The Sunshine State.

Hello everyone :)

I'm back from vacation, and if you couldn't tell from the title I went to Florida! I usually go on vacation with just my immediate family, but this summer was different because my grandparents joined us. Although the pace of this vacation was more mellow, I definitely enjoyed bonding with them. Here's a little recap of what I did on vacation with some photos. Remember to click the pictures if you want to enlarge the photos or see them in better quality. 

We first flew to Orlando and while I was there I visited Universal Studios, specifically for the Harry Potter theme park, and Animal Kingdom in Disney World. It was so cool to see Hogwarts and Hogsmead come to life. They had shops like the Three Broomsticks, Honeydukes, and Zonko's. I even got to drink butter beer, which tasted like a delicious butter scotch malt slush. But, boy was it expensive at $11.50 for the drink as well as the plastic mug it comes in. I did keep the mug as souvenir though :)  Unfortunately I don't think the $85 for the ticket was completely worth it. The rest of the other areas within the park, like Toon Lagoon or Seuss Landing were pretty mediocre. I'm really glad I got to experience the Wizarding World of Harry Potter though. 

My family and I had a blast at Animal Kingdom! Maybe it's because I'm a sucker for anything Disney, but I enjoyed everything about the park. If you haven't been to Animal Kingdom in Disney World, think of it as an amusement park and a zoo in one! The park itself is beautiful and lush, with it's themed areas entitled Africa, Asia, and Dino USA. Not only do they have really fun rides, but there were also great opportunities to see many different types of animals, like apes and rhinos, in an environment that actually looked like their natural habitat rather than in cages or behind glass! They also have really beautifully performed shows like, Festival of the Lion King and the Finding Nemo Musical.   

I didn't want to bring my DSLR to the amusement parks, so unfortunately I don't have any pictures from these days. Sorry everyone, I didn't want my camera to get stolen or broken :(

We then drove to Fort Meyers and later Bradenton to relax at the beach. I loved the beaches in Florida. The sand was so white, fine and soft. It literally felt like flour between your toes! The water was also nice and warm and there was a huge abundance of seashells.  

 

While in that area we visited the Edison and Ford Winter Estates. This is basically a historical museum that preserved the vacation houses and grounds that Edison and Ford would travel to in the winter to escape the cold and continue their research. There were many exotic plants there, like bamboo which was used for Edison's bulb filaments and rubber tree's used for Ford's tires. Edison's house was so tech savy for time with electric lighting and an intercom system. I bet it would be equivalent to Bill Gates' house now! (Did you know upon entering Bill Gates' house guests wear a pin? This pin helps the room automatically adjust the temperature and lighting when the a guest walks in!)

 

Both my grandma and mom really enjoy growing their own plants, so we went to the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens. This Botanical Garden is known for it's wide variety of epiphytes, plants which grow on other plants or objects but are not parasitic. Although I myself do not have a green thumb, I still appreciated the beautiful scenary and I loved taking pictures here.

 

Even though I had fun on the trip, like everyone says, there is no place like home. I'm really glad to be back and away from Florida's humidity! I hope you enjoyed all the pictures :)


Superlove and Sunshine, 
Emily 

P.S. I got pretty tan from this trip! I wonder if you guys will be able to tell in photos :)