Florida Vacation

Oh where to begin...
How about the beginning!

Our flight left SLC at 10am Saturday morning.

After 4 hours on a completely packed plane we landed in Orlando around 4pm and proceeded to get our luggage and then go pick up our rental cars. We waited in line for and hour and 15min to get to the counter. Then then told me they need a credit card so I handed them Kris's credit card. OH NO it needed to have my name on it. Well folks I don't have a credit card. So they were trying to put a $400 hold on the card. I had maybe $30 in my account. None of my cards would allow a $400 hold. So after much discussion with the manager and since we booked them on Budget.com she was able to change it to Kris's name and off we went to pick up our cars. Now came a serious challenge. We rented two standard cars. Ford Taurus like vehicles. We had 8 adults all with 1 piece of luggage and some of us had a carry on. We also brought our stroller. Hahaha it was a gong show watching us trying to organize the trunks so we could fit all our luggage. Thank god there are only 2 times on our trip we had to do that.
After finally getting packed into vehicles we were off to Dayton Beach! It was at least an hour drive there. It was a very long day of traveling so we picked up a couple of pizza's while my mom and dad met with the caretaker of the condo we were renting. Ahhh kick your shoes off have a much needed beer and put the baby to sleep.

Our first real day of vacation was spent hanging out at the beach and walking the pier in downtown Dayton. There is some of the best people watching in places like that. Not to mention we were being watched ourselves. Cooper thought it was super funny to stick not just one but both of his fingers up his nose. While we were walking down the pier. It was hilarious and everyone who passed was laughing, but also gross! Then we enjoyed an early dinner at the restaurant at the end of the pier. Mmmm


Day 2 we decided it was a good day for the Kennedy Space Center. So we packed up and hopped in the car for an hour car ride south to Cape Canaveral. Arriving around 11 we wandered the immediate area for a minute. Checked out the "rocket garden" which displayed old rockets and stated what milestone they accomplished and facts about them. Some more wandering then lunch. After lunch we kept thinking this can't be all there is. So mom went and talked to someone and found out there is a whole tour that stops at three different places in Kennedy and lets you see an old launch site, the Saturn 5 rocket, and I cant remember the last stop. But we had already bought tickets to see the new Star Trek in the theater there and 6:30. So we only had time for one stop in the tour and we picked stop #2. It was so cool to go in there. They show you the original launch room and go through what it takes to launch a space ship and then do a demo of what it would have been like. After that you can go into the next room, which is a warehouse, where they keep the Saturn 5 rocket on display. It was truly amazing to see how big it really is. They had it broken apart into its respective pieces so you could see all the electrical work and hatches. It was such and interesting stop in our vacation. It really put into perspective that we go into space! People have walked on the moon, and soon with their new Ares project possibly Mars!


Day 3 was much like Day 1. More hanging out! I like the down days. It really makes the vacation relaxing.


Day 4 Disney World! Another hour ride into Orlando, but I was semi excited because I had never been. Also slightly excited to see what Cooper thought of everything. Honestly could have not done it in fore thought and been ok with that fact. So many things have changed since I was a kid. First of all back in the day... Characters walked the park willy nilly and signed autographs and took pictures. Now they have body guards and you have to wait in a nice line to get any pictures or autographs. There for I didn't do it! Most of the rides in the park are geared towards small children. 1 in 5 maybe is fun enough for an adult. Space Mtn was closed so we were all pretty bummed because that is the only ride we remember which means its way fun right! Anyway we toured the park and Cooper on the rides that he could ride. He loved the carousel, The Dumbo Ride, and the Buzz Lightyear. My Mom and Dad were kind enough to hang out with him while we waited an hour to ride Splash Mtn. While we were waiting they watched the main street parade that had all the characters out. After that we were all fairly spent and decided since we were in Orlando we would try to find the Corona Cigar Company. It was just a short 15 min drive on the freeway. Now for those of you who know my dad. He is infamous for turning a short drive into a "3 hour tour"! Long story short it took us an hour and a half to find it. Kris was just lucky that there was a sushi place right next door that we could eat at!


Day 5 was another down day. My dad and Austin went back into Orland to a Wakeboarding park. They said it was an awesome set up and well worth the $40 bucks it took to get in. Everyone else hung out at the beach and condo.
Day 6 was our day in Saint Augustine. It is the oldest city in the US. There was so much history there. We saw the oldest wooden school house. There was a re-enactment of the cannons firing at the fortress. It was an awesome place to visit. I just wish it wasn't the hottest day. It made it really miserable and we didn't walk around and see all the cool things because everybody was getting grumpy. I did however manage to lose our camera somewhere. I believe it was in Ripley's Believe it or not, but nobody has turned it in yet!
Day 7 we flew home. There was more stupid drama, but I wont get into it. Airport security is so frustrating!