In December 2004 we went for a two week vacation to Florida and Alabama.

It's Friday. The day that we left for our vacation. I had the day off, but Beth had to go to work. A number of pieces of clothing that we want to take to our trip were still dirty, so first thing in the morning I started a load of laundry. After that I drove Beth to work. By driving her to work and picking her up, we avoided the problem (and expense) of having two cars at the airport (with a $8 per day per car parking fee).

After I got back from dropping Beth of at work, I did another load of laundry and started getting things ready to pack. Once the second load of laundry was dry, I started packing. By that time it was 11 AM. I had some troubles finding the stockings since they were still in the moving boxes (we celebrated Christmas in the Netherlands last year, and as a result did not have to unpack our Christmas stuff). I finished packing at 1:30 PM, which was half an hour late, since I had planned to be done at 1 PM.

The rule for easy packing is to make a packing list. And since you usually take similar things for different trips, it's a good think to save them so you can use them the next time. That way you can also add things that you forgot on the trip, so that you don't forget them next time. I don't know how many times I forgot a take sunblock with me on vacation, but from now on that should be a thing of the past).

I drove to a co-worker's house and dropped Moira off. They are a very nice family that always volunteer to take care of Moira while we're gone. Our neighbors take car of our cats for us.

After that I drove to Beth's work to pick her up. I ended up in the almost always existing traffic bottlenecks and increased being late with another 15 minutes. While driving to Beth's work I noticed that the traffic in the opposite direction was stuck as well, so after picking Beth up I tried taking a different route to reach the airport. But that didn't help anything. It still was stop-and-go almost all the way to the airport. So I added another 30 minutes to being late. So now we were about an hour and fifteen minutes late.

We parked the car in the airport parking lot, took the shuttle bus (which arrived almost immediately, taking 15 minutes from our being late) and arrived at the airport. Checking in was a breeze. No gigantic line this time, just one person in front of us, reducing being late more. Security did not have a huge line either. Just a few people, reducing being late even more to the point that we were on-time again. But then we arrived at the security checkpoint. Camera had to go out of the bag, gameboy too, minidisc player as well, and of course the camcorder not only had to go out of the backpack, but also out of its own bag. We further had to take of our jackets, our shoes, empty our pockets. We didn't have to strip though, although Beth had to take off her sweater. The security person thought she was hiding something under the shirt (she was kind of apologetic once she saw that Beth was hiding an unborn baby there). Once we were done we had to put everything back where it belonged (with all digital equipment on top of the sandwiches this time and squishing everything).

We walked up to the gate we checked one of the monitors which indicated that the plane was half an hour late (would be nice of the check-in person had mentioned that...). So now it didn't matter had we been late. We arrived at the gate where it still showed the plane as on time. I guess it took them a while to realize that the plane was late, since about 15 minutes later they announced that it was late and updated the screen at the gate. Of course typical airplane logic was applied, which assumed that they could get everyone off the plane, clean the plane, get the baggage out of the plane, every person on the plane and all the baggage on the plane in 10 minutes. So in reality we left about 1 hour late. When 4/5 of the people had stowed the baggage, the stewardess was nice enough to announce that since the plane was fully booked, everyone should place only large items in the overhead bins and smaller items under the seat. I don't think many people moved their items at that point. Maybe some better timing next time will help.

Once we took off, the flight progressed normally. We had some head winds and turbulence (guess because of the cold front that was coming through). Once we arrived in Orlando, we took the monorail to the main terminal, waited for our luggage and went looking for the rental car company. It took us a little to find the small sign that said that for Hertz you had to take a shuttle van to a remote location. So we went outside and had no idea where to wait for the van. Eventually someone told us that we had to wait at a parking spot with a specific number. The spot was marked 'rental car', just like most other parking spots. How we should have figured that out by ourselves, is beyond me.

