So now that we've covered all the necessary information from the Princess Half Marathon, it's time to get to the fun part. The vacation itself. So in a nutshell, this is where we went and what we did.
We started at Disney World and spent 4 days there, then moved to a different hotel closer to Universal and spent 2 days there. From there we rented a car and ended up in Pompano Beach for 3 nights, then drove down to Key West and spent 4 nights there. From there we drove all the way back up and over to Crystal River, spent 2 nights there, then drove back to Orlando and spent one night near the airport before leaving the next morning.
So I've seen a good chunk of Florida now, really. What's that? You want more details? Well, I shall be more than happy to oblige, kind friends. So we started out at Disney World. As mentioned in the last entry, it just seemed rather a lot easier to stay right on Disney property than to rent a car and have to drive there every day. In hindsight, staying elsewhere and driving may have been a better idea, but live and learn, as they say.
Yes, I'm cheap some of the time. But really, when I was booking our Disney hotel, I figured that the budget hotel really wouldn't be that bad. I mean, it's Disney, right? No. The budget hotels were just that. Budget hotels. Think Travelodge right next the the airport budget, and you'll know where I'm going with this. There were 3 "budget" hotels on the Disney World property. Each hotel had over 700 rooms. Yes, you read that right-700 rooms. If you do the math, that's 2100 rooms. And that's just the budget hotels. They also have "value hotels", "mid-range" hotels, "high-end" hotels, and five star resorts. So you'd think that, given the sheer number of hotels, they wouldn't really be too bad as far as the rooms were concerned. You'd be wrong. The beds were the $200 Salvation Army mattress special. The room was barely big enough for two double beds(seriously, what do Americans have against a queen size bed?). Oh, and some of the rooms were so far away from the lobby that it literally took 10 minutes to walk there. 10 minutes! When we checked in, we were actually told that it would be quicker to go to the lobby of the hotel next door to catch shuttles, find a cafeteria, etc, than it would be to walk all the way back to the lobby of our own hotel. Super.
We arrived at the hotel at around midnight, because our connecting flight was delayed by a good couple hours. We managed to get our room keys and find out room in the maze of buildings, but when we tried the key the door didn't move. The light went green, but nothing clicked. So I made the 10 minute trek back to the hotel lobby, where the desk person contacted maintenance. They were supposed to be at our room within 10 minutes. They weren't. Another 10 minute trek to the lobby actually caused her to pick up the phone and call maintenance. I was told to meet them at the room in 10 minutes. Still no one. I called back to the front desk using a courtesy phone closer to our building. Another 10 minutes. Finally someone showed up. He tried the lock, and nothing. Then he left to go get the master key. Then he came back, to discover it was the wrong key. He then came back again with the right key, only to find that the door wouldn't open. It was jammed and wouldn't open at all. Finally, after wrestling with it for a few minutes, he managed to get it open. After asking several times when he let us into the room when someone would fix it, he told me he would send someone the next morning. At this point it was nearly 3am. That's right, it took 3 hours to get into our hotel room. You could've just moved us to the different room and fixed the door the next day, but no. You made us wait for 3 hours after midnight, when we were tired and stinky. Bravo, Disney. What an excellent way to start our vacation.
I'll try to stop whining now.
As an adult, I wasn't really sure what I should be expecting to get out of Disney World. It's geared towards kids, so I figured it would at least be a little fun for a grown-up. Which it is, if you're in the right frame of mind. If you can manage to ignore all the screaming, whiny, demanding and obnoxious children that will surround you every minute of every day while you're there. Which, luckily, I can. That's not to say that all the children are screaming, whiny and obnoxious. Just most of them. Let's start with the rides. The rides are designed for kids. Which means as an adult, they feel a little tame. There are, of course, some rides that are more adult oriented-mostly the roller coasters-and it seemed that you could tell these simply by noticing there was a height restriction. But for the most part the rides are a little slower, a little less scary. Which is fine by me, thank you very much.
I don't like roller coasters. Okay, let me qualify that. I don't like roller coasters where the rails are under your feet. Turns out the ones where your feet dangle and the rail is at your head really aren't so bad. So I avoided any ride if I knew it was a roller coaster. I know they're all completely safe, and thoroughly tested. I know there's barely even the slightest infinitesimal chance that I will die whilst riding a roller coaster. This doesn't change the fact that I don't like them. I know this doesn't make sense, especially given my propensity to find new and exciting ways to endanger my life on a regular basis, but there it is. I like them even less if they're in the dark. Needless to say I did not ride Space Mountain.
We did ride nearly every other ride, though. In all, we spent a day at Epcot, a day at the Magic Kingdom, half a day at Downtown Disney, and a day at Hollywood Studios. Confused? Well, Disney World is really more of it's own little settlement. It's not just one theme park, it's many. It even has it's own McDonald's. So when you say "Disney World", you are collectively referring to many theme parks that reside on Disney property near Orlando, Florida. I can't remember how many parks there actually are at Disney World, because we only spent 4 days there and we didn't visit all of them. For instance, the ESPN World of Sports really didn't appeal to us, so we skipped it. There are 2 waterparks, too.
