Jen and Joe Jankord: Orlando, FL

At the Grand Hyatt Resort in Orlando, FL

Literally days after my return from California Joe and I headed to Orlando! Joe had to go for work with Gulfstream, so I tagged along and we extended our stay through the weekend. The Hyatt was AMAZING! It was minutes from Disney and in the heart of a little hustle and bustle, which was kinda nice due to the slow pace of Savannah, which we are still getting adjusting to. I spent most of our days at the pool, met some interesting people and just enjoyed the quiet and beautiful surroundings.

Joe and I needed this little vacation so bad. We have been in Savannah for almost 5 months and it seems like we haven't stopped moving. We have been so fortunate to have so many family and friends visit us, Joe has been traveling a lot with work, when he is home I'm gone or we are working on the house. I realized this past weekend that we really haven't even talked about our new life here, how we are feeling...so this was a much needed time alone.

Orlando is beautiful and had some great shopping! Everything is pretty new, which we really like. We found ourselves comparing Orlando to Savannah...I wont tell you who won. But, these two places couldn't be more different.

Everyone told us we needed to go to Epcot, how could we not go when we were minutes away?! So, we set out early one morning and spent several hours exploring Epcot. We really didn't know what to expect...rides? Mickey Mouse? Cinderella? Screaming children? It was very much like California Adventure. I loved that they made sections of the park into countries with their countries preferred food and drink...that we enjoyed for sure. At the end of the day, would we go back? Yes, with children for sure, but without probably not. It was a good experience for sure and am glad we went, but I can see why families love it...the kids run around happy and the parents sip on a different adult beverage every 50 steps away...after the 8th country, the family is having a ball!

I would like to share a story with you as well, sorry if it's a little wordy!

So, I'm not good at rides AT ALL. When I found out they had rides there I started to get such anxiety about it because Joe didn't have anyone else to go with him. I was in trouble for sure. The first couple rides were so easy, almost childlike. I was thrilled! Joe was thinking it was the dumbest place on earth, not the happiest! He was getting grumpy, it was SO HOT and at this point he was complaining about how we ever got talked into this. Eventually, we had made our way to this "Space Ride" and his little eyes lit up. Joe as a child went to space camp and has wanted his whole life to be an astronaut, no joke. He has told me this before, so I was excited that this would turn his miserable butt around. As we walked up (Joe ran) and they asked if we wanted a green or orange ticket, Joe asked something and he took two orange tickets and gave me one. As we stood in line I started reading the ticket and it said we were going on the "advanced more realistic" ride. It was like a virtual real life, feel like you are at zero gravity, shaking, rolling, spinning ride. WHAT?! I looked him dead in the face and said, "NO F-IN WAY DUDE!" I literally turned white and started feeling sick,,,he laughed so hard! He said, "this will make the entire trip worth it if I do this with him" I said, "I'll go on the green side, PLEASE!" Let's just say Joe wasn't letting me chicken out. As we waited in line, at every corner were signs saying, "IF YOU ARE PRONE TO MOTION SICKNESS EXIT HERE" I found myself standing on the orange circle and about to be next up, with my team of 5, who would be mad if I left as the NAVIGATOR because we would crash and never make it to the moon...uh huh. We watched the guy talk about what we were going to experience, all of it was horrible. My strategy was what I always do, hold my breath and close my eyes til it's over. After the video we were moved to a hallway where the sign in front of me said "we advise you to keep your eyes open due to dizziness and becoming disoriented" I was TOTALLY screwed. I couldn't breathe, I was sweating, shaking, telling Joe and the stupid team I couldn't do it, I was going to puke. Joe just kept laughing hysterically and saying, "calm down, your getting yourself all worked up" I was having a full blown anxiety attack. BUT, I still went. I sat in my seat, which looked like a shuttle command and stared at the big screen in my face and tried to breathe. At this time Joe hits me and laughs "look, puke bags!" OMG, they even have puke bags like on airplanes...I'm so going to puke. I freaked out AGAIN, looked to see if I could get out, too late, they shut the shuttle doors. It started up, lift off was SO BAD...it literally made you feel like you were shooting into the sky at a massive speed, I reached for the puke bag and couldn't get it because I was too scared to look away from the screen, cause it told me NOT to do that. Next thing I know, I'm on the moon...it's all kind of a blur, I pushed my buttons when I was supposed to, I don't think I blinked one time. In the end, I didn't puke and it was a horrible experience that I refuse to ever do again...and my husband is a heartless SOB!

Hanging at the pool.

This was on the beach area of the resort where Joe went sailing...good thing he went before he made me go on the space ride or I would've pushed him in :)