Citrus Bowl Victory, with Bonus Penguins and Roller Coasters!

On new years weekend 2017/2018 we drove down to Orlando to see Notre Dame vs LSU in the Citrus Bowl and spend a little time relaxing in warmer weather. We used Hotwire and ended up with a room at Rosen Shingle Creek, a great hotel that we've stayed at a few times before. It turns out it was also the official Notre Dame team hotel. Arriving in Orlando on a Saturday evening, we went to Fun Spot in Kissimmee to ride the new Mine Blower roller coaster, then visited with David's uncles for a while before going back to the hotel.

The Rosen Shingle Creek Resort.

Mine Blower was a very fun coaster! One of the best in Florida.

On Sunday, our only full day in Orlando, we started off at Sea World. We got there at 8:30AM, and there was already a line of cars waiting to get in. Orlando was incredibly busy in general, because it was a holiday weekend and there were a lot of events in the area. We rode the new Mako coaster and the new virtual reality addition to the Kraken roller coaster, and had some local beer and saw some adorable penguins.

Not sure what Paul is doing here.

The new(ish) penguin exhibit lets you get really close to the penguins, with no glass between you and them!

Sleepy little fellow.

Beluga in the Arctic exhibit.

We caught the tail end of the Sea World Christmas festivities.

Mako and Kraken with Christmas trees.

Sea lions always look so sassy.

Caught mid-yawn!

Let's pretend this seal and sea lion are best friends.

Journey to Atlantis ride. It was just a little bit chilly for this, but Paul still rode!

Paul feeding a shrimp to a stingray.

Manta is one of the most visually impressive coasters.

Local beer! It was just OK.

After spending about 4 hours at Sea World, we had a late lunch at Sofra, a Lebanese restaurant in the new tourist complex around the Orlando Eye. The service was bad, but the food was delicious. I wish we had better Lebanese food in Atlanta! In general, Orlando has really stepped up in terms of dining options. I think tourists are getting more picky and starting to look at online reviews and choosing local options. After eating we wandered around for a bit, and noticed a lot of Notre Dame and LSU fans. Turns out the plaza/park in front of the giant ferris wheel was hosting a big pep rally. We watched the Notre Dame band march in and heard Brian Kelly speak. We went back to the hotel for a bit and went swimming in the pool, before dinner at Sushi Kichi, which was an excellent izakaya. Great takoyaki! Paul's brother and sister-in-law just happened to be in Orlando too, so we drove to their hotel and hung out with them for a while and had some drinks, before watching fireworks from our hotel room, where we could see multiple fireworks shows including Universal Studios and International Drive.

The Orlando Eye, one of the tallest ferris wheels on earth.

Pep rally time!

The Notre Dame band marching in.

Lots of people at the pep rally.

The great thing about Florida is you can swim on December 31st! Ok, it was a little bit chilly.

Dinner at Sushi Kichi.

Our hotel at night

View of new year's fireworks in the distance.

On Monday morning we had breakfast with David's uncles, then drove to the bowl game near downtown Orlando. We found parking for $10 a short walk away, a much better deal than the official $30 parking. While Sunday was pretty nice (60s and sunny), Monday was pretty miserable. It was cold, rainy, and windy. It was in the lower 50s when the game started, and the temperature kept dropping, ending up around 46 degrees by the 4th quarter. The game started slow and sloppy, but Notre Dame had a great 4th quarter with an exciting last minute touchdown. Victory for the Irish! David was not enjoying the weather, but Paul had a great time with Notre Dame's win. After the game we drove all the way back to Atlanta, stopping for dinner in northern Florida and making it home after midnight.

Notre Dame buses at our hotel.

David's uncle's cat, PeeWee, is super friendly.

Ponchos, ponchos everywhere!

Paul is happy!

David is... not happy?

We had a great view, just above the band. Time for the alma mater!

Hopefully we'll be able to make it to another Notre Dame game soon!

Gulf Coast Weekend

There's a place in the US that the locals lovingly refer to as "LA." No, not Los Angeles. A place in the South. No, not Louisiana. It's "Lower Alabama," the part of Alabama stretching from Mobile to the border with Georgia. Maybe not the most exciting of destinations, but we set out with the goal to visit the brand new Park at Owa so Paul could ride their three roller coasters. In a quick weekend trip we managed to squeeze in some history, culture, coasters, food, and even some beach time! We started in Mobile, and walked around the city a bit at night.

The lobby of our hotel was beautiful.

Peach cobbler for dessert at the Noble South.

A fountain in Bienville Square.

Dauphin street is pretty lively.

Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

The very odd "Temple" in downtown Mobile. Formerly a Scottish Rite building, now an events space.

Street art in Mobile.

Downtown at night...

...and in the morning

We drove by the cathedral again on our way out of town.

Mobile is surprising. It's quite sleepy and a bit rundown in spots, but it has a lot of historic buildings and a lot of potential. It's a bit like a cross between New Orleans and Savannah, but not on the same level as those places. On Saturday morning we drove an hour Southeast of Mobile to Owa, the new amusement park, and spent about an hour there. It's a nice little park. We hit a few other kiddie coasters in the area before heading to Gulf Shores for lunch, a little time on the beach, and a visit to an old Mobile Bay Fort.

We arrived bright and early - and crossed our fingers for no rain.

Paul with a new credit!

Rollin' Thunder, the big coaster at the park.

We stopped by a nearby go-kart place for another little credit. Wheee!

Sadly, this one was closed. :(

Lunch in Gulfport at Bill's by the Beach. David has a fish po-boy and Paul has shrimp and grits!

Yay, shrimp and grits!

The beach in Gulfport is really nice.

We drove out to Fort Morgan, on the end of a peninsula at the entrance to Mobile Bay.

Fort Morgan was completed in 1834, and was captured by the confederacy in 1861.

Some re-enactors. Really hoping they're not supposed to be confederate soldiers....

The beaches near Fort Morgan are marred by the ugly oil rigs that dot the bay.

To wrap up our time in Alabama, we made a stop at the very popular beach on Perdido Key, then drove on to Pensacola, Florida. Pensacola has a really nice downtown with a lot of restaurants and shops. There's also a historic area with some old houses and an old church. We were pleasantly surprised.

Perdido Key where the Perdido River hits the Gulf near the Florida border.

Sand dunes on Perdido Key.

We drove past "Flora-bama," a crazy tourist trap that was causing a traffic jam.

Pensacola's walkable downtown.

A beautiful old building in downtown Pensacola.

Another nice street.

Of course we stopped at a brewery! Pensacola Bay Brewery.

Beers on the patio across from Old Christ Church (built in 1832).

Some historic houses near Seville Square.

Sunset across Pensacola Bay.

Old Christ Church at night.

On our way back to Atlanta on Sunday we took the scenic route through Alabama, and stumbled upon the highest point in Florida before stopping for lunch in Troy, Alabama.

It's not every day you visit the highest point in a state!

The log book at the high point was interesting.

A neat building in downtown Troy.

Southern lunch in Troy at B.Graves was delicious.

A confederate monument (SIGH) in downtown Troy.

Overall it was a quick, fun weekend in Alabama and Florida. We'll be back eventually to ride that closed roller coaster. :)