Fly on Friday the 13th?? Yep, we`ll turn superstition into 23 nights of fun!! A Sept/Oct 2024 TR

[keishashadow]

we are not Simpson`s fans at all.

It’s not everybody’s cuppa. We are huge fans of the writing, social commentary and the adult humor. IMO it is not a show for the kiddies

Schwab`s Pharmacy has the pineapple dolewhip, but it`s not as creamy as the one I remember from Disney, it is nice but their regular Haagen Dazs is lovely too.

It’s a nice stop for some real ice cream in the afternoon when the tables in front are shaded by the dropping sun.

Glad to see somebody post this take on their version of a dole whips. Would hate for people to taste it and write off “real” dole whips, which can only improved by the high-test rum options.

 

[schumigirl]

On the way to Sapphire on the boat you do pass Jake`s famous plane that has been left abandoned, it didn`t always sit here, before Sapphire was built and the waterway was added to enable boat access, the plane was over the far side of the lagoon, but it is visible to more folks in this position, I do however miss it in the original place.
​

We love returning to Sapphire by boat, it is stunningly beautiful and always so welcoming to see as you return from the parks. ​

We did watch the husband of the woman guide her gently to what we assumed was their Guest House, the opposite one to us, so we headed to ours and quickly got showered and changed before we headed out for lunch.

Love the sunshine streaming in our suite during the day! ​

We were both ready for lunch by now and we were only driving about 15 minutes to my new favourite place, Lee & Rick`s Oyster Bar. It is really close and more or less a straight road, you can`t really miss it.

To say we love this place is an understatement, you get the warmest of welcomes and although the place is undeniably rustic, it is immaculately clean and the food is amazing!!!

We walked in and again this is more of a quiet time for this place, by late afternoon, you are waiting for a seat for sure. We weren`t alone today, there was a couple with a gorgeous, adorable baby who had the biggest smile ever and her two dads were amazing with her, yes, I wanted to hold that baby!!! Who doesn`t love a gorgeous baby!!

The lady who looked after us today remembered us from last week, she reminded us we said we`d be back, she hadn`t shucked our oysters last time, but we had spoken to her, it is such a nice place.

As planned, I ordered a dozen raw oysters and love to see the very rustic bucket of oysters appear in the trough in front of us and the speed of the woman shucking them was something to see!!!

It takes me forever to open one oyster at home so it is extra impressive to me seeing an expert do it, she like the other lady had worked there for 25 years, so I didn`t feel too bad.

She started shucking and the odd time there was one that was discarded, you could barely tell as it was so fast!!! But, I did try to not eat any until she was done this time.

I did get 13 oysters as she thought one was too small and boy was I looking forward to these little suckers!!! Or not so little in the case of some of them!

We got some of those gorgeous little Hush Puppies again, they were so lovely and felt quite light considering they were deep fried and my lovely husband who managed to ignore me eating those oysters somehow, finally got his Peel and eat Shrimp and they were gorgeous too, we were both really impressed with how fresh and tasty they were.

I could honestly say both these dishes were amazing!! Shrimp are usually just shrimp, but these were just better than most we have had and the oysters, yes they were off the scale amazing!!!

I wished we could have managed another visit before we left but this was going to be one of our first places to visit next trip. I do believe I could a dozen oysters for lunch every day and never get bored.

Once the check was paid we headed once again to the Mall at Millenia, one of my friends had heard what I was bringing back for another and asked if I could get one for her, well, how can you say no!!! I did want to pick up another couple of items from Clinique but I wasn`t going to go just for that, but as I was going to be here anyway, ideal. I did say this was going to be our last visit to the Mall this trip as I was done shopping here.










We also hit Publix for several large bags of Ghiradelli chocolate to take back for Kyle`s office colleagues and when I picked up four of them, even I began to wonder if everything was going to fit in these suitcases! We didn`t need much more from Publix today, we picked up a few gift cards we wanted to give to some folks who are always so kind to us here but that was about it for our shopping today.

We left Publix and came back home and dropped our purchases in the "corner" that hadn`t been a corner in weeks as it was filling up with purchases alongside the cabinets in the bedroom and even some of the entrance hall area. oops.

I`m never rude to my husband, I can be a lot of things, but rude is not one of them however.......he did start to express his concerns about our luggage allowance, which is very generous to begin with and bless him, after a few seconds I did give him a big smile and said.....









Bless him, he is a gem and he has a lot to put up with me!!!



I think our suitcases would be bursting at the seams and weirdly.....we hadn`t finished shopping yet which I wasn`t going to remind him of at this moment!!! Thank goodness he has a sense of humour and just laughed at my lack of concerns with luggage!

We headed over to the lounge around this point and we were looking forward to tonight and we did comment Sapphire was still a little quiet compared to normal, but it would get busier again before we left I imagined.