After about 10 minutes waiting the van arrived and shuttled us to the closest Hertz location. We got the keys to a Toyota Celica. After getting used to it, I like driving it, Beth doesn't. She does like riding in it though. We also found that the car is not the best car for a pregnant lady. Since it's quite low, it's hard getting out of it. Also, like a typical sports car, it is not designed to hold a lot of luggage. So one suitcase went in the trunk, and the other one went in the back seat.

So we left for our hotel in Tampa. The reason that we flew to Orlando instead of Tampa, is because when we fly to Atlanta, we are leaving from a hotel in Lake Mary (northeast of Orlando), in which case Orlando is the nearest (large) airport.

After driving for about 2 hours to Tampa, we arrived at the hotel close to midnight. Lucky for us they were still checking people in at that time. We got a hotel room on the first floor with a view of the swimming pool in the front and the parking lot at the back. We quickly unpacked, set the alarm clock and went to sleep.

We actually woke up before the alarm (scheduled for 7 AM) because Beth had leg cramps. So instead of going back to bed, we went ahead and got up (6:30 AM). After shaving, showering and getting dressed we decided to try the hotel cafe for breakfast. They provide a buffet in the morning, which based on the piece of paper we got when we checked in looked pretty good. I got some scrambled eggs, hash browns, toast, a banana and a glass of cranberry juice. At least, the sign said cranberry juice. I must agree that the color looked right, but it tasted like water with red food coloring. I did not taste any cranberries in that juice. The only thing hot was the toast, and I think the only reason that that was hot is because I toasted it myself. The eggs and hashbrowns were completely cold. Banana was quite brown. So this was the last time we went there for breakfast.

Yes. I know. We're the worst kind of diners. We don't complain when something is wrong. We just pay, leave and never come back.

After breakfast we left for Sam's house (Beth's sister). It was about 9 AM, so we didn't think we needed to call. Sam actually called when we were about halfway there, asking if we arrived safely at the hotel. When I told here we were actually on our way, she indicated that she hadn't expected us to come that soon, and had decided to take a bath. So she has to scramble to get that done before we arrived.

When we arrived we talked for a while with Sam, David (Sam's husband), Chris (Sam's sun) and Amber (Sam's daughter) while we waited for some other family members to arrive. Once everybody arrived (Sharon (Beth's mother), Charlie (Sharon's husband), Tom (Beth's uncle), Sue (Tom's wife) and Kristy (Tom's granddaughter)) we talked for a while, packed lunch and left for Sam's graduation ceremony. We arrived at 12 PM at the Sun Dome of the University South Florida (USF) where the graduation ceremony was going to be performed. Over there we also met Wilson (Beth's godfather), Edna (David's mother), Barbara (David's sister) and Bud (Barbara's husband).

While were were waiting for the ceremony to start (2 PM), Beth started getting dizzy and Beth and I went outside in case it was the heat inside that was causing it. Eventually we realized that it was most likely because of low blood sugar and went to a stand that sold smoothies to ask if we could buy a banana. They were out of bananas at that time, but the lady behind the counter was very nice and gave Beth a bottle of orange juice. She said that her doctor had told he a long time ago that orange juice was the best to drink when you have a drop in blood sugar and always carries one around. It worked pretty well for Beth. Once she was feeling better we walked to another concession stand and bought two bottles of orange juice. One for the nice lady and one 'just in case' for Beth. After that we went back in and waited for Sam to do her walk. Everything in that ceremony seemed pretty rushed to me. It almost looked like a conveyor belt. The would announce a person, and right after that announce the next person. They didn't say anything special if the person had graduated with cum laude and stuff like that. It was very impersonal. Must be because of the number of people they had to go through. Sounds to me like they should have more, smaller ceremonies. Right after Sam walked, Beth and I went back outside, because Beth started feeling dizzy again. This time most likely because of the heat. Lots of people in a building generate a lot of heat. Beth tried to take a nap in the car while I waited for everybody else to arrive back at the car.

