Spring Break 2017

Cincinnati, United States

Sat, 09 Sep 2017 12:15:19 -0400

Trying the Blueberry Ale at Braxton Brewery!

At Vinoklet Winery for the festival!!!

Sunset at the wine festival.

Minocqua, United States

Thu, 06 Apr 2017 08:02:14 -0500

Our view from Divano's last night while at Science on Tap. Beautiful!

Anniversary ring with the three birthstones! My birthstone, Andy's birthstone, and the birthstone for the month we first met!

Champaign, United States

Sat, 18 Mar 2017 17:30:00 -0500

Left bright and early from Georgia and headed into a foggy mountain pass. Was beautiful to see! Stopped outside of Nashville for a Winery stop, Beachaven Winery. A case of wine later, and we were on to the next one in Paducah, Kentucky. Purple Toad Winery! Lovely place and lots of great wines to try. A case later and we were on the road again. Stopped in Champaign, Illinois for the night. Ate dinner at The Olive Garden. Found out we were sharing the hotel with a whole bunch of young wrestlers at a tournament all weekend. Not a lot of rest at this hotel!!!

Breakfast before leaving Georgia

Foggy mountain pass

Passing through the mountains from Georgia to Tennessee

And more shells!

Lots of shells!

Our bounty from the ocean

Dalton, United States

Fri, 17 Mar 2017 18:40:00 -0400

OMG!!! Longggggggg drive today from Cocoa Beach!!!! We left at 0753 and arrived in Dalton, Georgia around 6:40 pm. It took us 2 1/2 hours to get through Atlanta due to numerous accidents and traffic back ups! Decided to finally stop as we couldn't take being in the car anymore! Ate dinner at Outback. No Irish pubs anywhere according to the hotel clerk, so we'll have to celebrate St. Paddy's day when we get home. Early night for us as we want to get an early start in the morning.

Sunrise from our balcony in Cocoa Beach

Sunrise

I miss Cocoa Beach already!!!

Cocoa Beach, United States

Thu, 16 Mar 2017 01:20:00 -0400

Woke up very early this morning to catch the Spacex shuttle launch. We could actually see it from our hotel balcony, both sides!!! Words cannot express the feeling you get watching an event like this!!! Our pictures do not do justice to what we actually saw! Decided to go down to the beach after breakfast to test the water and find some shells. It was a balmy 48 degrees, but within minutes of walking down the beach, we were warm and shoes were wet. So went back and changed into swimsuits and went shell hunting again. We hit the mother lode. All kinds of shells were found! Water is 71 degrees, so nice and warm compared to the air temperature! Walked in the surf for a while, and then went to the pier and shopped and ate some lunch. Bucket of Bait, Sea Salt and Vinegar Sidewinders, and Landshark beer. Perfect afternoon!!! Walked the beach again this afternoon and collected more shells. Ate dinner at Fishlips Bar and Grill. I had the grilled scallops with mushroom risotto and asparagus, Andy had the crab stuffed Florida lobster tail with broccoli and homemade mac and cheese, and Travis had Crabby Mac and Cheese. Wow!!! Great meal! Key lime pie for dessert! Relaxing after dinner with a Sauvignon Blanc tonight at the hotel. Time to leave tomorrow.

Spacex taking off into space

Spacex shuttle

Shell hunting. This is not all of them!!!

Travis and Mom on the beach, a balmy 48 degrees

Birds watching us pick up shells.

The beach

Another view

Travis and Andy on the pier

Mom and Travis on the pier

Mom and Dad on the pier

A view from the pier

The beach

Pelican on the pier waiting for his fish lunch

The Pelican on the pier

View from the pier while eating lunch

Walking the beach in search of more shells

Andy searching for shells

The mother lode!

