Orlando

Earlier this month we took a trip to Orlando. We rented a house and stayed with our friends, the Jardims. For the most part, Ryan did well on the flight. On the way there he played with cars and trains, ate, and watched his Caillou DVD.

While in Florida, we went to Sea World, Wonder Works, and Gatorland. We didn't do the Disney thing. It is far too expensive and Ryan won't remember it anyway. Many people told us it was similar to Disneyland, so we'll wait and take him to Disneyworld when he is old enough to apprecite it.


Here are some of our Sea World pictures:











The second day of our trip, it rained. We went to an indoor "amusement park" called Wonder Works. It has many interactive exhibits and is similar to the Discovery Science Center in Orange County. Ryan loved playing with the giant bubbles, making music by running on the giant piano, and just touching everything. Although I think Daddy had more fun then Ryan. Several times I turned around to look for him and he was nowhere to be found. Clearly this place could entertain all ages! Here are some of our favorite shots from Wonder Works:




By far the best place we visited was Gatorland! It was everything I expected it to be and more. It is a 110 acres of swampland filled with alligators. You walk across wooden bridges with alligators swimming beneath. They wrestle gators, they let you sit on a live gator and take a photo and they string pieces of meat on wires and the gators come out of the water to snatch the meat. It was amazing to see, a bit eerie and dangerous, but exciting and educational as well. Here are some pictures of our adventure at Gatorland:






After four days it was time to say goodbye to Orlando and the Jardim Family.







And with that we were back on a jet plane headed west. It was an exhausting trip, but we had lots of fun! Ryan slept 2 hours of the 5 hour flight!
Thank you Jardim Family, we had a blast, see you next year!