Orlando – Day Five

• March 8, 2012

My fifth full day in Orlando (last Thursday) followed my gym-tan-eat-tan-drink-eat-sleep routine (and trust me, I wasn’t getting sick of it) – but with another Connecticut-infused twist.

I woke up still feeling blah in the stomach area, just nauseous, but I was SOOO ready to be back at the intense cardio and decided to run a 5K on the treadmill. I was psyched to see they each had a TV but then saw that neither treadmill had a working one – bah! There was a big TV in the overall gym though, and it was empty in there (I mean, it was about 8am…) so I grabbed the remote and flipped channels while I pounded out 3.1 miles in 27 minutes! Once I started running, my nausea actually disappeared and I felt fantastic and full of energy. I like setting a distance goal as opposed to time because it motivates me to run faster – so I can get off that dreadmill faster! Works every time.

What do you know, another Connecticut friend was in Orlando when I was – Kelly! Her family are big fans of the parks (unlike mine) so most days she was Disney and Universal-ing, but she did have one pool day (well, morning) and I headed over to her hotel to join her and her mom. It was so great to hang out!

After Kelly and her fam left the pool for Epcot, I went to a nearby Whole Foods to grab lunch. Even though I have a location in my town, I love checking out different Whole Foods for the regional differences in the food offered at the hot and cold salad bars in state to state.

Healthy foods photograph the prettiest!

Well OK, that mac n cheese looks pretty golden and beautiful too.

I was a cheap-o and didn’t purchase any of the above ($10.99/lb…) but the seafood lover in me was remorseful later – right Meg? 😉

OK, so we do NOT have fish like that in my Whole Foods. No sir. I was also on a mention for seafood or meat for the next night’s grill-out dinner (the joys of staying at a place with a kitchen and grills!) and found just what I was looking for in the Seafood Department, thanks to a very helpful employee – hello if you are reading! (I gave him my card).

Just what I was looking for! I took home two Spinach & Feta Salmon Burgers, one Wild Salmon Burger, and one Shrimp Burger. I was already looking forward to the meal, and I hadn’t even had THAT night’s dinner yet (or the day’s lunch, for that matter). Story of my life.

Um, Whole Foods has a bar?! Don’t mind if I do! This location is the only one in Florida with a bar that serves beer and wine. The wine section itself was amazing! Need proof?

I snuck in on a tasting of Concannon Conservancy Crimson & Clover, a red blend (included one of my favorites, petite sirah). This wine was AMAZING, one of the best reds I’ve tried in awhile, and I was shocked at its affordable price tag. Also a fun side note on this International Woman’s Day, Concannon Vineyards hired the first professional female winemaker in 1950!

I was poured the above glass and then some, which I did not finish since I wanted to make it home alive.

Words cannot describe how excited I was to be having dinner that night at Seasons 52, a “blogger hot-spot” that I have seen on Meghann, Gina, Caitlin, and Julie’s blogs. I was rockin’ a new dress from the occasion, a Black Friday purchase (I know, it’s bad news bears when you’re wearing things for the “first time” in March and bought them in November) from Kohl’s LC Lauren Conrad Collection. You can’t see them well, but it has one of my latest obsessions, pleats!

I was blown away by our view! I had no idea Seasons 52 (we were at the ORIGINAL location, by the way!) offered gorgeous outdoor lakeside seating. Pleasant surprise!

After our little photoshoot, we finally took our seats and checked out the drink menu. It was very dark out on the patio, and my mom had to borrow a light from our waiter to read the menu! Silly mom.

I ordered the Organic Sunshine Martini: orange-infused Prairie organic vodka and agave nectar. However, it was not what I was expecting.

I chose this martini because the description made it sound like it would just be vodka made with a bit of agave, but after it arrived I could see that it had also been made with some kind of orange juice, a bummer because anytime drinks are made with juices they taste too sweet for me. Sure enough, it was too sweet, but our amazing waiter Garrett was kind enough to take it off the bill without my even asking – thank you Garrett!

Instead of a martini, I decided to go with red wine and helped my parents out with the bottle they’d already ordered, Gascon Malbec, which was actually quite excellent! I made a joke that Gascon was an appropriate wine to drink when in Orlando, home of the creators of Gaston.

Surprisingly, Garrett had NOT heard that awful pun before!

Thankfully I didn’t have a tough time deciding on a meal because that night, a special was being offered that was made for me.

Mahi? Mediterranean? Shrimp? Tzatziki? SOLD.

Aaaand I DIED. What a fantastic dish. I’m a chronic dish modifier at restaurants and this was made for me – I did not have to order with ANY modifications. The fish was perfect, the shrimp tabouleh was perfect, the tzatziki came on the side without me even asking, and a nice surprise was included that wasn’t mentioned on the menu, olives!

My mom got the same dish and she was a bit bummed that the olives weren’t called out on the menu because she HATES them, but she picked them out and I finished them off for her. Before her meal, she got the Organic Baby Spinach Salad: sliced pears, feta, and toasted pine nuts on spinach. She couldn’t stop raving about it! My dad loved his meal too – despite the fact that it came with lots of veggies. Eat up Dad, they’re good for you!

We were too full for dessert so I did not try any of the famous Mini Indulgences that everyone raves about, but next time I will have to! What a great last dinner out in Florida.

Have you ever been to Seasons 52? If not, have you already heard about it thanks to the “blog world”?

Do you run on treadmills for distance or for time?

What’s the coolest thing you’ve ever seen at a Whole Foods?