It's taking me forever to decide on pictures, spend the time to put them in here and then I'm going to need to write a few things. So, here is the first half of our trip - with Part 2 to come along.
We flew out on Tuesday & when we landed at the Orlando airport I remembered it's one of my favorites in the country! It's bright, open and they have the train that goes from the terminals over to baggage claim/check in. That always sets the trip off on a great note to ride the train first!
It took awhile to get everything together - the rental car place we rented from was off site. As in waaaayy off site, however for the price it was worth it. Bryson took the boys and caught a cab over to to get the car while Madeleine and I camped out with all of the baggage to await their return. I wanted to curl up and go to sleep - I never sleep well the night before we travel. It's not from nerves - I just have the million things on a to-do list and this time was the same. I was down in the laundry room in our building at 4am trying to get through the last loads of laundry. The kiddos had been packed for the most part (a few things were added at the end like usual) - however it was myself that needed help. I hadn't started until that night. It was hard to focus with Bryson pushing his time at work, however he breezed in the door around 2:30am., put things together in his suitcase faster than I can pack my carry-on bag and was asleep in no time. I'm always a little jealous that he can fall asleep so easily and anywhere!
Off tangent - and back to the story. The boys finally pulled up in the car and as expected the children climbed in and were so excited for the "new" car....for about 5 minutes. Then they realized that were all sharing the back seat. We didn't opt for a van or SUV due to pricing and that we realized we really weren't going to be in the car for a long time every day - mostly it was to get back and from the parks. A car with just enough seats for the 5 of us would be fine. Suitcases somehow fit under feet and around us....and we were off!
We drove to Davenport, which is where we used to live - it's just outside of Kissimmee. Bryson drove over to our old house first - we were both anxious to see the home and the neighborhood. Knowing how the home prices continued to drop is one thing to hear...but driving through our old neighborhood (and then subsequently other places afterwards) - you could tell that many homes had owners walk away and the scrubby lawn, dirty windows and unkept front areas is what remains to tell the lonely story. If anyone is interested in buying a vacation home in Orlando, FL - now is a fabulous time!
The people that bought our home were home - Marie was actually out on the porch in a hammock. It looked ideal and I felt a twinge of 'that was my old life!'. We hopped out and said hello, and she gave a huge warm welcome and insisted we go inside. We did a tour around the house & I have to say....I didn't miss it as much at the end of the tour. It's a completely different house, as it should be with different owners. They changed all the colors throughout the house - instead of my light colors, they painted a dark burgundy downstairs and wow did it change the feel. Also, they have a lot of stuff. I mean A LOT! For being a 5 bedroom home - we used to have so much space - we were a younger family and we didn't have a lot of money for extra furniture, but what we had was nice by the time we moved (of course - it seems I always get things put together right at the end!). I felt cramped and that the clutter was just everywhere...and so again, it was a nice way to realize that although we had built the home and lived there - this definitely was not our life and home anymore. Our home is New York. As small as it is - it's ours.
I wish I would have taken a picture or two - but again, it's not mine so that might have seemed weird. I like to remember my house as how we left it....
After we looked at the house we drove down the road and checked into our Hampton stay - we'll probably never go and stay out at the "real" Hamptons - but we have a thing for the Hampton Inn....free breakfast, pools for the kids and a price that is realistic for families. I called a friend (Marjorie) that we had thought about staying with that first night, maybe two - and she wondered where we were. We had both left voice messages for each other the past few days and completely crossed paths - she was sad we weren't staying with her but insisted that we come down for dinner. That worked for us - we hadn't eaten since breakfast and were a bit on the hungry side. Marjorie and her husband are from the Philippines & are always the most gracious of hosts. Even so much, that when we got there I found out her two sisters and 4 nieces/nephews and her mother had just arrived that afternoon. She was going to have all of them staying in their home & would have still hosted us as well! She is a dear heart and I have the best memories of our time together when we were in our branch and then ward. She was the Primary pianist for me, and always so positive and dependable in everything. One of the best people I have ever met! And....it's too bad that I don't have one picture with her from this trip :(
We went back to Hampton and on the way there, Bryson and I decided that after the long travel day and due to an invite from Marjorie to go to the beach with their family on Thursday - we swapped our plans and decided to go to Sea World the following day...and that was the perfect way to start our vacation!
