Travel -My first cruise!

Happy 2020, y'all!! I've got a million things going on, but wanted to share the amazing experience I had in December on Carnival Cruises. 

My Mom offered to pay for a cruise to the Bahamas if I'd go with her. Yes Please!! She LOVES cruising, but didn't have anyone to go with.  Also, this was our first Mother-Daughter trip. Yay! So, we started planning in late September.  I was so excited, because I've always wanted to go on a cruise!  There were lots of resources online to plan a cruise.

After looking at a few different cruise lines, Carnival is the one we decided to go with, as Mom is a member of their VIFP club.  We were given an upgrade from deck 6 to deck 10 because of her points.   We decided to go with a balcony cabin, and to purchase the Faster to the Fun package.  This allows you to board the ship earlier, and leave earlier on your return to the port.  More on that later! We also prepaid our gratuities. 

I watched a ton of videos on youtube, because I am a planner.  I like to know where I'm going and what it will be like.  Our ship was the Liberty, and there were plenty of videos there to help me get a feel for the ship and what to expect.  Our three-day cruise was scheduled for December 20-23, 2019.

Packing for the cruise was pretty easy.  Mom's got a VW bug, so we each had room for one suitcase and one carry-on in her car.  I checked the weather sites for the forecast.  It looked like it would be a bit chilly, so no bathing suit needed, and I only took one pair of shorts.  I took several pairs of leggings, a pair of black pants, two pairs of shoes, five or six shirts (I like options!) and of course, undies, bras, socks and sleepwear.  I also took a duster to throw on over the tops if it got chilly.  (And it did!)

In addition, I took a backpack to carry on deck, a lanyard, my phone and charger, camera (don't forget the batteries like I did - grrrrrr), several books for me and Mom, a hat, jewelry to dress up my outfits if needed, and my light-up Christmas necklace and buffalo check antlers for the day we disembarked.  (Christmas Eve eve! Be festive!)   And of course, toiletries and my purse.

We drove to Cocoa Beach from N. Georgia the day before our cruise.  We stayed at a Hampton Inn that was about 10 minutes from where we planned to park for the cruise.  We got there, ordered pizza and went to bed! Woke up early the next morning, and had breakfast downstairs.  Then a quick stop at Ron Jon Surf Shop for some goodies for my kiddos. 

Next, we drove to the parking lot for Park N Cruise.  Mom paid for a covered spot for her car - she loves that Bug like it's her baby! 

After a short wait, we boarded a shuttle and headed to the terminal! After we got off the bus there, our bags were handed to the porter to be delivered to our room later that day.  We went through the various check-ins and sat in the First to the Fun seating area. We were able to board right after the Platinum and Diamond VIPF members were allowed on the ship.  We ended up boarding at 11:10 am. When they called us, we walked through the terminal and over several gangways to get on the ship.

The Liberty is HUGE!! And beautiful! Everything was decorated for Christmas. We entered through the lobby and were directed to the Lido deck, #9.  That is where most of the food places are, plus a pool, and lots of seating areas. Oh, and bars - Yes!

Mom and I decided to head to Guy's Burger Joint before it got crowded.   Yum, yum, yum, y'all!! Best burger I've had in a while! The topping bar made it easy to customize your burger your way. 

We ate inside the buffet area. (the picture above was taken in the outside but covered area by the pool deck).  We didn't purchase the Cheers package, so we only got free drinks from the buffet.  Those included unsweetened tea, (my fave, so yay!),  lemonade, coffee and water. My tip- take a big insulated mug on your cruise - the cups they provide are literally 8 or 10 oz - so small! I like to carry a drink around, so my Corksicle kept drinks cold and icy.   The little yellow cup below is what is offered at all beverage stations on the Lido deck.  If you purchase the Bottomless Bubbles or Cheers package, they will bring you a can of soda or other drink with a regular glass.

I grabbed a slice of German Chocolate cake for dessert while we waited for our cabin.  The dessert table at the buffet was insane!! So many choices - citrus buttercream cheesecake, elderflower cheesecake, peanut butter cake, cookies, pastries, ice cream and so much more!  No picture, unfortunately!

