March 15, 2011

Vacation Plans

I am beyond excited about our vacation plans for block leave.  I know that before I can focus on that too much, I need my husband to come home safely from Afghanistan, but having something to look forward to as a family is helping me pass the time.

Even before having kids, we never travelled much.  In fact I'm ashamed to say, we barely travelled at all.  (When we lived in Lawton, OK, we never even made it down to Dallas, TX.)  The biggest thing holding us back was that we have 3 dogs, and I do hate the idea of kenneling them.  Also, before we had kids, we tried to plan trips back home to see family with most of our available leave.  I regret not having more fun adventures.  I've also realized the dogs can survive a while in the kennel.  So for the upcoming block leave we are making it a big trip (big for us that is).

We will be spending a week in Disney World with my family.  This will be Ryan's second trip to Disney and Sean's first.  Ryan is at an age where he will finally appreciate it a bit more.  We are all staying together in a Villa at a relaxing Disney resort.  Even with the change to our vacation plans, I think it has worked out perfectly.

Rather than fly with the kids, car seats, and everything else we are going to drive (hopefully in a new car that we will be buying after the end of this deployment--more on that later).  It's over a 13 hour drive to Disney from where we are.  13 hours in the car with the boys does not excite me.  We've decided to take our time and make vacation stops on the drive.  Here are some of the places we plan to stop on the trip down and back.  Let me know if you've been to any of them.

Birmingham, AL--We're booked at what seems to be a great family friendly hotel and have a 2 room suite. While in Birmingham we'll go to the zoo.

Albany, GA--This stop was my idea.  It isn't a big city.  It is on the route, and after researching it online, I think it will be a perfect stop.  There is the Riverfront Park along the Flint River.  It has a nice playground, a greenway system, and a Ray Charles monument.  I think it will be a perfect stop that is relaxing and allows outdoor time to get some energy out of the kids.  I just have to hope for no rain the day we are there.

Daytona Beach, FL--I grew up in a beach town in New England.  Living where the Army sends us, I really miss the beach.  I'm not really a beach bum that lays out and sunbathes, but I love walking on the beach and watching the ocean.  I think it will be a great adventure with the boys, but again, I have to hope for no rain.

Atlanta, GA--I know I've made posts about our block leave that we took to ATL a year ago.  We have a great fondness for ATL.  On this trip we plan to hang out in Centennial Olympic Park, go to the Georgia Aquarium, and of course we must stop at the World of Coke for Pat.

I am so excited for every part of this trip.  I love the stops we have planned and I look froward to spending a week with my family in Disney.  As I said, we've never done much traveling, so this is a huge plan for us.  Have you ever visited any of the places we plan on stopping?  Do you have upcoming vacation plans?

11 comments:

Stacielynn said...

I think it's a good thing to look forward to your family vacation, it's something to keep your spirits up during deployment! I have family down in Georgia and we often take the drive to Atlanta. We always walk through Centennial Olympic Park (it's pretty and you can see the CNN building from it!) and the aquarium is AMAZING! Just try if you can to visit it on a weekday because on the weekends it can get very VERY busy. The World of Coke is really cool! They have one floor that is just soda dispensers that have all the different coke products that are popular in different parts of the world. I must say, I love Georgia and I hope you have a lot of fun there.

Anonymous said...

How fun! We have yet to take our little guy to Disney World. In fact, my husband has never been. He lived a deprived childhood. Haha. We hope to go soon though!

The Fischer Family said...

I am so jealous!!! We are hoping to go to Disney next year...so I'll have to live vicariously through you this year! Have a safe drive. When we went to DC last year (its about an 8 1/2 hour drive from us) we chose to drive straight thru at night. The kids, to our amazement, slept the whole way! But your trip sounds much more fun :-)

Anonymous said...

That sounds like a great family vacation!!! It's getting me inspired to plan something. I hope you guys have a blast, and take lots of photos!

Unknown said...

Have fun at Disney! It's always so much fun there:) Did I know you gew up in New England? Just wondering where. I'm spoiled being in the PNW and having the ocean and beaches here!

Anonymous said...

I haven't been to any of those places . . . yet. But it sounds like great fun! :)

Pamela said...

Are the boys old enough for an MP3 player/iPod? If you load them up with stories and kid-friendly music, that will keep them entertained. We made a Florida to Illinois journey and Sophia kept herself amused with a Walkman and an assortment of CDs. On our Illinois to Virginia leg, we had a DVD player in the van but that's quite a luxury. You might be able to find an inexpensive DVD player that works off the cigarette lighter if that's an option for you.

Have a wonderful time - Disney World is a magical place, no matter what your age!

Julie Danielle said...

That sounds like a lot of fun! I am not sure what we will do when he gets home. We are trying to save for a house to don't want to spend a lot but I want to do something.

Dana K said...

Have fun on your trip! It sounds great - I love Disney.

Make sure you pronounce Albany, GA as "ALL-binny" - it's not pronounced like Albany, NY. Trust me on this - I'm a South GA girl...

(found you through the milspouse roundup)

Megilon said...

Sounds like a fun trip!! I think it is good to look forward to a family trip.

Jessica said...

YAY!!! How fun!
We are going to Disney too when my hubby returns! It's all the kids can talk about and I can not wait to plan it. =)

Feel free to email me about the stop in Birmingham, AL (it is sooo close to me) I can give you some tips about the zoo. ;)
my email is jessicacrow at bellsouth dot net

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