We chatted all the way over and it`s not a long walk anyway, maybe 10 minutes max, maybe quicker when I`m hungry but it`s a nice walk.

Tonight Tom was driving so he stuck to coffee while I had prosecco and we had some lovely chats with the TM`s on tonight, it`s such a lovely place to spend time and they look after you so well. Again, this is our favourite of all the lounges due to not being too small or too large and the lovely PBH staff who were here helping out said the same thing, it was an easier lounge to get to know people in due to the lay out.

It suits us anyway.

We weren`t hungry, and tonight it was chicken fajitas for dinner in the lounge, we didn`t have any chips with salsa as they had removed the sour cream...shocked!!! If we have chips and salsa you have to have the sour cream too, but not much we can say about that, however we did try some of the chicken which was very nice, but we didn`t have much at all as we were having dinner later.

A lady that had been here for a day or so chatted to me as I was sitting, Tom had gone for another coffee and she was lovely and I happened to mention we still had some shopping stuff to get and we were done.....I hadn`t noticed Tom was chatting at the desk and heard me and I swear I did get this look!!!!

His words laughingly to Aspen were, no wonder he`s bald!!!!
Oops, and there`s that sense of humour again, thank goodness!!

We sat for a while and I caught up on a couple of emails while I was sitting and Tom did the same and time passes so quickly in here.

Walking back over to Sapphire we ruminated about our trip so far and although it wasn`t over yet, it was getting there, but it had been fun, but more to come for us in the next few days.

Rather boringly maybe to some we were heading back to Bonefish tonight again, Tom`s request, so I couldn`t say no as he did enjoy it and he said he deserved a treat as he had to watch me eat oysters again. I`m not sure what he was doing would be classed as watching specifically, but I didn`t mind as I really liked their steaks too, so off we popped and didn`t get lost tonight!!

We parked up and it was busy again but we got the same booth as the first night and our waitress was the same girl and remembered us. Tom ordered his usual lemonade and I stuck to prosecco, it`s quite light and I knew we would be having some rum later.

She brought some bread while we decided what to order, but to be fair we already knew, steaks for both of us with a side of those lovely crispy potatoes!! No coleslaw for either of us tonight so I just said veg, whatever that would be.

The bread and olive oil with the herbs are lovely together.

It was lovely just chatting and eating, we never rush and always tell our waitress that we don`t mind waiting, and we did get a decent gap before our meals arrived.

Both steaks arrived and looked fabulous and they were both rare as requested but I did recoil a little when I saw the dreaded green beans!!!

Vegetables of the devil as they are known to me!!! I loathe them, but Tom is over the moon as he loves them, so he has a huge smile on his face when the plates appear, he does get my green beans too!

Everything again was beautiful tonight, can`t ask for more when the steak is perfect and the potatoes are gorgeous!!

I was glad we had come here tonight as our next three nights were planned and we were excited about all three nights, but Bonefish had been consistently good and definitely on our list of places we`ll frequent next trip.

Back in the car we got home in a flash, even the roads seemed quieter tonight, we parked up and had a quick bathroom visit then into Strong Water which is definitely our favourite place anywhere!!!

Julissa welcomed us and seated us tonight, she is the assistant manager, or was when we were there in october and is lovely, she chatted while we decided what to have and then she took the menu`s off us and said we didn`t need them tonight and at that our favourite person Fernando came over and had the two bottles we had brought him over from Scotland in his hands....I guess we were having a tasting night!!! Always a pleasure.

It`s always fun seeing Fernando and chatting, he is the nicest man and very genuinely cares about guests and staff alike and is very funny too, we really enjoy his company, all the staff are the same and always pop by our table to say hello. And it`s not just us, they are very welcoming to everyone that comes in here, it is an incredibly welcoming place.

We never have any idea what the bottles we bring over will be like, so it`s always lovely to taste them with Fernando and the team, usually Maggie, Chef Carlos and Demi along with Sattina will have a taste and give their opinion, so it is interesting.

I still think they`re all quite amazed Scotland produces rum at all.

These were very nice and as is traditional, neither of us remember which one we liked best, but they were both lovely!!

Fernando brought out a few others from his private stock for us to try and some were very unusual indeed, this is a man who understands rum and the complexities of different types of the drink. We tasted one from India and one from somewhere I can`t even remember now, but overall we tried some exceptional rums and had a wonderful couple of hours with the guys in here.

It was fairly quiet so Fernando could take the time with us and it is always appreciated. We were really going to miss the traditional group that has worked here since the bar opened and some of the newer staff like Demi who we knew before. But, things change I guess.










The irony is, we are really happy for the ones who are moving to Helios, but still, it`s a big change for the regulars who have gotten used to such lovely folks for so long.

