Florida Family Vacation

We were able to take a trip to Florida over our kids spring break.  It really was a great trip.  I've always commented that a vacation with kids isn't really a vacation, its just a regular busy life with different scenery around.  This trip made that statement false.  Although we are going to have to address the elephant in the room.  We left Bella at home.

Oh Bella.  I'm aware every day how much we have to do for you and how our schedules have to revolve around you.  After 10 years we are "used to it", it is our norm after all.  What I didn't realize until we went on this trip without her, is how much is changes the dynamics with the other two kids.  They still had their moments of sibling fighting, being tired and cranky, etc.  But with both parents able to be around to defuse the situation and not getting our energy taken up by Bella, it was a lot smoother.  I had a moment mid-trip when I realized, this is probably how most families function, and I'm going to admit, it's a hell of lot easier than our lives.

It makes me feel really guilty to say that from now on I would like to take our family vacations and leave one member of our family at home.  Facts would tell me that Bella is a creature of comfort and routine and likes to be home.  She also doesn't like long car rides, and a plane ride would be near impossible with her.  Not to mention we have taken her on a few vacations and she is usually only slightly happy for one of the many days we are gone, and cries/fusses the other days or while in the car.  So I should probably let the guilt go, and as long as we can find caring people to watch Bella, Bella would probably choose to stay home anyways.  Thanks Grandma Judy for staying with Bella and being the person who for the future will probably watch her for us!

Now if you would like to hear a short recap of our trip......keep reading.

We woke the kids up at 3:30am and got on the road.  The hope was that they would fall back asleep for a little while.  Reality was that they did not.  In the end, I still liked the early morning drive versus the late night one, but maybe not quite as early as 3:30am next time.

We stopped in Nashville hoping to find something to do for a short break.  It was rainy and cold so we stopped at an indoor garden area.  I quickly researched an authentic Nashville bar to eat lunch but when we got there we noticed it was busy and there were absolutely no kids in the whole downtown area, so we kept on driving.  We made it to Atlanta that evening to spend the night (about a 12 hour car ride for the day).

The next day we woke up and drove the remaining 6 hours into Orlando.  We stayed with a friend...thanks Lindsey, and socialized with her family that day.  On Sunday we woke the kids up and told them we were headed to Disney.  They had questioned if we were going to go, since they knew it was in Orlando.  Luckily they kept asking if we were going to Disneyland and I could honestly tell them we were not.  We spent a full 9am-9pm day at Epcot.  We walked all over that park, multiple times.  I think we walked around the worlds 3 whole times plus some.  Oliver loved collecting the passports and some of the rides.  Gray wanted to meet all the Disney princesses.  Jesse and I got to enjoy a few drinks.  What I learned at the end of our day at Disney is that even being there 12 hours we did not have enough time to see everything, and that my daughter Gray is definitely going to be more of the risk taker/thrill seeker over her brother.

Monday we left Orlando and starting traveling towards the beaches near Tampa.  We ate in the Clearwater Beach area and then headed South until we could find a place to park.  We ended up getting to Indian Rocks Beach and spent a few hours there.

The kids loved the beach.  We also were spoiled enough to find a house that had its own heated pool on Anna Maria Island, one block from the beaches there.  We arrived Monday evening and immediately the kids wanted to swim.  The island only had a few restaurants and by the time we went out that evening to try and get dinner, everything was packed, so ice cream for dinner it was.

The next day was one of those 72 degree cloudy days that ended up being the best day for the beach.  Although we did a bad job keeping up with sunscreen and all paid for it later...sorry kids.

They did such a great job playing (Dad joined in on the playing too) I was able to read an entire book at the beach that day....bliss.

That evening we did an early dinner at a beachfront restaurant.  It was delicious and the views were great (although it did not take a good picture).

The following day was more of the same.  Beach in the morning, pool in the afternoon, early dinner (this time out on a pier restaurant).  Gray took a quick nap through dinner, so we were even able to go out for the sunset on the beach that evening.

The next day we had to pack up and head home.  We realized that we were 21 hours from home.  I really wanted to stop in Memphis so we made it our goal to get there that evening.  It was about a 14 hour drive.  Hindsight, that was probably a little too far to drive.  The kids really did great with the car trip though, can't complain at all.

In Memphis we visited the National Civil Rights Museum, which is located in the original hotel where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated.  This really was a well done museum.  Oliver is 7 and he did fairly well there, although Gray (age 4) really did not want to be there, and they messed around some which was embarrassing.  Gray had thought we were going to a children's play museum so she was grumpy and wanting to just run around the whole time.  The pictures crack me up because in the first one she is pretending to be pouty, but the rest she is full on pouty.  The last picture we took, she wouldn't even turn around for the camera.

We also stopped at a wonderful park to let them run around and get their energy out before we got back in the car for our final 7 hour leg.

I really enjoyed the little bit of Memphis that we got to see, and hope to go back again someday.

It really was a great trip like I mentioned earlier.  I planned the whole thing just 5 days before we left, and I think we really lucked out being able to stay with friends, get Disney tickets, and get the house we did on Anna Maria island.  The kids are already begging to go back and asking if we can make plans for this summer.  If only money grew on trees kids.