Ellen & Pods alone at last at F&W- with a twist of Vero! 9/25-10/1/09 Update12/14 p.9

podsnel · Oct 23, 2009

Hi there! Here it is- the semi-fascinating details of what a week without kids can do to a couple married 23 years! :scared1:

Better yet, let's see if my DBF Lonnie and her DH, Mike, would be willing to meet us in Vero for that weekend. Turns out, they said YES!!! :yay:

My cousin and her DH would stay with our kids, our friends would be sure to get our boys to all their baseball games, football games and practices, and choir practice (thank-you, thank-you, thank-you!!) so we were good to go!

A quick and calm flight (passing over HHI- one of the BEST places EVAAARRRRRRRRRRR!!!!)

And in less than 3 hours we were picking out our rental car and hitting the highway in Florida (by the way, i had reserved a car a couple of months before with the AP discount, but checked online a few days before leaving and was able to score a MUCH lower $ for a much bigger car! Gotta love thse last-minute Hot deals!). An hour and a half after that, we were pulling in to Disney's Vero Beach Resort, having made one pit stop for some neccessary items like vodka and wine and breakfast bagles and peanut butter ( the bear neccessities of life!). We were greeted by the friendliest, happiest CM on earth at the gate with a HUMONGOUS welcome home! We checked in at about 12:30 with yet ANOTHER super friendly CM, and guess what? Our OVIR was ready!! :yay:

Here it is-

The fabulosity view-

And the room-

Hi, cute li'l fella!

Here I am on the balcony- can you tell I'm just a little bit happy about the view (and my 1st Visit pin!)?

Lonnie & Mike were still on the road, so Pods & I went down to the pool for some lunch at Bleachers Bar & Grill. I had some yummy crab cake sliders-

While DH had a Caribbean Cuban sandwich- which included pickles AND pineapple- :crazy:

We liked that a whole lot better once the pineapple came off. Then we settled down by the pool to wait for our friends...

Up next- the girls hang by the pool with the BEST frozen drinks EVVVAAAAARRRR and the boys go stink it up on the golf course!

toniosmom · Oct 23, 2009

OMG....you make me want to BE there sipping a yummy frozen drink at the pool with you. :cloud9:

I love your photos.

Thanks for sharing!

parrotheadmom · Oct 23, 2009

Woo hoo! Another podsnel TR....I look forward to reading! :hippie:

podsnel · Oct 23, 2009

We finally got the text that L&M were in the building!!! :woohoo:

We ran over to the lobby to say hello!

We also ran over to the lobby to get directions from the concierge...who was yet ANOTHER extremely magical CM who handed me an envelope which included all of our activities and reservations for the weekend (I had called about a month in advance for advice about where the men could golf, and she took care of booking everything for us along with making our dinner ADRs. :thumbsup2

). The boys were cutting it close for their 9 hole start time over at Sandridge- they were playing the Dunes course today, and the Lakes course tomorrow. They took off, Lonnie & I rejoiced over the fact that we had adjoining rooms (2424 for us and 2425 for them) and then went for a quick walk to see what we could see-

Beach cottages-

Today's temps-

We were back at the pool ready to order a frozen cocktail- deciding on a Tangerine Dream, or a little cocktail we like to call heaven-in-a-Disney-cup! :worship:

To us, this is the best frozen drink because it isn't cloyingly sweet, as so many are. Just Tangerine vodka and some orange puree....Yummy delicious!! We hung out at the pool for the rest of the afternoon until the boys came back. Here are more Vero pics for ya-

The CMs at check-in had told us they were booked solid for this weekend, but I think most people hadn't arrived yet- it was lovely.... I went for a little exploration on my own. The CM said that they clocked the walk from one end of the resort to the other at about 4 minutes, so I didn't need to worry about losing my way. :rotfl:

Gorgeous, isn't it?

The boys had returned from golf- and apparently had stunk it up pretty bad out there! But what's that saying??? A bad day at the golf course beats a good day at the office? Well, we'll see about that later in the trip :rolleyes1

..

Cont'd next post-

podsnel · Oct 23, 2009

We were sooooooooooooooo enjoying the pool, it was the most perfect afternoon.

