Hey everyone!
I know what you’re all thinking. You’re all thinking, “wait two blog posts in one week? Is it Christmas? Is it some sort of blog holiday? Is Wayne dying?”
And the answer to your questions is “no” – sorry to disappoint on all fronts.
But yeah, this one – Day 8 – is kind of a shorter one than my usual posts but still chock full of….jokes?
I honestly considered merging Days 8 and 9 but eh – Day 9 is actually a lot (translation: expect to see that one sometime mid-June) so that would have been ridiculous. And in the immortal words of Balki Bartokomous…
Right so. You see what I’m saying.
But right – Day 8 right? Day 8 is great.
So let’s get on with it!!
Our 12-Day Empty Nest Extravaganza Trip: Day 8
As y’all recall from my last post, we disembarked Oasis of the Seas on Day 7, rented a car, and drove to Disney’s Vero Beach Resort (https://verobeach.disney.go.com/) for a couple nights.
And unlike many Disney destinations, Vero is all about taking it slow and relaxing. So on Day 8, we slept in slightly. We were up and out of our room by around 9:30 or so. Which I mean, fine, it’s not like we were Garfield-ing the morning away…
…but we were up earlier than we would be at, say, Walt Disney World. So lay off.
But right. Up and out of the room at 9:30. In fact, we were actually up and out of the resort at around that time is more like it. On account of we were heading out for breakfast.
And breakfast today was at a spot we visited back in 2020 when we visited Vero before the world kind of ended for a little while – The Lemon Tree! Which when I wrote about it last time we visited Vero Beach, I said it reminded me of the Seinfeld episode where they were trying to swap the answering machine tape.
But this time? This time it reminds me of that episode of The Simpsons, where the Shelbyville kids steal Springfield’s prized lemon tree. You know the one where Bart is like, “this raid is as useless as that lemon-shaped rock over there.” And then he’s like, “wait a minute, there’s a lemon behind that rock.”
Ha classic Bort.
But right ok – The Lemon Tree is located in like, what? Is it like downtown Vero Beach? I dunno. I mean, maybe this looks downtown-y.
Wait a minute! There’s a restaurant named Lemon Tree behind those palm trees!
That’s what we in the blog biz refer to as a ‘callback’.
The more you know.
We walked up to the front desk, put our names in, and were told it would be about 20 minutes or so. Which was fine. It was a beautiful day and there was some live music being played next door. So we listened to that as we looked around at the shops and cafes surrounding the restaurant.
At around 10:15 or so, we were called and led to our table. One cool thing about The Lemon Tree is that they start you off with complimentary muffins. Which is cool. Because when people ask me what my favorite flavor of muffin is, I always answer, “complimentary.”
I also started off with an iced latte specialty drink thing. Sorry, I have no idea what this is but I am like 99% it was coffee-flavored. But whatever, it was served in a mason jar so who cares – it’s cute as hell.
The Southern Benedict was the first thing to catch my eye today but last time we were here, I LOVED the grits so I also wanted some of that shizz. And like, given this is a magical land full of breakfast wonder, I could get both!
Yeah, breathe that one in. So this thing is like a traditional benedict in that it really is not at all. I mean, sure there were poached eggs.
But like, where you would expect Canadian Bacon? Sausage.
Where you would expect an English muffin? Biscuit.
Where you would expect Hollandaise? Frikkin gravy.
And where you would expect no bacon crumbles? Bacon Crumbles.
It was good. Is what I am saying to you know. And the grits continued to hit. I REALLY liked this breakfast you guys.
Nickie went with the Lemon Blueberry Pancakes and Sausage.
Which I think she rather liked as well? I remember her not being like blown away by them or anything. But what did you expect? They’re pancakes. They’re not Eggs Benedict but with gravy, sausage, biscuits, and bacon or something.
Such a good breakfast tho. Deffo check out Lemon Tree if you are down visiting Disney’s Vero Beach. It’s only like a 15-minute drive from the resort and totez worth it.
After we finished breakfast, we hopped back in the rental and headed back to the resort. We went back up to the room and given I just ate a worse-for-you version of Eggs Benedict, I was feeling a bit guilty. So I decided to check out the on-premise gym while Nickie set up at the pool.
The gym was a short walk out the back of our building.
And right by the pool. Oh, and check out the sign.
It says “Anchors A-Weigh.” Because that is something like nautical-related but also “weigh” is kind of related to working out. High-larious.
It’s a nice little facility though, a good amount of equipment, TV, treadmills. Everything you need. Plus? It was completely empty.
Which meant I could have sports on the TV while I watched Gossip Girl on my phone. Um, hello. I didn’t know this place was a complete heaven on earth.
After a quick run on the treadmill, I quickly ran up to the room to shower before meeting Nickie down at the pool.
While in the pool, we ended up talking with another couple that had also just gotten off a Disney cruise and we traded some stories back and forth, kind of comparing ships and what not. But at around 12:30 or so, it started to rain. Nickie and I, therefore, made the call to grab some lunch.
And hey! I took pictures of what I got today. My blog skills have really improved since yesterday. We once again were getting lunch at Wind & Waves Market right off the pool area.
Since breakfast wasn’t THAT long ago, I wanted to give their make-your-own-salad situation a shot.
I don’t fully remember everything I chose, but I think I got some mixed greens, cucumbers, olives, chickpeas, eggs, bacon, cheddar, croutons, and bleu cheese. Look at this masterpiece.