Around 12:45 or 1, we went to deck 10 and located our stateroom.  Our bags hadn't arrived, so I went back down to deck 9 and ordered a big ol' Tropical Colada.   I relaxed and enjoyed my drink by a window in one of the bars, and shared a Facebook live as we sailed out of the port.  Then I put my phone in airplane mode and got myself into vacation mode!  Yes - I unplugged for 3 full days and it was AWESOME!

Once we got out from the port, I went back to the room and met up with Mom.  After a few minutes, our bags arrived.  We got settled in, and then it was time for the muster drill.  That was my least favorite part of the entire cruise.  I get claustrophobic and there were so many people in our muster area.  It took about 35 minutes, crammed and sweaty in a huge crowd.  I was so happy when that was over, and I could go back to our stateroom!

**If you are new to cruising like me, and don't know what a muster drill is, it's a safety meeting to show you how to use the life jackets.  It shows you where to go if there is an emergency, too.**

I spent some time out on the balcony enjoying the wonderful ocean view. It started raining so I headed in to get ready for our 6:00 pm dinner seating. 

Have you ever cruised?  Which line is your favorite?

Summer Travel - Panama City Beach, FL - David's Sno-Balls

Hey y'all!!  No excuse for not writing sooner - it's just been hectic!!

I have so much to get caught up here on the blog!  Especially fun places from our travels over the past year and a half.  Today I want to share a yummy place we stopped at in Panama City Beach, Florida back in November! We're still thinking about how good it all was!

David's Sno-Balls features New Orlean's style sno-balls and boy, are they great!  These are like  shaved ice or a snow-cone.  They have  a bunch of flavors, and some fun options for them, too!  There was a stuffed sno-ball that had creamy soft-serve ice cream right down the middle of the sno-ball.  They can make a Sno-shake with any flavor, or a Sno-ball pie, which is a sno-ball layered with graham cracker crumbs and sweetened condensed milk. Wow!! 

Some of the flavors they offer include Bahama Mama,  Birthday Cake, Blue Raspberry, Cappuccino, Cherry, Cheesecake, Cotton Candy, Fireball, Hurricane, Key Lime, King Cake, Peach, Peppermint, Pink Lemonade,  Red Velvet Cake, Tsunami, Watermelon and Wedding Cake.   But there are so many more!!  You can choose to add toppings, or pick from cream flavors and sugar free flavors, too.

They also make terrific beignets!! If you haven't ever had a beignet, they are like pillowy puffs of dough sprinkled with powdered sugar.  David's offers 3 beignets per order, or a dozen baby beignets per order.  They are delicious!

David's isn't just about delicious desserts though. You can enjoy fabulous food if you are ready for a meal before your Sno-ball.  Choose from daily specials that include red beans and rice, jambalya, gumbo and shrimp etouffee.  Or try a Po-boy with roast beef, shrimp, oysters or other choices.  They also make a yummy Muffuletta on authentic bread with homemade olive salad.  Delicious, y'all! 

There are kid-friendly choices such as hot dogs, PB &J, grilled cheese and sides of Zapp's potato chips in several varieties and french fries. 

This is definitely on our list of places to visit the next time we are in PCB! We had great food, the owner was very friendly and the staff were too. 
Check them out!! David's is located at 13913 PCB Parkway, across from Carrabas in the Bid-A-Wee Shopping Center.  Open Mon - 11 - 8, Tues-Sat 9 - 8  and Sunday 12-8.  Their website is here.

I bet you'll love them like we did! 

Chef Mickey's Buffet Review - Contemporary Resort at Walt Disney World

On our recent trip to Walt Disney World, one of the places we wanted to try was Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary.  So many times on the monorail, we've zipped through this beautiful hotel and glimpsed Chef Mickey's down below.  So we wanted to experience it for ourselves!  Back in June, I was able to get a 9:15 pm reservation for our first night at Disney. Because yes - you have to make reservations that far ahead!! But it was oh so worth it!

We spent our first afternoon here at the Magic Kingdom, then went back to the hotel to shower and change for dinner.  We decided to drive to the hotel and parked there before taking the elevator up to the restaurant.   We got to the hostess stand right at 9:15.

They gave us a pager, and we waited in the lobby for about 10 minutes to be seated - they had a photographer available for pictures, too.