What was especially nice was that Pods & Mike were getting along really, really well. They have never really "hung out" because Lonnie was my roomate in college for one semester before leaving and going to UVM to finish her degree. After which she moved to a yacht in the Caribbean that was a charter sail where she was the chef, and after THAT she moved to Florida. Mike came into the picture after all that when she had moved to the sunshine state. So, Pods had never really spent a lot of time with either of them. But it was all great, because Mike & Pods are just (semi)grown-up jocks whose main interests are golf, beer, horseshoes,vodka and naps! Well, on vacation, anyway!

We stayed til the last possible second, it was very, very, hard to leave. But it looked like we might be a little late for dinner- which was no problem, I called and pushed it 15 minutes later and we were fine.

Next up- dinner and some fine champagne- but how Magicale is this Fairy Tale????

podsnel · Oct 23, 2009

toniosmom said:
OMG....you make me want to BE there sipping a yummy frozen drink at the pool with you. I love your photos.

Thanks for sharing!

It was REALLY amazing!! Can't think of one thing that would have made it better! Well, unless you had been there sipping with us, i guess! :goodvibes

parrotheadmom said:
Woo hoo! Another podsnel TR....I look forward to reading!

I'm so glad you haven't gotten bored of me & my endless TRs yet! :rotfl:

Thanks for reading!

podsnel · Oct 23, 2009

This night we would be dining at Shutters, the casual restaurant at VB. We had debated on whether or not to go here, as it doesn't get the greatest reviews. But we knew we wanted to stay on property, and because we were only here for 2 nights and because other restaurants were a little bit of a drive, we decided to go for it and hope for the best. And can I say...it was just fine! Especially when we were expecting the worst! :rotfl:

Well, there was an issue or two, but more on that later. First, we shared some Beignets, made of lobster and corn-

Everyone liked these. We also shared a flatbread, with sausage, carmelized onions, peppers and fontina cheese.

This was also really tasty! We were feeling pretty good about our decision to try Shutters, yippee! Next came the main courses. I had seared yellow-fin tuna with white beans and salsa-

I completely enjoyed it and would have it again. Lonnie & Pods both had the local day boat catch, and for the life of me, I can't remember what it was, but both were happy about what they chose-

And Mike went with a burger-

Here's the dilemma (although I didn't know it was a dilemma until a couple of nights later at the Yachtsman Steakhouse! Well, and the next morning...)
Our server was really, really nice- we all enjoyed chatting with her thoroughly, and she was very, very helpful when we were choosing our meals. Lonnie & I decided to order the Fairy Tale Cuvee, because we had never had it before. She happily brought us the bottle. To which i said, "OH? It says Magicale on the bottle? Not FTC? I didn't know that! Isn't that weird!" To which our server said, "YEP!" Here we are, drinking our FTC- do you C anything WRONG with this photo???

Hmmm...I never knew it was so sweet! But it does taste great, so what the heck! Kinda reminds me of Rosa Regale....how 'bout you?

Too full for dessert, we handed over our TIW card and paid the check. Of course, I hadn't used my TIW card in months and guess what I forgot??? But remembered the next morning when it woke me up like a shot....The TIP was automatically added on!!!!

And, also automatically added on by us again, since our server never mentioned that. But I forgive her for that one. Maybe. Because I think they don't do a lot of TIW cards in Vero, she said that to us, so she may not have realized it would be in the bill. (Although we later found out they don't HAVE to remind you, it's at the server's discretion). And we kind of wrote off the double tip as a nice birthday present for our server, because her Bday was the next day. Ah well, live and learn, I guess! We went to the Green Cabin Room after dinner and met a very nice couple at the bar who were from NJ, like us, and celebrating their anniversary, unlike us. Nice to make new friends. :goodvibes

The new drink menu had COME OUT THAT DAY (this is important later in the story...ooooo the suspense I'm sure is killing you

) and I ordered the Skinny Senorita-

It was ok, but it did taste a little diet. Which is also ok. But what I REALLY wanted was the Rita my new buddy at the bar was having- don't worry, there's still another night at the Green Cabin room to come! :rotfl:

We enjoyed the entertainment, then went back to the rooms for the night. On our way out-

Our balconies were just big enough for 2, so we each went to our own and enjoyed each other's company a little while longer before hitting the sack like a ton of bricks.

Ahhhhhh.... sweet dreams in Vero Beach! An excellent first day! :cloud9:

See ya real soon!

