UNBELIZEABLE VACATION DAY 1 :: ORLANDO, FL :: So begins our much anticipated, two-week trip to the jungles and beaches of Belize! To kick things off, we traveled through Florida for a few days to check out a couple attractions and to take advantage of airfare discounts to Belize City via Miami. The Sunshine State was a great transition between the cool climate of the Pacific Northwest and the hot and humid tropics of Central America.

We also wanted to ease into the extended vacation mindset. It's rare that Kristie and I travel just for travel's sake. Most of our trips are wrapped around business or conferences. This would be our longest vacation and our first time out of the country together (Canada doesn't really count). During the next 13 days, we gradually shut out all email and phone calls from our lives to fully enjoy our time together. Scheduling the vacation during the Thanskgiving break helped, and our Verizon phones wouldn't work in Belize anyway.

Arriving in Orlando, we stayed at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress Resort for two nights before driving to Miami. The Grand Cypress is a large and very nice hotel just minutes from the Disney World parks. The nighttime view from our balcony included simultaneous firework shows over Epcot and the Magic Kingdom. During the day, we could look down on the pool, restaurant, small lake and golf course within the resort grounds. The pool has an impressive mini-waterpark, complete with slides, waterfalls and float tunnels that wind alongside the poolside bar. The lake has a white sand beach with canoes, mini-sailboats, and paddleboats for guests to take out. On the second afternoon, we enjoyed a relaxing nap in a beachside hammock.

During our brief stay in Orlando, we visited Disney World's Animal Kingdom and watched Cirque du Soleil's La Nouba.