Let The Memories Continue! – Day 22
Opting to skip breakfast at Comfort Inn, we decided to head out to Sawgrass Recreation Park, which was next to Sawgrass Mills. This location houses part of the vast Everglades, and also hosts tours throughout the Everglades. This would be an activity not far off from the one we did last year, although it would be a large boat with other parties and it would only last 30 minutes. The site also had a large souvenir shop and a small wildlife exhibit, hosting leopards and panthers and other big cats, and also other wildlife that stalk the everglades.
Soon after, we were given bands on our hands, indicating our boat number, which would be boat number 5. The airboats were all powered by Cheverolet V8s and all were allocated really cool names like “Cannibal” or “Panther”. Soon enough, we were put into the boat, and Ashley brought her jacket along in case she was cold. Today was a much colder day than the others that we had experienced in Orlando. We were then moving along part of the Everglades. This was a much more open area than the one that we had experienced last year in Orlando. The Everglades here are blue and clear, and also contained a lot more wildlife than the previous trip we had made there. We agreed that since this was basically in the heart of the Everglades, it would be more lively. We saw Alligators in massive numbers, and even one in a pair of them. We also spotted animals like vultures and other birds and turtles. This was very different from the one or two that we spotted the last time. However, this seemed to be less personalised due to it being conducted in a large group, and I personally did not enjoy this airboat tour as the one I had attended last year. However, for the price, it is a good way to be entertained and indulge in the untouched parts of the everglades
Afterwards, we also headed to the exhibit for the wildlife. We also saw wildlife like Panthers and Leopards and also held a baby Alligator in our hands for a quick photo. However, the alligator show was not on schedule, and we did not manage to catch a show. Afterwards, I also stopped by the Gator Bites at the entrance of Sawgrass Recreational Park and got some Gator Tail, which was tender and spicy, although my parents did not particularly enjoy it due to the toughness of it.
Later, we decided to head to the Sawgrass Mills Shopping Center again. We decided to have lunch at The Cheesecake Factory, where we ordered Orange Chicken, Fettuccini Alfredo and The Everything Pizza. I particularly liked the Orange Chicken that I ordered. Unfortunately, we did not have any space left for any Cheesecake Desert. We left happy and satisfied, but wished that we could have some cheesecake to go with our meal.
We then decided to hunt for some new sunglasses for me and also some other clothing and bags. We bought some IZOD clothing and other items, and also spotted some Aviator styled IZOD glasses. We decided not to buy it as of now, but we also decided to come back to it if there was nothing else to buy.
After a whole day of shopping, we also made a stop at It’sugar where we picked up some other Souvenirs and other candies to bring home. We then headed to The Rainforest Cafe for our dinner. Although we have not dined here before, it was owned by the same owners as the ones that owned T-Rex Cafe. The restaurant was also very well decorated with animatronics and atmospheric effects like fog and “rain” that came down over the ceiling. It was a very enjoyable experience. My mom ordered the Rainforest Burger, my Dad ordered the BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger, I ordered the Mojo Bones, which were smoked BBQ ribs, and Ashley ordered the Mac N Cheese as usual. All of them were very well done and tasty. However, the star of the show would have been the Sparkling Volcano, which were Brownies stacked together with Ice cream in the center, all in the shape of a volcano. It was very well done and very visually appealing to us. It also came with a sparkler on top that was lit. It was all in all, quite the occasion. Even the staff all came to our table to announce the “errupting” of the volcano.
We left Sawgrass Mills, back to Comfort Inns, where we would be staying the last night in the United States of America, before we would fly back home.