We had a wonderful waiter named Glen who told us about the buffet and took our drink orders.
The main buffet had salads, breads, and lots of entrees and sides.  My choices were sloppy joes without the bun, polenta, green beans with a dab of butter, short ribs, grilled chicken with a little honey mustard, and some carved turkey breast.  There was also some salad under the ribs, ha!

My son chose chicken, chicken nuggets, bread, and macaroni and cheese.  We thought everything was really good.  Our waiter was great about removing empty plates and refilling our drinks before we had to ask.

He noticed we had our birthday buttons on (I got them at the check-in desk at Pop Century), and surprised us with a birthday card signed by all of the characters, plus a cupcake to share!

And speaking of characters:

Dessert was awesome - they had so many things to choose from!  I didn't take pictures of all the options.  David had ice cream with candy on top.  I chose these three mini desserts!  The key lime tart was my favorite!

The restaurant has plenty of room, and the decor is bright and fun.  After dinner we walked around the hotel a bit and looked at this huge Frozen gingerbread castle!  The Christmas decorations were beautiful.

As I mentioned in my previous post, we had the free dining plan, so we had a free table service meal for each day of our stay. So this meal only cost us the 20% tip we left!  Without the dining plan, our dinner would have cost $106.50!  I highly recommend the dining plan if you want to have lots of character meals!

We truly enjoyed this restaurant and the character interactions.  It was a lot of fun and we'll definitely be back next time we visit The Magic Kingdom!  Here is a link to the menu if you want to see more of what they offer!

Stay tuned for more Disney posts coming soon!

Travel - Our fun trip to West Volusia County, Florida! #WestVolusiaFL #VisitWestVolusia #LoveFL

It's been several weeks since we got home, but I'm still dreaming of all the beautiful places we saw on our trip.

One highlight was the amazing Florida Cheese Festival in historic downtown DeLand.  This was the first annual Florida Cheese Festival, so keep an eye on the calendar  and on the website to see when next year's will be. It's so worth the drive from N. Georgia to spend a weekend there!

Click on picture to see larger version!

Just imagine: Cheese, beer, cheese, wine, cheese, cheese, music, Florida!  The delicious cheese samples were from all around the world: Switzerland, Germany, England, Spain, Italy, and Norway, to name a few of the countries represented.  All of our samples were served with crackers.  My favorites included the classic sharp cheddar pimento cheese, emmentaler cut swiss, brie and creamy havarti.  YUM!  

We did have a little rain and wind at the beginning, but it soon cleared up and we were able to visit each of the tents that lined the street.  Each tent represented a country and offered their samples.  We bought some chocolate dipped strawberries from a scout troop that had a tent there. They had a wine garden, bar truck and beer available, too. And even live music.  Plus, you are just a few steps away from many restaurants and shops in downtown DeLand, so you can really make a day of it! Just keep your festival wristband on and you can come back to the festival after you eat and shop downtown!

We went to nearby Daytona Beach after we enjoyed the Festival for a while.  It's a short drive away. Then we drove north on A1A to look at some of the pretty little beach towns.  I love that area! The surf was really high that day; they had the red warning flags out, so no swimming.  We just walked on the beach and took lots of pictures!

One thing we didn't have time to do during our visit was the Persimmon Hollow Quest in downtown DeLand.  It sounds like so much fun, and we'll make sure to do this on our next trip.  You follow a series of clues through downtown DeLand.  There are also GPS coordinates given if you'd rather do this as a geocache search.   The clues are fun to decipher, but also educational! For example, did you know that DeLand was originally called Persimmon Hollow because of all the persimmon trees that were there?  This treasure hunt will be fun for the entire family!

Also on my list for our next visit: The Museum of Art - DeLand, the Stetson Mansion and the DeBary Hall Historic Site.  Those are all part of the River of Lakes Heritage Corridor in West Volusia County.  There are plenty of other museums and historical sites, plus parks, trails and the Lyonia Environmental Center and Preserve. So much to do in West Volusia county!

Ready to go to pack your bags and head to West Volusia to check out all the parks, springs and fun things to do?  Start by ordering your free copy of their Visitor's Guide.   Then visit the West Volusia Tourism Bureau site for much more information about planning your visit!

Follow them on Facebook and Twitter - you will find out all the latest news there.  And mark your calendar and join the West Volusia Tourism Bureau at 9 pm on May 31 for a Twitter party!

