I love going and I love coming home. What I’m not as crazy about is laundry but it must be done!

Glen and I rolled in about 10:30 last night and our T-bird was still here waiting to greet us which we always love as a bonus. We had a great time boring, er, catching her up on all the details of the trip. Of course, she most loved hearing about our visit with Anita, but she let us ramble on about all of it.

When I last left off we had spent a marvelous day at Universal Studios. The next day we decided to hit Animal Kingdom. I have mixed feelings about this park. I love the overall message of being kind to our planet and animals. It’s so important and such a great thing to be teaching to children while they are young. But the park feels too small. The walking areas are narrow and all of the “lands” seem to have only one way in and out so they deadend. Plus, not surprisingly since this is a Disney park, this park had way more families at it then Universal Studios did and when you combine narrow walkways with loads of strollers it starts to feel crowded quickly. Still, we only waited to get on one ride and we managed to hit them all:

• The Safari Adventure Ride — the wait said 15 minutes but it was closer to 30. Still this ride is worth it since you get to see loads of real animals on your safari ride through Africa.
• It’s Tough to be a Bug — love this attraction, love it! It is so cute and fun. I made Glen do it twice.
• Dinosaur — I also thought this ride rocked. It’s scary. I mean really scary. Dinosaurs are freakin scary and this one captures the whole thing well. Little kids should not go on this.
• Mt Everest Expedition — Kind of like the Matterhorn but updated. I thought it was a lot of fun.
• Wild River Raft Ride — We got SOAKED! Completely wiped out! What a blast.
• Talk to the Animals — Glen’s favorite again. He loves these performing animal acts
• Finding Nemo — I loved this too. Wow was it good. It’s liking going to a Broadway musical condensed into 45 minutes. Hard to imagine how it could be any better.
• Mickey’s Jammin Safari Parade — It was a decent parade but not as special as lots of Disney parades we’ve seen in the past.

When it was all said and done, we again had spent eight fast-flying hours at the park. Orignally we picked this park because we had hoped to spend the night at the Animal Kingdom Lodge as an “after the Bake-Off spoil me just a little” treat but, ha! We could get a room but the standard room for a Thursday night in April was $428 a night! $428! We couldn’t make ourselves do it. We went back to our Hilton Garden Inn room for $104 a night including tax and breakfast every morning and sat by the pool drinking rum & cokes. I still felt special and spoiled.

Yesterday morning we got up early again and headed for St. Petersburg on the Gulf of Mexico coast. We didn’t really have any plans in mind other than we wanted to be able to say we had been to each Florida coast and our plane didn’t leave til 6:20 so we had plenty of time.

We loved St. Petersburg. Actually it was Treasure Island where we got out and walked around a bit. The water there is everywhere and very inviting with its aqua and emerald green colors. The whole area has a very “Florida” feel and a fun mix of old and new. We want to go back.

In fact, we are all for going back to Florida a whole bunch of times. It is a perfect vacation state with its perfect weather, beaches, water and zillions of attractions. Being home now, it really strikes me how totally different our state if from Florida: palm trees versus fir trees; robins vs; flamingoes; sunshine vs clouds; warm weather vs coldish; completely flat vs every 20 feet has a slope on it here. No wonder it feels like a vacation as soon as you walk off the plane! Both states are beautiful but in very, very different ways.

Moving on for a minute to the Bake-Off. Controversy has been a brewin. Man can people be haters. There are some really nasty comments being posted to the Pillsbury site about the Ice Cream Cups that won the million. Get over it already people! Or keep it to yourself. I don’t get wanting to live in that kind of energy. I bought sugar cookie dough when we went for groceries this morning and plan to give them a go soon. They look yummy and they look easy — I’m jazzed to try them.

Another thought while it’s in my mind: the GE Imagination Award choice surprised me. Pepperoni Pesto Popovers received the award but they didn’t seem that “imaginative” to me. The Chocolate Monkey Bread rocked the house for innovation or the Chai Tea Cupcakes but the popovers seemed pretty regular to me. Judging — a thankless job.

I didn’t take a lot of photos actually but I do have a few — especially a bunch of me at the Bake-Off thanks to my husband — and I’ll get them posted up this weekend. I’m so loving having two days off before heading back to work on Monday. We usually tend to get home from trips late the night before having to get up and go to work the next morning. This way is much better — time to think and organize and catch-up. It seems like we always feel like we need a vacation after a vacation! Guess there’s just never enough days off. : ) Enjoy yours!