I love that Sea World is exciting, but it's not as intense and chaotic at times as Disney. You can usually get into everything you want at SW - you might not have front row seats - but you'll get in. And this time - we worked out a system where we did get the seats we wanted most times to the shows as we could break off and either I or Bryson would wait in line for the show, and the other would take the kids to look at an exhibit or be on the rides. The kiddos are such a fun age to do things with! When we had lived there I was either expecting Jacob or had him in a baby carrier when we would go into the parks --- so this was heaven to have everyone walking around on their own and tall enough that they could right what they wanted (or most of what they wanted....the kids said they wanted to ride the big roller coaster at SW, but I think that was just talk at the beginning....they seemed to enjoy hanging out in the Happy Harbor and going through the smaller rides!)
SW puts on a Nautilus show & they bring in these acrobats from China. It is AMAZING to watch them. I always think that we are really watching something like a Cirque de Soleil show...what a deal! We were almost in the front row for the show - but not one picture turned out as I couldn't use my flash and I'm still learning how to use the camera. Oh well - we got some fun pictures of the characters in their crazy & fun costumes!
It was definitely HOT when we were there! The first day is always a shocker and your body is trying to adjust to the new temperature. They could have had misters every 10 feet and we would have been more than happy to use them :)
This was the ride the kiddos liked the best - and the one that gave Bryson the biggest headache! It's a simulator ride that is located in the Wild Arctic building - they have the polar bears, walrus and Beluga Whales housed inside. This ride is supposed to feel like a helicopter ride that is taking you on a sight-seeing tour across the ice, and of course things start to go wrong. It's bumpy, and you go from side to side and we were all laughing and screaming so loud....it was the craziest and fun 5 minutes!
Jacob showing he is definitely the big kid now and ready to roll....
A wall of ice was a quick reminder that we were grateful to be in warmer FL temperatures and out of cold NY!
This was the last week of the show 'Believe'. Interestingly enough this was the same show that was playing when we lived there....for both years. I think it was time to get a new show - however, I also think that after the incident last year with the killer whale, the show needed to be changed. The Believe show typically had a lot of time where the trainers were in the water with the whales - they "surfed" on their bodies and they did the amazing trick where they would come out of the water shooting up on their nose. Well, it takes one accident as we know & things change...so this Believe show was incredibly short and Bryson and I looked at each other and realized that they had cut out huge parts of the show to make sure that the trainers are never, ever in the water with the animals. Makes sense - but it was a let-down as far as shows go.
The good news - there was a new show opening in 2 days! Why would we be happy about that, if we were at SW that day. Also good news - I don't know if this is at SW in the other states, but at the FL location, you pay for one day and get to go in for a 2nd day free, as long as it's within 7 days of the first entrance. What a deal right?! We thought so - even the original ticket price sure seemed to have jumped in the 4 years since we had been - it is about the same price as Disney now. Then again - count it as 2 for 1, and it's not that bad! Even little Bryson thinks thought that was a great idea! :)
I have no idea how to work with lighting - so everything I was doing was trial and error. Some things worked out well - others not so much....and those were deleted or a few are on here, so I can compare to the photos that I really liked. One of these days I'm going to read the manual for my camera & watch the DVD - and hopefully take a class. Until then, my thought is to try and take as many as possible to find out what works...
my two favorites below...
my favorite guy that is beyond patient with my projects and crazy ideas....he is my Ricky and I'm his Lucy.
While they were swimming mid-morning I ran down to Wal-Mart and enjoyed being in the land of plenty. I miss that place! I know it has it's ups and downs...but try not living by one, and you realize how much you miss the selection they offer, the prices and just the overall everything! I try really hard not to get emotional when I go into such stores after living here!
