The holiday draws to an end and plans are a little less clear. We have had enough food to feed a small African country and so we skip breakfast. The weather today is supposed to be improve so we work on the principle that we will get some pool time.
First we head to the Outlets, we don't really want or need anything, we have a quick look at the usual suspects - Lacoste, Adidas, Under Armour etc. I get nothing, Julie picks up a new top but that's it. Surprisingly the Outlets are empty, I would have thought there would have been a rush for last minute shopping but that doesn't appear to the case, unless they are elsewhere.
Next up we decide to go and have a look at Old Town, we have never been there and to be honest there's nothing that really appeals to us about it, but it's something to tick off the to do list. The small and strange shopping outlet is home to the weird and wonderful. It's really known for nightime classic car and bike rallies, but it's 11.30am so we wouldn't be seeing any of that. We dip into a couple of tat shops and a shop selling wood carvings, there's tattoo parlours and a couple of 'traditional' American bars but nothing to hold our interest. There are probably only a couple of dozen tourists knocking about so it's difficult to see how this place survives.
There is a Flippers pizza restaurant and they are doing a happy hour pizza special so we sit down for lunch in the sun. But after about 15 minutes we are forced back inside to avoid the plague of flies that has descended - I keep an eye out for the locusts
First we head to the Outlets, we don't really want or need anything, we have a quick look at the usual suspects - Lacoste, Adidas, Under Armour etc. I get nothing, Julie picks up a new top but that's it. Surprisingly the Outlets are empty, I would have thought there would have been a rush for last minute shopping but that doesn't appear to the case, unless they are elsewhere.
Next up we decide to go and have a look at Old Town, we have never been there and to be honest there's nothing that really appeals to us about it, but it's something to tick off the to do list. The small and strange shopping outlet is home to the weird and wonderful. It's really known for nightime classic car and bike rallies, but it's 11.30am so we wouldn't be seeing any of that. We dip into a couple of tat shops and a shop selling wood carvings, there's tattoo parlours and a couple of 'traditional' American bars but nothing to hold our interest. There are probably only a couple of dozen tourists knocking about so it's difficult to see how this place survives.
There is a Flippers pizza restaurant and they are doing a happy hour pizza special so we sit down for lunch in the sun. But after about 15 minutes we are forced back inside to avoid the plague of flies that has descended - I keep an eye out for the locusts
unch done and dusted then it's time for a little pool time. The resort has a a massive adult only pool so that is where we head. There is also a really cool family pool complex including water slides and a flow rider surfing machine but we just want some quiet time. The weather is mid 70's, so very pleasant and I spend a little time in the pool, it's so big that I don't bother with lengths only widths 😉😉
After a couple of hours it's time for some liquid refreshment at the pool bar, this is a lovely resort but you have to be prepared to pay sky high prices , and coupled with the pound-dollar rate then it makes Manchester airport seem cheap ! Drinks are priced at $8-9.50 per pint so we ration ourselves. There is still a bottle of wine in the fridge for later. As the sun goes down on the adult pool we head back to the room to change for tonight's in hotel entertainment - a Cirque ahow and then ICE.
We get down early for the Cirque show and get seated (in a crap seat) about 30 minutes before the show starts. Given that it's a show in the hotel lobby it is amazing, it's mainly acrobatics but it's free and is an excellent prelude to the main show ICE, which is real ice carvings set in a freezing, and I mean freezing environment 🎅🎅 Think North Pole
After a couple of hours it's time for some liquid refreshment at the pool bar, this is a lovely resort but you have to be prepared to pay sky high prices , and coupled with the pound-dollar rate then it makes Manchester airport seem cheap ! Drinks are priced at $8-9.50 per pint so we ration ourselves. There is still a bottle of wine in the fridge for later. As the sun goes down on the adult pool we head back to the room to change for tonight's in hotel entertainment - a Cirque ahow and then ICE.
We get down early for the Cirque show and get seated (in a crap seat) about 30 minutes before the show starts. Given that it's a show in the hotel lobby it is amazing, it's mainly acrobatics but it's free and is an excellent prelude to the main show ICE, which is real ice carvings set in a freezing, and I mean freezing environment 🎅🎅 Think North Pole
Not sure what the story is behind the carvings, it seems to be based on an American Christmas story, about a small boy who wants a gun for christmas and sits on the toilet eating soap. Well it is America !! (there is also a lamp made out of a leg 🙄🙄. It's extremely cold in the fridge and so you really only do get one go at walking through it, after about 20 minutes I could feel frost bite starting to develop in the end of my fingers. A strange feeling in the sunshine state !! . The ending is the traditional nativity scene carved from ice, so I get that bit
There's also ice slides in there, snowball fights/shows, christmas cooking classes but when we exit, we have a quick look in the shops but it's 8pm and we are hungry so food is the priority. The cheapest easts place appears to be Wreckers sports bar, so we duck into there are it ain't cheap, a few beers, nachos and burgers and the bill comes out in excess of 106 dollars. Time for a wine and bed !