"Guess who`s back"...3 Return for 3 Weeks @ RPR. Parks, KSC with lots of good food and fun...A May 2023 TR

[BroadwayHermione5]

I tried real golf once as a lot of my friends play for real and they are very good, but I was so bored and I wasn`t very good at it, meaning I was rubbish!! Almost damaged a man for life, but that`s another story......lol.....I`ll stick to the bar in the 19th hole I think! But, Top Golf is very good, we know folks who go regularly and always enjoy it and I wouldn`t say they are the biggest fans of real golf.

I`ve never tried sweet plantains, it`s not something we see a lot of over here generally.

It`s nice to be able to chill after a busy time, we`ve been enjoying some gorgeous weather over here recently so chilling has become an art form!! But, good to see you and hope you enjoy some down time for a while.

I agree on that 19th hole bar comment lolololol!

So sweet plantains are cooked like bananas (popular in Brazilian restaurants)-although I just discovered you can but sweetened condensed milk over them! Need to try that!

Unfortunately I’m just going to be busy and then in august I get some down time with a few things scattered here and there. The pandemic made me realize I need my downtime and I’ve been happy to have some because since 2023 started it’s been crazy!


And I have to agree with Cat in the Hat-haven’t ridden it since my first ride of it in 2015!

And I love the POE Xmas store!

 

[keishashadow]

lol…..they do know me so well!!

The platter was lovely and they had chosen some perfect desserts for all five of us, so it worked out well and as always it was just so thoughtful to present that to us.

Oh lord yes, spending time with friends is priceless and it really was a lovely evening and we were so glad they got to meet Kyle too as they had both heard so much about him.

A decidedly upscale cheers comes to mind

He turns and he has 6 large circular bruises on his back, 2 were horrible, the others were not just as bad, but holy crap on a cracker where the heck did he get them.

Ow

m not sure what Kyle is actually thinking here as he glances in my direction......maybe I was being too much of a "mum" with the pictures, but it was a look for sure.....so cute though!!!

It’s in our contract to provoke that look

but I heard Tom before I saw them......as they came down the giant and unmissable Top Hat section I heard him yell....come on....lol........and managed to capture them on both rails here as they flew past me both times.

Hahaha

There is only one castle as far as we`re concerned that`s amazing......and this one is impressive.

Well…lol

I give it a nod for being able to wander thru it and enjoy. No $$$ dining ADR hoop necessary

my friends play for real and they are very good,

Or we play quite poorlybut, keep on taking a swing at it

 

[schumigirl]

I agree on that 19th hole bar comment lolololol!

So sweet plantains are cooked like bananas (popular in Brazilian restaurants)-although I just discovered you can but sweetened condensed milk over them! Need to try that!

Unfortunately I’m just going to be busy and then in august I get some down time with a few things scattered here and there. The pandemic made me realize I need my downtime and I’ve been happy to have some because since 2023 started it’s been crazy!


And I have to agree with Cat in the Hat-haven’t ridden it since my first ride of it in 2015!

And I love the POE Xmas store!

I do like that 19th hole!

I’m not sure about sweet plantains, but I do love condensed milk!

Yes, you do need some down time when you’ve been as busy, hope you manage to get plenty of rest and doing nothing if you feel like it

 

[schumigirl]

A decidedly upscale cheers comes to mind

Ow

It’s in our contract to provoke that look

Hahaha

Well…lol

I give it a nod for being able to wander thru it and enjoy. No $$$ dining ADR hoop necessary

Or we play quite poorlybut, keep on taking a swing at it

lol……well maybe the “other” castle isn’t too bad either…….I always thought the Disneyland Paris Castle was the nicest of them all for us, but gosh, so many years since we last went there, Paris isn’t on our agenda anymore but we did visit a lot so we‘re ok with that.

That’s so true about getting that look…….lol……I forgot that rule!

Glad to see those bruises healed fairly fast and they didn’t hurt, they just looked impressive!

Glad you enjoy golfing, it’s all about the fun!

 

[keishashadow]

always thought the Disneyland Paris Castle was the nicest of them all for us, but gosh, so many years since we last went there, Paris isn’t on our agenda anymore but we did visit a lot so we‘re ok with that.

It was on the bucket list for us precovid. I’m still trying to warm up to the idea again.

That reasonable pricing to Ireland/uk/Paris we saw then is apparently a thing of the past

 

[schumigirl]

It doesn`t take us long to get showered and changed and into the car before heading 5 minutes along the I-4 to the nicest of all the malls around, Mall at Millenia and we often talk about how long we spend sitting at traffic lights while we`re here and this one can be lengthy if you just hit them wrong. One of the worst is Sand Lake/Turkey Lake this one isn`t so bad and today we hit the lights ok and got straight in and miraculously managed to get a space closest to the entrance so we didn`t have a 10 mile hike from the car.

And finally, Kyle was close to having his favourite chocolate cake of all time from The Cheesecake Factory......this is always one of the first places he wants to go when we all chat about where we want to eat, it helps we like it too.

Anyone who has ever been to a Cheesecake Factory will know it is never quiet in them, they`re always so busy and you can wait forever for a table, but today we only had a 5 minute wait which wasn`t too bad for this time of day.

Of course we pass the time admiring all the options for cheesecake, most of which I wouldn`t eat anyway, but they always look so good.

We had the sweetest young lady looking after us today and we all ordered drinks first before looking at the menu`s, strawberry lemonade for me, it is lovely from here, Tom got a peach smoothy and Kyle a strawberry smoothy, and they were both delicious, very fruity and full of flavour.

​

The menu of course is huge, not an issue for Kyle as he never even looks at it, he knows what he is having and has done for months!!!

Tom chooses the Club sandwich and I opt for the Asian chicken lettuce wraps but I asked if they could do them with no red onion or cilantro and she said absolutely no problems, she asked if it was an allergy and I said no, more an intolerance to onion and I just loathe cilantro, so all was good there. Kyle ordered Linda`s Chocolate Fudge Cake and she checked if he wanted that while we were eating our meals and he said yep, that was his lunch. We were looking forward to this meal.

Of course the bread appears first......hard to resist.

I admit we did wait a long time for the food to arrive, but she had stopped by to apologise and say it wouldn`t be too long, they were short handed and it was mobbed as it usually was, we were okay with that as we were in no hurry to go anywhere, but it did take longer than we thought, so when it arrived we were all starving!!

This was one happy young man!!!

Tom`s sandwich looked as good as it always does and it`s one of those dishes we keep saying we`ll share one day as it is huge, but for some reason or other, mainly there are so many nice things to choose from, we never do that!

Then I paid attention to mine as I swore I could smell cilantro.......oh dear.....it was covered in onion and cilantro everywhere including a dip with extra cilantro.......oops.