We enjoyed a quiet day at the villa - swimming, playing games & having a movie night...where no one could decide on the same movie and so we put 3 of the 5 TV's in the house to use. Vacations....we love them!
The next day we decided to go back to Sea World and use our 2nd day - and that was a great decision on so many accounts! First of all - my cousin Tina and her daughter Mikayla were able to join us - as they live down in Tampa and when I called her to tell her about our plans, she decided to drive up and meet us. Thanks to her spontaneity we were not only able to have a wonderful day and see each other (it's been over 4 years since we have seen one another, the last time being at our Grandma's funeral), however it was so fun to have more to our group and a little variety for the 2nd day in the park.
While we were waiting for them to drive up - we decided to watch the new Shamu show...
I went in to save the seats in the SPLASH ZONE!
and that was all the cute fun - and then the splashing started. Madeleine had already retreated to a row half-way up in our section....and after I got soaked down below & worried about the camera - I squished in with her on this poor stranger's row!
Next...up came Jacob. I didn't get his face - but look at his shirt! Dripping wet!!!
And here are the 3 boys - that braved the Splash Zone (for the most part) and lived to say "it was totally awesome!" {quoteth Bryson Jr.}
We wandered around for a little while until the next show started...which at that time my cousin was just heading into the park & we were able to meet up with them afterwards. Her daughter Mikayla was on the bungee jump & I couldn't believe how much she has grown....like all children have a way of doing - how dare they!
We then zoomed over to get the seats that the boys had saved for all of us girls at the show 'Blue Horizons'. This is the same show as was there 4 years ago when we lived there as well....however, it's a much, much better show than the Shamu show was...and I don't think Dolphins have a problem with attacking their trainers, as they still got into the water and did amazing tricks together. We all loved it - it's cheezy of course, but there is something in your soul that just leaps out when watching these animals fly up from out of the water. It's magical - and it's not even at Disney!
We stopped for lunch...and somehow the kiddos found something electronic to captivate their attention for a few moments. I had to smile - here we are in this incredible park and they all crowd around a little screen. What a tragedy!
The dolphin viewing tank - these animals are such a favorite to watch. They always look like they are smiling and have such a playful spirit that you can't help but be super happy watching them!
and then we did some rides together back over at the Happy Harbor to have some happy kids that were ready to get back on the rides and enjoy some silliness and smiles!
We flew out on Tuesday & when we landed at the Orlando airport I remembered it's one of my favorites in the country! It's bright, open and they have the train that goes from the terminals over to baggage claim/check in. That always sets the trip off on a great note to ride the train first!
It took awhile to get everything together - the rental car place we rented from was off site. As in waaaayy off site, however for the price it was worth it. Bryson took the boys and caught a cab over to to get the car while Madeleine and I camped out with all of the baggage to await their return. I wanted to curl up and go to sleep - I never sleep well the night before we travel. It's not from nerves - I just have the million things on a to-do list and this time was the same. I was down in the laundry room in our building at 4am trying to get through the last loads of laundry. The kiddos had been packed for the most part (a few things were added at the end like usual) - however it was myself that needed help. I hadn't started until that night. It was hard to focus with Bryson pushing his time at work, however he breezed in the door around 2:30am., put things together in his suitcase faster than I can pack my carry-on bag and was asleep in no time. I'm always a little jealous that he can fall asleep so easily and anywhere!
Off tangent - and back to the story. The boys finally pulled up in the car and as expected the children climbed in and were so excited for the "new" car....for about 5 minutes. Then they realized that were all sharing the back seat. We didn't opt for a van or SUV due to pricing and that we realized we really weren't going to be in the car for a long time every day - mostly it was to get back and from the parks. A car with just enough seats for the 5 of us would be fine. Suitcases somehow fit under feet and around us....and we were off!
