Hanging out at the Orlando RV Resort - 2022/01/05-26

Catching up on some older posts. This is a long stretch for our time at the Orlando RV resort in Florida. 

It's time to head home from our New Years trip to Michigan! Home being Florida, now that we're new residents of that state. 

We love our Southwest pilots. As we were boarding, the kids walked up the cockpit to say hi, and Pilot Ed McDermott invited them to sit in the Captain's seat, push a few buttons, and get a picture! After everyone boarded, they got a special callout on the intercom too. "Thank you to Ian and Alli for coming up to visit with us. You can tell your friends you were in the cockpit of a Boeing 737 aircraft. And maybe you can write about it for school."

Before all that though, we had to get dropped off at the airport. It's hard to say goodbye when we've been hanging out together for so long. It's been 3 weeks since they came down to Florida for Christmas and then we went up to Michigan for New Years. 

Now it's time to go back to the RV and all the fun that's coming up in Florida. 

We spent the night in a hotel, but the next morning, we grabbed the RV from storage and headed over to Orlando RV resort. There's 1000+ campsites here, but this is the busy season, so pretty much all of them are going to be taken. When you arrive, they have you queue in this parking lot until someone in a golf cart can come by and talk to you about your options. Which sites are open, and which sections you might want to stay in. While I was in the queue, Theresa grabbed her bike and looked around herself, making sure we didn't go to anything that was too uneven, short, or difficult to back into. 

We ended up choosing this one. Not a paved site, but within walking distance to the places we want to go, and easy enough to park at. 

And we've got a neighbor! This gopher tortoise made its home in the field beside us. The campsite has covered it partially to keep people from stepping on the hole. 

Off he goes to explore the field. 

Before we left, the kids didn't have a chance to put Operation Ho Ho Ho Nutty Rick into effect. As soon as we got back, they made sure to grab our stocking and fill them with treats. 

Theresa and I each got some of our favorite candies. 

Thank you kids! You're so thoughtful!

A new year has started, so that means it's time for new year's resolutions. The workout room here is nice to have, with an elliptical, bike, a couple treadmills, and free weights. Theresa and I take turns watching the kids to give each other free time. 

The kids will be in the pool for as long as we let them. They jump in, find whatever other kids are there, and ask if they want to be friends and if they can play games with them. They'll go hours in the pool and still ask for more time when it's time to head home. 

And if they're not in the pool, they want to be on the playground. 

Even though we've got New Years resolutions to work out more, we're still eating good. I think we can make just about anything we want in the RV. We just have to get a little creative sometimes. Our gyro night was delicious! I couldn't find ground pork, and used mild sausage instead along with our regular gyro spices. It was the best gyro we've made ever!

Theresa's plate is a little more colorful than mine. 

Homemade sweet and sour sauce to go on our sweet and sour chicken, and teriyaki chicken with homemade sauce. 

Hamburgers are a quick and easy favorite. Plus Theresa found some delicious brioche buns from Aldi that make them even better. 

Making sure to celebrate National Strawberry Ice Cream day. With weather getting cold overnight, our RV freezer actually gets to 0-5F, which is enough to actually have ice cream that doesn't seem like soft serve. 

While we were playing on the playground, a couple of the resort people invited us to a movie night. The kids were super excited for it. 

We learned it was actually a church that was putting the event on. They even provided popcorn, hot dogs, drinks, and candy! They showed Abominable (2019) and the kids loved it. We would later watch another Yeti movie, Smallfoot (2018) back in the RV afterwards. 

Building a fort with one of their new blankets from Uncle Don and Aunt Amy. It's super soft and big enough for all four of us to use on the couch. 

Last year we crushed our 500 mile bike and 500 mile walk challenge. This year we're adding to the mileage. 600 of each! That's a lot of miles to get in, so on the weekends we like to head to the Van Fleet trail. It's long and flat, and great for getting in a lot of miles. 

Plus we get to see our friend Henry! He's got a place out here and is always up for visitors. He showed the kids one of his newest additions, Lurch the turkey. The kids wanted to see how he gets his water. He's got a pipe that he's hammered into the ground about 20 feet with a hand pump on it. The kids were excited to try it out, amazed that you could get water that way. 

Petting one of Henry's geese. Their feathers are so incredibly soft. No wonder they are used to make pillows. 

The Muscovy ducks can't really quack. They make some interesting sounds and wiggle their butts a lot. 

I don't know what we were watching, but it was probably Encanto. We've watched that one half a dozen times already. 

After 6 months of traveling with a TV in the kids room, and barely turning it on once, I decided to just take it down. That gives the kids better access to the magnets and other toys in the cubby behind there. And sure enough, as soon as they could get to them easier, they played with them a lot more. 

Even when temperatures are in the 40s, we've got to get our bike riding in. The kids get all bundled up for the ride. We're seeing some new animals too! For the first time on this trail, we say a couple deer run across the path, and a few otters too! 

Henry's animals are enjoying the cracked corn. 

Back on Theresa's birthday when we were here, she got to hold a baby goat that was 3 days old. Henry's goats have added 2 more little ones to their herd, and these girls are 4 days old. 

Not wanting to be left out, one of the older ones (16 days) hopped up on a stand beside me so I could pick him up. Henry said it's good for their demeanor if they're held and petted when they're little. 

This one is so comfy on Theresa. 

She was falling asleep! It was so adorable. Way too much cuteness!

During our time here, we were also lucky enough to have a few visitors come and see us! Visitors like Avery, Megan, and Patrick!

And even Uncle Jacob! But those will be stories for another post. We're really starting to settle into this RV life. The RV is really feeling like home now!