Epcot is the cultural park, where they have little areas that are made up to look like different areas of the world. It was cool, but seemed a bit odd, given that if you really wanted to see that country, you could just go there. But I guess it saves people the hassle of having to figure out foreign currency. Canada did get a section, I might add. The Magic Kingdom is what you would traditionally think of when someone says Disney. Cinderella's castle, the Small World ride, all that stuff. That park really is mainly for the kids. Downtown Disney is a collection of shops and restaurants that was probably put there to shut up the shopaholic moms that get dragged to Disney World by their kids. Most of the shops sell exactly the same things that are sold inside the parks, and the restaurants are all quite wickedly overpriced. But it is a welcome change from standing in line waiting for a ride. Disney's Hollywood Studios is the park for the older kids and the grown-ups. The rides are a little edgier, the decor a little less child-friendly. This was our favourite park at Disney World. Probably because it had the Tower of Terror.
The Tower of Terror is a ride that's based on the Twilight Zone. It's essentially and elevator that takes you on a little ride through some creepy stuff, and then, at one point when you're least expecting it, BAM! You drop 20 or 30 feet. Then, when you think the ride's over and you're done, BAM! You drop another 10 feet. Then you go back up and repeat. It was awesome! Glen and I were laughing so hard by the end of it we had tears in our eyes. And we even heard one of the people in the gift shop tell someone that the ride is different every time, because they vary when the elevator goes up and down. We would've ridden it again if the line was shorter. As it was, though, we only ended up riding a couple of the rides more than once. One of which was Star Tours, which is the Star Wars-based motion simulator they've had at the Disney parks literally since I was a kid. Seriously, I remember going on it at Disneyland back in the early 90's. The Haunted Mansion was still a gooder, though that probably has something to do with my family's love for a good haunted house. Halloween is the best holiday, and I'll argue with anyone that says different.
I came away from Disney World with a greater appreciation for how much my grandparents loved us when we were kids, because they took us there when my Mom and Dad couldn't. And putting up with three kids at Disneyland probably isn't a barrel full of monkeys. The also took us because our parents couldn't afford it. I know why they couldn't afford it now. I mean, how can anyone afford to ever take their kids to a Disney park? Just between me and the husband we spent an obscene amount of money, and I think given the options we did it rather cheaply. And we were only there for 4 days. After we got back from our vacation they sent us a survey, mostly focusing on whether or not we would return. I put no. Sure, it's an experience most kids would die for, but I think I'd rather spend the cash on something different, especially if it's gonna be that much cash. I'm not saying that I'll never, ever return. If my currently unborn were to beg me a lot, behave themselves and perhaps bring me breakfast in bed for a year or so, then I might consider it. If, and only if, it didn't require me to take out a second mortgage on my house to do so.
From there, we mercifully managed to leave the clutches of Disney and headed for Universal Studios. Universal Studios itself has 2 different theme parks, Islands of Adventure and the traditional Universal Studios. The Universal Studios side has the more plain, older rides, like Twister and Men in Black. It really just looks like a lot of warehouses, but it's fun regardless. That was where Glen tricked me onto the roller coaster. The roller coaster in the dark. For those of you that might venture there, it's the Mummy ride. We went first thing in the morning, and ended up walking right into the car and riding just the two of us. I didn't know it was a roller coaster until we were actually physically in the seats of the car. Then I said something about the seats looking like roller coaster seats, and the attendant, after giving me a "humour the stupid tourist" look, said that it was a roller coaster. Glen has yet to be forgiven. That was actually the second roller coaster he tricked me into riding. The day before we had gone to Islands of Adventure, where the Wizarding World of Harry Potter is, and while there we noticed that one ride had literally just opened up, and there was almost no line. So away we went. As we're walking through the line, I ask why it seems suspiciously like we're going to be getting on a roller coaster. He said, and I quote: "I think this actually is a roller coaster." Bastard! And you knowlingly let me get in line! You see, once you're in line, there are no chicken tickets. You ride the ride, regardless of how scary or inane it might be. Those are the rules. Well, not the actual rules, but the rules in our house, anyways.
So Universal Studios had some good rides, but Islands of Adventure had, in our opinion, the best rides. I have a real appreciation for what can be done with a motion simulator and enough money now. My absolute favourite was the Harry Potter ride. Not only is it inside the Hogwarts castle they've built there, but the ride itself is amazing. It's hard to really describe very well, so you'll just have to visit yourself and see. Trust me, if there's a line, it's worth the wait. The Spiderman ride was also excellent. The fun part of Islands of Adventure is that they really are little islands. It's set around a central lake, and if you walk around the lake you'll pass through Marvel comics, old-style comics(think Popeye), Jurassic Park, Hogsmeade(by far the busiest part of the park), Sinbad-style Arabia, and Dr. Seuss. Each area is incredibly well done, especially in Dr. Seuss' landing.
