“Work Hard, Play Hard” is a commonly used motto around The Urban Spa, and we take both sides of that phrase seriously. We worked incredibly hard to earn this trip to Orlando, jamming our schedule packed with reservations, challenging one another to sales competitions and striving to make sure all of our guests left the Spa happier and more relaxed than they did walking in and with a promise to come visit us again.
With that in mind, we woke up on our 4th day in Orlando, Fl suffering the repercussions of having taken the latter half of that phrase to heart the night before…. 
As I sat in a fog with my Gatorade and buttered toast, I couldn’t help but begin to worry about this morning’s adventure: an Airboat Ride in the Everglades. Boggy Creek was about a 45-minute drive from our lovely home away from home in Davenport, Fl. As we made our way there, the scenes outside of our windows changed dramatically from residential to highway intersections to rural, swampy, back-woods-looking Florida.
I was thankful for Sarah Tye’s teacher-style fake-out manoeuvre, telling us we had to be at our destination almost an hour earlier than was necessary, because it gave us some time to breathe in that fresh Florida air and prepare ourselves to hopefully meet some Gators….
Which we did!!
Right off the hop, we got to see over a dozen of the cutest little baby Gators, all piled up and lounging in the sun. They were honestly adorable and with the temperature being what it was, these cold-blooded little guys were mostly staying completely still…
Then, it was time to board our Airboat, throw on a pair of very necessary ear muffs and begin our search. Sure, we’d seen some but we really wanted to see some real, Gator action!
Not too long after setting out, our expert Guide spotted something exciting: A Bald Eagle! Honestly, I don’t know how he did it because it was probably 15 minutes before each of us had caught a glimpse (with the help of some binoculars and strong camera lens zoom…)
Can you spot the Eagle hidden in the trees?
Contrary to my expectations, it was actually quite nice to be out the boat. With a giant fan at the stern, our Airboat seemed to glide along the top of the water without much turbulence (which I think we were all thankful for). 
In the interest of not making this post all about myself, I have left out a somewhat
Also spotted: this snake!
important detail: today was my birthday! It started promptly at midnight on the 10th of January with a rousing serenade from the group and stretched until the following midnight (and beyond, but I’ll tell you about that later).
To mark this occasion, the conductor of our Airboat ride let me take his seat for a photo op…
After our ride, we followed the sweet smell of burning wood over to Native Village,
where we met a man named Little Big Mountain who told us all about the
canoe he was carving using only primitive native technology.
He invited us to sit a while in his outdoor classroom and proceeded to give us a truly fascinating history lesson.
He brought us back in time to the early settlement of America, of Florida and of this swampy area in particular.
He also took us through the evolution of native weaponry, complete with some awe-inspiring demonstrations.
The group agreed that we could have listened to him speak all day, his story telling was so charismatic and engaging.
After about two hours of hanging on his every word, we bid him a fond farewell
and hit the road again towards home.
Thank you, Little Big Mountain!
Upon arrival at the house, we were told that we had the afternoon to
ourselves to do as we pleased, but that we were all to meet at the
Universal Studios globe for 7:00 PM sharp
No hints were given, but we were told NOT to be late.
With that in mind, some of us spent the afternoon enjoying the pool and hot tub, watching TV, napping, running errands, etc. At some point, Jennifer and her partner John set to work making us a delicious barbeque dinner which I was so pleased to wake up to after a most wonderful and desperately needed nap.
At dinner, I was serenaded once again by the group and presented with a delicious cupcake Birthday cake!
Shortly after dinner, we loaded back into our convoy and set out towards Universal Studios. We met at the Globe, each with our own guesses as to what the surprise might be and waited. Kerri had me come with her and Tye to pick up the tickets for this surprise, so I got to find out a little bit sooner than the group:
LIVE TV TAPING OF WRESTLING!
… Just kidding! It was BLUE MAN GROUP!
Tye almost had me convinced, and so the three of us still did our best to make sure the group seriously thought we were going to a live taping of wrestling before revealing the true surprise.
Since there is no photography of any sort permitted inside of the theatre, I will do my best to recount the experience.
If you’ve never seen the Blue Man Group in action, you are missing out an entertaining evening filled with belly laughs and a permanent smile.
We were seated in the Splash Zone, which meant that there was an ever-present anticipation of being doused in some
brightly coloured paint from the Group who famously pour loads of watery paint onto giant barrel-like drums and play until they themselves are drenched (though you can barely tell since their outfits are black).
