January 18th
2020
Our flight was with Sunwing. We were flight WG 052. Travelling
with a toddler is really great. They let us go in the priority line and bypass
over 200 people at security. When we got to Miami, we also got to skip over 300
people at customs. Since we woke up at 2am for the day, Vincent slept through
the takeoff. He spent the rest of the flight watching Blippi and colouring. The
only bad part of the day of travel is Sunwing misplaced one of our suitcases.
It took us over an hour to fill out forms. Vincent was very excited to see his
grandparents.
We took Tri-rail from Miami to Pompano beach. Vincent loved the
train ride. Once in Pompano beach, we went shopping to buy myself a bathing
suit as it was in the missing suitcase. We are keeping the receipts to get
refunds on all the stuff we needed to buy. I got a really nice bathing suit for
$25. It was over 85% off. We also went shopping at Target. I love the store.
It's so much better then in Canada. I bought candies that is hard to find in
Canada. The candies were Red Vines, Hi-Chew and Laffy Taffy. We spent the rest
of the afternoon swimming in the very warm pool.
January 19th
2020
We went shopping at Walmart to buy more supplies that were needed
for the trip. We also bought pre-made wraps to have for our lunch before the
boat tour. The activity for the day is the Jungle River Queen afternoon boat
ride. We went down Millionaires row where we saw Mansions, Yatchs and a lot of
Iguanas. The boat brought us to an isle where we saw all types of animals.
There was also a show where a guy was fighting alligators. Vincent absolutely
loved the boat ride. He napped in my arms the whole way back. We went swimming
before our dinner. We relaxed in the evening.
January
20th 2020 – Martin Luther King Day
There were a lot of streets closed for parades. We had forgotten
about this holiday and it took us a long time to get to our activity. Once we
got to the Gumbo Limbo Nature Centre, we noticed that there were too many
people. We decided to push the activity to Wednesday. We had some Chipotle for
lunch. I had a chicken burrito and it was really good. We went shopping at the
store Jo Ann. Pat bought himself some fabric and I bought myself some Happy
Planner Stickers for my planner. There were great prices. We then spend the
afternoon at the pool. Vincent loved swimming and jumping in the pool. We
relaxed in the evening, it was really chilly.
January 21st
2020
I called Sunwing in the morning. It advised me they found my
suitcase in Toronto. They advised it was on a flight to Miami. It should arrive
at 1pm. We went to visit the Museum of Discovery and Science. The visit was
started in the kid's section. Vincent loved playing with sand and bubbles. We
then took Vincent on the Everglades simulator. He absolutely loved it. There
were older kids that were crying to get off as they were terrified. Vincent
loved it and asked to do it again. We had lunch at a pizza place down the
street. After lunch we went to the science park, where you can test your
strengths and other things. We also tried a 7D simulator, which was a Toy Ride.
It was a car race in which made us feel like we were on a roller coaster. We
went shopping at Jo Anns again for more supplies because there were great
prices and we went to Walmart for more stuff.
January 22nd
2020
It was really cold overnight. It went down to +5C. All day was
really cold and windy. It only went up to +12C. We went to visit the Gumbo
Limbo Nature Centre. We saw injured turtles, stingrays and fish. We wanted to
visit Flamingo Gardens, but it was way too cold. Vincent got to play in a
playground for the first time as a walker. He was so cute and happy. I also
tried Dunkin' Donuts. I had the iced cappuccino with caramel. It was good, but
not as good at Tim Hortons. The jelly donuts were really good. I spend the
evening trying to get through to Sunwing as I still didn't have my suitcase. I
asked to speak to a supervisor and there weren't any available.
January 23rd
2020 – Pat and I’s 10 year dating anniversary
We had a relaxing morning at the campground. We had lunch at
Subway then went to spend the afternoon at Flamingo Gardens. We started our
visit with a train ride to see all different types of plants and trees native
to Florida. During our visit we saw very big flamingos, huge alligators,
turtles, tortoises, black bear, otters, boa constrictor called Rocky, bobcat,
many different birds and flowers. The whole family got dolled up in the evening
for a special dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. It was really good. I had a
double bacon burger and for dessert a Godiva chocolate cheesecake. It's a
flour-less chocolate cake, with chocolate mousse and chocolate cheesecake. It
definitely didn't disappoint. As for the weather, it rained a lot most of the
day. My suitcase finally arrived at 9:30pm.
January 24th
2020
We didn't do a lot this day. We did our laundry
in the morning then headed out shopping after lunch. We started by visiting the
Festival Marketplace. It's an indoor flea market. Vincent had a lot of fun in
the kids' area. We had a snack of frozen yogurt. We then went shopping at a
Super Target where I bought candies to bring back with me. I really enjoyed
Hi-Chews therefore bought two different type. This target was REALLY big. We
then checked out Hobby Lobby where we picked up a few things for Vincent's new
bedroom. Pat and I finished the evening packing our suitcase while Vincent went
for a walk with his grandparents. We
didn't do a lot this day. We did our laundry in the morning then headed out
shopping after lunch. We started by visiting the Festival Marketplace. It's an
indoor flea market. Vincent had a lot of fun in the kids' area. We had a snack
of frozen yogurt. We then went shopping at a Super Target where I bought
candies to bring back with me. I really enjoyed Hi-Chews therefore bought two
different type. This target was REALLY big. We then checked out Hobby Lobby
where we picked up a few things for Vincent's new bedroom. Pat and I finished
the evening packing our suitcase while Vincent went for a walk with his
grandparents.
January 25th
2020 – Going Home
We left around 8am to head to Miami. There was a
huge lineup when we got there, but since we have a toddler in a stroller they
let us go in the Elite line. Going through security was so much easier then
when in Ottawa. We boarded our flight at noon when it was supposed to leave at
that time. The flight was late because the crew got help up at customs and
security between both flights. Vincent slept through takeoff then watched Blippi and had snacks the rest of the flight. We landed in
Ottawa around 3:45pm. It took us under a minute at customers. Pat's brother
Eric picked us up at the airport. Vincent was happy to see his uncle. There was
a snowstorm in Ottawa when we got here.
