Brennen's First Florida Trip!

For those of you that don't know, my mom's sister lives in Florida and we make it a point to have a mother-daughter trip at least once a year (we made 3 trips per year for a few of the years before I was married and had Brennen)!  We love spending time with family and getting to enjoy the FL sun!  We were extra excited for this trip because Brennen was coming with us so it would add a whole new level of fun to our time! Also, the only member of the family in FL who has met Brennen is my Aunt Sarah so he would be getting to meet Uncle Gene and his second cousins Ashley, Amber and Austin.  

We arrived in FL on Wednesday.  Brennen did great on the plane, but was very happy when we landed and was ready to get our vacation started!

We just took it easy the first day but made sure to start our trip off right with a trip to Twistee Treat that night! This is a tradition we have every time we come to FL.  This was Brennen's first experience and he seemed to enjoy his ice cream until it melted a little too much and fell on the ground.  Then he just enjoyed eating the cone.  

Austin, Ashley, Brennen & Amber

The next day we got up bright and early and headed off to Clearwater Beach.  It is about a 2 hour drive from my Aunt and Uncle's house and luckily Brennen slept the second half of the drive.  It was very hot so we enjoyed playing in the water and let Brennen play in the sand and then we decided to head to Tarpon Springs since it was only about 30 minutes away.

Once in Tarpon Springs, we were ready for some lunch so we headed to Rusty Bellies on the water!

My delicious Grouper sandwich. It comes straight off the boats and into the restaurant. So yummy!!

After lunch we walked around the little shops and then headed back home for the day. It was such a wonderful day but we were definitely tired and ready to be back at the house!

Friday my Uncle Gene took off work so that he could take us out on their boat.  Brennen enjoyed the boat ride and then we went to the Tiki Bar for some lunch while a storm passed through. Once the storm passed, we took a short boat ride and it was time for Brennen to take a nap so him and I headed back to the house. That night we just stayed home and played some pitch.  My family loves playing cards so it was a lot of fun!
 





Lunch at the Tiki!



Before the storm came in.

 

Having fun with Uncle Mean Gene

Playing with Zoe

We didn't have much planned for Saturday, but that night we decided to head to Old Town. We have been there on a few of our previous trips and we always have a great time!  They have all kinds of cute shops, rides, games and the Saturday Night Cruise, the most well known classic car cruise in the world!

Brennen's first cotton candy!

Enjoying the cars 

Brandon & Amber

Aunt Sarah & Uncle Gene

Ashley & Jeff

My mom spotted a new ride from the last time we were there and said we should go on it.  I was a little reluctant, but she insisted that "we only live once" so I agreed to ride it with her. It is called the Vomatron (doesn't that sound like fun!?).  Here is a description from an article about the ride:

The Vomatron can best be described as a giant propeller with seats on each end! Similar to the centrifuge used by astronauts to simulate rocket acceleration, except it is mounted vertically. It is powered by 2 huge electric motors that rotate the giant 40 meter arm at speeds of more than 120 kilometers per hour, throwing the capsules into extreme spins putting 4gs of force upon its unwary passages. Then just as they think it is all over...the ride spins in reverse with the same degree of pure torture as before.

We survived!

It was a BLAST!!  I had so much fun and was glad my mom convinced me to ride it.  She on the other hand was not sure what she had gotten herself into and had a mini freak out moment right before we started going in reverse!

Brennen did really well the whole night considering we got there about an hour before his bed time and didn't leave until around 11PM. He crashed out on the way back to the house!

On Sunday we tried out a new breakfast spot that was delicious and then it was time to head home.  Besides a small meltdown on the plane because he couldn't fall asleep, it was another great trip! Maybe next time Ryan will be with us and we can take Brennen to the theme parks!

Until next time!

Tracy