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Cruise Trip - Day 1

August 19th, 2008

We started our trip EARLY on Friday, August 8th……8/8/08……..It had to be a good omen right? Well, it was. We had an awesome trip!

In our car we had my three kiddos, Aquagirl and her best friend, Gymbabe. Jabem brought his friend, J, who was very quiet and tolerant of our car antics. GB was in the center seat, and my dh and I were up front taking turns driving. The kids played all kinds of car games. But the highlight of the trip was my secret learning activity. I made outlines of each state that we were going through, and got a picture of our van from the Toyota web site, and put velcro on the back of all the pieces and stuck it to the inside roof of our van. And for every state that we went through I had one person open an envelope that had cool info on that particular state; the name, capital, state bird, state animal, and state flower, all with velcro so that they would stick to the roof of our van near the state we were going through. Surprisingly, they were ALL excited about this, and they all couldn’t wait for the states to pass so they could open a new envelope. See! You’re never too old for learning games!

This next photo was taken next to the gas station that we stopped at. They had these HUGE elephants out in the parking lot and Aquagirl and Gymbabe thought they were quite funny.

We got to the Radisson Resort in Port Canaveral, Florida around 9:00 pm, which left plenty of time for the kids to check out the pool. I’m not very good at night photos, but the pool at this hotel is truly amazing. It has a hot tub, a waterfall, little rocky alcoves and amazing scenery. The cool thing about this hotel is that you can stay one night and then leave your car for the week while you cruise. They even provide a shuttle that will take you to and from your ship….for no extra $$!

Jabem and J in the hot tub. I know, it’s a terrible picture. I’m sorry…….

Aquagirl and Gymbabe with kilowatt smiles!

This is my dh and GB in one of the little alcoves of the pool. Dh likes to toss GB across pools. I don’t know why… they just think it’s great fun! And since GB only weights 60 pounds, he gets quite a bit of air! Check out that amazing waterfall that separates the alcoves. And I’m up on this cool bridge that overlooks the alcove.

GB was enjoying the sleep number beds that the hotel uses. I had never heard of such a thing. But underneath the typical mattress there is an air chamber that will inflate/deflate to your own firmness desires. GB enjoyed a 65 firmness, while we employed an 85 firmness. I would have preferred it to be a bit softer, but dh likes it firmer.

After driving for 12 and 1/2 hours, and then frolicking in the pool for a couple of hours we were SO ready for bed. The next day we would board the cruise ship after a little trip to the Kennedy Space Center.

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Entry Filed under: cruise