Cocoa Beach, United States

Wed, 15 Mar 2017 11:00:00 -0400

Left Universal around 1100 today and stopped at the outlet mall first to find track spikes for Travis. No go for Travis, but I bought two pairs of shoes for myself, one for work and one for play! NASA was next on the agenda. Toured the Space Center and part of the new Atlantis exhibit. Ran out of time to do the simulation, so will have to make a return trip. Finally got to Cocoa Beach after 6 pm and checked into La Quinta Inn and Suites. Our view is phenomenal!!!!! Walked along the beach and picked up some shells, walked along the boardwalk, and now waiting to do a late dinner on the boardwalk. Ate dinner at The Pelican Bar and Grill. Lobster Roll for me, Lobster Tacos for Andy, and Fried Gator for Travis, with Key Lime pie for dessert. Yum!!!

Andy and Travis on the bus to the Space Center

View from our room

Sunset

Sunset on Cocoa Beach

Orlando, United States

Tue, 14 Mar 2017 10:30:00 -0400

Late start to our day again due to Travis' run. Had breakfast at Starbucks again, and away we go!!!! Skull Island was our first ride of the day, then the Forbidden Journey at Hogwarts Castle. After that, only Travis rode the Dragon Challenge, as Andy wasn't feeling well after the last ride, and I didn't want to feel the way I did yesterday after riding the Dragon Challenge!!! We then decided to get some dessert at The Chocolate Emporium. I had the caramel flan sundae, Travis had There May Be Nuts sundae, and Andy had the Hazelnut Shake. OMG!!! If we would have known how big our desserts were going to be, we would have shared!!! We then went back to the park to do some shopping. Bought some new t-shirts, a new necklace for me, and encountered the Beat Builders! They played on every bucket or metal pole that they could find! Awesome to watch and listen to!!! Travis finally got to ride The Hulk roller coaster. He went by himself, as Mom and Dad chickened out. I think you hit your 50's and you realize life is more important than risking it on some roller coaster! Did Skull Island a second time, and then went shopping in Diagon Alley. Weather turned cold, so I had to buy Neville Longbottom's sweater. Love it!!!! Got to watch the Mardi Gras parade and collected a ton of beads. Now it is 9:15 pm, and we are waiting for a table at NBC Grill and Brew. Travis ate The Wisconsin Burger, with Bleu Cheese Chips for an appetizer, I had the Barbecued Chicken salad, and Andy had the Lamb burger. Long day for our last day here, but well worth it!!!!

The guys

Outside on our balcony

Posing by the pretty plants

The guys

Hogwarts

Dessert!

Our desserts at the Chocolate Emporium

Jacques

Jacques, the Chocolate Emporium guy

The Building Drummers

Snuggling with Andy

Andy and Travis trying to dial the rotary phone in the phone booth from Harry Potter

Posing outside King's Station

View from our restaurant tonight. Great way to end the day!!!!

The boys with their Mardi Gras beads. 19 for Travis, 12 for Andy!

Orlando, United States

Mon, 13 Mar 2017 09:00:00 -0400

Late start to the day. We were bushed from last night!!! Travis went for his morning run while Andy and I went for a walk around our hotel complex. Two large swimming pools, hot tubs, fire pits, bowling alley, work out facility, and Starbucks! Caramel macchiato, here we come! Along with an everything bagel with cream cheese!!! Then we were off to the park, Island of Adventure to start the day! Spider-Man ride, Flight of the Hippogriff, the Dragon Challenge, Hogwarts Express, lunch at Moe's, the Simpson's Ride, Men in Black Ride, Shrek 4D, and Transformers ride again, as this is an awesome ride!!!! Whew!!! My hip and knee are killing me today!!! I think I'm realizing I can't do all the roller coasters, as I did not feel great after the Dragon Challenge. Will rethink doing the Hulk roller coaster tomorrow.... Eating dinner at Bubba Gump tonight. Stuffed shrimp for me, Seafood Feast for Travis, and Grilled Seafood Trio for Andy. Then will do a little shopping. Rain tonight which shut down a few rides early.

