2016 Trip Report: Day 2 - Downtown Orlando

Sunday, July 24
We woke up and had breakfast in the room. After we got ready, we headed to downtown Orlando for the Orlando Farmers Market. All these years of traveling to Florida and we have never been to the actual city of Orlando. I've been to Orlando almost 20 times in my life, but my Orlando is either Kissimmee or Walt Disney World. It was nice to see more of the area and get an idea of where the locals hang out because they probably avoid the touristy areas as much as they can.

The Orlando Farmers Market was next to Lake Eola. We found a parking spot in a real estate agency's parking lot and walked a couple of blocks to the market. There were booths for baked goods, fresh fish, kale chips, Cuban food, lemonade, cake pops, cookies and many other offerings.

The first thing I bought was Sugar Cane Juice with Pineapple. It was sweet, refreshing and perfect on a hot day. Then, we bought cookies and took a look at the lake and the fountain in the center. It was a very nice area. We were told it was expensive to live in this region, but we decided that it couldn't be worse than some areas of Long Island. Jackson went to the playground and played for a little bit while Addison swung in the infant swing for a good 30 seconds. TK kept getting nervous that she was going to fall out.


We finished walking around the rest of the Farmers Market and bought snow cones, lemonade and pierogies. I told Paige that I was confused about boiled peanuts and wondered what the big deal was. Well, she bought a cup of them and let me taste one. It was kind of odd to eat a mushy peanut, but it really just tasted like a bean. It didn't taste anything like a nut, especially with the spices they add to them.

Everything we purchased was either really delicious or pretty good. We were satisfied with everything we tried. I love festivals, fairs and farmers markets, so I was perfectly happy walking around and discovering what everyone was selling. Even the fresh fish folks sold their wares out of a big wood boat. That was pretty cool!

After the Farmers Market, we decided to stay in downtown Orlando while everyone else went back to the hotel. Mom, Dad, TK, the kids and I walked around a little bit and then we ate a snack at Wildside Bar & Grill. I ordered shrimp, but they ran out of it, so I got Gator Bites. The waitress felt bad, so the restaurant comped my meal. I was surprised, but it was so nice of them. I don't think that had ever happened to me before.

We got back in the car and drove around a little bit to see more of the area. We drove aimlessly and didn't see much of the city, but we did see a lot of signs that said #OrlandoUnited or #OrlandoStrong. It was heartwarming to see the city really display their support in any way they could. 

While driving, we stumbled upon a neighborhood called Baldwin Point and it had gorgeous homes and parks. There was a big park called Blue Jacket Park that had everything a family would need in their neighborhood. I checked Zillow to see how much the homes were worth and they were a bit out of our budget. 

Our dinner reservation was at the Florida Mall, so we headed over there to do a little shopping before it was time for our meal. We walked around the entire mall and all I bought were two Funko Pops and then TK and I shared an iced tea from Teavana. Luckily, there was a snack place in the center of the mall that only sold children's snacks, so I bought Addison milk and got Jackson some juice boxes. The kids started to get grumpy, so we got back in the car. We bribed Jackson into taking a nap by telling him he would have Legos when he woke up. When he fell asleep, we went into Toys R Us and bought him Legos. (We were able to mention those Legos all throughout dinner too in order to control his behavior. )

When we got to our dinner reservation at Buca di Beppo, they showed us to the Pope room because our party was so large. In there, we met Aunt Annie, Aunt Marie, Jelly and Bianca. We had a party of 15 and that room was an elaborate production. In the center of the table was a bust of the Pope and it was mounted on a large, wood lazy Susan. The waiter used the lazy Susan all night to get beverages, food and plates to our party. I found it amusing. The food was served family-style and it was delicious. 

After dinner, Georgie, Paige and Garrett went home, and we headed to the hotel. We could see Epcot, Everest and Tower of Terror from the front door at the hotel. At around 9:35 p.m., we noticed that fireworks had started close to where we thought was Hollywood Studios. It went on for a little over 10 minutes and the fireworks were not like the fireworks we were used to seeing during Wishes or Illuminations. These were really cool and pretty new. I surmised that we were actually watching the new Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular and I love fireworks, so it was great to see them without the price of admission. I continued to watch them every night when I was at the hotel for 9:35 p.m.

2016 Trip Report: Day 1ish - Road Trippin'

Friday, July 22 and Saturday, July 23

This trip was meant to be a nice, long, relaxing vacation with an emphasis on family. No theme parks. No craziness, just fun and quality time.

As soon as my dad and TK got out of work, we were ready to get on the road. Addison (14-months-old) was already sleeping before we were even finished packing the car with our duffle bags. When we were all filed in, we stopped at Wendy's for a to-go dinner and hit the open road.

Mom started the driving and didn't stop until Virginia. In VA, TK, Jackson (4-years-old) and I got out to use the bathroom at some random diner that was open 24 hours. I got my dad some coffee and it was $3.20. My mom bought the same size coffee and they charged her $2.80. Huh?

TK drove from there and I guess I was asleep when they switched a second time from him to my dad. When we got into Georgia, I started to communicate with TK's cousin who we planned on meeting for breakfast in Savannah. When we got to Savannah, we met up at a Cracker Barrel with Aunt Janice, Dona, Matthew, Lauren and Nicholas. It was really nice to finally meet TK's cousin Dona and her children. We already love Aunt Janice and now I get to know more of our family and so do my children. We were so glad that the time was right.

From Savannah, TK drove and I sat in front with him until we reached our destination - Westgate Town Center in Kissimmee. We arrived at 3:30 p.m. and met Uncle George, Aunt Rosie, Georgie, Paige and Garrett in the lobby. Our rooms weren't ready yet, so we had to wait. When one of the rooms was ready, we all went there to wait instead. One of the staff members brought our room keys to us. Our room was two floors above my aunt and uncle's. We unpacked a little, which means I put my clothes in a drawer and threw the kids' Ziplocs in a drawer. Then, we headed out for dinner.

We chose Steak n Shake and that was a big mistake. It was messier than I remember and the food took for-ev-er. I am going to cross that one off the list for future trips. After dinner, Dad, Uncle George and I went to Super Target for food and supplies. When we got back it was super late, so everyone was either asleep or almost there and watching Zootopia. I took a shower and called it a day.