be calling to us on the frosty breeze……





Okay, maybe it wasn’t exactly calling us . That might have just been our rumbly tummies that we heard. But by this time, we were feeling noticeably hungry, and there was no line out the door . The name suggested there would be an ample stock of meat dishes from which to choose, so Steve would no doubt have his meatatarian appetite satisfied. A fellow Dis-er (@schumigirl ) has spoken highly of this chain in Orlando, so we were reasonably certain that it must be decent....her dining reviews haven't led us astray yet. So, Smokey Bones it would be!

Next up: the diet goes out the window. But calories don't count when you're on vacation.....right?

 

[Lynne G]

right, no counting money or calories when on vacation!

 

[Ruthie5671]

I've enjoyed reading all of your trip reports. I've already mentally added the Orlando Eye to our vacation next year based on your review. I think we might need a longer trip than originally planned!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

I've enjoyed reading all of your trip reports. I've already mentally added the Orlando Eye to our vacation next year based on your review. I think we might need a longer trip than originally planned!

Hi Ruthie! Good to have you join us!! Glad that you have picked up a new idea or two from my past reports .

I think you will really enjoy the Orlando Eye....we're super excited to give it another whirl (pardon the pun ) in December. I hope its all lit up in red and green lights for the holidays .

People are shocked that we're still able to do new things this many trips later. I swear I could go for a month and never run out of things to do! If you run out of time to conquer all the attractions you hope to visit on this trip, you'll just have to start planning another vacation .

 

[sk8jdgca]

Glad I found your new trip report. We are back to Orlando and Shereaton Vistana Resort on Jan 3. It's my kids Christmas present ( it's ok they don't come to Disboards.) My son is in the Nutcracker at the Four Seasons with the National Ballet of Canada and it runs from Dec 12-Jan 3 but I got him out of the Jan 3 show. We are flying out of Buffalo for the first time as we will leave Toronto after the Sat night show and fly out early Sun morning. We come back on Jan 10 which is the day we have to drop him back off in Toronto for school. My daughter will have to miss school but she only has 3 courses. I'm a little concerned as it is a few weeks before exams but she just has Art, Yearbook and English this semester so she should be able to catch up quickly. It really sucks to have your two kids on different holiday schedules!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Glad I found your new trip report. We are back to Orlando and Shereaton Vistana Resort on Jan 3. It's my kids Christmas present ( it's ok they don't come to Disboards.) My son is in the Nutcracker at the Four Seasons with the National Ballet of Canada and it runs from Dec 12-Jan 3 but I got him out of the Jan 3 show. We are flying out of Buffalo for the first time as we will leave Toronto after the Sat night show and fly out early Sun morning. We come back on Jan 10 which is the day we have to drop him back off in Toronto for school. My daughter will have to miss school but she only has 3 courses. I'm a little concerned as it is a few weeks before exams but she just has Art, Yearbook and English this semester so she should be able to catch up quickly. It really sucks to have your two kids on different holiday schedules!

Thanks for joining us over here....glad to have you along!

And a big WOOHOO on another vacation in the works! You'll be arriving a SVR not long after we've gone home (we're there the 19th to 26th of December). Too bad our dates don't overlap a little, it would have been fun to meet up at the Tiki Bar for a beverage .

What attractions are on deck for your family for January? Your kiddos are going to be so excited when they hear what Santa has planned!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Smokey Bones was busy, but there were still a few open tables so they were easily able to seat our party of two within just a few minutes. I literally had enough time to tame my wind-tousled hair (at least somewhat) in the ladies room before the greeter escorted us to a booth.





Okay, so maybe I didn’t do such a good job at taming it after all!!


Inside the restaurant it boasted a very warm, comfortable, casual décor. Lots of wood. The smell of meat and barbecue sauce was prevalent in the air and it kick started the taste buds in to a state of salivation.





There were TONS of menu choices so it took us a bit to read through them all and decide what we wanted to order. Our server brought us drinks (lemonade for moi, Coke Zero for Steve). After placing our entrée order (we decided on no appetizer that night.....portions being brought out looked large enough that we weren’t sure we had sufficient stomach capacity to handle that much food) our meals were delivered to our table surprisingly swiftly. No much wait at all.





I had the brisket platter (brisket is my favourite way to eat beef) with fries, beans and garlic toast ($16.49). It was DIVINE . The brisket was sooooo tender, super flavourful, and supremely delicious. The beans were smokey and yummy. Everything was hot and fresh and in larger portions than what the photos show.





Steve threw his healthy eating initiative right out the window, and opted for a ceasar salad (not so bad):





And the “Smoke Stack” burger (very naughty): “We triple burger dare you. Three (THREE!) 1/2 lb patties + cheddar + pile of pulled pork + onion rings + onion tanglers + cole slaw + toasted bun. Take the ultimate carnivore challenge”. ($19.39)





He checked the calorie content (2699!!!) and almost fell to the floor . But we're not counting calories on this trip. Right? Thankfully he ordered a Coke Zero and nothing stronger, lol!








Calories aside, he RAVED about this burger. It was so good, he said it was even better than the Hash House burger that he had enjoyed on our May trip….and at the time, he didn’t think that one could ever be equalled (let alone exceeded).


Believe it or not, he ate the whole thing . I was not so successful with my plate, and even with Steve’s assistance, there was still a portion of that brisket that couldn’t be eaten. So. Much. Food. Thank heavens we had the good sense not to order an appetizer.


The total bill, with beverages and tax, was $46.30 (plus tip). We rolled ourselves out the door, grateful for the somewhat lengthy walk between the building and the Journey. We made the short drive back to the hotel, stowed the car in the secure long-term parking lot, and spent the remainder of the evening just chillaxing and watching TV. We marvelled at how quiet the hotel was, and opted to turn in for the night around 10:30 pm knowing that our wake-up call would rouse us at a painfully early 4:15 the following morning.


Wait a minute......Quiet? Did we say quiet?

Well, weren’t we in for a rude awakening….in a very literal sense .

 

[sk8jdgca]

Hey Gina we bought universal annual passes with the photo connect annual pass, so we are going to spend lots of time there. I've booked ICE for Jan 3 when we land and probably will have brunch there. I've applied for us all to spend a day volunteering at Give the Kids the World. I'm hoping they will take us. We also want to spend lots of time at the resort too. I'm sure we will be back to Congo Golf as we loved it last year. Oh yes and of course shopping!

 

[sk8jdgca]

That burger looks amazing but how did he get it into his mouth?

 

[jennasmommyinMS]

I can't wait to read more! My daughter and I are doing our own Gina-inspired trip in May, and I'm looking forward to getting more ideas from you!

 

[keishashadow]

I wish my local smokey bones served food that looked as good as you were served!