Today we attended to the loose ends of our vacation. We also engaged in the age-old art of Christmas shopping.

We started the morning with a trip to the Downtown section. We had Christmas shopping on our mind. We found our way to the shop that outfits the little "princesses", as we have some of them on our collective list. Guess what we found? Cousins:

After the trip to Downtown, we returned to EPCOT to finish visiting all the sites that we had missed previously. Admittedly, we were killing time on the runup to the backstage tour of the greenhouses. The greenhouse tour was exceptional. The hydroponic and aeroponic farming methods that they use are quite incredible. Admittedly, a lot of EPCOT's effort goes into the showmanship; but they do have a number of neat techniques.



Most of the EPCOT farming techniques are impractical in the "real" world, as they require a sterile and very controlled environment. However, given the controlled conditions, the yields are very impressive. I'm thinking of putting together a wheatgrass setup using their aeroponic nutrient-spray technique. I should be able to adapt it to a continual flow using a small aquarium pump system for the nutrients.

The EPCOT gardens manage to operate with a minimal amount of dirt. However, using their methods, it makes sense. Plants need nutrients and water. Dirt holds these items for the roots to absorb. If you help the plants with the absorbtion, you can manage without all the dirt. The hanging pumpkin gardens are a great example.



Following the tour, we visited the Coral Reef for an early dinner. Now we understand why the waiting list was so long. The food was incredible. Jessawick had the Ahi Tuna. I had the Blackened Catfish. Both were exceptional. The whole restaurant is sunken into the ground, with a sidewall view of the large aquarium tank. Dinner and a sea-turtle show.

We puttered about EPCOT for the rest of the day. We revisited several of the countries. Jessawick rode a Segway.



We're going to start the journey home tomorrow.