I love the kind of travel experience that shatters all your expectations and prejudices. Sometimes I’m unaware I’ve had them until they disappear.
I had learned about two months in advance that on my trip to Florida with Experience Kissimmee and Global Resort Homes I would be travelling with a handful of mommy bloggers/family travel experts. I considered pulling out of the trip for awhile. I didn’t know how I’d relate to the others, and it appeared that the ladies were already acquainted with one another.
But damn, I’m a sucker for warm weather and new experiences. When I expressed my concerns to Joanne, my best friend with a two-year-old, she looked at me like I was an idiot. “Candice,” she said. “They’re going to be away from their kids for four days. What do you think is going to happen?”
This was confirmed when Tara, our amazing social media specialist from Global Resort Homes, uploaded a photo of our well-stocked vacation home.
The others were all coming from Ontario: Candace of Life in Pleasantville from Ottawa, Jen of Urban Moms from Toronto, and Nadine of Child Mode from northern Ontario. Also on the trip were our trusty guides: Tara, Nori, and Rochelle.
We spent the first evening getting to know each other while our in-house cook served up a gourmet barbecue and we admired an unreal fiery sunset as it lit up our private pool and sauna. I grabbed a beer and immediately went for a swim. With seven ladies under one roof, I had expected a Big Brother situation…but the possibility of being stressed out or distracted was pretty slim to none.
Hilariously, I was the first person in bed that evening. I blamed my body’s inability to cope with the changes in time zones after leaving Iceland.
But then I was the first person to hit the sack the next night…and the night after that. It wasn’t even that the house was filled with party raging moms, I was just passing out all over the place and the moms were all way more hardcore than me.
These ladies, however? Badass to the max.
I was tired of being the ‘fraidy cat in the group, so when our Saturday morning sunrise hot air balloon excursion rolled around, I manned up.
And by manned up I mean I sat in the bottom of the basket while we launched a thousand feet into the sky. I slipped an Ativan and managed to stand up and even enjoy myself, eventually. Alright, I was high as a kite. I’ve been quoting as saying, “I love everything” as I leaned over the basket trying to snap a good photo.
And yet I still kept passing out all over the place.
The truth about mommy bloggers? They’re a great deal more than mommy bloggers. They’re talented writers and loving women, and brave as hell, and they know how to have a good time.
Even more shocking: there’s a great deal to do in the Kissimmee area other than the major theme parks. Who knew?! I’ll be rolling out those posts over the next few weeks. But for now, cheers to my #KissCanada ladies, and here’s hoping we meet again!
