Sarasota Family Vacation 2013

We're barreling down 75 North, headed home after another fabulous family vacation in Florida. As much fun as we had last year, I think this visit surpassed it.

We came prepared to spend a lot of time at the pool, various local attractions, and some divide-and-conquer trips to the beach. Instead, the inaugural swim in the pool the night we arrived was the only one, because we were too busy beaching it as a family.

The forecast was a little grim, so we flew by the seat of our pants. Despite the fact that, as a general rule I am a planner, I found this a refreshing way to spend the week. We managed to work in everything we had hoped, too, including the traditional trip to the water park for Tim and the big kids, plus a bonus day at Universal's Islands of Adventure in Orlando in order to visit Harry Potter World. Both of these were a big hit with all, but probably the most pleasant surprise for me and Tim was how much time we spent at the beach. Danny made the most strides in that department, spending every moment in the ocean (always a given with Clare, but for him a far cry from last year). Laura was still very tentative around the water, but consented to being carried into it, and always enjoyed cruising along the shore to look for shells.

These two spent a lot of time together, and Clare kindly got her up for me a few mornings so that I could go for a run. Laura definitely sought her out. So we were amused and baffled when, on the ride home,  Laura would get frustrated with me or Tim and start ranting, "You're naughty, okay Clare?! And you're going to go swimming, and to the playground, and to Costco!" as though these were all punishments. (You sort of had to be there, but trust us: it was funny.)

Laura and I visited Turtle Beach while the others were at Adventure Island.

We saw this gator several times, and looked for him every time, with Laura asking, "Where is him?"

One morning we visited Lido Beach, which none of us had been to before. Nice change of scenery.

Laura's preferred position for going into the water.

Inside Hogwarts, getting ready to ride The Forbidden Journey.

Laura rode this carousel in Seuss Land NINE times.

Butterbeer is a featured beverage in some of the Harry Potter books, and they have admirably brought it to life in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter!

Someday, when Laura is older, we figure we'll embark on a family vacation somewhere new and exotic, but for now we're already looking forward to our next trip to Sarasota. As always, a big thank you to Donna and Larry for trusting us with their fabulous winter home!