Last day.

Another early morning - we sneak quietly into the house to make coffee and oatmeal, brush our teeth, leave behind a large portion of King's Cake (and the baby - guess who has to buy the next King's Cake?). Just as quietly, we sneak back out and begin the drive into Orlando. Of course there's traffic, as there would be navigating into any big metropolis. It perfectly bookends the trip - this is how we began, escaping the gridlock in Los Angeles, running as fast as we could out to the desert safety of Joshua Tree. Now we return back to the traffic, back to the city, back to some forgotten corner of an industrial park to bring our home, or travelling companion, our campervan, back to where it belongs, which is not the cold, snowy north. 

Thankfully, the return goes off without a hitch. We overdid the clean-up, we didn't have to take the van to a car wash, etc., etc. But I know I feel better returning the campervan in a better state than we received it. I take care of my things. Plus, I want my deposit back! Now, as we gather up all our bags and I try to figure out the daunting prospect of take a bus across town to our hotel, Mario calls an Uber. It's the best idea ever - I don't what state our nerves would have been in after trying to negotiate our way on not one, but TWO buses to the airport hotel complex! We arrive early, and there's a room waiting for us, and oh! That first shower in a few days is heavenly.

Mario is overly-proud of this odometer - check  out the time spend driving!

This is a bonus day: I had booked the night at the hotel to avoid any serious rushing and coordinating given that we had to return the rental, and we've done that before in Iceland and Guadeloupe, and it adds extra stress know you have to go through the whole process, plus get to the airport for a flight afterwards. I decided the extra day would save us the stress. Turns out this is the best place to have booked an extra day. Orlando airport is surrounded with hotels, which are surrounded by restaurants and shops and lakes and sidewalks and a park...There is plenty to keep us busy and not stuck in the hotel room watching mindless TV for the rest of the day.

First, we take a walk across the highway to a park with a big lake, and some trails, and a disk golf course. You read that right - a serious disk golf course, where players even have caddies on wheels they tow behind them, filled with different makes of soft disks - but this is just the golf you play with a frisbee. It almost seems farcical, but the players look so serious... We walk around the area, admiring the Spanish moss hanging majestically in the overhead branches, giving the forest a look of mystery.

Next, we head back across the highway, towards the shops and restaurants, for one last coffee stop at Starbucks. This is not a habit we have at home, but it's one we've come to enjoy on vacation. Again, I order the iced pistachio thing, but for the first time, it's hot enough that Mario also gets an iced espresso. It's a beautiful, sunny, and humid day in Orlando, and an enjoyable 24 degrees C. We are soaking it up, walking along the sidewalks, sipping our coffees and watching the planes soaring overhead. 

There's also a cinema in this hotel/mall/airport neighbourhood, which I find out while investigating Google maps back in the hotel room. I check what's playing, and for our next stop, we end up heading over to watch the afternoon showing of "A Man Called Otto". Wow - what a good movie! I highly recommend it, and Mario too - Tom Hanks is wonderful, the story is fantastic, and it really covers all the emotions. Plus, unbeknownst to us, the cinema has fully reclining seats, which makes the experience that much more fun and comfortable - we have a blast.

We exit out into the balmy night air and it's still early, though the sky is dark. Our next stop is right next door, at Rock & Brews, a restaurant with a beer and music theme. Inside, music videos play on giant screens, and we try to guess the artists without looking. We order a flight, because we are always about trying new things, and choose all the locally-brewed beers available on tap. Along with the impromptu beer tasting, we share an entree of crispy fried calamari, served with herbed aioli and homemade marinara sauce, which is excellent, followed by lack-luster mains. My salad topped with blackened salmon, and Mario's Hamburguesa burger are just okay - edible, but certainly not on par with the flavour and presentation of the calamari. But it is good, and we have a great time being out and about for our last night of vacation, and I could not have asked for a closing to a fantastic month - we walk back to the hotel happy and full and rested, and ready for the voyage home.