Disney Princess · Oct 23, 2009

What a fun trip so far! We love Magicale - we had it for the first time on our anniversary. We also really like Rosa Regale (and yes, we think they taste very similar). Can't wait to read more. :thumbsup2

podsnel · Oct 24, 2009

Disney has replaced Rosa regale with Magicale- the waiter with all the info filled us in at the Yachtsman on Sunday night. :goodvibes

I had never had it before- it was a little more full bodied than RR, but we enjoyed it! I LOVE RR, Banfi donated cases of it for a wine dinner fund raiser I ran for my son's school- it was our dessert wine for 350 people. :thumbsup2

Sandy321 · Oct 24, 2009

suspense!!

What happened with the Champagne??

looking forward to "the rest of the story"!!!

podsnel · Oct 24, 2009

Well, I may not have been in the parks, but I was definitely on what Lonnie calls, "Disney time." When I am on Disney time, I require very little sleep and I feel an extremely urgent need to POP out of bed before dawn and dive into the day. :hyper:

I am sure many of you share my affliction! So of course, since we were in this lovely OVIR I had to step outside to watch the sunrise.....

After watching that....I went back to bed. What did you think? I ran a marathon? Puh-LEEZ! I'm on VACATION!!! :rotfl2:

podsnel · Oct 24, 2009

Of course, eventually, we all got out of our comfy beds to begin our day. The boys were once again headed to Sandridge, this time to play 18 holes on the Lakes course. My DBF and I had our own plans, we would be going on a nature walk on the beach this morning at 8:45. There were just a few of us, and the CM, Barbie, was happy to take us out and answer our questions. The first thing we saw was this remaining turtle nest-

Barbie told us that this one was laid very late in the season, and had been buried under a ton of sand by a recent hurricane- they estimated it was 6 feet down. :sad1:

The turtle program in the summer is pretty busy at VB- she said that in the spring the CMs at VB are able to take turns scoping out the nest situation and recording everything and tracking it all, but in the summer they are too busy at the resort, so CM naturalists from AK take turns doing it. We continued walking on the beach, and Barbie showed us some sharks teeth. Did you know the black sharks teeth are actually fossils? Very, very OLD fossils? And the white ones you find are newer, as they have not been fossilized yet. We thought that was pretty cool. She said she finds them all the time on this beach. We kept walking, all of us looking for sharks teeth. We were all looking in this-

Do YOU see any sharks teeth? Because none of us did. But we did find lots of plastic & other garbage to put in this bag Loni's holding, so we did that instead-

A pretty beach morning glory-

Tut Tut, it looks like rain....

See all the people up on the boardwalk? They were there to pick up trash on the beach that morning. They got tshirts. Do you know what we got? Sharks teeth! :cool1:

Barbie had spotted SEVEN of them on this little walk- one for each of us!! We were amazed, and not a one of us could figure out how she was spotting them! So if you go to VB, and you're jonesin for a shark's tooth- look for Barbie! That girl has the knack! :rotfl:

I just remembered, I forgot to mention the most incredible sight on this walk- Barbie & I were looking at the ocean (we were the only ones who saw this) and a 6 foot TARPON leapt right out of the water and flew through the air!!!! It was so freakin' COOL!!!!! Anyway, we finished just in time to miss the rain. Inside-

We were going to breakfast at 10 with Goofy and Donald at Shutters-

Here's a copy of the menu we wouldn't be ordering from-

Goofy's Breakfast on Saturday morning is served family style. It was yummy, I wish I was eating it right now!!

As soon as we sat down, Donald came by for the first visit- this character breakfast was EXCELLENT, there may only have been 2 of them, but they stopped at our table probably 4 times each. A WHOLE lot more than in WDW!!

Lonnie decided to enter the coloring contest-

And this fruit plate was delivered to our table-

Donald came back to visit, and asked me if I wanted to go out for a drink later. I can assure you, Daisy has nothing to worry about! :rotfl:

he also asked us to promise not to eat any duck while on vacation. I kinda forget if I kept that promise or not :rolleyes1

... Here's the cone of pastry goodness-

Cont'd next post-

podsnel · Oct 24, 2009

The pastry was followed by scrambled eggs, the hands-down BEST breakfast potatoes I have ever had, sausage, bacon & Mickey Waffles-

Would we like some more Mickey waffles? Does a Bear s....I mean, yes, please!!

