Disney 2014

It had been 11 years since the group had last visited Disney so it was about time! Big thanks to Andy and Maria for spearheading this and getting us all there to celebrate!

But before Disney 2014 begins, Rachel and I decided to head out early and start the vacation with some R and R. We stayed at a great hotel (a couple miles from Universal Studios), The Point Orlando Resort. When we saw the website of folks hanging by a poolside bar we knew we had to stay there - those were our people! :) And that is exactly what we did. Checked in, immediately donned swimsuits and hit the pool bar for lunch and relaxation til dinner time.  Our hotel was on a local public transportation system called, I-Ride Trolley and it worked well for us. It was a $2 bus ride up and down Universal Blvd or I-Drive and found on the stop was Maggiano's. Oh beloved Maggiano's! Our dinner and service really didn't live up to our memory, but the cheesecake did!

Next morning, we hopped on the iTrolley and made our way to brunch at the Hilton. It was right across the street from the spa we were going to, but "right across" was in Vegas terms, the distance is very misleading with giant structures! Anyways, brunch was fab - one of the best I have had. Avocado and goat cheese wrapped in a wheat tortilla? Yes please! Then it was time for the spa. The 4 hour spa experience called the Serene Retreat...ahhhhh.... I had no idea what to expect at the spa at Rosen Centre but it was wonderful. After a relaxing start to the day, we were ready for the wildness of Downtown Disney! And we were ready for more friends to start arriving! We met Joel and Kerry at Raglan Road Irish Pub and Restaurant - it was fun and loud and I was excited for everyone else to start arriving!

Time to leave our hotel and head to Disney Beach Club Villas! Andy and Maria were able to finagled their time share points to all get us rooms at their resort. Because of that we special clips on our magic bands and people went above and beyond to "Welcome us home"... thinking we were all time share owners. heehee. When we left our first hotel we played it smart and put on our swimsuits, no sense in getting dressed if we were going to be poolside the whole time! And poolside we were...for 6 hours. Finally got dressed to have dinner at downtown Disney because the group had arrived!  

The next day started early, but we had a lot of Disney to cover in 2 days! We took the Villa boat over to Hollywood Studios where we hit the highlights: Star Tours, Great Movie Ride, Tower of Terror and Rockin' Rollercoaster. Then even thought the heat index kept climbing we decided to head spend the afternoon at Magic Kingdom where I nearly passed out from the heat at the Haunted Mansion. I think I might be a ghost there actually. We only did a couple more things: the Swiss Family Tree House, Pirates of the Caribbean and then some shopping. I crashed at the hotel for a while and recovered and then finally made it to dinner at Nine Dragons at Japan Epcot. Then we caught the firework show at Epcot and because we hadn't had enough food :) we ended up at Spice Table Road where they had a special Wine Down after hours that we could sample wine and food. 

Next full Disney day started us out at Animal Kingdom where we went on the Safari ride, then the Dinosaur ride, Yeti and Primeval Whirl. I really like the Animal Kingdom park! Then - Epcot. With the goal of drinking around the world. I only made it to 6 countries or 7 if a weird cherry drink at China counts. Others pulled off the 11 drinks. Andy maybe shouldn't have... I did some rides in at Epcot because Maria scored us some free fast passes, so I did the Norway ride, Soarin' and Test Track.We had dinner at Morocco and ended the night at the hotel (super) hot tub.

Last day, time with everyone was way too short. Got up, got packed and had a bit of time to do some shopping at the Boardwalk. The Boardwalk encircles all the Disney resorts in that area and is Disney charming. Before we knew it, it was time to board the Magical Express for a ride to the airport. Then we got separated from the group and only Rachel and I ended up together, having lunch at the Outback Steakhouse. There were not a lot of choices for us! But I am so glad we did, because I now know about the blue cheese vinaigrette, that I must find a copy cat recipe for! A couple of drink at lunch and it was time to board the plane. It was a somewhat memorial ride when we hit turbulence and the plane dropped from the sky. I haven't experienced that before, where the only thing holding me in the chair was my seat belt. It only lasted for a second, but the amount of screaming it induced, yikes. Thankfully the rest of the flight was not memorable! Land safely and I have started to save my pennies for Disney 2024! :)

MN Wine Trip: May 2014

The 7th Annual MN Wine Trip brought us to 3 wineries this year! We repeated the Northeast/Central area of the state. First step of wine trip - start off with a good brunch! This year since we were headed north, we ate in Northeast Mpls at an Ecuadorian restaurant, Chimborazo. 5 stars!! The food was amazing and the server was wonderful, explaining all the unique items on the menu and offering suggestions. I want to return immediately.

Now, usually the charm of wine trip is that we find these small towns with odd buildings that have now been converted to B&Bs (like a jail house or an old church), but this year, considering the location we didn't have that charm so we took the plunge and stayed at a hotel with a water park! Holiday Inn in Otsego. I am pretty sure the best way to prevent a hangover is to burn it off at a water park. :)

Sometimes convenience is everything and in this case it also provided us with a great meal to start our day of winery visits, the hotel restaurant had a great breakfast! Now, time to check out the wineries...Two Rivers Winery was first on the list. The owner of White Rabbit Vineyards & Winery recently opened Two Rivers in Ramsey so instead of heading to Andover we sampled wine at Two Rivers. The winery is large and is getting ready to host classes and events! I purchased the bubbly and I am excited to try it, not many MN wineries offer bubbly!

Second winery of the day, Goose Lake Farm and Winery. Located in Elk River, this is a farm winery and adorable. Lots of animals roam free (chickens and birds, plus they have goats and other furry friends) and because of this they have natural fertilizer and weed control! Most exciting find at this winery... soft packs! They have pouches of wine that you can purchase, equals 1.5 bottles of wine. So single serve. Heehee. We finished the day with dinner at Pour Wine Bar and then back to the water park!

As always the end of the weekend comes too soon! Thankfully we had one more winery to stop at Willow Tree Vineyard & Winery in Ham Lake. This winery was great, we had a fun time bellying up the bar and chatting with the worker. We found out that they have a seasonal pumpkin wine so we are excited to return in the fall and try that!