Aquarium

Our last stop on vacation was at the aquarium in Tampa.  We had a huge surprise for Cale that afternoon.  We spent time going through all the different sea life exhibits prior to the surprise.  Cale got to touch a sea anemone (where Nemo lives) and sting ray...he also really liked the sharks because of their "big teeth mommy".  I've even got him doing the Jaws music...dom, dom....dom, dom...dom, dom.  We ate outside and watched a squirrel try to steal our food...he was sitting on top of the tables.  Cale played on the playground equipment while we wait for the surprise to start. 

At 1:30 we were taken into a backroom where an aquarium employee was waiting for us.  The next 45 minutes we got to pet, play with and watch penguins.  As you know, Cale LOVES penguins...he has 2 that go everywhere with him so getting to pet a "real penguin" (they are really soft) was awesome.  There were about 6 penguins...we got to play with 2 of them: Shelly and Cliff.  Cliff tried to eat my mom's purse, which, Cale thought was hilarious.  Cliff also got out a few of his "toys" and swam in the tub.  We also got to watch them eat fish.  As we walked out of the room Cale said, "mommy, that was soooo cool".

Ocean - Longboat Key

We spent 2 days at Longboat Key (a few miles north of Sarasota).  Our hotel was awesome...the room overlooked the ocean and had a wrap-around deck.  Cale had never seen the beach or ocean and was amazed.  He loved the waves the most..as the waves crashed on the beach and his feet/legs he laughed and laughed.  He also loved being in the water..it was cold but he didn't care.  He liked walking on the beach, picking up seashells (we brought a lot back), playing in the white sand (he built sandcastles, etc), playing frisbee on the beach and watching the pelicans dive for fish.  We were on the beach every morning and afternoon...and watched the sunsets. 

We managed to do some shopping in Sarasota at St. Armands Circle...I actually found this huge outdoor shopping area a couple years ago when I was in FL for a trade-show.  Cale got a shark necklace, which he didn't take off the rest of the trip.  We grabbed lunch at a sub-shop and ate on the our deck. We also made time for the hot tub under the stars.

Gatorland

On our way to the beach we stopped at Gatorland for a few hours.  When we bought our tickets, the lady asked me if Cale would want to "wrestle a gator"...she showed me some pictures and I said, "no...he's too little and would probably be scared". 

The park is 110-acres which includes wildlife preserves and thousands of alligators (including rare white alligators).  We checked out alligators, crocodiles, the largest alligator in the park, white alligators, snakes, walked in the swamp, road the train and watched the alligator wresting show. 

At the end of the show, kids were able to "wrestle" Layla.  Cale was at the fence watching the kids wrestle Layla...he turned around and walked over to where I was sitting and said, "mommy, when is it my turn?".  I asked if he really wanted to wrestle Layla...he said, "yes mommy".  So, we bought a ticket and stood in line.  As we were in line I was prepping him..."you will have to tell them your name and where you live".  "See the other kids, you'll have to sit on the alligator and use your muscles to pull Layla's head back...oh and don't forget to smile".  When it was his turn, he walked through the gate (as I rushed over to get a good spot to watch) and up to Layla.  They asked his name, "Cale Robert Clark"...then he sat on Layla, pulled back her head, turned to the photographer and smiled.  It was PERFECT!  That kid continues to amaze me...such a big boy.

Epcot

Our last Disney stop was Epcot.  We spent the majority of our time at The Seas with Nemo & Friends.  Nemo was missing so we had to ride in a "clamobile" and go under water...through the coral reefs.  We got to swim with Mr. Ray and his school.  We also had to dodge underwater mines, a fish with lots of teeth and even Bruce the shark!  The last part of the ride was on the east Australian current with the sea turtles.

Our next stop was Turtle Talk with Crush (Cale's favorite)...we got to talk to Crush and ask him questions.  Cale left there saying, "dude", "sweet" and "dude, that was sooooo cool"...in his best surfer voice (duuuude). 

As we left The Seas with Nemo, Cale fell asleep (which was ok since we couldn't get into Soarin') so we made our way back to the hotel on the boat.

Animal Kingdom

The 3rd and final day at Disney was split between Animal Kingdom and Epcot.  We started our day at Animal Kingdom and headed for the Kilimanjaro Safari ride in Africa.  Cale really enjoyed the safari...because of all the animals but also, we got to travel in an open-air vehicle.  We saw around 34 different species of exotic African wildlife that were roaming "free".  Cale's favorite part was when the vehicle we were traveling in got stuck on a bridge...not only did it get stuck but the bridge started to fall.  It scared my mom...Cale thought it was awesome. 

After leaving Africa we took the Wildlife express train and spent some time learning about animal issues around the world.

After our train ride we headed to It's Tough to be a Bug.  This program is based on the movie, "A Bug's Life" and is a 4D adventure to experience life from a bug’s point of view.  During the show we had to dodge flying quills from a tarantula, felt “acid spray” from a soldier termite and inhaled the “defense stench” from a stink bug.  Cale's favorite parts were when the stink bug sprayed us (yes, it smelled terrible) and when they sprayed us with bug spray (we got wet).

Finally, before lunch, we went to the Festival of the Loin King show. As we sat down, the jungle literally surrounded us...giraffes, wart-hogs, elephants and lions.  Cale got into it..we were in the "lion" section so we had to roar during the show.  Timon (from the movie) was there...he lead us in singing Hakuna Matata and a bunch of other songs from the movie. The show ended with The Circle of Life.

