Since the kids were with the grandparents on Saturday night, we slept late on Sunday morning. No parks were planned, just the requisite hour and a half tour and time share promotion, packing and winding down.

I was not looking forward to that tour, but we had to do it to confirm the incredibly low rate we got for the condo. We got lucky. Our Club Navigo sales rep was a nice young man who was suffering the consequences of a Saturday night out carousing and did not feel like pressuring us to buy something in which we had absolutely no interest. He gave us an overview of the program and then we talked story about his future nursing career. We assured him that there were lots of pretty young women in Hawaii if he came to work in the Aloha State and were able to be on our way in exactly 90 minutes.

This was not only the end of our family vacation, but the beginning of our summer spent apart. The first good-bye came Sunday afternoon. Our youngest daughter went home with her grandparents. She will spend a month with them visiting other family, going to camp and enjoying the Florida sunshine.

Before the rest of us boarded our flights for various destinations, we took a tour of Highway 192, the main road in Kissimmee off of which our condo rested (right outside of Orlando, near t exit 64, Disneyworld, from I4.)

This east/west stretch of busy highway was a phenomenon in and of itself. It reminds me of the Las Vegas strip back in the days before it exploded into its present upscale demeanor. My husband suggested the Jersey shore.

Alongside the three lanes in each direction are clusters of diners and gift shops and mini golf courses and “Worlds of Merchandise,” with huge billboards calling out to potential patrons promising cheap food, cheap park tickets, other great deals and tons of fun—exactly what the tourists want.

TOTALLY TACKY.

Our in depth investigation of this American phenomenon of kitsch and commercialism involved three stops: World of Denim, The Cracker Barrel, and Fun Time Gift Shop.

We passed World of Denim in each direction every time we left our temporary abode towards amusement park mania. It called to us daily demanding our attention and perhaps our cash. Assuming that the world is our oyster, we finally obliged.

As is with much of that which is material, looks can be deceiving. World of Denim proved a disappointment, more like a town or perhaps neighborhood. Jeans Wherehouse has a much better selection. However, we proved true blue and bought a pair of jeans and some khaki slacks for my husband. All was not lost.

Our next stop, Cracker Barrel, was awesome. The food, the the service, the homey atmosphere and even the gift shop all hit the spot.

The menu is southern fare and there were several items I’d never tasted before. My husband had grilled catfish which was the best dish served to our table. I ordered collard greens which tasted a lot like kalua pork and cabbage. We put hot sauce and vinegar on top which made it a delicious side dish.

We skipped dessert and headed for the gift shop which had one of the best candy selections we’ve run into in a long time.

One pecan log and box of jellied fruit slices later, we were on our way to the next stop: the most garish gift shop we could find. It wasn’t hard, there were about three within two long blocks of each other, all advertising $1.99 t-shirts and 2.99 beach towels. We picked the most accessible and pulled into the parking lot. Consensus was that we were full and tired, so we just took a few pictures and headed back to the condo.

And thus ended our tour of this main drag. We tidied up. checked our packed suitcases and went to sleep early. Departure for the airport would start at 6:00 am so my husband could catch his flight to Kentucky where he will be working this summer.

Our older child and I will move on to the Boston area where we will visit my sisters and a few friends and hang out for another two weeks before returning to Hawaii and our lives and our home.

It turned out out to be a fabulous family vacation. It’s the first one that our new family has all taken together and it set a positive tone for our future endeavors.

There are a few main things that we did that I think really contributed to our success.

First of all, the planning. We didn’t do a whole lot of it. We were so incredibly busy in the months before the trip that we set up the major logistics: flights, condo and car and didn’t talk much about it after that. I think that this kept the kids from getting over excited or making the trip the focus of all things family for too long a period.

We let them know that we would set the agenda and choose the parks and schedule. We asked for their input at a family meeting about a week before departure and told them our decisions a few days before we left.

This set the general tone of putting the adults in charge. We told them the daily schedule, we chose the rides and we picked the restaurants. We told the kids that no matter what we did it was going to be fun.

We indulged, but not over.

We did not overload  on candy and soda and treats. We ate a good breakfast before we left the condo, stopped for lunch midway through the day, included fruits and vegetables in our meals and enjoyed a cool snack in the late afternoon. We drank a lot of water throughout the day. We even brought our vitamins.

