Out to explore the Sunshine State...
On Jan 24th (sooo long ago, that is how Latin life makes me fall behind) we disembarked the Disney cruise with no set place to go. Work for Trent is a bit easier in Florida so he and I made a decision that we were going to explore somewhere new but really made no plans for it (not like us at all.) The craziness of Christmas then staying really busy back in Alberta left us with not a lot of time to make to many plans, so when we walked off the ship all we knew is we needed to rent a car.
Picked up a mini van (ahhh the horror a mini van) but our luggage would not fit in anything else and we were to late to secure a suburban (again the horror) kidding.
I am laughing : ) : ) : -) because we are not mini van people, but the kids love it. I can now admit Trent & I have been mini van snobs. However I must eat my words now, a mini van really is very easy with kids. (lol)
In Port Canaveral we headed north towards Orlando and drove until we found a hotel.
Trent went into check to see if a room was available. He came out to the van and said we have a room and you won't believe the price. He said " I think she said $45.00." I said no way nothing is under a hundred dollars anymore but regardless we need a room.
Located our room and it was a 2 bedroom suite at the Marriott for $45.00/night. We stayed for 3 nights while we scoured the Internet for a place to call home for a month. An Angel gave us a treat.
Our initial intent was to stay in Clearwater & area but we picked the same time as the 2009 Superbowl that was held in Tampa. A house that would normally rent for $ 1,400/week was going for over $10,000 for the week. The prices were insane so we stitched gears. Orlando was going to be our area of choice.
Found a great six bedroom house with pool in Kissimmee for the month we rented off a couple from England. Houses are much less expensive when you rent for a month or longer. The complex we stayed at was Windsor Hills and it is wall to wall vacation homes. A very nice little community, very quiet and great location.
Picked up a mini van (ahhh the horror a mini van) but our luggage would not fit in anything else and we were to late to secure a suburban (again the horror) kidding.
I am laughing : ) : ) : -) because we are not mini van people, but the kids love it. I can now admit Trent & I have been mini van snobs. However I must eat my words now, a mini van really is very easy with kids. (lol)
In Port Canaveral we headed north towards Orlando and drove until we found a hotel.
Trent went into check to see if a room was available. He came out to the van and said we have a room and you won't believe the price. He said " I think she said $45.00." I said no way nothing is under a hundred dollars anymore but regardless we need a room.
Located our room and it was a 2 bedroom suite at the Marriott for $45.00/night. We stayed for 3 nights while we scoured the Internet for a place to call home for a month. An Angel gave us a treat.
Our initial intent was to stay in Clearwater & area but we picked the same time as the 2009 Superbowl that was held in Tampa. A house that would normally rent for $ 1,400/week was going for over $10,000 for the week. The prices were insane so we stitched gears. Orlando was going to be our area of choice.
Found a great six bedroom house with pool in Kissimmee for the month we rented off a couple from England. Houses are much less expensive when you rent for a month or longer. The complex we stayed at was Windsor Hills and it is wall to wall vacation homes. A very nice little community, very quiet and great location.
Out & About!
In Florida there is so many great things to explore. You can never say there is nothing to do.
We were driving down International Drive and saw this building. It was way to interesting to pass by so we went in. It is called WonderWorks and it is a Science Centre with some amazing displays inside.
The kids had an opportunity to feel the power of a HURRICANE by hanging on tight in the Hurricane simulator that blew us 65mph or 104 km/hour. At that speed we felt a moderate hurricane and wow is was powerful. If you ever go to Orlando I highly recommend checking this place out if you get off the beaten track.
In Florida there is so many great things to explore. You can never say there is nothing to do.
We were driving down International Drive and saw this building. It was way to interesting to pass by so we went in. It is called WonderWorks and it is a Science Centre with some amazing displays inside.
The kids had an opportunity to feel the power of a HURRICANE by hanging on tight in the Hurricane simulator that blew us 65mph or 104 km/hour. At that speed we felt a moderate hurricane and wow is was powerful. If you ever go to Orlando I highly recommend checking this place out if you get off the beaten track.
Some fun facts we learned at Wonderworks.
-The human population is increasing by 80 million people each year.
-A baseball has exactly 108 stitches.
-The one place where a flag flies all day, never goes up or comes down, and does not get saluted, is the MOON.
-A cat purr at 26 cycles per second, the same as an idling disiel engine.
-The first CD pressed in the United States for commercial release was Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the USA" - Wow that seems decades ago.
-A cricket's ears are on its knees.
-Ergophobia is the fear of work.
-The only birds that can fly backwards are hummingbirds.
-Although the abbreviation for the word "pound" is "LB" there is no "L" or "B" in pound. I never thought of that!
-A baseball has exactly 108 stitches.
-The one place where a flag flies all day, never goes up or comes down, and does not get saluted, is the MOON.
-A cat purr at 26 cycles per second, the same as an idling disiel engine.
-The first CD pressed in the United States for commercial release was Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the USA" - Wow that seems decades ago.
-A cricket's ears are on its knees.
-Ergophobia is the fear of work.
-The only birds that can fly backwards are hummingbirds.
-Although the abbreviation for the word "pound" is "LB" there is no "L" or "B" in pound. I never thought of that!
