Florida: Star Island, Downtown Disney and Medieval Times

Blogging is great if you have something to write about. Yesterday, the day was spent sitting around the pool at Star Island, reading books and generally relaxing. The girls slept and napped and played so there was little motivation to leave and for once, I decided that THAT was okay.

Star Island has been a great resort. There are pools and hot tubs, tennis courts and mini golf centrally located in the middle. There are bar staff and activity staff, with the convenience store so it feels safe to let the children loose a little so that they have some Independence. So much so, that I decided to go for a massage to fix the wicked pillow headache that I acquired on being here. No idea what villains stalked my sleep but I sure woke up worse for wear. The masseuse was amazing and managed to get my neck from terrible to not bad. The kids won ice cream and got sun kissed through cloud cover.

In the evening, the rain came so it seemed like a good idea to venture to Downtown Disney to get a small boy a birthday gift. With the construction and lack of map, I missed some great places to visit but managed to get thoroughly frustrated by Lego. In there, you can lose children in 1.2 seconds flat and they don't seem to have the stock that you would think they would. Disney Lego....out of stock. I wound up in a cloud of blue depression that just about killed my mood for the day. However, the bright side came with finding Pluto for my eldest and baby aristocrat for the younger so that was at least one mission accomplished. I think it would be a great place to eat and hang out sans kids, but with them...not a good idea.

This morning proved to be a lazy one as well. There are some great outlet malls near here so I stocked up on clothing for the coming birthdays and such, found fabulous coffee and shoes. From there, it was time for the girls spa appointments at Star Island. I was impressed. It was bibbity bobbity boo without the price tag. They were thrilled and looked lovely. Tiaras and magic wands were included.

Why? Medieval Times. My eldest loved it so much the last time we came to Disney that I promised to go back. It was just as good the second time. We had seats in the front, and cheered on the Yellow Knight enthusiastically. We were a party of 13 so we were loud and medievally. The food was delicious and plentiful as was the ale. They ply you with photos for purchase and allow you to walk through their museum exhibition beforehand. All in all, it was a great evening out for our last one together.

Tonight finished off with a birthday celebration for the wee man who is 4 and the party continued until, well now. I don't think we really got the hang of this time change. Our body clocks have just gone with the flow.

Tomorrow it is back to the Magic Kingdom. Everyone else, please stay home...love me.

I don't have a lot of images for this one that are any good. So much for that.

Kissimmee on Dwellable

Summer Road Trip 2013: Electric Boat Company, Shopping and Spa

This morning’s fog dawned thick and creamy, with little visibility. However, I had yet another plan. I had booked a boat ride (yes, I know, I don’t like boats generally but desperation had set in) with The Electric Boat company as the folks on trip advisor said it was the number 2 thing to do in Ocean Shores. Plus, it has the advantage of being a mere 4 miles down the road. So, after breakfast, we set off and met with Tom. He was lovely, if a bit forgetful, but he showed us the map of the canal system, explained Duck Lake, kitted us up with life jackets and gave us a brief safety lesson before letting us loose by ourselves with his boat. Crazy. Top that off, with the sun breaking through while we puttered down the Grand Canal and I was grinning ear to ear.

The canal was calm, lush and green. The boat was enclosed like a wee ferry with flaps that you could raise up if you so chose. Somehow, that made riding in the boat very tranquil. We saw the beautiful houses, lots for sale, deer, racoon and birds of all sorts. That hour and a half was well worth the pennies shelled out and the kids got a different viewpoint as well.

Since we were already close to the south end, we opted to go to the jetty to enjoy this rare thing called sunshine. The sand was warm on the feet and the wind brisk. We climbed the rocks to watch the pelicans, seals and what may have been either whales or dolphins. The kids liked to clamber the rocks and driftwood to make forts. However, lunch was calling.

The afternoon was spent exploring the shops. I was rather miffed to find a ceramics place at 4:00 today, too late to do anything with that information. I found some nifty gifts and then wandered over to the biker booths. Little did I know that when I booked this trip, I had booked it for the Sun and Surf event…aka HOG WILD. Harley bikes are everywhere. Tattoo parlours are set up and the casino is raffling off a Harley too. Everywhere you look, there is a bike. Things apparently kick off tomorrow, so we have decided to head north tomorrow. Outlet shopping will be a lot more fun!

In the meantime, I took advantage of having extra adult hands and took myself off to the Quinault Spa for a very relaxing massage and special. I have no idea what they did but it involved mud, brushing and warm cloths. The massage came at the end. My skin feels amazing and their set up is lovely. I would totally recommend this place. It is pricier though. Anyway, the next blog is from the road or at home, depending. Currently, I must battle the luggage with teeth. Again.

Ocean Shores on Dwellable

The wee boat

Electric Boat company

On the canal

Birds in the rushes...except I missed

Raccoons

Fishing

Houses

Bouy markers

Duck Lake

Along the canal