I think it was around midnight when we finally left Strong Water tonight, but we had enjoyed a lovely evening with them, full of laughter, tales and stories from the past and we`ll remember evenings like this for a long time.

After we said goodnight, it was straight to bed for us, we planned to get up early tomorrow. I just didn`t realise how early!!! ​

 

[schumigirl]

It’s not everybody’s cuppa. We are huge fans of the writing, social commentary and the adult humor. IMO it is not a show for the kiddies

It’s a nice stop for some real ice cream in the afternoon when the tables in front are shaded by the dropping sun.

Glad to see somebody post this take on their version of a dole whips. Would hate for people to taste it and write off “real” dole whips, which can only improved by the high-test rum options.

I do get the humour from the clips I`ve seen and the last few years I have been impressed by the humour not meant for kids, again, only in short clips, but never managed the full episode yet.

I never got to try the rum version when we were at Disney, sounds like something I would very much enjoy!!! But, yes, this one from Schwabs didn`t cut it for me. We do like the place though, always worth a visit.

 

[schumigirl]

THURSDAY OCTOBER 3RD





I woke up around 3.30 this morning, Kyle had a major event coming up today with work and I wanted to wish him well with a quick email and full spoiler alert, he did amazingly well and his bosses are over the moon with him!!! A well deserved promotion ensued and he is doing brilliantly with this firm who are our Financial people so we know them all well, lovely people and we couldn`t ask for a better group of folks for him to work with.

But, now I was wide awake and it was barely 4am..... what to do now!!!










Knowing we were almost at the end of our trip, I did a sensible thing, I ordered an online shop so we didn`t have to go out for the first few days, contacted the milkman and a farm store who deliver fresh veg and meats, we were sorted. I knew Kyle would pop in and leave some fresh milk for us so we could get that first amazing pot of tea with real tea when we came back home but I didn`t want him shopping for us when he is busy. But it is handy his offices are only about a 7 minute drive from where we live and he does only live 20 minutes away from us too.

That took longer than I thought, by now it was almost 6am, well I had popped on the internet for an hour too.....lol.....time passes on there so quickly.

Pictures never really do sunrises and sunsets justice, but I did watch this one come up this morning and it is just beautiful from our suite and most rooms over looking the lagoon in this gues house will see it too, stunning seeing the sunrise over RP.











Eventually I went through to the bedroom and awoke sleeping beauty from his slumber, we both showered, dressed and headed over to RP for breakfast where we didn`t stay long as we were heading offsite today.

Walking back we met M and had a lovely chat, we were meeting her and A for brunch tomorrow so didn`t share all our stories but always nice to see her. We get back to the suite and yes, it has been done already and she was just leaving and again thanked us for the daily tips we leave, she is most welcome.

In the car we go and Tom got to the car keys first, so he was driving, popped the Visitor Toll Pass on the mirror and headed off for what is really about an hour`s drive away to New Smyrna Beach.

We had gone previously this trip, but we wanted to go back and although we had enjoyed the lunch last time, we had missed eating at JB Fish Camp, so that was our plan today.

The drive is always a pleasant one and we are always amazed at the great white elephant that is this large blue building that has lain empty since it was built and still no plans for it be used, seems silly but I`m sure there is a reasonable explanation. Or not.​

The road does get very quiet for a time and it is lovely driving on roads like these, it`s the complete opposite of driving around the main Orlando area and so very beautiful too if a little too wild as we were reminded when we noticed the Beware of the Bears sign!!!

Where we live, a nasty or mean fox is our biggest concern, thankfully we have nothing like bears to concern us so it is a little disconcerting to see signs like that along the roads. ​

We drive straight to have lunch today, we didn`t have a lot for breakfast and of course now we were regretting it! So instead of looking at the manatees, we went in to JB`s looking for lunch!

We have been here many times now and absolutely love it, atmosphere, staff and food are all amazing and it`s in such a beautiful area.











We had asked and had been told the main routes were safe to drive on but some places still had some damage that hadn`t been repaired yet and sadly JB`s had some damage too, but it was fully operational and hoped guests would still come visit them. ​

It was already quite busy and once we were seated it filled up very quickly, we ordered Tom a coke and I shocked him and ended up with the same thing, it`s not often I drink coke, but now and again is fine.

And I wanted to drive home.....method in my madness.

​

There`s a very relaxed friendliness here, staff and guests alike chat among themselves and the couple next to us heard the accent and asked where we were from and what brought us here today, it`s always nice to chat away and find out about folks. They were nice and said they always visited this place too when they`re in town.

It is an incredibly popular place to visit, we were told at night it is bouncing, we had seen live music on weekends during the day too and it was mobbed then, so I can imagine what evenings would be like.

