Let The Memories Continue! – Day 16
Today was our second attempt in trying to ride the Hot-Air balloon by Thompson Aire, but unfortunately, turbulent weather had halted the flight yet again, and we were unable to go yet again. Luckily, the pilot called us before we went on-site, so we did not have to waste more time. We were able to catch some more sleep, before our next activity.
Yet again, we headed to the same breakfast at Drury. Luckily we are not bored of it just yet and it was as delicious as before. After the quick breakfast, we made our way to Dakin Dairy Farms, for a tour of the farm. We headed for the two hour drive south to Myakka City, Florida. (ZA : With Krispy Kreme in tow). We arrived at the farm, and there was a school activity going on, with three school buses on site. We had a little time before the scheduled 12P.M tour, so we sampled a bit of their products and browsed their store to pass the time before hopping on board the tour.
The tour of the farm was extremely enriching and fun. The tour guide showed us around the farm and explained to us the various types of cows and the various types of milk and products that they produce here. We also finally found out what UHT meant, which was nice. After a tour of their milking and washing facilities, we also took a peek at their bottling plant, which was unfortunately not operating at the point of time. After this short walking tour, we boarded a tractor “hay-ride”, which the driver, Farmer John brought us about the farm showing us the different products that they produce on site. After that, we were brought to the activity site, where a pig race was being conducted. The pigs were all called names like “Bacon” or “Pork Chop”, and they were extremely cute. Bacon came up on top, for the first time in two months. We also had a blast of time feeding the calf, which were also cutely named after Santa’s reindeer. Our personal favourite was “Prancer” who eagerly drank the milk that we fed. The other German family that joined us on the “hay ride” opted to skip the next few activities as they do it on a daily basis.
Afterwards, they also conducted other activities like making butter out of heavy cream and tasting their famous chocolate milk (which was delicious!). After an exhausting 1.5 hour tour of the site, we sat down and talked to our tour guide, who actually just came off a Disney cruise, and she told us about her experience, which was highly enjoyable. We packed two bottles of chocolate milk and hit the road once again.
After the long drive back to Orlando, we still had time to burn before our dinner, so we went to Downtown Disney for some bowling at Splitsville Premium Lanes. Ashley has been taking up bowling lessons before, so she was excited for this particular activity. The service here is excellent, and they even had a gutters up system, so that younger bowlers can still enjoy the experience. There also was a Coca-Cola freestyle machine on-site, with 100+ drink choices. Unfortunately, the lightest ball they had was a 6 pounder, which was heavier than Ashley’s usual ball. Despite this, we still had a fun time at the lanes as many balls hit the gutter.
After this, we headed off to Texas Roadhouse, one of my most anticipated dinners of the trip. Here, they serve a 23 ounce Porterhouse which I was eager to try. At the door, they had a bucket full of peanuts for all guests to sample. Much fun was had when we realised there was not a spot for us to throw away any of the shells, but we were supposed to just throw them on the ground and stomp them. Even before we sat down, we were half full.
We ordered the Cactus Blossom appetizer, which was a fried onion dish in a shape of a flower, it was good, albeit a little too salty. Before our steaks came, a balloon artist came to our table and took Ashley’s request. Ashley received a butterfly hat, and she was fully content. The butterfly hat was simply amazing, and the artist was very talented.
Soon after, our steaks arrived. My dad ordered a Bone-in Ribeye, my mom ordered a FT.Worth Ribeye, and I ordered my Porterhouse. All of them were succulent and tender and also very well seasoned. We were very impressed by the size and the quality of the meat that we had received.
As we needed to quickly pack up and head off to sleep for one more chance to get to the hot-air balloon ride. We packed up and slept in early, and hoped that the weather next day would be a little more fruitful.
