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Not a bad nights sleep actually. We were awake around 3am for a short while but managed to go back to sleep until 6am. A good first breakfast is a standard requirement for us and so we take a very short car journey to the Perkins opposite our hotel. It is pretty much empty apart from one or two early risers. The waitress is friendly as always and supplies us with a nice pot of coffee before taking our order. We all go for Classic Eggs in one form or other and then struggle to eat it all – I can manage the egg, hash browns and sausage patties but the pancakes, although extremely yummy, are just too much. We leave the restaurant happy but full. Time to hit Wallmart to stock up on drinks and nibbles for the room. On the way to Wallmart we made a quick diversion into Lake Buena Vista Outlets as Deb saw a sign for Aeropostale and this is Alexandra's favourite new store having discovered it in Las Vegas last year. As she returns to school in the Autumn as a 6th former she can wear her own clothes and she is planning to go back dressed as an American from head to toe. Sure enough we find the store plus a few others that have opened since we were last here in 2007 but it doesn't open until 10am which is a few hours away yet but we will be back at some point.
Wallmart at 7:30am is very quiet and so we make our way from the food section through clothes (no XL vests for Brian back home) and into the cosmetics section for Charlotte who stocks up on Cover Girl make-up which she has missed not being able to get back in the UK. We also stock up on painkillers and other bits and pieces that we can only get over here. Once done we head back to the hotel to drop off our bounty and stock the fridge.
The weather today is decidedly murky to say the least but it doesn't deter us from going down to the pool for our first swim. The pool is a good size for the hotel with very nice padded loungers which we will take full advantage of when the sun comes out. It doesn't today unfortunately and the rain sends us back to the room to get changed and decide what to do next. As the weather looks like it is set in for a while we decide to shop for me and so head up the I-4 to Casual Male XL which is on International Drive just after Wet & Wild. I am shopping for casual business attire on this trip as IT departments seem to have moved away from the formal shirt and tie look nowadays. I explain to the girls what I am looking for and they hunt the store looking for stuff while I set up camp in the fitting room. It doesn't take long before I have some nice new shirt and trouser combinations that I can mix and match upon my return (what do I sound like). It's not a bargain shop mind you and I leave the store almost $400 lighter than when I entered. If only I could lose the weight that easily.
From here we head just across the road to the Books-a-Million store which is where I can pick up my NFL and College football preview magazines. This is an annual ritual which I enjoy very much and this is my favourite bookshop to do it in. Spacious and stocked with comfortable seating should you wish to sit and read awhile plus a coffee shop on site. It reminds me of just how much I miss the Borders at Lakeside. Once again the family divides into all directions and I head for the magazine stand at the far end of the store which takes up the entire back wall (must be 150ft long). Luckily for me there is pretty much every football magazine I could want and I pick them up one by one until we have a pile of about 15! The store clerk at the check out desk comments about me must liking football (they always do) as he rings them up. I want to say 'not really' but know that my sense of humour doesn't always translate that well in the States and so simply nod my head. Luckily I qualify for their discount card and get 15% off the total plus a free bag to carry the magazines in. It's a good idea as the flimsy plastic bags wouldn't hold the weight of them.
The weather is still poor and everyone is feeling hungry now so we stop off at the Premium Outlet food court as everyone can have whatever they want there. It would be nice to eat well in Orlando and there are plenty of nice restaurants Deb and I would like to try but the kids make it difficult and also very expensive to do (especially when there are six of us). One day I'd like us to come back as a couple and experience Disney from a purely adult perspective i.e. dressing up for dinner, going to some nice restaurants and visiting a few clubs especially those around the Boardwalk. Perhaps the next time we are able to stay on Disney property we will do it. We sold our DVC points a couple of years ago as we could never get into our home resort (the Boardwalk) in six years of trying and couldn't always afford the vacation (it was expensive paying the annual dues and then not being able to take a holiday made it quite frustrating). Anyway, one day we will do it I promise.
The Premium Outlets has been extended into the rear parking lot and was heaving. Probably because of the weather I expect. We drive around and finally manage to find a spot before making our way to the food court. The rain has stopped at this point and there is no air. I can't wait to get inside but the air conditioning is either not working or has been turned down real low as there is no benefit whatsoever. Team Foster splits into food groups while I sit down and try to relax. There are plenty of empty tables but people don't clean up after themselves and there are flies everywhere. Sounds horrible? It was. At one point there were five of them buzzing around our table so I decide to move which causes chaos as nobody knows where I've gone. Alexandra suffers the most and panics when she can't find us which results in her being angry with me for moving. You don't want Alexandra to be angry with you and that's all I'm going to say about that. The food is nothing special and the heat makes it unpleasant. Mum and the two eldest daughters decide that while we are here they might as well have a look around but I really can't be bothered so Nick and Lucy come with me back to the car. I tell them not to worry about how long they spend and that turned out to be a mistake as they took me at my word. An hour and fifteen minutes later we were relieved to see them making their way to the car with a single bag being carried by Charlotte. Not a lot there we're told and so we make our way back to the hotel. It's only the second day and I'm pretty tired. Eldest daughter decided to head for the bar and hang out with the bartender who she made friends with on our first night. I'm not sure how I feel about this but as Deb points out she's 21 and can do whatever she likes. The rest of the night was so uneventful that I can't remember what we did or watched. Apparently we were all asleep when Charlotte came back and she had to put Deb to bed (bless her) and we were both snoring!
We get told off a lot nowadays.
