Author name: Karla Nathan

When we first planned our trip to Florida, Disney wasn't in it.  The plan was one full week in a beach house.  Then, I ran into trouble finding that, since most houses rent from Saturday thru Saturday and we were arriving on a Tuesday. I arranged to get two condos on Siesta Key, one over the other at a weekly rate.

Next thing I knew, the family was saying, we can't go to Florida and NOT head to see Mickey!!!

So, adjustments were made, rooms were switched, and we lost our weekly rate.  But it was worth it, I knew the girls would be thrilled. And since I LOVE Disneyworld, I was all for it.

Then, we decided to invite Miss Tree and her girls, and I was on the phone again, rearranging, cancelling one condo that wasn't big enough, finding another nearby, and shuffling Disney rooms and plans. I put in hours on the phone planning, changing, switching, exploring options, and it wasn't exactly easy, while planning Birdsong, but we loved having those three join us, those girls are wonderful people, and I think that all of our arrangements were ideal once made.

(I do admit to some whining on my part while switching things around so much, and do suggest that you should have firm plans when you decide to book rooms, we ended up losing a rather hefty deposit)

But as I said, I was glad the plans changed, I LOVE Disneyworld! And even better, Ry Guy said he wanted to come to the park too. Now, he has been a bit of a recluse for the last 10-15 years.  He doesn't like crowds, and doesn't get out much. He is a big, ole, sweetheart, but has a lot of anxieties.  I was worried about him coming on the trip at all, let alone spend time at the park with the hoards of people. I promised him his very own room, so he could retreat if needed.

And you know what?  He didn't need to hide.   Ryan gets the Happy Camper Award for best vacationer. He was amazing, and I saw a side of him that I didn't know he had.  I could tell that at times, it was not easy for him, but he made himself stick it all out, even when he had the option of going back to the hotel to get away from the heat and the people.

 He stayed with me, knowing I was tired, and hadn't got much rest, and was there for me all day when I needed him. And when hotel rooms needed to be changed around, he stepped up and offered to share. I was proud of my son, and how he left his comfort zone behind when he joined the family on this vacation.

We arrived on a Sunday afternoon, and had lunch Downtown Disney. Then checked into the Caribbean Beach resort, and had a few shuffles there too with the rooms that connected and some other little issues that delayed check in, but eventually we got settled and hit the pools.  

Not everything goes exactly as you might plan it, no matter how hard you try. In hindsight, I'd have changed some things, but that doesn't help now, does it? I think that a day and a half at the resort simply is not enough to really get into and experience it, but I wouldn't trade away a single moment we had on the beach.  It was a lot to squeeze into a short time, and I for one was a bit fried and needed a nap.  

I'm afraid that I was so tired at the park, I did something I've never done in my life, I fell asleep standing up, waiting for the party to gather up at the gate to leave at the end of the night.  

Like a horse.

Like a worn out, old workhorse.

Ready for the glue factory.

Dewdrop tends to turn foul if she misses her nap, and doesn't do very well with uncomfortable situations like extreme heat and lines.  But she was a pure delight all day. I told her afterwards that she might have been the only kid in the whole park to not cry once and I was so proud of what a big girl she was. 

She said, "I was sooo happy!"

And she was.  4 is an exciting age to see all that magic come alive.

We didn't have reservations for any of the nice, sit down restaurants, but I researched online to find out where to feed vegetarians.  I saw that you could request veggie versions of most meals, even if it wasn't on the menu, but then when we got in line at one place, we found that wasn't true. 

But we did discover that there was a counter service place with air conditioned seating in Tomorrowland, with live entertainment from this space alien, lounge lizard, that had some pretty good veggie fare, as well as the burgers others were craving.

It was a hot day, which was draining, but we still had a great time, and hopped from shade to shade, plus used umbrellas that we'd brought to create our own shade.  Fast Passes are wonderful, you can now plan weeks ahead of time and coordinate your rides.  And we found that if you see any adventures with a sign saying 20 minutes or less, you should pop in immediately!

We fit in a ton of rides, including the carrousel, Small World, and Mickey's Philharmagic twice.  Dewdrop didn't care if she did something twice and had no idea that we didn't do everything that there was to do.  We did the things that were quick or shady and she was thrilled with it all.

I'm afraid that I wasn't at my tip-top best.  A bad cough, some stress from travel, and pure, standing up sleeping exhaustion by that time, but I still LOVE Disneyworld. 

And so do they.

