Sunday 23 August - the day before is
here
Today is Andy’s birthday
Which means for the next 10 weeks he is the same age as me
And then I am the older one again
What it is to have a toyboy in your life
He opens up his cards which contain $$$$$ - I guess that means some shopping eh
And gets lots of messages on Facebook which is really nice
The only plan for today is that the boys are off to DisneyQuest and we will be going to dinner at Longhorns.
Everything else is up for grabs
As DQ doesn’t open until 1130 ( omg, that’s like a whole day lost in park terms isn’t it , why so late ?) we are not in a rush for breakfast.
There is some debate about where to go
The boys are not bothered
It could be Perkins or Bob Evans
Or Ponderosa
Or Dennys
Or blimmin anywhere quite frankly
But Ponderosa wins
It is pointed out to me that there is some irony in it being Andy’s birthday and yet it ends up being my choice of venue.
It’s the one at 7598 W Irlo Bronson Highway
Ok , its not everyone's cup of tea and hey we drink coffee anyway.
This was about nostalgia.
On our ( mildly disastrous) 1st ever trip in 2010 with the whole family we had been told about Ponderosa and the blue jelly for breakfast. So this was the first place that we ever visited on our American Adventure.
We decided to return, just for the blue jelly.
Of course you pay as you enter. It was busy . There was a queue.
We had 4 x $6.99 breakfasts, 2 x Mountain Dews ($4.98) and 2 coffees (($4.58). A grand total of $40.15 and we did leave a $10 tip - our server was lovely and boy did she work hard.
Only after paying and surveying the serving stations did we establish there was in fact no blue jelly
So thats Ponderosa right off the list for good.
It was busy so there seemed a ridiculous queue for the servery with the sausages and bacon - we opted for the other side first. Where else can you have bread pudding and custard on the same plate as biscuits and gravy - ewwww
I checked out dessert first but in the end didnt sample any – it looked like lots of bundt style cakes in various flavours.
Buffets never make for the best presented plates and these were a bit feeble.
This was corned beef hash, beans, assorted meats and hash browns. It was Andys and he wasnt impressed when we likened the hash to something the dogs would sick up in the garden
I was all virtuous
Nah not really
I then went back for the pancakes and choc chip buns alongside these odd potato chip/crisp things with bacon. It was quite nice
The kids had troughed most of theirs before I got back with mine so only Jamie's left.
I didnt get any servery pics - but there was a central station of the fruits, cereals and salad items - and plenty of it.
One of the hot serverys had the main meats with biscuits, waffles , fruit cobbler and custard ( breakfast staples obviously) and the other one had the egg station, pancakes, rolls, potatoes etc
It was chaotic and compared to our $42 Perkins meals, not exactly much cheaper - which is strange as we always had in our heads it was a really cheap place - but in reality, it isnt.
Unless you go back LOTS of times for seconds and thirds - which because we are lightweights, we didnt.
So not good, not bad, a bit in the middle.
Have to say it was exceptionally clean, service was fast and the loos were also very clean and tidy.
We left a good tip , our server was working incredibly hard and was really lovely.
I am undecided on buffet breakfasts – I walk away feeling full to the point of being a bit sick but feel hungry again a few hours later – maybe the weird combos make you hungrier quicker !
Just after 11 we find ourselves here
Its early enough in the day for the traffic to be ok. There sure is a lot of construction going on – its cone city and we are temporarily confused by the parking instructions
Ok ,Andy says to point out that he wasn’t confused at all – It was me that insisted he swop lanes at the last minute which meant we ended up in a CM only area …
So he drops me and the boys and looks for somewhere to park –
which there isn’t so he says he just goes round and round till we get back, not attracting the attention of the security guard in any way, oops.
I set off with the boys to get their tickets and despatch them inside
As they want to come a couple of times , I was disappointed to learn that they no longer sell APs due to the closure in January – at an entry cost of $46 each, AP s would pay for themselves after 2 visits.
The boys are very happy to spend the day here – gaming themselves silly – the old fashioned way.
We arrange to pick them up at 4.30. they have the tracfone so if we change times we can notify them.
Not that they will see or hear the phone of course.
We will miss DQ as a family – it’s a shame to see it go.
But for us, Where else but the outlets as the $$$ are crying out to be spent……