Just Us

Posted by MaryAnne

at 10:43 AM

Surprise, surprise, I'm still here....lol! I actually have a few posts I've written but never got around to publishing them. Most likely, I'm not sure if they'll ever get published. Nonetheless, I wanted to post at least our latest vacation we took during Spring Break, the week of April 17th.

Our family vacation was spent in "Sunsensational" Florida. I had a friend ask me if this is now a yearly thing. In a way it does appear that way as this is our 3rd consecutive trip to Florida.

As expected, the weather was beautiful and the skies were sunny and bright (unlike Utah). This is the first time we've traveled anywhere during Spring Break.... AND! it will be the last time. Sophie will just have to miss some school. The crowds were ridiculous and the lines never ending with a wait time of 185 mins for the more popular rides.

Aside from the gazillions of people everywhere, we all had a lot of fun! We really needed the diversion from work, school, homework, looking at houses, and to unthaw (especially for me).

Instead of me babbling about our trip, sometimes looking at photos depicts an aspect I would otherwise not be able to convey. So here goes:

Well, we didn't get in at the hotel we stayed at last time.
(I'll let hubby explain....lol)

But this one was just as good, though I preferred the decor at
Oceana Palms right up the street.

Master Bath

Master Closet

I love, love all the organizers which reminds me,

our next house will have my dream closet I've always wanted...

most likely with the help of IKEA.

Guest Bathroom

Kitchen with washer/dryer behind closed doors.

One thing about this particular hotel vs Oceana Palms,

they had a very nice waterslide, which Sophie enjoyed immensely.

The view of the Atlantic Ocean from our hotel room is so
spectacular and yes, warmer than the Pacific Ocean.

Although temperatures were warmer than in Utah,

it was still not warm enough for me to go in the water,

especially the waterslide.

I really like to take a stroll on the beach, just taking in the scenery and
absorbing the smells, sounds... feeling the sand between my toes.

For me, it’s quite fun to look for different things in nature that
might see wash up on to the shore.

So, while walking with Soph and Vince, I saw a relatively big hole
in the sand and asked Sophie if she might know what animal made
that hole. Soph curiously looked at the hole and said,
“oooh....no, tell me." Vince then looked at the hole and said
"ohhh....hmmm, I see..... you mean like an umbrella pole?!?”

Hubby: "Why are you taking a picture of that boat we're not on?"

Singer Island

Singer Island is not really an island but a peninsula.
It's 5 miles long and .5 mile wide, not too busy which is ideal for us.

Enjoying the nice weather, the views of Singer Island and the ocean!

No matter how many times I've done this,
I still enjoy looking at all the Butterflies at EPCOT.

Sophie and Me at EPCOT
I remember my Mom used to plant marigolds (flowers behind us) to keep
rattlesnakes away from our house. I'm not sure if there's any truth to that,
but the colors definitely matched her cheerful personality.
So whenever I see marigolds, it makes me think of Mom.

Tutto Italia Restaurant at EPCOT
Want to see my review of this restaurant?
Go to www.tripadvisor.com
(Warning: some of the other reviews are not as favorable,
perhaps they were having an off day.)

Disney's Hollywood Studios

While here we were able to accomplish most everything
we wanted to do, ride and see including The American Idol Experience.
I asked Sophie if she wanted to sing on the American Idol.
Her answer was exactly what I expected. "Noooo Waaaaay!!"

Universal's Islands of Adventure

This park was actually quite fun!
I definitely want to return as we were not able to do everything we
wanted to do, ride and see, like the Harry Potter ride.
However, we were told that The Wizarding World of Harry Potter
might be a little too scary for Sophie, especially because she was a
little afraid of The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man.

In her words she said, "It was too much in my face."

Above, Sophie and her Daddy walking thru The Cat in the Hat.

Vince and Sophie standing outside of Poseidon's Fury.

Even though you're standing up the entire time, I have to admit

it was pretty awesome! The special effects were pretty spectacular,

something I've never seen before. Sophie was a little afraid of this one too

because she said it was "waaay tooo hot with all the explosions

and waaay too cold with the wind and rain."

Popeye & Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barges

You will get soaked on this ride!!

