Fun in the sun in Florida

Past several years, we typically would vacation in Southern California. This time we decided we needed a longer vacation, more than 4 days and a different scenery. So last Thursday, we flew to Orlando, Florida and spent a day at Kennedy Space Center, a day frolicking on Cocoa Beach, a day at EPCOT, a day at Disneyworld, and the last day at Animal Kingdom.

Because Soph was looking down, I told her to look up....this is what she does.

We made lots of sand castles, star castles, cake with coconut and pasta. Soph wrote her name in the sand. She loves the beach!

Sophie and Daddy dancing in the water, so it appears :o/

I was quite impressed how well Sophie did in all aspects of the trip, from the long flight to walking our legs off everywhere at the parks. Even though hubby and I have both been to most of the places we visited, it was of course the first time for Soph. The expressions on her face were priceless; she loved all the Disney characters, especially Snow White because she was the most colorful.

We were in luck we arrived the day before the launch of an unmanned satellite at Cape Canaveral. At exactly 8:20 AM as scheduled, it took off as fast as it disappeared. It happened so quickly, I barely got a decent shot.

There's a better picture on Facebook of the shuttle launch.

Sophie and Vince: Launch Complex 39 Observation Gantry

MA and Sophie standing below a 363 ft moon rocket (which you don't see). Go to Facebook and you'll see the rocket.

MA and Sophie: Cocoa Beach Pier

The day at the beach was very exciting, fun and totally different for Soph. And "yes" the Atlantic Ocean is quite warm and comfortable compared to the Pacific Ocean. I can barely stick my big toe in the Pacific as it's ice cold all the time.

EPCOT (Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow) is probably my favorite attraction park. I think partly because the food is so yummy! Our two favorite attractions included Mission: Space and GM's Test Track. Mission: Space was so cool; it really felt like you were being blasted off into space to Mars, dodging asteroids, flying around the moon, etc. For a more mild version of this ride, you can select "green" but we opted for the "orange" which was so worth it. GM's Test Track, we got to experience a series of tests performed on cars to include riding over German and Belgian bricks...lol.

At Disneyworld, Sophie loved visiting the castle and seeing all the Princesses up-close; the Witch she could have done without seeing. Initially Soph was so excited to see Cinderella, but soon discovered she liked Snow White a lot because she was the most colorful.

Disneyworld

MA and Sophie: Disneyworld

Animal Kingdom was another fun place with lots of animals to see and thrilling rides. We rode the Kali River Rapids and got seriously soaked. They say "you may get soaked".... NOT "you may get wet." We can all confirm, you will get soaked. Expedition Everest was a fun roller coaster that made me dizzy; I guess from going backwards. The blast to the past, a Dinosaur ride was awesome too, if you like being bounced around and scared by dinosaurs. For me, it was a totally different ride from everything else.

As with all vacations, all good things must come to an end. However, it's always nice to be back home where it's sweet. Soph liked her vacation very much, except for one thing....yes, the humidity. But believe it or not, there are some advantages to living in a humid climate. I noticed my hands did not appear parched :)

If you want to see more pictures, click on this link to Facebook.