First we had friends come visit for Charlotte's spring break which was the week before ours. Will, Ellen, and their two boys stayed with us for a couple nights. We loved having them in town! We hope they come back soon!! And Julie got to buzz by for a bit to visit too!! Love my Charlotte peeps!
After they left...it was time for our Spring Break. This year we went to Orlando and did one day at Epcot then we headed to the Keys (Islamorada, Florida)...then St. Augustine on the way back! This is going to be a long post as I like to have all the details about our Spring Breaks for future reference. First...a car selfie as we hit the road to Florida.
First stop...Orlando. We stayed at
Hilton Orlando Buena Vista Palace Disney Springs Area which was great and I would definitely stay again and recommend. We hit the pool immediately.
Love my peeps! We ended up eating dinner at the pool area. Had a beverage and I got some reading done. Fun first night!
The main reason I booked this hotel was the views from our balcony off our room. The sunset and then you could see the fireworks from Epcot while we sat on the balcony!
The next morning we got up and had the buffet breakfast downstairs at Letterpress. This was Easter morning and we were fueling up for Epcot. We were going to Epcot since when we went to Disney for Spring Break 2015 we did not have time to do Epcot then.
Epcot was really fun and when we left the park...we headed back to our hotel to cool off at the pool! This was drink Jeff ordered from the bar! Ha!
The next morning we went back to eat breakfast at Letterpress before hitting the road to head to Theater of the Sea in the Keys.
We made it to
Theater of the Sea and it was awesome! I really enjoyed it and so did Norah and Jeff. We did all the activities they offered...boat ride, feeding fish, bird show, etc. but the main attraction was Norah and Jeff's time with the Dolphin named Sherry!
I am so glad we went to Theater of the Sea and would recommend to anyone that is headed to the Keys to visit it!
Next stop was our stay at
Cheeca Lodge in Islamorada, Florida. I actually have mixed feelings about Cheeca Lodge so in different circumstances I think it could have been perfect but it was not my favorite in some areas. I think if the weather was better so we could have used more of the services included and we had better service in some areas...I would feel different. I think we will go back to the Keys one day but will probably stay in a condo so we can have our own kitchen, etc. So depending on what you want out of a stay...Cheeca may be for you or not.
First...we checked in and they gave you a glass of champagne which was a plus for me! We checked into our room which was super nice.
We went to dinner the first night at the sushi restaurant on site at Cheeca and even though the food was good....the service was TERRIBLE. Like worst service ever. It really put doubts in our mind the first night about how the rest would go.
The next morning we left Cheeca to get breakfast at
Lorelei. It had great views and just a normal breakfast.
The other downside to Cheeca but this wasn't their fault...was the weather. It was so windy!! So they would not let you paddle board, kayak, or snorkel which we had originally planned to do. Also fishing was out as it was too windy for that also. So we tried to make the best of what we could do. We played tennis, road bikes, and did pool time.
The views were beautiful. It actually made me want to go back to Belize!
One activity that you could do in the wind was parasailing! I actually went parasailing in Mexico when I was about Norah's age so she and Jeff did it this time! They had a lot of fun!
The BEST food we had in Islamorada was at a restaurant called
Chef Michaels and it was so good! The service was amazing and seriously we all agreed that it was one of our favorite meals ever!!! (Norah and I had just gotten out of the shower...that is why we still have wet hair!)
We had a suite overlooking the golf course. This was a view from our screen porch. The last night we ordered food from a local restaurant and ate on the porch. It was so nice!
Bike Riding on the beach!
The last morning we hit up the
Green Turtle Inn for Breakfast as we heard it was on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives...and it did not disappoint! It was really good and we all enjoyed what we got to eat.
Next we left and decided to break up the drive and stay in St. Augustine. This was a neat town but honestly we were here for just a few hours. We ate dinner downtown which was a cool area and then went to
hotel and crashed.
The next day we got up and headed home! We had an amazing Spring Break 2017 and loved every moment of our family time. I really love our trips where it is just the 3 of us! I try to soak up every moment of our time together. Wonder where Spring Break 2018 will take us!??
