¡Hola Orlando!

Saturday
12 Nov 2016

This morning we got up and got off the ship 😭 B&A had to leave super early to catch a plane while the rest of us got to sleep a teeny bit longer. We had breakfast and coffee and sailed through customs. I had rented a car so at this point I separated from the fam and went solo, time for part two of vacation!

I had rented a car with Avis for 56$ for the day plus the price of gas (17.50$). Not bad considering my other options, the buses and trains were nearly as expensive and would've taken at least a couple more hours.

I paid $10 to take a sketchy van to the Miami Airport to pick up my car. I met an adorable Irish couple who between them have seven kids (none of whom were on the trip). I also found out their 5 year old granddaughter had a lung transplant four weeks ago in London. 💓

It was simple to pick up the car and they were out of economy cars so I got a Kia Sportage (small SUV) for the same price! The drive want bad although the toll roads confused me because I didn't understand what the car rental lady was telling me about them and I pulled over to pay at the first one. So that will cost extra when they charge my card later but the whole process was still easier! I pulled off after a couple hours and got Wendy's and then again to get a coffee and put on sunscreen! That stuff beams through the window and makes you sleepy! 

I made it into Orlando with plenty of time to spare so I headed to the hotel with my luggage so I wouldn't have to carry it when I meet Emily at the airport. She upgraded us to the Hard Rock Hotel and it is AWESOME! I walked in and all the people were super nice and they only play really good music there.

After that I still had time to kill and I was lamenting my wardrobe situation so I decided to hit up a mall. Unfortunately I picked the fanciest one, the Mall at Millenia, and had to shop at Macy's. Luckily though, Em had mentioned sports bras and tanks so I headed to the activewear section and Under Armor was on sale so I got four dri-fit tees and a pair of flip flops (I didn't bring my Nikes and have been whining about it the whole trip).

I spent forever wandering through the mall looking at the decorations and fancy stores so now it was time to fill up the gas and return the car. Google Maps took me around the bakeries so I wouldn't have to get back on my good friend the Florida Turnpike and then my debit card got shut off at the gas station because they didn't put a note in my account about going on vacation even though I called. 😠

Returning the car was a breeze, the people were again really nice and helpful. I walked right into baggage claim and found Em in like two minutes. YAY!

We were going to Uber to the hotel but it was more expensive than a cab so we did the cab and the exit he tried to get off at was closed so he shut off the meter, nice guy too, although he drove like a crazy.

The hotel check-in guy, Blake, remembered me from earlier but thought it was yesterday he saw me, he must have had a long day. 😂 He was so pumped about life, looked like a total rock dude- hair down to his waist and full mustache and beard! We loved him. He gave us maps and our personalized key cards and fancy stickers because we are ROCK ROYALTY! What?! So cool. We need our key card to get to our floor, seven, and we get complimentary breakfast, beer, wine, and snacks ALL day! AND bottled water!!! The girl in there was also really awesome, her name is Bella and she also let us know she's a concierge so she can take care of anything we need! I sure do feel like royalty! Our room is fantastic and decorated well. I loved every bit of it.

We were both hungry so I toss her I'd treat her to Hard Rock Cafe and off we went! We walked through the hotel pool area and it was really awesome, psyched for a pool day! There was a small wait at the restaurant but we get to cut in line because we're staying at the hotel. They had a cauliflower Burger on the menu that sounded INCREDIBLE but they were out of all cauliflower 😢 so I had nachos instead. They were delicious and my eyes were bigger than my stomach so I also ordered fries. Everything was great. Our waiter wasn't the best but he wasn't the worst.

We checked out the Rock Shop and I found the perfect pin for EZ! ♡ Then looked around the Rock Shop at the hotel and went to BED. Early alarm since we have early admission and we were both exhausted from our travel day.

I feel also while writing the blog from the day before, which is what I did the night before, so that's why I'm behind!

Goodnight!!!

P.S.- Sorry fort my limited vocab of "awesome" and "cool." I will look up more impressive adjectives tomorrow.