Family Vacation 2011 - Planes, Shuttles and Automobiles

0Well, it is 9:09 PM Pacific Time.  That's 12:09 AM Michigan time.  I am tired.  The kids are wired!!!  We headed out of Shepherd at 10:00 am Eastern Time.  That is a long day of travel.  There really aren't any good pictures yet.  We were running from place to place so much today there wasn't time.  


I personally struggled all day.  Somehow, I thought I was getting on 275 to head to the airport, but I didn't and stayed on 96.  I don't know how that happened.  Could have been traffic or commotion in the car.  But, I missed 275, nonetheless!  I didn't have the Garmin out because we packed it so we would have it with us when we started the road trip of our vacation.  That means there was no pretty voice to tell me I had missed my road.  After seeing a few 96 signs, I finally figured that I had missed my turn.  We did a quick exit, grabbed the Garmin out of the backpack and carried on.  We were already about 15 minutes behind.  As it turned out, we were probably only a half hour late.  We always allow 2 hours from arriving at the airport to departure time.  It was a good thing today.  With the Garmin calling out the directions, we arrived at our Park-N-Go.  We have used them before and they have been very good.  As soon as we pulled in, a shuttle was waiting for us.  We transferred our baggage (three bags to check and four carry-ons).  We loaded the shuttle and the driver asked, "Do you have you purse, your glasses, your itinerary, car locked?"  We thought we were in good shape.  So, we headed out of the lot and headed to the terminal.  I figured I should get out my portfolio with all of our paper work so we could get our boarding passes.  Unfortunately, when the driver asked if we had our itinerary, I thought we did.  But, we didn't.  So, Kristi and the kids got dropped off at the terminal, and I did a trip back to the lot.  At this point, I figured we would be okay getting to our flight, but one more mishap and who knows?  I had reached back into the car to grab a bag and set the portfolio on the seat forgetting to pick it back up.  


Kristi was able to and had already done her magic at the kiosk so by the time I caught back up with them, we all had our boarding passes.  Our flight out of Detroit was to Houston.  This was a relatively bumpy flight.  We had to avoid some bad weather and were about twenty minutes late getting into Houston.  This was about 6:00 according to our bodies.  The bumpy flight didn't do anything for Kristi's stomach so she had to find something to eat.  But, with the delay, we were pressed for time.  We found our gate and ran back to find something to eat.  Adri and I had a quick slice of pizza as we walked back to the gate, while Kristi and Alex got some Chinese takeout.  This work out fine, but the entire 737 smelled like orange chicken - at least until they came to pick up trash.  No time for pictures in Houston, but we were there, and the kids can say they have been in Texas.

We picked up our mini-van from Thrifty, popped the hotel address in the Garmin and arrived here at the Ontario Grand Inn & Suites.  It looks like it has just been remodeled and is very nice.  So we drove, we shuttled, we flew, we shuttled, and we drove.


The kids already seem excited.  It should be fun.  We made it to California. Day one done!

Universal's Islands of Adventure

When we travel to Florida for spring break, we usually visit one of the many theme parks.  We had visited all of them, some several times, except Universal's Islands of Adventure.  One of their attractions that was new last year and very popular was the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  We knew things would be busy and were unsure if we even wanted to go to a theme park this year.  They are so expensive!  We were staying in Daytona Beach and needed to go to Orlando for our hotel Saturday night.We figured we had two options.  We could take our time.  We could do some shopping and go to a dinner show, like Medieval Times.  Or, we could get up really early and head for Islands of Adventure.

We had looked at some reviews about the park.  The first one I saw was terrible.  It was a one rating out of five.  Then there were a couple that were good.  It made us a little nervous.  Would the crowds make it miserable?  Would the attractions be worth the big price?  We decided to let the kids decide.  They wanted to do the Harry Potter attraction, but they too were worried about the crowd, getting up early, and have it be "worth it" compared to taking our time and doing a dinner show.  They were really drawn to the Harry Potter thing, which was where the negative reviews came from.  This review talked about huge lines for everything, even the souvenir shops.  But, we had never been there, and the kids really wanted Harry Potter.

So, the decision was made to take a chance and brave the crowds and attractions of Islands of Adventure, even at the high price.  At least this way we could say that we had been there.  We could make up our own mind about the park!

We got up early and finished getting the rental vehicle packed so we could be at the park when it opened at 9:00.  We ended up getting there at 9:10.  We figured we should head right for Harry Potter.  That is the attraction the kids really wanted to see, so we might as well go right to it.  When we got the "Harry Potter World", it was very cool looking, but it was very crowded.  It was elbow to elbow people.  We tried to work our way right to the main attraction, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey.  Even though we were at the park by 9:10, there was already an hour and a half wait, and there were tons of people in line just to go in the shops.  We figured we might as well get right at it, so we got in line!

