On Wednesday of our vacation, we drove to Cocoa Beach on the Atlantic side of Florida. I married a SoCal boy, and K is taking after her Daddy, so they just HAD to play in the waves!
My Pretty Girl!!
The town of Cocoa Beach is about an hour or so East of Orlando if you take the toll roads. We are cheap, so it took us about an hour and 20 minutes. We were driving straight into a great big rainstorm, and I was so upset! But, true to Florida reputation, I stuck around for a bit and the weather changed. Blue skies, warm breezes. We found a public access beach and unloaded the kids. The idea of bringing our own beach chairs and our SuperBrella had been thrown around, but I'm really glad we didn't. There was a nice guy sitting at a rental stand just a few steps from the public access parking lot and for a mere $30 we got 2 padded lounge chairs under a big shady umbrella! That's a small price to pay for extra trunk space! The water felt great, the breeze was amazing...K and Hubs had a great time boogie barding (2 boards were also included in the $30, PS), and A and I unsuccessfully attempted to build sand castles.
Stop taking pictures, Mom!
The peace and quiet was just what we needed at this point in our trip. It felt like we had been non-stop adventurers since our arrival. All I wanted to do was lay on my chair and close my eyes. Except I didn't want A to drown, so I stayed (partly) vigilant. The peace was broken when we noticed several jelly fish on the sand close to our chairs. Upon asking the nice guy at the rental stand, we learned that they were moon jellies and that their sting, although irritating, wouldn't do any damage.
This wasn't even the biggest one!
At this point, surprise surprise, A was scared of them and wouldn't go in the water anymore. K had so much time with Hubs, that she decided she wanted me to take a turn out on the waves. We got out about 10 yards and I saw a jelly floating on the water and chickened out. So Hubs took one for the team and headed back out with K. They each got stung (Hubs twice, K four times), but were completely elated that they got to ride the waves together. A spent her time digging for sand crabs, building sand castles, and chasing the birds that landed close to our chairs. She went into the water for a while before the jellies, but that was enough for her.
Chasing birds
Me and my baby! Check out her Cindy Brady pigtails!
We were all exhausted by the time we started the drive back and the girls slept almost the whole way back. Quick tip: get gas before jumping on the toll road. We decided that we would rather spend some cash to get back to Orlando in quick order. I don't recall how many tolls there were, but it took us more than $10 to get back. Anyway, there really aren't too many places to stop and get gas. I seriously thought we were going to have to call a tow truck to come and get us.
We finally made it back to the resort and K wanted to eat in the food court, while Hubs and I were kind of craving a restaurant that was not located on property. So, Hubs went to pick up some Chili's (chips and salsa, holla!) while the girls and I hung out by the pool and watched The Little Mermaid on a giant inflatable movie screen. That was really fun! We got our blankets from home and cuddled up on some lounge chairs. I seriously love spending cuddle time with my girls!
After the movie, the girls and I went back to the room to wait for Hubs to get back from picking up the food. I pulled my blankets back on the bed because A wanted to cuddle some more, and a COCKROACH scurried right by my hand and hid under the blanket!!! I straight flipped out! I kept trying to call Hubs, but he didn't answer and I thought I was about to have a coronary! Once he opened the door, he found the girls and I on the other bed, huddled together, with me shaking and A hiding her head. He found the offending creature and caught it in a cup and called the front desk. Omg, every time I saw it, I almost died!! Apparently, in Florida, they are called "Palmetta bugs" because they live in and around palm trees and in the much beds that are in the landscaping. I don't care what you call them, Mr. Maintenance Man, a cockroach is a cockroach and I hate them! They offered us a different room, but I really didn't want to pack our stuff up and move it. But I told him if I found any more "Palmetta bugs" I was going to throw a royal fit. Luckily for him and everyone else, I didn't see a single one after that. I swear nature was trying to attack me on this trip!
What is a vacation without a few snags? Just because nature hated me this time doesn't deter me from planning another vacation down the road. All the "Palmetta bugs" in Orlando can't keep me away! OK...maybe they can...*ick*...There aren't usually cockroaches, sorry, "Palmetta bugs" on cruise ships are there??
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