Saturday, August 23rd
Sault Ste. Marie, MI
After checking into the hotel, we went out to the house and Roger was preparing dinner. Found Mom and Dad and visited with each of them a bit. I helped Mom out in her cat barn then we went in to eat.
After dark me, Bob, Sarah, Keith, Roger and Dad went out to look at stars. Roger and Keith set up the telescope and found Jupiter for us to see. It was neat. The first time they lined it up we saw two moons. The second time they lined it up, we were able to see four moons. That was neat. We also could see the big dipper, the little dipper and we are pretty sure we could see the Milky Way very faintly. We all saw some shooting stars, too. Very neat.
Sunday, August 24th
Bob and I got up early and walked by the locks. We parked over at the church and then crossed the street. We walked down by the locks. A ship was going through, the Robert Pierson. Bob stopped at the observation point while I continued my walk. Then, we headed back to the church, went to Mass, and then back to the hotel. It felt wonderful to walk. I always have to get exercise, even on vacation. I got a good, brisk, half hour walk and it felt great.
After getting Sarah and Keith at the hotel, we all had errands to run at Wal-Mart/Penneys. After that, we spent the rest of the day at the house.
Monday, August 25th
I got up super early and went for a wonderful combo of a walk/jog. That was about an hour and 20 minutes. Then I went back to the hotel, had some breakfast, then changed into my suit and went to the pool. I had the pool to myself and spent about a half hour swimming and mixing in a little aqua aerobics.
We all had laundry to do, so we had our laundry adventure and went to what they called the Washetaria instead of a Laundromat. That was very exciting for Keith; he said he had never been to a Laundromat before. Only they don't call it a laundromat there. They called it the Washetaria.
Not all bad, though. We were just a block from the locks, so I walked up there while Bob sat with the clothes. I bought some fudge and small gifts for Bob, Keith and Sarah---and of course went to the Mole Hole and bought some little things for myself, too.
And, now, we are at the house. Bob and Roger did some yard work. Dad’s therapist was here. Mom is at a doctor’s appointment. It is very nice today weather-wise. Yesterday was cloudy, cold and rainy. But, today it is sunny and warm. Bob, Roger and Sarah did some yard work, I went for another long walk. I have always loved to walk down Killackey Road--although I have to admit, I enjoyed it better when it was an old dirt road. Keith spent a lot of time with Dad, mostly talking about the dollhouse furniture Dad builds and woodworking in general. I believe after dinner we are going to have a bon fire.
And a nice bon fire it was. Dad, Roger, Bob, Keith, Sarah and I sat around and had a good time. Oh, and Minnie, too.
Sarah took some wonderful pictures, in the dark, using the fire as light. It is amazing how lit up the house looks. I want a camera like that.
Tuesday, August 26th
We got up early today and went out to the house to spend time with Mom and Dad before leaving. We had lunch with them, and some of the cake Mom and I baked. Pineapple cake. Mmmmmmmmm. 2 cups flour, 2 cups sugar, 2 tsp baking soda, 1 large can crushed pineapple with the juice and 2 eggs and 1 tsp vanilla.
We left the states about 1:30 since it was going to be a 5 or 6 hour drive to North Bay, Ontario and wanted to get there before dark.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Our circle trip--Grand Rapids, MI
Friday, August 22nd
Grand Rapids, MI
We arrived in Grand Rapids around 1:00. We went to the Frederik Meijer Gardens and spent an hour and a half there. Nice, very nice. I love it there. It’s colorful, fragrant and beautiful. The children’s garden was wonderful.
After the gardens, we went to Jeff and Stephanie’s lake house. I could spend a week there. I could spend a summer there. I could spend a lifetime there. I love it. It’s so beautiful.
After unpacking, we went right out on the boat with Jeff and the kids. First, the 3 kids went tubing. Jeff has a tube that can fit 3 people at once. They kids had a great time. After they were done tubing, Keith, Allie and Mitch did some water skiing. After the water skiing, Mitch and Keith tried wakeboarding. Mitch had no trouble – but Keith did have some trouble—but he still did well.
There are some house rules for the lake. (Montcalm Lake—Montcalm County, MI) No noisy boats on the water from 7-11 pm. We brought the boat back around 6:30 or so and Jeff fired up his grill. We had a wonderful dinner. Hot dogs, hamburgers, corn on the cob, roasted potatoes. Mmmmmm….
We’ve had a lot of good food on this trip.
After dinner, Jeff started a bon fire and once again we sat around a bon fire and had fun visiting with each other.
