Journal Entry: Sunday, October 10, 2010
Even though we had al ong day yesterday, we were up and on the go early this morning. Today we decided to go to Universal Studios. None of us had ever been to Universal so it was something new for all of us.
Once we got into the park we decided to buy the Express Line Pass. With this pass we were able to go in the Express Line for all of the rides and therefore have a very minimal wait time for each ride. We were very glad we did this because without it, we wouldn't have had enough time to go on everything. My favorite of the day was The Simpson's Ride.
Some other highlights from today include Cameron not liking the Twister ride, which really surprised me. He was worried that a twister was going to come and get us. We assured him that this wasn't going to happen and then he was okay. I think he had seen the actual movie before, he wouldn't have been scared by the ride. We also witnessed a grown man throwing a huge tantrum over the length of time he had been waiting to get on a ride. He was crazy and we felt sorry for his wife and daughter. On the Disaster ride, Matt was chosen to take part in the making of the ride. They kept calling him purple Matt (he was wearing a purple shirt) and of course we kept laughing at him. The ride was about making a movie and Matt was then in the trailer for the movie. It was pretty neat.
One disappointment today was that the big roller coaster was closed for annual maintenance. We bought a few souvenirs at the end of the day before heading home.
Cory, Stephanie, Matt, and I decided we would have a lazy evening at home and just have leftovers for super. We stopped at McDonald's for Cameron and at Super Target for a few things on our way home. Pernell and Chantel went out for supper and we stayed home and watched Beauty and the Beast with Cameron. We all wanted to get some laundry done and make it an early night.
Tomorrow we are planning to go shopping and then Pernell, Chantel, Matt, and Stephanie are going to see Blue Man Group tomorrow night. We all need a little break from parks for a day.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Florida Family Vacation Day 7
Journal Entry: Saturday, October 9, 2010
Today we wanted to have a somewhat easy day but still go to one of the parks, but in the end it was still a pretty long day. We went to Disney's Animal Kingdom and were there until the park closed at 5pm. When we arrived in the morning we decided to go on the more popular rides that we thought might have a longer wait later in the day. We started out with Expedition Everest and it was awesome! So awesome in fact, that we each got a Fast Pass to go on it again later in the day. I should mention that a Fast Pass allows you to a return to the ride during a specific time frame and get in the Fast Pass lane, which results in a very short wait time. We went on the Kali River Rapids next and it was also fun. However, everyone got soaked...especially me! It took a large part of the day to dry off.
We also went on the Kilimanjaro Safari ride and saw all kinds of animals, such as elephants, hippos, and giraffes. Cameron wanted to watch the parade so we found a spot in the shade and Cameron loved watching all of the characters in the parade. At the end of the day we took Cameron to have his photo taken with some of the characters. He got his picture taken with Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, and Thumper...he was most excited for Mickey.
We came right back to the house after leaving the park because Pernell wasn't feeling well. Stephanie, Matt, and Cameron went for a swim while Cory, Chantel, and I just put our feet in the pool. After we got freshened up; myself, Cory, Cameron, Matt, and Stephanie went out for supper. Let me just say this...The Cheesecake Factory...YUMMY! We had to wait almost an hour for a table and it was totally worth it. Cameron was the only one who finished his meal and the rest of us took our leftovers home for tomorrow. Ours meals were so big that we had to get our cheesecake to go and we all look forward to snacking on that tomorrow.
We finally made it home at around 11pm and we called it a night shortly thereafter. Universal Studios tomorrow!
Today we wanted to have a somewhat easy day but still go to one of the parks, but in the end it was still a pretty long day. We went to Disney's Animal Kingdom and were there until the park closed at 5pm. When we arrived in the morning we decided to go on the more popular rides that we thought might have a longer wait later in the day. We started out with Expedition Everest and it was awesome! So awesome in fact, that we each got a Fast Pass to go on it again later in the day. I should mention that a Fast Pass allows you to a return to the ride during a specific time frame and get in the Fast Pass lane, which results in a very short wait time. We went on the Kali River Rapids next and it was also fun. However, everyone got soaked...especially me! It took a large part of the day to dry off.
