A vacation from the snow

The last few years, Mom and I have made a point to take a trip for a few days in January. 2007 brought us to Niagara on the Lake (where the temps were a balmy 14 degrees!) 2008, Dad and Mamaw joined us for a great visit to Washington D.C. Weather was a little warmer, but still firmly in winter coat land.

2009? We wanted to go to somewhere WARM! Our destination: Orlando Florida. Mom and I headed out bright and early on Saturday morning to the airport (Thank you Lorrie for waking up early on your day off to get us there on time!)

After a short flight on a small plane (2 seats on one side of the aisle, 1 seat on the other), we arrived in Florida. How beautiful to get off the plane and instantly take off your jacket. Weather throughout our trip was in the 70s. It got cooler in the evenings, but still quite comfortable (and oh so much warmer than we were used to!)




Saturday afternoon was spent getting checking in to the hotel and getting acquainted with the area. I wasn't feeling well after the flight in, and Mom was a bit tired, so we took a nap to get ourselves rested and ready to go. That evening, we went to the dinner show Arabian Nights. Set up like Medieval Times (arena theater, stadium seating, dinner and drinks) this show focused on horses. The loose story line was a series of stories told to Sheherizad. Each story was horse themed but took place in a different setting. It included an American West story line (Western riding, horse "square" and "line" dancing, Native American), and even Gypsies. That was probably the coolest act. They rode standing up on one or two horses, leaped and flipped and jumped through flaming hoops. The riders were very talented, the food was good, and the horses were beautiful. All in all, a fun night. We even got to meet and pet a horse at the end of the show!

Sunday, we went to a church called The Rock. Good service, great music, and only a block from the hotel.

Following church, we got changed and headed over to Clearwater Beach. Spent the afternoon on the beach. We collected shells and enjoyed the sun on our backs and water on our feet (water was cold, but was enjoyable to wade through.) On our walk out to the pier, we met some pelicans up close and personal, and even had a close encounter with Captain Jack Sparrow!


































Dinner that evening was at Crabby Bill's, a seafood restaurant across the street from the beach. Mom enjoyed a steamed bucket and I (the land-lubber) enjoyed a burger. Both were good meals.



Monday was Mom's birthday. We took advantage of Disney's 2009 promotion to get in free on your birthday and spent the day at Animal Kingdom. What an amazing park. The set design was beautiful, set up with different sections from Africa to Asia to Camp Minnie. We took in the safari, as well as the Lion King and Nemo shows (both were great. I love seeing how talented people are!). We enjoyed going on a Safari in Africa and seeing the animals throughout. Mom was given a "Happy Birthday" button to wear that day. I think we counted 18 people who wished her well on her special day. What fun.

That evening, we spent some time at the hotel pool and hot tub before heading out to a steak dinner. It was a lovely day.

It was hard to believe that by Tuesday we had to come home. Checked out that morning and headed off to Disney Downtown for a little shopping. We enjoyed wandering through the huge Disney store (and picking up a few souvenirs.) We also got to go to Legoland. I've never been really enthusiastic about Legos, but the "wall of Legos" could inspire anyone. Mom and I had great fun picking through all those little pieces and specialty parts. It was also very cool to see the lego sculptures, from a giant Lego watermonster to an entire lego tourist family including a few dogs.

That evening, back to the airport, and back to a very snowy Cleveland. It was so great to spend some time in the warm weather and to enjoy some time with Mom. Now, back to reality.