Saturday, August 23rd
Saturday morning I woke up early and Jeff got up shortly after that. I went out to the deck to read, and take pictures of the sunrise. Jeff came out with the dogs and asked if I wanted to go out on the paddle boat. He helped me get out on a paddle boat and I spent more than an hour out on the lake. I loved it. I was out for about a half hour and Jeff and Madelyn caught up with me on the other paddle boat. Jeff pulled up along side me and Madelyn got on my boat. She and I had a great time.
Got pics of loons, birds, and swans. I took several of the sunrise. We saw some turtles. We decided it was time to head back to the house for breakfast. Stephanie made some Monkey Bread. (cinnamon rolls) All of us early birds sat out on the deck and had the bread, juice and coffee and tea. After everyone else got up, they fixed a wonderful meal of eggs, bacon, toast, and fruit.
We visited until about 11:30 then decided we better head on out and get up to the Soo. We arrived around 5, after stopping first for a late lunch.
Grand Rapids, MI
We arrived in Grand Rapids around 1:00. We went to the Frederik Meijer Gardens and spent an hour and a half there. Nice, very nice. I love it there. It’s colorful, fragrant and beautiful. The children’s garden was wonderful.
After the gardens, we went to Jeff and Stephanie’s lake house. I could spend a week there. I could spend a summer there. I could spend a lifetime there. I love it. It’s so beautiful.
After unpacking, we went right out on the boat with Jeff and the kids. First, the 3 kids went tubing. Jeff has a tube that can fit 3 people at once. They kids had a great time. After they were done tubing, Keith, Allie and Mitch did some water skiing. After the water skiing, Mitch and Keith tried wakeboarding. Mitch had no trouble – but Keith did have some trouble—but he still did well.
There are some house rules for the lake. (Montcalm Lake—Montcalm County, MI) No noisy boats on the water from 7-11 pm. We brought the boat back around 6:30 or so and Jeff fired up his grill. We had a wonderful dinner. Hot dogs, hamburgers, corn on the cob, roasted potatoes. Mmmmmm….
We’ve had a lot of good food on this trip.
After dinner, Jeff started a bon fire and once again we sat around a bon fire and had fun visiting with each other.
Saturday, August 23rd
Saturday morning I woke up early and Jeff got up shortly after that. I went out to the deck to read, and take pictures of the sunrise. Jeff came out with the dogs and asked if I wanted to go out on the paddle boat. He helped me get out on a paddle boat and I spent more than an hour out on the lake. I loved it. I was out for about a half hour and Jeff and Madelyn caught up with me on the other paddle boat. Jeff pulled up along side me and Madelyn got on my boat. She and I had a great time.
Got pics of loons, birds, and swans. I took several of the sunrise. We saw some turtles. We decided it was time to head back to the house for breakfast. Stephanie made some Monkey Bread. (cinnamon rolls) All of us early birds sat out on the deck and had the bread, juice and coffee and tea. After everyone else got up, they fixed a wonderful meal of eggs, bacon, toast, and fruit.
We visited until about 11:30 then decided we better head on out and get up to the Soo. We arrived around 5, after stopping first for a late lunch.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Our circle trip--Maryland, Pennsylvania and Ohio
Thursday, 8-21-08
We left Maryland at about 3:30 am. We had no sooner crossed the bridge into Calvert County when Bob and I saw some deer on the side of the road. During the rest of the drive to Western Maryland, the closest we came to wildlife was the occasional whif of skunk.
About 6:30, we took a short break at a scenic overlook and then drove into LaVale to the Denny's for breakfast.
After breakfast we continued our journey to Pennsylvania and arrived there around 9:30 or so. Our goal was to get on the Laurel Highlands scenic byway, which we did. It was very scenic. We drove through a small town--but an old town by the looks of the architecture--called Confluence, PA. Then continued down the Laurel Highlands Scenic Byway. At one point we spotted a deer and a bobcat.
We made our way along that route to the Laurel Caverns--arriving in time for the 10 am tour. The tour was about an hour. Our guide was Maise (sp) and she was very good. She works there over the summers while she is home from college. One of our fellow tourists was a young man named Christopher. He must have been 4 or 5. He was so cute and a real chatterbox. He walked along with Maise--forget Mom. She was very good with him, too. He was telling he things and asking her things. She would let him hold her flashlight.
The caverns were cold and damp, as I expected them to be. I actually like them better than the Lurray Caverns in Virginia. Don't get me wrong, the Lurray Caverns are very nice--but they are extremely crowded. It was hard to walk around in there and see because of all the people. At the Laurel Caverns they only take you down as a tour group and tours run every 20 minutes.
As we walked along, she pointed out some places where people had written the year they had been at the caverns. We saw 1864, 1915. Then, there was "Bob." We all teased Bob about writing on the wall.
