Our Winter in Florida Part 2

         My nana came down to Florida to visit us at the end of January, and we spent time together around the campground swimming and playing shuffleboard and mini golf; but we also went one day to Weeki Wachee Springs State Park.  Weeki Wachee is known for having live mermaids, and they have been treating visitors to special mermaid shows since 1947!  We got to see a production of Hans Christian Anderson's The Little Mermaid, and it was really cute and cool. After the show we went on a short riverboat tour of Weeki Wachee river, which is fed by Weeki Wachee Spring.  This spring is actually the deepest spring in Florida and the water is so clean you could drink it. The reason for the water's crystal-clearness is that the spring goes down into limestone rock which acts as a purifying agent--almost like a big Brita water filter! We spent the afternoon kayaking down the river, which was a relaxing and beautiful experience. I'm glad we got to spend the day at this fun and unique park, and I recommend you stop by for a visit if you get the chance!

A bird drying his wings (I forgot the name of this particular species of bird, sorry)

        In early February we got one-day passes to Disney World, and we had such a good day.  We started out the day at one of my favorite parks, Epcot, and our first ride was the new Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind.  We'd heard a lot of good things about this attraction, so our expectations were high.  It wasn't super exciting, but had a great soundtrack and was still fun.  Maybe after our winter spent at Universal Studios we like more thrill rides.  After Guardians we rode Soarin' and got in line for Remy's Ratatouille Adventure, another new attraction, but sadly it broke down so we were unable to ride it this trip.  Our next park was Magic Kingdom, and we rode Haunted Mansion (which I used to be TERRIFIED of as a kid), Big Thunder Mountain, and It's a Small World (which I will always love).  We had plans to ride Tron that night, but we didn't want to hang out at Magic Kingdom for the rest of the day so we hopped over to Hollywood Studios.  There we rode Tower of Terror (which never fails to creep me out, but I still love it), Toy Story Mania (one of my parents favorite rides--they always try to beat each other and see who can get the most points), and Rise of the Resistance (which we had never ridden before and thought was so cool, especially the interactive aspect).  By the time we left Hollywood Studios it was dark, and we took the bus back over to Magic Kingdom to finish off the night.  We watched the fireworks show at the castle (which was really good, by the way) and then made our way to Tron, which honestly wasn't our favorite--it was a little boring and short. We ended the night by riding Pirates of the Caribbean, and then we made the long trek back to our truck. We had gotten to the park before opening that morning and were leaving at closing, so you can imagine we were pretty exhausted when we got home; but we still had an awesome day at Disney World and I'm so happy we got to go! 

Welcome to Epcot!

Epcot's World Showcase has sections representing 11 different countries. I love the World showcase, probably because I love experiencing different cultures and traveling.  

England in the World Showcase

France in the World Showcase

Waiting in line for Remy's Ratatouille Adventure--I love how the rides are themed so well!

We happened to be at Epcot during the Arts Festival, and we stumbled upon these artists doing some street art!

I saw these beautiful flowers as we were walking out of Epcot and I had to take a photo. 

Welcome to Magic Kingdom!

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad!

As we were waiting in line for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad we saw the re-theming work going on over at Splash Mountain, soon to be Tiana's Bayou Adventure

Waiting in line for the bus to Hollywood Studios

Welcome to Hollywood Studios!

Our picture on Tower of Terror, we are in the front row.  My mom was videoing us so that's why she's holding her phone in the photo. 😂

So excited in Rise of the Resistance!

Galaxy's Edge is a Star Wars themed area in Hollywood Studios, and it is so well done. Above is a picture of the marketplace at night

Meat roasting in front of a fake fire

The Millennium Falcon

Pirates of the Caribbean (sorry for the blur, it was dark in there)

There are golden statues of Disney characters around the square in Magic Kingdom, and this one of Winnie the Pooh and Piglet can be seen to the right as you're walking out of Adventureland

Resting my eyes on the monorail back to Epcot, where we parked our truck. According to my mom, I looked quite comical. 

        During our free time in Florida we relaxed (and worked) at the camper, but we also spent time with friends. Honestly, being around friends (and meeting new ones!) was one of the best parts of being back in Florida. 

Mini golfing with our friend Kalani (he's not in the picture because he's the one taking it, but we had a great time with him!)

Florida sunsets are so breathtaking

Mia spent a good amount of her free time sketching; one of her favorite pastimes

One Sunday we went roller skating with my best friend Amity

One of the coolest things is when you become friends with your friend's friend!

        We went to Disney Springs another day, just my mom, Mia, and I.  We spent a few hours at Disney Springs, browsing the stores and getting some pizza for lunch, and then we went to visit and look around a few of the different Disney resorts.  We went to the Disney Riviera, Grand Floridian, and Polynesian Resorts, and my favorite was the Disney Riviera.  We also got to ride the Skyliner, Disney's new gondola system, for the first time; and it was a very quick and smooth way of transportation. 

A stream running through Disney Springs

Our lunch spot. The pizza here is so good, I definitely recommend it. 

I love the Roman/Spanish architecture in this part of Disney Springs

If you don't already know this about me, I am a big fan of pretty and historic architecture, especially if it looks Roman!

Mia is a huge fan of Spider-Man, so she loved these cute Spider-Man themed ears she found at the World of Disney store. 

The LEGO store at Disney Springs builds life-size characters for display--out of real LEGOs!--and in the past we've seen Woody and Buzz Lightyear, Rey and Chewbacca, The Hulk, and many more. 

The Disney Riviera Resort

I enjoyed a yummy coffee from the resort's French-inspired cafe as we strolled the grounds

The Disney Riviera was just so pretty I had to do a photoshoot with Mia!

Rapunzel from Tangled is one of my favorite Disney princesses, and there were two gorgeous mosaics from Tangled on the walls of an arch at the Disney Riviera.  

The second Tangled mosaic was a great background for more pictures!

The Skyliner

These curtains at one of the resorts were great for photos

In the Grand Floridian near the ballroom (this resort is huge!)\

The lobby of the Polynesian Resort

Two beautiful artificial waterfalls with tropical plants were right outside the main entrance into the resort's lobby

        Near the end of February we went to Medieval Times with one of the amazing families we've met on our travels.  This was my family's first time at Medieval Times and it was such a fun night. Dinner was delicious and the entertainment was great--we were on the red and yellow knight's team, and though our knight didn't win, we still had a great time cheering him on.  

The ceiling of the entrance hall was painted with colorful banners and hung with grand chandeliers 

The horses did lots of different tricks and special footwork and they were so majestic and beautiful to watch

When the knights' swords clashed, sparks would literally fly.

        My mom and Mia had booked a four-night cruise for the two of them while we were in Florida, so they were gone for a few days in the beginning of March.  The cruise went to two ports in the Bahamas, and my mom and Mia enjoyed spending one on one time with each other. Meanwhile my dad and I hung out at the camper, getting some maintenance work done (in my dad's case), hanging out with friends (in my case), watching movies, listening to apologetics lectures, and cooking. This time with my dad was enjoyable, but I did miss my mom and Mia. Time spent away from members of my close family always makes me appreciate them more, and I was happy for the four of us to be reunited when the cruise was over. 

The ship was huge!

In the Promenade, the heart of the ship where shops and cafes are located, was this tall fountain 

It's always fun to find a towel animal when you return to your cabin!

Their cabin

Ice skating

On March 10 we left Florida and drove twelve hours to Alabama.  We stopped in Alabama for three nights.  In my next blog I'll tell you all about our travels across the country, so keep your eyes out for my upcoming post!  Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed!