Well, we decided to splurge a bit on spring break this year. The kids are growing up (Drew is junior and Emily a freshman) so we don't have much more time to do some of these things together with them. We decided to do the Everglades (which none of us have been to) and Walt Disney World. We threw in a couple side trips too. We spent one night with my cousin Kimberly's family near Tampa Bay and on the way to their place we stopped and had lunch with the Cameron's in St Petersburg, who were also on spring break down in Florida.
We did a lot of hiking and two boat trips in the everglades. One of the rides was "back country" and went into the mangroves and the other went into the bay. I thought the one in the mangroves was a lot better but out in the bay we did get to see tons of my favorite bird - Osprey! We even got to see them nesting with babies. Emily got sick of my asking to take pictures. I tried to do some birding on this trip and use my new eBird app. I saw lots of cool birds but the raptors were definitely my favorite: Osprey and Swallowed-tailed Kites. It was also the first time I had seen American Crocodiles which was sweet. The bottom of Florida is their northern most range and only place where they overlap with American alligators. We were hoping to see some manatees and there was supposed to be a family of them near the visitor center but we didn't have any luck. Bummer.
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| White Ibis near Anhinga Trail |
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| American Alligator along Anhinga Trail |
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| Red-winged black bird (Emily photo) |
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| Osprey (Emily photo) |
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| Me and an Anhinga (Emily photo) |
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| Purple Gallinule (Emily photo) |
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| American alligator (Emily photo) |
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| Great Egret (Emily photo) |
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| American Crocodile (Emily photo) |
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| Little Blue Heron (Emily photo) |
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| Mangroves (Emily photo) |
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| Double-crested Cormorant (Emily photo) |
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| Osprey and nest in tree (Emily photo) |
It was hot in the Everglades but I never thought it was unbearable. And the mosquitos were around but they generally weren't a huge problem except for one particular trail. I don't know what the deal with that trail was but we actually had to turn around and run back to the car. They were insane and unstoppable. And of course they get in the car with you :)
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| View from a rest area on the way to St Petersburg for lunch! |
We had a lovely visit with my cousin Kim and her family (the Lashers) in the Tampa Bay area. We stayed with them one night before heading to Orlando for Disney. The kids had fun playing games and we had some delicious pizza. I don't remember the name of the place but we got NY and Chicago style pizza. I never get Chicago style and I love it. It was really great. Who would have thought to go to Florida for great pizza. Ian also picked up a few great craft beers to sample. On of them used the coffee that is uses beans that have passed through (pooped) a civet cat. It was actually quite good :)
I hope we can see them again soon!
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| All the kids playing videos at Kim's house |
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| The Lashers and Hoffmasters! |
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| Drew and Emily with the girls |
We have been to Disney a couple times but the kids were really small the first time when we went with my whole family and stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge - they have no memory of it. And the second time I think we just spent one day there as part of one of my Disney marathons. I really wanted this trip to be special like my memories of Disney so I talked Diane into splurging and staying at the Polynesian Resort which I remember staying at as a child. I especially remember the cool pool with it tube slide and water fall. It still there and we all loved it!
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| View from our room window |
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| A fruity rum beverage in a pineapple at the hotel. |
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| The Floridian Resort across the water |
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| Fire throwing dude at the Luau |
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| Us headed to the Luau |
Well what did we do? I'm sure I won't remember everything but we did:
Magic Kingdom
It's a Small World - still one of my favorites and must do every time
Haunted Mansion
Peter Pan's Flight - such a thrill when your cart initially takes you into the air. And such a fun interactive line.
Space Mountain
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
Swiss Family Tree house
Tom Sawyer Island
Under the Sea - Journey of the Little Mermaid
Fireworks
Hollywood Studios
Tower of Terror
Star Tours- the Adventures Continue
Muppet Vision 3D
Toy Story Mania
Epcot
Spaceship Earth
Ellen's Energy Adventure
Mission SPACE -Emily's favorite. A bit claustrophobic for me. I'll never do it again but it was amazing and felt so real.
Soarin - Diane and I's favorite
Living with the Land - Drew's favorite
World Showcase: Germany, Japan, China and others
Fireworks
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| The Tower of Terror -Priceless! Look at Drew and Diane :) |
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| Photo op before the Tower of Terror ride |
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| I love me some monorail! |
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| Us at Epcot |
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| Emily and Drew in hotel lobby |
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| Castle at Magic Kingdom |
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| Us heading into Magic Kingdom at night for rides and fireworks. |
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| Seven Dwarf's Mine Train coaster |
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| I took this somewhere in Polynesian Resort |
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| Trader Sam's Grog Grotto at our hotel - such a cool place! |
A few words about Trader Sam's Grog Gotto. Such a cool bar. Diane and I had an afternoon beverage there one day. Kim told us this was a place to visit. The picture above was taken when someone ordered some sort of zombie drink. The whole room went purple with sounds affects and then some dude walking like a zombie delivers a drink. For another one of the drinks, the room went red and the volcano in the fake window erupts. The drink itself had bright light shooting out of it. It's all very hard to describe. I think they had about 7-9 drinks on the menu that had these interactive presentations. Unfortunately when Diane and I went back later in the evening we couldn't get a seat. I was really hoping to see more. Maybe next time.
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| Phenias and Ferb! We used to love watching that show! |
We had an amazing week. Of course it wasn't all peaches and crème. The kids had their typical late afternoon tired and grumpy moments when they just wanted to stop walking and go back to the room. Oh yes, and the whining about having to take their photo with Pluto! Mom just wanted to re-create a picture from their childhood and all they did was complain...but I think they were both really happy they did it afterwards. I'm sure my child hood trips weren't perfect either - they just seem that way looking back. I hope that's true for my kids too.