So my husband, evidently, is a fan of roller coasters. I was unaware of this until we arrived in Florida and he seemed determined to ride every single roller coaster we came across. He rode the Hulk 3 times. He also did his best to convince me to come with him, but I declined with a rather crude string of expletives that there was no way he was getting me on another one, thankyouverymuch.
From Orlando we headed south, with the ultimate final destination of Key West, after picking up our rental car. I didn't know how long it would take us to get there, so I had figured on driving rather slowly and taking 3 days to get there. Ha! If you wanted to, you could drive it in a day. So we ended up stopping just north of Miami in a lovely spot along the ocean called Pompano beach. Pompano beach is a retirement area. I know this because when I went running, I was quite literally the youngest person there. By a good 20 years or more. Ahh, grey hair. But it was quiet, there was a beach, and it was close enough to be driving distance to the arena where we had tickets to a Florida Panthers NHL game.
We did lay on the beach one day, and managed to sunburn ourselves beyond belief. At which point my husband became a delightfully coloured lobster for the rest of the trip. Another day we drove down to Miami to see the famous South Beach. I think I like Pompano beach better. Honestly, South Beach in Miami is just a beach that's fronted by a whole lot of very expensive looking high-rise condos. We didn't really come across any interesting shops or people. Though there's a good chance we weren't really looking in the right places. We did, however, drive through the ritzy shopping area, which really just felt like a tropical version of Robson street. So yeah, I'll skip Miami next time if that's cool.
If you're curious, the Panthers played the Carolina Hurricanes at the game we went to. Tickets were literally $14, and we sat in the upper deck at centre ice. Those weren't even the cheapest seats. The cheapest seats were at either end of the ice in the nosebleeds. They cost $7. The Panthers lost 6-2, if I remember right. It was pitiful hockey, actually. And they had cheerleaders. Actual cheerleaders. In the arena. It was ridiculous. I mean, it's a hockey arena, so it's gonna be cold. So they can't wear their skimpy outfits. So they have to put a little more on, which sorta defeats the purpose, 'cause cheerleaders are really only there as eye candy so you don't have to watch the pitiful hockey game unfolding in front of you. Or at least that's what the boys tell me. I'm embarrassed on your behalf, Florida Panthers. Not for the pitiful hockey, but for the cheerleaders.
So after our foray into the world of ridiculously cheap NHL hockey, we said goodbye to cheap and drove down to Key West. Key West is the southernmost point in the United States, and is only a measly 90 miles from Cuba. It's reached by a series of bridges built between the islands of the Florida Keys, a chain of islands off the southern tip of Florida. The longest bridge between the islands is 7 miles, which doesn't sound like much, but it's a pretty long bridge, folks. My runner friends might also be interested to know that they hold a race from one end of the bridge to the other every year(http://www.7mbrun.com/). This, as well as they Key West Half Marathon(http://www.keywesthalfmarathon.com/), are now living happily on my bucket list, to be completed at some point when I've got the time and money.
We went to Key West primarily because I'd heard it's a good place to go SCUBA diving. And dive we did. Or, at least, my husband went on more than one dive. I made it through the first dive, but then the scourge of my seasickness kicked in and I was incapacitated enough to forego the second dive in favour of vomiting off the side of the boat. I hope the fishes enjoyed the warm meal. The one dive I did go on was all right, though it was quite shallow and there really weren't all that many fish to see. But perhaps Maui and the Great Barrier Reef have ruined me forever. My husband, the lucky bastard, not only went on the second dive that day, but he also did a wreck dive on the Vandenberg the next morning. I was rather jealous, but not jealous enough to risk feeding the fishies on two successive days. He did come back with some incredible pictures, though.
We spent even more time on a boat when we went on a day trip to the Dry Tortugas, a few small islands 70 miles off the coast of Key West, and home to a decommissioned American military base, Fort Jefferson. Miraculously, on that trip I never tossed my cookies. Which was good, because breakfast and lunch on board the Yankee Freedom III was actually pretty good. And no, I'm not making up that name. That's actually what the boat was called. It was a catamaran, so I think that helped.
There is no fresh water on the Dry Tortugas-hence the name-so they're basically uninhabited. Fort Jefferson has a lovely beach and some brick ruins to explore, and if you were feeling the need, there were also a few coral heads offshore to snorkel around. I wouldn't exactly call the snorkelling first-class, but it was quite nice to get in the water and try out our new underwater camera setup. We had a lovely mellow day there, and poor hubby got even more lobster-esque from sitting out in the sun all day.
