Gen and I have both really wanted to see Florida, I especially wanted to see Miami Beach, the Florida Keys and to do an airboat ride through the Everglades. As you may be aware, Florida is also home to some well-known theme parks, so we've just been holding off on this trip until our kids were the right age to introduce them to Disney World.
I say introduce because we were not at all interested in a full Disney package, spending a week or more park hopping and staying on resort. We opted for 2 days at Disney and decided to do it at the start of the trip when we were all excited and full of energy. Planning the first day after a scheduled 11pm arrival seemed particularly foolish after flight delays and a rental car fiasco kept us from getting to bed until 6:30am. At that point we were already committed, tickets were booked and lightning lanes were reserved so we slept 3 hours and then tackled the Magic Kingdom. As soon as we entered the park our luck turned, we stumbled upon the parade and a spot front and center and our kids got the full experience right away. Disney World is expensive, like so expensive I’m not even going to say it here in the hopes that maybe I’ll forget someday, but from the morning’s parade to the evening’s fireworks it’s not hard to see where the money goes. There are a phenomenal number of people working there and they put on a hell of a show every day and really do make it an experience. I was worried about our endurance that day, especially Roy’s, but they were both absolute champs and we all had such a perfect day. There were more than a few moments where I just watched their faces and tried to see it through their eyes.
I say introduce because we were not at all interested in a full Disney package, spending a week or more park hopping and staying on resort. We opted for 2 days at Disney and decided to do it at the start of the trip when we were all excited and full of energy. Planning the first day after a scheduled 11pm arrival seemed particularly foolish after flight delays and a rental car fiasco kept us from getting to bed until 6:30am. At that point we were already committed, tickets were booked and lightning lanes were reserved so we slept 3 hours and then tackled the Magic Kingdom. As soon as we entered the park our luck turned, we stumbled upon the parade and a spot front and center and our kids got the full experience right away. Disney World is expensive, like so expensive I’m not even going to say it here in the hopes that maybe I’ll forget someday, but from the morning’s parade to the evening’s fireworks it’s not hard to see where the money goes. There are a phenomenal number of people working there and they put on a hell of a show every day and really do make it an experience. I was worried about our endurance that day, especially Roy’s, but they were both absolute champs and we all had such a perfect day. There were more than a few moments where I just watched their faces and tried to see it through their eyes.
The next day we rested, we needed it. We hit up a Wal-mart for necessities and a Disney outlet store for cheaper souvenirs and the T-shirts we were so clearly missing the day before. Then we ‘relaxed’ at the pool at our condo complex, as much as one can at a massive lagoon with a full sized pirate ship and a poolside bar. It was an Airbnb condo but I don’t think anybody actually lived in the building, it had a front desk and room cards so I’m guessing it was built as a time share complex that has evolved into short term rentals.
For our second day at Disney we chose Epcot, after Magic Kingdom we didn’t really care which of the remaining 3 parks we did and Epcot was the most recommended. This one was definitely more for the adults, we saw a lot of groups with no kids and many wearing ‘Drinking around the world’ type shirts since each country pavilion served traditional booze. We had another great day here, but there was less rides and only a couple that were really geared for the kids. The Guardians of the Galaxy roller coaster was incredible though, best I’ve ever been on. This was the only one that pushed Roy a bit past his comfort level, he was a little shook as we were walking out, but for a 5 year old he was so brave and never hesitated to go on any of the rides we did. This was a relief considering Gen’s Disneyland story as a 9 year old was crying in fear for the line of every ride and ruining the experience for everyone, haha.
For our second day at Disney we chose Epcot, after Magic Kingdom we didn’t really care which of the remaining 3 parks we did and Epcot was the most recommended. This one was definitely more for the adults, we saw a lot of groups with no kids and many wearing ‘Drinking around the world’ type shirts since each country pavilion served traditional booze. We had another great day here, but there was less rides and only a couple that were really geared for the kids. The Guardians of the Galaxy roller coaster was incredible though, best I’ve ever been on. This was the only one that pushed Roy a bit past his comfort level, he was a little shook as we were walking out, but for a 5 year old he was so brave and never hesitated to go on any of the rides we did. This was a relief considering Gen’s Disneyland story as a 9 year old was crying in fear for the line of every ride and ruining the experience for everyone, haha.
Disney has a photo pass option where you pay a single fee and can get as many photos as you want from the many photographers scattered throughout the parks. It was one of the only things that actually seemed worth the cost. We took advantage and got some good family photos, as well as some of their ‘magic’ shots where they superimpose something into the photo. My favourite was sending the boys to get these photos on their own and watching the photo shoot. They also really loved taking our phones and going through these photos for the rest of the trip.
