After nearly two years being stuck at home we finally decided to take on the world again. For this instance we decided to go on vacation to lovely Cancun, Mexico. The resort we decided on was Excellence Riviera Cancun. To get a feel for the resort we made a video for you to enjoy.
Right off Highway 27 in Clermont, Florida is a wonderful place to eat and have a few drinks. The place is called The Crooked Spoon Gastropub.
According to their website and Facebook page this restaurant / bar was started by Chef Saelg in August of 2013. This was after operating a beloved Orlando Food Truck for 3 years. The restaurant is located adjacent to Clermont’s historic Citrus Tower with Chef Saleg’s foodie favorites as well as an expanded menu with weekly specials and a wonderful Sunday Brunch.
The Gastropub is similar to a sports bar with TVs located through out and plenty of tables for a large crowd.
In all the times we have gone to eat here and enjoy a few drinks, we have never been disappointed. In addition, every member of the staff has gone out of their way to be friendly and accommodating.
Very near the Florida Mall in Orlando is a wonderful Mexican restaurant. The restaurant is called Garibaldi. It is located at 848 Sand Lake Road, Orlando, FL. The decor inside the restaurant is upbeat and colorful. There is plenty of seating.
The Margarita’s are well worth the price. In fact, we had just one margarita a piece and we could feel the buzz before our meals came.
The food was tasty authentic Mexican fare. You also have a lot of choices on the menu. So much so that we cannot wait to go back again and try something different.
We have traveled to many places and we have never found anything like Xcaret. This resort in Cancun, Mexico is a combination of all-inclusive resort, eco-park, and high excitement adventure activities.
Visitors can buy day passes to the activities at the location but the real bargain is when you stay at the all-inclusive resort. All your transportation from the airport to wherever you are going on the property is included. As well as admission to their parks, which there are several. There are zip-lines, river rapids to ford, caves to paddle through, and snorkeling.
There are so many things to do you forget that you can just lay on the beach or by the pool and relax.
Just one of our excursions we experienced while at Xcaret was an evening dinner party where we sat in floating dinner tables and enjoyed music and our dinner while cruising on their river. The evening cruise was topped off where all the passengers enjoyed dancing the night away. All the food we enjoyed while we were at Xcaret was delicious.
Xcaret pays so much attention to details that even their souvenir stands are very unique.
If you decide to go to Cancun, Mexico you should seriously consider visiting Xcaret even if only for a day.
Opened in 1998, the Oceanário was the centerpiece of the 20th Century’s last World Fair. The World Fair’s theme that year was “The Oceans, a Heritage for the Future”, and eternally binds Lisbon to the World’s Oceans.
The Oceanário’s mission is to promote knowledge of the oceans and to help the public understand about their duty of protecting this natural heritage, through changing their daily habits. While walking through impressive and unforgettable exhibits, visitors are encouraged to learn fascinating things about the oceans and, more importantly, how to make decisions in their daily lives that actively promote the conservation of nature. (The preceding paragraphs are from the Oceanário’s Web Site.)
It was our pleasure to visit this wonderful aquarium and explore its wonders. Please enjoy the photos we took and the video we made.
This year one of our adventures in the world was a trip to Costa Rica. We stayed at an all-inclusive resort called Riu Palace Guanacaste. It was a fabulous hotel with great service, excellent food, and wonderful entertainment. We can honestly say that this hotel was probably one of the best all-inclusive hotels we have ever stayed at.
The views from the hotel are beautiful and nature is only a few steps away. There are monkeys, iguanas, and all sorts of birds just a short walk down the beach.
In addition, there are wonders to be seen just a few hours away,
The best thing over all is the residents of Costa Rica are the most caring and hospitable individuals we have ever met in any country. As they always say and we say to you until our next post, “Pura Vida.”
The story goes that when Walt Disney was first planning Walt Disney World, he envisioned a town just outside the property that would be home to the workers of WDW. Over time that vision became sort of a reality. The Disney Development Company started work on this community in 1990.
When you walk around through the town you can see true Disney style in the architecture. The town is clearly one of a kind and definitely part of Walt Disney’s vision. On Sundays the town has a simple Farmer’s Market / Craft Fair.
There are many restaurants in the downtown area and our favorite is “Columbia.” An old family restaurant that has a few locations throughout Florida. To tempt your palate here is a few pictures of the restaurant and the food.
Here in Central Florida it is time for Blueberries. The best thing about that is going out and picking them yourself. We do this every year and come home with several pounds of blueberries. This year was no exception.
This is a lot of fun for the whole family.
As you can see we picked just a few pounds of blueberries. Now the real fun begins at home. We make jam, pies, muffins, and the best blueberry buckle. To make the jam you have to soak the blueberries in sugar overnight in the refrigerator. Then you cook them in a pot until they set. But you have to keep stirring the blueberries the whole time they are cooking.
Once the jam is ready we pour them into mason jars and seal them. We seal them in a hot boiling water bath.
Now the jam is ready to be stored for the rest of the year so we have homemade jam all year round.
Here are some nice deserts we made with the blueberries we picked.
In usual Disney style, Easter at the Grand Floridian is something to behold. We want to take a moment and show all of you the wonderful Easter Eggs on display. Enjoy!
This past Saturday we drove out to Reiter Park in Longwood, Florida for the Pirate Seafood Festival. There were Pirates everywhere, even a Mermaid!
The food was excellent! Oysters, Shrimp, Flounder, Conch Fritters, Po Boys, a seafood lovers dream. We enjoyed the food so much that we forgot to take pictures before we ate what we bought. There were vendors of every type. From jewelry to pirate flags.
The Kid Zone had face painting, a pirate ship, and a few bounce houses.
The festival also had two things for the kids I have never seen at a fair before. One was a mechanical shark (instead of a bull) and the other was some kind of walking on water experience.
The entertainment was also something unique. A Pirate playing a Sitar with an Assassin playing a Didgeridoo. The music was different but nice.
As we were leaving we even found a Pirate Truck.
Whgille's Corner 