It's such a great place to get outdoors and explore Florida.  And it's affordable, too! A vacation to DeLand, Deltona or DeBary won't break the bank, but it will provide fantastic memories and beautiful places for your family to enjoy.


Our thanks again to the West Volusia Tourism Bureau for hosting us on our fantastic 3 night/4 day trip last month.  We had such an amazing time exploring a beautiful part of Florida!  All opinions about the trip here on my blog are my own.  

Travel - DeLeon Springs State Park #VisitWestVolusia #WestVolusiaFL #5DaysofFun #LoveFL

I have another fun and beautiful place to share with you from our recent trip to West Volusia county, Florida ~ DeLeon Springs State Park. The park is in DeLeon Springs, Florida - about a 25 minute drive from where we stayed in DeBary.

The West Volusia Tourism Bureau hosted us for breakfast at the Old Spanish Sugar Mill Restaurant inside the park. I've heard about this restaurant and we were excited to get to try it! It's very unique, as you will read....

She advised us to get there right at 8 am when the park opened, to head straight to the restaurant to get our name on the list!  We were surprised to see lots of cars ahead of us at 7:45!  We waited in line and got inside the park right after 8.  We were lucky to not have any wait in the restaurant. We were quickly seated in a booth next to a window covered with a screen to let the breeze in.  Perfect spot for a nice breakfast!

Our sweet waitress Jessica explained the process.  Each table has an electric griddle, and you cook your own pancakes on it.  She brought us two pitchers of batter, and our drinks.  We also ordered bacon and pecans (the pecans were an add in for the pancakes) and sprayed the griddle to get it ready. She also brought us a shaker of cinnamon to try on our pecan pancakes. (yum!)

Then we poured the batters on and began cooking our pancakes.   These pancakes aren't exactly like the ones you make at home. They are Early American-style pancakes, with a lumpier batter than what you may be used to.  One batter was made with unbleached white flour, the other a mixture of five stone-ground flours.  Both were delicious!  You have a spatula and cooking oil spray, so you cook them, flip them, put them on plates, then spray the griddle and start all over again. It was fun!

The prices are very affordable - pancakes are $4.95 per person.  (Gluten-free option available for $5.95)   They are served with raw honey, syrup and unsulphured molasses.  You can choose add-ins, like bananas, pecans, blueberries, peanut butter or chocolate chips, for $1.95 each.  Add bacon, sausage, ham or eggs for $2.95.  They cook your bacon or other meats in the kitchen.  You cook your own eggs on the griddle.  Breakfast is available until 4 every day and there is a menu with salads, sandwiches and other items.   We all enjoyed this unique breakfast in such a pretty setting!

Outside you will find some of the equipment from the old sugar mill, which was used to crush sugar cane in the 1830's, then rebuilt around 1900.  You can still see a chimney from the original mill.  We checked out the spring, which is rumored to be Ponce DeLeon's famous fountain of youth. There is evidence that as far back as 6000 years ago, Native Americans came here to fish and gather plants.

There is a small hill in the middle of the park, topped with a house, that is what remains of the shell and earth mound left by generations of Native Americans here.  The spring produces 19 million gallons of water per day, and is 72 degrees year round.   You can swim, rent canoes, paddleboats and kayaks, and even fish if you have a Florida fishing license! They also have a riverboat tour.  The park is just gorgeous - so green and pretty!

There are picnic tables, grills, and a playground.  You can walk the hiking trail or the paved nature trail.  There is even a butterfly garden!  The trees provide lots of shade.

One of the coolest things they offer is that kids can become a junior park ranger by completing activities in the activity book available at the park.  We were headed to the Florida Cheese Festival in DeLand, FL right after breakfast so we didn't have time to do any of these other activities.  They are on my list for next time we're down that way! David wanted to swim there so badly and I hated telling him no! But we sure enjoyed our time at the Cheese Festival. That will be in my next post, so stay tuned...

DeLeon Springs State Park is located at 601 Ponce DeLeon Blvd, DeLeon Springs, FL 32130
386-985-4212

I paid the park entrance fee, but our breakfast was provided by the West Volusia Tourism Bureau  Thank you Dena - it was wonderful!

