| I'm Here, There and Everywhere  Tanya's Daily Scoop CURRENTLY IN: ORANGE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA HIYA, While Elisa and the girls are having a wonderful time in Orlando, I had to head up to "NorCal" for the day...not for fun, but for "work". Dave and I hit the road bright and early at 5:15am in attempt to avoid the majority of the rush hour(s) traffic that does anything but FLOW through the southland. If you can avoid traffic in LA - I highly recommend it! For our drive, we decided to take the coastal route up north and then the central route back home. One being much more scenic and beautiful than the other - which is rather boring. In fact, I was enjoying the views so much that I was forgetting to take pictures - one big fat DUH for me. Eventually when most of the loveliness was behind us, I managed to take one single picture...  Finally grabbed a photo when I saw horses! (c)travelincousins.com The schedule for the day certainly did not go as planned and things had to be shifted, moved and rescheduled. Which is quite frustrating. Not only did we get back home rather late 1:30am, but it also means that we are going to need to go back up in a couple of weeks. Here, There and Everywhere... Since I am clearly not on vacation at the moment, I have been bouncing around, back and forth in my mind between some of the up coming trips and the different options/plans/tours/sights/food that I'd like to incorporate. It's actually kinda funny, one minute I'll be drooling (in my mind, I'm not actually drooling!) thinking about a menu from a restaurant in Dallas, then the next I am off in the Cloud Forest of Costa Rica sampling the rich delights on a local Chocolate Farm, then a minute later I am sipping a fruit smoothie while on my balcony overlooking the calm waters of Lake Winnipesaukee, and a minute after that I am donning my NYY jersey while posing at home-plate with a baseball bat resting on my shoulder for my own Topps Baseball Card at the MLB All Star Capital One Playball Park - which use to be called the FanFest. And just like that I am now bopping into the cute little French Bakery in Miami - L’Artisane Creative Bakery for a flaky croissant and to sit down to a breakfast of Tiramisu Waffles or should I get the Guava & Cream Cheese Pancakes??? *All menu items noted are VEGAN  Some of our baseball cards from the 2023 MLB All Star Game, Playball Park (c)travelincousins.com And now to keep up with the Disney theme that I've been doing, while virtually following along (in the A/C) with Elisa as she tackles the brutal summer sun/heat. Today I will share some of my pictures/memories from our visit - our first ever visit to Animal Kingdom Lodge back in February 2024. Our Disney parks schedule for this trip was a wee bit hectic and out of wack due to fitting in as much as possible for our guests of whom were not going to be on vacation for quite as long as the rest of us. So what that meant was adjusting our day off (from going to the parks) and instead of having that day off in the middle of our time in Orlando, it got placed pretty early on. How we decided to spend that day was by exploring the other various themed Disney Resort Hotels...which was much fun in itself! Our first stop breakfast at the Kona Cafe located at Disney's Polynesian Village - I'll start by mentioning that it was sooooooo good. We have already decided that we are for sure going back. We each had the Moco Loco (made plant based of course) and then Dominic and I share the Tonga Toast. Drop the mic here. We just cannot stop talking about this fantastic and quite decadent breakkie!   Tonga Toast - yes please (c)travelincousins.com  Plant based - is it Moco Loco or Loco Moco? LOL (c)travelincousins  In the Lobby of the Polynesian Village Resort (c)travelincousins.com  The Polynesian Village Lobby (c)travelincousins.com Our next stop was to venture about in the Animal Kingdom Lodge and get transported to 'Africa'!  Outside of the Animal Kingdom Lodge (c)travelincousins.com  Animal Kingdom Lodge Lobby (c)travelincousins.com  Inside the Lobby (c)travelincousins.com  Heading downstairs (c)travelincousins.com  Zebras (c)travelincousins.com  Roan Antelope (c)travelincousins.com Watching all of the animals was fun. Seeing replica artifacts and sculptures was unique and educational. Learning new and interesting things about the African continent from the locals who have come to WDW / working onsite - doing a Disney exchange program was a delight, such a great bunch of warm and friendly people. We had such a lovely time and while I did take so many more pictures, I don't have any of those photos uploaded. We had toured a number of other properties, making a very FULL day of it. But the time had eventually come for us to go back to our own resort and await the arrival of Cosett, Javier, Jet, Andrew and Chaplin!  So excited to finally be at WDW (c)travelincousins.com  More excitement (c)travelincousins.com  Arriving at Disney Springs and heading to Dinner (c)travelincousins.com I'm gonna wrap it up here. See you back here in a jif. Ciao 4 Now, -Travelin' Tanya | Lunch at Animal Kingdom Lodge/Dinner at Disney Springs  Elisa's Daily Scoop CURRENTLY IN: ORLANDO, FL Hello!!! Today we had planned not to go to any theme park, but, instead, visit another Disney resort property - Animal Kingdom Lodge. For the past few Disney trips, we have wanted to dine at Sanaa, an African-Indian fusion restaurant. Well, this is the trip that we finally made it there for lunch!!  Thankfully, we were able to sleep in a bit this morning and this coupled with the fact that we were not in the blazing sun walking around for miles like yesterday, helped to give us all a little more pep in our step! Getting to Animal Kingdom was a pretty much a breeze. We jumped on the skyliner, with a transfer at Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort and then headed for Hollywood Studios where we then caught a bus for Animal Kingdom Lodge. In total it took us less than an hour.  