We Need a Proper Honeymoon! May 2016 - Day 14 - Celebration and Manny's Chophouse

[Redrach1903]

Saturday 21st May

Today was a fairly relaxed affair. There were no theme parks, so feel free to skip this day if you are looking for adrenalin and pixie dust! However, today does feature a real life Angry Bird and if that doesn’t encourage you to read on nothing will!

We got up at 6.15 which is far too early for this stage of the holiday, but Chris had booked a tee time at Celebration for 8.05. I had said I was keen to join him as I love Celebration and enjoy drooling over the mansions that overlook the golf course and wildlife spotting! However, as the alarm went off I was fully considering just rolling over and going back to sleep! I gave myself a shake though and got up and ready. We left the villa at 7.15 and soon arrived at our destination I try to take a photo of this sign every year, but it always comes out blurry! This year however we were stopped by the traffic lights, so I got a good shot of it!



We pulled into Celebration Golf Club at around 7.40.





Chris checked in and paid at the pro shop. The woman was a total grump! I did not like her! I hate grumpy people! Especially grumpy people who live in Florida! So ungrateful! Haha! Anyway, once that was done I went to take a few photos while Chris got his golf buggy organized.





And then we went round to the practice area. Now, I am no golfer, but this is pretty cool.







Soon enough it was time to go and meet up with the rest of the group. Chris was going to be golfing with 3 other guys. They were called CJ, Curtis and Jay and they were all lovely guys and very chatty. They were typically southern and kept calling each other “Bubba Jay” “Bubba Curtis” etc. I thought that was funny! Easily amused. Anyway, it was at this point we realized that Celebration must have its own time zone as all the clocks are 5 minutes slow!

Anyway, the guys teed off and it was game on! Curtis fist pumped Chris on his second drive! Haha! Here are various photos of the golf course. I have no idea which hole any of these were taken from. Soz!





Something weird happened here Haha!





Game face!



Anyone know what kind of birds these are? They always sit with their wings out like that!



We spied this gator and he appeared to be having a little snooze.





I then spotted another gator in one of the other lakes. I don’t think we have ever been in Celebration and not seen a gator!





He then changed direction and started swimming towards me. I snapped a quick photo and then hot footed it back to the golf buggy.



Meanwhile Chris & the guys were having a rare time. I never really made much effort to join in the conversation. I just left them to their golf chat and relaxed



I thought this was a snake at first! Haha!



At some point the cart girl came round and I was suddenly very hungry, so we got some crisps and chocolate to snack on We were now coming round to the back 9 and this is where my mansions are One day!









This is our favourite one.



I saw some more of these stick out your wings birds!





And then I spied another house across the lake. I thought this one looked lovely and more modest than the others.

]

Then I saw the rest of it!



We were halted on one of the cart paths by a bunch of these creepy looking birds.





And then we saw turtles! Celebration really is full of wildlife!





Ah yes, they were still golfing….



Love these trees!



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[Redrach1903]

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While they were all taking their final putts this was when I spotted the real life Angry Bird! It’s uncanny don’t you think? I was highly amused by its wee raging face!

Fictional angry bird:



Real life angry bird:





A quick google of “red bird with black eyes” told me its proper name is a Red Cardinal.

And then they were done! It was around 1pm by now, so it took just under 5 hours to get round which isn’t actually that bad for a 4 ball on this course. Chris went round the first 9 in level par and played 3 over on the back 9. He was annoyed with himself cos he managed to lose one ball and hit two into the water! This is still one of Chris’s all-time favourite courses in Florida and I don’t think he could ever go to Orlando and not play it.

Chris went to have a quick freshen up and change his clothes and I took one more photo before we left.



We drove the short distance to the Market Street Café and parked up. We were seated inside which is what we prefer. I always think Al Fresco dining sounds nice until there are flies buzzing about your food!

We both went for our usual BLT toasties with fries. I had a strawberry milkshake and Chris had a diet coke. It felt SO nice to be in here and not be a hungover mess like I was the day after our wedding. If you read last year’s report you’ll know that I couldn’t eat breakfast and I had to be sick in the bathroom! SMH! SMH means shaking my head by the way. I only just discovered this. I kept seeing it on various social media posts and actually had to google its meaning. So, now that I have included it here it means I’m down with the kids, ok?





The food was lovely as per usual. The total came to $35 including tip. With satisfied tummies we went for a walk around the lake and looked over lovingly at our wedding venue It honestly felt like 5 minutes ago that we were last here, was so weird being back so soon!







