After selling most of our belongings, packing up the little we had left, saying goodbye to our dear friends, and getting the boys all ready for world school, we left Ohio for our full time travels. It was November 29, 2021, the day before Amelie's first birthday. In case you are new to our story, Amelie is our daughter who was born 4 months premature. She passed away in September after nearly 10 months in the NICU. We are traveling in her honor to spend more quality time together as a family and inspire other families to do the same.
Our first stop was full of adventure in the sun in Central Florida. You can often find cheap flights to Orlando from many destinations, as was the case for us. We found tickets on Spirit for only $34 one way! It was a quick and easy flight. The only snafu we had was our airline only allowed 40 lbs per bag (50 lbs is typical) so we had to purchase another bag last minute and re-pack. A little stressful, but we managed. The boys did some hotel school (which is like home school at a hotel :) and airplane school so they were all done with school for the day, when we arrived in Florida. If you travel with a car seat, we highly recommend the gogo kidz travelmate which turns your carseat into a rolling seat with a handle. We don't travel with a stroller and just use this instead and then check it at the gate. Also this might be the last time you see us in coats for awhile. : )
After our flight, we picked up the rental car and drove to Daytona Beach. We were super excited about our first hosted stay at Hard Rock Hotel. I knew we wanted to be at the beach for Amelie's birthday and I couldn't have asked for a better spot. Hard Rock Hotel in Daytona Beach is a beautiful beachfront hotel with incredible views to watch the sunrise over the ocean. They have an amazing pool with music underwater, a guitar shaped splash pad/kiddie pool, and hot tub, all right in front of the beach. Our kids had so much fun going from beach to pool to hot tub. The biggest decision was which to start and end with.
We loved all the music features of the Hard Rock, including the music memorabilia throughout the hotel and a fender guitar and record player in our room. The boys had never seen a record player before and were fascinated with how it worked. :) Daddy gave them some guitar lessons too, which were a big hit!
The views from our room were spectacular and I felt like God and Amelie planned the most beautiful sunrise for Amelie's birthday. After watching the sunrise we had a yummy breakfast in our room with a view. We celebrated her special day at the beach and pool and had a delicious lunch at the hotel restaurant, complete with cake and one candle. We all sang Amelie "Happy Birthday" and as the wind blew out her candle, it felt like somehow she helped to blow it out.
The boys wrote "Happy Birthday Amelie" in the sand and mommy got a relaxing massage in the Hotel Spa. It was a beautiful day to honor our girl and a great start to our full time travels!
If you ever decide to visit Daytona Beach, Florida (and we think you should!). Definitely consider staying at The Hard Rock Hotel. You will love it! We had a wonderful stay and can't wait to return!
Comments