We drove to Davenport, which is where we used to live - it's just outside of Kissimmee. Bryson drove over to our old house first - we were both anxious to see the home and the neighborhood. Knowing how the home prices continued to drop is one thing to hear...but driving through our old neighborhood (and then subsequently other places afterwards) - you could tell that many homes had owners walk away and the scrubby lawn, dirty windows and unkept front areas is what remains to tell the lonely story. If anyone is interested in buying a vacation home in Orlando, FL - now is a fabulous time!
The people that bought our home were home - Marie was actually out on the porch in a hammock. It looked ideal and I felt a twinge of 'that was my old life!'. We hopped out and said hello, and she gave a huge warm welcome and insisted we go inside. We did a tour around the house & I have to say....I didn't miss it as much at the end of the tour. It's a completely different house, as it should be with different owners. They changed all the colors throughout the house - instead of my light colors, they painted a dark burgundy downstairs and wow did it change the feel. Also, they have a lot of stuff. I mean A LOT! For being a 5 bedroom home - we used to have so much space - we were a younger family and we didn't have a lot of money for extra furniture, but what we had was nice by the time we moved (of course - it seems I always get things put together right at the end!). I felt cramped and that the clutter was just everywhere...and so again, it was a nice way to realize that although we had built the home and lived there - this definitely was not our life and home anymore. Our home is New York. As small as it is - it's ours.
I wish I would have taken a picture or two - but again, it's not mine so that might have seemed weird. I like to remember my house as how we left it....
After we looked at the house we drove down the road and checked into our Hampton stay - we'll probably never go and stay out at the "real" Hamptons - but we have a thing for the Hampton Inn....free breakfast, pools for the kids and a price that is realistic for families. I called a friend (Marjorie) that we had thought about staying with that first night, maybe two - and she wondered where we were. We had both left voice messages for each other the past few days and completely crossed paths - she was sad we weren't staying with her but insisted that we come down for dinner. That worked for us - we hadn't eaten since breakfast and were a bit on the hungry side. Marjorie and her husband are from the Philippines & are always the most gracious of hosts. Even so much, that when we got there I found out her two sisters and 4 nieces/nephews and her mother had just arrived that afternoon. She was going to have all of them staying in their home & would have still hosted us as well! She is a dear heart and I have the best memories of our time together when we were in our branch and then ward. She was the Primary pianist for me, and always so positive and dependable in everything. One of the best people I have ever met! And....it's too bad that I don't have one picture with her from this trip :(
We went back to Hampton and on the way there, Bryson and I decided that after the long travel day and due to an invite from Marjorie to go to the beach with their family on Thursday - we swapped our plans and decided to go to Sea World the following day...and that was the perfect way to start our vacation!
I love that Sea World is exciting, but it's not as intense and chaotic at times as Disney. You can usually get into everything you want at SW - you might not have front row seats - but you'll get in. And this time - we worked out a system where we did get the seats we wanted most times to the shows as we could break off and either I or Bryson would wait in line for the show, and the other would take the kids to look at an exhibit or be on the rides. The kiddos are such a fun age to do things with! When we had lived there I was either expecting Jacob or had him in a baby carrier when we would go into the parks --- so this was heaven to have everyone walking around on their own and tall enough that they could right what they wanted (or most of what they wanted....the kids said they wanted to ride the big roller coaster at SW, but I think that was just talk at the beginning....they seemed to enjoy hanging out in the Happy Harbor and going through the smaller rides!)
SW puts on a Nautilus show & they bring in these acrobats from China. It is AMAZING to watch them. I always think that we are really watching something like a Cirque de Soleil show...what a deal! We were almost in the front row for the show - but not one picture turned out as I couldn't use my flash and I'm still learning how to use the camera. Oh well - we got some fun pictures of the characters in their crazy & fun costumes!
