MelanieC
<font color=blue>BL II - Blue Team<br><font color=
- Joined
- Sep 28, 1999
- Messages
- 11,928
Cast:
Melanie Vegan
Bill DH
Taryn DD19
Ryan DS13
Yesterday was my birthday and it was also the day we left for Florida. We drove from Pennsylvania and left around 1pm. I hadnt slept well the past few days as my DS13 and his friends woke me up at 4:30pm one night and I woke up again around 4am the night before we left thinking about all I needed to wrap up at work in order to go on vacation. Needless to say, I couldnt fall back to sleep. Wednesday night I had gotten a pedicure and I guess the massage chair hurt my back because I woke up Thursday (the day we left)
sore and miserable. It made for such a long day riding in the car so sore and tired, but it was my birthday and we were headed to WDW.
Our first stop as we headed out of town was WAWA for drinks. I got an Honest Tea - Half Tea/Half Lemonade.
We decided not to go down I-95 as last year the traffic was really bad all the way to Richmond VA. Bill kept telling me he thought there was a Chipotle right near the I-95 entrance near Fredericksburg VA, where we pick up 1-95. We were lucky that we didnt hit any bad traffic and we made really good time. The bad news was, there was no Chipotle. I had gotten my hopes up too. We decided to eat at Taco Bell. I really hate eating at Taco Bell, Im so spoiled with good Mexican fast food spots like Chipotle and Moes. Taco Bell is so ick, but it was really the only option.
I had a fresco bean burrito and a fresco hard taco with refried beans instead of meat.
I got these salted pumpkin seeds from a gas station, but I could barely eat them they were so salty.
We drove till a little after 11pm and started looking for a hotel. We were in South Carolina and we were not having too much luck. Finally we found a Quality Inn & Suites in Santee South Carolina. It was tolerable. Not the worst, definitely not the best. They had obviously done some refurbishment on the outside of the hotel where you could see it from the road. Our hotel room was on the inside and the outside façade had not been refurbished like the rooms on the outside did. It was almost 1pm by the time we were in our room and heading to bed. I got up at 7:30am and everyone else got up around 8:15-8:30am. The hotel had a free hot breakfast. I was actually surprised at the quality of the breakfast. At first I didnt think there would be anything for me to eat. There were of course eggs, bacon, sausage, French toast, biscuits and gravy and things like that.
Luckily there was oatmeal and upon asking I was happy to find out it was cooked in water and not milk. It came with a banana, raisins and brown sugar and orange juice. I didnt use the sugar, but loaded the oatmeal up with the banana and raisins. This was a super yummy breakfast and I really enjoyed it.
It was about 9:45am when we finally got on the road. About half way through Georgia, the skies opened up and it poured. It poured and poured and poured. We made it to Florida and stopped at the visitor center for our mandatory welcome glass of orange juice. Something about that juice tastes better than any other orange juice we have ever had. Im not sure why, it just tastes so magical, lol.
It had stopped raining when we got into Florida and for a second the sun came out. I really thought things were looking out and then when we got on the road it poured, poured and poured some more. Around 2:00pm I told Bill we need to eat now. My blood sugar was dipping and I could feel evil Mel coming out, lol. Unfortunately we were not finding any place to eat and when I saw a Taco Bell, I said lets eat there even though I really wanted something else. At that point, I just needed to eat. As we got off the ramp it started raining really hard. Ryan and I ate at Taco Bell and Taryn and Bill went over and ate at Arbys. We were pretty soaked by the time we got in and it made it really cold while eating. This kid who worked there wouldnt stop talking to us. I swear I now know his entire life story about his skin surfing, him saving a little girl from getting hit by a car, several stories about customers, how close he lives to the beach, how long he has worked there, what they get to wear at Christmas time and Halloween and so much more. Way too much info from a worker at Taco Bell, lol. All I really wanted to do was eat, and every time Id take a bite he would tell another story. Very strange.
I had the same fresco bean burrito and fresco hard taco with refried beans instead of meat.