We also went on the Kilimanjaro Safari ride and saw all kinds of animals, such as elephants, hippos, and giraffes. Cameron wanted to watch the parade so we found a spot in the shade and Cameron loved watching all of the characters in the parade. At the end of the day we took Cameron to have his photo taken with some of the characters. He got his picture taken with Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, and Thumper...he was most excited for Mickey.
We came right back to the house after leaving the park because Pernell wasn't feeling well. Stephanie, Matt, and Cameron went for a swim while Cory, Chantel, and I just put our feet in the pool. After we got freshened up; myself, Cory, Cameron, Matt, and Stephanie went out for supper. Let me just say this...The Cheesecake Factory...YUMMY! We had to wait almost an hour for a table and it was totally worth it. Cameron was the only one who finished his meal and the rest of us took our leftovers home for tomorrow. Ours meals were so big that we had to get our cheesecake to go and we all look forward to snacking on that tomorrow.
We finally made it home at around 11pm and we called it a night shortly thereafter. Universal Studios tomorrow!
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Florida Family Vacation Day 6
Journal Entry: Friday, October 8, 2010
Last night when we were making our plan for today, we decided we would sleep in a little today. We were still on the go fairly early though and started our day by going shopping for a couple of hours. Everyone made some purchases but we will most definitely be doing more shopping in the coming days.
We had lunch at the outlet mall before we made our way to Disney's Epcot. We planned to go to the park later in the day as we were going to stay for the Illuminations show at 9pm. As it turns out, we probably should have gone to the park earlier in the day because we didn't actually make our way though everything. The best ride of the day was Test Track and Cameron loved it! I is so much fun to see how excited he gets.
Epcot was very busy today as they are currently celebrating their 15th Food and Wine Festival. We all met up shortly after 7pm at the Canada pavilion. We found a spot that we thought would be good to watch the Illuminations show from and parked ourselves there. We took turns going to get something to eat so we would lose our spot. Matt and Cory both decided to tackle the giant deep fried turkey leg this evening, which surprisingly tastes just like ham. They couldn't quite finish the turkey legs but they made a big dent in them.
The Illuminations show started promptly at 9pm. It is a show with fountains, fire, lights, fireworks and music. I am pretty sure this was the best fireworks display that any of us have ever seen. Although everyone in the park was leaving and going to their cars at the same time, the system used at Disney makes everything run so smoothly and we were on our way home in no time.
After another long and eventful day, we are all very tired but ready for more tomorrow. Tomorrow we plan to go to Disney's Animal Kingdom because it shouldn't take a whole day to get through...maybe. Not sure what else we'll do tomorrow but we may go mini golfing in the evening.
Florida Family Vacation Day 5
Journal Entry: Thursday, October 7, 2010
Today was our first day at Walt Disney World. We felt that it was appropriate to start off with The Magic Kingdom. Cameron was in awe all day long. He even got a 1st Visit button!
We started our day in Tomorrowland where we experienced such rides as Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor, Stitch's Great Escape and Space Mountain. Cameron was a little disappointed that he could go on Space Mountain but he got over it pretty quickly. We also had lunch at Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe and Cameron got to meet Stitch and Buzz Lightyear.
Next we hit up Mickey's Toontown Fair where went to Mickey's house, Minnie's house and we a family picture taken with Mickey and Minnie. Fantasyland came next and we enjoyed Mickey's Philharmagic, Snow White's Scary Adventure and the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.
The Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade was great and Cameron loved every minute of it. We got to see many of the Disney characters and listen to some Disney music. Cameron also loved that many of the characters in the parade came right over to see him and give him a high five!
Cory finally got to order his coat of arms that he saw when we were at the Magic Kingdom five years ago. It was a little pricey but he's happy and it will be nice to have. He decided to get the Dowling and the McLeod coat of arms. It also has both of our names on it and our marriage date. It will be made and then shipped to us us in SK, most likely in time for Christmas.