That was a good break. Good exercise for me—we did lots of walking around and uphill work.
I do recommend it it you are in that part of Pennsylvania---south of Pittsburgh.
After we left there we went to a place called Ohiopile, PA and saw the water falls they have there. Very nice falls. Then we went to Laurel Ridge State Park and had a speedy picnic lunch. Speedy because the gnats and flies were so bad we ate fast and left. We headed to the Pennsylvania turnpike and then the Ohio turnpike and headed to Cleveland.
We took a fast ice-cream break just outside Akron then continued to the hotel in Cleveland. We arrived there about 4:30, settled in and headed to Therese and Kevin’s house about 5:30. They put steaks on the grill and had all the best side dishes. Potato salad, tossed salad, bean salad, mashed potatoes, fruit.
After dinner, Kevin built a bon fire. I love sitting around a bon fire. After a while we had to leave since we wanted to get up early for our drive to Grand Rapids.
We left Maryland at about 3:30 am. We had no sooner crossed the bridge into Calvert County when Bob and I saw some deer on the side of the road. During the rest of the drive to Western Maryland, the closest we came to wildlife was the occasional whif of skunk.
About 6:30, we took a short break at a scenic overlook and then drove into LaVale to the Denny's for breakfast.
After breakfast we continued our journey to Pennsylvania and arrived there around 9:30 or so. Our goal was to get on the Laurel Highlands scenic byway, which we did. It was very scenic. We drove through a small town--but an old town by the looks of the architecture--called Confluence, PA. Then continued down the Laurel Highlands Scenic Byway. At one point we spotted a deer and a bobcat.
We made our way along that route to the Laurel Caverns--arriving in time for the 10 am tour. The tour was about an hour. Our guide was Maise (sp) and she was very good. She works there over the summers while she is home from college. One of our fellow tourists was a young man named Christopher. He must have been 4 or 5. He was so cute and a real chatterbox. He walked along with Maise--forget Mom. She was very good with him, too. He was telling he things and asking her things. She would let him hold her flashlight.
The caverns were cold and damp, as I expected them to be. I actually like them better than the Lurray Caverns in Virginia. Don't get me wrong, the Lurray Caverns are very nice--but they are extremely crowded. It was hard to walk around in there and see because of all the people. At the Laurel Caverns they only take you down as a tour group and tours run every 20 minutes.
As we walked along, she pointed out some places where people had written the year they had been at the caverns. We saw 1864, 1915. Then, there was "Bob." We all teased Bob about writing on the wall.
That was a good break. Good exercise for me—we did lots of walking around and uphill work.
I do recommend it it you are in that part of Pennsylvania---south of Pittsburgh.
After we left there we went to a place called Ohiopile, PA and saw the water falls they have there. Very nice falls. Then we went to Laurel Ridge State Park and had a speedy picnic lunch. Speedy because the gnats and flies were so bad we ate fast and left. We headed to the Pennsylvania turnpike and then the Ohio turnpike and headed to Cleveland.
We took a fast ice-cream break just outside Akron then continued to the hotel in Cleveland. We arrived there about 4:30, settled in and headed to Therese and Kevin’s house about 5:30. They put steaks on the grill and had all the best side dishes. Potato salad, tossed salad, bean salad, mashed potatoes, fruit.
After dinner, Kevin built a bon fire. I love sitting around a bon fire. After a while we had to leave since we wanted to get up early for our drive to Grand Rapids.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Mount Vernon
7-26-08
Today Bob and I went to Mount Vernon. We spent the whole day and had a wonderful time. We arrived about 9:30 am, got our tickets and went straight to the house. There was a line to get in. They only let about 25 people in at a time. We waited about 10 or 15 minutes.
First they take you through the servant quarters. This was for the servants and the "guest" servants when they arrived with their bosses--who, of course, were guests of George and Martha Washington. After a short talk in there by a guide, they send your group to the next stop, the large dining room. It is very well organized-with small groups in each section at a time, the guides can explain what you are seeing in that room and there aren't so many people that you can't see and you're not getting pushed and shoved.
After the tour of the house you can tour the grounds. It is beautiful. Of course it's right on the Potomac and you can see Maryland.
When we bought our tickets for Mount Vernon, we also bought tickets for the 1:00 "National Treasure 2" tour. We were able to see where they filmed the Mount Vernon parts of the movie.We also learned that Randy Travis wasn't originally meant to be in the movie. He just happened to be in DC at the time they were shooting at Mount Vernon and got hin to do the scene at the President's birthday.
