Friday 30th of January:
We left Miami early in the morning and our destination for the day was Vero Beach (close to Orlando) where Leanne & Darren live.
Our first stop was Fort Lauderdale because we “had” to pay The Sawgrass Mills Outlet a visit for some shopping. And yes we did shop!
Afterwards we headed for Highway A1A to follow the coast line up to West Palm Beach. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t for either bikini nor swimming in the ocean. The sun was shining but the wind was heavy and too cold.
All of the sudden we were short on time if we were to make it to Leanne & Darren’s house before 6 o’clock as agreed. Well, a RAV 4 can do a lot, but only so much when there’s road constructions most of the way up. But we made it in time.
Leanne had made a reservation at one of their favorite restaurants (Chucks’) in the Vero Beach area. Chucks’ is “world famous in the local area” for their fried shrimps, and that’s what we got. And yes we agree - it’s a very nice place! We got good food, good service and the restaurant was placed right on the waterfront.
Saturday the 31st of January
We got up early in the morning, packed the van and headed for Sea World. When standing in line for tickets a lady came up to us and said that she had 2 tickets, which she wouldn’t be able to use because they expired this day. So we (Sanne & Marianne) got in to Sea World for free –meaning that this lady had just saved us about $140 in entrance. Sometimes you just get surprised or overwhelmed over other peoples kindness.
The day at Sea World was awesome!
We started out by seeing a show called Pets Ahoy . It’s a show with animals Sea World has rescued from shelters and trained to do all kinds of tricks – they were great. There were dogs, birds, mice, cats and even a pig. It was great fun!Then we got to feed the dolphins – Leanne stood in line and we were let in after wards to feed the little guys – they are just so cute. Leanne, Blake and Marianne all got to feed the dolphins and Sanne got to touch one as well and took pictures. It was a very neat experience.
After that we went and saw the Manatees. They have all been rescued because they were injured by boat propellers. What a gentle big animal!
Next stop was the Dolphin show! Not much to say – it was awesome. Fantastic. Don’t miss it if you go to Sea World!
Our second last thing for the day was a helicopter simulator trip to the Arctic Circle where we saw polar bears, penguins and walruses.
The last adventure for the day was the amazing Shamu show, with the killer whales. Again, don’t miss it, it is amazing and wonderful!
The trip home was fairly quiet, Kaycee feel a sleep right away and Blake watched Tom & Jerry. We slept on the back seat after a stop at Wendy’s for burgers and fries :=)
Sunday 1st of February
We got up early to drove back to Orlando to se Kennedy Space Centre. Leanne, Darren and the kids stayed at home because Leanne had a presentation at church (and then they had a full day to relax without us).
We landed at KSC around 10 and as in Sea World we almost had the parking lot by ourselves (good sign!!).
We decided to take the “grand tour” which included that we got to see some of the ramps, the space shuttle they are going to send up on February the 12th. This shuttle is going to bring up equipment to the International Space Station (ISS).
Afterwards we saw the Apollo exhibition and a 3D movie of how they are building the ISS “up there”. This movie is actually made by some of the astronauts who has been up there and narrated by Tom Cruise – totally cool 3D movie.
Back to the visitor center we decided to try the shuttle launch simulator. So within 8 min. we were out in space at the speed of 17.500 mph – also an awesome experience.
So now it was time to head back to Vero Beach. Leanne had been so kind to ask if we had any wishes for dinner. And yes we did – well at least Sanne and Darren agreed that dinner should be Sloppy Joe with “the whole thing”!
BUT – coming back to the car at the parking lot at KSP, the car wouldn’t start. It was totally dead and we had to call Hertz. About an hour later “Tommy’s tow from Titusville” arrived, we got jump started and was back in Vero Beach an hour later than calculated. Well, Sanne still owe a “I screwed up drink” for forgetting turning off the light.
However, a good day ended very nice & cozy back home in Vero Beach with good food, beers, talks about the US versus the Danish tax system, education, social security and much more.
Monday 2th of February
We got up with LeAnne and the kids. Had breakfast and “kissed and hugs” goodbye to the kids, as Leanne were going to take them to school. Later on we had coffee with Leanne and we were now ready to hit the road again, with the course set towards Sarasota at the Gulf coast via route 70.
A big thank you to Leanne & Darren for their hospitality, for taking us to Sea World and for all the good advices for our further trip round in Florida.
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