Thursday, January 31, 2008

My FLA - Week 5

I know, no weeks 1 thru 4. This is the first fifth week of a series so cleverly thought of by Hillary. She's shoutin out for DC. I'll begin with a vacation we took in 06 and didn't blog about it because, well this is a knit blog and all. hahahahahaha That year, we splurged and instead of driving the 200-something miles, we flew. We also stayed inside the resort at Portofino Bay Hotel. Also payed extra for express tickets that gets you right on the rides and exhibits, no lines, no waiting. Totally. Worth. It. Did I mention it was July? Florida in July is HOT. Good thing I wasn't um, changing then. I took my very first sock in progress on the plane. The sock is no longer with us.

We got in at night so we would be well rested when we hit the park in the morning. The hotel has an entire town with family dining and an Italian restaurant that was just like eating at grandma's in Italy. It cost about as much to go to grandma's in Italy. I also enjoyed myself in the hotel's bathroom that had cool leuver windows above the tub. I scared the crap out of the old man with those! OK, I'm 12, but I'm snickering right now just thinking of it.

Portofino Bay at night



Looking the other way is the bay where I spent time in the morning feeding all the ducks that came in for breakfast. I couldn't get decent photos of them, but I remember cracking up because one duck would be out on a little wooden boat (there for decor only), and that duck sounded like he was laughing. They didn't come around at night though.




First thing in the morning, our water taxi came to get us and wisked us off to playland.

As you can see, the offspring was completely thrilled.



Hello Universal!




Some highlights:

The Mummy: Highly recommended.



The Incredible Hulk, ah no. Not me. We hung out while the girls went on it. Three times. This looks much smaller here than it really is.



This is what we saw while we waited. Did I mention it was hot?



Oh wise old mountain man, when the hell are these kids gonna get tired of this ride?
Hot hot hot hot hot

I bought stuff while I waited. hot hot hot hot


Don't I wish....

Reminds me of the old SNL. You're that land shark! I'm 12

No Universal trip is complete without stopping by SpongeBob's pineapple house.



When you can't be home...



They're not kidding, they're everywhere.

How do you measure the success of a vacation?



When you wind up with a steaming pile of kid at the end of the day.



10 comments:

Opal said...

Looks and sounds like a great time!

NH Knitting Mama said...

Have not been to Universal, but it looks like FUN!

Bezzie said...

Eeee! I'm not a big roller coaster person, but it looks like fun for those who are!

QueSarah said...

ooh, I wanna go! The Hulk is my FAVORITE! I love the steaming pile of kid ;-) You crack me up, girl!

Lynn said...

LOL abt this post! Yes Florida is HOT in July! Florida is hot in April as well. Glad you had fun, but the steaming pile of kid says it all!

hillary said...

What a great view of florida. I like that about the steaming pile of kid. I'll need to remember that.

Roseann said...

What a fun vacation story, thank you for sharing with us. On this cold rainy day, it is entertaining to read about amusement parks and sunshine.

Sonya said...

Steaming pile of kid; that's hilarious! What a fun vacation.

Anonymous said...

OMG! The photo with the thrilled offspring - HYSTERICAL!!!!!!!!!!
[I'm sure that's what I looked like on holiday with the parents!]

kaoticorchid said...

Wow-looks like you've been hopping! You know, I don't think there's a soul in this world who can resist standing in Jaw's mouth, including myself. Ha!