It was definitely HOT when we were there! The first day is always a shocker and your body is trying to adjust to the new temperature. They could have had misters every 10 feet and we would have been more than happy to use them :)
This was the ride the kiddos liked the best - and the one that gave Bryson the biggest headache! It's a simulator ride that is located in the Wild Arctic building - they have the polar bears, walrus and Beluga Whales housed inside. This ride is supposed to feel like a helicopter ride that is taking you on a sight-seeing tour across the ice, and of course things start to go wrong. It's bumpy, and you go from side to side and we were all laughing and screaming so loud....it was the craziest and fun 5 minutes!
Jacob showing he is definitely the big kid now and ready to roll....
A wall of ice was a quick reminder that we were grateful to be in warmer FL temperatures and out of cold NY!
Off on the Shamu Express....first ride around while Dad was on a phone call and getting seats to the Shamu show!
This was the last week of the show 'Believe'. Interestingly enough this was the same show that was playing when we lived there....for both years. I think it was time to get a new show - however, I also think that after the incident last year with the killer whale, the show needed to be changed. The Believe show typically had a lot of time where the trainers were in the water with the whales - they "surfed" on their bodies and they did the amazing trick where they would come out of the water shooting up on their nose. Well, it takes one accident as we know & things change...so this Believe show was incredibly short and Bryson and I looked at each other and realized that they had cut out huge parts of the show to make sure that the trainers are never, ever in the water with the animals. Makes sense - but it was a let-down as far as shows go.
We were technically sitting in the Splash Zone - but we didn't get wet. Not one drop. It was actually the perfect place to sit for great views and pictures - but the boys had really wanted to get wet and so we told them we would try on the 2nd day to sit down closer to the tank.
This is our favorite part of the entire show probably - it's where you take your arms and put them out to the left and then to the right and then raise them above your head with hands together like the tail while chanting "Shamu! Shamu!"
We were going to leave "early" and do dinner somewhere outside the park before it got to late. Notice that there are NO people around us? That would be because we were one of the last people to leave the park! So much for leaving early :) We had such a great time, we just couldn't leave...and we had left enough to come back for the 2nd day. The vacation was off to a perfect start!
The next day - we slept in. I thought about setting the alarm so that we could caravan down the beach with our friends the Rodriguez' family...however, that just didn't make sense by the time we all fell asleep it was close to midnight and we were exhausted. So...we woke up when we wanted and had a nice breakfast - well, as nice as a continental breakfast is at Hampton Inn :) Then we packed up & I called the property manager at the home we were staying and asked if we could stow our luggage in a corner until we came back later. We got the okay - so we ran over and plunked our things down and then rode off into the sun. It was a gorgeous -gorgeous day! Well into the 90's and everyone was so excited to get to the beach! We drove and we drove - our friends said they had found a new beach and wanted to head there. It seemed closer on the map when we looked...but it was really far out, past Tampa into Clearwater. However - it was a beautiful beach and there weren't a lot of people there....and it was the bay so as much as the boys wanted waves to go boogie-boarding it was nice to let everyone run into the water and not worry about waves crashing down on us.
After we got cleaned up and enjoyed a little bbq thanks to our friends - seriously, I love cultures that throw a party and bring out the food anywhere! They were so giving and shared everything they had brought...and if I could figure out a way to have Jes bottle and sell his homemade terriyaki sauce, they would make a killing. It was beyond scrumptious! We then said good-bye and started back out to the beach for another of mom's projects...this time a photo shoot of the kiddos. I have wanted to get a current beach picture - we have some friends that we met in FL that did their engagement photos on a beach near Tampa & they were stunning! I've wanted to try to create something like that - as close as I could for being inexperienced, but this is how we learn - we have to do, and thankfully everyone was in a good mood so it made it fun!
I have no idea how to work with lighting - so everything I was doing was trial and error. Some things worked out well - others not so much....and those were deleted or a few are on here, so I can compare to the photos that I really liked. One of these days I'm going to read the manual for my camera & watch the DVD - and hopefully take a class. Until then, my thought is to try and take as many as possible to find out what works...