We also explored Fort Zachary Taylor while we were in Key West-what is it with Americans and putting a military base on every single island they've ever set foot on? They have some ruins there, as well as a lovely little beach that's delightfully uncrowded, probably owing to the fact that you have to pay $3 to get in. We also wandered aimlessly around Key West a lot. It's a busy little city, with tons of souvenir shops and restaurants(and a Margaritaville, I might add). It also turned out that while we were there it was spring break. I'll admit, when I was in university, I never really went on any trips during spring break owing to a complete lack of cash flow to do so. But I like to think if I had been one of the many who did have the money, I probably wouldn't have been as much of a douchebag as the twits in Key West. Seriously, you guys aren't the only ones on the island, stop acting like you are.
And the best part of Key West, and I do mean the best part of Key West, is the Key Lime pie. Oh. My. God. The Key Lime Pie. Like I'd died and gone to pie heaven. Most of you are aware of my intense love for a good pie, but Key Lime pie! Soooooo gooooood. We even found a place called Kermit's that had key lime pie on a stick, double-dipped in Belgian chocolate. Yes, that is as good as it sounds. And yes, after we got it, Glen had to give me a few minutes alone with it. It was that good. I bought a recipe book while I was there so I could make Key Lime pie when I got back, and I ended up making a couple to take to work. One of the girls I work with now thinks I need to quit my job and start a business selling nothing but Key Lime pies.
Reluctant as we were to leave the lush deliciousness of Key West, it was also kinda bleeding us dry as far as finances go. Plus we had to get back to Orlando to catch our flight home. We had a few days before we had to get to the airport, and on advice from one of the divers on the boat my husband had talked to, we decided we wanted to go swimming with the manatees. We looked it up on the internets, and found that we could do it at a place called Crystal Springs, which was about 2 hours northwest of Orlando. We looked at a map a decided we could drive there in a day, so away we went. We made it there not too late and went out the next morning.
Now, if you've no idea what a manatee is, I suggest doing a Google image search. They're prehistoric things that look like a cross between a platypus, and otter and an elephant. And they're HUGE. And I don't mean they're a bit big, I mean they're HUGE! Like, waaaay bigger than a human. Anyways, we went out on the first boat of the day on the advice of the people that run the operation, because they said that was the best time to get a good opportunity for a lot of manatees. They suited us up with some thin wetsuits and took us out on a 5-minute boat ride, about 600m from the dock. Almost seemed a little absurd that we needed a boat to get that far, but I'll go along. We got a little preamble about what to do in the water before we got on the boat, but the captain also gave us a little more advice once we were aboard. One of his main suggestions was to try not to splash around much, because it scares them away. Then we slipped into the water with our snorkels and a pool noodle to help keep us afloat, hoping for some manatee action.
Crystal Springs sits along a freshwater river, that's partially fed by some warm-water springs. The manatees hang there because of the springs-they get cold, you see, and the warm water feels nice. Sections of the river are roped off, and boaters aren't allowed to go there because that's where the manatees hang out. We were at one spot, just over one of the springs, where the boats anchor, and then you float towards the spring and hope for a manatee sighting. At first we didn't see anything. The water was actually pretty murky, and the visibility was probably only 3 feet or so, so it was a bit creepy. But I floated along, trying not to make much fuss on the surface, and them BAM! Manatee. And when there's suddenly a 800 lb animal staring you directly in the face it's a little unnerving. The boat captain had told us before we got in the water that there was nothing in the river that would hurt us. I repeated this in my head many times as this manatee stared me down. Then he swam by, and I slowly stretched out an arm to give him a little rub. You're allowed to touch the manatees, you see, provided you're gentle and don't try to grab onto them.
It turns out they like belly rubs. If you're scratching them, and they like it, they'll sometimes roll over like a puppy, so they can have their bellies rubbed. Their skin feels rough, kindof like sandpaper without the grit, and they're covered with coarse hairs they use for sensing their surroundings. Well, it wasn't just the one manatee we saw. There were probably 10-12 in the tiny are we were in, of varying sizes and ages. It was pretty easy to get completely surrounded by them. But once you get used to the idea that they're not going to hurt you, they're very cute and friendly. One even got particularly friendly and tried to take a chunk out of my pool noodle. When that proved unappetizing, he moved onto hugging my leg with his flippers. Hubby thought that was hilarious. We had an excellent time swimming with the manatees, and I suggest that if you're ever in Florida, definitely go. It's awesome.
We stayed in Crystal River for one more night, and managed to visit the Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park while we were there. It's a cool park, mostly local animals, and their gift shop sells socks with neon manatees on them. They are now some of my favourite socks, second only to the puffin socks my Mom got me a couple years ago.
From Crystal River we drove back to the airport and dropped off the rental car, then spent a night in a hotel near the airport so we could catch a ride back to Canada the next morning. It was a pretty good trip, overall, and we did some really fun stuff. I liked Florida.
