Getting to Orlando

Leaving Marathon was a sad day. Typically when we are finishing up with a vacation spot I’m ready to move on or ready to head home and get back into my routine. Not the case with the Keys. I will miss the blue water and perfect temperature until we go back some day.

James took the wheel again for a while. The drive was supposed to take around 6 hours, the first hour would be just getting off the Keys islands and back to the main land. Before we left we were coming up with any reason to stay and we stopped at Robbie’s again. The day before I had seen some things I thought would be cool for my nieces as a little vacation trinket but everything was closed when we left. We stopped back in again and grabbed a few items to bring back home.

Alright, on the road now. We went around Miami this time so we didn’t hit traffic. After a few hours we swapped driving and I took the wheel. At this point we saw a fire in the distance and drove through the smoke. I don’t know what was on fire but there was a lot of smoke.

The car is so dirty

The sun was out this time - I thought about this on the way down, we were so lucky it was cloudy for our drive to FL. We didn’t have the sun beating on us for 20 hours. This time it was and I was tired of it so I switched sides of the car and James was driving again.

We are actually staying in Davenport, FL which is just south of Orlando. It wasn’t a bad drive here, a little boring I guess after coming from water water everywhere but no traffic and easy driving. Once we got to the spot we unloaded the car and checked things out. This place is big, one floor but there are 2 master suites and 2 additional bedrooms. They have 4 bathrooms a private pool and hot tub area that is screened in and one of the bathrooms is out back for easy pool access. There is even a game room with a pool table and air hockey table. There is a TV in almost every room (James’s dream) and one out by the pool. They call it a villa and I think I agree.

I found Ralph

After getting a lay of the land we go get some dinner and to the grocery store. I found a place called Beef O’Brady’s. Super weird name but they had good food and the waiter was very nice. They were just finishing up bingo (thankfully they were finishing it up) so he was a little swamped but we didn’t care. We had made it to where we needed to be and weren’t in a hurry so when he asked if he could have an extra minute we were fine with it. We got a few drinks, I had a chicken bowl with rice, veggies, and cheese, James had a burger. This time it wasn’t a regular burger it had all these cheeses and did look really good. When we were finishing up and getting the bill the waiter asked if we were from around here and seemed genuinely sad when we said we weren’t. It doesn’t seem like he is treated very well typically.

We came back to the house and got ready for a night swim. You can’t stay at a place like this and not use the pool every day. This time I just sat in the hot tub portion for a little relaxation. It isn’t a hot tub like you would think, it’s about the same temperature as the pool (which is heated) and the jets are out of control. We don’t use those, they just shoot water all over the place. But it was relaxing and you can see stars through the screen ceiling. The pool has lights which are pretty cool. James sat with me for a little while and also floated in the pool for a little while. It’s just nice to feel weightless.

The bathrooms here are pretty sweet. Both of the master suites have a walk in shower and a jacuzzi tub. They don’t provide you with everything like the last place but you have the basics like towels and sheets. We picked up laundry detergent and someone had left behind some dishwasher tabs. We are very close to Disney but decided not to go there on this trip. I’m not that into rides and James said he didn’t need to go there. We would rather relax and stay away from everyone.

Well except for our trip to Kennedy Space Center - which we booked for tomorrow!