In Liberty Square, we went to the Haunted Mansion before moving onto Frontierland. The best ride of the was was by far Splash Mountain and I think everyone would agree. We all got wet and it was awesome! We finished up our day with Big Thunder Mountain and Pirates of the Caribbean.
We left the Magic Kingdom at 7pm and headed to Joe's Crab Shack for supper. The food was pretty good, a few had to wear bibs, and we bought t-shirts. It was a very long day but we finally made it back to the house and Cameron passed out on the way home. Tomorrow we are planning to go to Epcot.
Today was our first day at Walt Disney World. We felt that it was appropriate to start off with The Magic Kingdom. Cameron was in awe all day long. He even got a 1st Visit button!
We started our day in Tomorrowland where we experienced such rides as Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor, Stitch's Great Escape and Space Mountain. Cameron was a little disappointed that he could go on Space Mountain but he got over it pretty quickly. We also had lunch at Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe and Cameron got to meet Stitch and Buzz Lightyear.
Next we hit up Mickey's Toontown Fair where went to Mickey's house, Minnie's house and we a family picture taken with Mickey and Minnie. Fantasyland came next and we enjoyed Mickey's Philharmagic, Snow White's Scary Adventure and the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.
The Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade was great and Cameron loved every minute of it. We got to see many of the Disney characters and listen to some Disney music. Cameron also loved that many of the characters in the parade came right over to see him and give him a high five!
Cory finally got to order his coat of arms that he saw when we were at the Magic Kingdom five years ago. It was a little pricey but he's happy and it will be nice to have. He decided to get the Dowling and the McLeod coat of arms. It also has both of our names on it and our marriage date. It will be made and then shipped to us us in SK, most likely in time for Christmas.
In Liberty Square, we went to the Haunted Mansion before moving onto Frontierland. The best ride of the was was by far Splash Mountain and I think everyone would agree. We all got wet and it was awesome! We finished up our day with Big Thunder Mountain and Pirates of the Caribbean.
We left the Magic Kingdom at 7pm and headed to Joe's Crab Shack for supper. The food was pretty good, a few had to wear bibs, and we bought t-shirts. It was a very long day but we finally made it back to the house and Cameron passed out on the way home. Tomorrow we are planning to go to Epcot.
Florida Family Vacation Day 4
Journal Entry: Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Today was another fun filled day that started out with a quick trip to Walmart. This wasn't just any Walmart though, this a was a Super-Duper Awesome Walmart. It didn't even look like a Walmart from the outside except for the sign. I'm pretty sure it was the cleanest, biggest and most organized Walmart I have ever been in.
After Walmart, we made our way to Aquatica. Aquatica is the water park that is owned/run by Sea World and it is new. We had no idea what to expect but once we got inside the park, we knew it was going to be a really fun day. We spent the day going from one thing to the next. There were water slides that we down on in tubes and without tubes, we played in the wave pool, and we floated down the lazy river. What we called the lazy river is actually called Roa's Rapids. We all put on life jackets and the water/current just pushes you along. I think this was our favorite part of the whole day because kept going back for more.
We spent close to 5 hours at Aquatica and when we decided that we were wrinkly enough, we got changed into dry clothes and called it a day. When we left the water park, we headed to an outlet mall to do a little shopping. We didn't stay too long as we knew Stephanie and Matt would be waiting for us at the house.
All seven of us went to Olive Garden for supper and it was awesome. We all ate so much for supper, that we were ready to call it a night when we got home. I did do a load of laundry and put out the garbage though.
I'm now trying to remember some highlights from the day. We definitely saw all kinds of sights at Aquatica, including many people wearing bathing suits that they shouldn't have been wearing. Tomorrow, the plan is to go to Disney's Magic Kingdom. I'm the only one still awake so I guess I should go to sleep now.
Today was another fun filled day that started out with a quick trip to Walmart. This wasn't just any Walmart though, this a was a Super-Duper Awesome Walmart. It didn't even look like a Walmart from the outside except for the sign. I'm pretty sure it was the cleanest, biggest and most organized Walmart I have ever been in.
