Florida: Day Five

There's nothing like a day at the Magic Kingdom to wear you (and your kids) out. We didn't stir from our bed until 10:00 am. It was fantastic to sleep in that late - it certainly helped to make our daughters exhausted yesterday. We breakfasted on granola bars and Pop-tarts. We packed up our belongings and checked out of the Marriott - next time we come to Orlando as a family, we'll definitely stay closer to all the attractions.

I wanted to eat lunch at my favorite place in Orlando - Cafe Tu Tu Tango. We dined on roasted pears on pecan crisps topped with Spanish bleu cheese and a balsamic reduction served with arugula, Cuban grilled steak skewers with lime steak sauce, and pan-fried chicken and shrimp potstickers. Their food is incredible, and the place was featured on Food Network's "$40 a Day." For dessert we had the crazy bananas (two scoops of banana walnut gelato topped with our homemade caramel sauce, flavored with Scotch and drambuie, surrounded by fresh sliced bananas and sopapilla chips) and the stacks of cookies & cream ( oatmeal cookie wafers layered with vanilla heath bar ice cream and chocolate-chocolate chip ice cream, topped with hot fudge). We had to drive down to just south of downtown Orlando to eat there since it is on International Drive, but it was worth it.

We headed north on SR-27 and out of Orlando. We turned onto I-75N and drove on to Ocala, where we resumed driving on SR-27. We passed by several horse farms - who knew that Florida could horse country. We drove through Williston, Bronson, and Chiefland, and we passed by close to the Manatee Springs State Park. We drove around the panhandle to SR-98. When we reached Panacea, The Sweet One was able to see the Gulf of Mexico for the first time.

We drove along the boondocks of the Apalachicola National Forest. The pine trees were very dense on both sides of the road, and we passed by only a few cars. We saw a few deer, and fortunately they didn't feel inclined to wander the road in front of us. He didn't appear, but I wouldn't have been surprised if we had seen this guy. We were amazed at the large amount of debris still on the coastline from Hurricane Ivan last year. Many houses appeared to be intact, but a good number were still damaged - and a few looked as if they had been abandoned.

Darkness had settled in by the time we reached Apalachicola. The town seemed very quaint with its beautiful homes, art galleries and shoppes. We saw several people sitting outside a steakhouse - they appeared to be having a good time. I learned later that Apalachicola is known for this, but the area hasn't done well this year because of Ivan's destructiveness. I tried to call my brother-in-law Ken from a pay-phone - I could hear him, but he couldn't hear me. The Wife's cell-phone was out of service. I picked up a home buyer's guide for the area - many homes are priced to $1 million and higher.

We finally reached my sister Brenda's house in Panama City at 9:30 PM. Ken and Brenda were happy to see us. Lillie was a little unsure about being around them, but she eventually warmed to them. My neice Leah and her husband Dustin (they are living with Brenda) came home, and we talked with all of them for about an hour. They gave us the keys for my sister Joy's vacation home (she lives in West Chester, OH, but they bought a home in Panama City last year). We hauled our stuff into the home, then crashed for the night.