When she passed I attracted her attention and said I was really sorry, but I couldn`t eat it..she said no problem but she had specified for the omissions I had asked for and apologised for the mix up. She did say if I wanted something else it would take a long time as they were backed up in the kitchen......

No problem, I would share Tom`s.....he was so happy to hear that!!!

​

Kyle cleared his plate with barely the glaze left on it.....yep, he had loved it and declined getting one to take away as we`d be back again, we loved our sandwich and as I said, it really is more than enough to share.

We paid and headed out to do some shopping, well not too much for me today we just picked up some perfume from Macy`s and Kyle was yawning, Tom was yawning and then we just decided to go back home and I thought maybe a snooze would do them the world of good. We planned to go back to Carrabba`s tonight and Kyle was going to be our chauffeur too.

Kyle looked a ghostly white by the time we got back home, he said he had a headache so I told him to go through to our room and close the door, Tom was going to sleep on the sofa so I got my ipad and sat with that for a time.

Every trip tiredness seemed to hit Kyle around day 3, so this wasn`t bad at day 7 but we hoped he felt better for tonight and of course he had his 5k run tomorrow night, fingers crossed he was ok.

I ended up going down to the club lounge as both of them were out for the count.....that`s always nice to be able to chat and it was nice and quiet at this time of day.

Tom appeared around 5.45 and said Kyle still wasn`t feeling good, he had gone back to sleep and Tom told him we`d leave him for a while and then check on him, sounded like a plan. We decided then we wouldn`t be going to Carrabba`s tonight, we`d eat in the hotel somewhere.

Offerings tonight were chicken tenders and mac n cheese, not something we bother sampling as we found the tenders to be a little too hard for us, but Tom did have some crackers with a little cheese and I had some caesar salad which was lovely, one of my favourite salads from here now.

And a couple of glasses of the cabernet as this one was very nice and we were in a red wine mood I think.

We stayed in the lounge till after 7.30 and mentioned to Alex that Kyle wasn`t feeling so good, and of course immediately she offered to get him some chicken noodle soup sent up to him, I said I`d check with him first and get back to her if he did want something, she is so kind and always just wants to help where she can.

In the room he did not look much better despite some pain relief and sleeping most of the day, we had plenty of water in the room and he had been drinking lots of it anyway, but at this point we couldn`t see him making the 5K tomorrow night.

We asked him if he wanted anything and he said yes some chicken noodle soup would be lovely, so the lovely Alex organised that and it would be sent up in around 15 minutes, we were very grateful as he loves this soup so we knew he`d enjoy it and at least it was something to eat. He told us to go and get dinner somewhere he was fine really, but we said we`d just go downstairs to Orchids and wouldn`t be too long, to be honest when you feel poorly you just want to be left alone, so we headed downstairs for dinner.

Orchids is one of our all time favourite places for sushi and the general atmosphere and for a bonus, our number 2 son worked here, Colby who sadly wasn`t back off his vacation yet, so we`d have to wait to see him.

We sat at the food prep area as watching the chefs who have mostly all worked here for many years and it is a delight to watch them carve and create the dishes that go out.

Tonight we were thrilled to see we were being taken care of by Shellonda, she is lovely and we`ve known her for several years and she sees us and gives us a big wave and she`ll be over in a minute. This lady is a marvel with what she does with her life, incredible woman and is always so lovely. She immediately asks where Kyle is and of course we tell her he isn`t feeling great, but we`ll try and stop by when she is working for him to say hi to her.

As we have had red wine, we order a bottle of Malbec and it is very nice too, they do have a rather lovely wine list in here as well as the Sake`s and cocktails, plenty of choice for us anyway.

The huge chandelier they have in here is impressive to say the least, it completely engulfs the bar area, but there is still a massive feeling of space in here. It`s a very different restaurant to what it was several years ago, but those huge big comfy chairs needed replacing so badly!!

They made an excellent job of refurbishing in here, completely different look from what it was, not so much South Pacific anymore, but it did have a charm for sure.

We both ordered Miso soup and then we would share the Tropical Roll, Volcano Roll and some shrimp tails.

But first, the Miso Soup is gorgeous!! You always feel so healthy just sipping it.....maybe not so much the red wine to go with it!!


Ying and Yang.......

We did admire the large boats which are a speciality here and we had enjoyed them once or twice before and they are delicious, a wonderful selection for most people, but it is a lot of food!

They had a man playing the saxaphone tonight, we did worry he`d be too loud, but he was just the right level for us, we do feel as though we`re about 185 at times, but it`s still a little odd for us getting used to any music here as years ago they only ever had regular music playing in Jake`s where they have the stage, but when it`s as middle of the road as this was, we did like it, he was very good.

Just before the food arrived Tom asked me if I knew the woman on the other side of the bar as she was constantly looking at us, then looking away when we looked.....I glanced again as I hadn`t seen anyone I recognised but said no, I had no clue who anyone was.

Shellonda appeared with our food and all on the one plate is how we like it when we share and sharing is hard here as we adore their sushi, it really is the best around.

We had tried other places for Sushi including Cowfish but we don`t rate their sushi at all, nothing authentic about it and we found it completely bland and won`t order it again, but the sushi from here is beautiful.

We ordered a flourless chocolate cake for Kyle and Shellonda said she`d have it ready for us when we were ready to go, we still had some wine to finish and had a lovely chat to Shellonda too.

As she left the lady who had been looking at us came over and as soon as they approached I remembered who she was....some of you may remember a woman spoke to us several years ago in Sapphire Falls and wasn`t the friendliest, she told us in a strange way how she and her husband came more often than us....then told us they lived in Tampa.....lol.....no difference really, an hours drive or a 22 hour day to get here. But, she was smiling and I hoped this chat would go better.

It did actually. She was lovely and her husband although very quiet, was charming and they chatted for a time and she even apologised for sounding a little dismissive of us last time we spoke, we told her to think nothing of it.

I never understand competitive people or people who try to one up you all the time, but there are some people who seem to make a career out of being like that.

I recently stopped posting somewhere due to a woman who constantly tried to one up or mimic what I said or did...if I did something, she had done the the same, if I drank something she drank it more often, her weather was warmer than ours and so many more things and everyone else noticed too, never quite worked that one out and it is quite creepy someone would spend so much time trying to either match or beat what you say, not that she could, used phrases I always used or just outright copied everything, very sad way to live. So it`s easier to say nothing sometimes. She knows who she is.

But, we had a nice chat to this couple and certainly changed our opinion of her.

Shellonda appeared with a box with Kyle`s chocolate cake and told us she had put an extra one in for him from her, he would love that!!! It`s touches like this that make the folks who work here so special. We thanked her very much and said we`d see her soon.

