Don't Stop - the Florida road trip section UPDATED 3/16 - Page 14 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
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There are other changes as well.
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We go on to the joy and through the tears
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It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
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Tuesday 15 December – part seven: not as bad as it looked and a fun dinner
We headed into the centre of Boca Raton, as I wanted to see Mizner Park. I had read that this was a lovely shopping mall and they weren’t wrong. Shopping mall is too good a description for this. Although it wasn’t quite in the league of Palm Beach’s Worth Avenue, it was still very nice with I’m sure some very pricey shops. We both said that we suspected it would be packed out in the evenings.
Having taken all the photos we wanted, we then headed out to find our hotel for the night, the Express by Holiday Inn at Boca Raton.
A couple of photos on the way
Unfortunately, by this time of the night, that meant contending with rush-hour traffic and a lot of road signals. As I said to Mark, that’s something that’s the same the whole world over.
We found the Express by Holiday Inn easily enough and I’ll admit that, as we pulled up to it, it wasn’t very impressive, from what we saw. It looked just like a cheap motel. I know I’m a resort snob and, after all the great Disney hotels so far this trip, you can hardly blame me. I think it’s probably fair to say we walked in there, not sure what awaited us, but we were in for a pleasant surprise. The lobby was lovely and decked out with more poinsettias than I think we saw during the whole time we were staying in Disney. Unfortunately, due to an oversight, it appears that all the photos I had of the lobby and our dinner that night never got uploaded, so those are now lost.
When I got to the front desk, I thought our stay was going to be a disaster, when the guy said he could only give us a room with two single beds. I must’ve looked so crestfallen that he offered us a handicapped room with one king size bed. That will do for us. It was on the same floor as the lobby and we were able to park outside, which was great. Because it was a handicapped room, it was a really good size and I was pleased with it. It was good value, considering we hadn’t paid much for it.
Another nice touch was when we checked in, we got a gift bag for being gold card Priority Club members. It contained two bottles of water and a peanut butter granola bar. OK, so I can’t stand peanut butter, but that’s not the point. It was still a nice gesture and unexpected.
We stayed in the room for a while, relaxing and sorting out photos and then decided to head out to find something for dinner. Mark had suggested going to a supermarket to get some fresh fruit and fish, so we set off for Target, but they barely had any grocery items in there. We left with some of my deodorant and the one that my dad uses, some chips and some bottles of water and Sprite, but that was it.
We then tried a Publix (our sat nav was a life saver at this point) and found exactly what we wanted. We ended up with a huge bowl of fresh fruit, ready to eat sushi and some prawns, along with a bottle of Arbor Mist White Zinfandel with Sangria, so that was us set for the night.
We headed back to the room and had our dinner, which was lovely. I did photograph dinner, but sadly those photos are gone too.
After that, I went to use the computer in the lobby, as we just couldn’t get the Wi-Fi to work on our laptop. After updating the trip report, catching up with e-mails and updating Facebook, I headed back to the room to watch some TV and have an early night.
The weather today was hot and humid for much of the day with temperatures in the high 80s, but with heavy rain in the late morning or early afternoon. The best thing today was the Flagler Museum. The worst thing today was the rain. The funniest thing today was Mark’s first attempt with the rocking chair photo. Today we tried visiting Palm Beach And the result was it’s well worth going to. The most magical moment today was walking into the Flagler Museum.
Cheryl, thank you for reminding me of how beautiful Mizner Park is(it's been several years since Ive been there). I'm glad the appearance of the Holiday Inn Express was dissappointing, I hope the bed was comfy though for a good night's rest. I'm glad to hear your dinner from Publix was enjoyable. Their produce is always fresh there. Your next installment has me a bit worried. Some great hotels if the price is right for your budget If you are ever down there again and surely don't dissappoint are any Embassy Suites Hotel, The Breakers (defanitely more luxurious than the GF), and for the Miami Area The Mayfair(they even have hot tubs in your room) and the Alexander(which is very similar to a DVC Rental Property as it is all Suites and very nice too. It's
in South Beach Area). I am so glad you enjoyed your stay in West Palm Beach, Palm Beach & Boca Raton Areas, andthought it's worth visiting.
Great photos! Is it just me, or does Mizner park have a Disney-esque feel to it? I kept thinking it could have been at Hollywood Studios! (Or maybe I just think everything is Disney when I read the boards.... )
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Just caught up. Are you guys still there now or back home? I agree with you...I'd rather travel than have fancy schmancy clothes! Besides grocery, the biggest part of my budget is allotted to travel!!!
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It was on the same floor as the lobby and we were able to park outside, which was great. Because it was a handicapped room, it was a really good size and I was pleased with it. It was good value, considering we hadn’t paid much for it. 
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