Tuesday - 8 Mar/16

We are still not well; but we are better and determined to get out and enjoy the wonderful weather. We slept in a bit; but were still up and out by 10:30 a.m.

The first tasks today were "In-Park" stuff. We went to the mail to get the "You've Got Mail" card needed to redeem a package delivery. An Amazon order for 2 "Rachel Ray Silicone Suction Lids Sets" was delivered yesterday afternoon to the park office. We also did our "Garbage Run" at the same time then headed for Old Town in Kissimmee, FL.

We took the "Back Roads" to avoid the heavy traffic on US-441 (Orange Blossom Trail) to our next stop, the Harbor Freight Store in Apopka. I picked up a few items that were on sale.

From there it was a quick connect to Daniel Webster Western Beltway aka FL 429 (toll).

It took us all the way to the US-192 (Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway) exit at Kissimmee.

Along the way we had to pull off to pay tolls (cash) a number of times. The total cost was less than $5 (in each direction) which was easily worth it. Avoiding all the traffic and stoplights - priceless.

After being on US-192 for several miles we finally got to pull in to Old Town. We mostly stayed in the middle of the 3 lanes of traffic and although there are several traffic lights along the way we only stopped once due to the excellent light timing.

Gosh! This brought back memories of "Parking Lot Cruising" (a family joke). We started coming to Disney World every March School Break since it opened (for 20 years). The first several years we stayed at Old Town (Days Inn Lodge) which was then in the middle of nowhere. We would marvel each year when we returned on how many new motels, attraction and restaurants had sprung up. Now it is wall-to-wall businesses for a dozen miles up and down US-192.

Once parked our first vision was of "Thing 1" and "Thing 2" (another family joke).

Hunger took over and we went into Jimmy John's for lunch. They bill themselves as making the "World's Greatest Gourmet Sandwiches". I wouldn't go that far; however it was good.

We ordered the #2 Big John: medium rare choice roast beef, mayo, lettuce and tomato in a 8" sub bun. As I said - good; but not gourmet.

Replenished, we headed out to re-discover Old Town. We explored several stores on our way along the Main Street.

Finally, we arrived at our primary destination "Black Market Minerals". Kat (daughter) has sent us on a mission to find "Polished Stones". She had provided a list.

Once in the store I realized the were just rocks to me. Thanks to Cliff, we eventually acquired about half of the list of minerals provided by Kat.

Note: In the dictionary, under "Customer Service" is Cliff's picture! He was fantastic! He checked our list, noted the minerals they did not have and located, bagged and labelled each of the ones found. I hope they put "a little something extra in his pay packet" at the end of the week. (grin).

We also wanted some unpolished stones for Charlotte and Marty's rock tumblers. We decided the best way was to buy two bags to "Pan in the Sluice" and keep our "Found Treasures" to polish in the tumblers back home.

Our final "Memory" stop was "The Pearl Factory". We (and others in the family) have been "finding" (a dozen or more) pearls here since our first visit.

Charlotte found a beauty - 8mm and perfectly round. She had it placed in an "Angel Fish" cage with a 20" chain - it's a beauty!

We were now officially wiped out (our colds have taken over). We reversed our route and headed back to the RV. The Del Sol did it's "I'm Overheating" trick at one of the stoplights - then it was back to normal. We will just have to wait until whatever is causing the problem quits for good so we can fix it. With a number of possible causes a "Hit or Miss" solution could be costly. At least our route back was easy driving and took only a little over an hour (including toll stops).

We made a quick stop at Publix for liquids: milk, soft drink, juice, wine and saki. We then crossed the parking lot to Burger King for the 5 for $4 meal for supper.

Back at the motorhome we unpacked our booty and collapsed. (Charlotte had a nap while I did the blog). We sure hope the activity today will help us beat "the bug".

Jeopardy, Family Feud and a pair of NCIS on TV will end the day (If we make it that far).

It was a busy day; but it felt good to get out.