We started at Disney World and spent 4 days there, then moved to a different hotel closer to Universal and spent 2 days there. From there we rented a car and ended up in Pompano Beach for 3 nights, then drove down to Key West and spent 4 nights there. From there we drove all the way back up and over to Crystal River, spent 2 nights there, then drove back to Orlando and spent one night near the airport before leaving the next morning.
So I've seen a good chunk of Florida now, really. What's that? You want more details? Well, I shall be more than happy to oblige, kind friends. So we started out at Disney World. As mentioned in the last entry, it just seemed rather a lot easier to stay right on Disney property than to rent a car and have to drive there every day. In hindsight, staying elsewhere and driving may have been a better idea, but live and learn, as they say.
Yes, I'm cheap some of the time. But really, when I was booking our Disney hotel, I figured that the budget hotel really wouldn't be that bad. I mean, it's Disney, right? No. The budget hotels were just that. Budget hotels. Think Travelodge right next the the airport budget, and you'll know where I'm going with this. There were 3 "budget" hotels on the Disney World property. Each hotel had over 700 rooms. Yes, you read that right-700 rooms. If you do the math, that's 2100 rooms. And that's just the budget hotels. They also have "value hotels", "mid-range" hotels, "high-end" hotels, and five star resorts. So you'd think that, given the sheer number of hotels, they wouldn't really be too bad as far as the rooms were concerned. You'd be wrong. The beds were the $200 Salvation Army mattress special. The room was barely big enough for two double beds(seriously, what do Americans have against a queen size bed?). Oh, and some of the rooms were so far away from the lobby that it literally took 10 minutes to walk there. 10 minutes! When we checked in, we were actually told that it would be quicker to go to the lobby of the hotel next door to catch shuttles, find a cafeteria, etc, than it would be to walk all the way back to the lobby of our own hotel. Super.
We arrived at the hotel at around midnight, because our connecting flight was delayed by a good couple hours. We managed to get our room keys and find out room in the maze of buildings, but when we tried the key the door didn't move. The light went green, but nothing clicked. So I made the 10 minute trek back to the hotel lobby, where the desk person contacted maintenance. They were supposed to be at our room within 10 minutes. They weren't. Another 10 minute trek to the lobby actually caused her to pick up the phone and call maintenance. I was told to meet them at the room in 10 minutes. Still no one. I called back to the front desk using a courtesy phone closer to our building. Another 10 minutes. Finally someone showed up. He tried the lock, and nothing. Then he left to go get the master key. Then he came back, to discover it was the wrong key. He then came back again with the right key, only to find that the door wouldn't open. It was jammed and wouldn't open at all. Finally, after wrestling with it for a few minutes, he managed to get it open. After asking several times when he let us into the room when someone would fix it, he told me he would send someone the next morning. At this point it was nearly 3am. That's right, it took 3 hours to get into our hotel room. You could've just moved us to the different room and fixed the door the next day, but no. You made us wait for 3 hours after midnight, when we were tired and stinky. Bravo, Disney. What an excellent way to start our vacation.
I'll try to stop whining now.
As an adult, I wasn't really sure what I should be expecting to get out of Disney World. It's geared towards kids, so I figured it would at least be a little fun for a grown-up. Which it is, if you're in the right frame of mind. If you can manage to ignore all the screaming, whiny, demanding and obnoxious children that will surround you every minute of every day while you're there. Which, luckily, I can. That's not to say that all the children are screaming, whiny and obnoxious. Just most of them. Let's start with the rides. The rides are designed for kids. Which means as an adult, they feel a little tame. There are, of course, some rides that are more adult oriented-mostly the roller coasters-and it seemed that you could tell these simply by noticing there was a height restriction. But for the most part the rides are a little slower, a little less scary. Which is fine by me, thank you very much.
I don't like roller coasters. Okay, let me qualify that. I don't like roller coasters where the rails are under your feet. Turns out the ones where your feet dangle and the rail is at your head really aren't so bad. So I avoided any ride if I knew it was a roller coaster. I know they're all completely safe, and thoroughly tested. I know there's barely even the slightest infinitesimal chance that I will die whilst riding a roller coaster. This doesn't change the fact that I don't like them. I know this doesn't make sense, especially given my propensity to find new and exciting ways to endanger my life on a regular basis, but there it is. I like them even less if they're in the dark. Needless to say I did not ride Space Mountain.
We did ride nearly every other ride, though. In all, we spent a day at Epcot, a day at the Magic Kingdom, half a day at Downtown Disney, and a day at Hollywood Studios. Confused? Well, Disney World is really more of it's own little settlement. It's not just one theme park, it's many. It even has it's own McDonald's. So when you say "Disney World", you are collectively referring to many theme parks that reside on Disney property near Orlando, Florida. I can't remember how many parks there actually are at Disney World, because we only spent 4 days there and we didn't visit all of them. For instance, the ESPN World of Sports really didn't appeal to us, so we skipped it. There are 2 waterparks, too.
