Jeff & I decided to go to Orlando, FL this year for vacation. Being as it is our last summer in NC, it seemed like the time to take advantage of our close proximity to go to Disney World. When we first moved, I said that I wanted to visit NYC & Disney World during our time here. So now we have succeeded in that goal!
We had a GREAT time & really loved Orlando. The weather was wonderful with afternoon showers every day. It rained on us pretty good at Epcot, which we really appreciated! We spent 2 days at Canaveral National Seashore swimming in the ocean & generally enjoying relaxing beach time.
I think my favorite part of the vacation was our day at Universal Islands of Adventure. I was awe-struck by Hogwarts & Hogsmeade. I mean its one thing to see a fantasy world on the movie screen & it is quite another to actually walk around it! Universal did a great job, I was really impressed!! The portraits in Hogwarts actually moved & talked just like they do in the movies/books. Hermoine actually casts a spell on you & it starts snowing on your head! Hogsmeade has every shop & the butter beer is pretty tasty (and pretty cheap too!). The rides were fun but they have never really been my thing, Jeff enjoyed himself.
Jeff's favorite part was probably Kennedy Space Center but he was pretty excited by Epcot. Kennedy was pretty boring for me & I got tired & information overloaded pretty quickly. I was reminded by Mom's mental state when we toured Washington DC in high school. I'm pretty sure she felt the same way by all of the museums we visited! BUT, I did get launched into space by going on the Launch Simulator that they have there & ya'll should be impressed. We learned a lot about NASA's change of direction for the future & the decision to stop the shuttle program. We saw they new launch pads & launch towers that will be used for private space missions. It was pretty cool.
After touring Kennedy, we took a wildlife drive on the swampland owned by NASA nearby. We saw an alligator & some very pretty scenery. Then, we went to the manatee viewing area & saw manatees playing with each other! It was like watching dolfins, so cool! They are huge & ugly but I was so excited to see them. I've never seen one in the wild before & I was awed.
Jeff the ecologist really wanted to scope out some local springs that they have around Orlando. We toured 2 on Tuesday. They are unique because the water is so clear. In some places it is 30ft deep & you can see all the way to the bottom. One of Jeff's conferences will be in Jacksonville next year & we are contemplating vacationing again to check out more of these places.
Our last day was spent at Epcot. Now after an entire week of running around, driving, & being tossed by thrill rides I was exhausted to say the least. My back, hips, & legs were starting to cramp & bother me. Epcot was all for me because I have always wanted to go through the Global Showcase. So it was a little disheartening for Jeff to see me so withered & trying so hard to be excited. I really did have a good time, I just wish we did Epcot first instead of last. We had dinner at the Cafe de Paris & met Chef Remi from Ratatouille, which was cute & fun. $100 meal at Disney is definitely not the same quality as outside of Disney, though but it was worth it for a nice place to sit & cool down.
Food? While we were in Florida, we had a kitchenette so we cooked grilled pizza, pasta, & sausage with peppers. We ate out for seafood one night & had the best shrimp I have ever tasted. It was Florida Red Shrimp & they were sweet & tasty! I inhaled my dozen & wanted more :) Yesterday, I really caught up on cooking with salsa, peach biscuits, corn chowder, triggerfish with sweet potato cakes, & peach icecream. My tutoring student has a peach tree & we were given free access to their tree while they were on vacation & we must have picked 3-4 bushels! I made 3 pies & the leftovers I made into icecream & biscuits. I can't wait to cook up a pie soon!
In other news, my Grandmother is back in AZ after a very scary spinal surgery in CO. She had everyone pretty worked up & worried but as most of you know she is a fighter & pulled through & seems to be doing fine. She is in physical therapy & we hope that will help her to build her strength back up.
Love & miss you all!!
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