Back upstairs Kyle had made it out of bed and was sitting on the sofa, he had really enjoyed the chicken noodle soup and had a little more colour in his face now and his face lit up like a Christmas tree when he saw both chocolate cakes....and he really enjoyed them which was good to see.

It was around 10pm now and we watched some tv for a while before Kyle chased us and said he wanted to go to bed. We still weren`t sure if he was going to make his run tomorrow night which would be such a shame as he was really looking forward to it. But with feeling poorly and the difference in temperature for running in, it might not be the best idea.

We did kinda laugh at us on our vacation going to bed before 11pm!! Shouldn`t we be out partying and having fun!! Maybe not. As for tonight, we were out like lights!!

 

[schumigirl]

It was on the bucket list for us precovid. I’m still trying to warm up to the idea again.

That reasonable pricing to Ireland/uk/Paris we saw then is apparently a thing of the past

I don`t think we will ever go back to Paris and that includes DLP.

Paris is a very different place and well you know us and Disney....lol......we did enjoy it though, no denying it. We went to Paris so many times over the years, but it`s off our to do list again.

I must look out some of our pictures....early 1990`s hair.....lol.....

Now Switzerland, I`d go there in a heartbeat. Absolutely beautiful.

Yes, I know many folks who have changed a lot of plans they had, it`s just not worth it now. Two of our friends were looking at just three weeks in Spain, nice hotels they were looking at, but when they saw the price they couldn`t believe how much it had gone up since since 2020.

 

[keishashadow]

Yes, I’d venture Disney is absolutely not your cuppa. Don’t blame you, especially if no sentimental attachment to the brand. they own us we are conditioned to jump thru their very unreasonable hoops. Least you know what you like and embrace it. then, there’s those who do nothing but complain about a park, yet visit multiple times a year.

Not sure why I’m always surprised to see a picture of a cake @ Cheesecake Factory. That surely looks like one of those rich, decadent sorts. I can only handle a forkful or two of that sort, the mr laps it up. He also always orders the club sandwich. His go to when he’s struggling to find something @ a bistro sort of place where he’s afraid dishes will come out just a bit too twisted for his liking.

my nose is still out of joint that Evelyn’s pasta is off the menu there, one of the original dishes. last time there, the server recommended the chicken parm. It’s thin as a cracker and oddest texture. Need to find a new fav there as I’ve a GC that is languishing.

One & only time we ate @ cowfish was on our way out before boarding a flight home. the sushi was served a tad warmer than I’ve ever experienced, should’ve been a warning signal I heeded. I was that person on the plane in the bathroom, sigh. So embarrassing. Never again. Meanwhile, the mr had no issue with his burger.

We have turned into lightweights in the parks, no longer all day commandos. You’ve got us beat, Often in bed by 9 pm in Orlando. I imagine with the long trips you take that one really does need to pace themselves or it would turn out to be a giant blur & you’d be dead on your feet. Or not, you seem to work in some very full & varied days.

 

[disneyseniors]

OMGosh, the Cheesecake Factory!!! I have always wanted to go there, but haven't made it yet It has the dreaded "cheese" word in it, and as Roger hates cheese he isn't as excited as I am about the Cheesecake Factory. LOL. I know that if it was named the "varied cake factory" he would have no objection!

I hope Kyle wasn't too sick for too long? It's crummy to feel bad while on vacation. One of us usually gets a respiratory virus at the end of our trips. I guess it's too much exposure to the multiple viruses going around and the amount of people from all over, and of course the crowds! We just figure one of us would get sick on the last day!

I think it took a lot of nerve for someone who was so rude the last time you met to come over and talk with you. At least she apologized for her behavior. You are right. I never understood anyone trying to one up you all the time. That has to be irritating. And I wonder just Why would anyone do that? Oh well, it sounds like a great trip so far

 

[schumigirl]

Yes, I’d venture Disney is absolutely not your cuppa. Don’t blame you, especially if no sentimental attachment to the brand. they own us we are conditioned to jump thru their very unreasonable hoops. Least you know what you like and embrace it. then, there’s those who do nothing but complain about a park, yet visit multiple times a year.

Not sure why I’m always surprised to see a picture of a cake @ Cheesecake Factory. That surely looks like one of those rich, decadent sorts. I can only handle a forkful or two of that sort, the mr laps it up. He also always orders the club sandwich. His go to when he’s struggling to find something @ a bistro sort of place where he’s afraid dishes will come out just a bit too twisted for his liking.

my nose is still out of joint that Evelyn’s pasta is off the menu there, one of the original dishes. last time there, the server recommended the chicken parm. It’s thin as a cracker and oddest texture. Need to find a new fav there as I’ve a GC that is languishing.

One & only time we ate @ cowfish was on our way out before boarding a flight home. the sushi was served a tad warmer than I’ve ever experienced, should’ve been a warning signal I heeded. I was that person on the plane in the bathroom, sigh. So embarrassing. Never again. Meanwhile, the mr had no issue with his burger.

We have turned into lightweights in the parks, no longer all day commandos. You’ve got us beat, Often in bed by 9 pm in Orlando. I imagine with the long trips you take that one really does need to pace themselves or it would turn out to be a giant blur & you’d be dead on your feet. Or not, you seem to work in some very full & varied days.

lol…..yes, we never grew up watching Disney the way it was for folks in the US and I was never a huge fan of Disney movies, I remember watching Fantasia and for some reason I was very creeped out by it. Loved Snow White but my mother said that suited my very obvious dark side that also loved reading Macbeth at an early age I can see the good things in Disney for sure, just no real appeal to us anymore. Yes, I never understood the folks that keep going but complain so much!

One bite is all I can manage with their cheesecake too, it’s just too rich, but my god I love it! I didn’t know they had taken off Evelyn’s pasta dish. I had the Bang Bang Chicken and it was nice, not spicy though so I didn’t order it again, but it was tasty. I also enjoyed their lunchtime portion of Chicken Piccata, it was nicer than most I’ve tasted over there. Their club sandwich is good too.

Cowfish burgers are very good. Never had a problem with any of them, but I don’t know where they went so wrong with their sushi, it’s dreadful! But to have tummy issues with it….oh Lordy…….yes, one of the reasons we don‘t order sushi from the airport hotel before our flight……lol…..we’d love to try it, but a 9 hour flight would not be fun if there was an issue like you had. That had to be awful, bet you were never as glad to get home as you were from that flight!

Yes, we do pace ourselves with longer trips, I will admit to be being a bit tired after we were there for 5 weeks last year for our September/October trip. But usually we do the parks in the morning and then go do something less energetic and we also have a lot of offsite time where we wander a beach for an hour or so. That seems to work and sleeping well helps too! I couldn’t imagine spending every day in the parks, not for us anyway

 

[schumigirl]

OMGosh, the Cheesecake Factory!!! I have always wanted to go there, but haven't made it yet It has the dreaded "cheese" word in it, and as Roger hates cheese he isn't as excited as I am about the Cheesecake Factory. LOL. I know that if it was named the "varied cake factory" he would have no objection!