Our food was soon delivered and looked amazing as always, Tom had opted for the Crabulous, a very fresh crab sandwich and it had no filler, all crab meat and beautiful!!!
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One set of those Hush Puppies were Tom`s...honest Guv`nor!!!

I had what is my favourite dish from here, the crab stuffed flounder and it is a large portion so asked for no fries I would make do with the 3 Hush Puppies and it was plenty!

Both dishes and Hush Puppies were gorgeous, the man who had just sat down beside us asked what it was and ordered it too, him and his partners first visit so I knew he would love that dish!!

And as always we never have room for dessert, much as though I would have loved some of their Key Lime Pie, nope, neither of us could manage another piece of food if they paid us!

Once we paid, we headed outside to see some of the damage left over from the storm and it was quite visible to the rear of the place where they have a little boardwalk. You can still wander out here, just not along to the left of the boardwalk. ​

The little tourist boat was still running and we could see some dolphins while we were standing watching the boat come in, it is nice to see them jumping around, but the camera just didn`t capture them today.

The other side of the path was clear and had no damage so folks could pull up with their little boats and have lunch here as normal. Usually these spots were always filled with folks turning up and docking for lunch.
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We got back in the car and drove the very short distance to the other side of the road and down a bit where we parked in the Bethune Beach car park which is an ideal little car park, it`s not huge but it does have shower and toilet facilities which are kept very clean indeed.

The history of this beach is incredibly interesting for someone who has never experienced segregation, it`s so hard to imagine there was once a time this happened. ​

We do love this beach, it is stunningly beautiful and today it wasn`t very wild, but we have seen it have much wilder waves perfect for the many surfers that weirdly, don`t worry about the ever present sharks and we have also seen it as calm as a deep lake on several visits.

We love walking on those sands, it is easier to walk on the wet sand as the soft sand is incredibly soft and feels like you`re walking in treacle, so yes, we`re lazy and stick to nearer the water. ​

It was gorgeous, around 93F and a lovely sea breeze that just took that edge off for us, so we could have walked for miles today, but I had applied sunscreen before we left and it was now after 1pm, so we were a little wary of going too far, however we spent about 40 minutes walking one way and it was glorious, hand in hand, yes, yes, I know, too schmalzy again but it is nice being romantic wherever you can!!!


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We came back on to the path and had brought some beach towels and headed over to the showers to clean the sand off of our feet, this was perfect as it saved the car getting sand everywhere. We came back to get into the car and saw a lone man fully clothed getting in the water but the way he was just standing which made us a little nervous.

Several years ago on our local beach walk on a very cold day we and others noticed a man fully clothed but without shoes walk into the sea and just stand like that for a time, someone called the police and the coastguard, the poor soul was attempting to end his life but they got him out and hopefully some help, but when we saw this it did make us wonder, so we stood to see what he was doing.

As it turned out he was doing nothing at all except enjoying the water apparently. ​

The drive back was decent and traffic wasn`t too bad, however again the sky began to look quite ominous and the closer we got to Orlando the darker and greyer it became!! ​

We were heading quickly to ABC Wines, purely for a gift for someone, but we wanted to give it to M tomorrow as she could pass it on to the person it was meant for, and at that point the heavens opened, the rain was bad but we kept going and of course it got worse as we neared the store which is almost in LBV, we go the back road but today it was a nightmare with roadworks and the weather.

I wish we had picked this up yesterday!!! But, we got it and made our way very slowly home.

We were both ready for a shower, change of clothes and a glass of something sparkly from the lounge.

And tonight we were looking forward to enjoying Strong Water for dinner. ​

 

[schumigirl]

The lounge was very busy tonight and the TM`s coped really well with the lounge like this, so it wasn`t a quiet experience tonight, but you never think the lounge is going to be a sea of tranquility, well, maybe the shooshy couple did, but we quite like it when it`s full as it does have a good atmosphere.

We did have to sample the dish tonight as it was Beef Bulogi and one of the nicest dishes they offer. It`s weird though, it`s never the same depending on the chef, one does it more like a casserole and one does it more like a stir fry which is how I like it as it comes with vegetable lo mein noodles, it is a very tasty dish, but as we are eating later as we usually do, we don`t take much, tempting as it is. ​

The beef was slightly more like a casserole tonight, but it was still beautiful and the beef was very tender and I loved the lo mein, so had to limit the portion as I did want to enjoy dinner later in Strong Water.

​

The sky outside is very grey and I`m glad we`re staying onsite tonight and don`t have to deal with the weather if it turns nasty.

Fernando had booked us in for around 7.30 and we ambled over just in time, Abdel who is adorable was there to welcome everyone tonight along with the new young lady Makayla who was also lovely and she took us over to our table who we knew was one of Maggie`s tables although I think both her and Demi ended up taking care of us tonight.