Epcot is the cultural park, where they have little areas that are made up to look like different areas of the world. It was cool, but seemed a bit odd, given that if you really wanted to see that country, you could just go there. But I guess it saves people the hassle of having to figure out foreign currency. Canada did get a section, I might add. The Magic Kingdom is what you would traditionally think of when someone says Disney. Cinderella's castle, the Small World ride, all that stuff. That park really is mainly for the kids. Downtown Disney is a collection of shops and restaurants that was probably put there to shut up the shopaholic moms that get dragged to Disney World by their kids. Most of the shops sell exactly the same things that are sold inside the parks, and the restaurants are all quite wickedly overpriced. But it is a welcome change from standing in line waiting for a ride. Disney's Hollywood Studios is the park for the older kids and the grown-ups. The rides are a little edgier, the decor a little less child-friendly. This was our favourite park at Disney World. Probably because it had the Tower of Terror.
The Tower of Terror is a ride that's based on the Twilight Zone. It's essentially and elevator that takes you on a little ride through some creepy stuff, and then, at one point when you're least expecting it, BAM! You drop 20 or 30 feet. Then, when you think the ride's over and you're done, BAM! You drop another 10 feet. Then you go back up and repeat. It was awesome! Glen and I were laughing so hard by the end of it we had tears in our eyes. And we even heard one of the people in the gift shop tell someone that the ride is different every time, because they vary when the elevator goes up and down. We would've ridden it again if the line was shorter. As it was, though, we only ended up riding a couple of the rides more than once. One of which was Star Tours, which is the Star Wars-based motion simulator they've had at the Disney parks literally since I was a kid. Seriously, I remember going on it at Disneyland back in the early 90's. The Haunted Mansion was still a gooder, though that probably has something to do with my family's love for a good haunted house. Halloween is the best holiday, and I'll argue with anyone that says different.
I came away from Disney World with a greater appreciation for how much my grandparents loved us when we were kids, because they took us there when my Mom and Dad couldn't. And putting up with three kids at Disneyland probably isn't a barrel full of monkeys. The also took us because our parents couldn't afford it. I know why they couldn't afford it now. I mean, how can anyone afford to ever take their kids to a Disney park? Just between me and the husband we spent an obscene amount of money, and I think given the options we did it rather cheaply. And we were only there for 4 days. After we got back from our vacation they sent us a survey, mostly focusing on whether or not we would return. I put no. Sure, it's an experience most kids would die for, but I think I'd rather spend the cash on something different, especially if it's gonna be that much cash. I'm not saying that I'll never, ever return. If my currently unborn were to beg me a lot, behave themselves and perhaps bring me breakfast in bed for a year or so, then I might consider it. If, and only if, it didn't require me to take out a second mortgage on my house to do so.
From there, we mercifully managed to leave the clutches of Disney and headed for Universal Studios. Universal Studios itself has 2 different theme parks, Islands of Adventure and the traditional Universal Studios. The Universal Studios side has the more plain, older rides, like Twister and Men in Black. It really just looks like a lot of warehouses, but it's fun regardless. That was where Glen tricked me onto the roller coaster. The roller coaster in the dark. For those of you that might venture there, it's the Mummy ride. We went first thing in the morning, and ended up walking right into the car and riding just the two of us. I didn't know it was a roller coaster until we were actually physically in the seats of the car. Then I said something about the seats looking like roller coaster seats, and the attendant, after giving me a "humour the stupid tourist" look, said that it was a roller coaster. Glen has yet to be forgiven. That was actually the second roller coaster he tricked me into riding. The day before we had gone to Islands of Adventure, where the Wizarding World of Harry Potter is, and while there we noticed that one ride had literally just opened up, and there was almost no line. So away we went. As we're walking through the line, I ask why it seems suspiciously like we're going to be getting on a roller coaster. He said, and I quote: "I think this actually is a roller coaster." Bastard! And you knowlingly let me get in line! You see, once you're in line, there are no chicken tickets. You ride the ride, regardless of how scary or inane it might be. Those are the rules. Well, not the actual rules, but the rules in our house, anyways.
So Universal Studios had some good rides, but Islands of Adventure had, in our opinion, the best rides. I have a real appreciation for what can be done with a motion simulator and enough money now. My absolute favourite was the Harry Potter ride. Not only is it inside the Hogwarts castle they've built there, but the ride itself is amazing. It's hard to really describe very well, so you'll just have to visit yourself and see. Trust me, if there's a line, it's worth the wait. The Spiderman ride was also excellent. The fun part of Islands of Adventure is that they really are little islands. It's set around a central lake, and if you walk around the lake you'll pass through Marvel comics, old-style comics(think Popeye), Jurassic Park, Hogsmeade(by far the busiest part of the park), Sinbad-style Arabia, and Dr. Seuss. Each area is incredibly well done, especially in Dr. Seuss' landing.