(like I mentioned an interesting building we could not just ignore)
(you can see my silhouette holding my camera and Trent on the right flailing his arms)
(me on the left with Emma looking like an angel. This was a very cool room)
(a quick video of Em dancing away. I would love one of these at home, it was fun seeing if our shadows could keep up)
(a quick video of Em dancing away. I would love one of these at home, it was fun seeing if our shadows could keep up)
(my little spaceman)
GATORLAND!
This field trip we learned all about the differences of Alligators vs. Crocodiles. The kids are pros at spotting the differences. It was very educational to visually see some of the most deadliest snakes in the Florida area as well. I am happy to report we never saw any of them during our stay in the Sunshine State.
(once you enter you may never come back out)
(here is a baby gator. He is about 6-8 months the staff said. Just a itty bitty thing... still not cute though) lol
(these Gators are clearly fed well or this guy would be a tasty treat for them gators and crocs.)
( this is Bert. We had to watch our toes around him)
(Em's turn to feed this vegetarian)
GATORLAND!
This was a very educational day... it was COOL as Easton said. I was 15yrs. old the last time I was at Gatorland (a long time ago not alot has changed). There are still hundreds of alligators and crocodiles scattered everywhere and a few shows to see. It was a day filled with learning about these creatures that God created but I am happy to see them from a far... reptiles are not my thing but that does not detour my children. ( I am glad about that)
This field trip we learned all about the differences of Alligators vs. Crocodiles. The kids are pros at spotting the differences. It was very educational to visually see some of the most deadliest snakes in the Florida area as well. I am happy to report we never saw any of them during our stay in the Sunshine State.
(this seems a bit .... well lets say.... stupid by my estimation. Hand feeding a gator a whole chicken but then again this is their job daily. This particular day the gators were not moving very much because the weather had been a bit cold and since these guys are cold blooded they were very sluggish. This job obviously is intriguing since these guys like the thrill they get each day.)
(here is a quick video of what some people do for the thrill. This is not my video it is off of youtube and I hope this guy recovered)
Now these guys were cool!
These very cool creatures are 90yrs. old from an island off of Africa. We spend 15-20min with them feeding them carrots off a stick. They were huge weighing in at a whooping 600lbs. Gentle tortoise giants really.
(here is a quick video of what some people do for the thrill. This is not my video it is off of youtube and I hope this guy recovered)
Now these guys were cool!
These very cool creatures are 90yrs. old from an island off of Africa. We spend 15-20min with them feeding them carrots off a stick. They were huge weighing in at a whooping 600lbs. Gentle tortoise giants really.
(here turtle turtle turtle come get your orange candy)
(Ev spend some tender moments with this guy. Everett loves animals he wants to keep everyone he sees)
(hi cutie... a quick hug )
(here Trent was picked to come assist with this 15foot python. Trent said he was pretty heavy. The last time Trent held a python was in Thailand)
(a pet skunk... who would of guested. This poor little skunk was someones pet at one time and they dropped her off at Gatorland because they could not care for her. We have never seen a skunk so close by our choice..haha... This little Gal was a cuddlier and had very wiry hair, I had to remind my kids to never bring Peppy le pew home)
Gatorland has in someways has became an animal refuge where unwanted animals are dropped off. The staff told us that some mornings they come to work to find a box at the front door containing a displaced animal. It is amazing what kind of animals people think they can care for and later realize it is way to much.
(I ask myself all the time. What was God's intent in creating so many different animals. They are all so unique)
Gatorland has in someways has became an animal refuge where unwanted animals are dropped off. The staff told us that some mornings they come to work to find a box at the front door containing a displaced animal. It is amazing what kind of animals people think they can care for and later realize it is way to much.
(Easton is being swarmed by Lorikeets. Very beautiful colored birds who are not very shy)
(Emma loved the look of this crane's hair. She loved how white this bird was)
(these crazy guys are called Gator Wranglers, they like to wrestle the reptiles for fun... LOCO - that is crazy in Spanish
I just can't keep the kids out of the water!
Gatorland did a very nice job with this little water park. Our kids could not resist it at the end of the day... they had to play. Ohhh to be a kid again, I love their free spirits.
I just can't keep the kids out of the water!
Gatorland did a very nice job with this little water park. Our kids could not resist it at the end of the day... they had to play. Ohhh to be a kid again, I love their free spirits.
(a fun old fashioned wagon that sprayed water everywhere)
(my man Ev is telling me HE DOES NOT WANT TO GO! He blocked me in, I had to either try to go through him or go run through the water... I showed him who was the boss... I sent his Dad after him... lol)
We ventured out alot more in Florida but the Kennedy Space Centre deserves a blog of its own and I am not quite organized from being back home in Panama.
Thank you again for all the wonderful comments and I hope along the journey you are picking up some tidbits and learning something new.
All our love
Trent. Jody. Em. East & Ev
xoxooxxo
We ventured out alot more in Florida but the Kennedy Space Centre deserves a blog of its own and I am not quite organized from being back home in Panama.
Thank you again for all the wonderful comments and I hope along the journey you are picking up some tidbits and learning something new.
All our love
Trent. Jody. Em. East & Ev
xoxooxxo
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