Being a single parent can definitely be a struggle in more ways than one. One of the things I did each year was try to take my son on a cool vacation using my tax refund proceeds. In 2006, it was to Disney World in Orlando, FL.
We were picked up from the airport by Disney’s Tour Bus and shuttled to our hotel which, for my baseball player son, was a dream come true sports themed hotel “All Star Sports” .
They had various wings of the hotel that were attributed to different sports – football, basketball, soccer, tennis, surfing and of course, baseball. We were given a room in the baseball wing very close to the diamond shaped pool with Goofy on the pitcher’s mound. I think my son had more fun at the pool than any of the parks (not really, but it was fun!)
We spent a week in Florida visiting all of the various theme parks at Disney as well as Gatorland & Universal Studios Orlando. I remember losing my camera while we were in – I think it was Animal Kingdom – and crying because I had lost all the wonderful pictures (aka: memories) that I had taken on that camera. I quickly regrouped and took a side trip to Wal-Mart to purchase a new camera and begin again. That hiccup was not going to ruin my trip!!!
Our experience at Walt Disney World was indeed magical if for nothing else than the simple fact that as a single mother I was able to take my son and really enjoy every aspect of the trip. From traveling around the world at Epcot Center, meeting an old high school friend & his family at Universal Orlando, wrestling gators at Gatorland, riding the Rock n’ Roller Coaster (my first experience with a coaster that accelerates from 0-58 mph in 2.8 seconds – holy wow!) – those times will not be forgotten. My son had fun selecting pins from around each park and came home with an outstanding collection.
We also took a trip to the Disney’s Wide World of Sports where my son got to run around on the baseball diamond, take the mound & see the practice facility for the NFL Team Tampa Bay Buccaneers (or maybe it was the Atlanta Falcons??). Incidentally, I don’t think either team use this facility anymore, but they were the complex’s claim to fame when we were there many years ago! I distinctly remember getting a call on my cell phone from my son’s travel baseball coach while he was standing on the pitchers mound at Wide World of Sports. It was like he knew we were there!
My son is grown now but I definitely will cherish all the times we were able to share these experiences and open ourselves up to new worlds! I sincerely hope that I have instilled the love of travel into him and he will continue to create opportunities to see this magical globe.
Until next time….where in the world did the wanderlustingwino travel next?
I’d love to hear from you if you are reading this – please leave comments, critiques, share your moments, anything to let me know that you are enjoying reading this blog or suggestions on what I can do to improve. Remember I’m new to this! 🙂
wanderlustingwino 