So my husband, evidently, is a fan of roller coasters. I was unaware of this until we arrived in Florida and he seemed determined to ride every single roller coaster we came across. He rode the Hulk 3 times. He also did his best to convince me to come with him, but I declined with a rather crude string of expletives that there was no way he was getting me on another one, thankyouverymuch.
From Orlando we headed south, with the ultimate final destination of Key West, after picking up our rental car. I didn't know how long it would take us to get there, so I had figured on driving rather slowly and taking 3 days to get there. Ha! If you wanted to, you could drive it in a day. So we ended up stopping just north of Miami in a lovely spot along the ocean called Pompano beach. Pompano beach is a retirement area. I know this because when I went running, I was quite literally the youngest person there. By a good 20 years or more. Ahh, grey hair. But it was quiet, there was a beach, and it was close enough to be driving distance to the arena where we had tickets to a Florida Panthers NHL game.
We did lay on the beach one day, and managed to sunburn ourselves beyond belief. At which point my husband became a delightfully coloured lobster for the rest of the trip. Another day we drove down to Miami to see the famous South Beach. I think I like Pompano beach better. Honestly, South Beach in Miami is just a beach that's fronted by a whole lot of very expensive looking high-rise condos. We didn't really come across any interesting shops or people. Though there's a good chance we weren't really looking in the right places. We did, however, drive through the ritzy shopping area, which really just felt like a tropical version of Robson street. So yeah, I'll skip Miami next time if that's cool.
If you're curious, the Panthers played the Carolina Hurricanes at the game we went to. Tickets were literally $14, and we sat in the upper deck at centre ice. Those weren't even the cheapest seats. The cheapest seats were at either end of the ice in the nosebleeds. They cost $7. The Panthers lost 6-2, if I remember right. It was pitiful hockey, actually. And they had cheerleaders. Actual cheerleaders. In the arena. It was ridiculous. I mean, it's a hockey arena, so it's gonna be cold. So they can't wear their skimpy outfits. So they have to put a little more on, which sorta defeats the purpose, 'cause cheerleaders are really only there as eye candy so you don't have to watch the pitiful hockey game unfolding in front of you. Or at least that's what the boys tell me. I'm embarrassed on your behalf, Florida Panthers. Not for the pitiful hockey, but for the cheerleaders.
So after our foray into the world of ridiculously cheap NHL hockey, we said goodbye to cheap and drove down to Key West. Key West is the southernmost point in the United States, and is only a measly 90 miles from Cuba. It's reached by a series of bridges built between the islands of the Florida Keys, a chain of islands off the southern tip of Florida. The longest bridge between the islands is 7 miles, which doesn't sound like much, but it's a pretty long bridge, folks. My runner friends might also be interested to know that they hold a race from one end of the bridge to the other every year(http://www.7mbrun.com/). This, as well as they Key West Half Marathon(http://www.keywesthalfmarathon.com/), are now living happily on my bucket list, to be completed at some point when I've got the time and money.
We went to Key West primarily because I'd heard it's a good place to go SCUBA diving. And dive we did. Or, at least, my husband went on more than one dive. I made it through the first dive, but then the scourge of my seasickness kicked in and I was incapacitated enough to forego the second dive in favour of vomiting off the side of the boat. I hope the fishes enjoyed the warm meal. The one dive I did go on was all right, though it was quite shallow and there really weren't all that many fish to see. But perhaps Maui and the Great Barrier Reef have ruined me forever. My husband, the lucky bastard, not only went on the second dive that day, but he also did a wreck dive on the Vandenberg the next morning. I was rather jealous, but not jealous enough to risk feeding the fishies on two successive days. He did come back with some incredible pictures, though.
We spent even more time on a boat when we went on a day trip to the Dry Tortugas, a few small islands 70 miles off the coast of Key West, and home to a decommissioned American military base, Fort Jefferson. Miraculously, on that trip I never tossed my cookies. Which was good, because breakfast and lunch on board the Yankee Freedom III was actually pretty good. And no, I'm not making up that name. That's actually what the boat was called. It was a catamaran, so I think that helped.
There is no fresh water on the Dry Tortugas-hence the name-so they're basically uninhabited. Fort Jefferson has a lovely beach and some brick ruins to explore, and if you were feeling the need, there were also a few coral heads offshore to snorkel around. I wouldn't exactly call the snorkelling first-class, but it was quite nice to get in the water and try out our new underwater camera setup. We had a lovely mellow day there, and poor hubby got even more lobster-esque from sitting out in the sun all day.
