Gators, Schmidts, and the Titanic

The morning started out rather slow or should I say afternoon because it was 12:00   (9:00 CA time) before we left our villa.  We arrived last night to the Marriott Vacation Club property, Grande Vista.  Thanks Dad for finding such a deal.  We paid less than $500.00 for a two bedroom villa for a week. It is just like the villas in Aruba and St. Kitts that we have stayed in.

Our first destination was Toho lake to go on an airboat ride.  When we arrived it was threatening rain.  But thanks to my mother's prayers, it didn't start raining until we finished our 45 minute ride.  We glided along the lake while keeping our eyes out for wildlife but more importantly alligators.  Unfortunatly, the driver only came across one area that had one large alligator and a few small ones.  We couldn't get very close, so my pictures aren't worth posting. We saw lots of beautiful birds. Sand Hill cranes, Great Blue Herons, egrets, and others that I didn't recognize the names of.   The ride was smooth and so fast that it felt like we were getting a facelift or maybe just windblown.

Lunch/Dinner was eaten at one of Kelly and my personal favorite’s Mccormick and Schmidts.  As always the food was incredible!  Kelly had mahi mahi, my mother had swordfish, and I devoured stuffed salmon.   It didn’t take much to convince my mother why it was a must dine while in Orlando. 

Anyone recognize this staircase?   Its a replica from the White Stage Line’s infamous ship Titanic.  No Leonardo dicaprio to swoon over but a tour guide with a fake Irish accent lead us through the exhibit.   The exhibit was very informative and really made you think about what you would have done if you were aboard the ship.   I was amazed to hear that the average human could live anywhere from 10 to 40 minutes in the freezing cold water.   Kelly wondered how long she would survive.  

Day one was concluded with a trip to the Walmart Supercenter.  We purchased our tickets for DisneyWorld and the Kennedy Space Center at slightly discounted prices.   Breakfast foods, snacks, and a few souvenirs rounded out our cart.