Summer Adventures Part 1
June 29th, 2010 by Jen Hen under Places to Go, Travel Bug, Travels. No Comments.
This summer has been full of activity, surprises, and life changes. Most everything has been nothing but positive and exciting. I could probably write one incredibly long entry about those adventures but I’m probably going to split things up a little. First, since I don’t really remember if I’ve updated with all the information and since I know I have been slacking with my updates, DH got a position with a local company as a supervisor. That has been one HUGE change for us. Fortunately when he was hired the company was willing to work with him on the vacation we had already scheduled and paid for a year in advance so we were still able to take X-man on his “big boy only” trip. I was able to get an extra 8 days with DH without him having work to do… I assure you that is something I was looking forward to because even on his days off from his full time job, it seems there’s always something else he needs to do whether it’s a side service job for someone or a self imposed project he has going on.
On June 4th we hit the road at 9pm for an overnight drive to our final destination: Orlando, Florida.
Our first day we napped, hung out in the hotel pool, went to eat at Carraba’s Italian Grill (can we say calimari?), and headed over to Wonder Works. Wonder Works was basically a children’s science museum with exhibits on most any scientifically related topic. X-man and I both experienced laying on a bed of nails; DH, X-man and I took turns putting our hands in water that was kept at the temperature equivalent of the ocean the night the Titanic sank to see how long we could endure the cold on just one small portion of our body; the three of us experienced a 5.3 earthquake; and we played music on a floor piano (think 80′s movie starring Tom Hanks, “Big”). X-man really enjoyed himself and I’m pretty sure DH had a good time experimenting with the helicopter flight simulator. As for my experience? I was glad that X had a good time, but honestly I was disappointed with what we got for the expense. When you have some reference points for comparison Wonder Works really fell short of the mark for the price they charge.
Some of our favorite Children’s Science Museums (kid tested, mother approved):
Chattanooga, TN: Creative Discovery Museum
St. Louis, MO: Saint Louis Science Center
Nashville, TN: Adventure Science Center (formerly known as Cumberland Science Museum)
At any rate, our Sunday in Orlando consisted of a previously arranged meeting which brought about a new change for us. In the end we moved from Comfort Suites Maingate to Silver Lake Resort. What. A. CHANGE! We’re talking, we went from a damp, musty smelling room with little printed cards about the bugs that are present, but harmless to…. a condo with a kitchen, whirlpool jet tub and stand up shower in the bathroom, washer, dryer, living and dining area, etc. Needless to say, we were happy with the upgrade. We spent that afternoon relaxing in the pool, playing in the game room, and chilling in the condo.
Monday… rain, rain…. and more, you guessed it, rain. So… shopping, walking, shopping and more… shopping. Can I just tell you I LOVE outlet store steals! DH Cam and I found Lake Buena Vista Factory Stores last year and got some seriously fantastic deals on clothes for the kids, so we hit the shopping center again this year. We decided to go check out Orlando Premium Outlets while we were shopping. I managed to find some major deals at the Motherhood Maternity store there including a great pair of cool weather pajamas I’ll be taking to the hospital with me when I go to have Baby 3.