Fernando came over as soon as he saw us and closely followed by Chef Carlos, they are both so lovely and Chef Carlos has a very good sense of humour, very dry and you could almost miss it at times if you`re not sharp.

Tom asked Maggie to make him something different, and I asked if I could have a spicy pina colada, just fancied something different too and Maggie didn`t let us down and appeared with two rather lovely looking drinks!!
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Both our drinks were gorgeous, Fernando laughed at the size of mine and asked if it was spicy enough, well it kinda wasn`t, I think the spice got lost in the sheer size of the drink. Demi overheard and said she`d be back......and she soon was back with a replacement for Maggie`s drink, this was becoming a competition to see who had made the best one.

I was going to have to be diplomatic here and yes, then they asked which one was the best.....I could see Tom behind them doing this......

I kept my council and said they were both gorgeous but Demi`s had slightly more spice in it, but said I couldn`t choose lol....they knew which one I preferred!

It came to food now and this was easy tonight, we were going to share the gorgeous Vegan Hotpot which had easily become one of our favourite dishes despite usually avoiding vegan dishes like the plague but this one is beautiful and we can`t rave about it enough.

It is very green in colour which comes from the spinach base and it is spicy, quite spicy enough for us but so full of flavour with various veg including a special mushroom and the most amazing little dumplings, yes, we adore this dish.

Our other dish was Griot, which was deep fried marinated and crispy pork chunks which comes with sweet plantains which could easily be my new favourite thing and a spicy chimichurri sauce which was quite spicy too and tonight we seemed to get an extra portion of the plantains, apparently since we were sharing, we must have looked hungry!!!

Both dishes were absolutely beautiful, I know we rave about the food here often, but it is hard to beat and we have never been disappointed in the dishes here, it really is a class above most other places in the area.

Fernando appeared with two of the their in house pumpkin spice rum, yes, the one I said a few years ago I wouldn`t like and made a face.....well, it is gorgeous and it`s something we just can`t say no to and he also arrived with two scoops of dulce de leche ice cream, the perfect way to finish a meal.

This had been another perfect evening for us with excellent food and wonderful company with folks who we adore and we always love spending time with them.

Maggie we now wouldn`t see till our next trip, she was off to Europe for a large family vacation, we will miss her of course, but glad she`s not leaving to go to Helios, although who knows.

We would be back for dinner on Saturday night, Fernando had checked we were coming over as it was our last night and of course we would be, hard to break traditions, this one would be a sad occasion in a way as it was never going to be the same again with half the team leaving. But, we looked forward to being there at the same time.

We said our goodnights to some and goodbye`s to others who wouldn`t be working Saturday night, yes, definitely the end of an era for Strong Water.

Back in the suite we had a glass of wine and watched some tv as it was only around 11.30, we sat watching some old scary movie that was actually quite terrifying, but I forget what it was now. And around 1am we decided it was bedtime, mainly due to the fact I had fallen asleep watching the movie! Yep, sleepy time!! ​

 

[keishashadow]

A well deserved promotion ensued and he is doing brilliantly with this firm who are our Financial people so we know them all wel

He is such a rising star

a very fresh crab sandwich and it had no filler, all crab meat and beautiful

And, that is how you do it, yum

it`s so hard to imagine there was once a time this happened

it’s a good thing to acknowledge those unfortunate times, if only to counter revisionist historical accounts.

 

[I-4Bound]

I just adore fried plantains! We always order them at Pollo Tropical in Orlando

 

[schumigirl]

FRIDAY OCTOBER 4TH





We are getting ridiculously close to going back to the UK now, time hadn`t flown at all this trip, but all of a sudden it`s so close and those last few days are always tinged with both excitement, happiness and a weird resignation with a sadness it was time to leave and that winter was almost upon us back home.



As a side topic, one of our friends yesterday (01/16) went to the media day for the new Stella Nova Resort opening next week and sent some lovely pictures of the resort. I do like the weird modern chairs in the lobby and bar areas, very stellar looking!!! It`s not a resort I would stay in, but it does look very pretty, I think we might have a wander through at some point and the food looked good too.

There are loads of video`s online of the media day from vloggers too, and our friend told us it was freezing right now and when I saw the video, he was right, everyone has on heavy jackets, hoodies and long pants!!! Too cold for me this time of year!




But, back to October 4th last year.


Today was an odd day, we weren`t actually doing anything offsite and had some plans to meet folks so we decided on a laundry morning. I am a little obsessional about laundry being done and the rooms here are quite nice, so it`s not something I mind doing and yes Tom did remind me I wash all of our clothes when I get home anyway.

Well yes of course I will, by that point it has been crushed in our suitcases for almost 24 hours, I`m hardly going to hang it all up crushed and not the freshest.

