The O in Orlando
It's been a few days since our last entry so let's play a little catch-up. We had a great time with Ed and Pat in Miami. One more restaurant to enter into the log...California Bistro, on the edge of downtown Miami, is a little of a dichotomy. It's a little bit Italian and a little bit Mexican, and some other Latin flavors and spices thrown in too. The sauces are the thing here. On arrival, a really good bruscetta is served with some good Cuban bread. The Chicken Marsala was delicious, the tacos were good too. Lots of mixed up tastes, all with success. We'll be back! The day we left Miami, Ed and Pat took us down, almost to Homestead, to the every Saturday fresh market. We bought little finger bananas, fresh limes, pineapple, a real wierd looking fruit called Indian Bitter Melon (which Mary Ann's not sure what to do with yet!)...and some fresh Grouper which we had for two fabulous meals in Orlando.......
So we rolled up to Orlando by way of Lake Okeedokee (That's what I call it!). Real name? Okeechobee. Seminole for..really big lake. Those Indians were pretty literal, weren't they? Anyway, the drive took us through lots of small central Florida towns, most notable of which is Sebering. The famous race track is still there of course, and from the short time we spent there, much of the local townfolk must think they're actually on the track. They seem to all have some kind of muscle car or something. Loud mufflers. Peeling in and out of the gas station. Maybe they're just watching too much Nascar on the telly. We finally got up to the Orlando area late Saturday afternoon. We drove to our new home away from home, The Bill Frederick Park, in the posh Northwest side of town. We're guessing this is close to where Tiger Woods and other notable figures live, and on a rating scale for RV places to stay, it's way up on the notches. Aside from the fact fact that we have a beautiful lake spot to park Harvey, the proximity to all things Orlando can't be beat! We have not done much eating out since arriving because A: We've been here a million times and seem to struggle to find cool places to eat (too many tourist choices) and B: We've been living in the Disney and Universal parks for the past two days. Comment on park food: Disney/Yeccch. Like bad cafeteria food at a very high prices. Almost no healthy choices. The only revelation was that if you have to eat at one of the Disney parks, choose Epcot because they at least do have some edible choices and more variety. Universal is a different story. We don't feel as had inside. Why? Easy, there are more good choices, the prices are (slightly) more reasonable, and C: if you can't find anything good, you can walk out the gates, eat at Emerils, Margaritaville Cafe, or a dozen other independent restaurants in City Walk, then return to the park for one more round on the Simpsons ride (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJGHCQXFlnM). Fun!! We used to have a favorite in Disneys planned community that looks perfect like the rest of Disneyworld... Celebration. It's actually an old fashion style diner called The Celebration Cafe. Well, the last time we visited several years ago, the server waited until everyone's food was served, then informed me they were "out of turkey." This time, they literally burned Mary Ann's eggs and did the favor of taking twenty percent off the bill when we showed them the charred wreckage they'd served us. The server apologized, we left her a tip, and left, this time for good. It's rough out there in the eating out world folks. I'm writing this on Wednesday at one of the local Whole Foods Cafes. We're trying hard to keep on the organic road while we travel, play, and right now, work! (They have free wifi here). We may brave it up and try one more eat out experience before we leave Orlando and head up to St. Augustine. Stay tuned....
It's been a few days since our last entry so let's play a little catch-up. We had a great time with Ed and Pat in Miami. One more restaurant to enter into the log...California Bistro, on the edge of downtown Miami, is a little of a dichotomy. It's a little bit Italian and a little bit Mexican, and some other Latin flavors and spices thrown in too. The sauces are the thing here. On arrival, a really good bruscetta is served with some good Cuban bread. The Chicken Marsala was delicious, the tacos were good too. Lots of mixed up tastes, all with success. We'll be back! The day we left Miami, Ed and Pat took us down, almost to Homestead, to the every Saturday fresh market. We bought little finger bananas, fresh limes, pineapple, a real wierd looking fruit called Indian Bitter Melon (which Mary Ann's not sure what to do with yet!)...and some fresh Grouper which we had for two fabulous meals in Orlando.......
So we rolled up to Orlando by way of Lake Okeedokee (That's what I call it!). Real name? Okeechobee. Seminole for..really big lake. Those Indians were pretty literal, weren't they? Anyway, the drive took us through lots of small central Florida towns, most notable of which is Sebering. The famous race track is still there of course, and from the short time we spent there, much of the local townfolk must think they're actually on the track. They seem to all have some kind of muscle car or something. Loud mufflers. Peeling in and out of the gas station. Maybe they're just watching too much Nascar on the telly. We finally got up to the Orlando area late Saturday afternoon. We drove to our new home away from home, The Bill Frederick Park, in the posh Northwest side of town. We're guessing this is close to where Tiger Woods and other notable figures live, and on a rating scale for RV places to stay, it's way up on the notches. Aside from the fact fact that we have a beautiful lake spot to park Harvey, the proximity to all things Orlando can't be beat! We have not done much eating out since arriving because A: We've been here a million times and seem to struggle to find cool places to eat (too many tourist choices) and B: We've been living in the Disney and Universal parks for the past two days. Comment on park food: Disney/Yeccch. Like bad cafeteria food at a very high prices. Almost no healthy choices. The only revelation was that if you have to eat at one of the Disney parks, choose Epcot because they at least do have some edible choices and more variety. Universal is a different story. We don't feel as had inside. Why? Easy, there are more good choices, the prices are (slightly) more reasonable, and C: if you can't find anything good, you can walk out the gates, eat at Emerils, Margaritaville Cafe, or a dozen other independent restaurants in City Walk, then return to the park for one more round on the Simpsons ride (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJGHCQXFlnM). Fun!! We used to have a favorite in Disneys planned community that looks perfect like the rest of Disneyworld... Celebration. It's actually an old fashion style diner called The Celebration Cafe. Well, the last time we visited several years ago, the server waited until everyone's food was served, then informed me they were "out of turkey." This time, they literally burned Mary Ann's eggs and did the favor of taking twenty percent off the bill when we showed them the charred wreckage they'd served us. The server apologized, we left her a tip, and left, this time for good. It's rough out there in the eating out world folks. I'm writing this on Wednesday at one of the local Whole Foods Cafes. We're trying hard to keep on the organic road while we travel, play, and right now, work! (They have free wifi here). We may brave it up and try one more eat out experience before we leave Orlando and head up to St. Augustine. Stay tuned....
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