Ah, the beginning of a new triathlon season. Having already completed one goal with my first running race, Cin and I were ready to continue on with the season into our first multisport event. We decided a while ago to do the Florida Ironman 70.3, which is a triathlon consisting of a 1.2mi swim, 56mi bike, and then a 13.1mi half-marathon run. Lots of fun. Part of this also involved us buying a new SUV (a Honda Pilot SE 4WD) and me crafting up some interior bike mounts to ferry our bikes down to Florida. We also made this into a vacation, staying at Walt Disney World and then spending a few days at the parks after the race. The Travel Log will describe the trip and the vacation...the race itself is covered over at my other blog, Tri,Jeff,Tri! Check it out here.
We decided to leave on a Thursday evening and get some miles behind us so that the drive from Maryland to Orlando, Florida, did not feel quite as long. After Cin got done work, we loaded up the truck and drove through Washington, DC, which took just as long as it usually does (driving out of DC in to Northern Virginia is hell on a weekend evening...there are no two ways about this). Once we got to Fredericksburg, Virginia, we picked up some takeout Italian food from Bella J Cucina, a small place in Locust Grove, and brought it back to the house of Rachel and Wes. Rachel was Cin's roommate in college and these two are good friends of ours, even if we do not see them anywhere near as often as we would like. They graciously offered to put us up for the night so that we could get some visiting in and also not need to spring for a hotel. Awesome. The food from Bella J Cucina was pretty good...I had spaghetti with oil/garlic/spice and Cin had some chicken, spinach, and pasta meal. Each meal came with bread and a salad for a decent price, so this place turned out A-OK in our books. We briefly hung out with Rachel and Wes's kids, who promptly went to bed without any fuss (wow!) and then spent some time catching up before all four of us went to bed around 11pm. We woke up around 6am, had some much needed coffee, and then Cin and I were off. Back on good old I-95, headed south, with a lot of miles to go.
The drive down was so much easier than we expected. The time flew by and we ended up taking turns driving based on the state (I drove through Virginia, Cin drove through North Carolina, etc). We stopped at, where else but Cracker Barrel, for both breakfast and lunch (pancakes and eggs for breakfast and the usual grilled chicken and green beans and corn for lunch, for me) and did not stop anywhere else except to go to the bathroom, stretch, and get gas. There's not too much else I can say about the drive...I-95 goes from a six-lane road to mainly two lanes through the Carolinas and then opens up a bit in Georgia and Florida. For the most part, people stay to the right and get out of the way when you come up to them in the left lane, which makes for easy and relaxing driving. The Pilot proved itself to be very comfortable and capable and served as excellent transport for this trip. Soon enough, we got off I-95 onto I-4 and ended up at our resort for this trip, Disney's Beach Club Resort (their TripAdvisor page is here), around 7pm...we made really good time.
We checked in and found ourselves in a Hospitality Suite, which is really just a bigger room. A big and nice room. We have stayed at the Beach Club before and like this one a lot; it was a good selection for this trip. After we relaxed a bit, we strolled over to Disney's Boardwalk (there is a boat shuttle that runs from the Beach and Yacht Club Resorts (they are connected) to the Boardwalk, but it is only a ten minute or so walk, so we did that after a full day sitting in the car). The Boardwalk is a resort (the Boardwalk Inn) but it is also a collection of stores and restaurants. After looking at some menus, we decided to splurge and got dinner at the Flying Fish Cafe (their TripAdvisor page is here). This place is quite expensive...and it totally lives up to that fact. The menu is pretty extensive and they have a full bar with good selections. I ended up with an orange pilsner beer that I had not had before (and cannot remember the name of) that was excellent and Cin had some fancy fruity drink that was also excellent. We split a tomato mozzarella appetizer and then I got a strip steak and Cin some salmon, both of which were amazing. This was one of the best steaks I've had and Cin's fish was awesome as well. The bill was somewhat expensive, but you get an amazingly good meal. If you want good seafood (or steak!), and you're willing to pay for it, check out the Flying Fish Cafe...it is absolutely worth the cost.
After dinner, we walked back to our room and went to sleep in our huge bed...exhausted from the drive, full from the amazing dinner, and ready to embrace the race check-in/expo the next day!
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