Lone baldy
Tee-Hee. 😂 He’s such a good sport. 😂
We should buy land here
We are leaving west North Carolina this morning. The views, the mountains, the waterfalls and creeks, they stole our hearts and we’ve added this area to our “we should buy land here” list. It makes me even more excited to explore the western side of the smokies in Tennessee later this year. For now, we are off to enjoy Raleigh for a few weeks!
That’s life with kids on the road
Today wasn’t our easiest adventure day. Zachary was in a mood and honestly, just really miserable. We ended up throwing in the towel and decided to head home early. We didn’t get to see and do everything we wanted, but, that’s life with kids on the road. We’ve learned when to push through and when to give up. With the time change we may be able to sneak in a few adventures after work this week. Yay for longer days and more sunshine!!
Hollywood Studios!
Jude and Zachary’s big birthday surprise: HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS!!! One full day at Galaxy’s Edge and Toy Story Land!! Both were still being built the last time we were there is 2018. Plus this time Z is tall enough to go on all the fun rides. So exciting!! Big thanks to my mom for making us these fun shirts!
We’ve carried these Mickey ears for 3 years and many miles through 30+ states. I’m sentimental about very few things but this was one because he wore them for his first birthday at the magic kingdom. And when Z insisted on wearing them in to this park today, it was worth every mile carried and space sacrifice in our tiny home. He was so ready for a day of magic!
Our very first stop was the Lightning McQueen Driving Academy. This was pretty cool, the screens were huge and while it wasn’t a ride, it was still fun, Z clapped along with wide eyes. We were very impressed with Lightning McQueen, it kinda freaked me out it was so realistic. Z said he wished he could drive though. Our original plan for this year was Disneyland and I hear there’s more Cars there than Florida. We still hope to visit Disneyland someday! Has anyone been to both? I’d love to hear what you think!
Galaxy’s Edge is incredibly well done! So much detail. We loved it!! Jonah got to talk to the storm trooper and we loved the massive millennium falcon. The ride was one of our faves! We also hit Star Tours again and I’m glad we did because it was different than the last time we rode it 3 years ago.
Clearwater Marine Aquarium
We are in Clearwater, Florida to see Winter at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium! My kids LOVE the Dolphin Tale movies and have been so excited about this stop! Not only did we get to see Winter and the other dolphins, it was super fun to step in to a movie set at the same time! Swipe to see Winter – we got to witness her playing with 3 little girls and their stuffed dolphins through the glass. It was such a cool moment! Clearwater Marine Aquarium recently opened their new facility and it’s beautiful. We loved how they integrated it with their old facilities because that’s what we really wanted to see.
I won’t lie, the timing of landing near Tampa this week wasn’t an accident. We were so hopeful that our Saints would be playing tonight and decided to be here just in case that happened. It’s ok, even without a Saints superbowl we are still excited about our time here. And our day with the dolphins was magical.
Also, I am such a sucker for touristy green screen photos. I buy them every single time!
The Florida Keys
I watched this kid swim like a fish yesterday! And he was so happy! Those swimming lessons were worth every single penny! This photo of him snorkeling with his little air bubble butt made me laugh.
It’s been a week where all 4 have been bickering and fighting. It’s been pretty exhausting and we’ve even had to cut down on some outings as a result. It’s not all gorgeous locations and happy kids over here people, this is still real life with toddlers and teenagers and sometimes it’s NOT fun. But going to the beach last night was good for all of us and it was nice to spot a few sweet moments with Taryn and Z. When the sun starts to go down she always comes looking for Z. She takes him on a kayak ride or swimming out further than he’d usually be allowed to go alone. It’s the sweetest. I think it’s because he defaults to her when he’s cold. If he starts shivering he automatically runs to sissy. The end of a water adventure is always their time together. 🥰 Bahia State Park is our new favorite! It’s 2 min from our campground and you have access to beaches on both the Atlantic and gulf sides. If one is super windy you can switch sides. The water is shallow and easy for kids and toddlers. Watching the pelicans fish is a bonus. We’ve spent so much time here already. I know we really should check out other beaches but this is such a gem, it’s hard to pull ourselves away.
A birds eye view of our little island in the Florida keys. This RV park fills the key and it’s a little piece of paradise. Somehow we messed up taking photos while flying our drone so here’s a few video screen grabs. I still can’t believe we get to live here for the next few days!
The palm tree across from our site is home to a huge iguana. It looks like it lost most of its tail. These things are super fast. I’m kinda hoping Pepper spots it while we are here. She’s so funny when she spots wildlife she’s never seen before. Her eyes get super wide, her hair stands on end and her whole body starts shaking. 🤣 We also traveled down to the Southernmost Point in Key West and Fort Zachary, or as Zachary calls it: Fort Me! Ha!
The Florida keys aren’t just a destination. They are a way of life. One we are very quickly getting used to.
Somehow we managed to find a reservation in another campground so we can extend our stay in the Keys. We love it here and I have a feeling that no matter how long we stay, it won’t be long enough.
Today was pretty cool. I had a rough start at the Turtle Hospital but rallied and had fun during the second half. Getting up close to the turtles and feeding them was really cool. We learned a lot, this was a big road school win! There are turtles bigger than I’ve ever imagined in the ocean! Thanks to my mom for sending us on this adventure!
Another day in paradise, another beautiful sunset. We are all a little tired from going constantly but also happy to be making the absolute most of our time here in the Keys. Today while Jason was working I took the kids to a bird sanctuary. It’s was an easy walk, the kids had fun and it didn’t create a ton of laundry like all our beach days do! Tomorrow we are planning to go feed the tarpons at Robbies. And of course, catch another sunset.
Feeding the tarpons at Robbies. We wanted to love this but y’all, the pelicans were so aggressive! 😣 One stole a fish straight out of Zacharys hand and another lunged at me close range. Not my thing. But we did get to see a huge manatee! We head out tomorrow and none of us want to leave.
