November 2024 — Of course Orlando is known for their abundance of theme parks like Disney, Seaworld, Universal Studios to name a few. But for this get-away we are out to discover other things to do in Orlando, FL. Our adventures continue on a cousin-cation with Theresa and Mark!
We met up with Theresa and Mark at the airport and proceeded to pick up the rental car. We had a fun time bantering with the attendant. It was just a short ride to their time-share at The Fountains, a BlueGreen resort. The resort is really nice and since we didn’t book this stay ourselves we didn’t get trapped into a time-share presentation. Yeah! It’s all about the little wins.
We stopped for a late lunch at Sickies Garage Burgers and Brews. 50 different beers on tap and what felt like 50 or more different burgers to choose from. Decisions, decisions. We filled the rest of the day with catching up, lots of laughter, and playing some card games. We started a cribbage tournament for the week (boys vs girls), so we will see who wins!
Our first day out began with a stroll through the Harry P. Lue Botanical Gardens, with 200-year old oak trees and a forest of camellias trees. It was definitely a little past prime blooming season but it was still beautiful and a nice walk around the gardens. Needing lunch we found a really cool local restaurant called Gnarly Barley, serving craft beers and fun Sammis. After some quick bites we rushed over to catch a chocolate tour at a local chocolate shop, Chocolate Kingdom. Wow, the history and development of chocolate was really interesting plus a part of the experience was making our own specially created chocolate bar. We chose our favorite chocolate (milk, dark, or white) and ingredients for added flavors! Mmm the samples we got on the tour were also very delicious!
If that wasn’t already a full day we decided to check out Icon Park. It’s a local spot with tons of fun shops, restaurants, and activities for all ages. We all decided to ride the Orlando Eye, a 400-foot tall observation wheel. Wow, that’s tall. After a little height issue for Theresa and Brian, we took in the 360 degree views and it was simply amazing, especially since we were up there at sunset. Whew, what a whirlwind of a day. Once we arrived back “home” we enjoyed some time to relax, play more cards, and share some more laughs.
Today we decided on a little slower pace, pool time! A little day drinking and some sunshine is exactly what we needed. The temperature was a little cool for the pool, however the beautiful and warm Florida sunshine kept us comfortable. Now off to Señor Frogs for some Mexican fare and margaritas! Wow, the margaritas were a little bigger than we expected.
Some night life fun was next on our agenda. We walked over to Howl At The Moon dueling piano bar for some music, drinks, and more fun! If you have never experienced a dueling piano show we highly recommend it. Even though we started the day slowly, we ended with a bang.
It’s time for a change of scenery with a drive to the coast to put our feet in the ocean. We headed east to Cocoa Beach to check out the surf and get some lunch. It was only an hour drive from Orlando and it was pretty cool today. Not as cold as Minnesota but still cold to be in the water. We were surprised by the amount of people surfing and enjoyed watching them from the pier and then walked along the beach. Lunch was at Coconuts On The Beach, which we all enjoyed and we highly recommend.
Since we don’t play traditional golf, we chose to play mini golf today. We took our time and laughed our way through the adventurous course, even having to putt through a “volcano”. We ended our day with a fantastic meal at Bonefish Grill. Each of us enjoyed our meal and highly recommend you give this restaurant a try if you are in the area. We do recommend reservations, depending on the time of year.
What a fun trip we had. Orlando has lots of fun things to explore. Yes, the theme parks are a lot of fun too, but go out and have yourself an adventure.
Oh, and for the final cribbage tournament results… the boys won.
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