Road Trip to Florida
Our family has been to Florida many times. We not only love the beaches and going to Disney, but we have family in Orlando so a trip to Florida is always a fun time. We usually jam pack everything we can into a trip, and this trip to Florida was no different. We spent a little over a week in the Orlando area and we stayed at a fabulous resort called Liki Tiki Village. The resort was located about three miles from Disney and had a ton of amenities. We stayed in a one bedroom condo with a sleeper sofa and the on-site water park was a hit with Logan.
Islands of Adventure
Our first stop was Islands of Adventure at Disney because seeing the Wizarding World of Harry Potter was at the top of Logan’s must-see list. We purchased Flex Tickets which allowed us entry to six parks and free parking. Disney is obviously very expensive, but the Flex Ticket saved us a bunch of money since we were going to visit several of the Disney parks.
Our nephew, Mike, worked at Emeril’s Orlando at the Universal City Walk so we always enjoyed having dinner there when we were in Orlando. Sadly, Emeril’s closed in 2018. We always received the best service from Mike, had the greatest food, and even got to meet the chef.
Cocoa Beach
I had a birthday while we were in Florida so we spent the day at my favorite Florida beach, Cocoa Beach. It was almost like we had the whole beach to ourselves. We found a place to park and a spot on the beach that really seemed secluded even though it is a public beach.
Deep Sea Fishing
One of the highlights of this trip to Florida was a deep sea fishing adventure arranged by our brother in law, Mitch. Our nephews, Steve and Mike, went along too and it was the best day. We rented a boat and crew for the day and left out of Cape Marina.
Any day spent out on the water is a good day, but this day was the best! We caught tons of fish and had a great day with Mitch, Mike, and Steve.
Sea World
The next day we spent at one of my favorite parks, Sea World. We watched several shows, including the Sea Lion & Otter Spotlight, Dolphin Adventure, and Orca Encounter. We also went to Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin. We also enjoyed riding rides and roller coasters.
Aquatica
The next day we spent at Aquatica water park with our nephew Mike and Tom’s sister, Karen. We did everything from the wave pool to the slides. It was an awesome day.
Universal Studios
Our last day in Orlando was spent at Universal Studios where Become A Minion was at the top of Logan’s list of things to see. It was a 3D ride that was a lot of fun, but the line was about a 45 minute wait.
Tampa/St Pete
From Orlando we drove about an hour and a half to St Petersburg. We stayed at Hotel Indigo in downtown St. Pete. It was an adorable little hotel, but our room was incredibly small. The Hotel Indigo in St Pete has been replaced with The Exchange Hotel. It is a great location!
Tropicana Field
The reason we went to St Pete was to check another MLB stadium off of our bucket list. We went to Tropicana Field to see the Tampa Bay Rays play the San Francisco Giants.
We weren’t very impressed with the actual stadium, but the Rays Touch Experience where you can touch a cownose stingray was very cool. The exhibit is located just beyond the right-center field fence and it’s definitely worth checking out.
The next day we spent at St Pete Beach. I honestly wasn’t very impressed with the beach, but we still had a good time and even saw a dolphin. We found public parking very close to the public beach.
This was a fun-filled, busy trip for us and we loved every minute of it. While we got to spend time with family, visit four Disney parks, and catch a MLB game, I got to spend two days at the beach with my toes in the sand. It doesn’t get any better than that!
