This is going to be an excessively photo heavy blog post!

The week started out like every other has lately - Long Island continues to be a little dreary, cold and snowy. Covid and cabin fever has definitely taken its toll on all of us, so we were all very much in need of some time away.

On Tuesday night, we packed our things and loaded up the truck to take a much needed vacation to sunny and warm Florida.

After an 18 hour long drive, we made it to Tampa to visit my mother for a few days. The kids loved every minute they spent with their “Florida Grandma”. 80 degree weather in February is definitely where its at.

I don’t know about anyone else, but every single time I go to Florida I instantly want to pack everything and move.

I think I was on zillow every day of our drip scoping out Florida real estate. I could sell my house on Long Island and buy a new construction mansion house right next to DISNEY. It’s like a dream.

Too bad my husbands job is pretty much non transferrable. Oh well.

The girls had a ton of fun swimming and playing in the many heated pools in my moms community. Luckily for us, Floridians think it’s way too cold to swim in the winter months so the girls had the pool all to themselves every time they went.

Interesting fact about Tampa: It’s famous for its cigars . According to John, its the cigar capital of the world. My mom lives about 20 minutes from Ybor City which is know for its hand-rolled cigars and cigar stores, so you know the boss was in his GLORY.

The city is also home to one of my favorite restaurants - Columbia Restaurant which is the oldest Spanish restaurant in the United States and for good reason. I literally dream about their 1905 Salad and Cuban Sandwiches. Just writing about it is making me hungry. This is a MUST do for me any and every time I visit my mom. It’s that good.

After our visit with Grandma, we headed off to Walt Disney World for a week long stay. It’s always bittersweet leaving my mom but we’ll see her in a few months again when she flies up to New York to visit.

This year, we opted to stay in a one bedroom at out home resort of Copper Creek in the Wilderness Lodge. While Olivia and I are Boardwalk gals, my husband loves the theming of the great outdoors.

Because of mid winter recess, the parks where overwhelming at times. We’ve been to Disney MANY times over the years, including some crazy Christmas trips and I don’t think I have ever seen it this crowded ever in my life.

While we had a wonderful time overall, the crowds were beyond anything I have ever seen before. So much for February being a slow month!