the continuing saga of middle-aged parents raising twins…
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Yesterday was the last day of school and Summer Vacation is officially underway! This is the fist sunny day we’ve had in almost two weeks and what better way to celebrate the gorgeous Florida weather and the de facto first day of Summer than a splash or two in the pool??
Tags: Florida Living, Pool, Summertime, Swimming
Tomorrow is Cindy’s birthday and surprisingly, she wanted to spend the weekend at Disney World. I was working in Tampa, so drove up here a little early to check-in and get things set-up. Cindy picked-up the boys early from school and headed down.
We’re staying at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort and will be spending this evening and tomorrow at Cindy’s favorite park: Animal Kingdom.
We had a few minutes before we had to get to the park, so the boys chilled out for a bit in the hammocks on the beach outside the room…
Soon it was time to go, so the boys dumped the sand out of their shoes and we took-off to Animal Kingdom. We had a Fast Pass for the “Expedition Everest” rollercoaster. Alex didn’t want to ride, so Cindy and Adam went on…
We also had a Fast Pass for the “Na’vi River Journey” in Pandora, so before we ate dinner, we visited the Na’vi…
and then took some pictures…
then, as the sun was going down, we enjoyed our Pandora feast…
After dinner, we had our last Fast Pass for the “Rivers of Light Nighttime Experience,” which turned out to be AWESOME!
When the show was over, we headed for the gate because the park was closing. What a fun night! Back at the hotel, the boys chilled a bit before bed…
but not for long! Tomorrow will be a busy day!
Tags: Animal Kingdom, Birthday, Caribbean Beach Resort, Disney World, Pandora, River of Light Rollercoaster
Well, Dad had to work, so Mom took the boys to Orlando for the weekend!
Although they spent some time at Disney…
they spent the majority of the time hanging-out at the pool…lounging in the hot tub…and enjoying some summer treats in the middle of winter…
Ahhh….it’s good to live in Florida!
Tags: Disney Springs, Lego, Orlando
You know the Stephen King movie? Alex assessed the phenomenon and determined it was “creepy” (and I’d have to agree).
Hope this burns off, so we can spend some time in the pool before we pack-up to leave!
Tags: Florida Morning, Fog, The Mist
So, how do you top a great Thanksgiving dinner at Disney? How about snow tubbing and ice sculptures in sunny Florida? This afternoon we visited the Gaylord Palms Resort for ICE! Featuring Christmas from Around the World. It was a great afternoon, but first, we had to pick-up some caps and gloves for the boys…
Naturally, I was wearing shorts, which in the end was really short-sighted…
Then, we were outfitted with parkas for what was to be an 9°F winter wonderland experience (and underneath the parka, I was still wearing shorts!)
It was fun at first…
but, it got colder…
and colder…
and we didn’t even WORK there!
Still, it was pretty amazing and the ice sculptures were beautiful…
especially, the Nativity scene!
After the ICE! display, we took a minute or two to warm-up, then visited the Ginger Bread Room…
where we built a ginger bread house…
TA-DA! (although I’m not quite sure how much candy went on the house and how much went into Adam’s mouth!)
And to cap-off the afternoon, there was snow balls…
and some ice sledding!
What a blast! (an icy blast, but still a blast!)
Tags: Christmas, Gaylord Palms, Gingerbread House, Ice, Snowballs
So, this year we’re changing things up a bit and will enjoy our Thanksgiving dinner at my personal favorite Disney park: Disney Hollywood Studios!
There was so much to do. We had our Fast Passes which made it pretty easy to get to the other activities we wanted to do…mainly just enjoying the Christmas music and awesome decorations,
and…
SANTA!
Who also was seen doing a little breaking-and-entering…
Anyway, we scheduled an early dinner at Hollywood & Vine, where we got to mingle with the Disney characters…
to start, Goofy and I shot the breeze for a bit…
then, we brought the family in…
And while we waited on Mickey and the gang, we helped ourselves to Thanksgiving dinner!
And in-between going back for second helpings, we hung-out with some Disney VIPs…
After dinner, it was just starting to get dark and the Christmas lights we all coming on. Mom and Alex toured the Pixar Studio area, while Adam and I made our way over to the Rockin’ Rollercoaster…and whoooosh!
And that about wrapped-up our day. We watched the light show on the Tower of Terror…
and stopped for one last picture…
And best of all? NO DISHES TO WASH!!
Tags: Daisy Duck, Disney Hollywood Studios, Donald Duck, Hollywood and Vine, Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Rockin' Rollercoaster, Santa Claus, Thanksgiving
The boys were out of school today, so we got on the road a little early to start our Thanksgiving vacation and in the penthouse, no less! What a great view…
After dinner, Mom and Alex hit the pool…
and the hot tub!
This is living!!
Yesterday Cindy left for England to visit her dad. She had to fly out of Orlando, so the boys and I took a couple of extra days to cap-off our summer vacation and are staying at Hilton’s Parc Soleil Resort…
The rooms are AWESOME!
and the pool? Well, this just about says it all…
Anyway, we started our day at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. They’ll be closing the TCM Great Movie Ride soon, so I wanted to take a ride on it one more time. It’s not the boys favorite ride by any means, but they tolerate it for me. 😉
So, we enjoyed the Indiana Jones show and snapped some pictures of the tank outside…
and the Frozen Sing-a-Long show is always fun (and extremely funny), but Adam says he’s not going to sing…
We had Fast Passes for most of the rides we went on, so we were pretty much done by early afternoon. So, we headed back to the Parc for some fun-in-the-sun!
The bar stocked Gosling’s Black Seal Rum, so while the boys enjoyed the pool slide, Dad enjoyed a “dark” Mojito. Mmmmm.
Tomorrow, we’re heading home. School starts next week!
Tags: Disney Hollywood Studios, Frozen, Goslings Rum, Hilton, Indiana Jones, Parc Soleil
One of the benefits to being retired military is you still have access to all the bases in the country. Many of these bases are located on some pretty darn good real estate, like Key West’s Truman Annex,
which is home to some prime beachfront…
and we had it all to ourselves…
And with the campsite set-up, we’re ready to hit the water!
Adjacent to the base beach is a state park, which is separated by a not-so-foreboding fence…
which we walked around to rent some snorkeling equipment…
and do some snorkeling…
While walking on one of the trails in the State Park, we happened across this signpost. Good to know where we are in relation to other cities around the world, and it makes a nice postcard picture!
We had a great time at the beach today. It was nice and quiet, which is amazing considering it’s the middle of summer! Ah, the perks of military service. It’s days like this that make all the family separations worthwhile!
So, we packed-up and headed back to our hotel, where we took a dip in the pool and enjoyed a cocktail (Shirley Temples for the boys) before getting ready for dinner in town. What a way to end a great vacation! Tomorrow, we’ll be heading home.
Tags: Beach, Key West, Naval Air Station, Truman Annex
Well this morning, we started the second leg of our vacation, traveling down A1 to Key West…and in Florida, this is where the road ends.
of course, it’s also where the road begins…
We’re staying at Hilton’s Grand Tree Resort; it’s in a good location and pretty close to everything!
It was a pretty night in town and we couldn’t come to the Conch Republic without visiting Jimmy Buffet’s original “Margaritaville”…
and after we enjoyed our Cheeseburgers in Paradise (and Margarita’s for mom and I)…
we ventured down the street for a bit of sightseeing. This is where we encountered the nice man with a parrot…
And how can one visit the southernmost tip of the United States without getting a picture in front of the marker?
Tomorrow we’re looking forward to some more fun in the sun!
Tags: Florida, Key West, Margaritaville, Parrot
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