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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The Happiest Place On Earth

Or not. You be the judge.

Judging by my smile, yes, indeed it is. Or the dorkiest. Same difference?

Sunny Florida, oh how I see myself wintering here when I retire. Or next year.

I am proudly Canadian but darn it if Canada isn't synonymous with Old Man Winter.

Sea World had an Arctic Exhibit. It will come as no surprise to you that we felt right at home. In fact, they may have invited us to become part of the display.

We declined.

It was cold in there.

Check out Kamden's wink. I think that's what he is doing anyway. We'll go with that.

So these two here are aged 6.5 and 9.5 years old respectively. Perfect age to tackle Disney World with all it's rides, adventurous and not so adventurous, right?

Here's the tally so far:

Everest Adventure Roller Coaster - Kamden only, nay. The Yeti shadow scared him and he didn't like the fast parts. So, um, the whole ride then? Fail.

Journey to Atlantis water ride at Sea World - they didn't like the fall and the water. Right, so the whole ride again, pefect. FAIL.

What did they like then you might ask?

A ridiculously cheesy boat ride (my Grandma drove faster) in the Mexican Pavilion at Epcot. With cartoons of Donald Duck. He's totally Mexican, right?

Oh and the fireworks were too loud too, just in case you were wondering.

Pool days at the ridiculous fabulous house we rented, roaring success, Disney rides, fail.

Turns out we could have avoided shelling out for Disney tickets, who knew?

Just to be clear, we are having a great time, however, Disney and the happiest place on earth is not the center of it all. Thank goodness we opted for the house rental!

Stay tuned for the next episode, Magic Kingdom, the one where we avoid Splash Mountain like the plague.