Let’s Go to Legoland: Florida Edition

 We flew out on a Monday and came home on Friday, giving us two travel days and three full park days.

                                

                                        

We were able to fly direct from Tri-Cities to Sanford and rented a car for the week. I looked into a car service, but since LEGOLAND is about an hour and a half from the airport, renting a car ended up being the more affordable option.

                                                    

                                            

We arrived late Monday evening and settled into our Adventure-themed room at the hotel.

                                           

Tuesday

We started our first full day at the park riding rides and exploring. This ended up being the busiest day crowd-wise, probably because it was right after Memorial Day weekend.

The park is divided into different themed areas, and we started in the DUPLO section, which was a big hit. 

We also quickly learned that a few rides have height restrictions for guests over 6'5"! #Tallhusbandissues

That evening we ate at Bricks Family Restaurant, the buffet inside the resort. It had plenty of options and everyone found something they liked.

After dinner, we moved over to the Pirate-themed hotel for the remainder of our stay to give ourselves a little more room. We loved both hotels, and the theming was so much fun. The two hotels are connected and share the same lobby, making it very convenient.

Wednesday

We started the day at Peppa Pig Theme Park, which is also within walking distance of the hotel. We arrived right at opening, and it was practically empty.

                                                        

                              

                               

                                     

                                     

                                    

We rode Daddy Pig’s Roller Coaster, watched a show in the air-conditioned theater, and enjoyed several other attractions. The park is definitely geared toward younger children, and I’m so glad we visited while the boys are still at the perfect age to enjoy it. Honestly, I may have loved it more than anyone else! We watched a lot of Peppa Pig during the pandemic, so it felt especially nostalgic.

I had assumed there was only a splash pad, but it turned out to be a full water play area. I promised the boys we’d come back the next morning with swimsuits.

We originally planned to spend more time at the water park, but everyone wanted to ride more rides instead, so that’s exactly what we did.

We also visited Guest Services and received a Hero Pass. The pass allows guests with disabilities to hold their place in line without physically waiting in the queue. One thing that really stood out to me was the park’s commitment to accessibility and inclusion. It was evident throughout our visit and made my heart happy.

For dinner, we ate at the Pirate restaurant inside the hotel. The bread and salad alone were amazing, and the entrees and sides were even better. Out of all the meals we had during the trip, this was our favorite and definitely worth the splurge.

                                          

Thursday: Our last full day!

After our usual family breakfast at the hotel, I took the boys back to Peppa Pig while Chris had to work. The park felt small enough that I felt comfortable having the boys by myself. They loved the water feature.  

Later, we met up and headed to the water park, which is located inside the main park. You enter the park as usual and simply walk toward the back.

                                    

                                  

                                      

                                       

We loved all the theming and attention to detail. A brief storm interrupted some of our plans, but we still managed to fit in several more rides, including the newest coaster, Galaticoaster in the space-themed part of Legoland. It was my favourite and we rode it three times. 

We had dinner reservations that evening, but everyone was exhausted so I ordered a pizza and we ate together in our room. It ended up being the perfect way to finish the trip.

Friday

We enjoyed one last hotel breakfast before heading back to the airport and making our way home.

A few extra notes:

• Huge shoutout to our BOB double stroller. We’ve had it for 6.5 years, traveled all over with it, and it continues to hold up beautifully. It folds down into one piece which makes it easy to fly with in my opinion.  One part broke a few years ago and the company sent a replacement right away. It holds up to 100 pounds and, most importantly, the canopy can create a little “turtle shell” space when Nolan feels overwhelmed or needs a break from sensory input.

                                    

• Breakfast was included with our hotel stay, and we ate there every morning. It was delicious, but more than that, it was comfortable. The dining area was full of families, noisy in the best way, and felt welcoming and relaxed. It ended up being one of the highlights of our stay.

                                   

Married to Wilson: Vancouver Edition

Last week we celebrated Canada Day, the Fourth of July, and an epic victory for the USA women's team at the World Cup. 

 We are also celebrating one year of living in our townhouse on Stride avenue. This is the longest we have ever lived in one place together. Crazy isn’t it?

I get asked a lot about what it’s like to live in Canada and how it compares to the other places we’ve lived.

Last year I did a side by side comparison of New York and Tennessee.  There’s things here that remind me of New York and even things that remind me of Tennessee.

All in all, Vancouver is in a league all its own.

Airport

In 2010, the winter Olympics were held in British Columbia. (Side note: My mom actually came on a mission trip here during that time. When Chris was interviewing with a company here it was nice to be able to ask my mom questions about Vancouver )

Back to the olympics, the Canadian government spent seven billion dollars to improve the city including the constructing the Canada line part of the Skytrain (that runs out to the airport)  

One of the best things about the airport is that we can take the ‘Skytrain’ from our house to the airport. In New York, we had to take a taxi (or subway plus bus).

There’s also free wifi and lots of cute shops to buy souvenirs. 

Transportation

We have a car here, you may remember that we drove it across the country. We also buy monthly train tickets to go into work. We probably wouldn’t need a car if we lived downtown.

It’s nice to have our car for trips to the grocery store and Costco. I like having a car for my monthly trips across the border to Target and Trader Joe’s. Chris likes having it for climbing trips to Washington State or up to Squamish.

Skytrain

I called the Skytrain the 'monorail when we first got here, because it reminded me of Disney World. It runs almost all above ground and unlike the MTA it seems to run frequently.

Unfortunately there’s been several instances that have caused major disruptions.

A bird’s nest caught fire and both lines were shut down on Friday morning during rush hour. My usual 40 minute commute took nearly three hours by bus. 

A few weeks later, there was a disruption again during rush hour and it took me over two hours to get home from work. 

Food

People who love to eat are the best people. ~ Julia Child

Chris introduced me to sushi on our second date. Now I like it better than he does.

The fish is so fresh here. I still prefer cooked fish though. 

Fish and chips has become one of my go to meals. 

Our favorite fast food place is called Triple 0s. I would compare it to In-and-Out burger. The food quality is much higher than the average fast food place. We like our burgers and splitting yam fries. 

Day trips

Richmond. If you watch ‘Once Upon A Time’ on ABC, then you’ll know Stevenston, Richmond by another name. Storybrooke. 25 minutes from our place, Storybrooke is a cozy waterfront town, where the show is filmed from July to March. Much of the show is also filmed at the Bridge studios.

Squamish. One of the reasons we moved out west was for their outdoors. Chris is an avid rock climber and has taken advantage of the great opportunities British Columbia has to offer.

                                                  

 

Bellingham. I must say I do a lot to support the U.S. economy with my monthly trips across the border. Chris calls them “my emotional coping device.” I take no offense to his observation. (Moving across the country, into a new country is hard, ya’ll”). 

 There’s too much to say about these trips for one post, so look a new post soon.