2nd Road Trip to Florida (Orlando/Miami/Tampa)
We planned a trip to Florida for Spring Break after hosting a college baseball player from Miami for the summer. Kevin played for Florida Atlantic University and stayed with us for about two months the previous summer while he played baseball in a local league. We adored Kevin and wanted to go to Florida to see him play ball at FAU. As with most all of our trips, we jam packed this vacation with tons of things to see and do.
Our first stop was Orlando because no trip to Florida is complete without seeing our family. We spent a couple of days doing some cool things with Tom’s sister Karen. Karen took us to Black Hammock Orlando Airboat Rides where we took an airboat ride on Lake Jesup.
We all took turns meeting Black Hammock’s alligators.
Karen owns Yes You Canvas in Oviedo so we went to her studio to paint together.
A wonderful dinner at Emeril’s at Universal CityWalk in Orlando is always a great time and a great meal. It’s also a lot of fun when our nephew Mike is working. (Emeril’s sadly closed their Orlando location in 2018).
From Orlando, we drove three hours to Boca Raton, Florida, where Florida Atlantic University is located, and met up with Kevin and watched a FAU baseball game.
After the game, we drove 45 minutes from Boca Raton to Miramar where Kevin and his family live. We spent the evening with his family and I had my first Cuban coffee. Delicious! We then headed to our hotel in Hollywood, Florida, which was about 15 minutes away.
We checked into the Diplomat Beach Resort in Hollywood. What a grand hotel!
Kevin and his girlfriend, Tatiana, spent some time on the beach with us and we rented waverunners from Bouyah Water Sports located on the beach by the Diplomat.
We went to Duffy’s Sports Grill in North Miami Beach. We love a good sports bar and Duffy’s was great.
Kevin’s family took us to Golden Beach where we enjoyed an Island Queen Cruise. We did the Millionaire’s Row cruise where we saw homes of the rich and famous and spectacular views of the Miami skyline.
The cruise was out of Miamarina at Bayside. While we waited for our cruise, we explored the Bayside Marketplace.
It was time to say goodbye to Kevin and his family and head to our next destination. We drove four hours from Miami to Tampa. While on Spring Break in Florida, we decided to catch a Yankees Spring Training game in Tampa at Steinbrenner Field.
Steinbrenner Field is a great stadium. It was an extremely hot day in Tampa though so we had to leave our seats quite a few times to grab some shade. We also explored all around the stadium.
After the game, we started the almost 14 hour drive back home to Virginia. We had an amazing time in Florida. Getting to see our family and Kevin and his family was great. I loved the beach and the Yankee game too!
