Traffic was heavy leaving Hampton Roads on Friday evening, so we decided to take back roads south into North Carolina. That was fine. We actually came upon a good little family-owned restaurant that scratched everyone's food itches. We then made decent time the next day to Jacksonville, FL. Then, Ryleigh declared she needed to use the bathroom. We got gas and ran into the gas station to use the disgusting restroom. When we came back out, Jip and I went to the back to get snacks out of the cooler. We found oil all over the back. The splatter made us think we got splattered by someone else, so we got back into the car and drove a couple blocks. Jip then decided he should crawl under the car. Lo and behold, the oil was our own. Differential oil. Ugh. We called a dealership. We entered the hold circle of hell. We called a second dealership. They said if we could get there by closing (in 20 minutes), they'd take a look. So, we hustled. We pulled in at 4:55. They looked. They couldn't figure it out. Thankfully, the dealership had rental vehicles. So, we threw everything into a Rav4 and continued south. It was a tight fit, but we made it. While I was in the check-in circle of hell at the resort, we had a visitor to the car.
We unloaded and then Jip got the kids ready for bed while I ran back out to the worst circle of hell in Orlando. Yes, worse than the lines at Disney. Walmart. Goodness gracious. I forgot how bad Walmart can be. I finally made it back to our time share at 11:15 and settled in.
On Sunday, we were supposed to go to Kennedy Space Center, but while we were sitting at the lovely family restaurant in NC on Friday, we got an email that the rocket launch I had tickets for had been scrubbed. So, we decided to hold off and see when it got rescheduled. That left Sunday open for staying at the resort and enjoying the pool before the typical Florida afternoon thunderstorm.
Monday morning we headed to Universal. Our goal was to get the lay of the land and figure out how to appropriately plan our Tuesday, the day we had express passes. But, we ended up just spending the whole day in the original Universal Studios park. It was hot, but the rain managed to stay away, so it was mostly a good day at the park. The kids went to Ollivander's and we met with a wand matchmaker to determine the right wands for their personalities. The kids used their wands to make different aspects of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter come alive. Most of the lines for rides were about 30 minutes long, but we ended up being in line for Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts way more than the advertised 30 minutes (more like 75 minutes), but the kids swear it was worth it.
We didn't have as good weather on Tuesday--we were chased inside by rain once. But, we were chased inside while we were in the Jurassic Park section, so the kids got to watch a dinosaur hatching (Ryleigh informed us that it was fake. :) and look around while Mom and Dad got to sit. The kids and I hurried back to the raptor encounter and were the first ones in line after the rain. Yay us! Jip rode the Hulk Coaster by himself, we got OMG wet on the log flume ride, and we had the best ride of the day on the Harry Potter Forbidden Journey. That ride was amazing! I could have done it over and over. And what made it more amazing was the express pass. We sailed to the front while the regular line was over an hour long. Yay us, again! The kids cast a few more spells with their wands and we rode the Hogwarts Train back to station 9 and 3/4 so we could do the Minion ride we were too tired for on Monday. We ended our day at Hard Rock Cafe. The kids didn't really get the memorabilia, but the food was actually pretty good and it sit after two days in a row of between 4 and 5 miles of walking.
On Wednesday, we were on our way to Kennedy Space Center. The SpaceX launch was scheduled for evening, so we ate lunch on the road and then pulled into KSC. But, the weather was so not our friend. The bus tours to the Saturn Center were cancelled due to the weather, so there were soooooo many people milling about at the main center. We had to leave the outdoor rocket exhibit due to lightning. We then waited over an hour to get into the space shuttle exhibit.
Our time in the shuttle exhibit was too short after we had waited so long, but we had to get to the bus to take us to the viewing gantry to be less than 2 miles from the launch pad. We were closer than the press! We were in line fairly early, but not early enough to get a seat in the bleachers, so we spread out our jackets and sat on the grass. At T-30 seconds, they called the launch off due to electrical storms within 5 miles and anvil-shaped clouds.
Our launch tickets were considered used, but we were given vouchers to return to KSC the next day so we could watch the launch from the main site. The weather didn't look promising for the next day, but we took the vouchers anyway. We thought maybe we could leave Volcano Bay early and still get there if it looked like it would be a go. Thankfully for the kids, but not for Dad's wallet, the gift ship was still open when we got back from the launch viewing area. So, the kids got small remembrances in addition to the toy shuttles we got at the launch site. I think Jip and I were more disappointed than the kids about the launch being aborted. Plus, I wanted their first visit to KSC to be magical like mine was when my Dad took me when I was a freshman in high school. Hopefully the kids will want to try again. I've already promised to try to get tickets to a launch from Wallops Island, VA--even if it means having to ditch school. There's a launch coming up on Ryleigh's birthday, so we'll see.
On Thursday, we headed to Volcano Bay. The kids said it was the best day of the vacation. We were there 9 hours. It rained for probably 4 of those hours, but we didn't care. We were already wet. And it kept the crowds away. I have to agree that it really was fun! And, the virtual line thing they've come up with is awesome. When you find something you want to ride, you tap a device you wear on your wrist to a screen at the ride. Your wrist device then counts down the time to your ride and lets you know when you can get in line. During that time, you can go ride stuff that doesn't have a line or play in the lazy river, the raging river (like a lazy river, but with rapids and you wear life jackets), or the wave pool. We rode the aqua coaster twice and Jip and the kids did a bunch of other three-person raft rides. The kids and I did the raging river and lazy river a few times.
While we were at Volcano Bay, we kept checking spaceflightnow.com. The blogger kept saying it didn't look good for the launch. So, we just kept on having a good time at Volcano Bay. But, wouldn't you know it--the sky opened up 5 minutes before the launch and they had a successful launch. Good for SpaceX. Good for the Space Station. Bad for the Mosman Family.
When we booked our vacation, we didn't know whether we would head home on Friday or Saturday, but we decided that we wanted to be home by Saturday night. But, we wanted to see a little something different, so we headed to Atlanta. On the way, a guy's tire blew out right in front of us. The tire pieces mostly missed our car, but we pulled over to make sure the driver was okay. He was badly shaken, but okay. He had just put the new-to-him tire on the day before, so he didn't have a lug wrench. And ours didn't fit. So, we gave him a ride to his job 10 miles down the road and continued on. We made it to Stone Mountain on the northeast side of Atlanta just after 6. We headed to the top so the kids could have a look around. We came back down, found some dinner, and then headed to the grassy knoll to wait for the laser show to begin. Jip had done the laser show before, but I hadn't when I was there. The laser show features a little bit the carving of Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, and Stonewall Jackson, but it is mostly centered around Georgia-based music, sports, and more and patriotic themes. I still wonder when the park will fall out of favor, as it is anchored by a carving that celebrates the Confederacy, but the crowds were such Saturday night, that I'm guessing it will be awhile.
Saturday's drive was long, but thankfully, uneventful. Well, Ryleigh had to go to the bathroom. A lot. But, we finally made it home 11.5 hours after we left the hotel in Duluth, GA.
Overall, it was a good trip. The kids are already planning a return to Mexico next year, though. I think they've had enough of the Holiday Road. :)
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