I hope Kyle wasn't too sick for too long? It's crummy to feel bad while on vacation. One of us usually gets a respiratory virus at the end of our trips. I guess it's too much exposure to the multiple viruses going around and the amount of people from all over, and of course the crowds! We just figure one of us would get sick on the last day!

I think it took a lot of nerve for someone who was so rude the last time you met to come over and talk with you. At least she apologized for her behavior. You are right. I never understood anyone trying to one up you all the time. That has to be irritating. And I wonder just Why would anyone do that? Oh well, it sounds like a great trip so far

Lol…..varied cake factory doesn’t quite have the same ring to it does it, I forgot he doesn’t like cheese. Well, apart from Brie and some spicy cheeses I’m not the biggest cheese fan either, but their cheesecake is so good. And so many dishes to choose from too! I think he’d really enjoy it.

Oh it was odd as he did improve, but then came down with something else, lost a few days but what can you do, people don’t cover their mouths when they cough or sneeze a lot of the time, so you catch goodness knows what! Yes, when folks come from all over there’s always a lot to share!!

She was very nice in the end, I’m thinking she had a bad day back then, heck we all have them…..I had a “hangry” moment or 20 one day when I needed food, if someone had stopped me I’d have growled at them I think…..so yes, we all have our off moments.

No time at all for competitive people who want to try and one up you……we’ve spoken about this I know and yes, I don’t get it, wish people would live their own life, but seems some can’t, so they’re best to be put on “ignore” let them look pathetic if they want.

I haven’t forgotten Kyle’s astronomy pictures I’m going to send you…..our weather has been glorious again, so we’ve been practically living outside and enjoying our heatwave again…….might get a thunderstorm this afternoon, so that’ll keep me in for a while! I even complained it was too hot at 6am this morning! Unheard of for us usually! Hope you still have some lovely weather too where you can enjoy your beautiful gardens

 

[Robo56]

All caught up.

Cheesecake Factory is a must stop for vacation meal while in Orlando if possible. I remember reading about it many moons ago in one of your trip reports. The menu is big.

I tried the lemon meringue cheesecake and it was delicious.

Kyle looked like a happy camper to get his big piece of chocolate cake while he was there.

Oh it was odd as he did improve, but then came down with something else, lost a few days but what can you do, people don’t cover their mouths when they cough or sneeze a lot of the time, so you catch goodness knows what! Yes, when folks come from all over there’s always a lot to share!!

I was sorry to hear that Kyle got sick. There are so many people who do not cover their nose and mouth while in the stores etc…they seem oblivious that they are spreading whatever germs they have.

Those pictures of the Sushi boats at Orchids look yummy. I think our grandson would enjoy sampling a few different kinds of sushi and I would too.

Looking forward to reading more.

 

[schumigirl]

SATURDAY MAY 6TH​

Kyle wasn`t great this morning, he had slept really well, but whatever was bothering him was still lingering, once we were showered and dressed I went down to the lounge and got him some cereal and milk and brought it back to the room for him, he didn`t feel like eating in the lounge, can`t say I blame him, you don`t always feel like conversation when you`re not 100%.

We went down and enjoyed a lovely breakfast as always and had some good chatters with folks in there. Aspen was a new name to us and she is wonderful, one of the best additions to the Lounge for this visit, she was brilliant with guests and was an excellent worker, I had mentioned to Alex what a star she was and she completely agreed, lovely girl. An old favourite of ours Mitchell was on this morning too, he only worked weekends so it was nice catching up with him again. He very kindly shared his wedding pictures with us as he was getting married not long after we left in October, beautiful bride and the whole wedding loked lovely.

Kyle didn`t feel like doing anything this morning, he went back to sleep and we thought it was such a shame he`d miss doing the run tonight, he looked so pale and didn`t have any energy, so we told him to go to our bed and we`d put the Do Not Disturb sign up, we`d arrange for clean towels to be delivered later, that was all we`d want from our housekeeper today.

I did grab our laundry as we had now been away from home a week, so there was a fair old load or two to do. I usually like to go down earlier or later as they can get busy, but I hoped I`d get 2 machines one for colours and one for my whites.....I got lucky, there was no one in the laundry room and all machines were empty, so we got powder and filled two machines up and since we wanted to leave Kyle in peace, we headed up to the lobby where we had arranged to meet a friend who works here for a coffee in Tuk Tuk.

In between, I went back down to swap the clothes to the dryers and again it was still empty. I always make sure I`m back down for the machines finishing so the next folks don`t have to wait. I know several times I`ve had to wait as folks don`t bother with the same considerations, but most do.

We let our friend go back to work, bless him, we don`t see him often so we have a lot to catch up on, but before the dryer is done, we head down and empty them, it never takes the full hour to dry, I think we always give it around 35-40 minutes, that`s usually enough. We take everything upstairs and Kyle is still asleep, so I sort out the clothes and iron what needs ironed.....yes, even on vacation I still iron!! The irons here are not the best, but they do the trick and we always bring all our hangers for clothes too so I managed to get everything hung up in no time at all.

What to do now.

We didn`t know if we should go and eat, but we`d wait till he woke up and decide then, so we watched some tv and I went on the ipad to email friends, but not too much later he popped through and said he felt a bit better but would go for a shower and see how he felt after that, he did look slightly better as in he had some colour in his face.

He did say he was hungry after the shower so suggested we go to Jake`s for a late lunch and see how he felt then and they liked that idea, so we trooped donw and the place was very quiet which was nice.

The young lady on the desk was not the example you`d really want to portray to guests entering, again, she may have been having a bad day.....it showed!!! But, our waitress more than made up for that, she was lovely and we hoped the food would be good today as Jake`s has been a hit or miss last few years, very different to many years ago when it was top notch every time. We were hopeful new management would get it back to where it should be.

Tom ordered coffee, Kyle water and I had a strawberry lemonade which is nothing like the strawberry lemonade from years ago.....not brilliant but it was ok.

Kyle loves the pizzas from here so he ordered a cheese one, Tom had the meat feast with added jalapenos and I thought I`d give the Bomber Burger a try again.....a dish that was always one of the star meals, but just before covid hit they changed and just weren`t the same as before, even folks that work in the hotel said they`re not the same which is a shame, but a little birdy told me I might like them now, I hoped so, I also added jalapeno and omitted the cheese, I asked for a salad with honey mustard instead of fries.

