Day 4 - Marriott's Grande Vista

Everyone slept in this morning. The girlies slept in very late, and as soon as they woke up they immediately turned on the TV to watch "cable shows". We had breakfast, relaxed around the condo, had some sandwiches for lunch, then tore the girls away from the TV (kicking and screaming) to go for a walk around the grounds. We visited the three open pools to see which one we would grace with our presence for the afternoon.

The first pool was in our building complex. It was nice, sort of plain, and very sedate. Nobody was in the water - they were all laying on lounge chairs, reading books, soaking in the sun. Needless to say, there were no kids at this pool. The spa was roped off, out of commission. Water was flowing over the edge onto the concrete around it. We were getting some subtle glares from the boring pool patrons (I guess we were making too much noise), so we decided to move on. The kids were starting to warm up to the idea of going swimming, and seemed less put out about missing the afternoon lineup on the Disney Channel.

The second pool complex we visited was the one right behind the main office. It was much bigger, with a lap pool, a huge main pool, a kiddie pool (why is the water always green in these pools? Don't answer, I don't wanna know...), and several hot tubs. There was also one of those fountains that shoot up right out of the ground for the kids to play in. This looked pretty promising, but we didn't want to box ourselves into a decision until we had checked out the remaining pool.

We crossed a long foot bridge over the pond (the signs said "Please Don't Feed the Alligators". They're just joking, right?) to visit the most remote set of pools from our condo. This complex had a waterfall, a play area with water cannons and a gradual entry, two pools, and a couple of hot tubs. It also boasted a full-service bar with drinks and hot snacks. We decided that this was the one for us. We walked all the way back to our condo, changed into our suits, and headed back.

(Admission of ignorance here: the gradual entry at the pool's play area was marked with a sign that said "Oft Om". I thought, "Hmmm. What is that? Is it german for "No Running" or something? Have you figured it out? It actually was "0 ft. 0 m.", as in Zero Feet, Zero Meters. Duh.)

It was another hot day, so the water felt great. The kids started splashing around while the adults settled in to lounge chairs with books. Elzie sent me to the bar and told me to come back with "something with a pineapple in it". A frozen Pina Colada did the trick. I had a frozen Margarita which really hit the spot. They came in clear plastic souvenir glasses. Refills were supposed to be available at a discount, but you guessed it, we only had the one drink.

We spent most of the afternoon at the pool, and the kids had a great time. Elzie and I actually got a chance to read our books. Eventually, the youngest got tired and fell asleep, so we decided it was time to head back. The long walk back to the condo was even longer carrying the dead weight of a sleeping 4-year-old. We put her to bed, and the other two fell immediately into the spell of the television. We made a dinner of lasagna, salad, fresh fruit, and "Cuban" bread (which was remarkably similar to French bread). Baby girl slept through dinner.

After dinner, Elzie took Libby to a "family campfire" activity. (Kaybee was much more interested in the TV, and I stayed behind to feed Little-bit when she decided to wake up.) They had a good time, making smores and listening to a man play the guitar and sing campfire songs, and tell "scary" stories. On the way back, they stopped to investigate the main building, and stumbled across an indoor kids playground, with a wide slide that kids could ride down on boogie boards. They later encountered a young woman in the KIDS program area. Libby spotted a sand art machine, and although she had not signed up for the KIDS program, the lady let her make a necklace pendant (in the shape of a frog) if she promised to "keep it a secret". OOPS. Sorry, the cat's out of the bag now.

All in all, this was a very relaxing and fun day. Tomorrow, we were going to have another Theme Park Marathon at SeaWorld...

Read the Day 5 entry...