Our trip to the Gulf Coast was ideal.  We found the perfect condo (Siesta Sands) for the family, although it wasn't quite big enough for us all, we were able to get another unit right across the street, so that everyone could use our place as headquarters for beach time, cocktails, and meals.  Beachpoint, I think is the name of the colorful, funky, fun place right behind Siesta Sands, it was exactly what we needed, and very friendly. 

And there was a retaining wall for our resident yogi to work out on.

The reason I chose this place to return to, after staying there with my sisters in October was that it is very laid back and comfy, not fancy, and the front yard is a giant, open expanse of sand leading to the Gulf. The sand is pure white, made from quartz crystal, so is cool to the touch. The kids could play right by the condo in the never ending sandbox playground, without burning their feet, or without us worrying about them slipping into the water when we turn our heads.

This was how they spent the majority of their time.

That is, when we weren't doing this.

Or this.

Well, there was some of this too.

Sugarwings got pretty good with the boogie board.

And we had a troupe of entertainers with us to put on acrobatic shows at sunset.

It was all very peaceful, and relaxing on the beach, but it wasn't exactly a restful vacation.  Any time you travel with a group of ten, there are lots of details to keep an eye on and lots of meals to handle.  There was grocery shopping, cooking, and laundry to keep up.  And the never ending sweeping up of the sand.

The family pitched in, I had simple breakfast items around, but they ended up cooking eggs, and the Hippie Chick made her famous gluten free, berry pancakes.  Then at dinner, everyone was busy chopping and stirring, and the big girls were in charge of trash and recycling.  It was a lot of food for a lot of people, but we did a pretty good job of making a special dinner every night.

Of course, when you have a porch over looking the ocean, and a cocktail in your hand, dinner will taste pretty good no matter what it is!

The condo we stayed in had a decent kitchen, small, but complete, and we ate "at home" as much as we could. I made daily trips to Trader Joe's and the seafood market so that we always had fresh fish, and also so that I didn't over buy. I didn't want to end up with excess food that we couldn't eat, so played it day by day.  That was much more affordable than trying to go to restaurants, which we knew we'd have to do once we checked out and went to Orlando.

I think that my favorite meal was the tilapia.  I marinated it in an actual margarita, tequila, triple sec, lime juice, a bit of sugar and some sea salt.  Oh my, it was flavorful and juicy. Not having a full cupboard of spices and essentials and not wanting to over buy, I had no breading for it, so I ground up cashews in the blender, with a little bit of cayenne pepper, and baked the fish with a little olive oil drizzled over the cashew coating.

Another favorite was fresh, gulf shrimp, sauteed in garlic, olive oil, and sea salt, then served with tortellini.  Sometimes, the simple meals are the best aren't they?

My sons, Miss Tree, and the Hippie Chick all went out to the water after the rest of us were tucked in and got to experience the glowing water. This phenomenon is caused by tiny bioluminescent plankton, and when movement occurs, streaks of blue light shoot out like glitter.

I hate that I missed that, I remember my grandma telling tales of skinning dipping in the glowing water there and I'd always wanted to see it. Not my grandma skinny dipping, the sparkles in the water.  

 But after Birdsong, I was pretty well worn out, and I wasn't exactly a late nighter on this trip.  

We kept out of the sun in the middle of the day, doing out best to get Dewdrop to nap then, while the bigger girls watched shows, and I ran errands.  

My Handsome Husband and Ry Guy actually bought a temporary gym membership and worked out while everyone else rested!

It surprised me to see how quiet the beach was.  There wasn't a crowd at all.

The temperatures were perfect, I'd been worried about the heat in Florida in June, but by the water, the breeze was lovely.  uhm, not so lovely in Orlando at the hottest happiest place on earth….

We made use of a lot of umbrellas, scarves, and kept an eye out for shade too. Mr. Zen managed a whole week outdoors without a sunburn, not even using sunscreen.

A couple of us brought small umbrellas, and one of the condos had some to borrow.  They worked so well, I used mine at Disney too. Instant shade, where ever you go. Plus, it felt very festive to be walking under a parasol.

Dewdrop was enamored with the "kid waves" but didn't care as much for being out deeper. Sugarwings on the other hand was a little too brave and would have swum to the other side of the Gulf if we'd let her.

All of us were sad when it was time to go, but knowing that Disney was waiting for us helped.  Although, it was much more crowded and hot than the beach, I'm always thrilled to go there. Still, I was happy that most of the trip was spent in our cozy little condo, where life took on a Jimmy Buffet feel, and the world was not as hectic as it was in the land of Walt.  

It really can't get any better than this.