Kyle was looking better by the minute, his headache was still there but getting better although I still thought he looked paler than usual, he looked better than he had earlier. He was still planning to do the run despite not being at full strength.

​

Food arrived and it did look so good.....it really was far too much, Tom and I should have shared a pizza, but I hadn`t felt like pizza today, but it did look good!

We ended up splitting the burger and I took a slice of the pizza, but we never made a dent in it really.

Kyle however did better and only left two slices of his, usually he can eat a full one on his own, but not today, it was lovely however. Everything had been lovely and that was the first burger from here I`d enjoyed or not had to send back on several years, it was cooked beautifully and the salad was very fresh.

Jake`s was still quieter than it usually was on a Saturday, but it would fill up later, it is an incredibly popular place and a long time option for us.

We chatted to a couple of folks in the lobby, mainly Milton from Bell Services who is one of the nicest men around, he is such a gentleman and never passes you when he see you. He had only been with Loews since after the pandemic but, he had made a wonderful impression and we hoped he wasn`t going to leave anytime soon as he is such a wonderful addition to the hotel. Him and Rob are two of our favourite people from there, Rob however has worked their since the dawn of time and I swear if that hotel ever closes, Rob will be the one to lock the door after everyone is gone. Both lovely men with beautiful families too.

Then we headed upstairs, we bimbled about for some time and Kyle got changed into his running gear and although the run didn`t start till 7 we wanted to be there early just to enjoy it. Andrea had told us parking was fine as there was a school that you could park in their spaces and there was plenty more parking too, but we still set off reasonably early for what was less than a 10 minute drive.

There were already a load of folks there and it looked well organised, but holy moly it was hot, there wasn`t that much difference between midday and now, so we did worry how he`d be in the heat as he had never run in anything like these temps. He had run a 10K last August in heat, but nothing like this.

The start and finish line would be through the giant skull in the background, it was huge and very impressive, certainly fancier than the start/finish from his normal runs over here!!

Kyle only started running about a year and a half ago, he had never been interested in it before, but thanks to a very lovely young lady, he started running and soon realised he was actually very good at it, very, very good and impressed the running club he joined with how quickly he picked up speed and was soon setting his own personal records and doing really well in runs alongside folks that have been running for years. But, it was also after covid, so getting back into that interaction with other folks was also fabulous.

There are runs that take place every week and when you reach certain milestones most folks do that race in fancy dress.....it can be as simple or as elaborate as you like with some choosing to wear a superhero cape.....or do as Kyle did and rent a full slap you in the face costume like this one for his 50th event here.......

This was just before the race started.......as you can imagine we got a LOT of pictures!!!

​

We go some weeks and just walk the course as you are welcome to do and we definitely weren`t going to miss this one!!!

It was funny as some of the folks who turn up every week to get the course ready and marshall the event and have known Kyle a long time now, it was funny to hear one ask another why he had dressed in a Scottish outfit......seems not everyone knew he was actually born in Scotland. He doesn`t have a strong accent one way or the other, a little like us, when we go back to Scotland they tell us we sound so English, but down here they tell us we`ve never lost the Scottish lilt in our voices. Kyle was only 18 months when we first left the country so he was never going to have a broad Scottish brogue.

I`m rambling now.......back to Orlando.

With this run you got a medal which was one of the most unique ones he has in his collection, a shirt and several other little things including the voucher for food and drinks after the run was finished, he spotted the medals laid out just at the finish line.

​

As well as being a little poorly and the heat, Kyle had an ankle injury that had taken him out of running for a few months and it still wasn`t back to full strength yet, his physio said he should be able to do it but obviously see how it goes, he made sure to do all the stretches and so on, but we didn`t know how it would be on the actual run. So, yes, we were a little worried.

And lots of photo opportunities around the area......

​

This was the food and drink stall where the runners could go afterwards with their voucher, as you can imagine all Mexican based food and Margaritas, ladies were very nice!

​

There were many folks very much getting into the spirit and had either dressed up to the nines and some had just put some very clever make up all within the theme and some were amazing. Tom asked this lady if we could take her picture and of course she agreed.

There were several prizes at the end for best dressed and best dressed couple and so on, we did think she would do well.

​

He had registered and got his bib number when we arrived earlier so we just enjoyed wandering around and it was a lovely atmosphere as everyone was so friendly and we were thinking it might just have cooled down a tiny bit by now as it was around 6.30, I think it was around 85F by now, so it had cooled down a little.

We spotted Andrea who was with her friends, we were surprised to have seen her as it was so busy but she had said give her a shout if we saw her, such a lovely lady and we were all so happy she had told us about this run or we`d never have known.

​

It was getting much busier now and filling up rapidly with folks arriving all the time which was so good to see.

​

Finally, they announced the runners should go to the start line, so Tom and I found a spot to the side with a few others who were also taking pictures and videos of loved ones.....for most runners here this was quite normal, but for us this was the first time he had run here so we absolutely wanted pictures!

A little later than the 7pm start time, and then they were off......

​

He usually knows how long any length of run is going to take him but he wasn`t sure with one, so we just said give it your best, which we knew he would do.....

And he did!!!

​

Chip time which is the official time was 22.55.57, so he made it under 23 minutes, he came 27th out of 701 runners and we couldn`t have been prouder of him, especially with being under the weather, an ankle injury and this amazing heat...he did amazingly well!!!

and dad too of course!!!


​

Quite the sunset from here through the ever building cloud.

​

For the first time after any run, he went, sat on the winner podium and poured a whole bottle of water over his head.....he was boiling hot, but he had done incredibly well and was soon drinking water instead of trying to cool down with it. We had brought some with us, but they had plenty for the runners there as well.

Once he picked up his medal and we found Andrea again to have a quick chat to about the run we just enjoyed the atmosphere......the line for food and drinks was huge at this point, Kyle didn`t want anything so we said not to bother, we just wandered around and he waved his glow stick with everyone else and watched the prizegiving a little later too.

​

We had seen this couple around and they had run the race together, we were so glad to see they won the best dressed award and were happy to get their picture taken, they had done really well too.

​

I will admit the lake scared the bejeesus out of me as you could clearly see there were alligators in it...but no one seemed particularly perturbed about it....except me!! So I encouraged my family to not hang around for too long, but it was beautiful and only 10 minutes from Universal, you would never know the parks were so close from here.

​

There really was a party atmosphere so we were in no hurry to leave, but eventually folks started to leave and we did too, but it had been such fun tonight and we were all so happy he had made this run tonight despite all the things going against him!!

​

We got home and went up to the room to freshen up and Kyle wanted a shower, so we went in the room to see a gorgeous plate of chocolate covered strawberries and a lovely little card from our friend Raymond just saying how lovely it had been to see us on Wednesday night.....awwww....he is so thoughtful!!!