Being so close to the stage also meant that there was an increased chance of interacting with the Group as they set out into the audience. At one point, one of the Men started walking through the crowd via our armrests and passed directly over Melanie Deighton.
Their show is truly something you need to see to fully understand, and I highly encourage you to take in a performance if you’re ever given the opportunity.
After the show, we made our way back to the house to rest up for our final full day in Orlando….
More on that later 🙂
Mélanie
On behalf of The Urban Spa
Aside from those in the group who had already been to the Theme Park Capital of the World, many of us hadn’t really experienced a Theme Park before. We might have been familiar with Canada’s Wonderland, but we were in a whole new world (or worlds) now. Universal Studios is a fully immersive experience. As you travel through the different sections of the park, you leave the real world behind and find yourself in places you’ve only imagined or seen in movies/TV, such as a film studio backlot someplace in Hollywood, California or cartoonily-familiar Springfield, USA, home of The Simpsons.
There happens to be a Hello Kitty shop close to the entrance of Universal Studios and there also just so happens to be Hello Kitty’s biggest fan in the Urban Spa Staff. Samantha was so thrilled by getting to start the day meeting her idol, it definitely made her day!
You forget you’re in a Theme Park, it’s all so real and all SO magical. It was a truly remarkable experience. One could spend a full day in this section of the park alone and each moment gaze upon yet another intricate detail that truly brought the place to life. Jen Cowey, an Esthetician at the Urban Spa, spent a lot of time photographing these details throughout her visit and says they were her favourite part of the day.
Sarah helped coordinate this trip with our fearless leader Kerri, and for every activity and surprise they planned for us, they must have got satisfaction ten-fold. You could literally see the immense sense of accomplishment wash over their faces as all of their hard work was finally coming to fruition. Tye also tends to jump up and down.
Inside? no detail was spared. As you wait in line for the ride, you are treated to a detailed tour of the castle, through classrooms and common rooms, past winding staircases, through Dumbledor’s office and even past the Sorting Hat. And the ride at the end of the tour? My own personal favourite part of the day. I rode it twice!
Something truly remarkable and seriously weird happened to our RMT Cole Leptick while wandering around Universal Studios; he met Doc Johnson of Back To The Future fame, who gave him a message from the future! After posing for a photo together, the Doc had to run, but before he did, he told Cole to ‘have fun sky-diving!” Cole didn’t think much of it until later that night when Kerri and Tye were announcing the next morning’s surprise excursion: a trip to iFly Orlando for a bit of INDOOR SKYDIVING!
On Friday, January 6th, I left work exited as all get-out, knowing that in less than 24 hours time my coworkers and I would be soaking up the sun in Orlando, Florida. This incredible vacation was finally about to happen, something we at the Urban Spa had been looking forward to and working towards for what seemed like forever — especially in the weeks leading up to it, which included an incredibly hectic Holiday season where our schedule had been booked at max capacity throughout.
Before too long, the rest of us finally took our seats on the plane en route to Orlando, Florida! After a somewhat turbulent, 3-ish hours (which I mostly, successfully slept through) we began descending into… an overcast, drizzly, humid yet cool day. Needless to say, this was not what we expected from Florida…
With three rental cars worth of luggage and groceries, we made our way to our resort community home-away-from-home in Champions Gate (fitting) and unloaded our things into a beautiful, 9 bedroom house complete with multiple common areas, a games room/home theatre, not to mention a private pool and jacuzzi.
The Melting Pot is a gorgeously decorated fondue restaurant, where we were treated to a three-course FEAST. Each course was prepared before our eyes on a magical marble-topped table with a cook-top insert controlled by what appeared to our deliriously tired eyes as a magic wand. Were we in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter already? I thought that was supposed to be happening on Day Two… I am getting ahead of myself!
Let me tell you about the FOOD:
At The Urban Spa, one of our core beliefs is we want people to put themselves first. Too many people in today’s busy world put themselves last. Whether your favourite airline is Air Canada, West Jet or someone else, our belief is that the airlines’ safety briefing got it right. If you’ve flown in the last 30 years, you will remember the stewardess saying “you must put on your oxygen mask before helping other people”.
In December, winter reaches its peak, and as far as the fashions are involved, an individual conjointly reaches at the height of pleasure at the beginning of this season. December Nail Art design ideas revolve around the events that we’ve got to attend throughout this month. One among the most outstanding styles of Winter Nail Art is snowflakes because snow is usually seen in winter. You can act creatively and use completely different color combos for frost nail art techniques and patterns.
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