Part of the amenities of our Holiday Inn was access to the St. Simons Health and Fitness Club about a block from the hotel. At 6:30 a.m., Ross, Beth, Christopher, and I drive over for a little early morning workout. I take a mile walk around the track while Beth attempts to beat Ross in several games of racquetball. Chris and I play a little basketball--and by play, I mean I threw the ball everywhere except into the basket, and Christopher wondered why I didn't know how to play the game. A continental breakfast buffet back at the hotel broke our fast, and Beth was even given a laundry bag to take some food to go for later...Grandma Helen would've had a hay day! She could've fit a lot more into a laundry bag than she ever could've fit into her pocketbook.
Our first stop after checking out of the hotel was the Fort Frederica National Monument. Fort Frederica was a military outpost consisting of a fort and town. Established in 1736, James Oglethorpe sought to protect the southern boundary of his new colony of Georgia with his hand-picked colonists. This land was the epicenter of a centuries-old imperial conflict between Spain and Britain in 1742. After watching a brief documentary, we took a tour around the museum and the archeological remains of colonial Frederica which are now protected by the National Park Service. I can't imagine existing in that hot and humid marshy area during that time period. Clearly the candlestick/soap maker was the most profitable profession of the era. We had fun walking around and learning a little regional history.
Lunch at Sal's followed. And by lunch, I mean Bev ordering everything on the menu, and all of us trying to eat every bite. Appetizers of eggplant fries, mozzarella bites, and caprese were the warm up to the spaghetti, penne pastas, and lasagnas as well as a large pepperoni pizza. Sal made us all feel so welcome coming by our table to visit and tell stories in between waiting on other customers. At one point, he introduced us to his friend "mike" and serenaded us with a few verses of 'Amore'. Even though we were all miserable and near food coma capacity, I knew I couldn't leave without having some of Sal's decadent gelato. I must say that the Jello-Toe at Sal's beats all other Jello-Toes anywhere else. Sal "treated" us like royalty which brings me to another one of The Seven Wonders of the World - Rohne Style--Wonder #4: I wonder why there are not more upstanding, personable, classy, generous people in the world like Sal--an absolute gem among men. He definitely restores my faith in humanity. After completely stuffing ourselves, we load up in the minivans and input the next destination into the Garmin. In St. Augustine, FL, we stopped at an outlet mall to let Bev stretch her knee and to take advantage of some discounted apparel in the Disney Character store. The hot, steamy Florida weather is certainly a shock to the system after leaving the cool, wet Spring conditions of Iowa. Hitting Orlando at rush hour during a rainstorm was certainly not ideal, but unavoidable given our schedule for the day. We finally arrived at Animal Kingdom Villas around 6 p.m. to check in and explore the resort before grabbing a bite to eat and settling in for the night. Our room has a savannah view, and we spot several animals roaming around just below our room. Beth said Animal Kingdom is one of her favorite resorts--it's like staying at the zoo.
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