I have to say we didn`t get a picture of them as we devoured them instantly, they were so refreshing and huge!!! They were just what we needed as we were all so thirsty!!!

I would send him a txt to say thank you when we were in Orchids, but what a lovely surprise to come in to. After we had cleared every one of them, Tom and I said we`d head down to Orchids and would wait till he came down to order anything, with having such a late lunch none of us were very hungry, especially after those strawberries. But, we did want a drink as we were very thirsty....it had been a hot night and we hadn`t drank much since we ate.

​

I spotted our number 2 son straight away and went over to surprise him and he was surprised as he thought we were visiting later, but got a nice hug from him, it was so good to see him and he fitted us into his section tonight which we were pleased about. We`ve know Colby since he was very young and left the pool to work in the Club Lounge, so a very long time!

We asked him of he had anything Kyle might like as a change from water here, he said leave it with him......and came back with this....I wasn`t sure what Kyle would make of this.....but he did like it.

​

He made it down and did enjoy his drink but said he wasn`t really hungry but could maybe eat a chocolate cake or 2...that`s my boy!!!

​

Tom ordered himself 2 beers and I asked for a spicy margarita, which was nice, but not spicy enough so asked for a large Avaition gin with something like sprite and lots of lemon.....that was a much nicer drink and I really enjoyed it.

Tom was more than ready for two tall beers as we were both very thirsty after being out for a few hours and didn`t think to bring water for us!!

​

Tom only wanted Miso soup and they brought us one each so I had it, but I had ordered their Tuna Tartare which had spicy tuna, avocado, masago, wasabi-lime, micro greens and this was one of my favourite dishes from here as it was beautifully spicy and full of flavour!!

​

Kyle did have two chocolate cakes and before they arrived Shellonda came over to say hello so Kyle got to thank her for the extra cake the night before, she was just glad he enjoyed it.

​

The food was gorgeous as always and it is such a lovely lounge to sit in and just have a drink if you wish and of course being able to catch up with Colby is always lovely in between him working. Usually we managed to schedule a dinner but we wouldn`t make it this time, but it`s always good to see him.

They had a singer on tonight who was very good too and again, not too loud which is perfect for the ambience in here, it doesn`t lend itself to anything loud and overpowering.

​

When Kyle got his second cake, someone remembered I loved the coconut ice cream from downstairs and sent up a bowl for me, I must admit it was a lovely surprise and Tom had no room to share so I got the bowl to myself which is nice!!! Very thoughtful of them to remember.

​

It was about 11pm before we left Orchids tonight and we were all yawning by that time, but we said our goodnights and headed up to bed, we spent another half an hour or so just going over the run tonight and how much fun it had been and how glad we were he had been fit enough to do it.

Eventually we were all yawning and decided tomorrow we`d give the parks a miss again and go spend a little time at the beach. If we were all up to it of course.

​

 

[DisGhost]

Of course we knew from your earlier spoilers that he made the run but I'm so amazed he did it with all that against him! My sister-in-law has done several of the Disney marathons as well as the NYC marathon and there I am sitting on my sofa eating a bagel while reading her posts and thinking how glad I am that I'm not running. I do admire those who get off their butts and do it, though. It's just not my thing.

 

[schumigirl]

Of course we knew from your earlier spoilers that he made the run but I'm so amazed he did it with all that against him! My sister-in-law has done several of the Disney marathons as well as the NYC marathon and there I am sitting on my sofa eating a bagel while reading her posts and thinking how glad I am that I'm not running. I do admire those who get off their butts and do it, though. It's just not my thing.

Yes, the spoiler was out there and yes, he did so well with the 3 issues, he did feel the heat slowed him down in the middle, so if it had been cooler I think he’d have been faster.

Yes, running is not for me either, I’m quite amazed Kyle is so good at it as it’s definitely not in his genes! I’m with you sitting on the sofa!

Sounds like your sister in law loves running too, the NY marathon is certainly something to aspire to and anyone who has ever done it says it’s amazing. I do like watching folks run though……we’ll stick to walking….so much easier

 

[schumigirl]

All caught up.

Cheesecake Factory is a must stop for vacation meal while in Orlando if possible. I remember reading about it many moons ago in one of your trip reports. The menu is big.

I tried the lemon meringue cheesecake and it was delicious.

Kyle looked like a happy camper to get his big piece of chocolate cake while he was there.


I was sorry to hear that Kyle got sick. There are so many people who do not cover their nose and mouth while in the stores etc…they seem oblivious that they are spreading whatever germs they have.

Those pictures of the Sushi boats at Orchids look yummy. I think our grandson would enjoy sampling a few different kinds of sushi and I would too.

Looking forward to reading more.

Glad you’re all caught up Robbie.

Yes, the CF is somewhere we know we’ll get a decent meal, even if it is touristy…..yes, he adores that cake!

Haven‘t tried the lemon meringue cheesecake, but sounds good.

We had those sushi boats and they are wonderful, for two folks you do get a decent amount of choices and all are lovely. I missed a spicy one in there but that’s being fussy, I’d get them again.

When you see the hygiene standards of some people I’m amazed we’re not always infected with something! I blame a guy who coughed openly on all of us a day or so after we arrived…bleurgh!

 

[schumigirl]

SUNDAY MAY 7TH​

I think we all slept, although Kyle said he was up a few times blowing his nose that had started to annoy him, but he was ok to go out for the day and he wanted to go see New Smyrna Beach as it was one of the beaches we enjoy visiting and he had heard so much about it, so that was our plan today and I was glad he felt like going.

We stopped down to the lounge for breakfast after we got showered and dressed and I was intercepted as soon as we went in with Mitchell handing me my bottle of Grape Jelly they kept in the fridge for me.....now that is being looked after!! I made my toast as we chatted a bit and I made tea at the same time, we only see Mitchell on the weekends and we did have some catching up to do....Tom got his coffee and croissants and Kyle had his usual cereal.....creatures of habit for sure!!

I was too busy chatting to notice but Tom pointed out I had dropped a blob of grape jelly on to the front of my dress......typical!!! A light blue and white dress with a blob of purple jelly on it......I figured I`d have to go change, but I had a life saver in my handbag, and whipped out the infamous Tide Pen!!!! And it worked......not a drop could be seen after a few splodges of the wonder pen.....thank you Janet once again!!! I was very careful with the rest of my breakfast but didn`t drop anymore.

It`s a breakfast I`d never have in the UK, white toast, butter, cream cheese topped with grape jelly, but over here....I love it.

I`m glad it wasn`t me, but the smoke alarm went off, which means someone has burnt their toast! The alarm goes off downstairs not actually in the lounge but the light flashes so they know someone will come up. This toaster is not as good as the previous ones they had and folks put things like croissants in them when they aren`t supposed to, but they sent someone to check and it was all fine. They have a large fan in case it happens and it can clear anything so hopefully the alarm won`t go off.

