Wednesday, May 19, 2021

5-19-21 Lakefront Park and more shopping


 I didn't figure Angie would be interested in going to the park we found a few years ago.  Hindesight, it might have been more fun for Layla then the Apopka drive.  But I enjoyed both.  

The park was about 30 minutes from our resort.  So we had an early dinner along our way---early bird senior meal at Golden Corral.  Someone had a really cute Disney shirt on so I asked where they got it----Walmart.  So after eating, I ran into the nearby Walmart before heading on to Lakefront park.

Sent Angie some more pictures of shirts.  She wasn't in love with this one either.

glow in the dark?  That might be neat at the park when it's dark.
sent her a couple other ideas----ears?
hats?
or----masks?
no go.  So continued on to the park----
It looked a lot different from when we were here a couple Feb.s ago.    I don't think there were islands in it then.
There were a lot of birds a few years ago, and that's what brought me back.  This time there were even more!
and an alligator.
and possibly my favorite bird--the Grackle!  I love the sound they make.  Not a chirp or song, more of a gargling sound.
there were even several Spoonbills there---and a family of Limpkins.
don't see Limpkins around too many places.

In Feb. we didn't see all the babies.  This turned out to be a great rookery.  Lots of babies, like these baby Moorhens.
lots of these snails that the birds like to eat.
baby Limpkin looking to be fed.





love these guys.
and these guys.
and the whistling ducks.
more baby Moorhens.
a little snack for the baby.
look at those feet.
great white heron
this was all lake in Feb.
crooning grackle.

even had some squirrels here.
ibises flying by

another new fellow
I've not seen a juvenile like this before----white heron?  baby little blue heron?


cute little guy
an anhinga sitting around above us.
This really is a nice park.  We found it by accident when we needed to get new tires for the car a few years back.
back at the condo, we were treated to another beautiful sunset.



 

looking East
west.

 I loved birding when we lived in Florida.  It was nice getting back to it for a bit.

Tuesday, May 18, 2021

2021 Wyndham Reunion Resort

 

Wyndham Reunion Resort

 I had heard that Reunion was a huge resort, but I was surprised just how large it is!  I didn't realize it was an actual subdivision.  Worldmark and Wyndham just happen to have a fraction of the units there.  

"Reunion is a World Class Resort Community located in Central Florida, less than ten miles from Disney World. It features world class amenities and many wonderful neighborhoods with real estate products ranging from Condos and Townhomes to Villas and Estate Homes.

In addition to three signature world-class golf courses, WorldMark Reunion offers a selection of outstanding amenities and is home to the Reunion Golf Academy. Enjoy the 5-acre Water Park, complete with lazy river, slides and interactive pool. There is a daily activities program with events for all ages, including bicycling and six lighted tennis courts. For those seeking relaxation, the Spa offers personalized pampering and there are three on-site restaurants with family, fine dining or tapas styles to choose from.

Located throughout six different communities within the resort, the villas at Reunion offer between one and three bedrooms. Guests can reserve one of these uniquely upscale spaces and enjoy spacious living rooms, dining rooms, fully-equipped kitchens, private balconies, and other plush condo-style comforts."

 Needless to say, it was rather impressive.  Apparently there are a lot of full time residents there, too.  I was a little surprised that it seemed so residential.  Where are the stores?  Do we have to go to Irlo Bronson Blvd to get to the stores?  All that I could easily find was the Publix about 1 mile down the road and a CVS across the street from it.  Wasn't until Angie and Josh got there that they found the area by the entrance to I-4 (about 3 miles away) and it had several really nice looking restaurants around it.

Our timeshare units were in the Villas at Reunion.  This is one of the Villas buildings.   We were put in---E102 on Cabana Ct.    

This is the view from our back patio looking over at the Grand section of the resort---the hotel villas of the resort.
Inside our 3 bedroom unit. 
You can tell you're in a Worldmark unit if it has the complimentary spices.  Such a nice touch!  Too bad Wyndham doesn't do that, too.
Our large patio.
I did do some furniture rearranging.  We were suppose to have a handicap accessible unit, but when they combined our WM and Wyndham reservations so we wouldn't have to move, I think they just gave us what was available with a ground level.  But it was fine.  No roll in shower or bars in the bathroom, but Ken was able to manage with the walker and wheelchair.  I also moved the couches closer together so I could move the little table over between the chair and couch.  Moved the lamp over there.  That became Ken's area. 
Ended up moving 3 of the chairs over to the wall so ken had room for his wheelchair at the table.  Also moved the vase to the buffet.
looking towards the front door (the other 2 bedrooms were on either side of the door.
our Master bedroom (moved the chair away so I could get the wheel chair in there.  Used the seat cushion on "ken's" chair so he could stand up easier.
Layla's bathroom---and guest bathroom, if there were any guests.


Layla has grown accustomed to having her own bedroom when they go anywhere now.  That's one of the first things she looks for.

And she was happy again with her room


Mom and Dad's room---2nd master bedroom, with on suite

back to the real master bedroom bathroom.  We were suppose to have a handicap accessible room.  Somehow, I don't think this is one!  But Ken was able to manage with his walker.   No accessible shower in this bathroom.  Plus the toilette in a little closet wasn't too accessible.  No handle bars, either.   I had even asked if this was an accessible room when they called the next day to see how everything was.  They said it's on the ground level so it's accessible.  I don't think he knew what he was talking about, but since they aren't making us move mid-week, I didn't complain.
The children's play area of the water park.  Looked like a lot of fun for a kid, but it looked like it was closed.  I presume because of Covid?
I was really impressed with the lazy river pool and looking forward to taking Layla there.  Unfortunately she ended up being pretty sick, so we didn't take her. 

Didn't really like that there was no parking by it, either.  Just a drop off zone, then a parking lot a couple blocks away.
Surprised it wasn't more crowded.
little green courtyard next to the building we were in.  The grounds were really nice.
The little pool across from our building.  I did make it here a couple times.
looking out from our pool.

 At first I wasn't too thrilled with the location of this resort and the size of it.  But by the time we spent 8 nights here, I'd gotten use to it.  I hope to go back some day.

5-18-21 hanging around Reunion and a little shopping

 

 After a long day of traveling yesterday, we didn't do much today.  We decided to go to Miller's Ale House for dinner, so headed over to Irlo Bronson Hwy in the early afternoon.  Then to waste some time before going to eat, I did a little shopping in a few of the hundreds of gift shops along the way.  Angie was wanting matching shirts for our trip to Disney, so thought I'd do some scouting for them. 

Cute, but I think she found them too simple.
I liked that these had the year on them.  But she wasn't sold on them, either.


Angie asked if there were any Animal Kingdom shirts.  This was as close as I could find.  She wasn't impressed.

Dinner was good.  I miss Miller's.  When we lived in S. Florida it was one of the places we went to regularly.

Back at the resort, we decided to find the water park and check it out.  Looks pretty impressive.   Too bad the kids area wasn't open.

love all the shade around the pool.
and the lazy river.
Love all the tropical flowers!!!!

even had free inner tubes to use.

back at the condo, Ken pointed out this little guy looking to visit with us.

Figured we'd be going to the water park with Layla, so we just walked over to the pool across from our condo for a little while.

walking back to our condo (the building on the left)

cute little courtyard next to our condo.
We even got to see another really pretty sunset from the front of our condo.





 A nice quiet day.  Saving up our energy for when the kids arrive on the 20th.