After Walmart, we made our way to Aquatica. Aquatica is the water park that is owned/run by Sea World and it is new. We had no idea what to expect but once we got inside the park, we knew it was going to be a really fun day. We spent the day going from one thing to the next. There were water slides that we down on in tubes and without tubes, we played in the wave pool, and we floated down the lazy river. What we called the lazy river is actually called Roa's Rapids. We all put on life jackets and the water/current just pushes you along. I think this was our favorite part of the whole day because kept going back for more.
We spent close to 5 hours at Aquatica and when we decided that we were wrinkly enough, we got changed into dry clothes and called it a day. When we left the water park, we headed to an outlet mall to do a little shopping. We didn't stay too long as we knew Stephanie and Matt would be waiting for us at the house.
All seven of us went to Olive Garden for supper and it was awesome. We all ate so much for supper, that we were ready to call it a night when we got home. I did do a load of laundry and put out the garbage though.
I'm now trying to remember some highlights from the day. We definitely saw all kinds of sights at Aquatica, including many people wearing bathing suits that they shouldn't have been wearing. Tomorrow, the plan is to go to Disney's Magic Kingdom. I'm the only one still awake so I guess I should go to sleep now.
Florida Family Vacation Day 3
Journal Entry: Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Well, today got off to a very early start for Cory and I. Apparently, we may have gone to bed a little too early because we were both awake for the day at 5:30am...or maybe we were just too excited to sleep. I finally got out of bed just before 7am to get showered and ready for the day. We didn't want to get up earlier and wake everyone else.
Cameron was not too keen on getting up when I woke him just before 8am. He told me that he was very tired and that he was dreaming about Pokemon. We all had breakfast and then made our way to Sea World for the day. Although the park had lots of people in it, it really wasn't that busy. We decided to do the rides first and then go exploring and to see the various shows. Manta, Kraken, and Journey to Atlantis were the big rides and they were all pretty fun. Cameron didn't like waiting when he couldn't go on Manta and Kraken though. We went to the Believe show with the whales, a show with dolphins and Pets Ahoy. I think the dolphin show was everyone's favorite. There is also a kids area at the park and Cameron really enjoyed that part. Cory went on all of the rides with him and I took pictures. We took lots of pictures today but didn't manage to get a picture of the three of us together.
On a side note, I was pooped on by a bird today! Thankfully, it was only on my shirt and I had layered my shirt so I was able to take off the poopy one. It was pretty yucky but still funny at the same time!
After our fun filled day at Sea World, Pernell requested that we go to Hooters for supper. Due to some technical difficulties with the GPS (I won't go into details) we finally found Hooters. this was Cameron's first Hooters experience and he even got a t-shirt. We then went on the hunt for the Walmart that was supposed to be close to the house we're renting. However, after another long drive, we finally gave up on Walmart and came home.
We finally got home at 10pm and we had promised Cameron that he could go swimming. He did get in the pool but not for long because it was too cold. We didn't think we'd need a heated pool so we didn't pay the extra. It's also $35 per night o heat the pool and spa and I personally think that is a bit ridiculous. However, it is unfortunate because we are most likely going to want to use the pool at night when it is colder outside. I suppose this is a disadvantage to renting a house as opposed to staying in a hotel. I was also looking forward to relaxing in the spa in the evening :(
Cameron is sound asleep in his bed and hopefully he'll be well rested for tomorrows. Tomorrow we are going to Sea World's water park, Aquatica. It is a new park and it looks like it should be fun. Stephanie and Matt are arriving tomorrow as well and we're looking forward to seeing them.
I'm off to finish our laundry and to get things organized for tomorrow. Then it's bedtime for me!
Well, today got off to a very early start for Cory and I. Apparently, we may have gone to bed a little too early because we were both awake for the day at 5:30am...or maybe we were just too excited to sleep. I finally got out of bed just before 7am to get showered and ready for the day. We didn't want to get up earlier and wake everyone else.