Andy and Travis with Duff

Duff and the boys

Orlando, United States

Sun, 12 Mar 2017 12:10:00 -0400

Yeah!!!!! We made it and checked in early to get a head start on the parks! Stopped at Hard Rock Cafe first for lunch. Grilled vegetable flatbread for me, southwest chicken flatbread for Andy, and pepperoni flatbread for Travis. Next was the Minion Ride. What a blast! Simulated roller coaster ride with interaction with Gru and the characters of the movie. Next stop was the Transformers ride. Wow!!!! A simulated ride doing battle with Megatron! Very fun! We hit Gringott's Bank next. Wild roller coaster ride interacting with all the Harry Potter characters in Gringotts. Will do again!!!! The room that we are staying in is like a beach cabana, hence the name of our resort - Cabana Bay. Went back to the park and experienced The Mummy Ride and The Simpsons Ride again!!! Loved them years ago, and still love them!!!! Whew!! Toby Keith was in concert tonight at Universal, free!! Got to see him perform some of his best songs. I, unfortunately, left the concert early due to a lot of hip pain. Started acting up a few days before we left on our trip, and I think all the walking aggravated it. Ugh!! I don't like getting older!

Riding the bus to the park

Posing at the Hard Rock Cafe

At the Hard Rock Cafe

Shrek 4D

Outside the Minion Ride

Getting ready for the Minion Ride

Travis and I by the night bus from the Harry Potter films.

The Night Bus from the Harry Potter films

Diagon Alley

Weasley's

Travis in front of Weasley's Shop

Gringott's

Outside Gringott's Bank

Valdosta, United States

Sat, 11 Mar 2017 17:30:00 -0500

Woke up to snow in Nashville this morning!!! Ugh!! Definitely time to hit the road!! Was fun to see a family from Florida playing in the snow, as this was the kids first time seeing snow! Snowed until we hit the outskirts of Nashville. Drove until we got through the mountain pass, and stopped at a Waffle House for lunch. Always a stop for us at least once on our trip! Great greasy food!!! Drove to Horse Creek Winery near Valdosta, Georgia and did some wine tasting. Ended up of course, buying a case of wine. Yes, Ginny and Buzz, peach wine coming your way!!! Staying at a Holiday Inn in Valdosta for the night. Three hours away from Universal Orlando!!!! Waiting for Travis to finish his run for the night, light dinner, and then "Logan" at the movie theater per Travis' request.

Waffle House in Dalton, Georgia

Our view this morning. Snow!

Driving through snow in Nashville

Driving through the mountain pass

Outside Horse Creek Winery

Our first palm tree of the trip!!! Beautiful!!!

Our first palm tree of the trip. Ahhhh.... time to relax........

Andy enjoying a much deserved glass of wine after all the traffic we drove through!

Nashville, United States

Fri, 10 Mar 2017 15:50:00 -0600

Long drive through the state of Illinois, but we finally made it to Nashville!!! Lots of beautiful scenery driving through Kentucky and Tennessee so far, and have a couple of wineries written down for on the way back to stop at. Waiting for Travis to finish his run and then downtown to check out the scene. Dinner at John A's restaurant listening to some live country music. Pork chops with Tennessee bourbon, ribs, and catfish. Wow!!!

Obviously, Illinois did not thrill Travis!

And again..... still sleeping!

Driving over the bridge into Kentucky.

Yeah!!! Kentucky!!!

The wall of fame. Garth Brooks is up on the wall!!

Selfie moment at John A's.

Snow in Nashville. Time to leave for Georgia!!!

Sycamore

Thu, 09 Mar 2017 22:40:00 -0600

Stopped in Sycamore for the night. Tried to stop in Rockford, but all the hotels were booked due to a wrestling tournament!!! So Sycamore it is. Just another half hour down the road. Expedia app does come in handy!

Eating breakfast at Country Inn and Suites.