Eric started to plan a guys' trip with his buddies from his hometown with a destination of Ponce Inlet (south of Daytona Beach) in mind. Their goal was a little golf, some deep sea fishing and a lot of catching up (which I assume means beer drinking!) I'm a planner by nature, so I offered to help him figure out his flight. As I checked out flight prices into Orlando, I realized how reasonable his flight was and decided to take advantage of the prices and turn his weekend away in a girls trip of my own!

My family has a house in the Orlando area. When a deal on a flight pops up, I get excited when I can take advantage of it and head down there. For this trip, plans were made with my Batch, Pam. (Yes, I meant to call her my Batch! Have you ever watched the Let Me Borrow That Top on YouTube? Somehow, this is where this nickname derives). We were ready for a boys free, kids free (she has 2 little munchkins) non-Disney, non-Universal trip. There was only one request on her part (and let's face it, mine), we needed to have dinner at Rocco's Tacos (at least once).

After taking a late flight down one Thursday night (hence, one of the reasons it was so reasonable), a bonus of driving Eric over to Ponce Inlet would be that we would be able to catch a glimpse of the Atlantic Ocean. We just had to make a quick detour before we started our drive - we needed breakfast so we stopped at one of my family's favorite morning spots, Tropical Smoothie. One of our go-to smoothie choices is the Detox Island Green (our protein powder of choice here is the pea protein. If I'm feeling a bit tired I'll have them add Energizer as well). Word to the wise, Tropical Smoothie standard size smoothie is gigantic! Two people can easily split one, especially if you add a Peanut Butter Crunch Flatbread to the order to share. It's perfectly filling and a pretty darn good breakfast.

A little bonus: Tropical Smoothie is a chain with a few locations in the area. The closest one to my location in South Jersey is Sicklerville. You can also find locations at 1600 North Broad Street in Philly, and literally a mile from our old house in Wilmington, DE at 4742 Limestone Road.

Now off we ventured to the east coast of Florida, dropping Eric off for his weekend of fun with the guys. Our next priority? To treat ourselves to a pedicure. And an adult beverage or two.

There are some trips that lend themselves to being planned to a T. Other trips need a little bit of guidance, but nothing totally set in stone. Our girls weekend was more of the latter.

A vacation like this easily leads to a lack of scheduling, and I love that. Though I would usually have an appointment made well before we even left the Philadelphia airport, for some crazy reason I figured I'd do a little research, have a few salons and spas narrowed down, and then see who might have a pedicure appointments available. Instead, we made a call to Abundant Health Day Spa in New Smyrna Beach, where we were confirmed for two appointments later that afternoon.

Somewhat responsibly, Pam and I decided to take a drive to the spa so we would be familiar with where it was located, and as we did that, we spotted Half Wall Restaurant & Brewery, perfectly situated on a little body of water. It was meant to be!

We made our way to the back patio of Half Wall, where we were able to grab two Adirondack chairs overlooking a little body of water. A pint of Islamorada Beer Company Island Citrus Ale (for me) and a glass of wine (for Pam) was ordered and we were officially on our way to a relaxing afternoon. Bonus: We enjoyed an order of what were quite possibly some of the best fried pickles I've ever had. Not a bad start to our afternoon.

Pedicures were up next, and the ladies at Abundant Health Day Spa were fantastic. From the perfect little, quiet sanctuary they set up as their pedicure room, to the best nail polish selection (all Deborah Lippmann polishes - yay!), it was such a fantastic experience. FYI: that pedicure was also one of the best I've had in years. It lasted so. long. I need to find an excuse to get back to New Smyrna Beach so I can pay them another visit!

That night back in Orlando was reserved for dinner at Rocco's Tacos which I knew would be a night filled with tableside guac, queso fundido and a pitcher of Ranch Water. Yes, please.

Pam and I first experience Rocco's Tacos on a trip to West Palm Beach to see Dave Matthews Band. A friend of hers suggested we check it out, and long story short, we liked it so much we went back for brunch before leaving at the end of that weekend.

Pam and I have a very strong friendship built on a very strong love of two things: guacamole and tequila! When we are together at a Mexican restaurant, there will be guacamole. And queso fundido. And a skinny margarita, or when it comes to Rocco's, Ranch Water

I adore the fact that the guac is made table side at Rocco's, (and served with tortilla chips that are dusted with Rocco's Spice. They are THE BEST. Sidenote: I'm mildly obsessed with the spice. What I love so much is that you can now order that spice online. I've gone through 2 bottles of the spices since right around the holidays!)

If you ever make it to Rocco's, here's a tip: when ordering the Queso Fundido, adding chorizo is a must. The combination of chihuahua cheese, cheddar cheeses and chile rajas, all baked in a well-seasoned iron skillet, served pipping crazy hot, is just delightful. Talk about a cheese pull. The perfect cocktail pairing for all of this? Rocco's Ranch Water: Patron Silver, soda water and fresh squeeze lime juice. There's usually a pitcher of that involved in a visit to Rocco's.

