Orlando, Florida
54F, sunny, cool
The drive from Cocoa Beach to Orlando is not long, about two hours. Since our room would not be ready till later, TK indulged me with a stop at Florida Mall, described on their website as follows:
Located minutes from the Orlando International Airport, Walt Disney World Resort and popular area attractions, The Florida Mall is Central Florida’s largest shopping center. Spanning 1.7 million square feet and welcoming more than 20 million visitors annually, this dynamic shopping destination offers an experiential environment featuring more than 250 retail, dining and entertainment options enjoyed by domestic and international guests, local residents and families alike. Prominent department and anchor stores Macy’s, Dillard’s, JCPenney and Dick’s Sporting Goods complement best of brand retailers like A/X Armani Exchange, Apple, Tesla, Banana Republic, H&M, MAC Cosmetics, Michael Kors, Mayors Jewelers featuring Rolex, Victoria’s Secret and ZARA.
Now this was right up my alley and it was an opportunity to get some exercise after all time spent in the truck these last several days. Anyway, that is what I told TK. I do like power walking to window shop and made a few stops along the way, luggage stores, Dillards, Chicos, Macy's.
For B1
VANS Shoes! I loved the design, and the pink was gorgeous!!
After a few purchases (e.g. a Valentine card for TK), I headed to the American Girl store. If American Girl dolls and stores were around when I was a child, I think I would have liked dolls a lot more. I found something for B2, not a doll nor clothes. What could it be??
Another stop I enjoyed was the M&M store, but I just looked, no purchases there. I would love to have such a store near us -- the tubes of M&Ms in every color fascinate me. I could buy Pittsburgh Steelers colors, and Seahawks for TK!
TK dragged me away from the pleasures of shopping by saying our room was probably ready so off we went to the Hilton. As we passed familiar sights in Orlando, I enjoyed remembering the time we met Randy, Coleen, and B2 for a brief stay at Cape Canaveral and then a trip to Disney World with a five year old!
TK and I opted to listen to the magical time share presentation so we could bridge our getaway a few more days. We paid $150 for three nights and a speech, which is definitely cheaper than any Hilton room. TK is a skilled travel planner and uses our earned credit card points for hotels along the way. So far we have not paid for any hotel room this trip.
That said, we are bracing for the lilting voiced magical time share presentation tomorrow morning at 8:15 a.m. If we do this right, we will have the rest of the day to enjoy the cool and rainy weather forecast for tomorrow (that Florida Mall may be a destination again). There will be a report tomorrow! [as an aside, TK and I have signed on for two time shares in the past: the Poconos on our honeymoon 34 years ago, and this very same Hilton about 9 years ago. Both times, we changed our minds and unsigned the contract the next day. Thank goodness.] Stay strong, Janie!!
Exterior of the building our room is in. Grass and palm trees for Friend H!
Imagine this. After eating at Uno Chicago Pizzeria and Grill, we walked to the outlet mall (Orlando International Premium Outlets), a very short distance from our hotel. Tommy Bahamas, luggage, and more of course. The most important part of this paragraph is Uno deep dish pizza--I love it and finding Uno is darn near impossible.
One store had a fabulous display of vintage sewing machines. My mother had a Pfaff sewing machine and she made my clothes when I was in grade school and high school. This brought back memories!
A vintage Pfaff sewing machine
Firster and Rossman-I love the beauty of vintage craftsmanship.
There were at least thirty vintage sewing machines, mostly Singer.
The book I finished last night--kept me engaged and I am grateful that I can read while riding in a car.
TK's Takes: "Look before you leap." This is his new mantra after he called the front desk to report that we had no ice bucket. Then he found it in the cupboard. I called the front desk back to tell them we did indeed have an ice bucket. Then he could not get the TV to work with the remote. He called the front desk again. A licensed electrician came to our room quite quickly and said the remote TK had was the one for the DVD player. The electrician looked at the end table by the bed and there was the TV remote. Thus, look before you leap! LOL Then he said he felt bad and now he better buy a time share....hahaha.
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