Florida 2020: Diary – Day 4

We slept in a little because it was finally the weekend and we were ready to take advantage. The boys still had three days of school the next two week, but we were going to vacation in the meantime.

Down at breakfast, they were offering a buffet in place of the menu which we were quite happy about. It was our first buffet in the COVID age and, although we told the server behind the buffet what we wanted, it was still a nice feeling and a glimpse of what we used to take for granted. They even had a bread station and an omelet station!

To the Beach?

The previous day I had inquired about the boat shuttle to the beach offered by the hotel. Because of COVID restrictons we had to make a reservation at the concierge desk. We had made it for a morning time slot, but were warned that due to expected low tides it might be cancelled.

As it turns out I got a call about an hour before we were to catch the shuttle saying the tide was too low to dock and we’d have to reschedule. The only time for the same day was too late in the day. We’d only get an hour at the beach before the last shuttle back.

Alternatively we had the option to book for the next morning, which we did. We’d just go to the beach the next day which was also looking to be clear and hot.

Lunch Adventure

For lunch we wanted to try a chain we had driven by a few times. We had looked at the menu and there wasn’t anything our youngest was interested in, so rather than force the issue we decided to cave and get him something at 5 Guys across the street before ordering our food.

In the parking lot we decided what we wanted to order and Tomatico and my wife went in to order while my youngest finished his meal. Apparently the location was closed so we weren’t going to be getting food there!

We ended up driving back to the mall across the street as there are a lot of restaurants in the complex. It was hard to find something that looked interesting but we eventually found something that was okay. They did mess up 2 of the three orders but we eventually got what we ordered.

Back at the hotel we still had our $50 food credit and we decided to use it to buy some snacks, drinks, and an afternoon beverage. The credit disappeared quickly!

The Rest of the Day

We spent most of the afternoon relaxing by the pool and playing the lawn games. We also spent some time kicking the soccer ball and throwing the Frisbee in the large open spaces on the hotel property.

By the time dinner rolled around we decided to get something from DoorDash. I had some credits from them and because of my Chase Sapphire Reserve card I have a free DashPass subscription which reduces delivery fees.

Tomatico wanted Mexican again so he found what he wanted in the app while my youngest and I ordered from a chicken place. We tracked the order progress and met the drivers at the front door of the hotel. Both orders ended up arrviing at the same time, fortunately.

We were really thankful our room had the large dining room table. We opened the doors and windows to let the breeze flow through while we enjoyed our food. It was such a contrast to the bilzzard people at home were suffering through!

After our ice cream dessert from Cool Beans we watched some TV to wind down and went to bed early.