ICE in Orlando, Florida

ICE! like you've never seen it - Two million pounds of it - is transformed into every imaginable Christmas icon as the star attraction at the Gaylord Palms, in Orlando Florida, during the Christmas season, beginning in November and and continuing throughout December.

The shaped, cut, illuminated and often colored ice takes over a large portion of the Gaylord Palms exhibition center as you walk through the chilly 9 degrees environment in the winter parkas provided by the Gaylord Palms.

(Although the parkas are provided, close toed shoes are a must and warm jackets, sweaters and gloves/mittens are highly recommended so you can enjoy the experience.) To give you an idea of the size and scope of the attraction, it boasts 1,500 fluorescent tubing lights frozen within the ice and uses three different types of ice: clear "glass-like" crystal ice; white "snow-pack-like" ice and colored ice.


The entire ICE attraction is carved by a team of 40 artisans from Harbin, China. If you are lucky, you will be able to see one of the artisans working on a sculpture during your tour. Harbin is best known for its annual Ice Park and International Ice Festival.

The tour of Ice begins with a very short five minute video that explains how the ICE show came to America and how it is assembled each year; what it takes to make these intricate creations and what it takes to preserve them in Florida's temperate climate.

Back to the actual tour, besides the opportunity to have their photo with a 10-foot tall ice sculpture Santa Claus, complete with red suit made of ice, the highlight for kids will be the slides made of ice. That's right, for youngsters, or the young at heart; ice has been crafted into a large ice slide. There is no sled required; you just glide down sitting on your parka. You can spend as much time as you want on the slides, but the 9 degree temperature will catch up to you very quickly.
Finally, the most dramatic and powerful ice sculpture is the crystal-clear life sized replica of the Nativity scene, which depicts the birth of Jesus Christ in a manger.



































Here I am with my Mom. This was one of her Christmas presents this year...

We had a great time...and it was COLD!!

























































Here's Mom and Sara in the igloo...with the fisherman.




































Sara going down the side!!


















The pictures of the Nativity don't do it justice - it was breathtaking!






















































































































































We all had a great time - be sure to wear gloves...they will provide a parka if you need one...but no gloves!

Little Saigon, Orlando Florida

So, I've created a monster. Craig has never been a fan of Chinese food or any other Asian food. Apparently having grown up in a small southern town in Georgia didn't lend itself to him having many "good" Chinese food experiences.

I, on the other hand grew up about 20 minutes out of Manhattan (in New Jersey) and had regular access to China Town and other types of cuisine. Although my parents meat and potatoes upbringing didn't call for my Dad asking my Mom to order Chinese food on a Friday night, I still had friends who enjoyed it. So as a teenager, we'd go to the mall and get eggrolls or stop in Sam's Chinatown on the corner of Beverwyck Road in Lake Hiawatha and eat. Wonder if that place is still around? It reminded me of the movie, A Christmas Story, or as my sister and I called it the "You'll shoot your eye out..." movie. But, I digress...

When Friday night date night came up recently, I decided Craig needed to try Vietnamese food. I mean, he survived PF Changs and loved it, even begged to go back, so I figured how horrible could this be, right?

I hadn't been to Little Saigon on Colonial Drive in Orlando in years. They've upgraded the inside, even cleaned up the main street entrance; however, I was sure I was at the right place when we went around back to park. The back entrance is as it always was, pretty grim. You have to cross a "moat" made from a wooden pallet to get to the door. The "moat" was filled with, well let's say, um...water and the smell of yesterday's food lingering in the hot summer night air is, well...just as I remembered it.

But, once inside you stop wondering about what that "water" really was and start thinking about eating because it smells great. We started out with Spring Rolls with Peanut Sauce. I was so excited to eat them, I forgot to take a picture! But, they were, as usual GREAT!

For the main course, I ordered the shrimp and broccoli and Craig got a "soup aside" as the waiter pronounced it. His "soup aside" consisted of a cup of broth, a side plate of jalapenos, bean sprouts, limes, and herbs (pictured), and a big bowl of cooked noodles, pork, crab, shrimp, more bean sprouts and some brown sauce. When you combine them all together, they make what Craig calls "Cup-of-Soup". Both were delicious although we both preferred the dish I ordered. Wash all that down with a nice bottle of White Zin from Barefoot Bay and you've got a great and inexpensive meal.

Surprisingly Craig thought the food was good, but kind of bland...so the next stops on our culinary travels will be Thai and Indian food (mmmm, I can't wait!)

Wally's in Orlando

When some people travel, they go to the ends of the earth, but sometimes going across town to a dive bar is 1) all you have time for and 2) all you need to have some fun! On Friday, September 25th, 2009, Craig and I decided to venture to one of our local dive bars located right here in Orlando, Florida. I picked him up from work and we drove straight to Wally's Mills Avenue Liquors, I mean, after all, - where else would you go on Friday Night Date Night?

I've been to Wally's a few times in the past, usually very late at night after some concert, show, movie or late dinner. While we were there Friday, I was telling Craig about the story of how one of my friends, who will remain nameless, showed everyone at the bar how she could put both her ankles behind her head - while still sitting on the bar stool...good times...

However, all the times I visited Wally's, there was one thing I never noticed... maybe it was the smokey atmosphere, maybe the dim lights, maybe the crowded single passage isle around the bar area was distracting, who knows - but, Craig was quick to spot it right off the bat. (go figure) So, what was it? Well, apparently there's wall paper on the walls and not just any wall paper, as we soon discovered. You can see it behind me in the second picture and then again behind Craig and I in the third. But, just to be on the safe side, in case you couldn't quite make out what it was, I took a picture of it...see photo 4. You think that was special order, or what?

Aside from coming out smelling like an ashtray...the crowd is always fun to watch and listening to the old drunk guys trying to pick up young chicks never gets old in my book.

Our Favorite Restaurant in Orlando

Since this is my travel blog, who says local travel can't be posted here too? Here's a recent picture (Friday, August 14th, 2009) of Craig Glenn, my boyfriend, and I at a local oyster bar, High Tide Harrys. Gotta love a lot of good, inexpensive seafood to go here -- See ya there soon!
--Maureen McHale