how to party like a local in Orlando, again!

Wednesday

There we were, traipsing around outside in dresses, all four of us.

 

That's right, I wore a dress, too!

 

After all, it was a special time there at Harry P. Leu Gardens: the Summer of the Fairies.

 

Oh, yes, I remember a similar jaunt with the littlest girl, once upon a time!

 

Was that really five years ago when she was only a Toodles toddler???

And here I am again, in search of fairy folk and such, with that littlest girl as well as the younger sister, and their forever mom.

 

Actually, we were looking high and low for the twenty Fairy Doors which were scattered throughout the grounds.

 

Miyah is flashing a peace sign by Door # 3, as that belongs to Jasper, a fairy with light brown hair like hers!

 

He's a lover of animals, too, just like her!

Surprised that there were male fairies?

 

Don't be - half the doors belonged to builders, gardeners, beekeepers, treasure guards, and others, all male!

 

But the fairy at Door # 9 that Chloe identified with was not only female, but was a princess named Shaylee, with blonde hair and blue eyes - just like her!

 

We never did find the door of the dance fairy, Annalise, which certainly would have been my favorite.

Our map for the Fairy Doors exhibit said she even twirls while she flies!

 

What a sight that must be in the air!

 

So, my favorite would be the Dragon Door, where Ryu keeps watch over the nearby nest of Dragon eggs.

 

His door is the dark spot on the leftmost tree and the nest is in the tree Miyah is pointing to.

All in all, we found twelve of the wee doors in the two hours we were there.

 

Pretty good map-reading skills, Christina Ann!

 

And what did that adventure cost us?

 

Absolutely nothing!

 

Leu Gardens is part of the Museums For All network, meaning we all got in free thanks to the SNAP program, saving us fifty dollars.

 

I'm glad I did some homework before the trip, or I would have missed this Delicious Monster plant!

 

I haven't seen those since I left Panama!

We dined on the grounds with our picnic lunch, then headed south to Disney Springs.

No, not a water park - it's the free site with restaurants and stores and much to see.

We were there for the AMC Summer Camp, to watch "Sing 2" for a song!

Well, not really a song, but only $3 each, with my ticket comped as an A*List entry.

Plus, I had a coupon for $5 cameo popcorn and drink combos for each of us.

What a deal!

They all had fun posing at the various movie pop-ups after our screening was done.

Hahahaha!

Then we did a bit of exploring next door at the M&M's store, while I gallantly tried to teach the girls about window-shopping.

 

Silly me... they really didn't understand that concept at all!

I grew up with it, which no doubt accounts for my lack of interest in browsing around in stores looking at sales.

The grocery store is pretty much the only place I do that, when I'm not pulling a guerilla operation on it.

You know: go in, get what I came for, and get the heck out!

(smile!)

They've all gone to the pool, so I'm taking a breather.

Christina is making "taco salad" for dinner, so I'll be looking forward to her interpretation of that Mexican dish.

Meanwhile, I'm enjoying the quiet... and looking forward to an early bedtime!

(smile!)