Travel - Green Springs Park #VisitWestVolusia #WestVolusiaFL #LoveFL #5daysoffun

Today I want to tell you about another gorgeous park we visited earlier this month, in West Volusia County, FL.  It's called Green Springs Park, and it is located in the city of Enterprise.   The drive to this park is lovely, with many Live Oak trees dripping in Spanish Moss along the roads.  I love this part of Florida - it is just so pretty!

When you arrive at in the parking area, you'll find a covered picnic area, a playground, and a building with restrooms. There are 36 acres in this park, and there are plenty of both paved and natural trails. Throughout the pathways, there are several informational panels/signs that share information about the springs and the history of this area.  Here are two of them:

Starting from the parking lot, follow the paved trail to visit the Springs.  It's not far at all, and you'll probably smell the sulfur before you actually see the incredible green water.  It is....stunning.  It looks like I photoshopped the color in the pictures - but I didn't!

There are several areas where you can enjoy looking out over the springs - you aren't allowed to swim or fish here anymore, though. We eventually walked around to another area to look at the water and enjoyed sitting there for a few minutes on a bench.  It's a very peaceful place, and absolutely gorgeous.  So many beautiful plants, trees, shrubs and more.  Birds singing, and you could even hear animals (or something!) quietly rustling in the brush near the paths.  I could have stayed there enjoying the peace and quiet for hours!

According to what I've read, this is one of only a few sulfur springs left in Florida.  The water in the springs was considered restorative and healing by Native Americans in the area.  In the 19th century, there was even a hotel built near the springs for "invalids" to come and soak in the springs for their health.

Take a picnic with you, then sit under the pavilion for lunch after you explore the park!  You and your family will really enjoy the peaceful beauty of this place. I honestly can't wait to go back to Green Springs Park next time we are in West Volusia county.


Green Springs Park is located at 994 Enterprise/Osteen Road, Enterprise, FL.  The park is open from sunrise to sunset and there is no fee for admission.

Up next: DeLeon Springs State Park and the awesome restaurant where you cook your own pancakes at the table!



Find out more about this and other parks and attractions in West Volusia county by visiting the West Volusia Tourism Bureau's website. 

Travel - Florida's Blue Spring State Park #VisitWestVolusia #WestVolusiaFL #LoveFL

One of our favorite places we visited in Florida earlier this month is Blue Spring State Park.  It's only a few minutes from our hotel in DeBary, FL.  As a state park, you'll pay a fee to enter for the day.  We paid $6 for our car.

In the winter, more than 200 manatees come to stay.  The park has over 2400 acres, and includes a north-flowing river, a lagoon, a 1/3 mile boardwalk, and much more! Stop by the visitors center to watch a short interpretive video about the manatees that come to Blue Spring each winter.

In the summertime, you can swim, tube, snorkel or dive in the 72-degree waters of the spring.  There is a lawn area for sunbathing, picnic and BBQ areas are close by too.   There are also 3 covered pavilions that you can rent for reunions or get-togethers.

The park has cabins and 51 campsites.  Want to really get away from it all?  There is even a 4.5 mile hiking trail that takes you to a primitive campsite near the St Johns River!

If swimming isn't your thing, you can rent a canoe or kayak, take a kayak tour or a 2-hour river cruise. The water is clear and beautiful in the spring.

There is gift shop offering food and beverages near the Spring as well.   We saw some baby wild hogs (see them in bottom left pic in my collage above) near the restrooms the day we visited, and also had time to talk with one of the rangers about the park.  He told us that manatees had been spotted in the spring the day we visited!  David wanted to get in, but the water was still a little too cool for him. (It was a chilly day)  The park is absolutely beautiful and very well-maintained.  It would be a great place for a picnic on a hot summer day, followed by a dip in the spring!

A little more about Blue Spring ~ it's a first-magnitude spring that sends 104 million gallons of water daily into the St Johns River.  In 1971, an episode of the Underwater World of Jacques Cousteau was filmed at Blue Spring, called "The Forgotten Mermaids" - the manatees of Blue Spring.   It is a habitat for at least 15 threatened or endangered plants and animals.  Among the creatures you may see at Blue Spring State Park are the Florida Scrub Jay, black bear, gopher tortoise, herons, gar, sunfish, swimming turtles, and alligators!   We saw lots of gar in the spring - I thought they were logs until they started moving! Those fish are BIG!  Click on my collage above and you can see them in the middle picture on the left side.