Cameron was not too keen on getting up when I woke him just before 8am. He told me that he was very tired and that he was dreaming about Pokemon. We all had breakfast and then made our way to Sea World for the day. Although the park had lots of people in it, it really wasn't that busy. We decided to do the rides first and then go exploring and to see the various shows. Manta, Kraken, and Journey to Atlantis were the big rides and they were all pretty fun. Cameron didn't like waiting when he couldn't go on Manta and Kraken though. We went to the Believe show with the whales, a show with dolphins and Pets Ahoy. I think the dolphin show was everyone's favorite. There is also a kids area at the park and Cameron really enjoyed that part. Cory went on all of the rides with him and I took pictures. We took lots of pictures today but didn't manage to get a picture of the three of us together.
On a side note, I was pooped on by a bird today! Thankfully, it was only on my shirt and I had layered my shirt so I was able to take off the poopy one. It was pretty yucky but still funny at the same time!
After our fun filled day at Sea World, Pernell requested that we go to Hooters for supper. Due to some technical difficulties with the GPS (I won't go into details) we finally found Hooters. this was Cameron's first Hooters experience and he even got a t-shirt. We then went on the hunt for the Walmart that was supposed to be close to the house we're renting. However, after another long drive, we finally gave up on Walmart and came home.
We finally got home at 10pm and we had promised Cameron that he could go swimming. He did get in the pool but not for long because it was too cold. We didn't think we'd need a heated pool so we didn't pay the extra. It's also $35 per night o heat the pool and spa and I personally think that is a bit ridiculous. However, it is unfortunate because we are most likely going to want to use the pool at night when it is colder outside. I suppose this is a disadvantage to renting a house as opposed to staying in a hotel. I was also looking forward to relaxing in the spa in the evening :(
Cameron is sound asleep in his bed and hopefully he'll be well rested for tomorrows. Tomorrow we are going to Sea World's water park, Aquatica. It is a new park and it looks like it should be fun. Stephanie and Matt are arriving tomorrow as well and we're looking forward to seeing them.
I'm off to finish our laundry and to get things organized for tomorrow. Then it's bedtime for me!
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Florida Family Vacation Day 2
Journal Entry: Monday, October 4, 2010
After a very restless/sleepless night our day officially began at 3:45am. I had set the alarm for 4am but I didn't see the point in trying to sleep for a mere 15 minutes. Cory and I showered and got dressed before we bothered to wake Cameron. We are quite fortunate that Cameron is in fact a morning person and is always happy when he first wakes up. I should note that he definitely does not get this from me. We were checked out of the hotel and en route to the airport before 5am.
The process of checking our bags went very quickly and we headed for security. We got a little side tracked on the way and stopped to purchase Cameron a new had, as we had forgot his at home. He got a SK Roughriders hat which I am sure will please all of our SK friends. We got through security without any issues and Cory got us breakfast at Tim Horton's while we waited to board our flight.
Our flight from Regina to Denver was on time, actually we arrived a few minutes early. Even though we arrived early, we then had to wait approximately 10-15 minutes because Customs was not open yet. We found this frustrating because we knew we had a lot of ground to cover in the Denver airport in a very short period of time. It seemed to take forever and a day to get to Customs from the gate but thankfully it went very quickly getting through Customs. We then had to collect our checked baggage, which also seemed to take forever, and then we had to re-check our baggage. We then proceeded to a very long line to go through security again. This also seemed to take a very long time and time was a ticking for us. We then booted it to the tram/shuttle that took us to the B concourse and we eventually got to our gate.
Once we got the gate, we discovered that they had started to the board our flight. However, we had to go to the desk to try to get our seats re-arranged. We had never had this happen to us before but all three of us were sitting separately. This wouldn't be a big deal if Cameron wasn't 4! At least of us had to be able to sit with Cameron. The lady at the gate was able to change our seats but still couldn't get all three of us together. I find it very strange that an airline would have a small child sitting all alone. However, we are used to flying with Air Canada but this trip we are flying with United. In the past, we have been separated on a flight but never all three of us apart. One of us has always had a seat with Cameron without having to have anything changed. I am aware that this could be avoided by paying to select our seats in advance but I think we already pay enough to begin with.
