June 25 Flying to Florida. Flew through Houston and on to Orlando. Long day in transit and having to take care of the family in route. This is just before departure.
July 26 We were very fortunate to have a quite week day when we visited the Kennedy Space Center. There were no lines and we were able to see most of the facility in our 7 hours there.
One of the more interesting items was the chance to hear astronaut Fred Gregory and to hear his stories about his space shuttle flights. After the presentation we were able to have a family photo with him.
While we were there they were preparing the new exhibit which houses the Space Shuttle Atlantis for it's grand opening that weekend. Again we were fortunate as they allowed a few groups to grab a sneak peak so they could see how the display's would function.
I was able to get with in 10 feet of the shuttle and it is amazing to see it up close. It looks really fragile when you look at all the special tiles and it is hard to imagine that this vehicle actually went into orbit. It is very large and a challenge to photograph the whole thing, I used the 360 panoramic app on my iPhone and shot 8 frames to be able to capture the entire spaceship.
I took this one of this flower in during a down pour that happened while we were at the center. SHoot with the Canon 7D and 24-70 lens.
June 27 Our first day at Miami Beach. I found this little fellow by the pool of the hotel and took a quickj iPhone photo of it. This was day 900 of consecutive days of at least one photo a day.
Cool really enjoyed playing in the Atlantic Ocean. The water was warm but there was a lot of seaweed around.
I took a quick stroll in the early evening and shot a few images of the scenes around our hotel.
June 28th We went to Zoo Miami for the day. I was impressed with the layout and the size of the enclosures for the animals it was possible to get really good views of them in a fairly natural environment. These first shots were with the Canon 7D and the 70-200 f2.8 lens.
There were also a chance for a few fun photo's. Here Luke does his best gorilla impression.
It was hot and humid down in Florida and Cool was able to find his own personal zones.
I found this sign rather amusing.
While we were at the Zoo Cool started to complain about some discomfort that was causing him trouble walking. When we got to the hotel we noticed some swelling and a small tear which was oozing puss. We did not want to take any chances so I took him to the Emergency at Mount Sinai hospital. It was nice to have such quick and efficient service and to find out that it was nothing major and just some antibiotics would be needed to clear it up. It was also good to see that the travel insurance I purchased through the AMA worked and that we had nothing to worry about. I took a quick photo of my brave boy at the hospital.
June 29 We made our way back from Miami to Walt Disney World. On the drive back Lysa captured a quick photo of our two boys snuggled in the back taking a nap.
We arrived at the hotel around Noon and after checking in made our way to the Magic Kingdom. The Boy's favorite ride was the Tomorrowland Speedway. We went on it a couple of times and I was able to grab this shot.
It was night when we got back to the Disney All-star Music Resort and as I was walking back to the room the neon and lights of this section of the hotel caught my eye.
June 30 Cool and Luke had a busy day as they had rehearsal for the parade that they would be in the following day. This gave Lysa and I 4 hours to ourselves to explore the magic Kingdom. Even though it was not to busy we had to make quick work to get on some of the rides that the boy's were not interested in. I shot a few photo's as we went through the park.
Back at the hotel that evening these Hibiscus flowers caught my eye.
July 1 Parade day, our reason for visiting Florida. The Dance studio Cool and Luke go to had made a decision to take a group of the students to Disney World to dance in the "Disney Dance the World" parade. The boy's of course wanted to go and this was the day that they had been practicing all year for. Disney does a good job making it an event and the outfits they provide were very cute. This was shot at the hotel before heading to the park.
Since it was one of the smaller parades of the Disney parks we were able to move along side them as they danced their way down Main Street and the into Frontierland.
After they were finished we made our way over to Disney's Hollywood Studios were they had the opportunity to get their photo's with Wreck-it Ralph and Vanellope.
Cool wore his wizards costume when he met Mickey. This is what cool wore in the performance on the Disney stage when their dance group performed later that afternoon.
July 2. It was the wrap up banquet for all those who participated in the parade the day before. Luke made a head band for Lysa out of the glow sticks they handed out.
There were a few entertainers and I found that this one with lights and on stilts was the more interesting of the bunch.
July 3 Over to Epcot in the morning for more photo's with the Disney Characters. This seemed to be the most exciting thing for Cool and Luke.
That evening I took a little walk outside of our section and liked the glow of the building.
July 4. Time to journey home. A few final snaps around the resort.
A few more at Orlando International Airport.
One from the air.
Then landing in Montreal on a hazy afternoon with the Olympic Stadium in view.
Finally our last plane before arriving home.
In all it was a good trip, although it was a rather busy one. It was the first trip to Florida for all of us and we did enjoy ourselves. However I must admit that I am a west coast person and given the choice would go to California and Disneyland for our next vacation of a similar type.