The following day we started our Florida road trip and drove from Orlando down to Marathon, which is about halfway into the Florida Keys. Once you drive across the first bridge from the mainland to Key Largo it’s like you’ve flown to another country, the atmosphere at our little resort was a night and day difference from Orlando. We kept the boys sleep schedule in our time zone so they could stay up late with us and sleep in, so we all got to hang out at the pool bar until 10PM. The first night was karaoke and they had never seen this before. Gen is always good for a few songs so while we were in the pool they got to watch their mom sing 90’s classics. I had to keep reminding them the pool vibe was different though, no screaming and splashing, especially since fully clothed people were seated all around the pool. It became routine that they’d start getting rowdy and I would give them the look and say ‘nighttime pool is…’ and they had to say ‘chill’. I’m sure they hated it.
The following day we started our Florida road trip and drove from Orlando down to Marathon, which is about halfway into the Florida Keys. Once you drive across the first bridge from the mainland to Key Largo it’s like you’ve flown to another country, the atmosphere at our little resort was a night and day difference from Orlando. We kept the boys sleep schedule in our time zone so they could stay up late with us and sleep in, so we all got to hang out at the pool bar until 10PM. The first night was karaoke and they had never seen this before. Gen is always good for a few songs so while we were in the pool they got to watch their mom sing 90’s classics. I had to keep reminding them the pool vibe was different though, no screaming and splashing, especially since fully clothed people were seated all around the pool. It became routine that they’d start getting rowdy and I would give them the look and say ‘nighttime pool is…’ and they had to say ‘chill’. I’m sure they hated it.
We drove right down to the southern tip of Key West the next day, and the drive was amazing. Island, bridge, island, bridge, over and over. Some were nature reserves, others had small towns, people fishing off bridges, people kayaking through mangroves, outrageously luxurious homes on stilts on the beach. Key West is a cute little town filled with restored Victorian houses and shops, and tons of tourists. It was very cool to check it out, but honestly too busy and expensive to enjoy for long. Considering the Keys are a part of the mainland USA it’s a pretty amazing spot and if you’re a drive or short flight away and don’t need to go through customs it’s a pretty cool trip. Coming from out of country and flying 6 hours there are better and less expensive tropical destinations in my opinion.
One of my favourite things to do on vacation is snorkel so we had to get out at least once. Eli hadn’t snorkeled since we went to Hawaii 4 years ago, and Roy never had, so it was a lot of fun to get them out to see some fish. The beach snorkeling was ok but not great, the real action is on the barrier reef that runs along the length of the Keys about 45 mins off shore. We weren’t sure if a snorkeling tour would be great for our novices, so we opted for a glass bottom boat to try to see what the reef had to offer. The boat was fun and it was nice to get on the water, but the visibility through the glass wasn’t the best. We denied Eli a trip to the turtle hospital we spotted from the road, so we were fortunate to see a couple turtles from the top deck. Eli loves turtles and was very excited, Roy was busy running around the boat with another kid and missed it. That was something he was very upset about at the moment, and also brought up at the end of the trip, so he was definitely bummed. We tried to use it as a lesson that patience is rewarded, Eli had to scan the water for the whole ride to see that turtle. The highlight of the boat tour was actually while we were waiting on the dock. Two manatees were hanging out in the marina right below us the whole time. They are very peaceful and slow moving, and it was nice to be able to watch them for so long. Roy also noticed the fart bubbles from one of them, which he later informed us was his favourite part of the whole vacation.
No matter who you ask or where you search for things to do in the Keys, Robbie's will be on the list. Robbie's is a campground, a restaurant, a place to rent kayaks to go through the mangroves, a trinket shop, it's a lot. What it's most famous for though, is feeding the tarpon. Tarpon are like 4-7 feet long with a giant mouth and the game here is to buy a bait bucket and hand feed them. As an added bonus the pelicans here want the fish too, and they are sneaky and aggressive. There were also some nurse sharks mingling with the tarpon to add to the fun. It was a pretty wild scene but quite the experience. I had my hand fully in the mouth of a few tarpon as they jumped up out of the water for the bait, and between that and the pelican that bit a fish out of my hand it was a little bloodied and bruised. I also fully kicked a pelican in the neck as it took a run at Roy, which is not something I ever expected to do. All in all it was a great time, highly recommend.
Next up was 4 nights in Miami. Up to this point there was no sandy beaches, so we decided to stay right at Miami Beach, but it is a very expensive area. We ended up at one of the least expensive hotels we could find, and boy did it stand out in the skyline. It looked kind of like a small prison amidst luxury condos. It was fine though, had a pool and was right on the beach. We took some time to relax here, playing in the sand and at the pool. We did venture down to South Beach on the free trolley one day. That was an experience, the boys were introduced to some shady characters they don’t come across often in Cochrane. We walked around South Beach checking out the Art Deco buildings and the neon lights, and observing how people live when it’s 30 degrees in March. Fascinating. We had dinner at Joe’s, a South Beach staple famous for serving local stone crabs. It was the biggest busiest restaurant I’ve ever seen, with dozens of staff members hustling around like it was choreographed. We also went over to Downtown Miami to check out the graffiti covered walls of Wynwood, and so I could go aggravate my hurt foot at a famous skate park I’d hoped to skate.
