By the time we got the North Carolina we were pretty burnt out on being on the road. Lots of traffic, rain and road construction left us cranky and we decided to drive straight through to Florida. It was a long day with a lot of laughing at things that probably weren’t funny and instant inside jokes. Like the stretch of road where all you could see for miles and miles were billboards for either FIREWORKS! or HURT? NEED HELP? advertisements for cheap lawyers. We couldn’t help but wonder if each company kept the other in business or if that was just a coincidence.

Eventually we got to Florida though and made our way to the Tampa area, specifically Ruskin, where my father lives. We had a beautiful week enjoying the views, exploring new places and getting to spend lots of quality time with my dad. It was a hot, sunny week and though we had plenty of rain while we were there, there was plenty of sun, too. We took rides in his row boat, swam in pools, went to the boardwalk, ate seafood, and enjoyed countless gorgeous views of the water.

In between being beach bums we also went to Lego Land – which was a mixed bag for us. I greatly appreciated how much smaller it was than Hershey Park and the kids had a lot of fun, but Dan was pretty unimpressed with layout of the park and we were all irritated that a lot of the big rides seemed hidden by walls so that you couldn’t  see what you were waiting in line for until you got to the front. Also, it rained. A lot. Overall though, it was totally worth it especially because MM was in his glory. He’d been waiting for Lego Land for years!

Favorite things at Lego Land included: making and racing Lego Cars, meeting the stars of the Lego Movie, riding the double decker Lego carousel, walking through the Cypress Gardens, the Earthquake Tester, and the Model Cities exhibit.

We also took the kids to the South Florida Museum which had a lot of really interesting exhibits – everything from a history of coffee to a giant shark’s jaw, a Planetarium, Aquarium and Snooty the Manatee that was celebrating it’s birthday

And did I mention the gorgeous Florida views?

Previous: KOA Campgrounds

Next: Bowling Green KY