Two New Boyfriends*

I had a fantastic vacation to Florida. It was so much fun to hang out with my mom and sister. We had a great time together. Here's the recap by day.

Day 1

Arrival in sunny Florida. It was sooooo nice. As soon as we got checked in, I was compelled by the balmy air to change into capris and flip flops. We got our tickets to Disneyworld all lined up and ate dinner at our resort. We stayed in Coronado Springs. It's one of the Disneyworld resorts. It's Spanish style. There's a big lake in the middle. There are 3 swimming pools, restaurants, and a gift shop. There is a trail that goes all the way around the lake. We ate dinner at Maya Grill and Jessie and I took a nice walk around the lake. We turned in fairly early for round 1 at Disneyworld.

This is a picture of the main building at our resort.

Day 2

We got an early start and headed over to Epcot. It was surprisingly not busy! We started out at Futureworld and had minimal waits on all of the rides we wanted to go on. There were some new rides that were a lot of fun as well as the old ones I remember from my first trip to Disney about 12 years ago. We started out with Soarin' which is also at California Adventure in Disneyland. It makes you feel like you're hang gliding over California. It was a highlight. We rode the other ride in "The Land" which takes you through Disney's horticulture experiments. Very progressive and very cool. We headed over to "The Seas" and rode the new ride there and looked at the manatees and other stuff in the aquarium. We easily could have spent longer at both places, but we tried to get the highlights. We went on Spaceship Earth which was similar to what I had remembered. That's the ride in the big golfball-looking thing. Next stop was Mission: Space. Jessie and I made mom go on the "more intense" orange ride instead of the "less intense" green ride. She had second thoughts the whole time and when we got strapped in and saw the barf bags, she knew she was in for it. I felt a little wave of nausea after, but she felt a big one! We were going to go on the ride at Test Track, but the wait was too long so we got a fast pass (beautiful idea, Disney!) and wandered over to World Showcase. We had reservations to eat in the Mexico Pavilion at the San Angelo Inn. Jessie and mom loved their food, but I didn't so much care for it. It didn't help that I ordered chicken enchiladas and got shrimp (which they did replace). We wandered around World Showcase some more and saw some fantastic Chinese acrobats. We watched the movie in China and that's where I found one of two new boyfriends. Mom nabbed us a bench for Imaginations (the fireworks show) and Jessie and I headed back over to Test Track. We watched the fireworks and then walked around the rest of the World Showcase, stopping for dessert in France. We came back to the hotel and were exhausted.

Jessie and I in front of Spaceship Earth

Jessie and I in front of The Seas

Jessie and I with one of my new boyfriends

One of the Chinese acrobats. This girl had hula hoops around each hand, her chest, her stomach, her thighs, and her ankle. She was amazing!

An awfully flexible gal!

Day 3

Jessie and I ran into some trouble picking up our rental car from the airport and after a taxi ride with a nice Jamaican gentleman, we were on our way to the beach and some rest and relaxation. A lady I work with lives in Florida and I asked her favorite beach before I left. She told me Siesta Key. It's on the Gulf Coast near Sarasota. Jessie and I decided the drive would be worth it. We got a sporty little compact and were off. The beach was stunning. The sand was so white and so soft. We went out into the ocean and jumped in the waves. I don't know if it's a real thing or not, but I think it's fun! We walked up and down the beach, collected sand and shells, and then headed back to Disney.

The Gulf of Mexico

Baby powder fine sand! Feels fantastic on your feet.

A little sand autograph.

I'm kind of proud of this picture. Nothing more stunning than a beach sunset and that bird flew by at just the right time!

Day 4

Sunday was rainy. Turns out that there were some NFL players who were out in a boat near Siesta Key where we had been the day before. They got caught in that storm and two of the three died! Jessie and I went to church in Kissimmee. It was fun to go to church outside of Utah. It's kind of a different experience. There are a lot of things that are the same and a lot of things that are different. It was nice. After church, it was chilly, but the sun had come out again. We were blessed for going to church. We got our rental car returned to the airport. We made our way over to Hollywood Studios. We went on Tower of Terror. Twice. So fun! The ambiance of the "Hollywood Hotel" is phenomenal. Disney spares no detail. Jessie and I went on the Rockin' Roller Coaster. We then wandered back over to Epcot for dinner and walked around some more. We had "extra magic hours" the next day because we were guests at Disneyworld so we opted to turn in early so we could take advantage of the smaller crowds and head over to Animal Kingdom.

The Tower of Terror

The creepy insides of the Hollywood Hotel

Mom and Jessie in the Hollywood Hotel

Me embracing my inner rockstar waiting to go on the Rockin' Rollercoaster. I think I'll keep my day job!

Day 5

We go up early and headed over to Animal Kingdom. We headed straight for the Safari ride which was a lot of fun. We saw elephants, lions, hippos, ostriches, etc. It was neat. We went on Expedition Everest which was hands down my favorite ride. We went into Dinoland and went on one of the rides there. We went to the 3D show "It's Tough To Be a Bug" which was a lot of fun! Mom wanted to show Jessie and I the Animal Kingdom Lodge where she stayed the last time she went. It was a neat hotel. Very African! They have a "Savannah" where you can sit in these big rocking chairs and watch the animals. You could theoretically have a giraffe checking you out in your second floor window. Mom headed back to her conference and Jessie and I headed over to Magic Kingdom. Highlights were the Haunted Mansion, Space Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. We also rode the Peter Pan ride which had a long wait and was LAME. I introduced Jessie to Dole Whip. We headed back over to Epcot and were sort of sorry we had! We were trying to see a show that wasn't playing. We headed back to the hotel again exhausted after a full day.

The Savannah

A baby elephant

White rhinos

The Tree of Life. It's covered in amazing carvings of all kinds of animals.

My other new boyfriend. Big African warrior dude! He gave me a high five when we walked up to him and his hand was probably as big as my head.

A creepy headstone near the Haunted Mansion. She opens her eyes! '

Marry Poppins just hanging out

The show at the Enchanted Castle with all of the characters.

*I am starting to collect photos with boyfriends as souvenirs on vacation. I got my Polynesian warrior guy in Hawaii last year. Now I have added an Asian warrior and an African warrior.