So here is the update on our trip to Florida over Spring Break. What a Wonderful vacation we all had(and needed).

We left on a Monday morning as I mentioned in my last blog, but the airport was still packed. Mostly with the entire state of Maryland headed to Florida. We even ran into people we knew while standing in line to board our plane.

Scott was so excited to ride on a plane (for the second time that he actually remembers). We flew in the Tampa airport which is really very nice. They have tile mosaics of dolphins and fish in the floor, killer whale murals from Seaworld painted on the walls and even a large salt water aquarium built into the wall. It certainly got us into the mood for Seaworld since that was where we headed next. We rented a car and off we went to Orlando. We arrived at the park just in time for Allison and myself to walk up and feed the dolphins while Tom and Scott tried out the new manta ray rollercoaster. The park was absolutely packed. You had to arrive 45 mins before the shows to get in-even with our Platinum passes which provide us with a reserved seating section, it was filling up fast. So we didn't see all the shows-primarily the Shamu show since they had to cancel the first two shows(killer whales don't always cooperate). We have seen the show many times though(fortunately not one where an employee was being eaten!). This was the last week of this ongoing show which has been running for several years. Currently, they have opened with a new show but they still won't allow any of the staff to get in the water with the killer whales. Especially the one that most recently pulled a girl under by her ponytail. Sadly, since she can't breathe underwater, she didn't make it. Now they are planning to redesign the pool with a moveable bottom that would shoot up to the top of the pool if this ever happens again. Anyhow, we had our fill of fish and left for our hotel and dinner.

ON Tuesday we decided to visit Mickey Mouse at DisneyWorld. Again, lots of people. So many they closed the park after we arrived. However, thanks to fast passes, we were able to make all our favorite rides, even more than one time in the Haunted HOuse. And Disney never fails to surprise me as we noticed they upgraded some of the rides and shows. We even dragged the kids into the Hall of the Presidents and were pleasantly surprised to see they had changed the show, added a film and did quite a few upgrades. They are even up to date on all the robotic presidents. And my absolute favorite was the light show on the castle. They always have a 10pm fireworks show over the castle. We did not think we'd make it since it started raining in the evening, along with a few scattered thunderstorms. AS we were waiting for the fireworks show, a tstorm hit just behind the castle(God's fireworks). I know it wasn't too swift to stand out in a tstorm, but Disney is the Happiest Place on Earth. So no worries. The storm moved away just as the show started. They added a whole new graphics program to the light show-the castle actually looks like it comes alive with bulging walls and bursting balloons pouring over the sides from the rooftop. Then they show thousands of photos taken in the park that day on the castle. Very cool.

The next day we decided to tackle Universal Studios. This park, unlike its predecessor in California, is split into two parks. So we opted for the side with Harry Potter and lots of rides. Tom and Scott decided to pay double and get the fast pass for the rides. Allison and I however stood in line for 45 mins to gain access to the Harry Potter section! Then once inside, you stand in long lines to buy Butterbeer, shop in the stores, eat in the 3 broomsticks tavern or ride the rides. Allison and I opted to buy our butterbeer(non alcoholic by the way and tastes like butterscotch). I Liked it. And Allison and Scott got souvenir mugs-SCott tried the frozen style. Allison bought herself a Hermione wand. Scott and Tom rode the rollercoasters. We did not stand in line for over 2 hours however for the cinematic ride that lets you feel like you are in Hogwarts. Maybe in another 20 years when the line dies down a bit. And I did not mention that Allison and I went in first, then returned with Tom and SCott after we picked up our entry tickets to the Hogwarts section of the park. They had to funnel people in on a limited basis since it was absolutely jammed pack. Tom said that was probably similar to Calcutta India with all the people. We also did manage to buy Allison a chocolate frog for her Easter basket and we listened to Moaning Myrtle moaning in the bathrooms. Allison and I liked it, Tom could have skipped it altogether. But they did have some cool rides there including the Spiderman 3D ride.

Anyhow, we were tired by burning in the sun and too many people, so we left the park and headed to Downtown Disney. They are opening a dinner movie theater but we were a few weeks early, so we just caught Rio at the movies. We also actually were waved down by Ellicott City neighbors walking down the sidewalk. A family from Resurrection spotted us and came out of the store to say hello and tell us about all the other Marylanders visiting Orlando! The kids also wanted to stop and shop-Allison to trade her Disney pins(new hobby) and SCott at the Lego store. Tom and I were also surprised to learn that they shut down all the nightclubs on Pleasure Island and it no longer is a 21 and over section. We sure felt old since the last time we were there at the nightclubs, we were without children!