We highly recommend seeing Mount Vernon for anyone who is planning a visit to the DC area. But--get there early! We only waited about 10 or 15 minutes to get into the house. By the time we went to the meeting spot at 1:00 for our tour the line was extremely long and the people must have waited in the heat for at least an hour.
We left around 3 and headed to the new National Harbor. It is an area in Oxon Hill, MD that is built up much like the Inner Harbor in Baltimore. It has a harbor, hotels, restaurants and shops. Or at least will have shops and supposedly more restaurants. They are still building it. What we saw of it was beautiful, though. I'd like to go back once it's complete. They do have a visitor's center that shows a model of what it will look like when finished.
They do have a big parking garage.
We were tired when we got home, but a good tired. It was a great day!
We decided to watch "National Treasure: Book of Secrets." We did that after going to Philadelphia--watched the first movie. It's fun to see the movie once you've been to a site they used for filming.
The road you take to get to Mount Vernon is a beautiful drive itself. It is a big park with a wonderful trail for bikers, walkers, runners, dog walkers and so on. They have parking lots at various locations along the way and lots of picnic tables. People were fishing, kayaking, canoeing. It looks like a wonderful place to live. Those people who live in that area are very lucky.
One note I'd like to add about Mount Vernon: For anyone who cannot walk a lot and especially for anyone who cannot do a lot of uphill walking, you may need to restrict yourself to just doing the main house, the nearby buildings and the gardens.
Today Bob and I went to Mount Vernon. We spent the whole day and had a wonderful time. We arrived about 9:30 am, got our tickets and went straight to the house. There was a line to get in. They only let about 25 people in at a time. We waited about 10 or 15 minutes.
First they take you through the servant quarters. This was for the servants and the "guest" servants when they arrived with their bosses--who, of course, were guests of George and Martha Washington. After a short talk in there by a guide, they send your group to the next stop, the large dining room. It is very well organized-with small groups in each section at a time, the guides can explain what you are seeing in that room and there aren't so many people that you can't see and you're not getting pushed and shoved.
After the tour of the house you can tour the grounds. It is beautiful. Of course it's right on the Potomac and you can see Maryland.
When we bought our tickets for Mount Vernon, we also bought tickets for the 1:00 "National Treasure 2" tour. We were able to see where they filmed the Mount Vernon parts of the movie.We also learned that Randy Travis wasn't originally meant to be in the movie. He just happened to be in DC at the time they were shooting at Mount Vernon and got hin to do the scene at the President's birthday.
We highly recommend seeing Mount Vernon for anyone who is planning a visit to the DC area. But--get there early! We only waited about 10 or 15 minutes to get into the house. By the time we went to the meeting spot at 1:00 for our tour the line was extremely long and the people must have waited in the heat for at least an hour.
We left around 3 and headed to the new National Harbor. It is an area in Oxon Hill, MD that is built up much like the Inner Harbor in Baltimore. It has a harbor, hotels, restaurants and shops. Or at least will have shops and supposedly more restaurants. They are still building it. What we saw of it was beautiful, though. I'd like to go back once it's complete. They do have a visitor's center that shows a model of what it will look like when finished.
They do have a big parking garage.
We were tired when we got home, but a good tired. It was a great day!
We decided to watch "National Treasure: Book of Secrets." We did that after going to Philadelphia--watched the first movie. It's fun to see the movie once you've been to a site they used for filming.
The road you take to get to Mount Vernon is a beautiful drive itself. It is a big park with a wonderful trail for bikers, walkers, runners, dog walkers and so on. They have parking lots at various locations along the way and lots of picnic tables. People were fishing, kayaking, canoeing. It looks like a wonderful place to live. Those people who live in that area are very lucky.
One note I'd like to add about Mount Vernon: For anyone who cannot walk a lot and especially for anyone who cannot do a lot of uphill walking, you may need to restrict yourself to just doing the main house, the nearby buildings and the gardens.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Gearing up for Michigan!
Well, we've already been home from Florida about 3 weeks. Funny how far away that trip seems now.
July is half over. Time keeps marching on.
In just about a month we will be heading out for Michigan. Our first part of the trip will be from here to Cleveland. We will stay over one night there. Then from Cleveland we head to Grand Rapids to see Jeff, Stephanie and the kids. We will stay over one night there--at their lake house. I'm very excited about that.
Then, finally, we arrive in the Soo and will be there a few days. For our return trip, we are heading through Canada to Niagara Falls. We will cross back into the US at Niagara and come home via New York.
Sarah and Keith have decided to join us. That is exciting. I think we will have a lot of fun.