I am currently sitting on our flight from Denver to Orlando and Cameron is sound asleep beside me. As soon as we were settled in our seats he told me that he was thirsty and hungry but then he was out like a light long before they started offering food and beverages. I did get him an apple juice and a snack for when he wakes up.
To my disappointment, this aircraft does not have TV's in the headrests. It does have the old school TV's in the aisle about every 4-5 rows. There is a movie playing but I have no interest in it. I tried to watch it but I was bored within 5 minutes. I have done a little people watching from my seat though, which obviously isn't too exciting. There is a lady knitting what looks to a blanket, a quite bright and ugly pink blanket with other colors throughout. With the security so tight in the USA, I'm actually surprised that they allow knitting needles on the plane. I also watched a man in the row across from us order his double vodka on ice at 11am. I suppose it's noon somewhere but it was funny to watch his technique. First he poured both little bottles of booze into his glass full of ice. Then he unscrewed the caps on each empty bottle and proceeded to shake out the last drop. Oh, but that's not all, then he did this for a second time with each bottle. Maybe he just really wanted to get his money's worth.
I believe we are now almost half way to Orlando. We are experiencing a little bit of turbulence, which means the seat belt sign is on. The flight attendants seem a little frustrated with the passengers who are still getting out of their seats to go the rest room. I'm now going to read my new Jodi Picoult book and hope that the time goes by quickly. I'm anxious to get to our destination.
We arrived in Orlando on time and made our way to the baggage claim area with ease. This process was much more simple and required a lot less walking than in Denver. Pernell and Chantel arrived in Orlando a few hours before us so they were able to get the rental car and take their stuff to the house we are renting. We chose to rent a house rather than stay in a hotel because we can all be together, a house is more spacious, we will have our own pool, a kitchen, laundry, and it is much cheaper than a hotel. We are all settled in an ready for Stephanie and Matt to join us on Wednesday.
The five of us went out for supper at TGI Fridays and it was quite good. We then went to Super Target to a little shopping. The main purpose of this shopping excursion was to get a few groceries and necessities. We wanted to have stuff for breakfast and snacks. Cameron really wanted to go to Walmart but he relaxed when he discovered that Target is very much like Walmart. He insisted on looking at the toys but we made it clear that we were not buying toys on this trip.
When we got back to the house, Cameron really wanted to go swimming but we just didn't have the energy to take him. He was a little upset but we will definitely take him swimming tomorrow. We have decided that we'll go to Sea World tomorrow as Stephanie and Matt aren't going to that park. I'm sure it will be a fun day.
After a very restless/sleepless night our day officially began at 3:45am. I had set the alarm for 4am but I didn't see the point in trying to sleep for a mere 15 minutes. Cory and I showered and got dressed before we bothered to wake Cameron. We are quite fortunate that Cameron is in fact a morning person and is always happy when he first wakes up. I should note that he definitely does not get this from me. We were checked out of the hotel and en route to the airport before 5am.
The process of checking our bags went very quickly and we headed for security. We got a little side tracked on the way and stopped to purchase Cameron a new had, as we had forgot his at home. He got a SK Roughriders hat which I am sure will please all of our SK friends. We got through security without any issues and Cory got us breakfast at Tim Horton's while we waited to board our flight.
Our flight from Regina to Denver was on time, actually we arrived a few minutes early. Even though we arrived early, we then had to wait approximately 10-15 minutes because Customs was not open yet. We found this frustrating because we knew we had a lot of ground to cover in the Denver airport in a very short period of time. It seemed to take forever and a day to get to Customs from the gate but thankfully it went very quickly getting through Customs. We then had to collect our checked baggage, which also seemed to take forever, and then we had to re-check our baggage. We then proceeded to a very long line to go through security again. This also seemed to take a very long time and time was a ticking for us. We then booted it to the tram/shuttle that took us to the B concourse and we eventually got to our gate.
