Another great trip was had by the Russell family. Drew and I flew to Orlando on the 19th to meet up with John. He rented a car from Miami, drove up, and picked us up at the airport. We all drove together to our resort for the next 9 days--The Liki Tiki. When we got there it was cold---about 50 degrees, windy, and not so nice. By the time day 3 rolled around we were at 70+ and pretty happy. This first photo gives you an idea of what the resort looked like.
We spent the first few days testing out the activities at the resort. There was a waterpark, mini golf, BB courts, tennis courts, paddle boats, and our favorite the "Surrey Bikes." We tried out the Surrey bikes many times throughout our trip. They were my favorite activity at the resort.
The third day we were at the resort we were so lucky to have our old friends from Racine come to visit. They drove 3 hours to visit us at the resort. Drew had so much fun playing with Tamy.
Together they raced through the halls.
They were able to stay up late and watch a show on the ipad, while the grown ups chatted.
They took a tour with John on the Surrey Bike.
They even got to design their own backpacks together. Drew was sure sad to see them go. He never swam in the pool again after they left, and said swimming in the pool wasn't any fun without his friend.
We were so fortunate that they could come and visit us for a short time.
A couple days later, our desire for the beach took over. The closest beach that we could find from Orlando, was Cocoa Beach. We took the 1 1/2 hour drive to Cocoa. It was a fantastic day. The weather was 80 degrees, and just perfect. We stayed just long enough to get a touch of a sunburn. That day was one of the best days we had for weather on our trip.
Our luck continued! On the same day as our beach outing, grandpa and grandma showed up from WI. They left Sunday morning and made it by Monday late afternoon. We kicked around the resort that night and the next day doing all of the resorts activities.
As the weather turned rainy and gloomy, we took an excursion to Lake Louise State Park. The park was close, only a 20 minute drive from the resort. We enjoyed a couple short hikes, some treasure hunting, and some lagoon digging in the sand.
On the drive back we discovered UPick Citrus. Yep, you guessed it...it was a place where you can pick your own oranges. Drew had fun pulling the wagon, and searching for the perfect orange tree. Due to the freezing temps, it was pretty hard to find a ripe orange that wasn't frost bitten. So, grandpa bought us a bag to share. 
We tried some gator chili, and took a walk out on the dock and saw our first live gator in the pond, in the front of the store.
One evening at the resort we had a presenter from Gatorland come and show us a tarantula, a scorpion, a boa constrictor and a gator that Drew was able to hold--with a super excited face, for his cousin Toria.
A selfie from Lake Louise.
Of course, with grandpa and grandma in the area John and I could not pass up a date night. We started the afternoon with a stroll down Universal downtown. We searched long and hard at our first stop (Hard Rock Cafe) for just the right Groupon. Destiny threw us upon Taverna Yamas Orlando.
The food and service were magnificent. Our waitress was from Serbia and our bartender was from Turkey. We had such a nice time trying the different meditteranean dishes, and conversing with the help. Like John said, "It felt like we celebrated my b-day all over again" We ended it by trying the Hookah. We missed he belly dancers as they only come out on the weekends. It was just an overall good time.
The last day we needed another beach run. Unfortunately the weather wasn't the best, actually pretty darn cold. But, we still had fun showing grandpa and grandma Cocoa Beach, and Coca Pier.
Grandpa and Drew had fun with the metal detector looking for treasures on the beach.
On our departure day we had more balmy weather, which was a positive, because it made it a little easier for us to leave and return to the arctic temps. of Minn.
We are home now, and dealing with plugged drains, cars that won't start, and the reality of the work week ahead. Vacations just end to soon.
When can we retire?
