Summer Vacation Part I: Traveling

I really don't like how long it has been since I have written a new post, but I have been enjoying what I have been doing in the meantime...

My last day of work was May 31st and I got to leave at 11:00. At 2:00 that afternoon I was in a car with my hubby and father-in-law (FIL) heading to Midway Airport to go to Disney World. Our flight was around 5:00, and we were in Florida around 7:30ish Chicago time.

Being on a diet and going on vacation is not always an easy thing. I started off pretty strong and didn't totally fall off the wagon when I was in Florida. The first diet saboteur I encountered was the airport. We all got something from Potbelly's at Midway. My husband and I both got a turkey sandwich. I got mine with lettuce, tomato, and a little bit of mayo. We split a bag of baked Lays and drank water. I think we did pretty good.

Source: http://www.potbelly.com/Food/OurMenu.aspx?subPage=Sandwiches

We flew on Southwest and they give you a free drink, usually a 100 calorie pack of some kind of crackers, and some peanuts. I usually get water or a diet pop of some kind to drink. It isn't the worst snack ever.

Source: http://www.amazon.com/Calorie-Packs-Cheese-Crisps-6-Count/dp/B000FA397Q

Once we got to Disney World, we checked into the hotel. We stayed at Port Orleans Riverside which is a mid-priced Disney Resort which is themed around New Orleans. It is very convenient to stay at one of the Disney Resorts, because they will bus you to and from the parks. Riverside is bigger and has different sections. My hubby and FIL have been going there since my hubby was a little kid, so they know their way around.

My hubby insists on staying in the section called Alligator Bayou which has southern country decor.

There are other sections that looks like mansions that slave owners would've had back in the day called Arcadia House and Magnolia Bends.

Inside Arcadia House- the room my hubby and I had on our honeymoon.

Riverside has a lot of amenities such as a restaurant, food court, store, several pools including one with a slide, horse-drawn carriage rides, river boat rides to Downtown Disney, and I'm sure much more that I haven't done.

A poor picture (back in the day when we used FILM in a camera) of the Downtown Disney skyline from the boat.

The food court mainly serves southern style greasy fast food. I basically stayed away from the place except for dinner the first night, snacks, and getting diet coke in the refillable mugs. I had an apple with some Carmel dip for dinner and a few of my hubby's chicken nuggets and fries.

A picture of the food court area of Riverside from the outside.

 As for breakfast, I avoided the greasy food and long lines in the hotel food court. I only went there to buy a low fat yogurt and fill my drink cup with some diet coke. I instead made my own oatmeal in the room using a tip from my FIL who used to travel a lot for work. You can use the coffee maker in your room to heat up water. Just fill the water section of the coffee maker and don't put in any coffee. Hit the start button and in a few minutes you have hot water.

Then you can pour the amount of water you need along with your oatmeal in an disposable aluminum pie or mini bread loaf pan. Just stir and the oatmeal will cook in the pan. Cheap and easy. I paired mine with the yogurt from the food court and an organic fruit strip.

I'm going to split what I ate and did into several posts, since this one is getting quite long. I do want to skip ahead to the meal I ate in the Orlando Airport before flying home. Orlando airport is set up with a hotel, shops, and restaurants in a middle section with the terminals being separate. You have to ride a shuttle to get to the correct terminal. There are smaller shops and more quick service restaurants in the terminals though. At our terminal, there was a new sit-down restaurant. It was mostly drinks and appetizers. It wasn't the best meal as far a diets go, but it sure did taste good! It was my first experience with sweet potato fries and I love them.

The next few posts will talk about the parks, the rides/attractions we went on, and the restaurants that we went to in the parks for our meals.