Once we got the gate, we discovered that they had started to the board our flight. However, we had to go to the desk to try to get our seats re-arranged. We had never had this happen to us before but all three of us were sitting separately. This wouldn't be a big deal if Cameron wasn't 4! At least of us had to be able to sit with Cameron. The lady at the gate was able to change our seats but still couldn't get all three of us together. I find it very strange that an airline would have a small child sitting all alone. However, we are used to flying with Air Canada but this trip we are flying with United. In the past, we have been separated on a flight but never all three of us apart. One of us has always had a seat with Cameron without having to have anything changed. I am aware that this could be avoided by paying to select our seats in advance but I think we already pay enough to begin with.
I am currently sitting on our flight from Denver to Orlando and Cameron is sound asleep beside me. As soon as we were settled in our seats he told me that he was thirsty and hungry but then he was out like a light long before they started offering food and beverages. I did get him an apple juice and a snack for when he wakes up.
To my disappointment, this aircraft does not have TV's in the headrests. It does have the old school TV's in the aisle about every 4-5 rows. There is a movie playing but I have no interest in it. I tried to watch it but I was bored within 5 minutes. I have done a little people watching from my seat though, which obviously isn't too exciting. There is a lady knitting what looks to a blanket, a quite bright and ugly pink blanket with other colors throughout. With the security so tight in the USA, I'm actually surprised that they allow knitting needles on the plane. I also watched a man in the row across from us order his double vodka on ice at 11am. I suppose it's noon somewhere but it was funny to watch his technique. First he poured both little bottles of booze into his glass full of ice. Then he unscrewed the caps on each empty bottle and proceeded to shake out the last drop. Oh, but that's not all, then he did this for a second time with each bottle. Maybe he just really wanted to get his money's worth.
I believe we are now almost half way to Orlando. We are experiencing a little bit of turbulence, which means the seat belt sign is on. The flight attendants seem a little frustrated with the passengers who are still getting out of their seats to go the rest room. I'm now going to read my new Jodi Picoult book and hope that the time goes by quickly. I'm anxious to get to our destination.
We arrived in Orlando on time and made our way to the baggage claim area with ease. This process was much more simple and required a lot less walking than in Denver. Pernell and Chantel arrived in Orlando a few hours before us so they were able to get the rental car and take their stuff to the house we are renting. We chose to rent a house rather than stay in a hotel because we can all be together, a house is more spacious, we will have our own pool, a kitchen, laundry, and it is much cheaper than a hotel. We are all settled in an ready for Stephanie and Matt to join us on Wednesday.
The five of us went out for supper at TGI Fridays and it was quite good. We then went to Super Target to a little shopping. The main purpose of this shopping excursion was to get a few groceries and necessities. We wanted to have stuff for breakfast and snacks. Cameron really wanted to go to Walmart but he relaxed when he discovered that Target is very much like Walmart. He insisted on looking at the toys but we made it clear that we were not buying toys on this trip.
When we got back to the house, Cameron really wanted to go swimming but we just didn't have the energy to take him. He was a little upset but we will definitely take him swimming tomorrow. We have decided that we'll go to Sea World tomorrow as Stephanie and Matt aren't going to that park. I'm sure it will be a fun day.
Florida Family Vacation Day 1
Journal Entry: Sunday, October 3, 2010
Today is the beginning of our first "official" family vacation ever! Over the past four years we have been on trips but many of those trips were either day trips of weekend trips. Since we moved to SK in March of 2008, we have had four family trips to PEI but those rips just don't seem to qualify as an actual vacation. Also, every trip we have had to PEI has been for a wedding so we didn't even get to pick when we went on these trips. We did enjoy our visits with our family and friends with each trip to PEI but we are very excited for what we a calling a "real" vacation.
There has been much planning for this vacation and we are certain it will be well worth it. We started planning this vacation with our friends Pernell and Chantel in November of 2009. When we said that we thought we would go to Florida for vacation, they immediately said that they'd love to join us. the planning officially began in March of 2010 when Stephanie and Matt also said that they would like to join us. After many phone calls and lots of emails, we were able to decide on travel dates, accommodations, etc. So, here we are, almost a year later and we are ready to go.