Headed to Lunch on the skyliner (c)travelincousins.com  Disney Skyliner with Caribbean Beach Resort in the background (c)travelincousins.com  View of Tower of Terror in Hollywood Studios from the Skyliner (c)travelincousins.com  We didn't go into the park but passed the entrance to get to the bus to Animal Kingdom Lodge (c)travelincousins.com  Waiting for the bus to Animal Kingdom Lodge (c)travelincousins.com The Animal Kingdom Lodge is really pretty and is exquisitely designed with a real safari feel. We stayed there years ago when my girls were very little and I loved visiting again after so many years.  (c)travelincousins.com  (c)travelincousins.com  (c)travelincousins.com  (c)travelincousins.com  (c)travelincousins.com For your information, "Sanaa" we were told, means ""work of art; shining light" in African origin. I have no idea why we never made the trip here before, but it was so well worth it. Aside from the atmosphere and decor, this restaurant possesses huge windows all around looking out on the open land where many of the animals roam free for diners to see during their meal.  (c)travelincousins.com Our waiter Joe was so nice and friendly and he made a few very good suggestions about combining a few of the sauces for an even more rich flavors - which we did!!  Interior of Sanaa (c)travelincousins.com  (c)travelincousins.com Now for the food!!! Wow - their menu is amazing, with something for everyone - vegan and non-vegan alike!! We decided to pretty much share everything, where it was possible since Gianna and Kelsey ordered chicken dishes. But, that aside, the plant-based items were to die for and we all dug in!!  Indian-Style Bread Service - OMG!!! This included Five Breads with all Nine Accompaniments - The bread - Traditional Naan, Garlic-Ginger Naan, Spiced Naan, Onion Kulcha, or Paneer Paratha. The Accompaniments - Cucumber Raita, Roasted Red Pepper Hummus, Mango Chutney, Tomato-Date Jam, Tamarind Chutney, Coriander Chutney, Garlic Pickle, Red Chile Sambal, or Spicy Jalapeño-Lime Pickle. I am not big on very spicy, so I did not engage in the Red chile Sambal or the Jalapeno-lime. However, I did manage to have some of every single bread AND all the other "dips."  Coriander Chutney (c)travelincousins.com  Samosas (c)travelincousins.com What Indian meal could do without samosas!! These plant-based crispy, crunchy puffs were filled with Potatos and Peas accompanied with Tamarind and Mango Chutney.  Lentil Daal and Basmati Rice (c)travelincousins.com Potjie Inspired Kelsey and I each chose from the two groupings - she chose Butter Chicken and I went with Lentil Daal, which were served with scented Basmati Rise. (sorry, no picture of the butter chicken, as Kelsey dove right in!)  Tandoori Chicken Traditional Naan, Rocket, Pickled Onion, Tomato, and Sambal Mayonnaise. Normally this dish is served "Open face" with bread, but since we had eaten the Bread service, Joe, our waiter suggested that Gianna have this on a bed of rice, which she did!  Needless to say, we were stuffed - however, that did not stop us from indulging in dessert!! We decided to try the Ankole Cake. Joe explained that the restaurant had just changed their dessert menu by naming each of their desserts with an animal name and even using some decoration techniques to "resemble" the animals. The Ankole Cake is a plant-based Spiced Chocolate Cake with a Baobab Curd, Coconut Gel, Meringue 'Horns, and STARR African Rum-macerated Citrus. It was amazing - moist yet light and rather refreshing. Joe also told us that the "baobab" curd is from the fruit of the same name from the "upside down" trees.  Strongly suggest visiting this amazing restaurant! After lunch, we headed outside to see the animals a bit more close up. We saw giraffes, ankole (which are cattle like animals), zebras and wildebeest. While outside for only about 15 minutes, we all got alittle fried on our shoulders - that's how hot the sun was!!  Animal Watching at Animal Kingdom Lodge (c)travelincousins.com  (c)travelincousins.com  (c)travelincousins.com  (c)travelincousins.com  (c)travelincousins.com  Momma and baby zebra (c)travelincousins.com  (c)travelincousins.com We headed back to the hotel for a little siesta before heading to Disney Springs for dinner and some evening shopping! At the little cafe in our hotel, I spotted this image on the wall and couldn't help it laughingly reminded me of me and my two girls lol - Mama in the middle in green, Gianna in pink and Kelsey in blue!  Photo taken by travelincousins.com  Headed to Disney Springs (c)travelincousins.com Evening in Disney Springs for Dinner at Terralina Tonight was really special because me and the girls met old family friends for dinner. My "Aunt Joan & Uncle Gerry" are old friends with my mom and dad from before I was even born. They have been a part of my life from the time I was born. When I was a little girl, they moved to Florida and so we didn't get to see them regularly, but they have always been part of every one of my life events. So, when I knew we were visiting Orlando, I let them know so we could meet for dinner. And what's more, it was a huge family affair with their grown son (David) and his wife (Lani) and daughter (Rebekah) and their respective children! Everyone got acquainted and we reminisced with old stories about my Dad and fun times spent together. What an incredible evening!!! We met at Terralina in Disney Springs for some Italian food!!  (the background lights blurred out this photo a bit - but it's still a keeper! (c)travelincousins.com  (c)travelincousins.com To end the evening, we headed off to Erin McKenna's Bakery for some vegan treats.  (c)travelincousins.com  (c)travelincousins.com  (c)travelincousins.com We said goodbye to Disney Springs since we will not be back till our next trip!  (c)travelincousins.com  (c)travelincousins.com  (c)travelincousins.com  (c)travelincousins.com  (c)travelincousins.com Tomorrow we are off to Magic Kingdom!! More Disney to come!! -Travelin' Elisa |