So, we got up, showered and headed over for a light breakfast as we were meeting M & A in Amatista for lunch later, we didn`t stay too long and headed back over to Sapphire and got the washing I needed doing into the machine and then got it dried, in between that Tom found time to snooze and I caught up with some emails which I had been meaning to do. I honestly wonder what we do at times that I struggle with replying while on vacation.

Once that was done as arranged, we called one of our dream team of 2022 and said we could be in the lobby in 5 minutes, which was fine for him so we ambled down and only waited a few seconds for him to come up.

Raphael is now in HR and he is one life`s shining stars who will do amazingly well with anything that he does, and he has tremendous compassion for people, so he is in a good position for the future and he is adorable!!!

We had a lovely catch up while he was on a break and spoke of many things past and present. I do believe this young man will have a fantastic future in front of him.

And another favourite guy was wandering around the lobby today, well, it would be so rude not to have a picture with him when he specifically came over to us!!!

Who doesn`t love Scooby Doo!!! ​

We passed some time with Raphael then sadly said our goodbye`s for this trip but did promise to send him the pics we took today, we won`t lose touch.

Downstairs to Amatista, we were shown to the table booked for us with our two friends and we were looking forward to spending more time with these lovely ladies who we just adore. No matter how busy they are, they still make time for us and go above and beyond to make our trips so special and we appreciate them so much.

We had only just arrived when both of them came down too and we were being looked after by Jimmy today, if you`ve ever been to Amatista and been taken care of by Jimmy, you know how wonderful he is, he is part of the fabric of this place and is a real gentleman who takes so much pride in his work, it is a pleasure to looked after by him and he is also very funny!!!

The first thing he said when he saw us was, Miss Carole, are you still here or did you leave and come back lol....no we`re still here!!!

We stuck to water today and Chef Moira came out with four lovely little appetisers for us to taste and it was nice to finally meet her as we never had and she was as lovely as we had been told.

The appetiser was beautiful, I forget the name of the bread but it was very light and tasty, chicken, avocado and arugula with some pink onion on top all went perfectly together!! ​

Because we knew there was going to be a lot of food tonight at the Beer Fest, Tom and I shared a flatbread, the meat feast one with added jalapenos and it was lovely and perfect for sharing. I think this is one of Tom`s favourite dishes in Amatista, I do like their fish sandwich but it would have been too much today. ​

I think we all wished we had ordered what M asked for, she requested a full portion of the appetiser Chef Moira had brought out for us and it looked gorgeous again, A ordered the seasonal watermelon salad with shrimp, again, it looked so good!! ​

We chatted the time away and we were glad both ladies had the time today to spend with us, M was going to be off the weekend so we wouldn`t see her now till next time, A would be here though but we just enjoy their company so much and again, so grateful for their kindness.

Both ladies ordered dessert to share, we`re not much for desserts so they happily tucked in they did look good, the warm chocolate chip dessert was very gooey indeed, I think they enjoyed them!! ​

We always get a picture of course and today we laughed as Jimmy took about 300 pictures of us!!!! I swear, there were some where we were standing in that position, then he had us face the other way and wanted us to go out to the waterwheel lol. Bless him, he is a gem, so we had plenty of pictures for sure!
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It was now mid afternoon, we`d had a lovely few hours with lots of laughter and tales being shared, then time for goodbyes, and thanks of course for everything till next time.

We wandered back upstairs and back to the suite where we watched some tv for an hour before getting ready to go to Jake`s Beer Fest tonight, it seemed forever ago Mr Beiderman had invited us to this, but we were really looking forward to this evening.






​

 

[schumigirl]

He is such a rising star

And, that is how you do it, yum

it’s a good thing to acknowledge those unfortunate times, if only to counter revisionist historical accounts.

Thank you, he is amazing with everything he does and yes, he`ll go far in the industry!

I thought of you and another friend who love pure crab cake with no cheap fillers when I saw it, all crab and it was lovely, although he did say he could have eaten double the amount. Not surprised it was incredible and so fresh.

Yes, I believe too many forget just how awful those times were, so hard to imagine.

 

[schumigirl]

I just adore fried plantains! We always order them at Pollo Tropical in Orlando

Oh lordy, I had never tried them before Strong Water, I don`t believe I`ve ever seen them on any menu in the UK. But, holy sugars, they are gorgeous!!!

I`ve seen Pollo Tropicals around but never ventured into one of them, they do seem very popular.

Hope you`re doing well, always good to see you post....any trips planned soon???