Also, if you ride Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls.... You will get semi-soaked
especially if you're sitting in the the first 3 rows in the front, which is
where I ended up, then Sophie, then Vince ;o/
The 2 girls sitting in rows 4 and 5 actually wanted to get wet and didn't.
If I only knew that ahead of time I would have
gladly switched with them. But then hubby told me I would have ended
up sitting in row 3 anyway, while he and Sophie would have sat in rows 4 and 5 ;o/ ....Hah!

"Soph, smile...." Right before getting drenched on Popeye's ride.

All good things must come to an end... Miss Bee and VibesUp Teddy, placed carefully on Soph's bed by the hotel cleaning services.

Alright, that's all for now. Hope this gives you a glimpse what a wonderful time we had. And yes, we'll probably end up in Florida again for our next family vacation. I wouldn't be surprised if one day we buy a little hut there :D

Fun in the sun in Florida 2

Posted by MaryAnne

at 11:45 PM

Because we had so much fun last September in Florida, we decided to return to the Sunshine State for our spring vacation. We covered a lot of ground packed in 8 days, visited Magic Kingdom, Universal Studios, Sea World, Epcot, Cocoa Beach and West Palm Beach. Our trip didn't get off to a good start as we had to hang out more than 2 hours in the plane, waiting for the snow storm to let up, the plane to get de-iced, and everything else in between that resulted in a series of 40 minute delays...whew!!

Seven hours later, what was supposed to be a 4 hour trip, we finally arrived in Orlando to bright, sunny, warmer weather. Here's a view from our hotel room. If you like to golf, this looked like a great place to do so.

Once we arrived at the parks, the lines were quite short even for all the popular rides. The longest we had to wait was 10 mins, although there was one ride where the wait time was 40 mins., but someone kindly gave us their Fast Pass tickets. How cool was that!! Although this probably makes the 10th time hubby has been on the "It's a small world" ride, he does it for Soph as it's actually one of her favorite rides at Magic Kingdom.

While Universal Studios was a blast for both hubby and me, especially all the simulated, 3-D, 4-D rides... not so for Soph.

We didn't have time to try out all the different rides, but out of the ones we did, Vince and I REALLY liked The Simpson Ride. That was such a blast that gave the sensation of really being on a roller coaster initially, getting spit out of Maggie's mouth after we got close to her tonsils, spit and all. And had lots of loop de loops through donuts and one surprise after another in a make believe theme park called Krustyland.

Epcot was beautiful with all it's the artistic gardens. Here's one I like not only because of Mickey and Minnie but because of the sunflowers, one of my favorite flowers.

We got to eat at the French restaurant, Les Chefs de France.

Meet the animated Remy, the French chef rat from Ratatouille. Here again, Soph was not too sure about the rat. Vince and I thought he was soooo cute!

However, she fell in love with the French kitty. So we got her a smaller version of the kitty that has now become Soph's constant companion.

Last September, we ate at Germany which was quite delicious. Next time we want to try out Italy. It's so much fun to eat at all these different countries.

Sea World is always a fun and pretty place to visit. Unlike Universal Studios, the surrounding was more peaceful and calm, no loud music blaring. Hmmm! Are we showing our age?

Our little family

Shamu Show

Here's a manatee, a large aquatic herbivore marine mammal. I always learn something new when I visit Sea World. Manatee's closest relatives include the elephants and the hyrax (found in Africa and Arabia). If you look at their faces, they are actually quite cute. This is the first time I've seen a manatee calf nursing.

I also learned that the reason flamingoes are pink is because they eat shrimp, brine shrimp to be exact. It's the beta carotene, (you know the same beta carotene found in carrots that makes it orange) in the brine shrimp that actually turns the flamingoes feathers pink. Who Knew?

In this picture, it looks as if Sophie is swimming with the dolphins, getting ready to dive up.

Then we made a quick stop to Cocoa Beach and had lunch....on our way to West Palm Beach.

Sophie and me

Daddy and Sophie

West Palm Beach was probably Soph's favorite place of all....no loop de loops and walking everywhere. Actually, it was a great place for all of us. We stayed at Marriott's newly opened Oceana Palms, located at The Palm Beaches. It was like home away from home and believe me we did not want it to end. Our spacious luxurious villa had 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a well equipped kitchen and laundry. Here are some photos although the photos really don't do it justice.