I hear you, President Kennedy. We choose the 50/50 tour not because it is easy…….
Sixteen states to go, and a grueling schedule lies ahead of us. Last weekend was New York, this weekend is Florida, next (long) weekend is a Southern road trip covering four states. As much as I dearly love the 50/50 tour, this pace is a bit overwhelming. Makes it hard to catch up on groceries and laundry. Not to mention, sleep. I am tired, tired, tired.
Few should complain about visiting the warm and friendly state of Florida. Bill’s folks live near Tampa, so over the years, we’ve joined them to explore the Keys, the Everglades, the beaches, spring training, and of course, Disneyworld. Those of you paying attention will remember that we had intended to spend Thanksgiving in Florida, covering lots of territory. Unfortunately, life intervened.
So instead, we’re focusing on the Orlando area, home to more theme parks than people, or so it seems. Choosing which park to visit provoked weeks of analysis and discussion. Not to mention tremendous angst over the price of admission tickets. Wow. After taking out a second mortgage, we decided to enroll at Hogwarts — Universal Studios’ Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Our youngest found this to be the best place she’d seen in at least 4 or 5 states.
Just as you imagined it? How about the village of Hogsmeade?
You probably didn’t picture it with quite so many muggles mulling about, did you? Here are some more familiar sights:
Butterbeer was deee-lish. Flavorful butterscotch soda or slushie, though pretty darn sweet, even for me. Perfect on a hot day. In other words, perfect nearly every day in Orlando.
The theme park actually contained several themed parks (imagine that), and our second-favorite spot was Seussland, where the prose of another great author — this time a beloved American — came to life.
Now, I like amusement rides as much as the next guy, but some of the new-fangled rides are a bit over-the-top for me. I guess I’m showing my age when I happily recall my favorites: The Matterhorn, Space Mountain, and the Tea Cups. These classics have been long surpassed by roller coasters with fancy loop-de-loops, gravity-defying plunges, and 3-D special effects. In true American form, even our roller coasters have proudly marched on to become — bigger, better, faster, and more throw-uppier.
Well, here’s the thing. After waiting an hour in the line (the sprinklers helped cool us down, thankfully), the roller coaster through Hogwarts left me with a pounding migraine. I loved the fun visual effects, and even felt briefly as if I was flying on a broom (no comments about that remark, please). But ultimately, the simulator-feel of this ride pulled a fast one on me and left me with a severe case of motion sickness. I longed for the simpler rides of my youth that gave me a thrill but didn’t so firmly assault my senses. My kids, on the other hand, were immediate fans of the ride. Later in the day, Bill suffered through three more spins through Hogwarts, while I enjoyed a nap in the comfort of our cool, quiet hotel room. He returned with the beginnings of a pounding migraine…
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Now, you talk about a wild ride: how about launching into the galaxy from the Kennedy space center?
This is a fascinating place, full of engines, rockets, launch pads, gadgets, and gizmos. The tour included a tear-jerking movie about the space program that made us all very proud to be Americans. And what timing — in just a few weeks, NASA will end an era and launch the very last space shuttle.
One of the displays noted that the Statue of Liberty could pass through the doors of the shuttle assembly building. The enormity of the Statue was fresh in our minds, since we’d seen it less than a week earlier.
Moonrocks, even!
Awww, too cute.
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Now, we knew that Florida was a very friendly place — I mean, just look at the name of this place:
But we underestimated just how loving the place is. As we drove toward the Space Center, it started to rain. But wait a minute, not a cloud was in sight. The noise was deafening as the raindrops hit the windshield — plunk, plunk, plunk. Bill had to turn on the wipers. Uh oh. Those weren’t raindrops. They were …….(yuk, yuk, yuk)….bugs!!!
Rocket ships are not the only things that fly in Florida. Ah, the charming little creatures known affectionately as Love Bugs. Our visit was at the peak of Love Bug season. Oh lucky us. We drove along interstates 4, 482, and 528, and the bugs had taken over the last highway. They outnumbered the cars by about a million to one. But the cars outsized them by about a million to one.
We dodged the bugs and made it back to our hotel room for some last-minute visiting with Bill’s folks. These two love bugs we don’t mind at all. Unless they are suddenly overcome with the urge to throw themselves headlong into our windshield.
We bid them farewell and returned home for a few precious days of normalcy and with any luck, sleep. We’ll be back to the airport in only four days. Not because it is easy, but because it is hard.
34. Florida
Disneyworld