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Our Florida Vacation

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Sea World and Englewood - Great Destinations for a Florida Vacation

My husband decided to take a whole week off of work and we enjoyed a week long Florida Vacation. This was something that we had not done in several years.

We knew that we wanted to visit my husband's sister and her family in Englewood, Florida and that we wanted to take our precious 9 year old grandson - better known by us as the "sweetest child in all the world". We also wanted to take him to Sea World.

So, the planning began. I remembered that I had read some very informative Disney lenses by EverythingMouse aka Alison Meacham so emailing her for advice was the first thing on my list.

Thank you, Alison, for helping us plan our trip to DisneyWorld

EverythingMouse to the Rescue

I knew that Alison's concentration was on DisneyWorld but thought she might be able to advise us about our trip to Sea World. I emailed her from her contact button in her profile and she was so very helpful. We had been to Disney World several years ago and really wanted to take our grandson to Sea World. We all appreciated Alison's advice.

Here is the link that list all her Disney lenses.

Sites Recommended by EverythingMouse aka Alison Meacham

Our Sea World Tickets and Hotel Reservations

Renaissance Marriott Hotel at Seaworld: Alison sent me the link to the Renaissance Marriott and that is where we stayed. It was very convenient and beautiful. They had valet parking and once we parked the car, we did not need it again until we got ready to leave. The hotel offered a complimentary cab ride to Sea World and back. There were restaurants inside the hotel and everything we could possibly want or need.
Sea World Tickets: Alison recommended this site for our Sea World tickets. They were so nice and I paid an extra $11 to have our tickets delivered to our hotel which was well worth it. I probably could have gotten the tickets at the hotel but I am pretty sure that they would have been higher. Alison is an affiliate with this company so I made sure that I gave them her name.

Google Map showing Orlando, Florida from Pendleton, South Carolina

It was a lot of driving and riding

My husband did all the driving while I stretched out in the back seat reading and our grandson watched movies on his portable DVD player and read the map. It is approximately 500 miles from Pendleton SC to Orlando, Florida

Things we used in the car while traveling to Florida

We're off!

We always take our GPS on our trips and it is fun to watch where we are going while traveling. Our grandson watched all the Rambo Movies on our portable DVD player while I read "My Stroke of Insight". The cooler was filled with Caffeine Free Diet Cokes for me, Water for my husband and HiC Fruit Boxes for our grandson.

SEA WORLD

Sea World Official Website

Sea World: The Sea World Website is a fun place to visit and plan out what all you want to see. I think we were able to see and do most everything. Our grandson was not tall enough to ride the new Manta Ride and was disappointed about that but not enough to spoil our visit.

The Dolphins

Feeding and petting the Dolphins was first on our grandson's list

As soon as we got in the gates of Sea World, we checked the map to find out which way to go to get to the Dophins. The line wasn't too bad and well worth the wait. We were asked to line up around the wall at the water and were given a tray of fish. We were instructed not to pet the Dolphins on the top of their heads but rather under the mouth. The Dolphins would swim by and look up to get their fish and let you rub them. It was so much fun! I think I enjoyed it as much as our grandson did.

More Dolphin Photos

Dophins at Sea World - Just click a small picture to see it larger

My sister wrote these lenses about Dolphins

She has actually swam with a Dolphin

The Stingrays

Feeding the Stingray at Sea World

This was a little bit scary, I thought but our grandson sure enjoyed it. Once when he was holding the fish for the Stingray, a large bird swooped down and got the fish out of his hand scratching him in the process. That wasn't enough to slow him down or prevent him from feeding more of the Stingray.

Another Stingray Photo

Stingray at Sea World in Orlando, Florida

Penguins at Sea World

We looked at the Penguins through the glass and they were so precious. We also saw otters and sea lions. Sea World is an amazing place, for sure!

Shamu - The Highlight of Our Sea World Visit

The Shamu Show was wonderful at Sea World

We intentionally sat in the "Splash Zone" but unfortunately did not get splashed. I don't know how we kept from it because the people on either side of us got wet. Our grandson had been looking forward to getting splashed but there wasn't a thing we could do about it. One of the trainers did give him a high-five so we hope that made up for the lack of a splash.

If you have never seen this show, I highly recommend it. It is so well done and beautiful.

Shamu Photos

Click a small picture to see it larger

ENGLEWOOD

From Orlando to Englewood

in Florida

Link for Englewood Chamber of Commerce

Englewood, Florida

My husband's sister and brother-in-law have been going to Englewood for many years and own a home there now. We love to go visit them. Their children and grandchildren try to come while we are there so it is like a big reunion.

Englewood, Florida: Englewood is a beautiful area.

Our Grandson Enjoys Fishing at Englewood

Englewood offers some really good fishing

Although our grandson did not catch anything while fishing, he had a great time. His cousin took him out in the boat several times and he enjoyed watching him cast for bait. In fact, he enjoyed it so much that he wanted to learn. His cousin and uncle gave him a casting net and showed him how it was done. He practiced and practiced and is really getting quite good at it.

We did have a fish fry the night before we left thanks to some fish they had in the freezer and a couple of Red Snapper that were caught.

Photos of Learning To Throw A Cast Net

Casting at Englewood, Florida - click a small picture to see it larger

More Photos From Englewood

Egrets, Pelican, Mango Tree, and beautiful scenery

Things We Used For Our Florida Vacation on Amazon

We came back with more than we took

Of course, I had my cameras with me at all times. Our grandson came home with a stuffed Shamu, stuffed Penguin and stuffed Stingray and of course his cast net.

I probably should have ordered Spectacular Nature - the Sea World Experience before we left.

Hope you enjoyed our Florida Vacation. We sure did.

Ya'll come back

Have you had a Florida Vacation? Tell me where you went!

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Michey Jun 17, 2011 @ 3:25 pm | delete

Great trip, relaxing time, and lens, this remind me of the vacation with our grandson in USA. He is living in Romania, but When he was 10 years old John and I offered him a full 3 month vacation in USA, it was a lot of fun.
Love your lens.

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poutine Oct 30, 2010 @ 8:17 am | delete

Wonderfully done lens.

I enjoyed visiting with you. The pictures are great.

Reply

tssfacts Oct 15, 2010 @ 11:42 am | delete

Great vacation. It brought back memories from my visits to Sea World.

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WeddingZazzle Apr 13, 2010 @ 8:21 pm | delete

Nicely lens...I feel like I just took a trip to Florida :) Leaving Angel Blessings :)

Reply

vallain Feb 4, 2010 @ 2:53 pm | delete

Looks like you had great weather for your Florida vacation.
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We are a group of concerned citizens interested in making Pendleton SC's Veterans Park the best it can be. We currently have a playground, walking trail, three picnic shelters, a concessions pavilion with restrooms, and three old ballfields.

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