I'm Back!

Actually I got back Monday, but life has been so crazy since I got back. As usual, which is the only bad thing about going on vacation. My sisters and I had a great time in Florida. Retirement has really mellowed my dad, so it was pretty easy to get along with him. Maybe it helped that we didn't have any little kids there to bug him, lol. The only thing that detracted from the visit is that my dad has started smoking again, a lot, so his house and his car stink, and we all started getting sore throats by the end of the weekend. The air down there is so humid and heavy, even out on the patio by the pool (otherwise known in the "in" circles as a lanai) the smoke was oppressive. All my clothes stunk when I got home, even the suitcase itself stinks. Ick.

I started out Wednesday morning driving down to my older sister's house in Virginia, where we would fly out of DC together. I got there early, so we went out to eat for lunch. It was fun. Her grocery store is so fancy, their snack/buffet is more like a restaurant, with 2 foors of seating! They also have a parking garage, just for that one store. This isn't at a plaza or mall. I've never been to a grocery store with a parking garage. The idea of loading groceries inside while it is snowing outside is great! After lunch, Michelle packed up, and then my BIL drove us out to the airport and dropped us off, so we didn't have to leave a car there.

I love flying, I think it is so cool. Chris has never been on a plane, and has no desire to ever fly. I think if he did he'd change his mind. I didn't anticipate any trouble on this trip, but as it turned out, we hit a bit of turbulence midway through the flight. I was in a middle seat, and the lady next to me shut the shade on the window, so I couldn't look out and see the clouds. A lot of times it helps for me to look out the window if I start to feel sick. I had also been trying to do crosswords as we bumped along, which didn't help either. About a half hour before we landed I started to feel really sick. Ugh. Luckily I didn't get worse, but I was really glad to get off that plane!

Michelle rented a car for us so my dad didn't have to pick us up at the airport. She also arranged for our flight and Aimee's to arrive less than an hour apart, so we met there, picked up the car, and drove up to my dad's house. We got there at 11:30 and woke him up. He was very excited to see us.

Thursday we just hung around the house and relaxed. My sisters and I ran out to WalMart and had fun shopping for stuff and just being silly, then came home and relaxed some more. That night Dad took us out to his country club for dinner. Yum, and expensive, but hey, he paid!

Friday we went to Sea World in Orlando. We stopped at IHOP for breakfast, YUM! I really ate too much on this trip, LOL. Another hour later and we arrived. It was Stinkin' Hot! I'm glad we didn't have the kids there for that. We had a great time, got to watch the dolphin show and see Shamu, and went through about 14 bottles of water! Late in the afternoon, we all went on Journey to Atlantis, which is a combination flume and roller coaster. It's been probably 15 years since I've been on a coaster, so while as coasters go it was pretty tame, it was exciting enough for me, lol. Storms started rolling in, and the park would close the rides and then open them when the sky cleared, so we ended up not having to wait too long on line.

After the flume, Aimee talked me into going on the REAL coaster, the Kraken. O.M.G. It has to be the scariest coaster I've ever been on. It doesn't help that I'm so out of practice at riding them, but still. The cars are just 4 individual seats across, and I'm not sure how many to a car. There are no sides and no floor. That's right, after you get srapped in, the floor drops away and your feet dangle. Then it starts and you go straight up to the first drop. I don't know how high it actually is, but it felt like we should have hit the top twice before we actually got to the top. Aimee was smart enough to close her eyes and not look, but no, stupid me, I had mine open the whole time. Along with my mouth, from which piercing shrieks were emitting, LOL. After the first drop, the rest of the ride is loops and corkscrews. I only screamed for the first half of the ride, because by the second half I had run out of breath, LOL. When we got off we couldn't walk straight because we were dizzy. I would say, it is definitely NOT a coaster you should ride when you haven't been on one in a while!

On the way home from Sea World, we stopped for dinner, and yum again! I had such a craving for cheese and mushrooms that that is what I ordered each time we went out. Sooo good! lol Poor Aimee was still recovering from the roller coaster and didn't really get to order anything special.

Saturday was another lazy day, just hung around the house. Michelle went to get her hair cut, and I took a quick dip in the pool. The pool was a disappointment only because just before we came the heater had broken, and the repairmen had been out a few times to fix it. On Thursday while we were out, they had come and gone again. A while after they left, my dad went out to take a look at it and found it on fire! Yes, flames shooting right up from the top of it. Luckily he got the fire out quickly, because it is a propane heater, and he had just refilled the propane tank! So that not only put the heater out of commission for good, it also knocked out the filter, because the power ran through both. When the repairmen had come, they had accidentally blown the filter backwards and it dumped the whatever-it-is earth into the water, so it was filthy, and now the filter wasn't working. Ick. They came back and bypassed the heater, so the filter worked all day Friday while we were gone, and by Saturday the pool was clean enough to swim in. Surprisingly, it wasn't much hotter there than up here, and I just didn't feel like swimming. It seemed a waste of opportunity to pass up the pool, but I just didn't feel like it.

Sunday we had a nice breakfast of bagels or english muffins, and eggs (and sausage for those that chose them) and slowly got packed and ready to go. Having the rental car saved my dad from having to drive all the way back to Tampa, which was nice. As it turned out, Aimee's gate was right next to Michelle's and mine, so we got an extra half hour together before we had to say goodbye. The flight home was very smooth, and phew no air sickness! When we got in to DC, it took forever for the luggage to show up, so we didn't get back to Michelle's house until almost 10pm. I decided to stay overnight rather than try driving home and getting in after midnight. Monday morning I headed home to the kids.

I did remember to bring my camera, but I didn't end up taking any pictures. Aimee got some at Sea World, so when she gets them developed and sends us copies, and then I scan them and upload them, you might get to see them LOL. Yeah right LOL.