Legoland was not originally in our plans when we traveled to Cocoa Beach to meet up with loved ones after over two years of not seeing them. But it was early March and there were storms and cancelled flights and airport chaos. After some frustrating attempts to make it back home, we realized we were staying put in Orlando for an extra couple of days. With all the many options available, we decided to go to Legoland. Best decision ever!
February 2022… almost two years since the Covid-19 pandemic started and over two years since we had last seen Abi and Oscar. It was time, time to hug them again, time to travel again, and time to take a break from the Northern Michigan winter. So we booked our tickets to MCO, found a great Airbnb just a few steps from the beach, packed our bags and headed out for a few days in Cocoa Beach.
It was relaxing, it was warmer that Petoskey, and we got to spend time with our loved ones. We spent our days enjoying the beach, the pool and the hot tub.
We went to some unique restaurants.
We even got to see a rocket launch from where we were!
What a perfect way to get back to traveling again, thanks Cocoa Beach, we had a blast!
Our first official camping trip as a family of four was to the Sleeping Bear Dunes in Michigan.
We had flown to Empire for a quick day trip the year before, and we enjoyed it so much we decided we would go back and stay for a few days, so we could explore more of this beautiful Michigan coast.
We were lucky enough to find a campsite at the Platte River Campground (these go fast!) and decided to rent a travel trailer for a more comfortable experience. After a short drive (2 hours approx.) we arrived at our destination and set up camp.
We decided to head over to the Platte River that afternoon for a bit of kayaking a swimming.
That night we had some s’mores by the fire, and everyone slept soundly, partly thanks to the campground being so quiet. It was so quiet we were even able to hear hooting owls.
The next day we set out to hike the Empire Bluff Trail. We chose this trail because it seemed appropriate for our family, and it was! The boys hiked on their own the whole way (well, Benji rode on Papi’s shoulders for a little bit), had a blast playing in the sand, and we were all rewarded with the beautiful views of the Lake Michigan shoreline.
We got sandwiches for the adults at Shipwreck Cafe (we had packed the kids’ lunch) and headed over to Empire for a quick bite and some playground time, always a good choice to let our boys get some energy out.
Later that afternoon we enjoyed the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive, with a stop at the Lake Michigan Overlook, of course.
After that we decided to let the boys take a quick swim in North Bar Lake. Then it was back to the campsite for some dinner, a fire, and more s’mores.
The next day we decided to rent a raft and go paddling on the Platte River. The raft was a good choice in that it allowed us to not worry about tipping over (which in a canoe with a 2 year-old would have happened more than once) and it also was very convenient to stop along the way, get out and enjoy the water for a bit, and then get back in the raft easily. The hard part was that it ended up being quite windy, which meant a lot of hard paddling for the adults in several spots. In the end, lots of fun was had by all.
That afternoon we grabbed our lunch and headed over to the Glen Lake picnic area, and afterwards drove over to the famous Dune Climb, where we all had fun running down the dunes and playing in the sand.
The following day we decided to go explore Leland. We were curious to see this picturesque little coastal town, and also make some plans for our next visit to the area, in hopes of going over to the North or South Manitou Islands. We had delicious (and massive!) sandwiches from a place called Cheese, then walked around Fishtown.
Sleeping Bear Dunes did not disappoint, and I have a feeling we will be back!
After a long period of not traveling due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we decided to escape to the beach. We visited Florida’s panhandle as a family for the first time back when we lived in Tennessee, and it became one of our favorite spots to enjoy beautiful beaches with clear water and soft, white sand.
This was our first trip there as a family of four, and we were excited! With masks and hand sanitizers, we boarded three flights that finally took us to the Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport, got our rental car and off we went to find our vacation rental.
As soon as we got settled in, we walked across the road to Crystal Beach, where Benji experienced true soft, white sand, and Peter dove straight in the water, and didn’t get out until we headed back to the apartment.
In the following days we realized that the fact that we could just cross the street to head to that beach was not ideal from 8am to 5pm, since the buildings all along that shore set up umbrellas and chairs for rent (at very high prices) and we weren’t able to set up unless we were right on the high tide line, which wasn’t the most convenient. So we decided to only head there in the evenings and instead were able to discover some great beaches in the area.
We visited Henderson Beach State Park a couple of times. For a small fee we were able to enjoy an extensive shoreline were we could set up and enjoy a great beach. At this point Benji had given swimming in salt water a try, and he, like his brother, was hooked, so we spent most of our time swimming and enjoying the waves and warm water.
Just a few miles down the road from where we were staying we found James Lee Park. Getting there before 10am allowed us to find a parking spot by the Crab Trap restaurant and just walk down to a great beach with lots of room to play in the sand and sit in the sun.
We also went to Norriego Point a few times. With its protected waters, it was the perfect spot for the littlest one in the family to enjoy the water safely while Papi taught big brother to snorkel.
Ben got to go scuba diving early one morning, and fishing another, and him and Peter enjoyed a Snuba tour, where Peter finally got to try his first step towards scuba diving (Scuba starts at age 10, but Snuba will take them starting at 8 years old).
There are so many destinations we want to experience in the US and the world, but these shores and beaches always seem to call us back, so until next time!
Saying that we thoroughly enjoyed the Disney California Adventure Park would be a bit of an understatement. We absolutely loved the convenience of getting to the park from the hotel (just a short bus or cab drive away), found the size of the park to be perfect for a full day of frolicking without being overly tired, and liked that it never seemed to be terribly crowded, even when it was (which was evident by the long wait times for certain popular rides). We took advantage of all the ease that Disney offers by purchasing the tickets online ahead of time and adding the MaxPass option, which proved to be well worth the cost, as it allowed us to plan for FastPasses to rides that were important to us and also gave us access to some fun photos taken by Disney employees throughout the day.
The highlight for us, specially with a four year-old son, was without a doubt Cars Land. I knew our little guy would be super excited to see it, but I was surprised at how excited I was when we got there!
We enjoyed all the attractions we were able to experience throughout the day, but our favorite was definitely the Radiator Springs Racers. Thankfully we got a FastPass for it, because the wait lines otherwise were insane.
Another important highlight for our little guy was getting to meet Spiderman, who was wonderfully gracious with every little kid he met, making it a truly magical experience for each one of them.
My husband and I even got to experience a little bit of the park on our own while the other parent stayed with our little guy. He chose to ride the California Screamin’ rollercoaster, and also took a 20 minute nap in the middle of the day in a quiet part of the park by A Bug’s Land (yes, it was QUIET, unbelievable, I know!), which made him a much happier camper for the rest of the day. I decided to experience the Animation Academy, which I absolutely loved!
Visiting in October allowed us to see the park’s Halloween theme, which was fun and never too scary for our son.
Before ending our visit watching the World of Color water and light show, we spent a good chunk of time in Cars Land, which at night was even more magical.
What a wonderful way to end our first California adventure trip as a family!
Wandering Monshors 