For this year's summer vacation, we decided to spit in the face of high gas prices and embark on a 2500+ mile road trip. A crew of 14 launched the voyage from San Antonio in the wee hours of the morning, Saturday, July 5th.
After a few breakfast tacos, the 3 car fleet headed east on interstate 10 for a summer adventure that included a relaxing 3 night stay in a beach house in Destin and another action packed 3 nights in Orlando, Florida. The return trip saw a brief stint in New Orleans to break up the drive.
| You can check out all of the pictures from the entire vacation here: |
Day 1 - The I-10 Boogie
Most of the first day was spent driving from San Antonio to Destin. The kids were surprisingly tolerant of the long drive and they especially loved going over the big bridges. Most of the drive was pleasant greenery-packed views like the photo below. We arrived around dinner time on Sunday and quickly settled into our new digs. We stayed at the "Green Parrot" which was a 6 bedroom 3-story townhome style beach house a couple of blocks from the beach. Pizza delivery was the first night's fare, we were ready to be out of the cars!
Day 2 - Straight to the Beach
Jackson and Emily both approached the mysterious gulf waters with cautious enthusiasm having never seen these "waves" that seemed to be more of a nuisance than a source of excitement. A face full of sea water dampened Emily's perception of the ocean and Jackson was a bit hesitant after the possibility of jellyfish was explained. Nonetheless, they both seemed to enjoy spotting fish in the crystal clear waters (safely perched upon Mommy or Daddy).
In addition to the beach, we had lots of fun at the beach-side amusement park riding go-carts. Some of the adults in the group took part in bungee jumping and that gigantic human swing thingie.
Jackson and Emily couldn't get enough of the go-carts and other fun rides they had.
Day 3 - Pool & Ocean
The next morning saw some nice sleeping in and a lazy meander over to the pool.
After swimming and some lunch back at the room, it was time for more excitement -- this time in the form of wave runners. Emily was extremely brave for a 2 year old out on the speedy marine vessel. She didn't like getting sprayed with the sea water, but as soon as she got to drive there was a whole new rush of baby adrenaline. Jackson and Emily were laughing hysterically as Emily would pull on the accelerator (governed by Dad's finger).
After the days activity, it was time for some shopping. Destin has some great outlets with Nike, Coach, Ralph Lauren, and other great stores.
Day 4 - Destin to Orlando
Our last day in Destin started with breakfast a la Bateman with some of my soon to be famous french toast. Some improvised condiments with the help of the nearby waffle house helped augment our limited kitchen supplies. With full bellies we were ready for the road to Orlando, but not without a final stop at the outlets in Miramar Beach. Not many photo-worthy events happened on day 4, but the kids did look pretty dang cute in this picutre, so I'll just drop it in here.
Day 5 - The Magic Kingdom
The kids could not have been more excited as we drove through the gigantic archway entering into Walt Disney World. Mickey and Minnie statues were there to great us as we drove into this parallel city with it's own freeway system. Day 1 was to be spent exclusively at the most well-known sector of the park: Disney's Magic Kingdom.
We started off the day with a classic: It's a Small World After All
Flying in Dumbo was a hit
Emily and Jackson loved meeting all of the characters they read and watch
Now Jackson and Emily have always been especially fond of the characters from Toy Story, so when we saw them leading a parade through the streets of Frontierland, we knew they were going to be excited. What we did not know is that they would stop and pull Jackson and Emily out of their stroller for some interactive fun.
Check out this video to see how the fun unfolded:
Day 6 - Royal Lunch & Hollywood Disney
A slightly earlier start allowed us to get in rides on Aladdin's magic carpet and Pirates of the Caribbean before our lunch date with the princesses in the Disney castle. Emily was giddy with excitement as she kept commenting that she wanted to "Eat lettuce with the princesses."
Day 7 - Leaving Florida
Tennis lessons for Jackson and Emily went surprisingly well given the lack of skill possessed by the instructor (dad).
Of course, no road trip segment would be complete without a schedule-shifting stop at... you guessed it... more outlet stores. I think Florida has to have a record for outlet store malls with Orlando leading the pack.
Day 8 - The Big Easy
New Orleans was the perfect stop on the drive home, and we got to catch up with Jules, a good college & Houston friend. After meeting 3 month old Catherine Lawson, we all headed to the insectarium inside the old customs house on Canal street.
