Katzateer
12-14-2008, 08:10 PM
Cast:
Katzateer-planner
DH-looking forward to not having to go to work, eating, and just being on vacation at WDW
Youngest DD- Stephanie (14) - loves going to WDW and is excited to take her friend
Courtney-daughters' friend that is turning 16 on trip and has never been to WDW
Our oldest DD is in college and is staying home to take care of our animals and go to classes-thanks Michelle! She doesn't really want to go on this trip so it was nice to have a house/pet sitter.
We left the Cincinnati area early the Friday after Thanksgiving. I was a little concerned about mall traffic but traffic was very light all the way to Atlanta. Good travel day!
We stopped and got some pecans and peanuts in Georgia and some cotton was growing in a field across from the stand so the girls went over and picked a little cotton.
By the time we got to Morrow we weren't really ready to stop-if we hadn't already booked a room with points that made the lodging free we may have driven a little further.
We stayed at a Comfort Inn which was fine. The girls went to the pool and we ate at a Cracker Barrel right behind the hotel.
On Saturday morning we were up bright and early. It poured down rain for 2 hours and the driving was horrible. My husband doesn't mind driving but the rain was making him nervous.
The weather was suppossed to be stormy on Sunday. Our original plans were to go to Tampa and spend most of Sunday at Caladesi Island. With strong winds and waves expected with the storms we debated whether to just drive on to Orlando or go to Tampa.
When we got to the highway where we had to decide we kept going to Tampa. If it stormed Sunday morning, we would just go on to Orlando in the morning.
We got to Tarpon Springs, FL late afternoon. We stayed at a nice Holiday Inn, I believe. There was a dock with shopping and places to eat we went to. We ate at Rusty Bellies-sat outside on a deck and watched the sunset eating seafood. Boats were docked up next to the deck and below was the area where the fish was iced and then brought into the building to be processed (a market was in the same building). A lot of fun shops were all along the street but they were closed by the time we got done eating (which I thought was strange for a Saturday night). It was not very late - maybe 8pm when we got back to the hotel.
The next morning we went to the ferry at Caladesi Island State Park. The wind was blowing strong but no rain yet. Our ferry at 10am was one of only 2 that went out that day. The wind really started picking up once we got to the island. Sand blowing everywhere and big waves. The shelling was great. Courtney found some huge sand dollars and I got some big pieces of coral. Stephanie found some great shells. We stayed on the beach about 2 hours and then headed back to the ferry. By the time we got back to the Caladesi ferry station it was pouring and the waves were coming over the side of the boat. I am glad we left when we did.
Our drive to Orlando was uneventful. It was a little rainy and windy but not too bad. We ate at Chevy's at Crossroads near Downtown Disney and then went to check in at the Vistana.
Our condo was ok - it was just a one bedroom with a pullout couch and we got a rollaway brought in.
The girls went to the hot tub at the pool and stayed out late.
We were going to Epcot on Monday so we tryed to get a good night sleep to be ready for a busy day.
Katzateer-planner
DH-looking forward to not having to go to work, eating, and just being on vacation at WDW
Youngest DD- Stephanie (14) - loves going to WDW and is excited to take her friend
Courtney-daughters' friend that is turning 16 on trip and has never been to WDW
Our oldest DD is in college and is staying home to take care of our animals and go to classes-thanks Michelle! She doesn't really want to go on this trip so it was nice to have a house/pet sitter.
We left the Cincinnati area early the Friday after Thanksgiving. I was a little concerned about mall traffic but traffic was very light all the way to Atlanta. Good travel day!
We stopped and got some pecans and peanuts in Georgia and some cotton was growing in a field across from the stand so the girls went over and picked a little cotton.
By the time we got to Morrow we weren't really ready to stop-if we hadn't already booked a room with points that made the lodging free we may have driven a little further.
We stayed at a Comfort Inn which was fine. The girls went to the pool and we ate at a Cracker Barrel right behind the hotel.
On Saturday morning we were up bright and early. It poured down rain for 2 hours and the driving was horrible. My husband doesn't mind driving but the rain was making him nervous.
The weather was suppossed to be stormy on Sunday. Our original plans were to go to Tampa and spend most of Sunday at Caladesi Island. With strong winds and waves expected with the storms we debated whether to just drive on to Orlando or go to Tampa.
When we got to the highway where we had to decide we kept going to Tampa. If it stormed Sunday morning, we would just go on to Orlando in the morning.
We got to Tarpon Springs, FL late afternoon. We stayed at a nice Holiday Inn, I believe. There was a dock with shopping and places to eat we went to. We ate at Rusty Bellies-sat outside on a deck and watched the sunset eating seafood. Boats were docked up next to the deck and below was the area where the fish was iced and then brought into the building to be processed (a market was in the same building). A lot of fun shops were all along the street but they were closed by the time we got done eating (which I thought was strange for a Saturday night). It was not very late - maybe 8pm when we got back to the hotel.
The next morning we went to the ferry at Caladesi Island State Park. The wind was blowing strong but no rain yet. Our ferry at 10am was one of only 2 that went out that day. The wind really started picking up once we got to the island. Sand blowing everywhere and big waves. The shelling was great. Courtney found some huge sand dollars and I got some big pieces of coral. Stephanie found some great shells. We stayed on the beach about 2 hours and then headed back to the ferry. By the time we got back to the Caladesi ferry station it was pouring and the waves were coming over the side of the boat. I am glad we left when we did.
Our drive to Orlando was uneventful. It was a little rainy and windy but not too bad. We ate at Chevy's at Crossroads near Downtown Disney and then went to check in at the Vistana.
Our condo was ok - it was just a one bedroom with a pullout couch and we got a rollaway brought in.
The girls went to the hot tub at the pool and stayed out late.
We were going to Epcot on Monday so we tryed to get a good night sleep to be ready for a busy day.