My First ADIML Evar - September 21, 2016

..which might have been posted earlier, except posting that you're away from home is never a good idea while you're still gone. We didn't return until the 25^th (the following Sunday).

By any means, lotsa pics under the cut.

B let me sleep in that morning. Which means she didn't wake me until 7:30 AM.
At the onset of our anniversary week, she'd been pushing me out of bed at 5:30 instead.
After all, Universal Orlando was opening at 7:00 AM for early entry and she wanted her money's worth.

I'm outta bed first to run a bit in the gym. My feet hated me SO much. Look how prominent my great toe bones are. My ankles were swollen as hell, too. I'm not sure if I ran more than a mile-and-a-half that day. While I an average of 5K daily, there are longer and shorter days. I'd run a casually paced 10-miler the day before our flight, so I could slack a bit during our vacay.

A quick shower and shave and brush after that....

B slips on my traveling wedding band. This isn't my actual wedding ring BUT it's my second favorite. It's the 'Euro' ring since it's been to London and Paris and Italy and all.

Eight nights at the Hard Rock in a poolview room? And we never set a single toe in it.
How does that happen...?

We set our door sign for room cleaning....

...ran for the elevators--a right at John Lennon, another at James Brown...

...boarded the ferry to CityWalk...

...where B discussed her most recent bruises (is that a white people thing or just her? Cuz I'm not sure)

Then we swam against the 'current' of that day's USF visitors t'ward a waiting bus.

Today was a Sea World Day.

Our bus got to the park before official opening time, so I could sit back and enjoy breakfast...a Cobb salad purchased the previous night at Bread Box on Citywalk. They'd ever-so-nicely package the lettuce and other ingredients in separate containers. Which meant it kept nicely in the fridge until time to combine them and eat. Yay!

Always the planner, B packed our things in a locker.

Then it was showtime.

We saw the dolphins...

...and the whales and the aquariums and other creatures.

But then I suggested that we try a kiddie rolly coaster and B got all upset and whiny cuz Oh No, it's So Scary. MAN UP AND RIDE, WOMAN.*

_{(* The above remark is a complete and total fabrication. While it's true Brenda never boarded a coaster prior to meeting me, she's been on one hundred thirty-some since then. She was only rubbing her eye)}

Where was I...? Oh YES. Then she got all brave and decided to try Mako, the new coaster.

But not before a tall, cool glass of Diet Mako Blast.
TBH, trying everyone's 'new' Freestyle flavors was more daring than most of the coasters.
Half (most?) of them tasted like a Grade School Dare gone wrong.

Mako proves that world's tallest-fastest-longest statistics--when it comes to roller coasters--is purely for idiots. This is one of the best hypercoasters I've ever boarded. The only which SO much air I've had to pull down my shirt down, lest it roll itself up to my armpits.

After a somewhat carb-free BBQ lunch (meat only for me, Brenda was happy to snatch my corn)

We tried the front row on their flying coaster. This time B's NOT bluffing.

You see, most flying coasters feature an inversion called a 'Pretzel Loop' and it's one of the WORST things you can do to yourself. Are you upside down when you're right-side up and what the Frippity FRAP?!?!??

It's worst in the back row IMHO. Which is why I'm riding the back row solo while B takes pics of me from my phone.

Once she got off work, Kar-Uh (remember 'Dared to Eat a Fried Snickers Bar' or the blonde sitting next to Da Babies on Valleyfair's website pix? Yes, her) picked us up from Sea World and took us to one of her favorite new spots.

B got a traditional meat-and-three, following Kar-Uh's suggestion with chicken 'tenders.'

Chicken and Waffles, Catfish and grits, collards and fried okra for me.
BTW, I don't eat like this EVERY day. But when you gotta try new things? You gotta.

Which also explains my cup full o' Cheerwine.
Hey, what's that? Never heard of it. *Instinctively fills glass*

Once her fiance Sean got off work, he met us back at CityWalk for dessert at the Toothsome Chocolate Emporium. It was slated to open the following day, but was in preview that night.

_{(DELETED SCENE: Between dinner and then was another sequence in which Kar-uh graciously took us to Target. We bought things we hadn't thought about and mebbe I bought a 3-pack of different underwear while the girls made fun of me and snapped sneak photos. But those are on B's phone and I haven't downloaded those yet and ah, well. Guess that wont' make the cut!)}

Couldn't bring myself to splurge on simple carbs after my Single Carb Meal of the Day at the Coop. Even on vacation. So I ordered black-and-tan onions rings and pouted. Couldn't tell you if they tasted good or not. Anything that didn't taste like ice cream tasted like licking a farm animal's snout.