James Boyd
Return to the “Land of Gold”
Next to Georgia, Florida is my and B. J.’s most traveled state followed by South Carolina and North Carolina. The home bases for our timeshares are Pompano Beach and Orlando. Orlando is a Spanish word meaning “Land of Gold”. Orlando is a fun place 24/7. The folks in Orlando had been pouting with us because we had not spent quality time with them lately, so, to pacify them, we booked a condo at our lavish new haven, Wyndham Bonnet Creek at Disneyworld and prepared to drop in on them.
Little Blue had been sulking because we rode Big Red instead her to the Blue Ridge earlier in the month. So, to keep peace in the corral, we saddled Little Blue, left Big Red pawing and snorting and headed south on I-95.
The frisky Little Blue Mustang was beside herself. With her mane flowing, she put her head into the wind and quickly picked up to a lively lope. Although not quite the muscle horse that Big Red is, Little Blue is high performance and she will bolt from zero to sixty in five seconds. Just the kind of gitty-up-go needed to negotiate the wild traffic in Orlando the fun capital of the USA.
It rarely fails to rain when we go to Orlando. True to tradition, when we exited I-95 and accessed I-4 at Daytona Beach and headed toward Orlando, a big, black threatening rain cloud replete with lightning flashes loomed before us. “It’s gonna do it to us again,” I commented to B. J. who was dozing.
B. J. raised her head and looked at the menacing cloud. “Yep, she replied sleepily. “It always rains on us between Daytona Beach and Orlando.”
The cloudburst came furiously for a while. There is very little that is more intimidating than driving in heavy interstate traffic during a blinding rainstorm. I reined Little Blue in and tried to calm her. She was unhappy about the slower pace.
In time the rain was behind us, the Florida sun was shining brightly and Little Blue was rearing to sprint.
Around 2:30pm, we exited I-4, descended the ramp, followed the lustrous signs that announced “Bonnet Creek” and soon passed through the colorful arch welcoming us to Mickey Mouse World. Then we drove a couple of miles more to luxurious Bonnet Creek a most gorgeous resort. With seven towers displaying a Spanish flair and ranging from fifteen to nineteen stories tall, Bonnet Creek is cleverly positioned around an adorable oval lake with charming fountains here and there. The plush foliage, palms and glamorous flowers made us feel as if we were back on the island of British Tortola in the Caribbean.
B. J. and I had stayed at a number of condos around Kissimmee and Orlando including the lush Star Island but this was our first trip to Bonnet Creek, a relatively new refuge.
I pulled Little Blue up to the gate, told the neatly dressed security officer that we were checking in. He promptly raised the bar and let us through.
I followed the winding trail to the front entrance where we dismounted, entered the awesome foyer and made our way to the reception desk where they were waiting for us. The savory aroma coming from grills outside and drifting through the place whetted our appetites. An artfully designed swimming pool a few yards away disclosed a number of bikini-clad misses romping gleefully in the water. B. J. pinched me hard on my arm.
Bonnet Creek is a fun place to be; it has everything: tennis, volleyball, shuffleboard, miniature golf, recreation areas for the kids, picnic areas, state of the art gas grills, a swimming pool for each tower, tubing “rivers”, bands, dancing and singing, eateries galore, and Disneyworld, all this within walking distance. If you are not up to walking to Disney, shuttles are provided.
We collected our key cards (the key card is the passport to everything), picked up our parking permit, set a time for our official meeting with our Wyndham Representative on Friday morning and then made our way to our condo. We were ready for some down time.
Our condo, cool, cozy and inviting, was clean and ready for us. As soon as our luggage was in place and our refrigerator and pantry properly stocked and arranged, we collapsed on the soft couch for a breather.
Bonnet Creek promised a great week ahead for us.
The frisky Little Blue Mustang was beside herself. With her mane flowing, she put her head into the wind and quickly picked up to a lively lope. Although not quite the muscle horse that Big Red is, Little Blue is high performance and she will bolt from zero to sixty in five seconds. Just the kind of gitty-up-go needed to negotiate the wild traffic in Orlando the fun capital of the USA.
It rarely fails to rain when we go to Orlando. True to tradition, when we exited I-95 and accessed I-4 at Daytona Beach and headed toward Orlando, a big, black threatening rain cloud replete with lightning flashes loomed before us. “It’s gonna do it to us again,” I commented to B. J. who was dozing.
B. J. raised her head and looked at the menacing cloud. “Yep, she replied sleepily. “It always rains on us between Daytona Beach and Orlando.”
The cloudburst came furiously for a while. There is very little that is more intimidating than driving in heavy interstate traffic during a blinding rainstorm. I reined Little Blue in and tried to calm her. She was unhappy about the slower pace.
In time the rain was behind us, the Florida sun was shining brightly and Little Blue was rearing to sprint.
Around 2:30pm, we exited I-4, descended the ramp, followed the lustrous signs that announced “Bonnet Creek” and soon passed through the colorful arch welcoming us to Mickey Mouse World. Then we drove a couple of miles more to luxurious Bonnet Creek a most gorgeous resort. With seven towers displaying a Spanish flair and ranging from fifteen to nineteen stories tall, Bonnet Creek is cleverly positioned around an adorable oval lake with charming fountains here and there. The plush foliage, palms and glamorous flowers made us feel as if we were back on the island of British Tortola in the Caribbean.
B. J. and I had stayed at a number of condos around Kissimmee and Orlando including the lush Star Island but this was our first trip to Bonnet Creek, a relatively new refuge.
I pulled Little Blue up to the gate, told the neatly dressed security officer that we were checking in. He promptly raised the bar and let us through.
I followed the winding trail to the front entrance where we dismounted, entered the awesome foyer and made our way to the reception desk where they were waiting for us. The savory aroma coming from grills outside and drifting through the place whetted our appetites. An artfully designed swimming pool a few yards away disclosed a number of bikini-clad misses romping gleefully in the water. B. J. pinched me hard on my arm.
Bonnet Creek is a fun place to be; it has everything: tennis, volleyball, shuffleboard, miniature golf, recreation areas for the kids, picnic areas, state of the art gas grills, a swimming pool for each tower, tubing “rivers”, bands, dancing and singing, eateries galore, and Disneyworld, all this within walking distance. If you are not up to walking to Disney, shuttles are provided.
We collected our key cards (the key card is the passport to everything), picked up our parking permit, set a time for our official meeting with our Wyndham Representative on Friday morning and then made our way to our condo. We were ready for some down time.
Our condo, cool, cozy and inviting, was clean and ready for us. As soon as our luggage was in place and our refrigerator and pantry properly stocked and arranged, we collapsed on the soft couch for a breather.
Bonnet Creek promised a great week ahead for us.
Trackbacks
Trackback specific URI for this entry
No Trackbacks