We enjoyed visiting the Park and the spring, and next time we are there I hope to finally see a manatee!

Blue Spring State Park is located at:

2100 West French Ave
Orange City, FL 32763
(386) 775-3663

Hours are 8 am until sunset, 365 days a year!

You can read more online at www.FloridaStateParks.org and the West Volusia Tourism Bureau's website.

Next up: Green Springs Park  & DeLeon Springs Park - check back soon!

Travel - St. Johns River Eco Tours ~ #DiscoverDeLand #WestVolusiaFLA #VisitWestVolusia

Today I can't wait to share the River Cruise we took with St. Johns River Eco Tours last week! It was so much more fun than I expected! Not to mention educational, too. A perfect family outing!

First, let me tell you about our accommodations for the trip.  We stayed in DeBary, FL, at the Hampton Inn - it was located right off of Interstate 4.  We had a great room with two queen-size beds, a fridge, microwave and coffee maker.  David especially liked the cookies and milk offered each evening at 8 pm, and the huge breakfast (including make your own waffles) offered every morning. Everyone there was so kind and went above and beyond to make sure our stay was perfect.  The pool and hot tub were nice, and we spent a nice afternoon enjoying them.

I can't say enough good things about the Hampton Inn in DeBary.  Comfy beds, perfect pillows, cold air conditioning, too!  As a blogger, I was happy they offered complimentary wifi and lots of workspace for me to upload pics at the end of each day. There is also an IHOP located right in front of the hotel - perfect for a quick meal before our adventures!  So that was our home base while we were in West Volusia - it was in a great location and very convenient to everything we had on our itinerary.

Friday morning we were booked for a 10 am cruise at St Johns River Eco Tours.  We got there a couple of minutes early and checked in at the hut, then waited at a picnic table til it was time to board the boat. There were two other groups on the cruise with us - everyone was friendly and excited.  We all took our seats and met Captain Jeanne Bell and Doug Little, who was our guide that day.  We knew immediately that this was going to be a great cruise with them!

The boat left the marina, and it wasn't long before we began seeing wildlife - lots of wildlife!  Doug was great at spotting birds, and telling us about them.  Within the first few minutes we also saw our first alligator!

We learned a lot about the history of the area from Doug and Captain Jeanne -  they are very knowledgeable about the river and the wildlife that live in and on it. They shared some great stories with us throughout the cruise.

Among the many birds we saw during our cruise were the Great Blue Heron, Little Blue Heron, White Ibis, Limpkin, Turkey Vulture, Osprey and more!  We learned that the loud cries of the Limpkin signals that it will rain soon!  And we got up close to a family of Barred Owls - that was amazing.

We saw a total of 23 gators on our cruise - 23!!  I thought maybe we would see one or two! (Click on any of the pictures to bring up a larger photo)

We also learned that the area is full of black bears and you can even see American Bald Eagles here. Sadly, we didn't see any bears, eagles or even manatees on our cruise.  Despite that, I still managed to walk away with over 200 pictures!!  One of the coolest parts of the cruise was when we got up close and personal with a mama gator - she wasn't too happy about that and hissed at us!  I stuck my phone down on the other side of the railing and got this picture:

The Barred Owls we visited were so cute - they were waiting when the boat pulled up to shore, and they quickly flew down for some tasty mice, then took them up in the trees to eat.  Really amazing moment!

While cruising down the river, Doug told us about the book Swamp Ghosts, written by local author Marcia Meara.  She interviewed Captain Jeanne and took several river cruises in order to gather information for this book - the first in a series.  Well, I just had to buy a copy at the hut after our tour (along with one of Doug's gorgeous wildlife calendars!) and it was even autographed by the author! My Aunt Anne read this book in less than two days, and I'm well into it now myself.  It's great - very suspenseful, and if you take the tour, you will recognize some people and places in this novel.

You can get a copy for yourself here ~ (affiliate link)



The cruise was two hours long and it's one of the best times I've EVER had in Florida.  I learned so much, and saw some really fantastic things.  David enjoyed helping Captain Jeanne out, and he really liked counting the alligators we saw!

The boat is covered, so you won't get direct sun - a good thing if it is hot!  The day we went it was fairly overcast and a little chilly, so jackets were a good thing to have with us.  Doug had blankets for those who needed them, too.   Make sure you have plenty of room on your camera card and be ready for an entertaining two hours!

