Best vacation ever ....

We've been back for about 2 days from our vacation in Vero Beach, and we had a fabulous, relaxing, fun time. Last year we went to the Cape, and while it was nice to be away, a beach house vacation is still work for parents - cooking, picking up, driving to the beach or other places. This year, doing a resort vacation meant someone else was cleaning or cooking for us, and the pool and beach were just steps away.

This was the third time we'd stayed at Disney's Vero Beach resort. The first time was in 2003, when Princess was 5 and Sweet Pea was 2. We brought our sitter, and had two adjacent hotel rooms. Having the extra help was wonderful, but we still had to watch the girls every minute. Princess was petrified of the water, but Sweet Pea loved the water slide. We were also dealing with potty training, naps, picky appetites. We managed to have a good time, and I know our sitter still looks back fondly on that trip.

We came back in 2005, without the sitter, and had only one hotel room. Princess was 7 and Sweet Pea was 4, and we had a good time. No sitter, but the girls were comfortable in the water, and loved the beach. What's nice about Vero is there are activities of all ages, so there were craft activities, treasure hunts, and other things to do when it was time to take a break from the sun. Still, being in one room got very confining, and bedtimes were a challenge.

This time was a whole new ball game. Princess is almost 12 and Sweet Pea is almost 9. We had two adjacent rooms, with views of the beach and the resort. Vero is pretty self-contained, so we felt safe letting them go off on their own, within limits (no beach or pool, but could go anywhere else with permission). The girls also had charging privileges to the rooms (also with permission), so they could get food or other items on their own without waiting for Mom or Dad. They've become little fish, learning how to snorkle, swimming all over the pool, and hundreds of runs down the waterslide. We took two side trips, to the Kennedy Space Center and Sea World, and one day they wanted some time out of the sun so I took them to the movies. The girls were great travelers, patient during flight delays and long car rides. No, they weren't perfect, and we had some tween drama, but overall they were really good.


For me and CT Dad, this vacation was the best combination of relaxation and variety. Other than the two side trips, we spent our time at the pool or the beach. We went to Publix when we first arrived and stocked the rooms with drinks and snacks, but otherwise we let the resort do the cooking. One night Sweet Pea and I sat poolside and watched "Enchanted" on a huge outdoor screen, enjoying a perfect Florida night while CT Dad and Princess rented a movie in the room. We had casual dinners and breakfasts at the family restaurant, lunches by the pool, and a fancy dinner our final night there at the "dress-up" restaurant. Not having to watch the girls constantly gave them some freedom to do as they liked, and gave us some downtime from daily parenting.

It was really hard to leave. We can't wait to go back ...