A Secret Trip to Orlando.

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We didn't tell any of the kids that we had a secret trip to Orlando planned. We made sure to use code names for the theme parks "Apples" and "Bananas" and had little gifts ready for them for the day-of.

But first, let's go back to the day before. Dec 31st, 2015.

My mom left Charlotte early in the morning, I'm happy she was able to be with me for some time while we were state-side, and we got to do some sightseeing while she was there. After dropping her off at the airport we went back home to start getting ready for the last day of the year and our trip the next day. Some of the kids new we were going to go on a family trip and were fine with that, they didn't ask where we were going to they were happy to be traveling all together.
We had a low-key new years eve celebration, because the plan was to begin our road trip at six a.m. the next day. We had all our suitcases ready-even the ones we weren't taking, since we left for Hamburg the day after returning from Orlando.

Our Road Trip

We bought enough snacks to keep the kids me in a good mood. We were 8 adults and five kids split between two cars. We had portable dvd players for the kids and plenty of good music for the grown ups! My sister in law uses pandora, but since that is not available in Germany I rely on google play music and spotify. Ten songs that are always on a playlist of mine are these:
It is almost an seven and a half hour drive, so even though we prepared, we had to stop at least twice (we were traveling with five kids under seven after all). Our first stop was in a random rest area (I really don't remember the name of the place).
As we got closer to lunch time we started looking on the map to see where we could stop for lunch, we decided Brunswick was a good option since we had already passed Savannah, Ga and Jacksonville was too far. As soon as we got off the expressway we found a mall area where they had a zaxby's. My brother and sister-in-law prefer zaxby's to Chick-fil-a and all but the few vegetarians tagging along eat chicken so we ate here (they just bought a salad).
This place had a nice skyline, but I didn't get a good picture of it, settle with this one:
Also, the only picture of Avi and I during this road trip, yup, eyes closed!
When we arrived in Orlando they were luckily asleep so didn't see any of the signs. and once we arrived to our vacation rental's reception we made sure to keep them away from the pamphlet area.
Since it was a total of eight adults and five kids we opted for renting a six bed room apartment from vrbo.com. The first surprise came when we arrived at the apartment. It had a swimming pool and a pool table. we gathered the kids up, and showed them to their rooms, I made sure to record their reactions, which I haven't uploaded yet #mybad.
Then we all got changed to go for a dip in the pool while the moms (all except me) went to go buy groceries for the next couple of days. It was the first time Avi had gone swimming since she was a baby/we got to hamburg/her accident, so it was fun to see her back in the water.

 After our swim we had dinner and then went to sleep-we had a long day ahead tomorrow!
The fun would begin the next morning, when we arrive at Universal Studios. here's a sneak peak:

#BestofTravelTuesday
All good things must come to an end, and unfortunately that time has come for this #TravelTuesday link-up. Due to Bonnie’s departure and the real-life demands of the current co-hosts, next week will be the last #TravelTuesday as it presently exists.

But before the #TravelTuesday link-up is disbanded, we would like to celebrate all that has been accomplished and shared over the last few years of its existence! We are inviting all past participants and former co-hosts to join together for one last link-up next week (May 31st) with a theme highlighting the Best of Travel Tuesday!

Share your favorite memories from the link-up or provide a personal montage of the blogger-friends you’ve made through #TravelTuesday. Feel free to share up more than one post, whether yours or a favorite from another blogger, so that this last link-up features the best of what #TravelTuesday provided!

Next week we will be sharing a list of travel link-ups that will encourage your passion for adventure and allow you to meet even more people in the travel blogging community!

#BestOfTravelTuesday Theme Prompt ideas:
- What are your favorite memories or posts from #TravelTuesday?
- Did you become friends with any of the bloggers you met through the link-up? Provide a personal montage of the friends you've made through the link up!
- If you could spend the day with any of the co-hosts (past or present), who would it be and where would you go?

We look forward to linking up with all you wonderful people one last time next week for the best #TravelTuesday link-up yet!

From last week I am highlighting Sara's post on Making Pesto in Cinque Terre, it looks like such a fun thing to do (and yummy too!), if you missed it, go check it out!

26 Things to do in Hamburg.

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