Another day in paradise.
What a way to start a day!
Coffees out on the pool deck - This is the life for me.
Hunter wasn't afraid of the cold water in the pool at all and he was in there as soon as he got up.
He found something on the side of the pool.
A new little friend.
He took him for a ride on the floatie.
I'm not sure how much the lizard appreciated that.
As soon as they got near the edge of the pool, he made his escape.
Mom's living her best life over there too.
Most of our group had plans today except Mom, Rob, Jason and I.
Jen & the boys, Crystal and Zepplyn and Mel and the kids and Morgan all went to Legoland.
Then we dropped Haylee, Kody and Freya off at the Animal Kingdom.
I kind of wanted to see Legoland myself but I also just wanted to have an itinerary free day as well.
After dropping the kids off, I had one more coffee by the pool before heading out for a run.
I just ran 5k around our resort here.
It didn't feel as easy as I'd hoped.
The exercise details.
My average pace and splits.
Not the best but not terrible either.
Afterwards we decided to go get these giant cookies I'd seen on a YouTube vlog at a place called Gideon's.
It really wasn't that far away but with the traffic it took a bit of time to get there.
Did I mention that the traffic in Orlando is insane?
They have kind of a gothic theme which is cool and they had all kinds of good looking treats on display.
This is the cookie we were after - It weighs about a pound and it is just covered in choclate chips.
They had a version that had pistachios on it so you know I had to get that - I'm a sucker for anything with nuts especially when it comes to baked goods.
They also had a banana bread version so we got that too.
We figured we could take them back and share them.
They come in a really nice box.
The reveal.
Look at all those pistachios - Yummy!
This is just one location of Gideon's (there is another) and it is in this kind of plaza place that had a bunch of other restaurants in it so you know we had to try some other stuff.
Actually I must clarify there, I had to try some other things, Jason was being really good and following WW and tracking everything so he didn't indulge like I did.
You know I had to check this place out.
You know I had to try it when I saw Pistachio was the flavor of the week.
They had several different options of waffle cones, ube, matcha and the blue corn which was the one I tried.
Pistachio ice cream - it was very yummy and creamy. The cone was good too.
I also got a waffle filled with pistachio cream and they made it from scratch while I waited.
It was also very delicious.
There were lots of nice places to sit all around the plaza - a really nice spot.
After those treats, we decided we wanted to try a Cuban sandwich.
Jason researched a good spot to have one and there was a place about a mile away so we decided to leave the vehicle parked and just walk over there.
We walked through a residential area and I saw this giant tree with this awesome tent swing hanging in it.
What a great place this would be to spend a day reading a book.
Finally we made it to our destination, Black Bean Deli.
I think it was more than a mile away but we enjoyed the walk so that was alright.
It was a cute spot with a nice outdoor seating area.
We each got a Cuban Sandwich.
It was good, nowhere near the best that we've ever had though.
We also tried an empanada and they had Tres Leches so you know we had to try that too.
Again it was good, but not the best we'd had.
I was just happy to be sitting for a bit - it was quite hot out and I'd worn flip flops.
Normally I can walk forever in them but I think mine are getting old and worn out.
Time for a new pair.
I was just resting up for the walk back.
Just as we were getting back to the area where our VRBO is, Kody texted to say they were ready to be picked up so it was perfect timing.
Disney's Animal Kingdom was actually quite close to where we were staying.
They really enjoyed their day there.
They took Freya on a roller coaster and it was a little scarier than expected but she still like it.
Haylee posted a bunch of pictures from their day that I thought I would share.
Miss Freya.
Checking out a giant fruit tree.
They took Freya to the Rainforest Cafe for supper.
They got her a baby Avatar.
She carried it around with her like her own baby.
Giant mushroom.
Getting cooled down by an elephant.
Posing for mom.
A life size avatar.
A bust of an avatar.
Freya looks like she is enjoying herself.
The scenery is so cool.
These giant plants like in the movie look pretty cool.
Just the whole area - they have it looking like a scene right out of the movie.
They watched the parade and when Pluto when by, he noticed that Freya had a Pluto hat on so he waved up to her and she thought that was pretty awesome.
They went on a safari too and saw some wildlife - a giraffe.
A hippo.
Safariing with Mom.
They saw Rafiki.
Posing with him.
The giant tree of like from Avatar - it looks really cool.
That was one of the main things Kody wanted to see.
Rocking her Pluto hat.
(They had a few strollers in the garage at our VRBO which was awesome so we didn't have to go and buy one).
Some Lion King figures.
They have these gold figures all over the place - I think they were made to celebrate Disney's 50th.
Waterfall.
Everything just looks so nice.
Disney does such a good job and creating these worlds.
Back at the house Kody found another lizard.
Freya was brave enough to test out the cold pool.
Hunter was already in there, he'd live in the pool if we let him.
None of the rest of us (except Zepplyn) were brave enough to get into the cold pool so we decided to go ahead and get in touch with the owner and ask them to turn the heat on so we could at least get some use out of it.
So he said he'd turn it on tomorrow.
It's going to cost us a bit extra but I think it will be worth it.
This was just a picture from last night, Haylee took the same picture we did of the girls wearing their Stitch merch.
The rest of the crew had a great time at Legoland, I'm sure they'll post some pictures and when they do, I'll share those as well.
We are all off to Universal Studios tomorrow (except Mom) so it's going to be a long, busy day but I'm really looking forward to seeing Harry Potter world.
That's all for today, until next time, be happy!
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