After a whirlwind visit to Orlando and a very nice stay at the Embassy Suites(thanks to Tom's frequent flier mileage), we headed down towards Venice to visit with Tom's parents. We stopped into Tampa first and spent the day at the Tampa zoo. Scott rode his first camel. (Allison been there done that). We also made a trip to Bradenton where Tom had located an authentic cuban restaurant from the Diners, Drive IN and Dives Food Network show so we could sample their Cuban pulled pork sandwiches. Scott wasn't too impressed(it definitely fit the Dives motif), but we enjoyed the food and the people were overwhelmingly nice.

By the way, everyone we came in contact with on our trip was overly nice(except we weren't too pleased with the Universal people). They just seemed happy to take our money.

Anyway, we arrived at Tom's parents house on Thursday night, and spent the next several days swimming in the pool, swimming in the ocean and riding bikes. Scott loves to catch the lizards and look for the tortoises on our bike ride along the intercoastals. We enjoyed dinner outside on the intercoastal near the Nokomis beach at Pops. They cancelled the 'All you Can EAt Fish Dinner" on Friday night though since they ran out of fish last year. Crazy catholics! WE still enjoyed our evening. Didn't see Mooch the Dolphin who lives in the canal this time though. But I swear the water has never looked cleaner or more blue-green. (Maybe it was all the chemicals from the BP oil spill clean up?). Really the water and weather was perfect temperature. We spent a whole day soaking up sun and sand at Nokomis(Allison and Tom spent more time reading and relaxing under our beach umbrella). Scott and I swam, boogie boarded and caught fish and starfish.

We ended our visit there with Easter Sunday mass and the Easter bunny even paid a visit to the Seitz Family. I thanked Tom's parents for our visit with their very own pink flamingo stained glass panel which I hand carried on the plane all the way to Florida! And I didn't have to make it-I found it at our Treasure Sale at work. Tom left Dad Seitz with my previous laptop to help keep him up to date with all the busy happenings on council at their community(since once again Dad Seitz is the President of the council). WE shared our two cents on the future plans for the upgraded community swimming pool and spa and learned about a new game called Pickle ball-looks like a cross between tennis and four square with paddles. Big competition. Easter Sunday we ate out and had to run in between the showers and thundershowers.

Monday we packed up and headed back to Tampa and spent the day at Busch gardens. They are doing some more upgrades there as well-two new coasters going in that they were running practice cars on the tracks. Scott can't wait. We love the Tampa Busch gardens because of all the animals. They had a baby cheetah cub being raised with a puppy since its mother abandoned her at the TAmpa zoo. I really feel for that Puppy. It looked like the same relationship Cookie and Pika have(Pika our cat usually gets her way since she has the claws!). WE had a short visit though since a tstorm rolled in around 4pm and they basically shut down the park.

WE headed to our hotel in Tampa near the airport. INstead of us all flying home together, Tom was informed that he needed to go out to LA. He had to reroute his trip and leave early in the morning. I was left with the kids to make it back to Baltimore, but our flight wasn't until 7 that night! I was left without a map and a rental car. Fortunately, Tom's Dad still belongs to AAA and he gave me a wonderful map of the Tampa area. I would have been happy to lie by the hotel pool all day until our flight out, but SCott and Allison weren't very impressed with the hotels accomodations. The pool was dirty from the previous night's storm, and there were still some rides the kids wanted to go on at Busch gardens since we had a short visit. Since we have season passes, it was not costly to return to the park so off we went. We had a wonderful visit-great weather and we got to do some things we missed the day before. Like feeding the baby kangaroos and SCott hit all the big rollercoasters all by himself. The kids also stuffed themselves on BBQ before we left for the airport.

Our flight was delayed but not for long. There had been all the devastating tornadoes in the south and midwest and all the flights were backed up. The Tampa airport was easy to navigate but a bit strict on rules. WE had a fairly easy flight home, dodging nearby tstorms over the Carolinas and W Virginia. WE were pretty pooped out by the time we got home though.

And no rest for the weary when we did arrive home!

Here are a few shots at the TAmpa Zoo including Scott on his camel and Busch Gardens. More to come!