We developed a schedule and stuck to it: not rigid, but routine. Kids do better when they know what to expect and feel like it is dependable.

We didn’t try to do EVERYTHING. People can become acquisitive with experience as well as material things. We were neither. We avoided it by enjoying the moment and rolling with the punches. When things didn’t go as planned we reminded ourselves that the most important thing about the trip is all of us being together, no matter what we are doing.

I already mentioned our souvenir rule in an earlier entry: One per day, at the end of the day. It should cost around $10 and anything else could be bought with the child’s own money.

Only bring what you can carry, there’s no need to lug around any unnecessary stuff.

For me, comfort was important. I did plan ahead on that. I shopped a few months before the trip to find a pair of shoes that could stand days of walking in the parks. Sneakers make my feet too hot, slippers make them sore. Birkenstocks are too ugly. I found exactly what I wanted and they made all the difference. I bought a pair of 9 West sandals that look stylish but offer great support. I wore them a few times before the trip to make sure they would suffice.

I also picked out a few dresses that are loose and comfortable that I could wear day and night. I did.

The rest of the family wore shorts, t-shirts and slippers the whole time. They were fine.

We brought one bag per person.

I tried not to over pack. I did better this time than usual, but I still brought too much stuff. So did our oldest. I managed to limit the shoes. Everything I packed could be worn with my stylish sandals or a pair of slippers, both black. I also brought only one purse, a small backpack and a tote bag for towels and such. I used each of them. I did put in a pair of sneakers for exercise or hikes. I could have done with a few less shirts and shorts. But only a few.

Finally, our in-laws joined us. It made for a great mix of adults and children. A whole week together from morning until bedtime, three meals a day, long lines in rides for a busy family of four who are each used to doing their own thing, might prove uncomfortable at times. With six of us, we mingled and mixed, held onto each other’s bags and took turns taking the kids to the bathroom. It worked out just fine.

These are the main things that I think made our trip so great. We got to enjoy the best our family has to offer and have a total blast.

Does anybody have any ideas to add?

The in-laws took the kids on Saturday night after our Sea World adventure so that we could have a grown up night out. We were almost too tired to enjoy it, but managed to make it over to Dowtown Disney’s Pleasure Island to unwind in an adult fashion.

We got there about 7:00 pm, just as the crowd was unfurling out of the park into the promenade of shops and restaurants and clubs. It felt very much like an evening at Ward Center.

We walked around and looked at the people and listened to the music and enjoyed the sunset.

I was very surprised to run into my friend Steve Schick from Mililani High School. We chatted for a few minutes and he told me that he was there with a large contingent of Hawaii teachers attending a model school conference. It was nice to see a familiar face and very nice not to be attending a conference.

One major difference I found in the Florida amusement parks from any other I’ve been to is that they allow alcohol consumption throughout the premises. You can drink and ride!

It was the same at Pleasure Island. You can walk up to a kiosk and order a margarita or a beer.

We checked out the Lego shop, walked from end to end and decided to stop at the House of Blues to enjoy an adult beverage and some pupus while listening to music. I had catfish for the first time. It was much better than I ever expected. This was a fried appetizer, kind of like calamari or popcorn shrimp. I always thought it would have a strong taste, but it was very mild. It came with sweet potato fries which were also tasty.

We walked around again for a while, tried on some sunglasses, sampled some Ghirardelli chocolate, and left for home about 11:00 pm. It was a full day and we are over 40!

We are family people. We love our kids. I’ve got great in-laws. But it was nice to have an evening to ourselves to connect and relax and have a romantic moment or two. I guarantee we were nicer to the kids and everybody else after this short, but sweet, interlude.

While potentially fun, Sea World was not happening for us. It was a full on rainy day.

We managed to see a couple of shows and ride a couple of rides. But mostly we slogged through puddles to get to the far away Shamu stadium and finally get seated to hear that the show was canceled due to inclement weather.

The rain is different in Florida. This is my first trip to this state and I’m learning a lot. While it is generally transient and certainly wet like ours, it comes with other problems, lightening and thunder. We learned on the first day of our trip that if it is just raining the guests are welcome to stay and have as much fun as they like, as long as they don’t mind getting wet.

