Adventures of David and Paul: Weekend in Springfield...I mean, Orlando.

Ah, Orlando. Home of Sea World, and Disney, and Putt-Putt Golfing. We tend to visit at least once per year to see David's family and let Paul ride the latest roller coasters in the theme parks. We hadn't been down in a while, and with cheap gas prices and great off-season hotel deals, we planned a three day weekend escape. This trip we visited David's Uncle Joe, went to Universal Studios, stopped by Blue Springs to see the manatees and drove home the long way via St. Augustine and Jacksonville.

Despite very chilly temperatures (the coldest morning of the year in Orlando... 33*F), we started bright and early and went to Universal Studios at 9AM on Friday morning. Getting there just before opening is a great way to beat the crowds! In the first hour we got in several rides with basically no wait. We did manage to get stuck on the new Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringott's ride when it broke down. Luckily this worked out in our favor, because they gave us an exit pass to ride again... but we used the pass on the other Harry Potter ride later in the day to avoid a 90 minute line. When it started to warm up a bit (into the mid 50s) we met up with David's Uncle Joe and Brad and continued to enjoy the park. We were really impressed with the Springfield section. It was like being transported to the world of the Simpsons!

Welcome to Universal Orlando.

Diagon Alley is really cool. Notice there are no crowds yet at 9:05AM.

Chandelier at Gringott's... Sia would be swinging from that for sure!

Paul is endorsed by 8 out of 10 elves. Also, he's drinking hot butterbeer!

Hogsmead, on the Islands of Adventure side of the park. Yeah, the crowds aren't so light anymore....

Harry Potter, Schmarry Plotter...this was the best part of Universal!

Jebediah Obadiah Zachariah Jedediah Springfield.

What? It's a perfectly cromulent word.

Krustyland Theme Park!

Kang and Kodos Twirl 'n Hurl (basically Disney's Dumbo but cooler).

Breakfast of Champions!

Duff beer for you! Duff beer for me! I'll have a Duff, you have one too!

Can't get enough of that wonderful Duff!

Moe's! They had flaming Moe's, but it was non-alcoholic so we passed.

Paul loved the name of this shop the best.

Lots of fun details that you'd recognize if you're a fan of the Simpsons!

Mmmmm... Krusty Burger. "Think smaller, and more legs."

Mall kiosk version of KB.

The old Back to the Future ride was re-purposed and Simpsonized! It's hilarious.

Paul's made a new friend! Everything's coming up Milhouse!

Yeah, dingus, answer the phone!

Not everything at Universal is amazing...*shudder*

On Saturday we slept in after the long day at Universal Studios. We had no real plans so we just bounced around Orlando a bit (including Lake Eola, hipstery East End Market, and beer-friendly Gnarly Barley) before picking up Joe and driving up to Blue Springs to check out the manatees. Manatees congregate in the spring whenever the water in the St. John's river gets a little too cold. The spring is a constant 72*F year round.

Paul's got his vacation priorities straight, and his beers in a row!

Lake Eola in downtown Orlando.

The manatee-shaped counter got us excited for lots of sea cows... 361 of them!

Manatees in Blue Springs.

So many manatees... OK, at least one of these is a rock.

This little guy's a loner!

David's childhood home in Deltona...it's seen better days :(

David's mother planted this palmetto and it was about 2 feet tall when they moved.

On Sunday we left Orlando early and drove to St. Augustine and Jacksonville, taking the scenic route back to Atlanta. This day ended up being tons of driving, but we saw some cool stuff along the way and Paul got another roller coaster credit (a Wacky Worm, of course) at a small park in Jacksonville Beach.