Photo Courtesy of Ryan Silva
Granted, it’s around the same time I get up for work, but mornings are always the bane of my existence. I’m just not a morning person, and refuse to apologize for bristling at any type of contact or movement before I’ve had a few cups of joe in me. It is safer for all to keep a distance, even while on vacation.
As it was, we were up bright and early again for round two. I really like the hotel room, with its high ceilings and space. The entire suite, the St. Lucia, itself is a few hundred square feet larger our house in Lakeland, and comfortable enough to house the seven of us comfortably. It’s a nice little home away from home. Though the kitchen is lacking in counter space, the glass dining table is big enough and there is a dishwasher! Oh how I’ve missed being able to load a dishwasher.
My parental in laws have taken the master bedroom next to the living room, and we have the second master on the far side, with the kids’ bedroom next to ours. The masters are setup with with a king-sized bed, and a large jacuzzi tub off to the side on tile. We lucked out and have twin sinks – a his and hers setup, and a huge walk-in shower. The toilet is in it a closet all its own with a door – I refer to it has the ‘office’.
The water pressure on the shower sucks as most hotel showers do, but we have done our best to meet the limit on the hot water usage. I’m spoiled now as we were able to run the jacuzzi tub, the dishwasher, washing machine, and two showers simultaneously without a dip in temperature whatsoever. Our older water heater at home can barely make it through shaving my legs.
I know, I know. You guys want pictures – I’m working on it! I’ll do my best Thursday night to flood my photobucket account with the pictures that we’ve taken. I want to share them as much as you want to see them.
Tuesday morning we had reservations at the Grand Floridian for a character breakfast. The Grand Floridian is super swanky; their concierges, bell men and house keepers all in elaborate Victorian get ups, and the lobby itself is five stories tall. We arrived early enough to wander around and take it all in before heading to a (surprisingly) buffet breakfast with Alice, Mad Hatter, Mary Poppins, Tigger and Pooh. I figured that Disney would be cheap and serve us a bowl of cereal while we waited for grumpy people in costumes to grudgingly sign autograph books, but it was a really pleasant experience. Alice and Mad Hatter seemed really into it, with Alice berating us for drinking ‘dirty water’ (coffee) instead of tea, and it was a smorgasbord of food: bacon, eggs, grits, Mickey Mouse waffles, omelets, pastries and even eggs benedict covered in lobster sauce. Swanky indeed. And they didn’t even water down the syrup as most buffet places do. We gorged ourselves on food and coffee while the kids collected autographs and did the same, sans coffee. Character breakfasts are pricey, but I think the experience was worth it.
After that we took advantage of the outlets being right behind our hotel and went shopping. It was made more pleasant an experience by the 55lbs that I’ve lost since December, and could shop without self pity. It’s amazing what the weight loss has done for my self image. I’d like to lose another 20lbs, but I am happy with what I see in the mirror now.
Later that day we lounged around the Pirate Pool with the kids and some other tourists and though the clouds threatened rain, we enjoyed ourselves. A couple of my sister in law’s friends came by for dinner and pool time before they headed out to Tampa’s IMAX threater for the midnight showing of the newest Harry Potter. After we finally got our kids settled into bed, my husband and I went down to the hot tub by the ‘quiet’ pool and were in bed by midnight.
It was another good day, and I am already dreading having to head back to the real world. Tomorrow: The Wonders of Epcot!
No Method, Only Madness 