We saw lots of turtles in the water







And then we played in the fountains cos we’re big kids!

















As per usual, we went and did the walk round the lakes.



I could probably cut and paste this bit from the last 3 reports, but I wont. I aint no slacker

You are always guaranteed to see squirrels on this walk!









We spotted this guy down in one of the canal bits.



He was more scared of us than we were of him though and he swam off.





Crossing one of the bridges towards the next lake we saw this cutie. He looked ready to pounce on something!





And then we were on Grasshopper Island. Or are they locusts? I dunno, but it’s so weird cos this is the only part of the walk you see them on and there are HEAPS of them. Everywhere you look. It’s like it’s their hood!





We continued our walk. It was baking hot and we had forgotten to take water! I was so sweaty! My back was soaking!









This is one of the mansions we always eye up. It was getting work done to it last year and it seems they still haven’t finished it!





Love this photo. The reflections of the clouds are so pretty





We met a really cute Great Dane puppy and his name was Mr Tubbs! He was absolutely adorable! I wish I had taken a photo!

We eventually made it back round to the hotel. I think that the walk is only a couple of miles, but it feels a lot longer in that heat!





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[Redrach1903]

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We popped inside, but there was some kind of event going on, so we didn’t feel like we could really hang around too long. We went out onto the terrace where the wedding was! It looks so different when it’s not all set up!

This was it on our wedding day:



And this was it today:



Just shows what a great job Heidi did

So many amazing memories We had the BEST wedding day and I am still so happy we decided to do it here



I was getting a bit grumpy now cos I was so hot and sweaty so I ran into Market St Café to grab a bottle of water while Chris started up the car. We got back to Bahama Bay about 4 and this is when Chris asked me why the security guy always just waves to us and doesn’t check who we are. I told him it’s because we have the resident’s thing hanging from the rearview mirror that we were given it at check-in! “oh is that what that is for?” He replied! Haha! Bless him.

When we got into the condo we FaceTimed Jake and then had a cup of tea and a much needed nap. The early start and heat today had floored us! I think we chucked on some laundry before that as well.

We got up at 6 and got showered. While we were sitting out on the patio we saw a bad cat eat our lizard friend that we had been watching every day. Murderer! Distraught I was!

We left at about 7 and I persuaded Chris to try Manny’s Chophouse. He wasn’t that keen on trying somewhere new this late in the game, but I assured him that it gets glowing reviews on TheDibb. This is somewhere I’d wanted to try for a while, but we could never be bothered to drive to Haines City. However, they have now opened on Hwy 192

It is very close to Bahama Bay, probably about a ten minute drive as it’s up at the Hwy 27 end of the 192 if you get what I mean!









I thought this was the tallest palm tree ever!



We both instantly loved the feel of the place. It is very well themed. Chris has this dream of having a bar in our house and he would want it to be like this! Minus the cabinet of steaks









We were told it would be a 20 minute wait for a table, so we went to the bar and ordered drinks. I decided to try a Mango Daiquiri Chris had a Stella.







Our buzzer went off after around twenty minutes and we were led to our booth. Loved the seat covers!


Our server was Marilyn and she wrote her name on our table for us! Haha! I don’t know why it says Erik? I don’t recall an Erik? Maybe that was the manager’s name? I forget!



Marilyn brought over some warm bread rolls with cinnamon butter. OMG these were SO good. I have a fairly new love of cinnamon and I was in heaven! It reminded me of eating a warm cinnamon bagel with lashings of butter Nom nom nom!



She also brought over our endless salad. They take over a massive silver bowl and mix it all up in front of you! I was upset to see cheese in there, but I worked around it The dressing was lovely!





We looked over the menu and made our choices! We decided to go nuts and have appetizers! I had been meaning to try Fried Green Tomatoes for a while and I remembered reading in Wizzo’s trippy that they are really good, so I decided to give them a bash! Chris ordered boneless wings with nuclear hot sauce!





Ok, so I am officially a fan of Fried Green Tomatoes! Loved them! Chris’s enjoyed his wings too, but he said they were definitely not nuclear hot! I took his word for it. His tolerance for spice is much higher than mine! Haha!

While we were waiting for our mains Chris noticed a sign behind me that was rather fitting as I always joke that I’m a princess!



For mains I ordered an 8oz Sirloin Steak with Garlic Mash and Chris went for the Sirloin and Ribs Combo with a side of Mac n Cheese.





Again, these were lovely. Chris’s rib meat was just sliding off the bone! The steaks were maybe a wee bit undercooked, but not enough to send them back and they were lovely anyway! We paid the bill which was $73 including tip and headed back to Bahama Bay. We both absolutely loved Manny’s and it will definitely be on the itinerary for future visits!