 

[Worfiedoodles]

What an amazing trip so far, I can’t believe we are near the end.
I’m SMH at the shooshy couple — what kind of lounge did they think this is?!
Very odd.
I for one love that you had so many photos!
Nice job capturing all the unique touches that make a UOR vacation magical

 

[disneyAndi14]

I’ve been catching up! So many wonderful posts and food pictures! My mainly hot dog kid meals pale in comparison haha
It’s fridge here right now so I-love reading about hot it is there on your trip! I would love that right now!
Even long trips come to end sooner than we hope! Looking forward to the rest of your report!
My sister and I have Strong Water planned for our last night in early March! Such delicious food and drinks!

 

[schumigirl]

We were very excited for this evening, everyone had told us how much fun they were and we had never timed it right to be able to go before, but when Mr Beiderman invited us we were very pleased to attend as his guests.

It`s held in the Wantilan Luau area, on previous years the VIP guests started off in the small area of Jake`s itself, but this year the VIP guests had it`s own little area and it looked lovely, this was going to be a good evening.

​

I didn`t get a picture but there was a check in area and it was well run where you scanned your tickets off your phone and they initially gave us a wristband so we could enter the VIP area and this line ot get in was quite busy but we got through quickly. There were a lot of staff around too, most of the restaurant managers and higher up were there too making sure everything went according to plan, we knew many folks here so it was a very nice event from the beginning.

Mr Beiderman came over when he saw us and introduced us to two of his friends who were very nice and we ended up sitting with them at the tables, he said there was a seperate meal served for us around 7pm on the tables but until then we could wander round the stalls and sample the general offerings too, so we thanked him again and started to wander!!

We did have a look around and the first person we met was Ryan who is one of Jake`s managers and a lovely guy, I wasn`t sure he remembered us as it had been a time since we chatted, but he came straight over to chat and it is so nice to see him. We promise we`ll come visit him in Jake`s next trip!!!

The food and drink options were magnificent, plenty of choice for everyone, even me as a non beer drinker as they had sours which I do like and so many variations, you were spoilt for choice.

The food options were plentiful and for being cooked on stands, they were exceptional quality and we absolutely loved everything we tried tonight.

You just wandered around and had what you wanted with both food and drinks and everyone looked to be enjoying this lovely event and the atmosphere was amazing especially with the band playing in the background all through the evening.



Chicken & Waffles

Crispy chicken cutlets, fresh made waffles, bourbon maple syrup and candied bacon.


Jake's Pretzel Rods

Four cheese stout fondue and tangy mustard.


Grilled Prawns

Roasted corn purée, grilled sunchokes, popped quinoa, fennel pollen, toasted coriander vinaigrette.


Roasted Butternut Squash & Honey Ricotta Flatbread

Roasted butternut squash, honey ricotta, shaved crispy Brussels sprouts, balsamic vinegar.


Grilled Beet & Burrata Salad

Grilled red and yellow beets, burrata cheese, spiced cider vinaigrette.


Porter Braised Short Ribs

Vanilla parsnip purée, broccoli purée, braised pearl onions, crispy sweet potato spirals.


Orange Glazed Mini Pavlova

Meringue shell, orange pastry cream, mandarin orange segments.


Blueberry & Apple Tarte Tatin

Caramelized apple, fresh blueberry, cinnamon sugar, puff pastry.


German Chocolate Stout Cake

Chocolate cake, coconut and pecan filling, salted caramel.



And later for those of us lucky enough to be in the VIP area were these additional dishes and we were really looking forward to them being served up to us.


Chipotle Salmon

Kale salad, crispy garlic, toasted pumpkin seeds, sour cherry vinaigrette.


Sous Vide Veal Tenderloin

Chanterelle mushroom, roasted corn and Fresno salsa, celeriac chip, blood orange gastrique.


Black Forrest Roulade

Chocolate will roulade, brandy cherry filling, chocolate ganache frosting.


There were also additional drinks only served in the VIP area from the Tactical Brewing Company and they were a very fruity beer which was delicious and you could like all the other stalls, have as much as you wanted and they had more of a stout type which I didn`t try, we both stuck to the fruity one.

My lovely husband enjoying one of those fruity drinks!! ​

I will say it was blazing hot tonight and the fans didn`t really help much, but it did cool down a little later and also the further you went around to where the stalls and food were, it was cooler there, so we did keep popping round for a sip of something or a sample of that, it was just so lovely.

This was half of the VIP area and it was well laid out with plenty of tables and water was passed out too as well as a gift bag with one of Jake`s tall beer glasses each, and they both made it home safe and sound. ​

There were so many to try and each one seemed nicer than the last and the brewery owners were more than happy to explain their product and asked what you liked and found something they thought you`d like and they were usually right. ​

Club Lounge regulars will recognise this Pineapple Cider which is incredibly popular up there so I knew we`d like this one, we did try their other offerings but the pineapple one was still our favourite.
​

They did have a lovely selection of alcohol available including tequila which was lovely and some wines which were very nice indeed and I do admit to sampling a fair few of them.​

The Beth McKee band kept everyone moving along nicely and they were very good indeed, you could sit in front of them if you wanted to as well as the other tables set aside.

