Brian and I loved adventures and learned anything, from a true vacation to a trip to Tractor Supply, could be an adventure. Landon, Bryce and I are continuing the adventure tradition and in February had the opportunity for quite an adventure—a vacation to Florida!

My in-laws snow-birded to Florida this year and invited us down. We had a great time spending time together, getting to visit with other extended family on both sides, playing in the pool, visiting the ocean, boat rides and even a day at Disney.

The Plane

A new friend told me about a sensory room at the Pittsburgh airport, which was conveniently right beside our gate. After wrestling all three of us through security, we spent time in the room, which was a quiet, kid-friendly area to lounge, play and even included an airplane entrance with the first couple rows of the airplane so I could familiarize them with the airplane boarding process. We flew Southwest and their flight and gate attendants were super helpful, as were all of the people on our flights in both directions, especially when Bryce had trouble with the descent on the way home from another ear infection.

Water Play

Our resort had two pools and a splash pad, all of which we used. Both boys are such water bugs. Landon became much more proficient in the water during his time there and can really hold his breath well under water. We already have our summer pool memberships so are eager for summer to arrive.

Bryce made a beeline for anything water as soon as he saw it, even gravitating toward one of the fountains that was purely decorative. It had lions on it, which he roared at, a habit he’s continued back home. He even roared at his food a number of times last weekend.

Boats

We got to go on two boat rides. The first was in the Tampa area with my dad’s cousin, his wife, Sunny the golden retriever, and my aunt and uncle, who happened to be vacationing in Florida the same week we were. We had a real “wow” of a day with them. We first boated over to an area to see manatees. Brian and I got to snorkel with manatees years ago while visiting his mom in Florida and I never tire of seeing these giant, gentle sea animals. We also saw a school of stingrays. After the manatees, we sped across the water to lunch in St. Petersburg. Jamie let Landon drive the boat on the open water, which he loved beyond anything. Bryce also got a real thrill out of being on a fast boat, feeling the wind in his face and having water splash on him. He’d squeal, carry on and giggle.

Later that week we went to Mt. Dora with some aunts and an uncle and did an ecological boat ride down a canal. We saw alligators, bald eagles, osprey, great blue heron and oodles of other birds. The Spanish moss draping from the trees reminded me of Amelia Island and Savannah.

Disney World: Magic Kingdom

We could hardly be in Orlando with kids and not see Mickey and friends! Disney World continues to grow and was nearly unrecognizable to me from the last time I was there 21 years ago. My aunt’s very kind uncle met us and got us all into the park, shepherding us through the parking process, a tram ride to the ferry, taking the ferry boat across a small lake to get to the park entrance and in the park. The crowds meant Landon and I spent a lot of time waiting. We got to ride the Dumbo ride, a Goofy-themed small rollercoaster, a Little Mermaid ride, It’s a Small World, the merry-go-round and a Buzz Lightyear ride, where we had great fun doing a not very good job of shooting aliens.

We met up with Bryce and family for the mid-afternoon parade down Main Street, which may have been my favorite part of the day. The floats were robust and, well, magical. Disney truly spares no detail in anything it does, from the parade and floats, to even making the lines fun to wait in. The Little Mermaid ride’s line wove us through a fake rocky coastline, had seashells embedded in the sidewalk and even had a digitalized blue crab in screens finding treasures for Ariel’s cove.

Bryce apparently really enjoyed a couple of the shows and even joined in the applause, especially for the President’s Show.

I look forward to taking them both to Disney again, but probably not for a number of years—preferably in post-stroller and post-nap days! They were both champions, and very exhausted by the end of our days.

The Ocean

Our last day in Florida we drove over to Cocoa Beach to play at the ocean. It was a beautiful day, in the mid- to high-70s and sunny for the first part. It’s also not far from Cape Canaveral and we could see the rocket launch area in the distance. Landon and Bryce happily played in the sand and in the ocean surf. Landon wanted to go in further, but that didn’t last long when a wave got the better of him and he ended up underwater briefly when he didn’t want to be.

They got to dig in the sand, build a sandcastle with a moat and splash. Bryce showed his daredevil streak again when he fought to let go of our hands and go further into the ocean than just his feet and lower legs. He even laughed when an unexpected wave got him in the face! I suspect he’s my wild child.

Landon lost a water shoe in the ocean and I learned how hard it is to give kids snacks at the beach. Sand. Everywhere. Landon let me feed him, but Bryce is in his “I’ll do it myself” phase and utterly refused to let me help him. He ended up eating quite a bit of snack with sand on it and somehow didn’t care about the grit.

Other Observations

• There are few things more enjoyable than reading a book poolside on a calm, sunny morning.

• If the baby can’t sleep, go for a sunrise walk. It’s worth the view. You’re up anyway.

• Be on good terms with your pediatrician. Bryce got an ear infection while down there, and they believed me enough to phone in a prescription without requiring me to visit an Urgent Care in a strange city.
• Shopping is fun with people. I often forget this in my harried “order clothes online, try them on, return what I don’t like/doesn’t fit,” but shopping in person with a person can be fun.
• Orlando traffic is remarkably congested.
• Flying with children is really Hard. It’s even harder when you look around and realize you’re the only single parent there. Every other child is there with two parents.
• Disney. See above. Two-parent families everywhere.
• Ocean. See above again. Two parent families everywhere.
• There was a playground at the resort, which is a genius idea to put in. We used it several days and both boys really enjoyed the slides and jungle gym.

• Now that Bryce is old and mobile enough to interact a lot, it’s so fun to see these two play. They’re both in constant motion, but every now and then you can find a microsecond where they’re playing in a big bed together with their new Disney pals. (Donald Duck and Goofy, who is just to the left of Bryce in the barely-visible green hat.)