A Vacation of a Lifetime

One benefit of living near a big city is the ease and economy of flying. From Boise, we rarely flew anywhere b/c it was "spendy" but from D.C. we can fly to many areas cheaper than we can drive. Amazing! We have planned on going to Orlando for years (Dave's parents did live there full time, now they are there about 5 months out of the year). We saw this as the opportunity to make it happen. And since Dave's mom and dad would be there before Thanksgiving, we decided to add a belated 10 year anniversary trip as well. Of course no trip to Florida would be complete without a visit to Disney World.
We left November 14th for Orlando. November 15th our family went to Magic Kingdom. The boys are the perfect ages and heights for a Disney World experience. We could stay all day and they could ride every single ride they wanted to. Some favorites of Magic Kingdom were catching the Year of a Million Dreams parade, taking pictures with the characters (a real milestone for Grayson), Jack and Grayson riding their first big roller coaster "Space Mountain", experiencing all the Holiday hoopla that only Disney can imagine (it was snowing on Main Street as we exited the park that night). Jack says that his favorite ride was Stitch's adventure, Grayson really loved Buzz Light Year's fight against Zorg, we ALL loved crazy Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain (Mom got soaked on that one). Oh, and Jack Sparrow looks amazingly real in Pirates of the Carribean. It was a truly magical day!
Friday morning, November 16th mom and dad left the boys with Nana and Papa for a second honeymoon in the Virgin Islands. Destination: Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands. After a couple of plane flights, a ferry or two and a taxi, we arrived at our quaint Guavaberry Spring Bay bungalow. When we woke up the next day, we were surrounded by a tropical paradise, tucked in behind boulders and trees in a secluded and quiet oasis. Ahhhhh! I can still feel the ocean breezes traveling through our abode. We spent our days snorkeling, reading and just relaxing on the beaches of Virgin Gorda. Some highlights included Savannah Bay (an entire picturesque white sand beach all to ourselves...), exploring The Baths early in the morning, driving around the island (only to be stranded when our rental car overheated on Mt. Gorda, though we did have breathtaking views), trying out local fare and watching the sunset. The four days we spent on Virgin Gorda were the perfect prescription for reconnection, rejuvenation and relaxation. We can't wait to go back.
We ferried back to St. Thomas and stayed at the historic Hotel 1829 in Charlotte Amalie (with a fancy dinner at Herve's next door). The next day we took a trip over to St. John and ventured around the island to find some ideal beach and snorkeling locations. The beach at Francis Bay was our favorite snorkel spot and the beach bumming wasn't too bad either. We grabbed lunch to go at Maho Bay eco-resort and enjoyed picnicking on the beach. The larger fish must love Francis Bay too because we observed several feeding frenzies while we were there. We ended the day by watching a magnificent sunset from the hills above Cruz Bay, St. John.
In Charlotte Amalie we discovered a real jewel in the middle of a jewelry store mecca. Gloria's cafe is nestled in the middle of the old narrow alleyways and serves a superb breakfast with Carribean hospitality and flare. Gloria and Pauline will always have a special place in our hearts. We also ventured to tour Blackbeard's Hill before heading back to Florida for more vacation fun.
The boys had so much fun with Dave's folks. They hit Gatorland, Downtown Disney, Lego Land and Blue Springs State Park to see the manatee. I think it was a very special time for all of them. Nana had Thanksgiving meal ready and waiting for us when we returned to Orlando (even after a 2 hour delay). All of us, including Nana and Papa, went to Animal Kingdom for a day. We had a "magical moment" with Disney cast members while watching the gorillas and another one when we got to skip to the head of the line and ride Primeval Whirl (in Dino Land) two times in a row without getting off in between rides. Jack thought it was super cool to have that special treatment. Some other highlights included Rafiki's Planet Watch, the Kilimanjaro Safari, It's tough to be a bug, the holiday parade and the scary Dinosaur ride. The show stopper happened at the very end of the night at Expedition Everest. It was the last ride of the day and we used our fast passes. The entire ride was a rush and we whizzed past the Yeti as he stalked us through the mountain. We were reliving the moment and catching our collective breath, when someone handed us four more fast passes that they were not going to use. It was a bonus ride that none of us will soon forget.
Nana and Papa headed back to Nasvhille while the four of us packed up and left for Epcot. Over two days we saw almost every inch of Future World and World Showcase. (Day one - 13hours, Day two - 9 hours) Every ride or showcase had charms for the kids to collect on a lanyard and a mask. Jack and Grayson collected every single one. Some of their favorites at Future World were Turtle Talk with Crush, Test Track, Mission Space and Soarin'. We rode the spinning version of Mission Space and it actually had barf bags on the ride. Mom and dad were both a little shaky after that one. In World Showcase we dined at Restaurant Marrakesh in Morocco, complete with belly dancers and live music. Each country had so many great things to offer such as a picture with Pere Noel (St. Nick) in France, a bagpipe rock band in the UK, a viking ship in Norway, Matsuriza drums in Japan, Dragon Legend acrobats in China, and the traditional Holiday Candlelight Processional with John O'Hurley narrating the Christmas story. We also hit the Character Spot for photo ops and ended both nights with the IllumiNations fireworks show.