{"id":106,"date":"2010-11-05T05:29:00","date_gmt":"2010-11-05T05:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/meshell.ca\/blog\/?p=106"},"modified":"2014-06-23T23:30:29","modified_gmt":"2014-06-24T03:30:29","slug":"vegan-mofo-30-days-of-vegan-travel-day-four-orlando-fl-the-city-beautiful-in-honor-of-the-shuttle-launch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/meshell.ca\/blog\/vegan-mofo-30-days-of-vegan-travel-day-four-orlando-fl-the-city-beautiful-in-honor-of-the-shuttle-launch\/","title":{"rendered":"Vegan MoFo: 30 Days of Vegan Travel &#8211; Day Four &#8211; Orlando, FL &#8211; The City Beautiful &#8211; In honor of the shuttle launch"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><center><a title=\"Ares I-X: Sunrise on the Launch Pad (NASA, 10\/27\/09) by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, on Flickr\" href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/28634332@N05\/4052860317\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/farm4.static.flickr.com\/3195\/4052860317_1c441402ab.jpg\" alt=\"Ares I-X: Sunrise on the Launch Pad (NASA, 10\/27\/09)\" width=\"500\" height=\"335\" \/><\/a><\/center>Well, the Space Shuttle Discovery <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/mission_pages\/shuttle\/shuttlemissions\/sts133\/index.html\">Mission STS 133<\/a> was going to launch today from Kennedy Space Center, but was pushed back to Friday due to weather conditions. I&#8217;ve always wanted to see a shuttle launch, but I haven&#8217;t had the opportunity, so in fantasy internet vacation land I&#8217;m pretending to be there.<\/p>\n<p><center><a title=\"&quot;Greetings from Orlando, Florida, the City Beautiful~&quot; - Project 366 2008 - June 28, 2008 ~ Explored! by turtlemom4bacon, on Flickr\" href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/turtlemom_nancy\/2619657204\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/farm4.static.flickr.com\/3030\/2619657204_11c9c9e086.jpg\" alt=\"&quot;Greetings from Orlando, Florida, the City Beautiful~&quot; - Project 366 2008 - June 28, 2008 ~ Explored!\" width=\"500\" height=\"316\" \/><\/a><\/center>Orlando, FL is reasonably close to the Kennedy Space Center so seems to be the best destination, especially since while I am an unabashed nerd, I&#8217;ve also always wanted to visit Walt Disney World and EPCOT Center. It&#8217;s one of those things I&#8217;ve never outgrown. I blame watching Mickey Mouse Club as a child.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, when in Orlando&#8230; there are also a bunch of other silly\/fun\/random things to do in addition to those two.<\/p>\n<h3>Resources:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.vegguide.org\/region\/223\">Orlando VegGuide<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.yelp.com\/orlando-fl\">yelp.com<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.happycow.net\/north_america\/usa\/florida\/orlando\/\">Happy Cow<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.vegblogger.com\/\">VegBlogger<\/a> &#8211; From Daytona Florida<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Transit Information<\/h3>\n<p>The Central Florida Transit system is called <a href=\"http:\/\/www.golynx.com\/\">LYNX<\/a>. They have a trip planner, so that&#8217;ll make getting around easy. It&#8217;s 4.50 for a single day pass. or $2 one way.<\/p>\n<h3>Where to stay<\/h3>\n<p>I&#8217;m partial to these two, but they both have separate things going for them:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.orlandohostels.com\/\">Orlando&#8217;s Palm Lakefront Hostel<\/a> (4840 W. Irlo Bronson Hwy 192 &#8211; Kissimmee, Florida)\n<ul>\n<li>(19$\/person for a dorm room or 36$ for a private room for 2)<\/li>\n<li>they have wifi<\/li>\n<li>Buses (for about 2$) out to places I&#8217;d want to see<\/li>\n<li>inexpensive.<\/li>\n<li>is a hostel<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imperialswanorlando.com\/\">Imperial Swan Hotel<\/a> (7050 South Kirkman Road Orlando, FL)\n<ul>\n<li>Has a decent location.<\/li>\n<li>Is not a hostel, but is still inexpensive<\/li>\n<li>Free shuttle service to theme parks<\/li>\n<li>con: Doesn&#8217;t have free wifi<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Food Stuff<\/h3>\n<p>Things that really excited me about going to Orlando is there is quite a selection of places to go that are vegan.<br \/>\nHere are a few I really wanted to try:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ethosvegankitchen.com\/\">Ethos Vegan Kitchen <\/a>(1235 N Orange Ave, Orlando, FL).<center><br \/>\n<a title=\"Ethos Vegan Kitchen by jugglerpm, on Flickr\" href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/jugglerpm\/2580788305\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/farm4.static.flickr.com\/3067\/2580788305_62c76479b3_m.jpg\" alt=\"Ethos Vegan Kitchen\" width=\"240\" height=\"160\" \/><\/a><\/center><br \/>\nThey seem to have a very comfort food vibe, which I&#8217;m very into. The Pecan Encrusted Eggplant and What&#8217;s the Dilly, Philly? (philly cheesesteak) are dishes that I&#8217;m very into.<a title=\"Ethos-Pecan Encrusted Eggplant by jugglerpm, on Flickr\" href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/jugglerpm\/2685900023\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/farm4.static.flickr.com\/3112\/2685900023_0a9e285d50.jpg\" alt=\"Ethos-Pecan Encrusted Eggplant\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cafe118.com\/\">Caf\u00e9 118 Degrees<\/a> (153 E Morse Rd, Winter Park, FL) Their entire menu is organic, vegan and also prepared completely raw.<\/li>\n<li>I read on <a href=\"http:\/\/www.lifestylesofthechicandvegan.com\/2007\/09\/shooting-tiger-in-orlando-panther.html\">someone&#8217;s<\/a> blog they had a veganized meal from Norman&#8217;s (4012 Central Florida Pkwy, Grande Lakes, FL) at The Ritz. That was in 2007, but I&#8217;m hopeful that this could still happen.<\/li>\n<li>While in the Magical World of Disney, I&#8217;m going to take advantage of Brown Derby at MGM Studios.