This year for spring break we have planned to go to Florida Orlando Universal Studios to see the Harry Potter World since the kids have read the entire Harry Potter book series.
One of the reasons we going down the floor again is because we traded the 2004 Sienna for a used 2015 Sienna so we can drive down there otherwise I won’t be able to drive the old van since it had over 230 thousand miles. It also had a lot of issues including several lights on the dashboard and so we didn't feel safe driving the old van down there. We still miss the old van, it gave us so many memories.
This year worked out really well to since spring break started right after tax season, so we were able to travel as a family to wherever we wanted to go. In previous years Spring Break was around tax season time and so I can only take the kids around locally; like go biking or do something in the neighborhood so everyone was happy.
So this year on April 16th, the day after tax season, while the kids still have a full day of school, Da took half a day from work and came home so he can nap and get some rest sleep before the long 14hr drive down to Florida. When the kids came home we start packing, had dinner, and then we left the house around 7 pm, went to library borrow some books and then at 8 pm Da start driving to Florida.
Back in 2011, about 8 years ago Da drove to Florida to Sea World, it was a different story. Last time Da walked in the door from work and Abbey says I want to go to Florida Sea World. Da was a little surprised; he changed, ate a light dinner and off he drove driving the 14 hours to Sea World. It was not a pleasant drive but he made it there safely.
This time Da prepared a little better and also he bought some food that will make his drive not so sleepy. His secret foods are: Walmart's corn squares cereal and Mountain Dew; basically some food for him to chew while driving and not too oily, fatty, sugary, or salty since it may make him have to pee a lot.
So while the kids slept the entire way there from 8pm and arrive at the Florida state line at 6 AM nonstop except for two times to refill gas and use the bathroom. When we arrived at the Florida State line welcome center, we want to take some pictures of the kids like the ones when they were 8 years ago. However since traffic was light and Da didn’t make many stops, we arrived at the welcome center too early and the sun wasn't out yet to take pictures at 6am. So we went to a nearby Walmart to get some food and water for camping trip.
The sun finally came up around 7am and we went back to the welcome to take photos, we planned to go straight to Universal Studios' Harry Potter entrance, but instead we opted to stop Daytona beach to drive in the beach again and enjoy the beautiful beach water and same since it was on the way.
It was beautiful to drive along the beach. Clayton couldn’t wait to hit the sand so once our van passed the entrance, he jumped out and start running on the sand alongside our van while we were driving. After we found a nice spot, the kids didn’t even change their clothes and jump right into the sand and play on the beach. We even had picnic lunch there.
After lunch at Daytona Beach, we went straight to Universal Studios. Our plan was to walk around to check out the park and see what we want to do the next couple days while there. We end up doing a lot of Harry Potter things. The kids each bought a Harry Potter Ollivanders' wand, drank their infamous Butter Beer, watched shows, saw the big breath fire on the building rooftoop, rode the famous train, and watched the fireworks at the castle.
Finally after all that fun at the park, we finally left the park, went to our KOA camp site in Kissimmee. Da and Brennan help pitched the tent and get the sleeping gear ready while Abbey cooked dinner. Da finally went to bed of having been awake for 32 hours.
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One of the reasons we going down the floor again is because we traded the 2004 Sienna for a used 2015 Sienna so we can drive down there otherwise I won’t be able to drive the old van since it had over 230 thousand miles. It also had a lot of issues including several lights on the dashboard and so we didn't feel safe driving the old van down there. We still miss the old van, it gave us so many memories.
This year worked out really well to since spring break started right after tax season, so we were able to travel as a family to wherever we wanted to go. In previous years Spring Break was around tax season time and so I can only take the kids around locally; like go biking or do something in the neighborhood so everyone was happy.
So this year on April 16th, the day after tax season, while the kids still have a full day of school, Da took half a day from work and came home so he can nap and get some rest sleep before the long 14hr drive down to Florida. When the kids came home we start packing, had dinner, and then we left the house around 7 pm, went to library borrow some books and then at 8 pm Da start driving to Florida.
Back in 2011, about 8 years ago Da drove to Florida to Sea World, it was a different story. Last time Da walked in the door from work and Abbey says I want to go to Florida Sea World. Da was a little surprised; he changed, ate a light dinner and off he drove driving the 14 hours to Sea World. It was not a pleasant drive but he made it there safely.
This time Da prepared a little better and also he bought some food that will make his drive not so sleepy. His secret foods are: Walmart's corn squares cereal and Mountain Dew; basically some food for him to chew while driving and not too oily, fatty, sugary, or salty since it may make him have to pee a lot.
So while the kids slept the entire way there from 8pm and arrive at the Florida state line at 6 AM nonstop except for two times to refill gas and use the bathroom. When we arrived at the Florida State line welcome center, we want to take some pictures of the kids like the ones when they were 8 years ago. However since traffic was light and Da didn’t make many stops, we arrived at the welcome center too early and the sun wasn't out yet to take pictures at 6am. So we went to a nearby Walmart to get some food and water for camping trip.
The sun finally came up around 7am and we went back to the welcome to take photos, we planned to go straight to Universal Studios' Harry Potter entrance, but instead we opted to stop Daytona beach to drive in the beach again and enjoy the beautiful beach water and same since it was on the way.
It was beautiful to drive along the beach. Clayton couldn’t wait to hit the sand so once our van passed the entrance, he jumped out and start running on the sand alongside our van while we were driving. After we found a nice spot, the kids didn’t even change their clothes and jump right into the sand and play on the beach. We even had picnic lunch there.
After lunch at Daytona Beach, we went straight to Universal Studios. Our plan was to walk around to check out the park and see what we want to do the next couple days while there. We end up doing a lot of Harry Potter things. The kids each bought a Harry Potter Ollivanders' wand, drank their infamous Butter Beer, watched shows, saw the big breath fire on the building rooftoop, rode the famous train, and watched the fireworks at the castle.
Finally after all that fun at the park, we finally left the park, went to our KOA camp site in Kissimmee. Da and Brennan help pitched the tent and get the sleeping gear ready while Abbey cooked dinner. Da finally went to bed of having been awake for 32 hours.