The line moved pretty quickly, and much of the line was in the castle with many cool things to look at and listen to for entertainment while waiting in line.  We finally rode the ride, and it was very, very cool.  It was worth the wait, and the kids were able to do this attraction they wanted to so badly.  I guess I figured whatever we did after that was gravy.  There was a little roller coaster right beside this ride so we figured we might as well hit that.  We didn't take time to wait in any lines to go in the shops, but we did take time to wait in line for a Butter Beer.  I guess this is something they drink in Harry Potter books.  This was very sweet and pretty good.  Again, it was one of those cool things for the kids.

Once we got out of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, the lines were really not bad.  The park was still crowded, but it really didn't bother us.  We were able to ride the rides we wanted to ride and really wait very little, especially when compared to other theme park lines.  We had a really good day, did everything we wanted, and actually were able to go back to "Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey" to ride it one last time!

I think we made a good decision.  We can say we have been to Islands of Adventure.  We saw the Harry Potter attraction.  And, we had a good day!  The early morning, late night, and early Sunday morning for flight made us all pretty tired, but it was worth maximizing the fun on our spring break trip.

Kennedy Space Center - NASA

My son, Alex, really likes science and technology.  This year we stayed in Daytona Beach for spring break.  This is about an hour north of the Kennedy Space Center.  With Alex's love for science, technology and space, we thought he would really like KSC.  When we asked Alex about it, he sounded very interested.  Adri, on the other hand, did not really want to go.  So, on Friday, Alex, my mom and I headed to the Space Center, while Kristi and Adri had a pool and beach day.

Alex really liked the Space Center and seemed to be really impressed by the size of everything.  We were able to see the Shuttle Endeavor on the pad as it is getting ready for its final launch the end of this month.  One of the cool things that happened was that we saw the crew's "dress rehearsal" for that flight.  We were on the observation platform when convoy rushed to the pad.

It is truly amazing how we can go into space and land on the moon.  Alex really liked the Saturn V program.  We looked at all of the exhibits, though we didn't take time to read everything.  That would have taken a long time!  We did make sure we took the tour, walked through the exhibits and went to the IMAX shows.  There were two of them.  They were also very cool.



It was a good day, and it was good to see Alex so excited about this science.  The girls had their own fun at the pool and beach so the day worked out very well!

Ocean Walk Resort on Daytona Beach

For three or four of our spring break trips we have stayed at the Wyndham Ocean Walk Resort.  We really enjoy this resort.  It is in a great location on the east side of A1A, which puts it right on the beach.  There are two outdoor pools, a water slide, and a lazy river.  But, just on the other side of the pools is the beach and ocean.  In addition to the outdoor pools, there are two indoor pools and a fitness center.  There is actually a small mini-golf course in the resort.

  

There are Ocean Walk shops that are connected right to the resort.  There is a Bubba Gumps, Johnny Rockets, Sloppy Joe's, a cinema, and a few stores.  Across the street is Daytona Lagoon.  This place has an arcade with laser tag and rock climbing.  There is also Go-Karts and mini-golf.  The resort has discount tickets that makes these activities pretty reasonable.  What is so nice about this is location, location, location.  You have the amenities of the resort, but you have the beach, the activities across the street, and the nice restaurants.

Detroit Tigers in Spring Training

Another family favorite when we come to Florida for our spring break is going to Lakeland to see the Detroit Tigers play a spring training game.  It seems like the hot sun and baseball are truly the signs of spring and summer to come.  We saw a good game.  It was the last spring training game in Lakeland for this year.  The boys are heading home to start the regular season very soon.


This was the 75th anniversary of the Tigers having spring training in Lakeland.  The day we were there, Al Kaline was there for a special presentation.  


The Tigers beat the Phillies the day we were there.  Here's hopping they can make another World Series run.

Go Tigers!  

Angell & Phelps In Daytona Beach

If you are looking for something to do for a couple of hours when you are in Daytona Beach, you may want to check out Angell & Phelps Chocolate Coffee Factory.  The chocolate factory is very small, but you have a chance to watch them make whatever candies are being made the day you visit.  They have a hallway which runs along the production area that is behind large class windows.  They have a guide explain the process aspects of the chocolate business.  The chocolate is very good, but  a little expensive as you would expect for high quality chocolate!

Another interesting note is that these ladies began their chocolate-making days at Mackinaw Island in Michigan.  Our dear old Mackinaw island is the best fudge making place in the world (as far as I am concerned).  So, the fudge we bought at Angell & Phelps really hit the spot, as they brought some good ol' fashion Mackinaw Island fudge as far south as Mackinaw Island is north.

We Always Enjoy Parkesdale Farm Market and Strawberry Shortcake

It has become a tradition that we travel to Florida for Spring Break.  One stop that we always have to make is at  Parkesdale Farms Market in Plant City.  They have the best strawberry shortcake.  We always find time to make a trip for shortcake.  I would recommend you do the same.  It has been featured on the Food Network for the "Best To Ten Desserts in America."  They have a lot of produce, but it is the strawberries that are the big draw.  Make sure you plan a trip to Parkesdale Farms if you are in central Florida.  Check out the website at www.parkesdale.com.

It is all so good!