The week in Florida continued after we left St Augustine on Tuesday morning and headed south along the coast to Orlando. The original plan was to take an easy days drive and see what we saw - But once we started moving, Hannah fell asleep quite quickly, which was a blessing as she was still very tired from the flight down. This meant that we didn't really want to stop to wake her up, so me and Buffy enjoyed the drive along the coast road, with the Atlantic just a few metres to our left. It was a beautiful day, with bright sunshine and the beaches we passed looked so inviting. But we continued driving really slowly towards Daytona Beach When we reached the centre of town, we turned around in the entrance to the beach itself and headed back north. It was too nice a day to just end up in an apartment in Orlando, so we promised ourselves that when Hannah woke, she would get lobbed in the sea. She must have read our minds because as soon as we arrived back at the edge of the town of Flagler Beach, she woke up!
Flagler Beach is a laid back, retro style tiny little resort, with a beautiful orange beach and one little pier that you can fish from. A few surfers are enjoying the waves and some quaint little stores and restaurants speckled along the mani sea road. It is like going back in time with such a relaxing vibe - we immediately liked it and parked up overlooking the sea.
A quick change in the car and within a couple of minutes we were all lazed on the beach, taking turns to paddle and dip in the surf with Hannah, or try to bury the little terror on the beach. In all honesty, this was the best afternoon of the week. Everything was perfect - from the cooling sea, the slight breeze and the delicious UFO taco we had for lunch as well as the frozen key lime pie on a stick - covered in chocolate- to the friendly locals we met and even being pooped on by a seagull, which as you should know is a lucky charm! In fact, it was one of the most 'Holiday' experiences I have had as an adult. Me and my little crazy family enjoying time together on a lovely beach. We were all really happy and mellow! It was wonderful.
All too soon our afternoon of bliss was over and we piled back into the rental car to head to Orlando - which is a little more than an hour south. We agreed that if ever in the area again, we would definitely return to spend some more tie at Flagler Beach, but for now, it was Theme Park time!
Our Airbnb in Orlando was just a short walk away from downtown and about 20 minutes from Universal Studios. A perfect little 3-bed house. It did have the odd cockroach and a neighbour who coughed a lot, but to be honest, none of that really bothered us (Ok, maybe Buffy didn't like the one teeny tiny cockroach we saw) We settled in for the night after putting Hannah to bed and got ready for Universal - Islands of Aventure.
The next day, we were up early and in the queue for parking at Universal by 8.40am. After parking in Spidermans parking lot, we were in the Park and outside Hogwarts by 9.20am, for Buffy's long waited for 'visit' to the Harry Potter-themed rides and area of the park. Universal has a child swap policy that means you can all queue together and then when you get to the ride, the kids who aren't big enough, can wait with one parent, while the other rides before swapping over. So this was our plan. Unfortunately, we had a slight delay as the main Harry Potter ride broke down as we queued inside Hogwarts and we spend 20 minutes listening to dumbledor talk! But soon enough we were inside and riding!
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| He's from Hogsmeade! |
After visiting Hogsmead, trying the butterbeer (which Hannah loved so much she would dip her entire fist into it and eat the foam) we took some photos with the Hogwarts express, and a dapper suited conductor who had a typical middle English accent. As a fellow Brit, I asked him where his accent was from and without hesitation, he replied 'Hogsmeade of course'. Quality answer !!- always in character!!
We spent the rest of the day wandering around the park, trying other rides and experiences - stopping for lunch, where Hannah had her first drink of Coca Cola and loved it. She really liked the Fishy ride in Dr Seuss landing, as well as watching Buffy, ride the Incredible Hulk coaster. She really loved that coaster and would 'Woo' and giggle every time it shot out from its launch area.
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| Possibly the greatest photo ever taken. |
Part of the afternoon was spent following Hannah around the Jurassic Park kids climbing area. There are splash pads, netting that you can climb up lots of stairs and slides and so much more. She. Loved. This. Part Of. The. Park. and even when she tumbled head over heels falling down on one of the clamber nets, she got straight back up and was off again.
After about 9 hours in Universal, it was time for the Hogwarts light show, when the castle is all lit up after dusk with music and a superb projection show. So we hung about waiting for this on the viewing bridge, making friends with the tour guides and tourists alike and we were blown away by the show. It really was worth waiting for and a spectacular end to a long but brilliant day. Unbelievably, Hannah had been up for about 14 hours by the time we got home, blowing away her previous longest being awake time by about 3 hours/ She was still fun, lively and having a great time though and even when we got home after driving back to the Airbnb, she didn't go straight to sleep (This would all eventually catch up on her after we got home to Winnipeg and she had a super long nights sleep)
The final two days of our Holibobs were spent in Downtown Orlando - or more specifically the Thornton Park district and Eola Park itself. We walked the park many times on a wonderfully sunny afternoon, stopping to watch the swans swim on the lake and the turtles bob their heads out of the water at any passing person, who may throw them some food. We played for ages in the park with Hannah clambering on anything she could find as well as the actual play structures. We also took a spin on the lake in a pedal-driven swan which Hannah wasn't too sure of!
We stopped in restaurants, bars and cafes whenever the fancy took us and enjoyed everything from French Brunch through 'Southern' Comfort food ( in a Restaurant called SoCo, which I just realised as I type this actually means - Southern Comfort!) to TatoTots and cheese - all enjoyed with a glass of local beer or maybe a coffee in the mornings. All the food was great, the hospitality superb and apart from Hannah getting a little crazy in a pub called, 'World of Beer', where she emptied a pile of Jenga bricks on the floor and dragged around one of those yellow wet floor signs, she was great. Even when she emptied a full salt shaker on herself she was fun to be with and a joy to show off.
The only two downsides were the slightly chilly English style weather on Friday and having to pack and come home to Winnipeg in the Saturday.
The last thing we did before we grabbed an Uber to the airport was to walk two houses down the street and visit the 3 dogs that Hannah had made friends with over the last few days. Especially Parker (The barker) who liked to give Hannah, plenty of licks through the fence.
The trip home was easier than the one going South. Hannah actually fell asleep this time which gave us a much more manageable and friendly little cherub on the plane. She enjoyed high fiving the old couple sitting behind us as well as making friends as we wandered up and down the aisle as usual.
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