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!

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.

Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine. The oldest brick fort in the US.

Looking out over the bay from the Castillo.

Castillo de San Marcus Interior.

Intricate cannon at the Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine.

Another cannon.

St. Augustine has some pretty old buildings. This is Ponce de Leon Hall, part of Flagler College.

St. Augustine is the oldest city in America.

The interior dome of the Ponce de Leon Hall.

We stopped by Adventure Landing in Jacksonville Beach on the way home. 

Who looks wackier? Paul or the worm?

A credit's a credit!

Bye for now, Florida. See you again soon!