Some of our good friends recently went on a family trip to Florida, flying out on Allegiant from Provo and then doing some beach days and Disney World. That got us thinking, maybe we could try out a Florida trip ourselves. And thus, the idea for this ambitious trip was planted. Early on in the planning phase, we realized that we could really use some help to pull this trip off. So we called up Tim and Suzanne and worked out some dates where they could come meet up with us. After lots of scheming, our itinerary was set and everything was arranged. Then it was finally time to head out on the adventure.

Day 1, travel day to Florida. It was so nice flying out of Provo. Easy parking, hardly any walking, laid back security, plus you get to be right there next to the airplane on the tarmac when you board. This was Landon and Zoey’s first flight. The kids all did great and we really didn’t have any issues at all which was awesome!

The Allegiant flight didn’t fly into Orlando, but rather St. Pete–Clearwater airport (PIE). This was great because our first leg had us staying in Clearwater Beach, just down the road a couple miles. It’s a pretty small airport and everything was close together and they had rental cars at the airport. We made it to our place in time to take a quick walk out to the beach just after sunset and do some quick playing before bed.

Day 2, beach day. It was an overcast day threatening to rain, but this didn’t put any damper on the kids. They had an absolute blast playing on the beach. The sand was incredible, like a mix of brown sugar and powdered sugar textures, very white and clean. I’ve been to Clearwater Beach one time on a work trip, and I really wanted to bring the family there. I’m happy to say the beach was as good as I remembered.

Eliza LOVED the seashells. As soon as we walked up to the beach in the daylight, she started picking them up as fast as she could.  Then she looked down the beach and saw an endless line of seashells and her eyes almost popped out with excitement!

I was watching the clouds and the storm off in the distance. At one point, things started to change and I told the family it was time to go, now. They lollygagged around for a minute, and then I said it was time to go now! We hurried off the beach and quickly walked back to our place. We made it just in time, because just as we were walking inside, the down poor started and the lightning and thunder began.

After things calmed down, we headed out for an afternoon adventure. First stop was lunch at Frenchy’s. This was a place I went when I was here on the work trip, and it was so fun to get to take Kathryn here. We got the famous Grouper Sandwich, Caribbean Jerk style. It was so good. The jerk sauce was perfect and tasted like liquid memory from my mission.

Then we went to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium. While there, we learned that this was the home of the famous dolphin Winter. “Winter, the star of Dolphin Tale, lost her tail after becoming entangled in a crab trap line. The team at Clearwater Marine Aquarium worked with the Hanger Clinic to develop a prosthetic tail, allowing Winter to thrive and inspire millions around the world!” Sadly, Winter passed away in November of last year. After coming home, the kids watched the movie and it was fun to have been there at the aquarium and recognize the place and some of the animals in the show.

The dolphin tank was incredible. The focal point was definitely the massive viewing window as you walk in.  It was 40 feet long, 14 feet high, and 12.5 inches thick. It made me think of Star Trek Voyage Home where Scotty had to make the giant aquarium to house the whales.

Later that evening, we made it back to the beach for a little more playing and an incredible sunset.

Day 3: A chill(y) beach day. Tim and Suzanne made it late in the night and we met up with them in the morning for another fun beach day. The storm from the prior day was gone and it was a super clear day, but it sure was windy. We went to another beach close by called Sand Key beach. We had fun there, but the beach by our place in Clearwater was better. The kids played for a bit, and then resorted to huddling in towels next to Grandma Suzie. We played some horseshoes on the beach, and because of the wind and plastic shoes, we resorted to throwing them low and fast like a Frisbee. It added a fun challenge to the game.

Here we are at Frenchy’s, back for another Grouper Sandwich, Caribbean Jerk Style again. Yes, it was that good that we had to come back for more and share it with Tim and Suzanne.

While the kids hung out with Tim and Suzanne, Kathryn and I went on a long walk down the beach to visit the Mangrove Shell Tree and add our shells to the tree. This was another bucket list item of mine to get to bring Kathryn here after visiting on my work trip.