When the lightening and thunder arrive and are less than ten miles from the area they shut down all rides (and animal shows as we learned yesterday.) If the lightening is really close, they urge everybody to find an enclosed area to safely wait for the inclement weather to pass.

That’s what we did for most of our Sea World day…..wait. But since we had so much fun on all the days preceding this one, it didn’t seem to bother us too much. The girls fussed a bit more, as did my husband and I. But from the scenes we witnessed between other traveling families over seemingly minute details, we feel quite blessed that none of us choose the drama and trauma that often color the average family vacation.

We saw two great shows and rode two thrilling rides. The helicopter ride was totally fun. It is another one of those simulated experiences. This time we went through the arctic braving a blizzard, an avalanche and diving into the icy waters to view the sea life.

Sea World was my request for our park agenda on this trip. I love the shows. I love the dolphins and whales and sea lions and all the tricks that they do. I love to watch the trainers and imagine how exciting their lives must be and muse at the relationships they must have with these animals. I like to think they are all enjoying themselves as much as we are.

As with everything, they have certainly stepped up the entertainment since the last time I visited the Sea World in Texas almost ten years ago.

The dolphin show used to involve a trainer who displayed what the dolphin can do, taught a little bit about the animal and made some jokes to keep us entertained. Now it’s like a mini Broadway production. The performers don’t talk, but move to a carefully scripted score, delighting the audience with jumps and dives and spins and splashes. The trainers have cool wetsuits and the divers and trapeze artists are costumed like colorful birds (not my favorite.)

It was spectacular to say the least. I think Cirque De Soleil has set the bar high for any acrobatic show around, even for dolphins.

So even though we missed Shamu, we did not leave feeling deprived. It was not a bad finale to our amusement park adventure. We got back a bit earlier, enjoyed a good night sleep and had one day left to unwind, relax and get ready for the next part of our trip.

Our family is going its separate ways and the rest of the summer will begin.

We decided to choose only one of the Disney parks. Having grown up in Southern California, I also grew up at Disneyland and know it like my own backyard. The rest of the family has also been to the Magic Kingdom at one time or place or another. So, we chose the Animal Kingdom.

It was definitely a hotter day and a more crowded park, but still quite pleasant. Disney is Disney, well organized and creative and clean. Good old fashioned family fun.

My impression is that the Disney parks attract families with younger children than the other parks we’d been to already. I saw way more strollers and backpack laden parents and fussy toddlers on the verge of amusement park meltdown, making me thankful that our eight and eleven year olds are much better travel companions at this stage in their development.

The Safari ride was better than any zoo I’ve ever been to. We piled into a huge jeep and drove through an African Savannah. It was hard to remember we were really at an amusement park and not on a true safari. We saw elephants and giraffes and an ostrich or two with a big pile of their eggs.

We did another raft ride and timed it perfectly for the hottest part of the day so we could enjoy being wet.

Probably my most favorite ride of the kingdom (and perhaps top three for the trip) was Expedition Everest. Wow. It was fast and full of surprises. The adrenaline rush was amazing, unexpected for Disney. That’s the one we went on twice. We got off the ride and went right back in line again, partly because there was no wait, but mostly because it was so fun.

And then came the rain. This time is was a major downpour. We waited about an hour crowded onto some covered benches with several other families making friends with the babies in the strollers and swapping vacation stories until the sun came back and we could go do our souvenir shopping and get on our way.

There were no meal deals at the Animal Kingdom, so we went out to dinner after we left the park.

These long days can be exhausting, even at a less than manic pace. My feet and legs are sore and tired by the end and our girls have just enough energy to bathe and go to bed upon return to our temporary home in the evening.

Without even trying, we developed a comfortable schedule/rhythm.

We left the condo about 9:30 am each day after eating a simple breakfast at home and packing up our things. We didn’t lug around a bunch of stuff in heavy backpacks, depending on lockers. We kept a rule that if you brought it, you carried it. It also helped to do any shopping at the end on the way out. I carried a small backpack that had a few snacks and water, but that was about it.

We were enjoying our park of choice by 10:30, eating lunch a bit after noon, souvenir shopping by 5:00 pm and dinner before 7:00, give or take an hour here or there. It doesn’t really get dark until 9:00 pm, which is about the time we put the kids to bed.

And thus, another vacation day is over.