<center><a title=\"Hollywood Brown Derby by thecrystalskull, on Flickr\" href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/crystalskull\/467462981\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/farm1.static.flickr.com\/202\/467462981_9ac8f1eabe_m.jpg\" alt=\"Hollywood Brown Derby\" width=\"240\" height=\"180\" \/><\/a><\/center><br \/>\nIt does not have a huge selection of vegan options, but it does have something marked vegan right on the menu (that isn&#8217;t a salad), the coconut-encrusted tofu with thai noodles and vegetables. It also serves one vegan dessert every day.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Coffee \/ Cafe<\/h3>\n<p><center><a title=\"Yum by mulberrymint, on Flickr\" href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/mulberrymint\/4401526063\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/farm3.static.flickr.com\/2678\/4401526063_1b29cfb272.jpg\" alt=\"Yum\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\" \/><\/a><\/center><br \/>\nI was excited to hear about the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.raphsodic.com\/\">Raphsodic Cooperative Company Bakery &amp; Store<\/a> (710 N Mills Ave, Orlando, FL). They are entirely vegan, and sound like they have a great variety of yummy baked treats, plus there is wifi! Definitely a must visit.<\/p>\n<p>Another coffee shop that sounded interesting was <a href=\"http:\/\/www.drunkenmonkeycoffee.com\/\">Drunken Monkey Coffee<br \/>\n<\/a> (444 N Bumby Ave, Orlando, FL). It&#8217;s not entirely vegan but they do have vegan baked goods, and a variety of nondairy milks. They would be another spot for wifi.<\/p>\n<h3>Fun (for me) Activities<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.kennedyspacecenter.com\/\">Kennedy Space Center<br \/>\n<\/a> (SR 405, Kennedy Space Center, FL, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.kennedyspacecenter.com\/driving-directions.aspx\">directions<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m not sure how I could spent a lifetime not visiting this place.<\/p>\n<p>Admission to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex: is $41 adult\/$31 child (ages 3-11) plus tax<\/p>\n<p>But, since I&#8217;d want to take it to the next level&#8230; how does one do that? Why&#8230; with a half-day program of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.kennedyspacecenter.com\/astronaut-training-experience.aspx\">astronaut training <\/a>of course. It&#8217;s pricy (no surprise there) $145 (plus tax)<\/p>\n<p><i>ATX focuses on hands-on aspects of astronaut training, including a mission simulation and training simulators. During this exciting half-day of astronaut training, you will hear from veteran NASA astronauts and progress through a mission simulation as you experience what it takes to become a NASA astronaut.<\/i><\/p>\n<p>Then there is the whole&#8230; <a href=\"www.disney.com\">Disney Experience<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>It looks like a day pass to Disney would be $71, by the time I go, I&#8217;m sure it will change<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>EPCOT Center, I&#8217;d want to check out Mission to Mars, and the Illuminations show (a combination of laser, lights and fireworks synchronized with classical music)<\/li>\n<li>MGM Studios. I&#8217;d have to go on the The Tower of Terror, see the Muppets 3D and Fantasmic( the fireworks show).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Then the other stuff&#8230;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.universalorlando.com\/Home\/harrypotter.aspx\">Universal Studio&#8217;s Orlando<\/a>: has a special Harry Potter thing going on right now. I&#8217;m going to pretend I&#8217;m seeing it now.<\/li>\n<li>Then my usual art gallery visit, which in this case would be the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.omart.org\/\">Orlando Museum of Art<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com\/\">Daytona 500<\/a>: A park for race car enthusiasts featuring a museum, interactive exhibits, simulators, an IMAX theater and Speedway tours. I would have to check out whether there was a race going on while I was there, because it might actually be kind of fun to be there while it&#8217;s happening.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><center><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/farm3.static.flickr.com\/2126\/1827955741_622702aa52.jpg?v=0\" alt=\"Why are you posting so much MeShell?\" \/><\/center><span style=\"font-size: 14px;\">Pictures used, are not mine, they are ones I found on Flickr and are used under creative commons license. If you took these images, and don&#8217;t want them on my blog, let me know (and update you image settings)! Thank you.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Well, the Space Shuttle Discovery Mission STS 133 was going to launch today from Kennedy Space Center, but was pushed back to Friday due to weather conditions. I&#8217;ve always wanted to see a shuttle launch, but I haven&#8217;t had the opportunity, so in fantasy internet vacation land I&#8217;m pretending to&#46;&#46;&#46;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[163,896,897,165,164,4,156,155],"tags":[1376],"class_list":["post-106","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-disney","category-florida","category-orlando-florida","category-orlando","category-space-station","category-vegan-food","category-vegan-mofo","category-vegan-mofo-2010","tag-vegan-food"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/meshell.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/meshell.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/meshell.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meshell.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meshell.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=106"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/meshell.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/meshell.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=106"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meshell.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=106"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meshell.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=106"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}