Monday, July 6, 2009

Day 5: Shopping and finally Orlando!

May 6, 2009
Vero Beach to Orlando

We woke with Graydon and started to feed him and get ready. I packed the car and made our way to the check out area before heading out. Janice grabbed some coffee and we were on the road once again!

We made it to Orlando in about an hour and a half, just in tme for Graydon's bottle and our early lunch (we didn't eat breakfast). We ate in the food court of the Florida Mall, our first stop of three before getting to Disney.

We walked around the mall made a few purchases. I picked up my Oswald t-shirt and a matching onesie for Graydon. I also picked up the first issue of the D23 magazine at the Disney Store. I had bought the second issue from the store at Vero Beach.

Once done there, we fought our way through traffic to get to the Target for some groceries. By the time we were done, it was close to the time that Steve and Charlotte would be reaching the resort. Steve had sent me a text message telling us he was in the airport.

We made our last stop at the Albertson's for some adult beverages and got back on the highway to get to Disney. We arrived just shortly after Steve arrived and checked in to the Boardwalk Villas all at once.

The Boardwalk is a beautiful resort but big! It seemed like it took us forever to get to our room.

We had a one bedroom villa booked, which was just the right amount of space. Janice, Graydon and I took the bedroom, and Stever and Charlotte had the living room area with the pullout couch. The bathroom was a little odd as it was one bathrom but seperated by a door. One part had the shower, toilet and a vanity sink, while the other part had a larger counter and sink, and the whirlpool bathtub. There was a closet at the back of the bathroom with a small wall safe.

The room was at the end of a wing, so we overlooked the waterway and the quiet pool.

Once everyone was settled, I unpacked the car and parked. We rested for a bit before we made our way to dinner at Wolfgang Puck's at Downtown Disney. We left ourselves plenty of time, but a bus never showed. With 10 minutes before our reservation to go, and us still standing at the bus stop, we knew we weren't going to make it so decided to hit one of the restaurants on the Boardwalk. Spoodles was full so we decided on ESPN. We had a good meal and a good start to our week at Disney World.

We turned in fairly early as we had a full day ahead of us at the Magic Kingdom.

I did have make a few phone calls before I said goodnight: I had to make sure that Janice received her flowers for Mother's Day and her birthday. They eventuall showed up and Janice was very surprised. i was very happy with them as they were bigger than expected!







Thursday, July 2, 2009

Day 4: A day at the Beach!

May 5, 2009
Disney's Vero Beach Resort

We finally had a day to sleep in a little bit. We woke up around 7ish, and I fed Graydon a little on the balcony while watching a beautiful sunrise. Having only really stayed on the Gulf Coast side and only seeing sunsets, it was special to see the sunrise with my own son!


Janice and Graydon rested a little longer while I went down to get Janice a coffee and both of us something to eat. The night before we purchased the refillable mugs that the resort offers for coffee and pop. We were surprised that they sold them as we thought they they only sold them in Orlando. We bought them with the idea we would use them in Orlando too.

We ate, showered and put our bathing suits on to spend some time at the pool and beach.

The pool area was very nice and not too busy. This was Graydon's first time in a pool, so it was lots of fun. He loved it!

We had lunch by the pool and went and dipped our feet in the ocean. The water wasn't a bad temperature. The sand was kinda course; not as nice as it is in Clearwater.



We headed back to the room for a bit, dressed and went for a walk around the resort, to try and get Graydon to nap. I want to mention again that the resort is wonderful. It reminded me of a small all-inclusive resort, that you would find in the Caribbean, but nicer.


We shopped in the resort gift shop (and so the Disney shopping began...) and relaxed in the rocking chairs on the front porch of the resort. What a way to spend an afternoon!

I took some pictures, walked back to the room, fed Graydon and went back to the main building for dinner at Shutters. We weren't in the mood to go out driving and we wanted to take advantage of the bounce back coupon.


Dinner was great again and we retired early, as we needed to start out early the next day for Orlando.