February 2021
Where We Stayed: Margaritaville Resort Orlando Cottages
Monday, February 21, Rest Day + Showcase of Citrus
Mike and I were intentional about building rest days into this vacation. We knew that doing non-stop theme parks with no sleeping in or time at the pool would be a recipe for meltdowns and unhappy kids.
We all slept in and it was glorious. (well, by “sleep in” I meant that I slept until 7am instead of 6am… you know) The kids immediately hopped in the pool and swam all morning. Mike made french toast and virgin pina coladas. I ran to WalMart for a few items we forgot. It was such a delightful morning.
Our activity for the day was going to the Showcase of Citrus. Mike and I visited last time we were in Florida and thought it was great. It’s kind of like the Little Farmer… but for all things citrus instead of all things apples. The kids loved the kitschy gift shops and we paid to pick our own oranges.
The “fun” of picking our own oranges and lemons in the mid-day Florida heat was initially lost on the kids, but they all came around and ended up having a great time.
We stuck around until our 3pm monster truck tour of the orange groves. Yes, they took an old school bus and converted it into a monster truck. My expectations for this experience were low. Like, right down on the ground low. But honestly, it was one of the highlights of the entire trip for me. The monster truck was hilarious, our tour guide was a salty Vietnam Vet who was funny and a wealth of information, and we saw so much – alligators in the swamps, all sorts of birds, bison, two zebras named Barcode and Scanner, a goat named Billy, turtles, etc. We drove right on through a swamp which the kids loved. It was such an unexpectedly FUN experience – even for the adults. I loved it!
We wrapped up at Showcase of Citrus with a stop at the gift shop and a stop to get orange slushies. Then we headed to Twistee Treat for some ice cream. I’m a sucker for a cute roadside ice cream stand.
We had a taco bar dinner back at the cottage – which was a perfect and relaxing way to end the day.
Highlights:
S: Alligators and zebras
E: Zebras
A: Monster Truck
Mike: Swimming with the kids
Annie: Zebras
The kids were dying when we realize that it looks like one of the swimmers doesn’t have pants on. The butt!
Of course I had to get the Mr. DNA t-shirt.
Alligator!