I wish I could figure out a way for Shawn and Megan to go. Or at least drive to Niagara and meet us there. I think Megan has a passport, but Shawn doesn't. So, they couldn't do the Canadian part. I'd love for Shawn to get a chance to see Mom and Dad. Not sure how we can work that out unless they flew to the Soo. One of us would have to rent a car because we won't all fit in my car. Then, they'd have to fly to Niagara. But, it would be nice for them to be able to go along. I don't know how all that will work, though.
Really looking forward to this trip. I'm looking forward to all the little side trips we plan to take. We want to get off the beaten path, see some of the country instead of speed past it at 75 mph.
July is half over. Time keeps marching on.
In just about a month we will be heading out for Michigan. Our first part of the trip will be from here to Cleveland. We will stay over one night there. Then from Cleveland we head to Grand Rapids to see Jeff, Stephanie and the kids. We will stay over one night there--at their lake house. I'm very excited about that.
Then, finally, we arrive in the Soo and will be there a few days. For our return trip, we are heading through Canada to Niagara Falls. We will cross back into the US at Niagara and come home via New York.
Sarah and Keith have decided to join us. That is exciting. I think we will have a lot of fun.
I wish I could figure out a way for Shawn and Megan to go. Or at least drive to Niagara and meet us there. I think Megan has a passport, but Shawn doesn't. So, they couldn't do the Canadian part. I'd love for Shawn to get a chance to see Mom and Dad. Not sure how we can work that out unless they flew to the Soo. One of us would have to rent a car because we won't all fit in my car. Then, they'd have to fly to Niagara. But, it would be nice for them to be able to go along. I don't know how all that will work, though.
Really looking forward to this trip. I'm looking forward to all the little side trips we plan to take. We want to get off the beaten path, see some of the country instead of speed past it at 75 mph.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Orlando trip
June 24th, 2008---I left work early today so I could come home and get some laundry done and things like that to prepare for our trip. Tomorrow we leave at zero dark thirty for Reagan Nat'l airport for our flight to Orlando.I always keep a trip journal--so--look for updates while we are in Florida. I love Florida. I love saying the word Florida. I just love it!!!
6-25-08--We had to leave for the airport at zero dark thirty this morning, but we are in Florida now--so, the early start was worth it. We arrived at Washington Nat---sorry--Reagan National airport around 6--we breezed through check-in and security. We found a place to get breakfast. After breakfast we went to our gate. I set down my carry-on for a bit, Bob was working on his computer, so I was able to leave my bag with him. I walked a bit, bought a book and walked some more. Then I got a yogurt and sat for a while. We heard an announcement that our gate was changed. No biggie--we just took our stuff and moved.
When I sat down, I looked around at our fellow passengers. Shorts and sandal clad, my guess was they were like us, on vacation, and I bet most were Disney bound. We took off on time and landed early--couldn't start a vacation any better than that. We hopped on the shuttle that sped us to baggage claim. As we sped along, I looked out the window, I noticed the palm trees--a telltale sign you're in Florida.
As we waited for the bags, I made 3 quick phone calls. I left Mom and Dad a message, spoke briefly to Sarah and Russ. We will be seeing Russ, Mei-Fen and boys tomorrow for dinner.
After picking up our bags, we had to take another shuttle to the car rental pick up site. Once we got our car, we headed out for lunch. We were starved and ready to eat. We have checked into our hotel and that is where we are right now. We are going out for a walk soon--I need to have my exercise.
Tomorrow, we check out of here after breakfast, head to Downtown Disney for some shopping and lunch. After that we check into our other hotel.I will add more to my travel journal as I have more to add.
6/26/08--Thursday morning I got up early and used the treadmill in the fitness room then got back to the room and did some ballet, pilates and yoga. I felt terrific afterwards. Then we got breakfast, packed our stuff, checked out and went to Downtown Disney for some shopping. We had lunch, spoke to Russ about our plans to meet them for dinner. We got to the Marriott Grand Vista to check in. We hung out for a bit, went to get our groceries for the weekend, then headed out to meet Russ, Mei-Fen and boys for dinner at the Pirate Dinner Adventure.
That was great--I highly recommend it. So entertaining--the performers were fantastic--the acrobatics were great--it was a lot of fun.
Afterwards we went to a Prime Outlets mall to walk around. Had a nice visit with everyone and we made our plans for Saturday. We are going to their house Saturday. After that, we're going to a park to see natural springs--maybe go on a boat ride.
When we got over here, we strolled around the property a little, found all the pools and got to enjoy the fireworks that came from Sea World.