When Bill picked me and Ryan up, it was still pouring. It poured all the way to Orlando and it was around 5pm by this time. Between the poor visibility from the rain and rush hour the traffic is bad. The GSP gave us an option to get off to avoid about 6 miles of this and we got lucky and found a Wal-Mart. We were going to have to go hunt one down, so we were happy to find it. We got a 12 pack of soda (why when we were getting mugs, but Bill likes to have them in the room), pretzels, Sun Chips, and breakfast items. I got peanut butter Nature Valley Granola bars for breakfasts. We usually eat in the room before going out and then have an early lunch.
When we were heading out to the car, it started pouring again. It took us forever to get back to I-4 and then it was backed up to the Disney exit. Finally, we were heading under the Welcome to Disney sign. It feels like being home when we go under it.
It was lightly raining when we parked. We checked into Pop and there was no line in the line for
those who checked in online. I got exactly the room and location I wanted and had faxed over to POP. 4th floor facing the lake in the 60s section. By the time Bill got one of those luggage carts and got the luggage on it, the heavens had opened up again. We had to wait outside the door till it slowed down. We put our luggage in the room and then headed over to Shades of Green to pick up tickets to Kennedy Space Center.
Bill and Ryan went back to Pop to eat, while Taryn and I went over to DTD to eat at Earl of Sandwich. I got the Veggie sandwich minus the feta and subbed the balsamic dressing (instead of the Mediterranean dressing) with chips and iced tea.
It was as yummy as I remembered. We stopped by Baby Cakes and got a Red Velvet Cupcake.
I had gotten a Birthday Pin when we checked in at Pop, so the girl put a birthday candle in it. I was so excited to try the cupcake. I had to contain myself till I got back to the room. Me and Taryn shared the cupcake and when I ate it, I was wishing we had each gotten our own. It was so good. The cake was just a little dry, but not bad and the frosting was so good. I like that the colors of the frosting are not un-natural looking. I think the cake had a slight strawberry taste. I cant wait to try some of the other flavors and the donuts. We get our snack credits next Thursday, so I am waiting till then to go hog wild, lol.
Tomorrow is Kennedy Space Center Im a little worried about eating there. I have no idea what they have that is vegan. Keep your fingers crossed. I was promised by them through e-mail there were things to eat for me. Lets hope its not iceburg lettuce with a few shaved carrots in there for good measure. See you then.
I'll be adding pictures soon.
Melanie Vegan
Bill DH
Taryn DD19
Ryan DS13
Yesterday was my birthday and it was also the day we left for Florida. We drove from Pennsylvania and left around 1pm. I hadnt slept well the past few days as my DS13 and his friends woke me up at 4:30pm one night and I woke up again around 4am the night before we left thinking about all I needed to wrap up at work in order to go on vacation. Needless to say, I couldnt fall back to sleep. Wednesday night I had gotten a pedicure and I guess the massage chair hurt my back because I woke up Thursday (the day we left)
sore and miserable. It made for such a long day riding in the car so sore and tired, but it was my birthday and we were headed to WDW.
Our first stop as we headed out of town was WAWA for drinks. I got an Honest Tea - Half Tea/Half Lemonade.
We decided not to go down I-95 as last year the traffic was really bad all the way to Richmond VA. Bill kept telling me he thought there was a Chipotle right near the I-95 entrance near Fredericksburg VA, where we pick up 1-95. We were lucky that we didnt hit any bad traffic and we made really good time. The bad news was, there was no Chipotle. I had gotten my hopes up too. We decided to eat at Taco Bell. I really hate eating at Taco Bell, Im so spoiled with good Mexican fast food spots like Chipotle and Moes. Taco Bell is so ick, but it was really the only option.
I had a fresco bean burrito and a fresco hard taco with refried beans instead of meat.
I got these salted pumpkin seeds from a gas station, but I could barely eat them they were so salty.
We drove till a little after 11pm and started looking for a hotel. We were in South Carolina and we were not having too much luck. Finally we found a Quality Inn & Suites in Santee South Carolina. It was tolerable. Not the worst, definitely not the best. They had obviously done some refurbishment on the outside of the hotel where you could see it from the road. Our hotel room was on the inside and the outside façade had not been refurbished like the rooms on the outside did. It was almost 1pm by the time we were in our room and heading to bed. I got up at 7:30am and everyone else got up around 8:15-8:30am. The hotel had a free hot breakfast. I was actually surprised at the quality of the breakfast. At first I didnt think there would be anything for me to eat. There were of course eggs, bacon, sausage, French toast, biscuits and gravy and things like that.
