Grocery Shopping in Orlando

Wow today has been a busy day. Packing took a lot longer than expected, for some reason its so hard for me to pack for 80 degree weather in 30 degree weather. I remembered what warm weather felt like but it felt so out of place for the middle of February I was unsure if I should be wearing jeans or shorts, long sleeve shirts or short sleeve ones. I finally finished packing suitcases filled with sundresses and shorts at 1am, with enough time to fall asleep for an hour before having to wake up at 2am to head to school. There my suitcases were loaded on school vans and everyone competing hit the road to get to the Philly airport for our 9am flight.

We made it with time to spare and while I was very sleepy my stomach was beginning to grumble. I am used to big breakfasts in the morning so I decided to check out this cute little restaurant in the airport.

They had a to-go menu that was a lot cheaper than their sit down menu that I opted to go for. I got a two egg and cheese omelette on toasted whole wheat bread. It doesn’t look like anything special but it was delicious and kept me full for the entire flight. We flew direct to Orlando via Southwest. It was my first experience with the airline and while I really liked how friendly they were, how we flew without a hitch, how we arrived in Orlando 30 minutes early, I really don’t like how they don’t assign seats. It makes for a very frenzied boarding as people are trying to find seats with their friends and families and oftentimes they have to be split up. It adds unnecessary stress to a flight that could be avoided if they simply assigned people seats.

Around 2pm we arrived at our hotel. We’re staying at the Hawthorn, which is also where we stayed when we competed last year. Its pretty cool to be back a year later, this time with much better weather.

Outside of the hotel. I could not get over the blue skies and sunshine! Florida is the place to be in the winter months.

Palm trees + a pool. What more can you ask for in the middle of February?

As soon as I got in the hotel I quickly realized my plane outfit was not going to work in this weather. The long sleeves and jeggings had to go. They were replaced with shorts and a tank top. It felt so good to be walking around outside like that.

I love viewing pictures of the hotels people stay at so I figured I’d take some pictures to share. Here’s the living room and dining area.

The kitchen area.

Bathroom. With all my junk already on it! ;p

The bathroom that for some reason looks really creepy in this picture!

Closet.

Bedroom. I took this picture midway through unpacking. I love to try and make a hotel room feel more like a home by using the drawers, putting out magazines, etc. I hate living out of a suitcase.

After unpacking we made a trip to Walmart to pick up some food items for the week. I plan on having breakfast every day in the hotel. The hotel provides a complimentary one but its the powdered eggs and crunchy french toast sticks so I opted to pick up some oats and bananas to make my own breakfast. I brought the Granola Factory granola from home.

Chobanis to mix into the oatmeal every morning. In spirit of the Superbowl I also picked up some Wholly Guacamole and Yves veggie dogs. I’ve never had the veggie dogs before, and actually haven’t eaten a hot dog since 4th grade, but I am really excited to try them!

I also picked up some baby spinach, Alexia sweet potato fries with chipotle seasoning, and Thomas whole wheat English muffins.

And a case of water so that I’ll be able to stay hydrated when I’m out and about in the sun.

That’s been my trip so far! I’m exhausted but trying to fight it so I can fall asleep tonight at a normal hour. Depending on our schedule and the weather tomorrow might be a Disney Epcot day so I want to make sure I am well rested for it. Time to go hit the happy hour bar downstairs, a glass of wine with dinner sounds perfect after a long day of travel.

Question of the Day: What foods do you stock your hotel with when you vacation?