No matter who you ask or where you search for things to do in the Keys, Robbie's will be on the list. Robbie's is a campground, a restaurant, a place to rent kayaks to go through the mangroves, a trinket shop, it's a lot. What it's most famous for though, is feeding the tarpon. Tarpon are like 4-7 feet long with a giant mouth and the game here is to buy a bait bucket and hand feed them. As an added bonus the pelicans here want the fish too, and they are sneaky and aggressive. There were also some nurse sharks mingling with the tarpon to add to the fun. It was a pretty wild scene but quite the experience. I had my hand fully in the mouth of a few tarpon as they jumped up out of the water for the bait, and between that and the pelican that bit a fish out of my hand it was a little bloodied and bruised. I also fully kicked a pelican in the neck as it took a run at Roy, which is not something I ever expected to do. All in all it was a great time, highly recommend.
Next up was 4 nights in Miami. Up to this point there was no sandy beaches, so we decided to stay right at Miami Beach, but it is a very expensive area. We ended up at one of the least expensive hotels we could find, and boy did it stand out in the skyline. It looked kind of like a small prison amidst luxury condos. It was fine though, had a pool and was right on the beach. We took some time to relax here, playing in the sand and at the pool. We did venture down to South Beach on the free trolley one day. That was an experience, the boys were introduced to some shady characters they don’t come across often in Cochrane. We walked around South Beach checking out the Art Deco buildings and the neon lights, and observing how people live when it’s 30 degrees in March. Fascinating. We had dinner at Joe’s, a South Beach staple famous for serving local stone crabs. It was the biggest busiest restaurant I’ve ever seen, with dozens of staff members hustling around like it was choreographed. We also went over to Downtown Miami to check out the graffiti covered walls of Wynwood, and so I could go aggravate my hurt foot at a famous skate park I’d hoped to skate.
The last must-see was the Florida Everglades. There are a lot of airboat tours and attractions offering gator experiences, it was a little challenging to research. I wanted something that wasn’t too built up, I didn’t want a zoo with an alligator show or a giant airboat for 20 people. We ended up settling on Mack’s Fish Camp, a rustic campground East of Miami on the edge of the Everglades that had only 2 small airboats. We did a private tour with the owners father Hal, who was a retired mason who helped out with a tour 10 years ago and never looked back. It was actually Hal’s 65th birthday and he took us for an unforgettable 2 hour tour. We saw lots of alligators and birds, and learned a lot about the ecology of the area. The unquestionable highlight was when he took us to visit a small tree covered island in the middle of a sea of tall grass. We slowly coasted into a sheltered lagoon and there was a guy with a large gator up on his dock and he was tapping it on the nose. The timing of it could not have been more perfect, but Hal assured us he hadn’t set that up with Bob and his wife, he just knew they were home. Bob owned a few hundred acres of these Everglades and this little island was the only dry land, he had a solar powered cottage he spent the weekends at that can only be reached by airboat. Apparently this gators name was Tommy, and there was another one named Lisa hanging out in there with him, and Bob has known them since they were babies. It was a pretty surreal scene almost too good to be true, but I think he was just a friend of Hal’s that enjoyed showing off his Everglades lifestyle.
I made a lot of core memories on this trip and I look forward to years of reminiscing on the experiences we had. This was an amazing opportunity to spend quality time with our kids at such a fun age for a vacation. This was the first trip with booster seats instead of car seats, we only had to pack water and snacks, not diapers and bottles. There was no stroller to pack and we didn’t have to carry them anywhere. Eli quickly made a friend at every pool we went to and would be running off with them while Roy tagged along behind. I could see that we’re not very far from them wanting to do their own thing all the time. But for now, they still wanted to play with us in the pool and build sandcastles at the beach, and they squeezed our hands tight on the roller coasters, and I didn’t take a second of that for granted.
I made a lot of core memories on this trip and I look forward to years of reminiscing on the experiences we had. This was an amazing opportunity to spend quality time with our kids at such a fun age for a vacation. This was the first trip with booster seats instead of car seats, we only had to pack water and snacks, not diapers and bottles. There was no stroller to pack and we didn’t have to carry them anywhere. Eli quickly made a friend at every pool we went to and would be running off with them while Roy tagged along behind. I could see that we’re not very far from them wanting to do their own thing all the time. But for now, they still wanted to play with us in the pool and build sandcastles at the beach, and they squeezed our hands tight on the roller coasters, and I didn’t take a second of that for granted.
