Laura & Family - May 2007

DAY 1, Friday May 25

Left just after 1 pm after DD's 5th grade graduation dance. Thankfully we have a DVD player in the car so didn't hear much out of her and we were able to drive the whole way without stopping. Traffic wasn't too bad most of the way until about the last half hour. Good thing we got an early start and missed most of the Memorial Day weekend crowds.

Arrived at the Sheraton Safari around 4:30 pm and check in went smoothly. The guy at the front desk was just as nice as could be. DD was happy to see he had cookies on the countertop. He asked if we wanted a balcony or not and I said yes because I like to sit outside and read and get away from DD and DH~LOL. We were taken up to our room by the bellman (also really nice and not the slightest bit fazed about all my little bags, case of water & soda, etc.).

The room itself is nice. Decorated in a safari theme (surprise, surprise!) When you first walk in there is a little entranceway with a long vanity on the right hand side with a sink. There is a coffee maker there with complimentary Maxwell House coffees (regular and decaf) and Lipton Tea and accompaniments. Also a tray of toiletry items (Pantene Pro V Shampoo & conditioner, Vaseline Intensive Care Lotion and bath soaps with Sheraton Logos). On the left is the bathroom. Walking in further you see 2 Queen beds with zebra striped bedspreads separated by a nightstand with 2 reading lamps above it. A standing lamp is on the far side of the room for additional lighting. Opposite the beds is a nice size chest with 3 long drawers and a TV with cable and HBO movie channel. There is also a desk large enough for my laptop with a phone and a lamp and 2 charis. The hotel has Wireless high speed internet access available or dial up.

The only downside is our lovely view of the parking lot and VERY narrow balcony barely large enough for the 2 chairs but as DH so aptly put it for $1 a night who can complain.....

We unpacked and relaxed while waiting for my friend Tammy, who lives in Orlando, to get off work. When she arrived we took a ride down to International Drive to go to Shogun Japanese Restaurant. This is one of our favorite hidden finds, tucked behind the Rodeway Inn Motel. It is a hibachi style Japanese restaurant where they cook the meals in front of you. Better yet, it is in the Entertainment book for Buy One Get One Free! Tammy and I each got the Empress Combination, Filet Mignon and Shrimp for $21, and David and Leia each get the Shrimp and Chicken Combination for $18.95. They do have a nice children's menu with all meals under $10 but since we have the B1G1F Leia is thrilled to be able to order an adult meal and willingly shares her extra with Dad. The meals come with salad with ginger dressing and a broth soup with mushrooms and scallions. They also give you egg fried rice and stir fried veggies (zucchini, squash, mushrooms, onion) in addition to your entree. There are 2 sauces: a brown ginger sauce and a white sauce that is to die for! Yep, we all got extras of that and put it on our rice. Leia even used it with her veggies.Our cook was really nice and put on a pretty good show. Service was outstanding and our drinks were refilled quickly, etc. The portions are very generous and none of us had room for dessert although the waitress who heard we were celebrating Leia's birthday brought out a nice bowl of ice cream decorated with a happy face made out of chocolate candy with a candle so we could all sing to her. How nice!

Wow are we stuffed. We decide to take a walk down International Drive. We see a camera outlet and Tammy wants to go inside since she's been admiring my new camera and wants to get one just like it. Sure enough they have it. He says it's $279 but I was able to find it on the internet for much less so Tammy and I talk about that and she decides to wait. He instantly comes down to $219. And before you know it he's at $199. Moral to the story here... if you go to one of these camera stores DO NOT take their first price, even if it sounds good to you!!!! She says OK but then he tells her he only has the floor model. We politely point out boxes up top with the same camera and he tries to tell us it's not the same. We politely point out it's the same model and then he says oh that one has been sold. Tammy says there are 4 of them and he says all 4 are sold and someone put a deposit on them. What's up with that!? As if someone would come in and put a deposit on 4 cameras and just leave there money in a place like this. Now we're skeptical that there's something wrong with the floor model and he's trying to take advantage of us (it was just the girls as DH was staying in the car and not up to walking) so we move on. On the other side of the parking lot is another camera outlet. We tell him the camera we are looking for and he says he has it. We ask how much and his answer is "what's the best price you've been given so far?" LOL. Even more reason to not take their first price! They obviously negotiate in all these places... turns out he didn't have the one we wanted and he tried to do a bait and switch but I recognized right away that it wasn't the same since I already have the camera... Well guess what? There is another camera outlet just 2 storefronts down! These places are everywhere on IDrive!!! This one turns out to be the winner. The guy was really nice. Had the model we wanted and even though he had it for much more, agreed to give it to us for the $199 price. Victory!

Well now Leia is done walking and needs to rest so she and Tammy share an ICEE and we call it a night.

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