Luckily there was oatmeal and upon asking I was happy to find out it was cooked in water and not milk. It came with a banana, raisins and brown sugar and orange juice. I didnt use the sugar, but loaded the oatmeal up with the banana and raisins. This was a super yummy breakfast and I really enjoyed it.
It was about 9:45am when we finally got on the road. About half way through Georgia, the skies opened up and it poured. It poured and poured and poured. We made it to Florida and stopped at the visitor center for our mandatory welcome glass of orange juice. Something about that juice tastes better than any other orange juice we have ever had. Im not sure why, it just tastes so magical, lol.
It had stopped raining when we got into Florida and for a second the sun came out. I really thought things were looking out and then when we got on the road it poured, poured and poured some more. Around 2:00pm I told Bill we need to eat now. My blood sugar was dipping and I could feel evil Mel coming out, lol. Unfortunately we were not finding any place to eat and when I saw a Taco Bell, I said lets eat there even though I really wanted something else. At that point, I just needed to eat. As we got off the ramp it started raining really hard. Ryan and I ate at Taco Bell and Taryn and Bill went over and ate at Arbys. We were pretty soaked by the time we got in and it made it really cold while eating. This kid who worked there wouldnt stop talking to us. I swear I now know his entire life story about his skin surfing, him saving a little girl from getting hit by a car, several stories about customers, how close he lives to the beach, how long he has worked there, what they get to wear at Christmas time and Halloween and so much more. Way too much info from a worker at Taco Bell, lol. All I really wanted to do was eat, and every time Id take a bite he would tell another story. Very strange.
I had the same fresco bean burrito and fresco hard taco with refried beans instead of meat.
When Bill picked me and Ryan up, it was still pouring. It poured all the way to Orlando and it was around 5pm by this time. Between the poor visibility from the rain and rush hour the traffic is bad. The GSP gave us an option to get off to avoid about 6 miles of this and we got lucky and found a Wal-Mart. We were going to have to go hunt one down, so we were happy to find it. We got a 12 pack of soda (why when we were getting mugs, but Bill likes to have them in the room), pretzels, Sun Chips, and breakfast items. I got peanut butter Nature Valley Granola bars for breakfasts. We usually eat in the room before going out and then have an early lunch.
When we were heading out to the car, it started pouring again. It took us forever to get back to I-4 and then it was backed up to the Disney exit. Finally, we were heading under the Welcome to Disney sign. It feels like being home when we go under it.
It was lightly raining when we parked. We checked into Pop and there was no line in the line for
those who checked in online. I got exactly the room and location I wanted and had faxed over to POP. 4th floor facing the lake in the 60s section. By the time Bill got one of those luggage carts and got the luggage on it, the heavens had opened up again. We had to wait outside the door till it slowed down. We put our luggage in the room and then headed over to Shades of Green to pick up tickets to Kennedy Space Center.
Bill and Ryan went back to Pop to eat, while Taryn and I went over to DTD to eat at Earl of Sandwich. I got the Veggie sandwich minus the feta and subbed the balsamic dressing (instead of the Mediterranean dressing) with chips and iced tea.
It was as yummy as I remembered. We stopped by Baby Cakes and got a Red Velvet Cupcake.
I had gotten a Birthday Pin when we checked in at Pop, so the girl put a birthday candle in it. I was so excited to try the cupcake. I had to contain myself till I got back to the room. Me and Taryn shared the cupcake and when I ate it, I was wishing we had each gotten our own. It was so good. The cake was just a little dry, but not bad and the frosting was so good. I like that the colors of the frosting are not un-natural looking. I think the cake had a slight strawberry taste. I cant wait to try some of the other flavors and the donuts. We get our snack credits next Thursday, so I am waiting till then to go hog wild, lol.
Tomorrow is Kennedy Space Center Im a little worried about eating there. I have no idea what they have that is vegan. Keep your fingers crossed. I was promised by them through e-mail there were things to eat for me. Lets hope its not iceburg lettuce with a few shaved carrots in there for good measure. See you then.
I'll be adding pictures soon.
I am really enjoying your dining review. I can't wait to read more. Your pictures make the food look really delicious.
