Florida Vacation 2012
This post has been 2 months plus in the making, sitting lonely as a draft and only being updated when I had a spare moment to even think about it. At the beginning of April, we slipped away from home for a much needed family vacation to Florida. For a little over a week, we soaked up the rays and the sights of the Sunshine State and enjoyed each other’s company without any interruptions from school/work/activities. And it was absolutely wonderful.
We left on a Saturday after a little friend’s birthday party and approximately 18 hours later, we reached the Florida state line. (Did I forget to mention that we drove ourselves? Because honestly if we would have been on a flight for that long, I would have expected to be some place much more exotic than Florida.) Our kids do great on road trips, so it just seemed like a no brainer to drive versus fly since we could take along so much more junk important child stuff.
I always can tell when we are getting close to the ocean because of the scent in the air. Some people may call it dead fish smell, but I prefer the frangrant aroma of sea salt and sand. Love that smell.
One of the things that Pinky was most looking forward to seeing were the palm trees. (Because the ocean and beach are obviously not cool enough.) She was completely fascinated with them and asked me multiple times if she could pull the palm leaves off.
We spent the first several days in St. Augustine enjoying the beach during the day and exploring the old town at night.
I didn’t realize that sand was partially digestible. Or maybe it isn’t. You should have seen this kid’s diapers the week following vacation. Yikes!
We ate so many great meals while on vacation, but The Conch House was certainly a favorite. Great food, great atmosphere, great view, great entertainment. This place was so fun!
Being goofy while eating.
While in St. Augustine, we also walked around Flagler College, went on a ghost tour, visited Castillo de San Marcos National Monument and Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum,
And found a few quirky items on St. George Street.
Of course, no trip to Florida would really be complete without a trip to Walt Disney World.
Initially, we were a little hesitant about taking a baby to the Magic Kingdom, but it turns out that the park is super accomodating to families with children of all ages. Sweet Pea rode on a lot of rides with us, including It’s A Small World, People Mover, The Jungle Cruise, The Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Carribean and Dumbo the Flying Elephant.
Plus they have an air conditioned baby care center which was great for a nap for Sweet Pea in the mid afternoon. And that, my friends, is pure magic.
We were also lucky enough to be able to visit with a few family members before we headed back home. So good to see them!
So, that pretty much wraps up our Florida vacation. I must say that it was such an amazing trip. One week of pure fun and family time with a little R&R thrown in. We really couldn’t ask for much more!
