Disney Springs

Wednesday - We went to Disney Springs, the retail area for WDW, to meet up with Tim and Sue from Fairbanks. It was in the 80s (°F) for most of the afternoon and, apparently, not very windy as the helium balloon was flying.

We walked through most of Disney Springs, had lunch at Chicken Guy (good Korean chicken sandwich!), and wandered through the shops. 

We then went to the Pop Century resort and took the Disney Skyliner to the Boardwalk. The Skyliner is free as it is just another transportation option around Disney World, like the monorail and buses. Here, we are crossing a small lake heading towards other resorts, where we will switch to another Skyliner towards Epcot.

We had dinner at Blue Ribbon Corndogs, where they had something that I had to try. A dill pickle corndog. The large pickle is hollowed out, and a hot dog is inserted. Then the whole thing is covered with the corn dog batter and deep-fried. It is served with peanut butter, but I don't think it adds much more. The combination works, though I did end up using a knife and fork. The addition of the pickle made it quite heavy.

We hadn't visited the Boardwalk on prior visits, so this was new. We ended up walking over 18k steps. Definitely got in some exercise. It was wonderful to visit with Tim and Sue.

Orlando, FL - TT

Sunday - Today was a very short travel day to TTO. Like usual, it was a long wait at the front gate, but they are pre-assigning sites now, like many other TT parks. It’s not as nice as their old system, but better than driving around hunting for something. 

It took quite a while to set things up, but since we are here for a couple of weeks, it made sense to me to make myself at home. It’s an older part of the park, but it has 50-amp power and is reasonably level. And the refrigerator is not facing south. StarLink isn’t as fast as other locations, probably because we are in a populated area. But we are still getting 114 down and 15 up. Fast enough. 

Monday - It's 79°F at noon. But since I have the awning and the sunscreen set up, it is pretty nice sitting outside at least for the mid-day test session. 

Tonight, grilled vegetables on the Blackstone. Finished off with a balsamic glaze. One of our favorites sides. And I’m trying to make garlic butter shrimp also on the Blackstone. 

We still haven’t decided whether or not to venture into any of the theme parks. Since this is the beginning of Spring Break season, it’ll be crowded. 

Tuesday - First thing this morning, I washed the Jeep. This is the first time I’ve been “allowed” to wash a vehicle in a long time. Everywhere has had water restrictions due to drought. Even northern Florida. We have run it through a couple of touch less car washes but they aren’t as common as the ones with brushes. Since the Jeep is a soft top, car washes are strongly discouraged according to the manufacturer. 

It’s pretty warm today and it feels humid though the Rh is only 50%. The pool was crowded earlier but once evening arrived, it slowed down a lot. There are two pools. This used to be the adult pool but they were sued by a full time family RV group. Now, no more age restrictions at any TT park. 

Ocoee, FL - HH

Saturday - A short travel day to a Harvest Host just east of Winter Garden. It is a restored car dealership with about 150 cars. Some are completely restored and some have some modern components.

It was a hot afternoon so we had the generator running with both A/C units on. Having the generator is nice. By 6:30, it was around 80°F and a light breeze. We had dinner at a place called Sizzling Greens. A light-ish dinner on this warm evening. 

Tomorrow, it’s about 25 miles to Thousand Trails Orlando aka TTO. Google says 38 minutes. 

Back in Florida

Sunday - After a week of 79°F temperature, the 69°F of Fort Lauderdale felt “chilly”. Welcome back to the real world. At least we aren’t headed back to snow.

From the parking lot to the RV park was 357 miles and took around 7 hours including a stop at KFC for lunch. This time, we took the Florida Turnpike from Fort Lauderdale to just east of Tampa. The toll was around $18 but after our trip down to the port, well worth it. The only slowdown was when we were near Orlando. So much less stress.

We arrived back around 4:30pm. If we took the non-toll roads, we probably would’ve stopped for the night along the way. So the toll roads were a net savings. 

Monday - It felt cold this morning. The low was 48°F. But by early afternoon, it was up to 80°F so time for a dip in the pool. The pool here was about the same as the ocean so pretty nice. And, the sun felt just as hot!

I got some tasks done. NSA sent some new parts to try and resolve the tow bar not locking into the extended position. The new part looks just like the old one. But I went ahead and installed it. We move next Sunday.

Tuesday - A quiet day but it did get a bit warm and humid. Another good day for the pool. Someone asked me where “home” is. The phrase “home is where we park it” came to mind. It’s kind of accurate, for now, but I think Bridget would like to have some sort of sticks-and-bricks home base. The big question is where. 

Wednesday - This morning, we visited Manatee Springs State Park. It is just across the Suwannee River but to drive there, we head all the way back to Old Town to cross the river. Day use was only $6/vehicle and there was a nice boardwalk to the Suwannee River. 

No manatees in the river or spring. But did see an otter and a lot of turtles. The park was pretty empty probably because there weren’t any manatees. 

This is the Suwannee River from the end of the boardwalk and where saw the otter. 

Afterwards, we picked up more groceries before heading back to the rv park.