6/27/08--Friday. I woke up early and went "pool hopping." The pools here at the resort are fantastic. They kept the trees--palm trees--when they built the place--gave it a real tropical feel with the plants and flowers. Latin music plays and is a great combo with the Spanish style decor of the buildings. I'ts like a huge apartment complex here. Tennis courts, golf course. The pools are fun--fountains to play in. They have a white sand beach. I walked across that. They have a rock climbing wall set up and a net for beach volleyball. Lounge chairs everywhere. A lake separating the sections of the resort. A long footbridge you can walk across to the other 2 pools. I loved it. I did swim for about a half hour--then just played in the other pools and walked.
Today we are heading out to Kennedy Space Center and Russ, Mei-Fen and boys are heading to Wet-n-Wild.
We are ready to go--more later!
6/27/08--Friday. What a great day. We left around 10:30 and got to the Kennedy Space Center around 11:30. As we approached the visitor's complex, we entered the National Wildlife Preserve. Just as soon as we saw a sign for that we spotted 2 (brown) pigs on the side of the road and saw a lot of birds that neither of us recognize.
We highly recommend the Kennedy Space Center. It is well worth the money. The first thing we did was get in line for the bus tour. Our first stop was the LC-39 Observation Gantry. We could see Launch Pad A and B from there.
Our 2nd stop was Apollo/Saturn 5 Center. We saw the actual control room used for the Apollo launches. We went inside and saw a short film on the Apollo program then we saw the Saturn 5 rocket.
The 3rd stop is the International Space Station Center. But we didn't do that tour, we went back to the visitor's center. Over there we got to walk into the Explorer space shuttle. They have a lot to do there. You need to plan to spend the whole day there if you want to do everything.
While riding on the buses, we saw the current launch control center, the official countdown clock, vehicle assembly building and much more.
We left about 3;30 and headed to Cocoa Beach. As you know, I love the ocean. Being so close, I wanted to see the ocean. We only stayed about and hour--or hour and a half. But, it was worth it to me--i had a chance to enjoy the water and the beach. The first thing I noticed was that unlike Ocean City, MD and Virginia Beach, they don't have one unending row of hotels along the beach and they don't have a boardwalk. They were smart and some of the land right along the beach is state parks. That way everyone, locals and tourists alike, can have a place right near the beach to park and enjoy the beach. In Ocean City and VA Beach, you only get close-to-the-beach parking if you are staying in a hotel there. A lot of families can't afford those expensive places and end up parking blocks away and have to haul all their stuff. This worked out nice for us to be able to park right there.
We came back to the hotel and have been just sitting here relaxing. Bob just left to pick up some KFC and after that we are going to walk around the resort again--maybe even catch the fireworks again.
Tomorrow we head to Russ and Mei-Fen's. Weather permitting we will get a ride on their boat.
Saturday, June 28th. Just a little past 7 this morning. Today I went out for a nice walk around the resort. It felt so tropical--with the birds chirping and the fountains flowing. Hardly a soul out at 5:30 a.m. I saw a few people on treadmills in the fitness center. Otherwise, I didn't see anyone. They keep the property lit up, so, no problem walking in the dark.
Today we head to Russ and Mei-Fen's. More later!
6/28/08---Ok, we went to Russ and Mei-Fen's and spent the day on their power boat. Omigosh! What a great day--make sure you stop to see them if you're in Florida. They took us almost to the Gulf of Mexico--it was right in front of us.
We stopped at Shell Island, right near the Crystal River.
On our way back we went to a restaurant called Crackers at Devon's request--we pulled right up in the boat. We sat outside--that was fun.
Nicholas did most of the driving. Devon did some, too. They both did a wonderful job.
When we got back to the resort, we bought our Epcot tickets for Sunday.
Long day--that's it for now.
6/29/08 -- Sunday. Bob and I went to our appointment for the presentation on the Marriott Vacation Club. As soon as we walked in the door, we were greeted by a very attractive young lady. Later on, we learned from Chris, our salesman, that she's a former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader. She only did it for one year--from 89-90. We lived there at that time. Our presentation was only supposed to be 90 minutes. Ours turned out to be 4 hours--because we bought a membership. I'm so excited about this. We own a vacation home! The best part is that unlike other vacation homes or time shares where you go to the same place every year--we can travel all over the world. The price was good. I'm so excited about it. We can either get a 2 bedroom/2 bath place once a year or take a one bedroom/1 bath place once and a studio another time. And if a studio is not available--or if the smallest room a hotel has is a one bedroom--then we can get that. To top it off they have an affiliate company in which we can book rooms with non-Marriott hotels around the world. We can book a 2 bedroom/2 bath place and take Sarah, Keith, Shawn and Megan with us and let them enjoy a vacation with us. If they were able to pay for their own airline tickets and souvenirs, we'd get the room, and buy groceries. S&K could get their own rental car and we could figure out a way for S & M to get around--because some rental car places don't allow anyone under 25 to rent a car. The main thing is they'd be able to have a cool vacation without too much $$ out of their pocket. I'm so excited about this. Something good will happen so we can pay for it. I know we can do this.
