We took off from Texas, on schedule, on Dec 1st. The picture above is us at one of the various rest stops along the way. The cat did beautifully on the trip. I didn't even have to medicate the little guy. He cried at first, but then promptly used his litter box (which caused us to have to stop to clear out the stink), and then went about investigating the vehicle. He settled right down and enjoyed the ride. We arrived in New Orleans later that evening and enjoyed the next day showing the kids the French Quarter, riding the trolley, and of course eating beignets!
We headed toward Tallahassee after that, but stopped along the way in Pensacola to look at our first boat. It was a 38' Leopard. The kids seemed to like it, but I definitely did not get warm fuzzies about it. After a night in Tallahassee, we arrived in the wonderful warm climate of Orlando. We settled in for a week of fun at the Hard Rock Hotel in Universal Studios!
We went to Universal Studios purposefully to enjoy the two Harry Potter areas. We did see the rest of the two parks, but most of our time was spent in Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade. We had soooo much fun! The kids got interactive wands that worked all over the place with the different spells and wand movements. We ate at the Three Broomsticks (twice), and at the Leaky Cauldron. We had lots of butterbeer and gilly water. We went into all the shops (Ollivanders, The Weasleys' Shop, Madam Maulkins, Borgin and Burkes, Dervish and Banges, The Owl Post, Magical Menagerie, Honeydukes, Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, and the Quidditch Shop). We saw a wand choose a wizard, rode the Hogwart's Express (multiple times), and watched the dragon over Gringott's Bank blow fire. The whole experience was amazing! The kids rode every ride in both parks (including the water rides), but rode the Harry Potter rides several times (Flight of the Hippogriff, Dragon Challenge, Gringott's, and The Forbidden Journey). The weather was warm and sunny the whole time. We experienced both parks several times, over several days, both daytime and nighttime. We could not have asked for a better trip!
We left and arrived in Melbourne on schedule Dec 10th. This is our new temporary home until we find a boat. It's quite nice to have sunny weather where people are still using swimming pools! The kids are back into school work for a few weeks before Christmas, and we've unpacked and settled in for our six to eight week stay. We headed out yesterday to see more boats. Along the way, we had a bit of snag in our plans:
We were about halfway to our destination when we needed to stop for someone to use the restroom. Fortunately we stopped when we did, or we would have been stranded on the highway. No sooner had we stopped the Durango, when it decided to blow a radiator hose (we think anyway). There was smoke and a nasty smell. Roadside Assistance came in very handy, and had a tow truck there within a few hours. The kids and I got stuck stranded at the rest stop, while my husband went with the truck and obtained a rental car (the tow truck could only hold two people). We had luckily packed a lunch for the day (because we were sick of fast food), so we were stranded with lunch, a place to use the restroom, and warm sunny weather. It could definitely have gone worse!
The day got better though. Once we had the rental (and the Durango safely with the dealership) we continued on our way. We saw a wonderful Island Spirit 37. We all fell in love with her. She is in incredible shape for her age. We are wondering if perhaps we have found our boat. We shall see....