We ate lunch at the Rainforest Cafe and Cale thought it was so cool when the forest (rain and thunder) and animals (singing birds, elephants, chest-pounding gorillas) came to life.

Hollywood Studios

The next stop on our trip was Hollywood Studios...I think it was Cale's favorite Disney park.  We started and ended the day in Pixar Place.  In the morning we got to meet Woody and Buzz..Cale couldn't believe it!  Woody bear-hugged Cale and Buzz gave him "five".  We had a few pictures taken with them (yes, I bought all of them) and then headed over to meet Mater and Lightening  McQueen.  From there, we watched the Muppet's in 3D.  Cale has never experienced 3D so it was cute to watch him reach out to pop bubbles, pet an animal or even jump because of Gonzo.  Next we went on "The Last Movie" ride...his favorite part was the gun fights between the 1930 street criminals and the wild west gun fights with John Wayne.  I thought he might be scared but he was really into it all.  After lunch we met Jake (from Jake and the Neverland pirates) and Handy Manny.  We also spent some time in "the magic of Disney" where Cale got to meet Mickey and play some fun Disney games.  We ended the day at Hollywood Studios at the Aladdin show with live singers and cool animation.

Our favorite part of the day?  The Toy Story Mania ride...Cale and I were partners and got to shoot at a bunch of carnival type games...all in 4D!  There were 5 different games: Hamm & Eggs, Rex & Trixie's Dino Darts, Green Army Men Shoot Camp, Buzz Lightyear's Flying Tossers and Woody's Rootin' Tootin' Shootin' Gallery.

Magic Kingdom

We spent the 1st full day in FL at Magic Kingdom. When we walked into the park, Cale was in awe and the 1st thing he commented on was "the castle".  He loves the castle because he notices it at the beginning of every Disney movie.

 

The 1st ride we went on was Lilo and Stitch.  Cale did good considering the lights went out and Stitch was sneaking up on the crowd.  Next we went on the Buzz Lightyear ride...during this ride, you spin and spin while trying to shoot aliens.  Cale scored on the "star cadet" level.  And then there were the tea cups...note to self: I can't handle the spinning like I used to be able to.  Cale laughed and laughed and laughed so it was worth the terrible feeling I had when we got off.  We also went on the Dumbo ride, which Cale liked because he got to control the elephant...up and down...up and down...and I should mention, you not only go up and down, but you're also going around in circles.  Thankfully I'd fully recovered from the teacups.  We also rode the train around the park to check it all out and had a great seat for the mid-day parade.  We did some shopping and had our favorite snack..POPCORN!

 

We made it back at night to catch some of the fireworks, the laser show and electrical parade.  Out of the 3 night shows, Cale liked the electrical parade the most because of the music and bright lights. 

 





Chef Mickey

We had dinner with Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Pluto and Goofy at Chef Mickey while we were at Disney.  It was actually fun and Cale really got into it.  Each character would stop by a table and spend sometime with each of the kids.  Also, a couple times during the night, they would play a song through-out the restaurant and the kids would dance and swing their napkins above their heads as the characters danced with them.  On the way to the dinner Cale whispered to me, "mommy, will Mickey be real tonight or just pretend".  I told him they were all real.  Well, fast-forward 2 hours...I took Cale to the bathroom and he said to me, "mommy...THEY ARE REAL!!".  I said, "I know buddy...I told you!".  He was in heaven.

Guess who Cale flirted with and thought was cute?!  Yep -- Minnie.  He acted shy when she stopped by the table and he actually flirted with her. Also, when Pluto was at our table Cale asked him "where is Mickey?".  I thought Pluto was going to cry but he took it well. :-)

Florida vacation

As many of you know, I was in FL for work the beginning of January.  My mom and Cale flew down the 18th of January for a week of fun.  I've been on a lot of "vacations" in my life...I was really lucky growing up because my parents took my brother and I on a vacation every summer that I can remember..I've also traveled a lot as an adult.  The week with Cale in Florida was by far the best vacation I've ever been on!  I took 520 pictures, purchased over 100 pictures and took numerous video.  Needless to say I've had a tough time picking pictures for the blog...so, I've created picture collages.  I will update the blog as I finish the collages.

Cale did great on the airplane..he was so excited.  He looked out the window quite often while eating snacks (of course).  On the way down, the pilots let him look in the cockpit and the attendants let him help pick up trash.  You know Cale, he's quite the charmer. :-)

The 1st night we stayed at the hotel I'd been at for 2 weeks...we were surprised by a room service delivery: chocolate covered strawberries, chocolate-chip cookies, milk and a stuffed shark.  It was awesome..Cale probably thinks this is how I roll when I travel for work.

We spent 3 days at Disney World, 2 days at the beach (Longboat Key)...the other days we spent at the aquarium in Tampa and Gatorland in Orlando.

More updates to come (on a side-note, I've decided to create a memory book on Shutterfly..I will share that when it's done).

Surprise!

 

Cale is obsessed with "the castle"...

 

Hollywood studios...his fav!  Why?!  Woody and Buzz of course.

 

 

Jake is kinda getting fresh with me (look at where his hand is..that's my knee).  We also ate dinner with the gang: Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald and Pluto. 

Lightening McQueen and Mater!

 

I didn't know what Cale would think of the beach and ocean...I was afraid he would be bored after spending 3 days with Mickey.  He loved the time at the beach..I have video of him laughing and laughing at the "big waves mommy". 

He drank his orange juice in a coffee cup at breakfast and was "fire chief" for the day at lunch.

Waiting for our flight home...Cale's 1st words when we got home, "mommy, it's COLD".