Time to add a little Goofy to our day!!

The handler tells him to do something different, she's seen this pose enough today!

So he asks us to dance-

See Lonnie's face? lonnie HATES to dance- even with GOOFY!! :rotfl:

Me, on the other hand, I could dance all day!

I even got a twirl! :rotfl:

Lonnie made me take this photo- she was excited to find someone with bigger feet than her! :rotfl2:

Look! All done in Gator colors!!

She was very sad when she didn't win.

We wrapped up the remaining fruit and pastries, and said good-bye to our buddies. A very enjoyable breakfast, and best of all, it took place during the only rain of the day! :banana:

The sun shines again! Let's go for a bike ride!!! :cheer2:

podsnel · Oct 24, 2009

We went over to Ebb & Flo's and rented a couple of bikes for an hour. The CM handed us a map of the Indian River Bike Path, and we were ready to roll. At the last minute, we decided to buy a couple of waters to bring with us.

That decision, quite possibly, could be one of the best decisions of my life. :rotfl:

Man, it was HOT!!! And it was HUMID!! And we were riding bikes for nearly 8 miles! :faint:

Now, at home, I like to ride my bike alot, and i usually go for somewhere between 9 and 12 miles when I go. So I thought, 8 miles will be easy. :sad2:

See, here's the difference- Nj has a little something called SHADE. HHI also has SHADE. Vero Beach? Not so much. :rotfl:

Sooo.... we went in the tunnel, made a right on A1A, rode what it says was 2.3 miles (that MUST be a typo- I think it was more like 2.3 million miles....yea, that's it!), made a right on Old Winter Beach Road, then made another right on the Jungle Trail which is a dirt road that runs along the river for 3.5 (million) miles, made another right on CR510 til we made a last right onto A1A and went back under the tunnel to the resort. On the map it says this is not recommended for children under 12. A very, very good recommendation, I think! But you CAN bring your dog on the bike ride, because there's a doggie watering stop about half way. :rotfl2:

Anyhoo....here we go!

We're not done yet!!

Smart water? It should be named Idiot water! :rotfl:

Hey- ya know what? We actually LOVED that ride! :banana:

We felt like SUPERHEROES when we turned those bikes back in!! And it was beautiful back there by the river- we were hoping to see some manatees, but did not, but we did see fish jumping out of the water and loads of birds, a dolphin and some very pretty homes, so it was all worth it! And best of all, because we did it- we could have as many guilt-free Tangerine Dreams today as we wanted!!! :yay:

If THAT's not an incentive to go on a little bike ride, I don't know WHAT is! :rotfl2:

nickspace · Oct 24, 2009

Thanks for the report. It sounds like something I would like to plan for my wife and I someday.

Ciciwoowoo · Oct 24, 2009

I am absolutely in love with you trip report to VB. :goodvibes

I soooo want to go there one day!

dvc4life · Oct 24, 2009

Ellen - you have absolutely the best trip reports ever. I so enjoy reading them.

We are planning to stay at Vero next September, before the DVC Member Cruise, so I am glad to see the pictures.

Can't wait to hear about F & W Fest. We will be there the last weekend this year and can't wait. Two weeks from tonight baby! :woohoo:

Lenc324 · Oct 25, 2009

Makes me homesick.. :yay:

charlottebetty · Oct 25, 2009

Great report.

DVCconvert · Oct 25, 2009

Great TR!! Love your photos! Thanks!!

Ellen & Pods alone at last at F&W- with a twist of Vero! 9/25-10/1/09 Update12/14 p.9

<font color=blue>just skippin' around, amusing mys

AKV, BCV, BLT Owner!

We are the people your parents warned you about.

<font color=blue>just skippin' around, amusing mys

<font color=blue>just skippin' around, amusing mys

<font color=blue>just skippin' around, amusing mys

<font color=blue>just skippin' around, amusing mys

Member Since Day 1

<font color=blue>just skippin' around, amusing mys

<font color=darkorchid>Crazy enough to want to do

<font color=blue>just skippin' around, amusing mys

<font color=blue>just skippin' around, amusing mys

<font color=blue>just skippin' around, amusing mys

<font color=blue>just skippin' around, amusing mys

DIS Veteran

DIS Veteran

Disney is my Happy Place

DIS Veteran

You don't count the day you're on or the day you g

DIS Veteran