We chatted a little but went back down to get our sunscreen on which takes us all about 15 minutes for some unknown reason, but it`s worth it for us, then we head down to get the car.

It takes about an hour to get to NSB, not the most interesting of drives until you hit the beach area then it changes and is absolutely beautiful, everything is so colourful and never appears too busy. Kyle slept most of the way so we knew he wasn`t just back to normal yet.

There is one road in and out so even we can`t get lost and we are heading quite far along the road to Bethune Beach where there is parking and some bathrooms if we need them and the road is just filled with gorgeous little homes all different colours and shapes and some lovely hotels and someone told us a lot of them are timeshare, nice place to have one.

We passed a place we had visited on our first visit here, Chases on the Beach and it was almost completely demolished to our surprise, we wondered if it was being knocked down and something else going in it`s place, but we later found out it had suffered a lot of hurricane damage and was being rebuilt from the foundations up. It would be lovely to see it once it`s been revamped as we did enjoy it there, we saw the most amazing sky from that place the day we went, black as night before the heavens opened.

The car park is never usually very busy, but we tend to come midweek, and it was a gorgeous day so we expected it to be busy, however we did get a space and the beach was as always, fairly busy with whole families camped out for the day and groups of friends some surfing some just enjoying the day.

Kyle loved it straight away, if he had been a beach person this is where he`d absolutely visit.

It`s funny as we have visited this beach several times and only once did we not get on the sand as the tide was completely in and wild, but we have also visited when it`s been flat calm and so beautiful. Most visits you can see why it`s popular with surfers and today was no exception, there were loads of them in the water. It also has a lot of cases of shark bites, not the huge Jaws sharks but any kind of shark is one I want to avoid if I can help it!!! There was one a week after we visited last time, a little girl was bitten on the ankle as she went knee deep.....nope I`m not up for that!!

But, we do love a good old wander along a beach, back home we live 5 minutes from our beach that is very pretty, but not as pretty as this one and never as warm that`s for sure, although this past week we have been boiled with high temps which has been lovely, but we don`t get consistently high temperatures like over here. if we get a week to ten days in a row of excellent weather we know that`s usually summer over when it`s gone.

But this, we could never tire of being here, even though we aren`t the type to sit on a beach or sunbathe anywhere, walking along this every day would be absolute bliss.

There is a lovely breeze which helps with the high 80`s temp today and we just slowly wander along chatting, enjoying the heat and occasionally stopping to just admire everything around us. You can walk for miles forgetting how far you are going away from the car so easily.

It must be so lovely to wake up here every morning in life and have this a few steps away from your home.

And of course we had to get our tootsies wet and show we had ventured into the Atlantic from this side of the huge ocean!

We had bought Tom and Kyle some of those ugly Crocs just for the beach and when they were doing the water rides and they are ideal for things like this, I had my old faithful crocs with the wedge on so it didn`t matter if they got wet either.

I will say the water was warmer than we expected.

We had such fun rambling in and out of the water, I think we were on the beach for an hour and half....not long at all really, but we are all aware of how easy we burn so that was enough for all of us. I`m not sure we would even want to bring a little shade, some chairs and so on to spend a day here or any beach as we`d get completely bored. We never do that where we live and we`re so close to the water, it`s just not what we want to do for a whole day....maybe an hour would be enough.

The bathrooms, showers and covered picnic area are all really close to the parking and there is also a Boardwalk across the street with extra parking and the same facilities. It`s really cool as you can see dolphins and manattees at times from there and it is usually very quiet too. But we didn`t go there today as we usually do. I think we were all getting hungry by now.

We all wanted most of the sand off our feet before we got in the car and we had brought a couple of bottles of water to do that, of course we could have gone to the showers, but we didn`t.

A car pulled up and asked if we were leaving soon, the voice was very Scottish and sounded local to where we originally come from, I was in the car at this point but Tom chatted to the guy and his family who lived here and had done for over 20 years but they also originally came from a place about 15 minutes from where we lived, it really is a small world!

We were pleased to give them our parking space as we were just leaving, we gave them a wave and headed out onto the one single road and turned left to head for lunch to one of our favourite places in NSB....JB`s Fish Camp.

I agree, we do really need to find somewhere different next time, but this place was absolutely wonderful, food was incredible and it was just a lovely all round experience and hard to beat, so we were loathe to try somewhere different in case it wasn`t as good.

It was exceptionally busy as we thought it would be on a weekend, Tom dropped me off as it looked like we would be parked at the far end of the parking lot and did I mention it was hot!!! As always I`m not allowed to complain it`s too hot as I spend half my life complaining I`m too cold!!! Our heating costs are off the scale.....but who wants to be cold, ever!! I think Tom thinks this is all he hears somedays!!!!

​

This refugee raft completely amazed me the first time I saw it, I could never imagine being in the water in anything less than the QE2, but the thought of people making and trying to survive in one of these with your family, it must have been truly horrific.

They have live music on the weekends too and this guy was really good to listen to, I wish we liked sitting outside eating, but we never do, it`s just too darn hot for us!

More coming right up........

 

[keishashadow]

Two entertaining updates, woo-hoo!

I remember watching Fantasia and for some reason I was very creeped out by it.

hehe part of it’s charm, including my beloved Hippo Ballerina. She’s featured in the Dance of the Hours Segment. Yes, i’m deep in the lore of the movie. 1st version is the best

I will admit to be being a bit tired after we were there for 5 weeks last year for our September/October trip. But usually we do the parks in the morning and then go do something less energetic and we also have a lot of offsite time where we wander a beach for an hour or so. That seems to work and sleeping well helps too! I couldn’t imagine spending every day in the parks, not for us anyway

No idea how you do keep up that pace, measured or not.

yes, even on vacation I still iron!!

Admirable, not happening in my camp lol. I knew a person who travels with either a small steamer or a mini travel iron. Would think neither would perform well

I asked for a salad with honey mustard instead of fries.

have you tried fries on top of the salad? A local thing here

he came 27th out of 701 runners

even in prime form that would be admirable! way to go Kyle. Not sure sure about that rather radioactive looking green drink he had in Orchids.

We’ve never timed it right to see manatees in that area, darn it. those fish camps on the coast originally gave me pause, most we’ve tried have produced some of the best seafood we’ve had in FL.

 

[schumigirl]

We got a table straight away and it was practically full everywhere even outside but we had a nice seat by the bar and as always the staff are very friendly and immediately bring us some menu`s to look at......there is a gorgeous menu but as long as we get some of those heavenly Hush Puppies, we`d be happy eating anything!

