Florida - Day Two

Florida - Day Two... otherwise known as fever day. The plan? Decimate the Embassy Suites breakfast buffet, then take on Maizey's first amusement park. The reality? A table full of breakfast food and a toddler who only wanted mama's lap, followed by a somewhat teary trek through a zoo and roller-coaster-rama.

But, we made the best of it. I only got really stressed at the end of the day, when I realized it wasn't the sunscreen I'd inadvertently applied to her eyeball at 8 a.m., but a flu-like fever that was making her a clingy, whiny mess.

Anyhow, the good...

 Lion-watching.

 Very cool hippo habitat.

 Followed by a lot of hippo-sitting.

This was another important parental vacation lesson. Don't worry about pushing kids to "experience" things. They can do that when they're older. If they want to spend 30 minutes sitting on a concrete hippo, let them sit on the damn hippo. Everybody will be happier.

Maizey did enjoy her first carasoul ride, but did insist on a last-minute horse change, following in her mackrel Grandma's footsteps..

And then, for her, the highlight...

So, some explanations here... She's wearing a swimsuit because the Sesame Street portion of the park includes water features. We thought it might break her funk (this is prior to realizing she was sizzling). And no - I don't understand the Elmo fascination held by her and millions of other children. But, it exists and I've opted not squash her joy in a futile attempt to "protect" her from commercialism. We roll with it. (And another no - I have no idea why Elmo and Big Bird are wearing Egyptian collars.)

Shortly after the big furry guy meet and greet, we peaced out. A stop at Walgreens for Motrin and a thermometer, followed by an armpit temp read (102.7), helped explain Lady's 'tude. So, we zoom-zoomed off to our SandPearl beachfront condo, where we spent the rest of the vacay.

Pics to come.

P.S. We really liked Busch Gardens. We had great weather (cloudy with a breeze), it wasn't crowded, was clean and the staff was polite. The zoo aspect and safari train were fab attractions for a toddler, and she delighted in watching the "big kids" go on the roller coasters (finally I'll have someone to ride with...in a few years). Not to mention the Sesame Street piece...