​

We did sample a few of the offerings, they were hard to resist and the chefs were charming and chatty when you went up to them.

We both tried each dish, just to give a fair opinion of course, first being the Braised Short Ribs which is one dish we make a lot in the winter but never quite like this dish was served.
​

The Grilled Prawns were also lovely, and the shrimp didn`t disappoint when one shelled it, they were not small so the dish altogether was beautiful and the dishes were portioned so they weren`t huge but very ample dishes all the same and this way you could taste more than one of each if you wished.

​

Tom couldn`t resist another short rib dish. ​

We were having such a lovely time with the other guests at the table, there was an older couple and he spoke very eloquently and briefly about his time during the war and he was so interesting, one of those men who you could just sit and listen to all night. He had a naval background and very gentleman like, every time his wife went to get up he held her chair for her and when she came back to, it was very sweet to see them obviously still so very much in love.

He also had a very astute take on the world today which was very interesting when one guest started a conversation which maybe wasn`t appropriate for the evening and this gentleman very delicately stopped any awkwardness in it`s tracks.

We wandered back up to look at some of the other offerings, they had a very nice Butternut Squash Flatbread which came with a honey ricotta topping, I`m not fond of ricotta but it was very nice all the same.

​

We stopped to chat to several folks we knew who were there and honestly, it was such a friendly atmosphere and everyone was having such a nice time.

I did try the Beet & Burrata Salad, I had never tried that cheese before and wasn`t overly fond of it on it`s own but with the other ingredients it was lovely. Tom hates Beets that haven`t been pickled so he didn`t try it, I don`t think he would have enjoyed it either. ​

This was the chicken and waffles, we didn`t try them as we had a few courses to come yet, but we did plan to go back for dessert later as they all looked so good.

I had my eye on this dessert for later, Orange glazed mini pavlova!!!

On the way back to our special area we met Mr Beiderman who we told how much fun it had been so far, he said he hoped we enjoyed the special additions for the VIP area, I think from what we had seen so far we absolutely would.

I can honestly say so far we were having so much fun, loads of staff that we knew and could chat to and there were so many friendly people between the brewers and other guests. This is something we`d happily do again.



More of our evening to come
​

 

[schumigirl]

What an amazing trip so far, I can’t believe we are near the end.
I’m SMH at the shooshy couple — what kind of lounge did they think this is?!
Very odd.
I for one love that you had so many photos!
Nice job capturing all the unique touches that make a UOR vacation magical

Thanks Maria, yes, it`s almost done and rightly so this has taken a ridiculous amount of time to do, we were there 23 nights not 6 months!!

They were clearly annoyed with any noise, so, I`m not quite sure how they were sold the lounge or what they expected, but yes, it`s not a library nor should it be.

Thank you, I did manage to take a few myself this time, he doesn`t like to share that camera lol And to be fair I did take a fair few with my phone this time, they turned out fabulous too.

I`m glad you`re enjoying it and always good to see you here

 

[schumigirl]

I’ve been catching up! So many wonderful posts and food pictures! My mainly hot dog kid meals pale in comparison haha
It’s fridge here right now so I-love reading about hot it is there on your trip! I would love that right now!
Even long trips come to end sooner than we hope! Looking forward to the rest of your report!
My sister and I have Strong Water planned for our last night in early March! Such delicious food and drinks!

Oh you know you`ll have a wonderful night there with your sister! They have some new items on the menu right now too which should still be there in March.

Oh us too, we haven`t been above freezing for a few days now and no relief in sight, I could go some heat. But Orlando hasn`t exactly been warm last few weeks either so I`m glad I`m not there either!

I`m glad you`re all caught up and nothing wrong with a hot dog Caroline!!! Hope you and yours are doing well

 

[macraven]

You always have great pictures!

All the food looks great.

 

[I-4Bound]

I have loved every Edmunds Oast sour I have ever tried. They are a hometown brewery for us!

 

[schumigirl]

You always have great pictures!

All the food looks great.

Thanks mac, glad you`re enjoying them.

We had some amazing food this trip as always, only a few that weren`t our favourites, but that`s not bad over 23 nights.

 

[schumigirl]

I have loved every Edmunds Oast sour I have ever tried. They are a hometown brewery for us!

Really!!!!

Well, we do have a taste of that coming up....spoilers....we loved it!!!! One of their sours ended up being our favourite of the whole event

 

[Worfiedoodles]

Wow, that was a great event! I’m not found of beer so I didn’t think it was for me, but I think I. Oils find plenty of wine and other drinks to keep me happy