Hi, my name is Larry and I enjoy long walks on the beach at sunset…  True story.

Day 4: Travel inland and Gatorland.  Can you get any cooler than this… packed minivan with kids, carseats, boosters, and a stroller, classic rock on the radio, and eating a kids cup of applesauce without a spoon?  Haha, what has happened to me!?

Here we are at Gatorland. This place was awesome. Check out Landon’s shirt. He was so excited to be here.

The kids got their own chance to wrestle a gator!

Here we have Eliza, messing up Tim’s hair, just like she would in Hawaii.

Baby gators!

Zoey earned a new nickname on this trip.
Gatorbait!

 

Such a cute little baby. Such a trooper.

Day 5: Church and Space. We hopped to it in the morning and made it to a 9am ward. No easy feat especially considering the EDT timezone. We really enjoyed hearing the testimonies of these Saints and sharing some time with them.

Next we headed out to Space Coast and visited the Kennedy Space Center. This was awesome.

Apollo command center.

Saturn V rocket engineering marvel. I’ve seen one before in Alabama, here is the post on that: U.S. Space and Rocket Center I can’t believe that was 7 years ago. It was still incredible to see one again. So much power.

Space Shuttle Atlantis. This was also incredible to see. And the way they introduced you to the shuttle through a pre show as top notch.

Landon got to meet Charlie Walker, a real life astronaut who flew on three shuttle missions.

After staying past closing when they basically kicked us out, we drove down the coast just a bit and visited Peacock beach. It was fun to see both the Gulf coast and Atlantic coast beaches on the same trip. The sand was a much darker color, but was still awesome. Also, no ocean sunsets on the Atlantic coast, which is kind of strange.

Day 6. Disney World Magic Kingdom. I’ve always been curious to see what Disney World is all about. Well, for the most part, it was similar. Most notable differences were how spread out everything was getting to the park. Also, the castle was a pretty big upgrade over the Disneyland one. Probably due to all the prior experiences at Disneyland, I found myself mostly missing certain things from Disneyland. Like the Monte Cristo sandwich for one. And there were some missing rides that are either not there, or are spread out in other parks. I think I’m good for another 5 years now. I would like to go ride the Star Wars rides someday though.

Peter Pan is the worst. Such a slow moving line. We eventually aborted. Holding Landon while he was napping was exhausting. Here I am stretching before taking another turn.

The fireworks at night were awesome!

Day 7: Disney World Animal Kingdom. This was a totally new Disney experience. Not very many rides to go on, but several cool experiences. The animal safari was top notch.

The bird show was also incredible. This reminded me of a bird show we saw at Sea World when I was a kid. Totally different show, but that was a really memorable experience to see what they could get these birds to do.

Ashley got to be center stage for the show which was so fun. Check out this video of here:

Unfortunately, while at the bird show, Landon fell backwards off the bench and bonked his head hard. They got us an ice pack, and then after the show, they gave us a wheel chair and Mickey Mouse ice cream to help him feel better. Thanks Disney!

Avatar land was really cool and incredibly well done. The ride was probably the best Disney ride I’ve ever been on in. Maybe Star Wars will top that someday, but currently the Avatar ride is 1st place.

It was really neat to be there at night too. Everything was lit up and glowing.

Landon loved our minivan with its magic doors. Everytime we’d get in the car, he’s say “Magic door, can you close for us please!” He was so sad when we had to turn it back in.

Day 8: Travel home. After a huge pack up and clean up, we split ways. Tim and Suzanne to Orlando to head to SLC, and us back to Clearwater to head to Provo. Again, the small airport with everything so close was great. We made it home without too much trouble. Then after we ate a quick dinner, we headed back out for the annual IMSAR skate night that the girls didn’t want to miss. They did awesome and all the time at wheel club has really paid off.

What an adventure! Now we need a vacation..