Little B wrote me this message in the sand: I {heart} Mom!!!!
my favorite guy that is beyond patient with my projects and crazy ideas....he is my Ricky and I'm his Lucy.
It was a perfect ending to a perfect day on the beach! We drove home & collapsed into our beds at the "new" house - on the drive home Bryson and I decided to change our plans yet again. We had thought about going to the Magic Kingdom on Friday - but since we moved the beach day to Thursday we decided to stay put the following day. That is the beauty of a vacation - you get to change plans & do things differently if you want to!
We woke up & had breakfast....and then the kids went right into the pool!
While they were swimming mid-morning I ran down to Wal-Mart and enjoyed being in the land of plenty. I miss that place! I know it has it's ups and downs...but try not living by one, and you realize how much you miss the selection they offer, the prices and just the overall everything! I try really hard not to get emotional when I go into such stores after living here!
We enjoyed a quiet day at the villa - swimming, playing games & having a movie night...where no one could decide on the same movie and so we put 3 of the 5 TV's in the house to use. Vacations....we love them!
The next day we decided to go back to Sea World and use our 2nd day - and that was a great decision on so many accounts! First of all - my cousin Tina and her daughter Mikayla were able to join us - as they live down in Tampa and when I called her to tell her about our plans, she decided to drive up and meet us. Thanks to her spontaneity we were not only able to have a wonderful day and see each other (it's been over 4 years since we have seen one another, the last time being at our Grandma's funeral), however it was so fun to have more to our group and a little variety for the 2nd day in the park.
While we were waiting for them to drive up - we decided to watch the new Shamu show...
I went in to save the seats in the SPLASH ZONE!
We were on the 3rd row & when the kiddos joined me, they realized that some of their names were flashing on the screen. I'm so glad someone else paid for these and that we still got to enjoy the names being the same in our family. Yeah!
The views were spectacular and we enjoyed a show that was SO much better than the previous show just a few days ago. Seriously - it was night & day between these two shows.
and that was all the cute fun - and then the splashing started. Madeleine had already retreated to a row half-way up in our section....and after I got soaked down below & worried about the camera - I squished in with her on this poor stranger's row!
Next...up came Jacob. I didn't get his face - but look at his shirt! Dripping wet!!!
We wandered around for a little while until the next show started...which at that time my cousin was just heading into the park & we were able to meet up with them afterwards. Her daughter Mikayla was on the bungee jump & I couldn't believe how much she has grown....like all children have a way of doing - how dare they!
We then zoomed over to get the seats that the boys had saved for all of us girls at the show 'Blue Horizons'. This is the same show as was there 4 years ago when we lived there as well....however, it's a much, much better show than the Shamu show was...and I don't think Dolphins have a problem with attacking their trainers, as they still got into the water and did amazing tricks together. We all loved it - it's cheezy of course, but there is something in your soul that just leaps out when watching these animals fly up from out of the water. It's magical - and it's not even at Disney!
We stopped for lunch...and somehow the kiddos found something electronic to captivate their attention for a few moments. I had to smile - here we are in this incredible park and they all crowd around a little screen. What a tragedy!
The funniest experience we had was feeding the String Rays. Thanks to "auntie" Tina (we realized we are cousins, but it felt right having our kids call each other "auntie"!) bought the food so the kiddos could officially get freaked out in having a Sting Ray basically climb up the wall from the water to get that shrimp to eat. I've never seen anything like it....we were all laughing so hard!
The dolphin viewing tank - these animals are such a favorite to watch. They always look like they are smiling and have such a playful spirit that you can't help but be super happy watching them!
and then we did some rides together back over at the Happy Harbor to have some happy kids that were ready to get back on the rides and enjoy some silliness and smiles!
And that wraps up the first half of the trip through that Saturday. More to come - but I'm sure at this point you might be as bored as this walrus looked in hearing the travelogue about our trip. We had fun...but this was probably a picture overload. So...I'll be back to give the report on Part II.
1 comment:
That was fantastic....love all the pictures!!
Rocio
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