Friday, May 11th: Discovery Cove, continued
We were going to add on a cabana to this visit, but decided that the cost (around $200 for the day
) would likely outweigh the benefit. Seating is plentiful at Discovery Cove and admission is restricted to a very manageable number of guests, so we knew we’d easily find seating and shade when we wanted it….even without a cabana rental. Since we still wanted to splurge a little for this anniversary trip, we decided instead to purchase the upgraded drink package: I’ll be honest, they had me at sangria
.
Telling ourselves that it was 5 o’clock somewhere (perhaps in China or Australia
, but still ….
), we stopped to enjoy a beverage from the upgrade drink menu in those peaceful early morning hours at the park.
I’m not sure what Steve picked, but I’m guessing from the photo that it must have been rum punch with orange juice
. I had the red sangria.
We sank down into a pair of comfy blue Adirondack chairs and offered a toast to 25 years of adventures.
Here’s to (hopefully) 25 more……at least!
It was quite enjoyable to start the day off on such a relaxing note. We people watched as families occasionally strolled by, half whom were noticeably as relaxed as we were (grateful, I’m sure, for a break from the busy Orlando theme parks) and the other half in an obvious hurry……especially on a first visit, it’s easy to feel there is no time to waste. A lot of the time, though, we seemed to have that little corner of the park all to ourselves. This, my friends, is what vacation is all about
.
When we had finished what we wanted of our drinks….they were “okay”, not great
……we headed to the Wind Away River. One of our favorite features of the park, it’s usually the place we start and end our day: with its waterfalls, lush foliage, varying depths, and tour through the free-flying aviary, it really does seem to embody all the best features of the park in one attraction.
Unlike our Aquatica day a few days beforehand, I had actually remembered the waterproof case for my phone this time…..so I brought it along to take some pictures while we enjoyed a tour of the river. Each of us grabbed a big green noodle, and we headed “downstream” with the current.
Floating up to the entrance to the aviary, we decided to fish ourselves out and see what the birds were up to: we had always heard that the birds were at their hungriest early in the day, but never seemed to make it one of our first stops on a DC morning. Heading in side, we were offered small cups of food by the aviary animal care staff member, and then the “magic” happened (it’s not just a Disney thing!).
Stay tuned!