Yumtown.
And since it was raining, we found a table with an umbrella over in the bar area and played some Rummy 500 while we enjoyed our lunch.
It was actually so nice, huddling under that umbrella in the rain, playing cards, having a yummy lunch, and being able to spend some time with the prettiest girl in the world. Kind of an awesome way to spend an hour or so.
In actuality, I think we actually spent more like an hour and half there while the rain passed over. Once the rain started to slow for a bit, we made our way over to the hot tub.
And um.
While we were there, the cast members working the pool announced they were going to be running some water slide races. And at first, I was like “nahhh…I don’t know if I should.” But Nickie convinced me.
Also though? I really didn’t need much convincing.
It was a lot like this scene.
So yeah, I participated in the water slide races. How the water slide races work is you go on up to the top of the water slide. The cast member up there announces your name and start timing you at the beginning of your slide and stop when you hit the water. While I was up there, there were two women in front of me and one of them was legit terrified of going down the water slide. And she decided to take her first plunge down a water slide during a water slide race? Rando lady – you are my hero.
Oh also – totally optional, but feel free to tell the cast members your name is a Disney character. They totally don’t check your ID. I told them I was Mr. Incredible and they totally bought it. So when I went down they announced me as “Mr. Incredible.”
I can’t believe they fell for that.
The time of my slide was 8.63 seconds. Now, you can go down as much as you want to try and improve your time but honestly? 8.63 seconds was like a real good time so I was one-and-done.
As we waited for the other racers to finish, the tension was palpable. But finally, the last rider went down and we awaited the results. They announced them in categories. I believe there were a few childrens’ age groups and they were split by gender as well. They then moved onto the adults, first Adult Women and, finally, Adult Men.
At this point, my heart was beating out of my chest. I mean, look, I should have just been happy to even be considered in the same class as some of the athletes surrounding me but whatever, I wanted to win. We all wanted to win.
The results were read off and as the cast member said, “And in first place…” I could taste victory. It was right in front of me. “And in first place…” Not me.
Yeah, they announced another slider and their time.
But you know what? My time was shorter. I was honestly not going to say anything, but we were kind of hanging out with some other folks in the pool and someone next to me was like, “weren’t you faster?” And I mean, I couldn’t lie. So I told him yeah – I was faster. And him and his crew started shouting over to check the numbers again.
We had the makings of a terrific scandal at this point. But the officiating crew went back to the tape and saw that, in fact, Mr. Incredible was actually the fastest waterslider of all-time today.
I did it.
I did it you guys.
Some people wait a lifetime for a moment like this.
After all that excitement, we went back up to the room to shower and get ready for the evening. And where was our evening taking us? Welp, we were back at the Green Cabin Room for starters. And we were back to a dirty Grey Goose martini and a Sauvignon Blanc.
The view was still nice from the Green Cabin Room it turns out.
And we were at the Green Cabin Room on account of they were doing Disney Trivia tonight. And like, OF COURSE we were going to participate in Disney Trivia.
We also saw they had some pretzels on their limited menu. And like OF COURSE we were gonna get some pretzels.
OK right so Disney Trivia. The first prize tonight was like this really nice painting. Nickie and I wanted it for realz bad. So we played our little Disney hearts out. But alas, though we got nearly every question right, we came in second.
But I mean, I DO want to call out that the person that came in first? She was a Disney World cast member. So, like. Shenanigans. Though it was fine – she was there on her honeymoon anyway and we ended up talking to her and her fiancée and her in-laws and everything and they were all super nice. So, at least the painting is going to a good home.
And hey, second place also gets a prize ya know. Look at this waterproof phone holder.
Painting, schmainting. Amirite? Thing is splashproof.
Which, like, I honestly don’t know if that’s the same as waterproof. Not a risk I’m willing to take.
After we finished up with trivia, Nickie and I were still a little hungry. Not like, A LOT hungry. Just a little.
So, we went over to Wind & Waves Market again to check out what was on the Kids’ Menu. Perfect for a little appetite. You know. Cuz kids are little.
Nickie went with the Turkey Sandwich, served with Carrot Sticks and a GoGo Squeez. I opted for the Chicken Strips and Fries.
We found a comfy couple of chairs around a table in the lobby and chatted with some of the cast members as we ate our fun little meals. Oh and we also got this like Funfetti Mickey-Shaped Whoopie Pie situation.
And then? Well, then we went right back to the Green Cabin Room. Partly to get a good look at that pretty sky outside.
But also to get a good look at this pretty thing inside.
Yah, we wanted some dranks. Is what I am saying to you now.
And we hung out there for a while. We ended up talking with another couple for a bit and we all bonded over TV shows. Namely sexy period pieces I think. We talked a lot about Bridgerton and Outlander and what not. Sexy period pieces FTW I think.
We also got to spend a little more time with our favorite Green Cabin Room bartenders – Katie and Tabitha.
The best, seriously.
I’m pretty sure we were there until closing. Which sounds way more impressive than it should. Place closes at 10PM. But still, we deffo had some drinks. OH and I was asked to go get my waterslide medal and wear it at one point. Which I mean…
All in all though – Day 8 really was great! Disney’s Vero Beach is kind of a magical place.
Unforch, on Day 9 – we gotta leave. But forch? We are going to Walt Disney World! See you guys then!
Last post – Day 7!
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