We were both so full so we decided to have a late night walk around the nature trail when we got back. It was so noisy with frogs, crickets and god knows what else! Haha! My photography skills failed me, but the fountain looked so pretty at night all lit up!





We saw a horrible looking spider on the path. Chris was pretty sure it was a banana spider



Bleugh! That was our queue to hot foot it out of there! Haha! I prefer it in day light!

We decided to pop into Tradewinds as there was a karaoke night on. As we walked in there was the cutest wee kid trying to sing Thriller. He obviously didn’t know the verses, but he nailed the chorus



I had a Berry Daiquiri and Chris had a Bahama Punch.





Another kid went up and sang a Linkin Park song and he was actually very good! I was taking ages to finish my drink cos it was frozen, so Chris got himself another Bahama Punch. A young girl went up and sang “Teardrops on my Guitar” which is a very old Taylor Swift song. I know it though cos I’m a proper fan Haha! She’s my girl crush, not gonna lie. Although I don’t get the whole circus thing with Tom Whatshisname just now! It’s so cringe. The last song of the evening was courtesy of a woman from Alabama who absolutely murdered “Soak up the Sun” by Sheryl Crow. Haha! Ten out of ten for effort though

We walked back to the condo finishing off our drinks as we went and then settled on the sofa to watch the DVD that Chris had picked up a few days ago. It was called “True Story” and was really quiet good. It was a bit strange to see Jonah Hill play a serious character though!

We went to bed about 12.30.

Thanks for reading! Tomorrow is our last full day and sees us visit Typhoon Lagoon and Magic Kingdom (obvs).

[Lisa_Lollipop]

What a lovely chilled out day! I never realised someone came around the golf course with drinks and snacks, that is brilliant! Although 5 hours to get around the course, massive wife brownie points to you! (I am not going to let Paul read this installment, I don't want him getting ideas for our next trip! )

We must have missed you at Celebration by minutes as we stopped in for a wander on the way to the airport, such a shame we didn't see you to say goodbye!

The food at Mannys looked great... yet another one to put on my ever-growing list!

So sad the next installment will be your last full day, I don't want this to be over! xxx

[Redrach1903]

Originally Posted by Lisa_Lollipop

What a lovely chilled out day! I never realised someone came around the golf course with drinks and snacks, that is brilliant! Although 5 hours to get around the course, massive wife brownie points to you! (I am not going to let Paul read this installment, I don't want him getting ideas for our next trip! )

We must have missed you at Celebration by minutes as we stopped in for a wander on the way to the airport, such a shame we didn't see you to say goodbye!

The food at Mannys looked great... yet another one to put on my ever-growing list!

So sad the next installment will be your last full day, I don't want this to be over! xxx

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Oh yes, love that about the golf courses in the states!
Hahahaha

I Know! I remember seeing your Instagram and thinking we had JUST missed you! Typical!

Manny's was ace

I know, me either

Thanks for reading hunni xxx

[mattscold]

Great trip report, sounds like you had an amazing time.

The bird with the open wings is an Anhinga. They are a type of cormorant, they hold their wings open as their feathers arent waterproof like ducks etc.

[Ariel princess]

Fab day Rach, celebration looked so pretty but hot hot hot. We have still never made it to Mannys, looks really good though! xx

[Mel49]

Love your photos of all the natural wildife and always amazes me that it can be found a few miles from the disney bubble. Wonder if the Angry Bird was actually based on the real life one. We've always meant to try Mannys but couldn't be botheres with the drive so great there is now one nearer.

[FLAFantastic]

What a fab day

If you don't mind me asking, how much was the golf? and how far in advance Chris have to book?

I have suggested a game for my hubby and his brother when we are there in August

Thanks

AnnMarie

[Gusgusmummy]

I loved this day ! As you will see from my snap I sent I shouldn't be sitting reading this...but it's almost the holidays and I'm getting into the spirit of things 😝
I love a day doing just Florida stuff not visiting a park ( though obv I love the parks )
How beautiful is celebration 😍 It's so perfect I'm going to try and make the market this year ! I can't remember if it's a Saturday or Sunday ? I missed it last time so it's on the list.
I showed the kids your real life angry bird they are delighted and now want to spot one too 😂
Mannys looks lovely and the fried green tomatoes look yummy ! How brave were you guys walking that nature path 😬 It wouldn't have been me due to 🐍 😬
Lovely to read as always xx