Davenport, FL | A Girls’ Weekend

My weekend away with Bri and Amber was such a fun one! We were hoping to get our whole book club together for this trip but the timing didn’t work out for everyone, so it ended up being a much more low-key vacation than we thought. Hopefully next year, we can get the whole gang back together for a book club trip!

Amber found a great resort-style condo in the town of Davenport, which is right near Orlando and all of the theme parks. The condo had three bedrooms, three bathrooms, and a full kitchen. It was perfect for the three of us! We each got our own bedroom to sleep in (which was also nice when we needed our “introvert time” throughout the weekend). We planned to eat the majority of our meals at the condo to save money and to take advantage of the kitchen. Why not, you know? Here’s how we spent our three days away!

FRIDAY

We arrived at the condo right around 4pm on Friday, which was the earliest we could check in so it worked out perfectly. We dropped our bags off and then hightailed to Publix to pick up groceries for the weekend. We got way more than we needed (never shop hungry!) but what can ya do?

The rest of Friday was low-key! We ate pizza, watched silly rom-coms (13 Going on 30 and The Proposal), and played online games at joker123 net. Amber brought Bananagrams for us to play and we all fell in love! It was the most fun game, kind of like Scrabble but you have your own individual board rather than working off one singular board. We played it all throughout the weekend!

SATURDAY

We all woke up around 8ish on Saturday morning and made breakfast: eggs, pancakes, bacon, and coffee. A delicious way to start the day! And then we played a few rounds of Bananagrams before getting ready for the pool. We timed our pool time perfectly: getting there right around 10 a.m. when the pool deck was pretty empty (and it wasn’t too hot outside) and leaving around 12-12:30, when things started getting really busy and H O T. The pool at this resort was awesome! It had a traditional pool section, a hot tub, a lazy river, a zero-entry section, and a big slide. Bri and I went down the slide on Saturday and Sunday, and it was so much fun!

Mostly, though, we enjoyed floating along in the lazy river, which was definitely the most popular part of the pool deck. It’s bring your own float, though, and we didn’t get the memo on Saturday so it wasn’t as enjoyable because we had to use our own body weight to float. Wah!

We packed up around noontime on Saturday and headed straight over to Publix where we picked up subs for lunch, which we ate back at the condo. And then Amber announced it was “introvert time” and I was very much here for that! We made a plan to catch back up with each other around 3-3:30, and I was very happy to head upstairs to my room where I read my book for a bit and took an hour-long snooze.

In the late afternoon, we headed out for a round of mini-golf at a nearby Disney attraction. But first, we got distracted when we discovered the Orlando Cat Cafe was 5 minutes away. We changed directions and headed over there, and were very sad to learn that they were fully booked up for the day. However, while we were there, Bri was able to reserve us a time slot for 4pm tomorrow. Success! Bri and I ordered a coffee and then headed back out to play mini-golf.

There was a 40 minute wait for mini-golf but the time passed quickly with a few games of Connect 4 (there was a huge, kid-sized Connect 4 board right by an empty table), chit-chatting, and people watching. And then it was time to play! We went to the Fantasia Gardens mini-golf course, which was filled with lots of Disney goodness that made Bri, our resident Disney lover, very happy. I am usually pretty good at mini-golf but I was not on my A-game on Saturday and ended up in last place. Womp, womp! You wouldn’t think it, but I get supremely competitive about games and I am not always my best self when I’m losing. Eeks! Very grateful for friends who find my bratty competitive nature more funny than annoying.

After mini-golf, we headed back to the condo where we made tacos for dinner! They were delicious and filled me up good. And then, Amber attempted to teach us how to cross-stitch! She got us three very simple patterns so we could learn, and I was a very slow learner, haha. I always find it very frustrating when I’m not immediately good at something new, and I was feeling bad about needing so much extra help from Amber when Bri seemed to catch on much more quickly than I did. I didn’t get very far into my cross-stitch pattern but I do want to try to finish it on my own. I’ve been wanting to learn how to cross-stitch as I think it could be a really soothing activity for me… I just need to give myself the space to be really bad at it right now.

