My last post was just a few days before we left for Florida. We had a great trip, and enjoyed getting away from the snow and freezing temperatures! One of my co-workers questioned us going there because it wasn't 'that warm'...but hey, green grass, palm trees and flip flops (in January), are good enough for me!
Some of the typical stuff we enjoyed while there - shopping at all the awesome Outlet Malls and other favourite American stores (like TJ Maxx, Ross, JC Penney, Kohl's and Target), going to Webster's Flea Market, hanging out by the pool and spending a little time just relaxing around the condo.
And, we played golf, of course! Our first game was at Celebration Golf Course - we'd heard good things about this course, and it definitely did not disappoint! We were paired up with a father (from Tampa) and his son (from Wisconsin), and had a great time with them. I used to be really intimidated about playing with strangers, but I'm getting used to it, and so far, it's always worked out really well and we've met some great people (plus, I just remind myself that I'll never see the people again, so it doesn't matter if I don't play well!).
This is a horrible picture, but the only picture of Curt and I from the whole trip. We didn't do very well with the camera on this trip.
And this is going to seem ridiculous, but one of the best parts of the game was seeing an alligator on the course!! :) We've played a lot of golf in Myrtle Beach and Florida, and courses always have signs saying don't feed the alligators...but, we never actually see any - in California and Arizona, the signs were about snakes, but we didn't see any of those either!
Here he is! I know it's not a great pic, but can you find him? He was on the other side of the pond, which wasn't great for pictures, but probably best for our nerves!
We played our other two games at Kissimmee Oaks Golf Club, and I was spotting alligators in all the ponds there! It was cold for gators though, so these ones were all in the water, and all I saw were their nostrils.
The other thing I have to highlight is our experience at the indoor surf center, a new addition to the 'resort' we stayed at. You may have seen something similar to it on commercials for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines - they call it 'FlowRider' and have it on a few of their ships. Here is how it's described on the Royal Caribbean website...'The FlowRider sends a thin sheet of water up a sloped and (thankfully) cushioned platform to create a wavelike flow of water.'
The one we tried was all indoors, and although it was cushioned, it still HURT like crazy! It hurt when I fell, and I was sore for days afterwards (my arms were so sore I wasn't sure I would be able to play golf!?!?...all because I was so tense during it). We had a half hour session, and although I could stand up on my own, I still couldn't even move around by the end. Curt, on the other hand, was pretty good by the end...of course, he always picks things like that up pretty fast.
A picture of Curt 'surfing'...we have a video too, and I was really hoping to post that so you could see his wipeout at the end, but I can't get it to work.
No pictures of me surfing; I told Curt he couldn't take any until the second time we tried it - but, then I was too sore to try it again :) I'm OK with that though - we'll try it again next time we're there, and hopefully I'll be better, and won't be too embarrassed for pictures.
We've been home two and a half weeks, and I already feel ready for another vacation...especially after writing this post! My parents head to Florida for a few weeks at the end of March...maybe we'll have to crash their trip :) Just kidding, don't panic, Dad.
*I forgot to include this picture yesterday, when I originally posted about Florida...so I'm adding it in today...
On the left, an odd 'Lobster Car' advertising a seafood restaurant, and on the right, our awesome rental car - a brand new Jeep Liberty! I love the Jeep Patriot I drive at home, but originally I wanted a Liberty - it was more expensive, and not as good on gas though, so we went with the Patriot. When booking the rental online, we paid for a mid-size, and expected a Toyota Corolla, so we were really excited when we were told to pick anything from a certain row in the parking garage, and sitting in that row was the Liberty (well I was really excited, Curt maybe not so much).
