are we on vacation again?

Ok, I just wrote this and then lost it... How frustrating! We flew down to Orlando today to go to Seaworld for their Christmas celebration. And the great and unusual thing was that it was actually a Christmas celebration. There wasn't any of the usual "happy holidays", it was all "merry Christmas" , and it was loud and clear. We saw most of the shows throughout the park and I loved the "o wonderous night". It was the story of Jesus' birth through the eyes of the animals in the manger. It was great, and at the end  live animals paraded up on stage. There was everything from goats and sheep to doves and donkeys and even three camels at the end. What a great show! I am exhausted!

Ok, so where did I leave off? We went up to Jacksonville on Tuesday, because I had a groupon to a restaurant on the beach there. It was called Beachside Seafood, and the food was pretty good. Bubba had some kind of fish, and even though he can't remember what it was, he liked it. Wednesday we did the 2 hour trek back to Orlando again to go to Discovery Cove. Despite the rain, it was an awesome day. We got to swim with about 40 stingrays and tons of tropical fish. The lazy river was like being in a hot tub, it was a great day. We had to get out of the water for about 45 minutes because of lightening, but all in all, it was a great place. Later we saw Bubba's sister Carol and her husband Bill. We went out for Italian, and the food was yummy! Thursday was a rest day, and we walked around St. Augustine and did some shopping. Friday was Seaworld then later the Halloween Horror Nights at Universal. Oh my goodness, the rain was crazy. It was like a monsoon, but we're...

We flew into Orlando on Sunday and met Brian and BJ at Universal. There's a new ride where the old Hanna Barbera ride used to be. It's based on the minions in the "despicable me" movie. It was fun even though there was a 45 minute wait. There really weren't any lines anywhere else, so I guess we can't complain. Yesterday we walked around St Augustine for a few hours. It's a nice town, but it was hot and steamy. I thought it would be cooler by the middle of September. Last night we took a Ghost and Gravestone tour with Old Town Trolley around St Augustine. It was a lot of fun. There was even a crazed inmate at the jail. I would do it again if we came back. So far it's been a fun trip, but it's supposed to rain for the rest of the week, so we'll see. Tomorrow we are going to discovery cove, but we have to figure out what to do today....

Today we went to the Amish town of Shipshewana. It always seems odd to see horse drawn black buggies driving along the streets with all the cars and trucks. The town has a small central area that is full of shops. You could buy a quilt in any color of the rainbow, and some of them do have all the colors. They are kind of pricey, but if you think about how much energy it must take to make such an intricate work of art without electricity, can be just mind boggling. Furniture is another big one here, but it won't fit under the seat on the airplane. Today was Len's 70th birthday. Happy birthday Len! It's hard to believe I have a 70 year old brother! Well, we're leaving tomorrow, so it's off to bed....

Today Jimmy and I got up way too early to come out to South Bend, IN. I was awake at 3:30am, a time I really didn't even know existed ( unless I was still stuck at work). We flew through DTW and got here with a hitch. What a difference an airport makes! No lines, no crowds and Len was waiting for us curbside without be yelled at. We drove all around Notre Dame. It is a beautiful campus, but my exhaustion got the better of me, and after a few hours, I just had to take a nap.... I think I need to tell them I'm awake so we can find someplace for dinner.

Today we took a tour of Boston harbor on a 60' sail boat. The city always looks so different from the water. It was a very relaxing sail, and the weather was beautiful, a perfect summer day.

So I tried to do this a few minutes ago and lost everything, very frustrating with wifi on a plane. Anyway, Nassau is not one of my favorite places to be, but when you're on vacation does it really matter? It was hot and humid, but it is August, so it's pretty much hot and humid every where. We walked around, trying on jewelry I wasn't going to buy and pretty much complaining about the weather and our vacation coming to an end and the sun burns we got the day before when we were snorkeling. Walking back through to customs building, they have free wifi and it reminded me of a crack house with every one attached to their electronics and getting their fix. Interesting.... Can't wait for the next adventure!

What a great day of snorkeling! We first went to barefoot beach which is great to relax, but not for snorkeling the water is way too shallow and we only saw a couple of tiny fish. Then we walked down to the more popular part of the beach ie crowded, rented our mandatory life vest and saw tons of fish and even a couple of sting rays. It was pretty cool. Sunday we're going to Nassau, then home again on Monday.

Ok, so when the car rental company says you can return the car to the cruise port, it means they have a shuttle bus from the airport! After driving around the port, then part of the city, we finally called the toll free number for directions only to find out we had to go to the airport. We even asked in FLL and he confirmed we were going to the cruise port... Very frustrating! We got to the ship around 2:30.... We had to be here by 3... Another stressful day. We did go swimming under the clouds though, that was nice. The pool water was warm, and not very crowded when the rest of the people were feeding.