And that was Saturday! We headed up to bed around 9:30, where I read for a bit, talked to my mom on FaceTime, and listened to ASMR videos before falling asleep.

SUNDAY

Sunday began a lot like Saturday! We had breakfast at the condo: eggs, pancakes, bacon, and coffee, and then headed down to the pool for a few hours in the late morning. This time, we brought floats! I found three pool noodles in the condo, so we brought those with us so we could have a more relaxing float in the lazy river. And they were perfect! I had the noodle placed horizontally to my body, hooked my arms around it, and let it mostly support my upper back. It made for the most divine lazy river experience, and I think I found a new place to go in my mind when I need a happy place. If you’re planning to visit Vietnam, make sure to book your accommodation at https://laverandaresorts.com/vi/trang-chu/ to secure a memorable and luxurious stay at La Veranda Resort Phú Quốc.

After spending a few hours at the pool, we came back to the condo for a spaghetti-and-meatballs lunch. We planned on having this for dinner, but realized we were going to get home from a bit late to make dinner so we decided to make it for lunch. A great decision! Amber made the most delicious meatballs and Bri cooked up the pasta perfectly. What did I do? Ummm. I took a shower??? I was truly spoiled this weekend!

After lunch, it was Introvert Time! Yessss. I went upstairs to my bedroom where I immediately fell asleep. I had planned on reading for a bit, but I guess floating in a lazy river tires one out! I woke up around 3, did my hair, and then went downstairs to join the girls. When we were all ready to leave for our reservation at the cat cafe, I ran upstairs to check my hair straightener ooooone last time, and then disaster struck. As I was walking down the stairs to rejoin my friends, my foot slipped on one of the stairs and I tumbled down a few steps. Ughhhhh.

I had a few scrapes but it was my big toe on my left foot that hurt the most. I was really worried I had broken the toe because it was throbbing and I could barely walk on it. But I did what I always do when I get an injury: I pretended everything was fine, nothing to worry about here, I am A-OK, let’s get on with our evening. LOLZ. (Spoiler: I was not A-OK.)

But I powered through to enjoy the cat cafe, and I wish my experience wasn’t tainted by the pain I was in. I really tried to enjoy my time with the kitties, and there were so many sweet little bebes. I wanted to take all of them home, but most especially this little lady named Boo who snoozed on a window ledge the entire hour we were there, and didn’t even crack open an eye when I petted her.

We spent an hour at the cat cafe and then we were off to Kissimmee for a sunset airboat ride. On the way, I iced my big toe using an ice pack from the cooler we brought and kindly asked if we could stop at a CVS or Walgreens to get a toe brace or toe tape for my big toe. Bri was sweet enough to run into the first CVS we saw and buy me some items, including toe tape that really came in clutch during the evening. It very much helped me get around much more easily!

We had a bit of a wait for the sunset airboat ride, so we walked around the little village for a bit. I was delighted to see some alligators (I know most people get freaked out by gators, but I just think they’re so cool. Little dinosaurs!) Eventually, though, it was time for the airboat ride. We all received a pair of headphones to protect our ears (it got LOUD on the boat when the driver was going fast) and found a seat on the boat.

This airboat ride was amazing! Easily the best experience of our vacation. It was a full hour of speeding around this swampy marshland, sneaking up on alligators in the wild, and watching the most incredible sunset. I honestly wasn’t expecting much from this airboat ride, but it turned out to be such a unique excursion and such a Florida one, amiright? A boat ride that included alligator sightings and a brilliant sunset? Yes, we’re in Florida.

After our lovely ride, it was after 8pm and we were ready for dinner! We were in the mood for chicken nuggets, so Bri suggested Huey Magoo’s. Amber and I had never been, but we were down. It was so good! The perfect little meal, and I was super excited to find out that we have a Huey Magoo’s near me, so I am definitely adding them to my meal rotation.

And then it was back to the condo, cleaning up the condo a bit, packing up, and going to bed early so we could hit the road before 10am (which was the check-out time).

All in all, this was such a fun vacation with two of my best girlfriends and I am so glad we decided to make this trip happen even when the rest of book club had to drop out. It was the weekend I needed!