After we were all finished, we headed to Epcot for the evening. We went on one ride then headed to World Showcase and strolled from country to country. We got to the UK and it started to rain--you know, the usual afternoon thunderstorm that is a daily occurence in Florida in the summer. We ducked into a store--like everyone else--until it let up a little. Then we walked to the Future World for something to eat. After dinner we went back to the UK for more shopping until around 8. At 8 it was time to line up near the lagoon for the nightly fireworks display called Illuminations. I love it. They do a great job. It was the one thing I really wanted to do.
That wrapped up our trip to Florida. We went back to the hotel and packed.
Our trip ended on the same perfect note as it started--with a flight that took off on time and landed early.
We came home and all was well--the kids did a great job taking care of the cats and the house.
6-25-08--We had to leave for the airport at zero dark thirty this morning, but we are in Florida now--so, the early start was worth it. We arrived at Washington Nat---sorry--Reagan National airport around 6--we breezed through check-in and security. We found a place to get breakfast. After breakfast we went to our gate. I set down my carry-on for a bit, Bob was working on his computer, so I was able to leave my bag with him. I walked a bit, bought a book and walked some more. Then I got a yogurt and sat for a while. We heard an announcement that our gate was changed. No biggie--we just took our stuff and moved.
When I sat down, I looked around at our fellow passengers. Shorts and sandal clad, my guess was they were like us, on vacation, and I bet most were Disney bound. We took off on time and landed early--couldn't start a vacation any better than that. We hopped on the shuttle that sped us to baggage claim. As we sped along, I looked out the window, I noticed the palm trees--a telltale sign you're in Florida.
As we waited for the bags, I made 3 quick phone calls. I left Mom and Dad a message, spoke briefly to Sarah and Russ. We will be seeing Russ, Mei-Fen and boys tomorrow for dinner.
After picking up our bags, we had to take another shuttle to the car rental pick up site. Once we got our car, we headed out for lunch. We were starved and ready to eat. We have checked into our hotel and that is where we are right now. We are going out for a walk soon--I need to have my exercise.
Tomorrow, we check out of here after breakfast, head to Downtown Disney for some shopping and lunch. After that we check into our other hotel.I will add more to my travel journal as I have more to add.
6/26/08--Thursday morning I got up early and used the treadmill in the fitness room then got back to the room and did some ballet, pilates and yoga. I felt terrific afterwards. Then we got breakfast, packed our stuff, checked out and went to Downtown Disney for some shopping. We had lunch, spoke to Russ about our plans to meet them for dinner. We got to the Marriott Grand Vista to check in. We hung out for a bit, went to get our groceries for the weekend, then headed out to meet Russ, Mei-Fen and boys for dinner at the Pirate Dinner Adventure.
That was great--I highly recommend it. So entertaining--the performers were fantastic--the acrobatics were great--it was a lot of fun.
Afterwards we went to a Prime Outlets mall to walk around. Had a nice visit with everyone and we made our plans for Saturday. We are going to their house Saturday. After that, we're going to a park to see natural springs--maybe go on a boat ride.
When we got over here, we strolled around the property a little, found all the pools and got to enjoy the fireworks that came from Sea World.
6/27/08--Friday. I woke up early and went "pool hopping." The pools here at the resort are fantastic. They kept the trees--palm trees--when they built the place--gave it a real tropical feel with the plants and flowers. Latin music plays and is a great combo with the Spanish style decor of the buildings. I'ts like a huge apartment complex here. Tennis courts, golf course. The pools are fun--fountains to play in. They have a white sand beach. I walked across that. They have a rock climbing wall set up and a net for beach volleyball. Lounge chairs everywhere. A lake separating the sections of the resort. A long footbridge you can walk across to the other 2 pools. I loved it. I did swim for about a half hour--then just played in the other pools and walked.
Today we are heading out to Kennedy Space Center and Russ, Mei-Fen and boys are heading to Wet-n-Wild.
We are ready to go--more later!
6/27/08--Friday. What a great day. We left around 10:30 and got to the Kennedy Space Center around 11:30. As we approached the visitor's complex, we entered the National Wildlife Preserve. Just as soon as we saw a sign for that we spotted 2 (brown) pigs on the side of the road and saw a lot of birds that neither of us recognize.
We highly recommend the Kennedy Space Center. It is well worth the money. The first thing we did was get in line for the bus tour. Our first stop was the LC-39 Observation Gantry. We could see Launch Pad A and B from there.
