It Was the Trip of a Lifetime

 

DH and I left a day early, and our first stop of the trip was Paducah.  And no trip to Paducah is complete without a trip to Hancock’s of Paducah … a warehouse packed full of quilting fabrics and supplies. 

This is just a small portion of the fabrics available.  And of course, no trip to Hancock’s of Paducah would be complete without a purchase. 

 

After we finished up at Hancock’s, we drove down to see the Land Between the Lakes.  DH has been wanting to see Kentucky Lake and the dam, so I figured that if he could “endure” Hancock’s, I could surely “endure” the Land Between the Lakes.  And I have to admit that the Lake and the dam were pretty impressive (I’m not sure that DH could say the same thing about Hancock’s ).

 

We hit the road in earnest Friday morning and after an overnight stop south of Atlanta, we got to our house in Kissimmee Saturday afternoon. 

 

We spent the first 8 days in the Kissimmee/Orlando area, visiting Legoland and Disney.  Since I’m not a fan of park rides, Legoland didn’t hold much appeal, but I was especially enthralled with all the miniatures at Legoland’s Miniland.

Notice the visitor at the Jefferson Memorial

 

My primary job at Disney was watching T#4 while everyone else rode the roller coasters … no Space Mountain or Big Thunder Mountain for me!  Lest you think I did nothing but watch everyone else have fun, I did ride the kiddie rides (Winnie the Pooh, Buzz Lightyear, Haunted Mansion, etc.).   I also rode the Dumbo ride but have to confess that it pushed my park ride limits (fear of heights).  Ha! 

 

Seriously, I had a fabulous time watching the littles enjoy Disney … and I marveled at the Main Street Electrical Parade and the fireworks afterwards.  I also enjoyed our day at Epcot, especially our lunch which consisted of samples of each country’s cuisine.  

T#4 waving to the princesses

 

There was no better way to end our Disney days than with pool time; I certainly could get used to having a pool right out my back door. 

 

After our 8 days in Kissimmee/Orlando, we made our way to the beach.

 

We had a little time to kill before we could have access to our condo, so we drove up to Clearwater for lunch at Five Guys (my first time – but it won’t be my last).  We noticed this on their bulletin board – obviously we weren’t their first visitors from SW Illinois!

 

The next 4 days were spent on the beach.

Coral found on one of our walks along the beach

An early-morning runner carrying the Christian flag

T#4 wanted to get up close and personal with a heron (forgive the blurry photo)

The sand castle we all built the day before

(Don’t forget to click on the pictures for full-size views).

 

If I thought having a pool right outside the back door was fantastic, it paled in comparison to having the beach right outside the back door!  Absolutely FABULOUS!

 

We all packed up Thursday morning, after 14 days together (pure bliss!) … DD and her family heading off to Chattanooga to spend a few days with DSIL’s sister, DH and I heading back home.    As much as we enjoyed Legoland, Disney and the beach, the best part of the trip was the time spent with DD and her family   … and I’m really missing them.