I don't know if there was some kind of convention happening that week, like there was the time we went to Graceland and had to travel to another state just to get a hotel, or what was going on, but we could not find a room to save our lives. We drove, and we drove, and we drove some more until we finally ended up in the town of Kissimmee.
Kissimmee, like the rest of Orlando, was booked solid. We drove down this strip of hotels, stopping at the office of every one of them, until some guy at a hotel that had a giant, plastic alligator in front took pity on us and called a friend of his who ran the Adventure Motel down the street. Lucky for us, his friend had one room left, or at least we thought it was lucky at the time. After we checked in, we quickly realized that the Adventure Motel was called an adventure for more reasons than one, and none of them had anything to do with bungee jumping or rock climbing walls. My sister, who at the time had a germ phobia of Adrian Monk-like proportions, refused to even sit on the bed. I can't remember how she slept that night, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was standing up.
Needless to say, we checked out the next morning, and, after visiting Stetson and Rollins, booked a room overlooking Daytona Beach. I ended up going to Rollins College, and over the next few years my family and I made quite a few trips to the area's amusement parks. It was a lot easier knowing that, if worse came to worst and we were once again hotel-less, my family could crash on a blowup bed on my dorm room floor.
For some time now, my nephew has been putting in to go back to Orlando. He's going through this Simpsons phase so he's been dying to see the new Simpsons Ride and Krustyland at Universal Studios. I wouldn't mind going myself, if not to see Bart and Company, then to see my alma mater. Rollins has done a lot of construction since I graduated in 1998, and I would love to see what the new campus looks like. If the alumni magazine is any indicator, I probably wouldn't even recognize it.
My mom, sister, and I all agree that this time we're doing Kissimmee in style. No more no-tell motels for us. While we may not stay in the lap of luxury, we're at least going to find a hotel that doesn't have a plastic animal that's taller than the building parked out front. Meanwhile, if we're not in our room or visiting the area's amusement parks, we can save money be enjoying the town's free forms of entertainment.
For instance, Kissimmee is a great place to bird watch. The town has the largest nesting population of bald eagles in the continental U.S., and it is a reintroduction site for the endangered whooping crane. My nephew is a bigger science buff than he is a Simpsons or Pokemon fan. He made a 100 in science this past quarter, he goes to sleep to Animal Planet, and he would take a book on dinosaurs, sharks, or some other animal over Harry Potter any day. He also wants to be the next Steve Irwin. Kissimmee's wildlife and nature preserves, like the one below at Lake Lizzie, is right up his alley. If you've read my previous post, you know the kid is precocious, so don't think he wouldn't spend the whole time at a preserve telling the rest of us what's what science-wise.
Of course, we would still have to go Disney World and Universal Studios. Chandler has only been to Sea World at this point, and he really needs to go to Disney before he's too old for some of the attractions. I've learned the hard way that the best time to go to either park is in winter. Normally, winter in Orlando means 70 degree weather, which is neither too hot nor too cold for rides. When I was in college, we always went in February for my birthday. The park is still crowded--I think that it's summer in other countries then--but it's nowhere near as bad as in summer. I remember standing in line for three hours in 90 plus degree weather when I was in the fifth grade or so to ride It's A Small World After All. I don't want to stand in line that long or that hot ever again.
Looking at the different attractions Disney has to offer, I think that Animal Kingdom may be more up Chandler's alley than Magic Kingdom. I swear the kid could tell you about every dinosaur that roamed the earth by the time he was two.
Then again Gatorland is up his alley as well, so we may go there, too.
Despite my memories of the Adventure Motel, I'm still drooling at the thought of going back to the area because my family hasn't had a real vacation in a couple of years. I can't even remember the last time that we went to St. George Island State Park for the day, let alone anywhere outside the Florida Panhandle. That's why I've entered the Freedom to Enjoy Kissimmee Sweepstakes. Kissimmee is giving away two six-night vacation packages that include basically everything you would need to enjoy the city, including a stay at the Omni Champions Gate Resort (hands down a better choice than the Adventure Motel); round trip airfare for four; four one-day, one-park admissions tickets to Disney, Universal, and Sea World; tickets to Gatorland and Congo River Golf; gift certificates for several dining establishments in the area; car rental; and a ride on Boggy Creek Airboat Rides. The town is also giving away three weekend packages for two and three Marth Stewart gift baskets. If your family is long overdue for a vacation, you should enter it as well. To do so, just click on the Support My Sponsor badge below or go to www.KissimmeeFreedom.com.
Now the only things standing between my family and Kissimmee, other than money, are six dogs and my sister's nicotine addiction. If Disney and Universal are anything like the Atlanta Zoo, they've banned smoking inside the parks. That means her highness is going to have to wear about five patches and pack twenty packs of Nicorette gum in her purse. As for the dogs, the majority of them can be boarded at the vet's office. Then there's Bella, the dog who has a panic attack if I simply walk to the other side of the room. I'm pretty sure that the only way I'll be able to leave her is if the vet hooks her up to morphine drip for a week. That way, she'll be too drugged up to know I'm gone.
