Summer: Day 15
After a long red-eye flight we all arrived in Orlando a little sleepy and very excited to be on vacation. We made our way to Cocoa Beach, grabbed a bite to eat and hit the beach! The waves were fun to play in and were slightly refreshing (Florida is hot and so is the water)!
Top of the next morning we were off to the port. We didn't realize it until we got there, but we were early bird boarders. Huh? Essentially, because we had our suits in our backpacks and were ready to rock n roll at 11:30am....we managed to sneak in an extra half day of awesomeness on the ship!
Matt and I found prime real-estate on the pool deck with a nice giant umbrella all to ourselves and a convenient view of the general pool while remaining exceptionally close to the adult pool. Cruise goers will understand how awesome this find was!
For the next 36 hours we were on the ship. Matt and I pretty much camped out in those same two chairs for most of that time. On the first sea day I ate breakfast and lunch in that same spot, took a nap, read my book, people watched, and made myself available to the kids for hourly check-ins. By "made myself available" I mean, I woke up when they tapped me on the shoulder.
The Bahamas proved to be every bit as, if not more beautiful, than I hoped. The waters were clear, beautiful, and the perfect temperature to cool us down but not freeze us when going for a swim. The boys had a blast on the cruise ship. Eli found a group of other kids his age to hang out with and Gabe balanced hanging out with us, watching movies on the big screen on the pool deck at night, finding pals to golf with, ride on the water slides, go swimming, and hang out in the kids club. Matt and I enjoyed some time just the two of us lounging on the deck, in addition to family dinners, and a few comedy shows. The cruise was a perfect mix of activities on the islands and relaxing on the ship. We loved it!
Part two of the trip would lead us down the road to Disney World. We got off the ship and were greeted by a giant smack to the face of 100 degree temps with some insane amount of humidity. Getting from the ship to the car rental place seemed to take forever. Partially, because it took longer than we expected and partially because when it is that hot 5 minutes seems like 5 hours.
We fueled up on some chick-fil-a (yay!) and then headed to our resort, grabbed 20 gallons of water and hit the ground running.
First stop was Hollywood Studios, next day was Magic Kingdom, day 3 was Animal Kingdom during the day and Magic Kingdom again at night, and the last day was Epcot by day and Hollywood Studios at night. I was not looking forward to this leg of the trip. I knew it would be hot and tiring and I feared it would be overly crowded, the lines would be painfully long, and the kids would be impatient and therefore annoying. However, I was so wrong. Magic Kingdom is in fact magical. I loved it. It didn't feel crowded at all, we rode our favorite rides over and over again, we only waited more than 30 minutes for a ride ONE time in 4 days. That is incredible! The kids were patient and had a blast. We did a lot of walking, and it was so hot, but thankfully we could get free large cups of ice water any time we wanted throughout the day, so we were able to stay hydrated, and all the stores and restaurants are blasting air conditioning. It is entirely possible to get down main street by making your way in and out of every store along the route and it feels as if you were in an air-conditioned tunnel. We came back to the hotel each day about halfway through to swim, nap, and give our feet a break.
We were gone for 11 days. The days were full of sun and heat, the nights were late, the days were busy with swimming, snorkeling, touring, reading, relaxing, scream inducing rides, walking 40 miles in 4 days at Disney World, lots of laughter, smiles, a few tears, and great memories.
We got home at 1am on June 24....the boys left at 10am for the next leg of their summer adventure.
I spent the past three days doing laundry, and recovering!
Top of the next morning we were off to the port. We didn't realize it until we got there, but we were early bird boarders. Huh? Essentially, because we had our suits in our backpacks and were ready to rock n roll at 11:30am....we managed to sneak in an extra half day of awesomeness on the ship!
Matt and I found prime real-estate on the pool deck with a nice giant umbrella all to ourselves and a convenient view of the general pool while remaining exceptionally close to the adult pool. Cruise goers will understand how awesome this find was!
For the next 36 hours we were on the ship. Matt and I pretty much camped out in those same two chairs for most of that time. On the first sea day I ate breakfast and lunch in that same spot, took a nap, read my book, people watched, and made myself available to the kids for hourly check-ins. By "made myself available" I mean, I woke up when they tapped me on the shoulder.
The Bahamas proved to be every bit as, if not more beautiful, than I hoped. The waters were clear, beautiful, and the perfect temperature to cool us down but not freeze us when going for a swim. The boys had a blast on the cruise ship. Eli found a group of other kids his age to hang out with and Gabe balanced hanging out with us, watching movies on the big screen on the pool deck at night, finding pals to golf with, ride on the water slides, go swimming, and hang out in the kids club. Matt and I enjoyed some time just the two of us lounging on the deck, in addition to family dinners, and a few comedy shows. The cruise was a perfect mix of activities on the islands and relaxing on the ship. We loved it!
Part two of the trip would lead us down the road to Disney World. We got off the ship and were greeted by a giant smack to the face of 100 degree temps with some insane amount of humidity. Getting from the ship to the car rental place seemed to take forever. Partially, because it took longer than we expected and partially because when it is that hot 5 minutes seems like 5 hours.
We fueled up on some chick-fil-a (yay!) and then headed to our resort, grabbed 20 gallons of water and hit the ground running.
First stop was Hollywood Studios, next day was Magic Kingdom, day 3 was Animal Kingdom during the day and Magic Kingdom again at night, and the last day was Epcot by day and Hollywood Studios at night. I was not looking forward to this leg of the trip. I knew it would be hot and tiring and I feared it would be overly crowded, the lines would be painfully long, and the kids would be impatient and therefore annoying. However, I was so wrong. Magic Kingdom is in fact magical. I loved it. It didn't feel crowded at all, we rode our favorite rides over and over again, we only waited more than 30 minutes for a ride ONE time in 4 days. That is incredible! The kids were patient and had a blast. We did a lot of walking, and it was so hot, but thankfully we could get free large cups of ice water any time we wanted throughout the day, so we were able to stay hydrated, and all the stores and restaurants are blasting air conditioning. It is entirely possible to get down main street by making your way in and out of every store along the route and it feels as if you were in an air-conditioned tunnel. We came back to the hotel each day about halfway through to swim, nap, and give our feet a break.
We were gone for 11 days. The days were full of sun and heat, the nights were late, the days were busy with swimming, snorkeling, touring, reading, relaxing, scream inducing rides, walking 40 miles in 4 days at Disney World, lots of laughter, smiles, a few tears, and great memories.
We got home at 1am on June 24....the boys left at 10am for the next leg of their summer adventure.
I spent the past three days doing laundry, and recovering!
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