A couple weeks ago, my great friend Marie came to visit from Michigan. Her wonderful husband Ryan surprised her with a trip to Florida knowing how much she loves it here and misses it in the long, cold, Michigan winters. Marie and I were roommates on our Disney internship back in 2001, and she has thankfully kept in touch with me all these years. I am not sure why… she is really a much nicer person than I am. You would be hard put to find a more thoughtful human being.
Marie arrived in town on the Saturday before Easter but stayed with her friend Nate for a few days. I swept her up on Monday afternoon, and it was pretty much a whirlwind after that. Monday night, we made dinner at home and took Hunter to the playground, so Marie could see him in all his toddler glory. We sat up late looking at each other’s Shutterfly books and talking, a conversation which pretty much lasted three days and was never actually finished.
Tuesday morning we planned to go to Mount Dora, but the weather had other ideas. It was rainy and stormy for a good part of the morning, so Marie came up with a backup plan perfectly suited to my 
adventurous two year old – a monorail and resort crawl! She speaks Hunter’s language! After Hunter’s long nap, we headed out to the Contemporary for lunch. We ate at a new spot called the Contempo Cafe, which is situated in the shadow of the monorail beams. Hunter was in heaven, and we enjoyed delicious food and a perfect atmosphere. After lunch, Hunter demanded to be taken directly to the monorail, so we headed via monorail to the Polynesian. We inadvertently made Marie’s day by suggesting we partake in a Dole Whip, which prior to no
w was only available inside the Magic Kingdom. Hooray! After our delicious pineapple treats, we did a little shopping and found an exciting purchase. At Christmas, I found these boxers/sleep shorts for Patrick which have all the Disney transportation vehicles all over them. They only had grown up sizes, but I said numerous times I wished they made them in Hunter’s size. Well, we found them that day at the Poly! Although they are big enough for a four year old, Hunter was not going to leave the store without them, and really, neither was I. That night, we made Patrick dress in an identical outfit to Hunter and take self portraits while we were out to dinner. Cute!!
After the Poly, we monorailed to the Grand Floridian and had a good time taking pictures and doing a little more shopping. By this point, we had worn thin the patience of my little man and we headed back to the Contemp to retrieve our car. When we got home, Marie and I got ready because we were going to meet our other former roommate, Andrea, out for dinner.
Andrea suggested Dexter’s in Winter Park, and we had a wonderful time. I had never been to this particular area (street) of Winter Park and it was SO cute. Dinner was great and Marie and I shared several appetizers for our dinner. I highly recommend sweet potato chips (dipping sauces are amazing!) to anyone reading this! We sat talking for way longer than it took us to eat, and then had our own little self portrait session in the car after forgetting to have someone take it for us.
Wednesday, we decided Epcot was our plan, and my mom graciously agreed to watch Hunter so we could navigate stroller-free. Marie and I headed straight for the baked potato stand and enjoyed a rare delicacy for Epcot (Epcot, please keep the potato stand!). We meandered the World Showcase, taking random pictures and perusing stores with a leisure to which I am not accustomed. It was awesome! After Epcot, we met Patrick at Marie’s favorite Disney establishment (well, one of them), Bongos Cuban Cafe, for some chicharrones. They did not disappoint… delicious… and the sangria was pretty good, too! We conned Patrick into stopping at Cold Stone on the way home for my new favorite ice cream cupcakes, and we enjoyed our treats with Hunter when we all got home.
Marie sadly had to leave on Thursday and as always, I was left wishing she and Ryan lived closer. Like, next door. She is a super easy and fun guest to have and I can’t wait until the next time!
