Wednesday, April 06, 2011

Our Trip

I know you have all been sitting on the edge of your seats awaiting the plethora of pictures from our trip south.

Or I am not delusional.

I will let you figure that one out.

Magic Kingdom


I will cease the rumours right now. I am not 3 months preggo. I am, however, carrying the effects of several days of continuous tortillas and guacamole intake. I highly recommend it and the boot camps I have been pushing myself to the limit in to lose the "effects".

We have now been back in the Arctic for a week. The weather has turned somewhat spring like but you didn't hear that from me. Shhh.

Our trip was great. We were away 14 days, the longest ever. We wanted to space it out because we knew our kids (or us) would not enjoy back to back to back days at Disneyworld.

That whole phrase "Disney vacation" is a misnomer, in my opinion. Jay and I went to Disneyworld for our honeymoon. There is no vacation in tromping the asphalt and waiting in line at Disneyworld. Yes, it is fun, but a vacation is not what I would call it. More of an exhausting adventure. It's not African Safari but you get my drift.

Hence our taking 14 full days to do 4 days at Disney, one day at SeaWorld and one day at Discovery Cove.

Tow Mater


Here is our conclusion. We went, we saw, we bought some Mario t-shirts. The end. We will not be going back.

For us, that was enough. As my prior post indicates, our boys were not over the moon enamoured by the whole Disney experience.

However, Florida was beautiful. The weather was fabulous. The house we rented was fantastic as was the pool located in its back yard. What we did love (boys included) was our two days spent at SeaWorld and its sister park Discovery Cove. (I am far to lazy to link but if you are interested, use that wonderful tool called Google)

SeaWorld, as you know, involves seeing all kinds of aquatic animals. These animals have long fascinated me and my boys share this fascination.

Dolpine


Discovery Cove was a completely unique experience. It is part of SeaWorld but requires separate entry. The park includes a snorkeling pool, a warm beach pool, a river, and if you pay extra, a dolphin interaction. Food, drinks and equipment are all included in the entry price. This includes beer.

It was worth every penny.

Us and Diego



And Jack and Kamden loved it. They loved the snorkeling (Jack got the hang of it right away and Kamden was happy to play in the pool), they loved the river (even when I tried to swim with Kamden on my back - the lifeguard suggested a life jacket. Now, why didn't I think of that?) and LOVED the dolphin interaction.

Kamden and Diego



We got a dolphin named Diego. I always knew dolphins were amazing animals but there is nothing like seeing it up close and personal. It was an experience of a lifetime.

Diego takes J for a ride



So there you have it, a great trip, all said and done.

Back to reality. But it is a great reality so no complaints here.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

First up - YAY! I have actually been looking forward to this post!

Secondly - WHATEVER, you so don't look pregnant!! Girl, you are delusional. You look hot!

Third - YOU WENT SWIMMING IN A POOL WITH DOLPHINS?! Forgie me for shouting, but how freakin' cool is that?! I am not surprised that your boys loved that part of the vacation more than Disney. I'm so glad you went to Florida and did all those other neat things! We are going to the Gold Coast (Australia) in November, they have lots of theme parks (the Southern Hemisphere equivalents of Disneyland I guess) but I know my boys are going to care less about the rollercoasters and more about the water parks and Sea World. LOVE your pictures! You all look so happy and warm :-)

Cheryl said...

one of my favorite memories is swimming with dolphins on my honeymoon, everyone should get to experience it...amazing, glad you loved it
14 days is one thing girl, but 14 days with extended family...not a chance here!!!!
nice to have you home!

Angella said...

All of what Hannah said. SERIOUSLY. The dolphins made me tear up - I think I need to meet some somehow.

I'm sorry the Disney part wasn't so great, though. I mean, not that it HAS to be, but it's a costly lesson to learn about what the kids will like. Though you never know if you don't try, right?

:)

Jen Wilson said...

YAY!!!! I'm so glad you guys got to get away (from winter) for two whole weeks! I'm seriously enamored over the dolphin photos. That in itself would have been a super-awesome experience!

I'm glad you went, I'm glad you're back, I'm looking forward to seeing you in a couple weeks!!!!!!!!!!!!

Debbie said...

It looks like you had a fantastic time. And you look great, too.

There's always going to be something that has to stand out above the rest, and SeaWorld/Discovery Cove did that for you!

Our boys love SeaWorld in San Diego. I think in general there's something about kids and water. Especially when you're from the prairies. :)

Unknown said...

Wow, Discovery cove does look extra awesome! Glad it was a great trip all it all!

Still wish I coulda beemed myself up to FL to see you! ;)