This afternoon, Cory, Cameron and myself left Sturgis and headed for Regina. We are staying over night in Regina, as our flight leaves very early in the morning and we chose not to drive to the airport in the middle of the night. Hopefully some day in the not so distant future, we will live closer to an airport. I suppose we were a little spoiled by living only minutes from the airport in PEI.
We are currently sitting in our hotel room contemplating a snack before bedtime, as Cameron is telling us that he is hungry. We are also hoping for an early bedtime for all of us because 4am will be here before we know it. I have everything organized for the morning so hopefully all will go smoothly. I am looking forward to writing about our family vacation to Orlando, Fl so that we can read about if years from now.
Today is the beginning of our first "official" family vacation ever! Over the past four years we have been on trips but many of those trips were either day trips of weekend trips. Since we moved to SK in March of 2008, we have had four family trips to PEI but those rips just don't seem to qualify as an actual vacation. Also, every trip we have had to PEI has been for a wedding so we didn't even get to pick when we went on these trips. We did enjoy our visits with our family and friends with each trip to PEI but we are very excited for what we a calling a "real" vacation.
There has been much planning for this vacation and we are certain it will be well worth it. We started planning this vacation with our friends Pernell and Chantel in November of 2009. When we said that we thought we would go to Florida for vacation, they immediately said that they'd love to join us. the planning officially began in March of 2010 when Stephanie and Matt also said that they would like to join us. After many phone calls and lots of emails, we were able to decide on travel dates, accommodations, etc. So, here we are, almost a year later and we are ready to go.
This afternoon, Cory, Cameron and myself left Sturgis and headed for Regina. We are staying over night in Regina, as our flight leaves very early in the morning and we chose not to drive to the airport in the middle of the night. Hopefully some day in the not so distant future, we will live closer to an airport. I suppose we were a little spoiled by living only minutes from the airport in PEI.
We are currently sitting in our hotel room contemplating a snack before bedtime, as Cameron is telling us that he is hungry. We are also hoping for an early bedtime for all of us because 4am will be here before we know it. I have everything organized for the morning so hopefully all will go smoothly. I am looking forward to writing about our family vacation to Orlando, Fl so that we can read about if years from now.
I'm back!
I apologize for being absent for the past few weeks to my followers. As mentioned in my previous post, we were on vacation...a real family vacation. We went to Orlando, Florida for two weeks and had the most amazing time! It felt good to get home but after a couple of days, I was ready to go back to the Sunshine State.
I decided to keep a journal on our vacation. Each night I wrote about the day's activities to keep track of what we did so that I could share with everyone when we returned home. I got to thinking, what better way to share my vacation journal with everyone but to post it on my blog. So, over the next few days I plan to copy my journal entries fro our vacation on here for those of you who are interested in reading about the fun times we had in Orlando. I hope you all enjoy.
I decided to keep a journal on our vacation. Each night I wrote about the day's activities to keep track of what we did so that I could share with everyone when we returned home. I got to thinking, what better way to share my vacation journal with everyone but to post it on my blog. So, over the next few days I plan to copy my journal entries fro our vacation on here for those of you who are interested in reading about the fun times we had in Orlando. I hope you all enjoy.
Friday, October 1, 2010
Prepping for vacation...
I seem to have this ritual for preparing for vacation. Whether we are going away for a couple of days or a couple of weeks, I feel the need to have the house clean before we leave. Our vacation is just around the corner and I have very little ready for our actual trip. However, I did spend the majority of today cleaning the house. Tomorrow, I plan to finish cleaning the house so that I can finally start packing. I suppose the reason I go on this cleaning spree before I go away, is so that when I return home the house is clean and tidy. I think it's important for the house to be clean upon our return. It doesn't seem to matter where we go or how long we were gone for but when we get home and unload the truck, the house looks like a bomb went off in a very short period of time. Plus, it always seems to take a close to a week to get everything unpacked and organized when we return from vacation. It's also just nice to come home to a clean house. So, most people probably spend the last few days before vacation packing and such but I spend those days running around cleaning like a crazy lady! I best go make my cleaning list for the morning.
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