Not a bad nights sleep actually. We were awake around 3am for a short while but managed to go back to sleep until 6am. A good first breakfast is a standard requirement for us and so we take a very short car journey to the Perkins opposite our hotel. It is pretty much empty apart from one or two early risers. The waitress is friendly as always and supplies us with a nice pot of coffee before taking our order. We all go for Classic Eggs in one form or other and then struggle to eat it all – I can manage the egg, hash browns and sausage patties but the pancakes, although extremely yummy, are just too much. We leave the restaurant happy but full. Time to hit Wallmart to stock up on drinks and nibbles for the room. On the way to Wallmart we made a quick diversion into Lake Buena Vista Outlets as Deb saw a sign for Aeropostale and this is Alexandra's favourite new store having discovered it in Las Vegas last year. As she returns to school in the Autumn as a 6th former she can wear her own clothes and she is planning to go back dressed as an American from head to toe. Sure enough we find the store plus a few others that have opened since we were last here in 2007 but it doesn't open until 10am which is a few hours away yet but we will be back at some point.
Wallmart at 7:30am is very quiet and so we make our way from the food section through clothes (no XL vests for Brian back home) and into the cosmetics section for Charlotte who stocks up on Cover Girl make-up which she has missed not being able to get back in the UK. We also stock up on painkillers and other bits and pieces that we can only get over here. Once done we head back to the hotel to drop off our bounty and stock the fridge.
The weather today is decidedly murky to say the least but it doesn't deter us from going down to the pool for our first swim. The pool is a good size for the hotel with very nice padded loungers which we will take full advantage of when the sun comes out. It doesn't today unfortunately and the rain sends us back to the room to get changed and decide what to do next. As the weather looks like it is set in for a while we decide to shop for me and so head up the I-4 to Casual Male XL which is on International Drive just after Wet & Wild. I am shopping for casual business attire on this trip as IT departments seem to have moved away from the formal shirt and tie look nowadays. I explain to the girls what I am looking for and they hunt the store looking for stuff while I set up camp in the fitting room. It doesn't take long before I have some nice new shirt and trouser combinations that I can mix and match upon my return (what do I sound like). It's not a bargain shop mind you and I leave the store almost $400 lighter than when I entered. If only I could lose the weight that easily.
From here we head just across the road to the Books-a-Million store which is where I can pick up my NFL and College football preview magazines. This is an annual ritual which I enjoy very much and this is my favourite bookshop to do it in. Spacious and stocked with comfortable seating should you wish to sit and read awhile plus a coffee shop on site. It reminds me of just how much I miss the Borders at Lakeside. Once again the family divides into all directions and I head for the magazine stand at the far end of the store which takes up the entire back wall (must be 150ft long). Luckily for me there is pretty much every football magazine I could want and I pick them up one by one until we have a pile of about 15! The store clerk at the check out desk comments about me must liking football (they always do) as he rings them up. I want to say 'not really' but know that my sense of humour doesn't always translate that well in the States and so simply nod my head. Luckily I qualify for their discount card and get 15% off the total plus a free bag to carry the magazines in. It's a good idea as the flimsy plastic bags wouldn't hold the weight of them.
The weather is still poor and everyone is feeling hungry now so we stop off at the Premium Outlet food court as everyone can have whatever they want there. It would be nice to eat well in Orlando and there are plenty of nice restaurants Deb and I would like to try but the kids make it difficult and also very expensive to do (especially when there are six of us). One day I'd like us to come back as a couple and experience Disney from a purely adult perspective i.e. dressing up for dinner, going to some nice restaurants and visiting a few clubs especially those around the Boardwalk. Perhaps the next time we are able to stay on Disney property we will do it. We sold our DVC points a couple of years ago as we could never get into our home resort (the Boardwalk) in six years of trying and couldn't always afford the vacation (it was expensive paying the annual dues and then not being able to take a holiday made it quite frustrating). Anyway, one day we will do it I promise.
The Premium Outlets has been extended into the rear parking lot and was heaving. Probably because of the weather I expect. We drive around and finally manage to find a spot before making our way to the food court. The rain has stopped at this point and there is no air. I can't wait to get inside but the air conditioning is either not working or has been turned down real low as there is no benefit whatsoever. Team Foster splits into food groups while I sit down and try to relax. There are plenty of empty tables but people don't clean up after themselves and there are flies everywhere. Sounds horrible? It was. At one point there were five of them buzzing around our table so I decide to move which causes chaos as nobody knows where I've gone. Alexandra suffers the most and panics when she can't find us which results in her being angry with me for moving. You don't want Alexandra to be angry with you and that's all I'm going to say about that. The food is nothing special and the heat makes it unpleasant. Mum and the two eldest daughters decide that while we are here they might as well have a look around but I really can't be bothered so Nick and Lucy come with me back to the car. I tell them not to worry about how long they spend and that turned out to be a mistake as they took me at my word. An hour and fifteen minutes later we were relieved to see them making their way to the car with a single bag being carried by Charlotte. Not a lot there we're told and so we make our way back to the hotel. It's only the second day and I'm pretty tired. Eldest daughter decided to head for the bar and hang out with the bartender who she made friends with on our first night. I'm not sure how I feel about this but as Deb points out she's 21 and can do whatever she likes. The rest of the night was so uneventful that I can't remember what we did or watched. Apparently we were all asleep when Charlotte came back and she had to put Deb to bed (bless her) and we were both snoring!
We get told off a lot nowadays.
sounds like a good day out
