Spring Break 2018 - Day 3

From the travel journal -

Cara - Notice I'm the keeper of the records. Sigh. If only Darcy were here--

We got out of the unit a half an hour over our ten o'clock morning checkout time. We had no elevator in our building, so I had to walk to Building Four to get the wheeled luggage rack. I took the stairs, got the item, and pushed the elevator button. A Wyndham cleaning crew waited with me, all of us staring at the elevator doors. 

It showed it was on the second floor. Five minutes later, it was still on the second floor. We waited another five minutes, and the cleaning supervisor went off to tell maintenance. I went back up the stairs, minus the luggage rack, to give out the bad news. We carried our stuff down the three flights of stairs in two trips.

No one has yet to bitch to me about checking out late, but I try hard to follow the rules as I know how it is to be on the other end when wanting to check in early. The earlier we depart, the earlier the cleaning crew gets inside to ready the room for early arrivals. So on and so forth.

We decided that today we would shop. Madison has somehow broken all of her shoes and is down to one pair. These she has worn until the straps are literally hanging by threads. She needs shoes. Desperately. 

SueG said we'd hit the Orlando outlets.

We ate again at Cracker Barrel, where the same two ladies welcomed us like old friends. From the Barrel, we looked up the nearest outlet and headed there. It was packed with European shoppers dragging rolling suitcases.

Shopping with Madison is quite the experience. SueG has had a taste of it, but her kids have not. I give credit to Sydney, who hung in the longest. She continued following Madison around while the rest of us sat and had a drink. We did not get in our 5,000 steps goal.

At first, we couldn't find any shoe stores except sneaker places like Nike and New Balance. While Madison owns a pair of sneakers, they are rarely worn, although she informed me in the New Balance store that the ones she did own needed to be replaced--for "the gym," which sent me into a laughing fit. She bought a pair of sneakers.

We walked and walked and walked to find a shoe store that sold other shoes. I thought maybe shoe stores didn't have outlets when Madison suddenly pointed and exclaimed: "FINALLY".

More laughter. We did not enter. 

Eventually, we found a map and some stores, but alas, left with only the sneakers.

Purchases made:

• Cara: Fossil sunglasses
• SueG: Ray-Ban sunglasses to use after her cataract surgery in April. Water.
• Maddy: New Balance sneakers and some clothes from Charlotte Russe, which is going out of business.
• Alex: A soda
• Sydney: Nothing

The trip home was uneventful and quiet. The youngsters were on their electronic devices, although Madison and Alex correctly answered the trivia I threw at them when we passed by Polytechnic College.

Me: "Name something we learned about Polytechnic College."

SueG: "It's the only one in Florida."

Me: "I'm not counting that as an answer."

Alex: "They have two dormitories."

Me: "Correct. Five points for Alex."

Madison: "It has is the only college with a fully digital library."

Me: "Correct. Five points to Madison."

SueG: "And ten points to me because my answer was right too. It is the only Polytechnic school in Florida. Remember, it's a long walk home from here."

And another traveling Spring Break is in the books.