The Ellison Family Vacation

The Big Ellison Family Vacation! Our vacation plans started with traveling to Madison, FL for Jacqui and Griff's Wedding, which I have to say was beautiful and so much fun! We decided to rent a camper instead of doing the whole hotel thing and eating out, etc. THE BEST WAY TO GO!! We headed out on Thursday and made our first stop in Wildwood, FL, which is just outside out Gainesville. To those who have never traveled outside of Broward County, you have to do it. North Florida has so much to offer, we fell in love!

Carson loved the camper. It was a new toy to him. He liked walking around and constantly inspecting everything. We stayed at a KOA and Wildwood and the experience was great, again loving it much more than a hotel. The convenience of being gone for a week and having everything you need right there, perfect!!

This was our setup in Wildwood.

In the morning we packed up to head to Madison, FL for Jacqui and Griff's wedding. We brought along with us our neighbor's Polaris "sidebyside". I wasn't all for it in the beginning, just thought of it as another hassle, but Carson LOVED it. If even for a second he thought Geoff was going for a ride, he was running as fast as his little feet would take him to get to the 4wheeler. HE was even content just going in circles. It was wonderful being in the "country". In the morning we would wake up, make breakfast, go outside and play. One night we sat by the fire and Carson roasted his first marshmallow for his first s'more. Of course I passed down my sweet tooth to Carson because that kid LOVED every bit of that s'more. The last night we were in Madison, he fell asleep by the fire. I think he is ready for country living. During the day, he hunted acorns with Aunt Patty and became a filthy mess. Gee, is this what kids did before electronic games and tv, actually played outside. ;-)

At the fire

Carson and Geoffrey going for an afternoon ride.

At Jacqui and Griff's Wedding. Congrats Mr. and Mrs. Bishop!

After leaving Madison, our journey led us to Crawfordville to visit with very good friends of ours, the Morgans. Having the camper, we just pulled along side their house and once again, very convenient. While there we went to Shell Point Beach Park. At this point, Carson was still not fond of the sand or water. It took him quite some time to get used to it, but after watching Travis and Chase have so much fun and inch their way in the water more and more (when Daddy wasn't looking), he was all for it. He was playing with the boys in the sand and even inched into the water, just up to his ankles. Travis and Chase were very good with him and extremely patient.

At Shell Point Beach Park (panhandle, aka, the bend)

The next day we packed up the kids and met my cousin, Lori at Wakulla Springs. We had a great day and the weather couldn't have been better. We took the river boat up and down the spring and Carson's attention was focused on all of the wildlife. We saw tons of birds, turtles and alligators. We may not be so excited when we see a bird, but a bird to Carson is like gold. He gets so excited, "bir, bir, bir".

After the boat ride, I made sure Carson and Geoff, stuck their toes in the water. I've been in a spring before, but these boys have not. The water, year round, is between 68 and 72. Burrrr...

Because of Carson's practice the day before, no issues with playing in the sand and getting his feet in the water.

At Wakulla Springs

From there, we left Crawfordville to head to Tallahassee to visit with my cousins, Lori and David and their two dogs, Chai and Chloe. The weather was beautiful, we spent the rest of the afternoon outside, drove around the 4wheeler and Carson had a great time with all of that yard to run in with the dogs.

The next morning, Lori took us to the Tallahassee Museum. I was expecting a museum, inside, cold, ya know, a museum. This was the best museum ever. It was almost as if we were at a zoo, covered in the most beautiful cypress trees and happy animals everywhere. I thoroughly enjoyed spending time there and couldn't help but fall even more in love with North Florida. Carson is very interested in the animals, so all it took was one glance and he would mumble up a storm about this animal and that. The only time he was hesitant was Geoff holding him up to the rail. He was holding on to Geoff for dear life.

At Tallahassee Museum

Carson playing outside at Lori and David's with Chai and Chloe! He had so much fun!

We left late that afternoon to start heading home. Since this was our first long trip with Carson, we tried to do the leg of the trip while he was sleeping. He was not a happy camper if he was awake in the car seat. Therefore, we drove to Gainesville, stopped at Cracker Barrell and had dinner. Went in the camper, changed him, got him ready for bed, jammies and all. He was out as soon as we were back on the highway. We drove to Orlando and stopped for the night and drove the rest of the way first thing in the morning, again when Carson was sleeping.

Carson was very well behaved on the trip. Geoff and I both agreed that it was very hard to go back to work after spending so much time with him.

It was the BEST family vacation. I know Carson may not remember all of this one day, but he can always look at all of the photos and know where he went as a child. Who knows what the Springs will be like in 20 years, if the beach in the gulf will be as beautiful as it was or if the Museum will still be around.

The older he gets, the more fun he gets!!

ALL OF OUR VACATION PHOTOS ARE VIEWABLE BY CLICKING ON CARSON'S PHOTO ALBUMS!