I promise you that this cruise is at the top of our list for next time we visit this part of Florida. I think every cruise will be a little different, and I'd love to take this again and maybe see a manatee or bear next time!!  If you are in the area, this really is a must-try, unique attraction that the whole family will love.  I am so thrilled that we were able to have this experience on our visit to the West Volusia area.

To find out more about St Johns River Eco Tours, check them out on Facebook and on their website.

They are located at:
St. Johns River Eco Tours
488 W. Highbanks Road, DeBary, Florida, 32713 | (386) 626-9004

Stay tuned later this week to find out about the incredible Springs in the DeBary/DeLand area that we visited!


Disclaimer:  My family was hosted on a complimentary river cruise with St Johns River Eco Tours in order to share the experience with my readers. We were also hosted at the Hampton Inn during our stay in Florida, courtesy of the West Volusia Tourism Bureau. You can order a copy of their Visitors Guide too! All opinions shared here about our trip are 100% my own.  

Travel - Love mermaids? You have to visit Weeki Wachee!

Last week my Aunt, my son and I went on a wonderful road trip to Florida to do a little exploring ~ it was so much fun.....

We started our adventure in Weeki Wachee, Florida - the city of live mermaids! It's about an hour north of Tampa.  I grew up in Jacksonville, so as a child I visited this magical place and it made quite an impression on me. No surprise then that I love to visit Weeki Wachee as an adult, even if it's 10 or more years between visits. It's still magical to me every single time!  David and I saw the Weeki Wachee mermaids perform at the Georgia Aquarium about a year and a half ago, and I've been wanting to take a trip back to Weeki Wachee ever since!

Aunt Anne had never been here, and David was a baby the last time we visited the park, so I couldn't wait to show them one of my favorite places.  There were three shows the day we visited, and we got there 20 minutes before the last show of the day started.  We stopped at the gift shop inside the park and picked out a few things, then it was time to go over to the Newton Perry Underwater Mermaid Theater. We took our seats, and watched videos on the monitor of Weeki Wachee's history since it began in 1947. You can read about the history of Weeki Wachee here - what a great story it is!

The theater quickly filled up and soon it was time for the show to start! We watched the mermaids appear as the curtains rose to display the windows into the spring.  There were several fish and two big turtles swimming in the spring with the mermaids that day - it was so cute to watch them!

The mermaids perform Hans Christian Anderson's The Little Mermaid.  There are two parts of the show that will likely scare little ones, so be aware! They do announce this at the beginning of the show, as well. If your kids don't like really loud noises, or flashing lights, you may need to take them out before the little mermaid and her true love come out to dance on the stage, and then leave quickly at the end of the show before the mermaids take their bows.

The mermaids are graceful and lovely, and they breathe underwater from air hoses that are placed throughout the spring.  The training they must have to be able to perform like this - wow!   It's a really beautiful show and we saw all people of all ages enjoying it when we were there.  

After the show, you can do several other things while you are there.  We still had a two-hour drive to our hotel, so we couldn't stay.  Try to give yourself enough time to enjoy the entire park when you go! Here is the park's map that shows everything.

There is a river cruise down the Weeki Wachee River, and an Animal Encounter Show that highlights Florida wildlife such as snakes and alligators.  They have several restaurants and gift shops, and a nice playground for your littles.  If you visit during the summertime, you can enjoy Buccaneer Bay - an awesome water park with slides, a kiddie pool and more.  The spring itself is open for swimming year round, but the water park is seasonal. 

Your ticket price includes everything - shows, river cruise, even Buccaneer Bay! And if a quick visit isn't enough, you can even register for mermaid camps! They have them for kids ages 7-14, and for adults 30 and over.  

You can learn more about Weeki Wachee at their website, on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest and Youtube. 

If you have visited Weeki Wachee before, tell me what you love about it in the comments, please! And if you haven't been, I hope you'll consider it on your next trip to Florida.  It is definitely an attraction that everyone should visit at least once when you are down that way - so unique and lots of fun.

Stay tuned as I'll share our awesome trip to West Volusia county beginning later this week.  We saw amazing springs, some wildlife up close and personal, and much more  - it was fabulous and I can't wait to tell you about it! Oh, and a giveaway or two will be coming up soon, too! See ya soon....

