My husband and I take our little boy all over the state of Florida when it is time to vacation.
We did an international trip once and it sucked.
Being stuck on a plane, having connecting flights, and endless delays made it horrible. My son missed his nap, had to be changed out of a poopy diaper in a too small bathroom, and ate all his meals in the airport. It wasn’t something I really enjoyed. Now we stick close to home. We live in Jacksonville Florida which is north. But we don’t mind making a drive. Going to Lakeland, FL was quite easy. It was just shy of four hours. Yes quite a long car ride but doable. I had grand plans for all the things we were going to do in Lakeland. Our boy is still quite young though. So it turned out that the only thing we did was go to Common Ground Park. It was a huge playground set up like a butterfly for kids. There was this new thing kids could climb and hang on. Swings, slides, stairs, tunnels, play fire trucks, you name it. There was so much for a little one to do. My husband and I basically drove four hours to take our son to a better park than is at home. There are botanical gardens, antique malls, lakes, nature preserves, museums, and a lot of fun things for adults. Instead we would get up, eat a nice meal, and then hit the park for most of the day. My son had a great time but I didn’t feel like I really got to enjoy Lakeland to the fullest due to only going to Common Ground Park.