Kyle got a strawberry slushy, Tom got lemonade and I of course went for the very nice Rum Runner they do......very strong, so one only for me today!

After studying the menu as he had never been here before, Kyle went for something simple, a plain chicken sandwich with fries and he delicately removed the pickle, something he is not a fan of at all....

Tom ordered scallops, they didn`t say they were going to be tiny, but they were surprisingly rather lovely, I went for a half pound of shrimp and we`d share some fries and of course we got 6 hush puppies..only because we were too embarrassed to order 12!!! They really are gorgeous!!

I usually order the crab stuffed flounder as it is just so lovely, but I knew we were eating out tonight so didn`t want to have a huge meal but it was tempting. Everything on the menu here looks so good, when you see plates go past you are drawn to have a glance at what`s on them and they all look amazing. These places blow chains like Red Lobster completely out of the water!!

The food was glorious, absolutely gorgeous and we shared it all between us and Kyle liked the hush puppies too, although he only had one but it was a lovely lunch all round.

We didn`t hang around as there were people waiting for tables, so we paid and headed out the back to have a wander to look for any sign of a dolphin or two which we had managed before on a previous trip....well, we saw them in the distance, but they are in there.

We`re always amazed to see folks in tiny little kayaks and similar sailing around rivers and lakes here.....I guess if you live here you maybe take things like alligators as part of life here and carry on doing things in the water, but for us, it does seem rather unsafe and terrifying to watch for us.

We had a wander and got some pictures, didn`t see any dolphins, or any wildlife at all strangely, but it is a lovely place to visit if only for the food at JB`s.

On our drive home Kyle fell asleep again, we did wonder if there was something working on him again, he said he felt ok, but not great.

Back home, we freshened up a little and after an hour or so Tom and I headed down to the Club Lounge, Kyle was going to go down to the gym for a walk, that suited him better than sitting in the Club Lounge for a long time, he enjoys it there, but much prefers to exercise.

Tonight the lounge was offering a pulled pork dish and rice as a fajita type of dish with all the usual sides and I think there were wraps too, we did have a tiny taste of the pork and it was very nice but we were keeping our appetites for later.

We didn`t think Kyle would be feeling like driving tonight, so I offered to drive and Tom looked at me as if I had two heads until the penny dropped......oops...I`d completely forgotten I`d had a cocktail with lunch, so no driving for me, he did appreciate the offer though. We won`t drive even if we`ve had one drink, I know some do and feel ok, but I know I can sometimes feel the effects of one glass of wine, so we`ll never drink and drive with any alcohol in us. So......nothing to stop me having a glass or two now......

​

The lovely Alex, our favourite girl was working tonight, so I got some fizzy and it was very nice after a hot day, and very much appreciated.

We had a lovely couple of hours chatting with Alex when we could and having just the nicest time catching up with her and all her news and general chit chat about anything and everything, but eventually Kyle appeared but looked pale....of course no one likes to hear they don`t look well, so I kept my yap shut, but he felt ok and was ready to go have dinner at one of his favourite places.....Longhorn Steakhouse.

I must sound like a broken record, but we pass several of these and go to the one in LBV as the one on I Drive was just dreadful, truly dreadful and according to folks it hadn`t got any better. It is only a 20 minute or so drive to get there and it does look reasonably busy which is good to see again.

It was busier than it has been over the last few years and mostly locals according to the manager, we get a nice booth and none of us need to look at the menu, but we do anyway......and I get a lovely Blackberry Sangria which Kyle finds quite amusing for some reason.....

They enjoy the bread which is nice, but I`m not hungry enough to nibble on that too, I`m saving myself for the steak that I know is heading my way soon.

I did however enjoy some of the Caesar Salad....minus the croutons. I think our waiter thought I asked for extra instead of omitting them altogether.

The last time we were here with Kyle, Tom sent his steak back three times, and they still didn`t get it right, so we were keen to see if this would be better......

Tom ordered the Porterhouse and asked for it rare in the hope he would get medium rare......and it was perfectly cooked and he loved it.

I must have taken this picture as it is blurry (sorry) but Kyle`s filet was absolutely perfect too, broccoli was slightly underdone but it was edible but main thing was, it was cooked almost rare, so just the way he liked it.

So far, two out of three were good......and mine.....was also perfectly cooked, rare just the way I asked for it.

The sweet potato was also very nice, neither of my two like them so no one asked for any......I however, may have stolen a few fries from Kyle!!

The food was lovely, and we all really enjoyed it. Longhorn is certainly not a high end chain, it`s not expensive and you do get a decent steak usually at around half the cost of the higher end places, but it doesn`t feel like you`re cheaping out somehow.

Usually they share the Chocolate Stampede, one of their favourite desserts to share, but tonight Kyle said he didn`t feel like it.....now I did think he was under the weather to turn down dessert! Tom wasn`t too bothered either so we paid the check and headed home. I didn`t think we`d be heading to Citywalk till the wee small hours by the look of all of us, we were all a bit tired to be honest.

Kyle got his bed out straight away, so we got sorted, said goodnight and we put our tv on for a while and watched Jaws for the millionth time, well it was the first half hour before we were both falling asleep too, but something was niggling in the back of my mind...

​

 

[schumigirl]

Two entertaining updates, woo-hoo!


hehe part of it’s charm, including my beloved Hippo Ballerina. She’s featured in the Dance of the Hours Segment. Yes, i’m deep in the lore of the movie. 1st version is the best

No idea how you do keep up that pace, measured or not.

Admirable, not happening in my camp lol. I knew a person who travels with either a small steamer or a mini travel iron. Would think neither would perform well

have you tried fries on top of the salad? A local thing here

even in prime form that would be admirable! way to go Kyle. Not sure sure about that rather radioactive looking green drink he had in Orchids.

We’ve never timed it right to see manatees in that area, darn it. those fish camps on the coast originally gave me pause, most we’ve tried have produced some of the best seafood we’ve had in FL.

Hippo Ballerina?????? Off to Google!

I was surprised he liked that drink especially as he doesn`t like fizzy drinks, but he enjoyed it, not sure he`d drink it every day though!

Fries on top of salad??? Nope.....I like my fries sizzling hot and I imagine they`d get cold quickly???? I can mix hot and cold, just not fries......maybe I am fussier than I thought

My niece travels with a steamer and she says it works fine, however I think our cases are already carrying enough and I think Tom might shake his head enough for it to fall off if I said I was taking my iron.....lol....

I think we do ok energy wise as we never do a full park day....I look at some folks with their giant rucksacks, huge strollers filled with everything except kids and think, jeez that is a long day ahead for you! Not for us, but each to their own of course.

And yep, there are some amazing seafood places around, we have a few we want to try in the future for sure.

Glad you`re enjoying it Janet, always lovely to read your comments....