Epcot

Epcot was Fabulous!!! The last time I was there, 1987, I was bored to tears. Probably because I wasn't interested in any of the nations and we did this park after the Magic Kingdom. So, for this trip, we reversed the two and we planned to visit all the kidcot stations in the Nations. I had also found online a passport for Epcot. Each page was a different country and in the front was her information with picture just like a real passport. At each Kidcot station, they would write something in their language to Alex. Most of them also wrote her name . It was pretty cool and she was very entertained with it. We also did a pressed penny at each location. I didn't expect us to get through all the nations but we did!

Journey into the imagination with Figment

Jen and Alex

Alex in Moroco

Cool Club

We tried all of them expect Beverly. Alex like the watermelon flavored soda the best.

Pavillion in Norway

Getting ready to ride Soaring

Mom and Alex

Nemo

Spaceship Earth. Of all the rides and things to do at Epcot, this was Alex's favorite. We even rode it a second time during the Extended Magical Hours.

Bobber's German beer. Mom and I opted to have wine. Alex had water. :)

Alex in Italy

Alex decorating her mask at one of the Kidcot stations

Mom and Alex in Japan

Clearwater Beach

After time at Clearwater Beach, I now understand the allure of do-nothing vacations where people sit on the beach for a week. However, I would need to ship in sunscreen and aloe. Even reapplying spf 60 Alex, Mom and I were fried. Poor Alex, she was so uncomfortable as she has really never been sunburnt before this. And, it was an all over burn. We gave her a cool shower, then a milk bath, then applied aloe. But, she was a real trooper in Epcot on Tuesday. She only asked to sit once. And, yes we would do it again but next time, I will buy the spf 80. lol

We rented an umbrella and chairs for $18 for the whole day. It was a very good investment.

Gulf of Mexico

Every trip that I have ever done to Florida has been the same. So, this year we thought we would mix it up a bit. Instead of Daytona, we ventured to the Gulf of Mexico. Yes, the drive was longer but it was so worth it.

The first views of the Gulf

We were there early enough to watch them clean the sand.

Tampa

Monday we went through Tampa to get to Clearwater Beach. The drive took about 2 hours from the time we left the Seralago Hotel. From the interstate we were able to see where the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Play. Looked cool. Would have liked to go closer to the stadium to see it but, didn't want to have to worry about getting back on the interstate with all the traffic.

Every time we would get in the car she would fall alseep. I wish that worked at home. :)

Seralago Hotel

One thing I forgot to mention about the non-quality inn.... The last morning we were there, housekeeping knocked on the door and before Bobber could get there, they opened the door. It wasn't a big room.... They left and he proceeded to get into the shower. I will spare you the details of the "wonderful" shower. So, as he comes out of the bathroom door, he notices someone cleaning the room. Now, like most men, he takes about 5 minutes to shower. Nobody had left the room. And, after they came in the first time, he put out the do not disturb sign. So, they left again and never returned to finish cleaning the room. I didn't ask Bob if she got a show. LOL

Sunday, I convinced Bob that we needed to switch rooms a day early. In addition to us all feeling better, we would save an hour of travel time back from Tampa and going to Epcot on Tuesday. The only problem with switching was our luggage. We barely fit in the rental car and didn't really want to take everything on the two hour drive. So, one of my questions while calling for rooms was "Do you have a place I could hold my luggage?" The Seralago said no problem and when we arrived at 7am on Monday, we were able to check into our room early with no additional charge. They were awesome and the room didn't smell. Yippee.

The Quality Inn that was not a quality inn!

This hotel was so horrible, we actually checked out early and paid extra for a different hotel. The beds were fine but the smell made me sick. As I put in my review on Expedia, I don't know how they rated it what they did. The first night we stayed in a room facing the interstate. Way loud and I didn't sleep well. The smell in there was unbelievable. Mold and Mildew smelling everywhere. The second night we asked to move rooms. When we checked in, we were told the hotel was full. Hard to believe with only 20 cars in the parking lot in the morning. Anyway, we moved to a room away from I4 because of the noise. Where did they put us? Next to the ice machine and the washer and dryer. Nice. Much quieter but stick stunk of that mold and mildew. And, I noticed everytime we left the room, I would feel better. No sneezing and the headache would leave. Crazy what breathing clean air will do for a person. The best part of the hotel was the pool. With hardly anyone in the hotel, we had the pool to ourselves for a good portion of Sunday evening. It was the perfect temp and had the perfect chlorine levels.