Spring Break- Day 3: SeaWorld

On Saturday, we went to SeaWorld, and this day was just plain fun... and EASY.  We discovered that our hotel offered a shuttle that went directly to SeaWorld (which eliminated parking costs/hassle for us), and that we were able to get QuickQueue passes that allowed us to go to the front of the line for every ride at the park.  There was no giant bag to lug around, as we didn't take our big camera and only used our phones to take pictures.  Also, I didn't pack snacks/water bottles as a result of our big surprise:  We purchased All-Day-Dining Deals for our family, which meant that once each hour, we were able to get an entree, side, drink, and fruit cup/dessert at numerous restaurants within SeaWorld.  In fact, when we told the kids about our dining plan (before we left home), it was the thing that they were most excited about re: our entire Spring Break vacation!  If you know Luke, you'll understand that he is the PERFECT candidate for All-Day-Dining, and the best part is that he was still eligible for the discounted child-price (ages 3-9).  Our little foodie appreciates eating more than any person I know, and we certainly got our money's worth out of the deal, as we ate at 5 different restaurants throughout the day (and calculated that we had $250-$300 of food...). 

Only two members of our family donned themed attire for SeaWorld (much to Daddy's relief), and I loved their shirts:

We spaced out our day among animal attractions, live shows, and rides.  Actually the day went more like: food, animal attraction, food, show, food, ride, food, repeat.  We were able to see all 4 shows that the park offered (dolphins, killer whales, sea lions/seals, and pets), and it was hard to pick a favorite, as we loved them all.  The kids insisted on sitting in the Splash Zone (front rows) for every show, and were delighted to be splashed and sprayed with water each time:

We were impressed with how close we could get to the animals in their enclosures.  Here are some of our favorites:

Penguins!

This was so cute!  They were playfully interacting with one another.

Mommy loved the sea turtles!

Luke: (pretending to be) terrified by the sharks swimming over his head!

Sea Lion basking in the sun.

This seal made us laugh with his facial expressions!

The Dolphin Nursery was amazing.  The dolphins were very playful and slid up onto this rock right beside us to say Hi!

Journey to Atlantis was the kids' favorite ride, and they went on this one more than once!

We ended up staying at SeaWorld until after 7 p.m., which is a long time for us to be at an amusement park!  It was a perfect ending to Spring Break, and on Sunday morning, we drove home to NC.  We're so happy that we were able to take this fun trip last week, and we made so many great memories of Spring Break 2018!

Spring Break- Day 2: Kennedy Space Center

We woke up on Day 2 of Spring Break, checked out of our hotel, and hopped in the car for our two hour drive to Cape Canaveral, where we visited Kennedy Space Center.  Once again, Luke was our golden ticket, as we found out several days before our trip that any student who is/will be in 5th grade in 2018 is eligible for free admission to Kennedy Space Center!  

Guess who was most excited about our matching NASA family t-shirts?  If you guessed Mark, you are not correct!  When I saw these shirts at Target a few weeks ago, I may have squealed with delight... (as if I need another reason to adore Target).

We arrived at Kennedy Space Center just as it opened at 9:00 a.m. and explored the Rocket Garden first.  This large outdoor display contained many historic rockets that have taken astronauts and satellites into space:

The kids were fascinated by the probes, and couldn't believe that astronauts traveled in these tiny vehicles!

Two astronauts spent 14 days in this probe!

Next, we took the 2+ hour Explore Tour, which is a guided bus ride that takes visitors to see the launch pads and buildings where the space vehicles are assembled.  We learned that these facilities are 3.5 miles away from the Control Center/rest of the complex, as that is the minimum distance required at the time of a launch for safety reasons (due to vibration, sound, and volatile gases/heat).   We also drove past famous Launch Pad 39, which is still in use today as the location for recent and upcoming SpaceEx launches:  

Launch Pad 39A.

Our favorite building was the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), where large space vehicles are built.  The VAB is one of the largest buildings in the world by volume and contains only one-story inside, even though it is the height equivalent of a 52-story tall building (526 feet tall!).  The narrow gray doors on the building (at the right of the picture) take 45 minutes to completely open or close and allow space vehicles to exit the building vertically (with as little as 6 feet of clearance!).     

To give you more scale of the VAB's size: Each star on the flag is 6 feet tall, and the blue flag background is the size of a basketball court!

Our bus tour paused at the Apollo/Saturn V Center, where we were able to touch a piece of moon rock, see lunar rovers and modules, and get close to the Saturn V, which is the tallest, heaviest, and most powerful rocket ever! 

Saturn V was the launch rocket for the Apollo Program, which took the first U.S. astronauts to the moon.  It also was later used to launch SkyLab, America's first space station.

There was a neat theater in the Apollo/Saturn V Center which contained the actual consoles & firing room from the Apollo 8 launch in 1968.  We were able to experience the Apollo 8 countdown as we watched clips and news footage from that momentous day.  The interactive simulation also allowed us to feel and hear what it was like as Saturn V blasted off and carried Apollo 8 into space:  

Apollo 8 was the first successful manned spacecraft to leave the Earth and orbit the moon.

