The day after the boys got out of school for the summer, we hit the road for our great Florida vacation. Josh and I aren't very big planners when it come to trips but we had to get on this one as we were camping the entire time. Campgrounds began to fill up around Christmas of last year. I started booking sites at that time, which is unheard of for us. I was a little stressed out by planning that far in advance but it all worked out. Our route was as follows: Fort Clinch State Park, Fort Wilderness at Disney, Turtle Beach Campground on Siesta Key, Tampa to visit a great high school friend and finally up to Gennie Springs. It was an amazingly successful trip considering there were 5 of us in a camper for 10 days.
Our first stop was Fort Clinch State Park by Fernandina Beach and Amelia Island. It is the first beach you come to when you enter Florida from Georgia. It was a perfect stopping point, about 6 hours from home.
We were able to bike all around the park and to the beach. It reminded us of our time on Edisto Island.
Emma was happy to be in the bike trailer
We headed to the fort which was a confederate base during the civil war
It was awesome
So many cool nooks and crannies to hide in
Not sure what she's doing
Grady found the latrine
Nothing like a comfy, wooden bed
As we came out to the beach we saw this submarine surrounded by coast guard ships
We would definitely come back to this park again.
Then it was on to Fort Wilderness Campground and Disney World
The night before we were going to get up and hit the Magic Kingdom, Emma puked all over the camper. I'm not sure what she had but she didn't feel good.
Emma and I on the people mover. She managed to smile through her sickness and enjoy a few rides. It might have helped Josh and I as her energy level was low. We carried her or put her in the stroller. Normally, she would have been running around like crazy. So, the vomit wasn't that bad
The boys had a blast.
Lots of selfies on rides
Twin scared faces caught on camera....Space Mountain
Just look at the crowds! Josh and I would NEVER go back again. It was overcrowded, overpriced and hot as hell. Not the kind of vacation that we enjoy. The lines for the rides were and hour or more, we spent $66 on hot dogs for lunch and it was sweltering. The boys thought the rides were for babies with the exception of two or three.
The things we do for our kids
Ummm, kind of a parenting fail here. Emma wanted to meet a princess but the line was 80 minutes. There was no way I was going to wait that long to see a darn princess. So, as we were walking past a restaurant Emma spied a "princess". She was actually the hostess. Of course, I played it up and told her this woman was royalty. I whispered to the lady that Emma thought she was Anna from Frozen. She was awesome and played along.
Emma got a huge hug from "Princess Anna"
The fantastic princess sprinkled fairy dust (glitter) on Emma and made her day. Haha, take that stupid princess lines.
The tea cups
I tried to put Emma in the stocks.
Where are the tomatoes?
The kids favorite "ride"
Riding the boat back to the campground
Every night the campground has a light-up boat parade
It was pretty fun to take the boys down to the beach and watch the show. Emma and Josh went to be early. Josh was tired from all the lines and Emma was recovering from being sick.
The campgound had a sweet pool too.
We should have spent more time there and less time at Magic Kingdom. The boy's favorite part of disney....riding the monorail and the pool. See ya later, Disney (or never)
Our next stop was Turtle Beach Campground on Siesta Key. It was slightly south of Sarasota
The mosquitos were so bad at night that I let them watch a movie
Mosquito net?
We took the free trolly into town. Emma really wanted to sit next to this guy. He was a really good sport about it. She has never met a stranger.
Emma was putting her head through the front of the sign
She figured it out
Trolly back to the campsite
We did a lot of driving on this trip. The kids did a great job for the most part
I brought my good camera to the beach and snapped a few photos
The ocean was clear and perfect for snorkeling
We had to go purchase a net because the boys were convinced they could catch fish. Guess how many they caught? None
They did find some pretty cool shells though
Grady behind the camera
Home sweet home
Stay tuned for the second half of the trip.......
No comments:
Post a Comment