Well, we survived the parasailing! It was a really exciting experience and we enjoyed it very much. Although we were both a little nervous beforehand. The guys operating the marina there at the Contemporary are excellent and put us at our ease. We arrived early but they offered to take us out ahead of our booked slot if we wanted. We decided to do that. I think that hanging around would have made us even more apprehensive.
Once on the boat, they put us into the harnesses and lifejackets and got the Mickey parachute ready. We did a tandem parasail - side by side. You take off and land at the back of the boat, so you don't get at all wet. We would recommend the experience to anyone thinking of giving it a try.
We had started off with breakfast at Cracker Barrel again. However, we are finding the novelty of the cooked breakfasts wearing off. We only have a bowl of cereal back home in the UK, so have decided that we'll have a few days off from the pancakes and eggs etc.
This afternoon we went to the Florida Mall and also to Mall at Millenia. We haven't bought very much in the shops this trip so far though. The combination of the exchange rate and rising US prices don't seem to be giving us the bargains we have had in the past. I bought some Bare Minerals makeup but that was about it.
We went to eat in Celebration at the Celebration Town Tavern. We ate there a couple of times last year and it was just as good this year too. I'll post some photos in a separate post. The storm clouds were gathering overhead but we had enough time to walk around the lake.
After stocking up on a few items a Publix, we came back to the townhouse and had an online chat with DS who was keen to know how the parasailing went.
We're planning on a day at Busch Gardens tomorrow, as long as the weather is ok. It's been very hot and cloudy for much of the afternoon and it started to rain as we left Publix.
Thank you for the kind comments about my posts. It's good to know that people are enjoying the updates, although Disney would surely not be happy to know that we are advocating non-park options!
It's quite easy for us these days to just do what we feel like while we're here. When our son was young, our holidays very much revolved around him and what he would enjoy. Our Florida trips always involved Disney and Universal then - although we did used to have the odd 'different' experience. I recall a lunch at Chalet Suzanne and a boat trip at Winter Park, for example.
Our first trip without DS was strange, and we missed him a lot, but gradually we have got used to just doing our own thing and not having to worry about anyone else. We haven't been to Universal since Harry Potter world opened, as neither of us are HP fans, but we may return there next year. We have non-expiry tickets to WDW with the waterparks option, so we can spend the odd day at Disney if we choose to do so.If we don't, it doesn't matter, as we can use the tickets next time, or the time after that! This year we have SW, BG and Aquatica APs, so we're trying to make the most of those too.
But it has tobe done!!!