Disclaimer: I received two passes to the park in order to facilitate this review.  All opinions given in this post are my own!

Travel - Perfect Beach Hotel in Ormond Beach, FL

                                                    

Looking for a quiet spot on the Atlantic?  Read more about Coral Sands in Ormond Beach!

So, it finally got cold here in Georgia, and I'm dreaming of the beach. Which reminds me of the fun we had on vacation back in September.   My son, Aunt & I went to Florida for a 9 day whirlwind trip to the beach, Disney and Kissimmee! I have so much to share with y'all.  Here in Georgia, a trip to Disney is only an eight hour drive away.  I grew up going to Disney & other Orlando-area theme parks fairly often, as my Grandparents lived in Orlando.  It still makes me so incredibly happy to visit the magical world that Walt Disney created.  This was our first trip in 8 years, so I wanted to enjoy it and make lots of memories!

I've mentioned before that my son David is homeschooled via k12.com.  That means we have a little more flexibility than most families, and can easily take vacations throughout the school year.  This trip was actually planned by another K12 mom and wow, did she ever do an amazing job!   It was a Disney YES (Youth Education Series) trip, and because it included a Disney class for our kids at the park, we were able to take advantage of some amazing ticket prices.  We each got the four-day park hopper pass, and the cost was what you would normally pay for two days at one park only - wow!! 

We drove over to Alabama early Tuesday morning to pick up my sweet Aunt Anne.  She was going with us to Florida, and at the last minute we decided to leave a day early so we could see the ocean. The beach is probably my favorite place in the world.  The sound of the waves, the smell of the salt air, the breeze - it's my happy place.  Being so close and not seeing the beach would have been SAD!
So we picked her up, then came back through Atlanta to take I-75 South to Florida.  We stopped for meals and breaks, so it was almost 11 pm when we pulled up to the motel I'd found on hotels.com.
(I am still using swagbucks and I like to use hotels.com for my reservations so I get cashback via gift cards from Swagbucks.)  This room was only $80 using a $5 off coupon I found online.  I wasn't expecting much for that price - just a view of the beach, and probably a long walk to get there.

Despite the late hour, we easily checked in to the Coral Sands Inn in Ormond Beach, Florida, and took our luggage up to the room, which was on the 5th floor.  As it was pitch black, and there were no lights (it was turtle hatching season), we couldn't see the beach, but we sure could hear the waves.

Night view from the balcony in front of the room.

The room was nice - nothing fancy, and honestly, a little dated, but perfectly fine. We even had a little fridge, microwave and sink, plus a little counter space for our cooler.  We all collapsed into our beds and slept very well!  In the morning, I opened the curtains and happily discovered this view:

Stunning view of the beach - totally worth $80, right?! 

We quickly got dressed and headed to the beach to let David play in the surf and collect a few shells.

I took this picture standing in the waves, looking back at the motel.  

Picking up shells...

After about 30 minutes on the beach, we headed out to get breakfast to bring back to the room.  Ormond Beach is a SMALL town, so we didn't have a lot of choices.  We ended up visiting House of Donuts, just down the street from the motel.  They have a wonderful breakfast menu: everything from donuts - fancy or regular, to breakfast sandwiches, juices, coffee and iced coffee.  David chose the oreo donut, I got a bavarian cream, and we picked a key lime pie donut for Aunt Anne.  Everything was fresh and delicious!

David really wanted to take a quick dip in the pool, so off we went....

Then it was time to grab a luggage cart and haul our stuff back down to the car.  Checking out was easy and fast, and it took just about 1 1/2 hours to get to our rental in Kissimmee once we left here.
Ormond Beach is lovely, and I really can't wait to get back down there and explore the area a little bit more! And of course we will plan to stay at Coral Sands!  I can't believe I'm sharing this hidden gem but it was such a great value that I had to tell y'all about it too!

FYI: I didn't receive any discount, incentives or anything from the hotel for writing about it, I just love it! :)  If you are heading to the Atlantic Coast or central Florida, I hope you'll make a stop at Coral Sands and enjoy the view, the pool and that amazing beach!  Such a relaxing place to stop and unwind for a night or two!  Then come here and let me know what you think about Coral Sands!

Leave a comment below with your favorite beach in Florida! I'm always looking for a new place to visit!