So we're off on another cruise, this one is out of Miami. Weather was wreaking havoc in Atlanta, delaying our flight by 2 and 1/2 hours, but it also delayed the flight to Ft Lauderdale, so after a mad dash through ATL, and no train because terminal B was under repair, we made it to the next gate in under 1/2 an hour.... Whew! Off for another adventure!

What a great weekend! We took a tour around Boston harbor to see the Tall Ships and the navy ships that were in port. There were so many people! I think the boat was the way to go. We chugged by the boats on Falcon pier, then over to the Charlestown navy yard to see the Constitution. It would have been a very long walk on a hot day. On the 4th itself, we started the day at Pier's park, where we had an awesome view of the Constitution's turn around. We watched the salute off Castle Island and heard the 21 gun salute as she pulled back into Charlestown. As an added treat, the Blue Angels did a fly by to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812. That was really cool. It was a great place to watch all the festivities, and we even found 2 hours of free parking. We'll go back there again next year!

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Ok, so what was I thinking? I don't like the cold, the dark, or to climb over things, so why did I even attempt this? Yes, I know, because Bubba wanted to go. After driving on dirt roads for about 5 miles we got to the lot for the caves. It's just a short walk from there, but I should have known better when I saw the pile of rocks that was the entrance. I tried. I got in about 20 feet and saw the pitch darkness, and the ice formations and decided against it. Bubba helped me climb back out then took my fleece (picture my women's medium sized jacket on him) then went back in on his own. I sat by the entrance for a little while, but then my city upbringing took over and all I could envision was being eaten by a mountain lion or having some crazy Charles Manson type roaming through the forest, so instead I locked myself in the car to wait for him. Of course it doesn't hurt that we have lots of snacks in the car and that it is nice and toasty in here. I wonder when I...

Today we took a tour with Secret Canyon Hummer Adventures. It was a lot of fun. Our driver/tour guide was Brian, and he was very knowledgeable about the whole area. What a great tour! On our way back south to Sedona, we took route 64 through the Grand Canyon. It never ceases to amaze. The sheer size and the colors of the rocks, not to mention the $25 entrance fee, it is just amazing. Needless to say, it took us a lot longer to get back than it should have. It turned into about another 8 hour drive. And two hours of that was in the dark, so no good scenery.

Today we drove north to Page. It took us about 8 hours because of all the stopping and sight seeing. We spent a few hours in one of the national parks. It has both the Wupatki pueblo and the sunset crater volcano. It's a very interesting place. The pueblo is over 800 years old and the crater is from a volcanic explosion over 1000 years ago. Lots of history. We had dinner in the Cameron trading post. Just about everything was served either on or with soft fried dough. Where can you go wrong with that? Tomorrow we're off to the slot canyons... I almost forgot, we also went to the Glen Canyon Dam. Wow is it huge!

Today we roamed around part of Sedona. We're such city people... Everyone is getting out of their cars with back packs and bottles of water and walking sticks and hiking boots, and here we are in our sandals with our cameras and one bottle of water to split between us. We made it back again even with our lack of preparation. It really is beautiful out here. It's warm and a little too sunny for me, but beautiful. I found every slice of shade to stand in as we roamed around. There wasn't much, but it was enough. We ate at bodacious burgers. It was great. Bubba had an elk burger and I had fried cactus strips on mine. Yum! After that we went shopping at an arts outdoor shopping center. Incredibly nice stuff, but it all has the prices to match. Needless to say, lots of window shopping! I need a nap!

It took about 7 hours of flying (in middle seats,) then 3 hours of driving to get here, but it is still beautiful. We had lunch at an Amish restaurant yesterday, yes an Amish restaurant in AZ. And it was great. Bubba had shoofly pie for the first time, and for me it brought back memories of the very sticky sweet stuff from many years ago in PA with my family "shoofly pie and apple pandowdy makes your eyes light up and your belly say howdy!" Driving through Phoenix, the cacti were in bloom, it's almost magical seeing all the colors in a desert. Driving further north to Sedona, not that much is blooming yet. It is cooler up here and the terrain is different. We tried to see the sunset through the rocks last night, but as is usual for us we were late, but even better than that, we saw a bob cat just feet away from us! Very cool and we didn't get eaten by it, which is even better! We ended the night at the grocery store... I was exhausted when I finally fell into bed.

Yes, it has been another expensive trip to the glass show. I have no other vices, so I'm not that concerned about it. Right now I am sitting in the lobby of the South Point Casino because it is the only place with free wifi, Bubba is off desperately trying to loose his money... I bet he is doing an excellent job at that! The hotel is nice, lots of locals, but it's relatively cheap and clean so I won't complain. We should have paid the extra $25 and I could be napping right now instead of nodding off in this chair! Oh well, it was $25 more that I could spend on glass. We are looking at a new kiln. Something a little bigger and that has automatic settings. We'll investigate more when we get home. Speaking of which, I have another 3 and 1/2 hours until we go to the airport... Oh well!