The resort is quite large with a large waterfall pool, several restaurants, etc. We walked around the resort a bit and decided to have dinner at the BoneFish Grill right across the street. The food was pretty good, but Heather said it was the best Sangria she ever had (Ron, did you hear that?)

Afterwards we decided to head over to Downtown Disney.  What a mess!  They are restoring the whole area and rebranding it Disney Springs.  All of the parking areas were under construction and we parked in a state-of-the-art 6 story parking garage that was huge.  The only problem was that it was a West Side so we had a nice hike to get to where we were headed.  The technology in the garage was pretty cool (see pics below). We shopped a bit but were only there for about 90 minutes because of the crowds. We then decided to go the grocery so we headed over to Walmart and got a few items for the next 4 days. It was a pretty full day so we turned in.

Saturday (5/16)

The plan was to get up and head breakfast at the pool. However, my princess got all of her beauty rest so we got to the outdoor cafe minutes after it has switched to lunch.  We both got a burger, and regretted it the rest of the day.  We decided to hang out at the pool for most of the day.  The weather was perfect.

After the bad lunch decision, we needed to have a good meal.  So we decided to try the Big Fin Seafood Kitchen and we were not disappointed.  I had the King Crab claws and Heather had the scallops.  The meal was very good.  After dinner, we walked around the shops a bit and then went back to the resort to get some ice cream. We watched a bit of Night at the Museum on the big screen by the pool.  We then headed back to the resort and had some beers and I had a nice cigar.  We sat on our balcony watching top youtube videos, and had an absolute blast.  Yes, we are getting old.

Unfortunately I got word that my cousin Larry McCracken was fatally injured in a dirt bike accident the day before.  Larry and I have kept in contact over the years and I was planning to take my family to visit he and his wife, Mary in their new dream home they just finished in Atascadero, CA.  I truly cannot believe he is gone.  I will be going to the funeral later this month.  I have added some pictures to the slideshow below of Larry. He was 61 and still a champion motocross rider.  He crashed into a large whole disguised with some loose brush while training for an upcoming race.

Sunday (5/17)

This morning we got up early enough to have breakfast at the resort.  Heather got a “kronut”, and I had a traditional breakfast.  We hung out at the resort and played shuffleboard and swam a bit.  Mom was beating me in shuffleboard but then the rain started to come and my comeback began.  Since I ended up winning, she said mother nature saved me from a bad defeat?! After I was victorious, we headed over to Mellow Mushroom for a late lunch.  We then drove over to the Orlando Eye which just opened at the beginning of May.  It is a 600 ft air-conditioned ferris wheel which allows views for many miles.  It was about a 25 minute ride and there was a guide to point out Disney World, Cape Canaveral, etc. After the ride we got Ben & Jerry’s and hung out in front of Madame Toussad. We have an early flight tomorrow so we decided to head back and turn in.

Monday (5/18)

We had a very early flight so we were up by 5a.  We arrived back in Cincy around 8:30 and headed home.  I began my new challenge at Xerion.

PLEASE NOTE – This was just a little getaway for Heather and I.  The kids did not join us on this trip.