Our 2nd stop was Apollo/Saturn 5 Center. We saw the actual control room used for the Apollo launches. We went inside and saw a short film on the Apollo program then we saw the Saturn 5 rocket.
The 3rd stop is the International Space Station Center. But we didn't do that tour, we went back to the visitor's center. Over there we got to walk into the Explorer space shuttle. They have a lot to do there. You need to plan to spend the whole day there if you want to do everything.
While riding on the buses, we saw the current launch control center, the official countdown clock, vehicle assembly building and much more.
We left about 3;30 and headed to Cocoa Beach. As you know, I love the ocean. Being so close, I wanted to see the ocean. We only stayed about and hour--or hour and a half. But, it was worth it to me--i had a chance to enjoy the water and the beach. The first thing I noticed was that unlike Ocean City, MD and Virginia Beach, they don't have one unending row of hotels along the beach and they don't have a boardwalk. They were smart and some of the land right along the beach is state parks. That way everyone, locals and tourists alike, can have a place right near the beach to park and enjoy the beach. In Ocean City and VA Beach, you only get close-to-the-beach parking if you are staying in a hotel there. A lot of families can't afford those expensive places and end up parking blocks away and have to haul all their stuff. This worked out nice for us to be able to park right there.
We came back to the hotel and have been just sitting here relaxing. Bob just left to pick up some KFC and after that we are going to walk around the resort again--maybe even catch the fireworks again.
Tomorrow we head to Russ and Mei-Fen's. Weather permitting we will get a ride on their boat.
Saturday, June 28th. Just a little past 7 this morning. Today I went out for a nice walk around the resort. It felt so tropical--with the birds chirping and the fountains flowing. Hardly a soul out at 5:30 a.m. I saw a few people on treadmills in the fitness center. Otherwise, I didn't see anyone. They keep the property lit up, so, no problem walking in the dark.
Today we head to Russ and Mei-Fen's. More later!
6/28/08---Ok, we went to Russ and Mei-Fen's and spent the day on their power boat. Omigosh! What a great day--make sure you stop to see them if you're in Florida. They took us almost to the Gulf of Mexico--it was right in front of us.
We stopped at Shell Island, right near the Crystal River.
On our way back we went to a restaurant called Crackers at Devon's request--we pulled right up in the boat. We sat outside--that was fun.
Nicholas did most of the driving. Devon did some, too. They both did a wonderful job.
When we got back to the resort, we bought our Epcot tickets for Sunday.
Long day--that's it for now.
6/29/08 -- Sunday. Bob and I went to our appointment for the presentation on the Marriott Vacation Club. As soon as we walked in the door, we were greeted by a very attractive young lady. Later on, we learned from Chris, our salesman, that she's a former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader. She only did it for one year--from 89-90. We lived there at that time. Our presentation was only supposed to be 90 minutes. Ours turned out to be 4 hours--because we bought a membership. I'm so excited about this. We own a vacation home! The best part is that unlike other vacation homes or time shares where you go to the same place every year--we can travel all over the world. The price was good. I'm so excited about it. We can either get a 2 bedroom/2 bath place once a year or take a one bedroom/1 bath place once and a studio another time. And if a studio is not available--or if the smallest room a hotel has is a one bedroom--then we can get that. To top it off they have an affiliate company in which we can book rooms with non-Marriott hotels around the world. We can book a 2 bedroom/2 bath place and take Sarah, Keith, Shawn and Megan with us and let them enjoy a vacation with us. If they were able to pay for their own airline tickets and souvenirs, we'd get the room, and buy groceries. S&K could get their own rental car and we could figure out a way for S & M to get around--because some rental car places don't allow anyone under 25 to rent a car. The main thing is they'd be able to have a cool vacation without too much $$ out of their pocket. I'm so excited about this. Something good will happen so we can pay for it. I know we can do this.
After we were all finished, we headed to Epcot for the evening. We went on one ride then headed to World Showcase and strolled from country to country. We got to the UK and it started to rain--you know, the usual afternoon thunderstorm that is a daily occurence in Florida in the summer. We ducked into a store--like everyone else--until it let up a little. Then we walked to the Future World for something to eat. After dinner we went back to the UK for more shopping until around 8. At 8 it was time to line up near the lagoon for the nightly fireworks display called Illuminations. I love it. They do a great job. It was the one thing I really wanted to do.
That wrapped up our trip to Florida. We went back to the hotel and packed.
Our trip ended on the same perfect note as it started--with a flight that took off on time and landed early.
We came home and all was well--the kids did a great job taking care of the cats and the house.
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