Mark and I commented several times throughout the day how much we learned, and how inspiring it was to visit NASA.  All of the exhibits were so well done, and it was truly a perfect fit for our science-loving family.  Leah recently completed an astronomy unit at school, and she and Luke were quizzing us in the car on the way to Kennedy Space Center.  Topics included Nicholas Copernicus, Archimedes, and facts about various planetary moons (all of which I had to look up).  At one point, I whispered across the front seat to Mark, "This isn't normal, right?", and he replied jokingly , "Nope, but it's OUR normal!"

Back at the main complex, we watched an incredible 3-D IMax movie which detailed astronauts' experiences on the International Space Station.  We also liked the Journey to Mars: Explorers Wanted exhibit and live show, which described NASA's plans to explore deep space.  Of course we had refuel our tanks with an afternoon treat: Space Dots for the kids, and ice cream for Daddy (Mommy wanted to wait for freeze-dried astronaut ice cream in the gift shop!).

Another afternoon highlight was the Space Shuttle Atlantis exhibit, which not only houses the giant space shuttle, but lots of different family-friendly hands-on displays:  

Atlantis, displayed as it looks in space, tilted with doors open. 

We also had fun with the astronaut training simulators, as we attempted to dock at the International Space Station and land our shuttles on the space center's runways.  The kids may have been better at piloting these flight simulators than Mark and me, so I'm not sure what that says about our driving skills! 

Right before we left, we decided to wait in line for the Shuttle Launch Experience, which is a simulation of a space shuttle's ascent into orbit.  NASA astronauts developed this for training purposes and have said that is the most realistic simulation of being aboard a space shuttle that they have ever experienced.  We LOVED this simulation, and it was definitely the grand finale of our day at Kennedy.   By this time it was late afternoon, and we drove an hour to our next hotel in Orlando.  We checked in, and the kids splashed in the hotel pool and we had an evening poolside pizza party to conclude our great second day of vacation!  

Spring Break- Day 1: St. Augustine

We drove to Florida on Thursday for a whirlwind Spring Break getaway.  Our magic formula of leaving in the middle of the night worked again this year!  After an early Wednesday night bedtime for all, we hit the road at 2:45 a.m., and this was the scene in our car:

We have a rule when we do these early departures that the kids must sleep (or try to sleep) until 7:00 a.m.   That means no videos, no talking, no reading, etc.   It's quiet for several hours and we pack breakfast for the car that we eat when everyone "wakes up".  We were lucky not to have much traffic, and sure enough, we arrived in St. Augustine shortly after 10:30 a.m.!

It wasn't bathing suit weather, but the kids put their toes in the ocean and had fun playing in the sand.  We had a picnic lunch on the beach and it was beautiful and relaxing:

They proclaimed that the water was COLD!

The sand was covered in shells, and L&L found some beautiful additions to their shell collections.

Flock of pelicans.

In the afternoon, we headed to the Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park.  This ended up being very crowded with lots of school field trips (and was a bit of a cheesy tourist attraction), so we gave a quick shout out to Ponce De Leon and briefly walked around the outside of the park.

The children enjoyed posing with the canons, and we kept hearing loud squawking near us.  We looked up and realized that there were peacocks in the trees right above our heads.  We later read that there are almost 50 peafowl that roam loose around the park!

We enjoyed talking about the history of St. Augustine, and the children were excited that we were exploring the oldest city in the United States.  The city has a beautiful historic district, with cobblestone streets,  Spanish architecture, and gorgeous views of the Mantanzasa Bay.

Lots of Spanish moss and elegant, stately homes. 

Spanish Colonial architecture and palm trees.

Enjoying an ice cream cone in the Historic Quarter!

Standing at the Old City Gates (the original stone entry of this once-walled city).

There was way too much in St. Augustine for us to thoroughly explore in one day, so we chose one attraction that ended up being quite a serendipitous find.  Castillo de San Marcos is the oldest fort in the continental U.S., and is a huge structure that overlooks the bay.  It is part of the National Parks Service, and when I looked up admission fees (upon our arrival), I found that 4th graders (and their families) get in free to all National Parks this year!  That made this freebie attraction quite appealing to us, and I had no idea how much the kids would love it.

We spent hours at Castillo de San Marcos and learned much about this 17th century structure that once protected the ancient city of St. Augustine.  One of our favorite facts is that the fort walls are made from coquina shells and sand, which mix together to form a limestone that is stronger than cement.  We find coquina shells at the beach each summer, and it was hard to believe that walls made with these delicate shells are strong enough to deflect cannon balls!  

Luke loved walking around the bastions, and excitedly chatted with Mark about how he was "getting so many ideas for the forts that he builds in his video games".  He loved seeing the cannons and exploring the rooms that once housed soldiers and prisoners, and the boys wandered through the interior courtyard and weaponry exhibits:

Meanwhile, Leah dutifully completed every single question in a Junior Park Ranger workbook that the Rangers gave her.  It was filled with facts about the fort, and this little girl read many signs and diligently studied numerous exhibits at the Castillo in order to complete each page of her activity book:

In the end, her hard work paid off, as Peanut received a very official stamped certificate and badge:

After a fun afternoon exploring Castillo de San Marcos, it was time to drive to our hotel.  We ate an early dinner, and we were ALL asleep by 7:00 p.m.   It was a great (and FULL) first day of Spring Break!