Rocco's Orlando has a killer bar outside as you walk in and an amazing patio out back, situated right on Little Sand Lake. If it had been a tiny bit warmer out, that back patio would have been the perfect spot to enjoy all of our Rocco's treats. This is how all Friday nights should be spent! To say our first full day in Florida was a darn good success is definitely an understatement.

As I was doing a little research on non-Disney or Universal park visit ideas, I stumbled upon seeing that Waitress (the Broadway musical) was going to be at the Walt Disney Theatre at Dr. Phillips Center for Performing Arts in downtown Orlando. If you loved the movie, and you love Sara Bareilis, if this comes back to Philly, or if you're able to catch a performance on Broadway, it was SO good. The music, the humor, the story. Just perfect. The Performing Arts Center was gorgeous as well. From our first step inside, I thought we were at a posh hotel. It was a treat to grab a glass of Rose during intermission and enjoy it out on the pretty glass balcony overlooking a courtyard.

Just because we weren't totally doing the Disney Parks thing, I thought a fun way to get a little Disney into our trip would be to do a little food and drink crawl at the Resorts along the Monorail: the Polynesian, the Grand Floridian and The Contemporary.

We started at The Polynesian. My initial goal was to grab a spot at Trader Sam's Grog Grotto, but of course there was a pretty good size wait, so we opted for the Tikki Terrace, where we could enjoy the same menu, just outside. I realized quickly that this was a pretty darn good alternative.

I decided on the Shrunken Zombie Head (Gosling’s 151 Black Seal Rum, Appleton Estate Reserve Rum, Bacardi 8 yr Rum, Tropical Juices, Falernum, and Cinnamon, all served in an (optional) souvenir Shrunken Head). Pam went with the Mosquito Mojito (Bacardi Dragon Berry Rum, Organic Agave Nectar, Falernum, Mint, and fresh Lime Juice topped with Soda Water). We easily landed on the Pan-Fried Dumplings and Soy-Seasame Dipping Sauce to pair with our cocktails.

After a quick walk around the resort, we hopped on the Monorail for our next (and what would turn out to be our last!) stop on our tour. Next stop: Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa.

Stop #1 at the Grand Floridian was Mizner's Lounge, located on the 2nd Floor of the resort, overlooking the Seven Seas Lagoon in one direction, and the resort in another. It's has a little old school feel to it. Classic cocktails and snacks are available, but after seeing they had Cigar City Jai Alai available, I had to order that (as I do at least once during every trip to Florida!)

We then made our way over to Citricos, the plan was to grab a seat in the lounge area. Not only were we able to do that, we ordered a delicious strawberry basil cocktail. We also found out that we could take advantage of the entire Citricos menu being available in the lounge area (though we opted for the Seasonal Flatbread with Parmesan, Fennel Sausage, Kale, Caramelized Onion, Roasted Fennel, Herb and Garlic Crema).

What I loved and couldn't get over was that our server at Citricos was from West Deptford. It truly is a "Small World after all." (Sorry, I couldn't resist!)

Though our intentions were to make it to all three of the Monorail resorts, we ended up having such a great time at stop #1 and #2, that #3 will just have to happen on our next trip!

Sunday morning (and by morning, I mean practically Noon!) we brunched (as a verb) at Frontera Cocina Mexicana, a Rick Bayless restaurant located at Disney Springs.

I am a big fan of Rick Bayless and his restaurant and feel very lucky to have visited three of his places in Chicago (Frontera Grill, Cruz Blanca Brewery & Taqueria and Xoco), his sort of hidden spot at University of Pennsylvania (Tortas Frontera) and Frontera Fresco, which used to be located in the Macy's in Union Square, San Francisco. His show, Mexico - One Plate at a Time, is a show you'll catch me watching frequently.

This was my second visit to Frontera Cocina, and all I wanted was the guac and a good margarita - the pretty view was a nice little bonus.

As the trip was winding down, getting a dose of the Verde Guacamole (Roasted poblanos, roasted tomatillo, toasted pepitas, cilantro and onions) and a Watermelon Pink Flamingo Margarita (Avión blanco Tequila, watermelon juice, fresh lime juice, orange liqueur,
Tajín chile powder) on a sunny Florida day, was pretty much perfect.

After hours of binge watching Bravo, we had to make our way to the airport, and stopped off at BurgerFi and tried something a little different, the plant-based Beyond Burger - and oh my goodness, I still can't get over how darn good it was! I liked it so much I made it my mission to find the burgers once I got home. I succeeded and have actually made them twice since I've been home! (p.s. You can find them at the ShopRite in Mullica Hill and the Wegmans in Concordville, PA .)

Sometimes you don't realize how much you need a little refresh and a recharge. A long weekend away with one of your best girlfriends sure is a fun way to do that!

The Longer Road Traveled

Girls Weekend in Orlando: From Pedicures, To Broadway Musicals, a Monorail Crawl and as Much Guacamole as Two Girls Can Fit Into a Long Weekend

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