We also explored Fort Zachary Taylor while we were in Key West-what is it with Americans and putting a military base on every single island they've ever set foot on? They have some ruins there, as well as a lovely little beach that's delightfully uncrowded, probably owing to the fact that you have to pay $3 to get in. We also wandered aimlessly around Key West a lot. It's a busy little city, with tons of souvenir shops and restaurants(and a Margaritaville, I might add). It also turned out that while we were there it was spring break. I'll admit, when I was in university, I never really went on any trips during spring break owing to a complete lack of cash flow to do so. But I like to think if I had been one of the many who did have the money, I probably wouldn't have been as much of a douchebag as the twits in Key West. Seriously, you guys aren't the only ones on the island, stop acting like you are.
And the best part of Key West, and I do mean the best part of Key West, is the Key Lime pie. Oh. My. God. The Key Lime Pie. Like I'd died and gone to pie heaven. Most of you are aware of my intense love for a good pie, but Key Lime pie! Soooooo gooooood. We even found a place called Kermit's that had key lime pie on a stick, double-dipped in Belgian chocolate. Yes, that is as good as it sounds. And yes, after we got it, Glen had to give me a few minutes alone with it. It was that good. I bought a recipe book while I was there so I could make Key Lime pie when I got back, and I ended up making a couple to take to work. One of the girls I work with now thinks I need to quit my job and start a business selling nothing but Key Lime pies.
Reluctant as we were to leave the lush deliciousness of Key West, it was also kinda bleeding us dry as far as finances go. Plus we had to get back to Orlando to catch our flight home. We had a few days before we had to get to the airport, and on advice from one of the divers on the boat my husband had talked to, we decided we wanted to go swimming with the manatees. We looked it up on the internets, and found that we could do it at a place called Crystal Springs, which was about 2 hours northwest of Orlando. We looked at a map a decided we could drive there in a day, so away we went. We made it there not too late and went out the next morning.
Now, if you've no idea what a manatee is, I suggest doing a Google image search. They're prehistoric things that look like a cross between a platypus, and otter and an elephant. And they're HUGE. And I don't mean they're a bit big, I mean they're HUGE! Like, waaaay bigger than a human. Anyways, we went out on the first boat of the day on the advice of the people that run the operation, because they said that was the best time to get a good opportunity for a lot of manatees. They suited us up with some thin wetsuits and took us out on a 5-minute boat ride, about 600m from the dock. Almost seemed a little absurd that we needed a boat to get that far, but I'll go along. We got a little preamble about what to do in the water before we got on the boat, but the captain also gave us a little more advice once we were aboard. One of his main suggestions was to try not to splash around much, because it scares them away. Then we slipped into the water with our snorkels and a pool noodle to help keep us afloat, hoping for some manatee action.
Crystal Springs sits along a freshwater river, that's partially fed by some warm-water springs. The manatees hang there because of the springs-they get cold, you see, and the warm water feels nice. Sections of the river are roped off, and boaters aren't allowed to go there because that's where the manatees hang out. We were at one spot, just over one of the springs, where the boats anchor, and then you float towards the spring and hope for a manatee sighting. At first we didn't see anything. The water was actually pretty murky, and the visibility was probably only 3 feet or so, so it was a bit creepy. But I floated along, trying not to make much fuss on the surface, and them BAM! Manatee. And when there's suddenly a 800 lb animal staring you directly in the face it's a little unnerving. The boat captain had told us before we got in the water that there was nothing in the river that would hurt us. I repeated this in my head many times as this manatee stared me down. Then he swam by, and I slowly stretched out an arm to give him a little rub. You're allowed to touch the manatees, you see, provided you're gentle and don't try to grab onto them.
It turns out they like belly rubs. If you're scratching them, and they like it, they'll sometimes roll over like a puppy, so they can have their bellies rubbed. Their skin feels rough, kindof like sandpaper without the grit, and they're covered with coarse hairs they use for sensing their surroundings. Well, it wasn't just the one manatee we saw. There were probably 10-12 in the tiny are we were in, of varying sizes and ages. It was pretty easy to get completely surrounded by them. But once you get used to the idea that they're not going to hurt you, they're very cute and friendly. One even got particularly friendly and tried to take a chunk out of my pool noodle. When that proved unappetizing, he moved onto hugging my leg with his flippers. Hubby thought that was hilarious. We had an excellent time swimming with the manatees, and I suggest that if you're ever in Florida, definitely go. It's awesome.
We stayed in Crystal River for one more night, and managed to visit the Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park while we were there. It's a cool park, mostly local animals, and their gift shop sells socks with neon manatees on them. They are now some of my favourite socks, second only to the puffin socks my Mom got me a couple years ago.
From Crystal River we drove back to the airport and dropped off the rental car, then spent a night in a hotel near the airport so we could catch a ride back to Canada the next morning. It was a pretty good trip, overall, and we did some really fun stuff. I liked Florida.
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