After the ceremony we all (except for Wilson) went to Macaroni Grill for dinner. After dinner we said goodbye to Edna, Barbara and Bud). From there we went to Sam's house to get some warmer clothing and went to a church in Brandon that had setup their property to look like Bethlehem in the time that Jesus was born. They had people acting as townsmen, shepherds, romans, the three kings, etc.. We had to wait for about 2 hours before we could enter their 'old Bethlehem'. We were led around by a guide who introduced us to all kinds of people in the town, explaining things about the way things happened at that time. I liked it a lot, although next time I prefer to go there when there is a little less of a wait. Sitting and waiting 2 hours while listening to religious music is a little much for an atheist like me.

After our visit to 'old Bethlehem', we said goodbye to Sharon, Charlie, Tom, Sue and Kristy and we went back to Sam's house, and went back to the hotel.

Even though it was a morning without alarm, I still woke up early. I stayed in bed for a while since I didn't want to wake Beth up. Once she woke up, I got up, shaved and went for a morning run. When I got back, Beth told me that Sam had called and needed an emergency babysitter. We went to Sam's house to watch the kids. When Sam got back at about noon, we went to Subway for lunch and went to the Barnes and Nobles (bookstore) and Target (similar to Wal-Mart) for Christmas shopping. When we got back to Sam's house we watched the kids for a little longer, and cooked and ate dinner. After dinner we went to see National Treasure in the movie theater. We all liked that movie very much, and I think that it's DVD is now located on everybody's Christmas wish list for next year. After the movie we went back to the hotel.

Another morning without an alarm. What a luxury. This morning I went for a morning swim in the heated pool. At least, I think it was heated since it was steaming. It didn't feel that heated to me though. But a lot of quick swimming warmed me up to the point where it didn't feel that cold anymore.

After showering we went to the Village Inn (next door to the hotel) for breakfast. Beth got a too-greasy sausage and egg combination in a crepe with hashbrowns for breakfast. I got a decent tasting veggy omelet. The veggy omelet was a pretty good deal, since it came with three wheat pancakes (which I shared with Beth) and a bowl of fruit.

After breakfast we went to the Museum Of Science and Industry (MOSI), which is located about 1 mile from the hotel. First we explored the second floor. Then we went to the IMAX theater to watch 'Santa and the Snowman'. After that we went for lunch to Denny's, since the in-museum restaurant was kind of pricey. After lunch we explored the third floor and went back to the hotel, where I'm typing the story of Friday � Monday right now while Beth naps from the long day.

After relaxing a little bit we went out for dinner. We decided to go to Applebees. I couldn't find my regular dish (blackened chicken salad) on the menu so I asked about it. The waiter told me that they removed it from the menu because they didn't have enough room for it anymore. She said that they could still make it, but that they didn't have the dressing anymore. I asked ordered that salad with the chicken and a different dressing to the side and gave the chicken to Beth. Beth ordered an oriental wrap. In the desert menu we saw a cheesecake scoop with strawberry syrup and fresh berries that looked really good to us. We asked for that, but had them substitute the cheesecake for vanilla icecream since we both do not like cheesecake. When the waiter delivered the desert it looked great and the waiter told us that she was going to try one of those when she got off to work because it looked so good. It tasted as good, or even better, than it looked.

After dinner we went to Sam's house to discuss the meals that we were going to have when we went to Sanibel Island. After that we went back to the hotel.

Once again, no alarm this morning. Don't get me wrong. It's not like we're sleeping in extremely late each morning. On Tuesday I got up at 7:30 in the morning, just like most other mornings. I went for a morning run (not quite the 6 mile run from Sunday, but only a 2 miles run instead). Beth usually gets up while I'm out running or swimming. After showering we had breakfast at Einstein Bagels. I must really recommend their Power Bagel. It doesn't look like a bagel (it's rectangular and doesn't have a hole in the middle), but it tastes great. It's got a number of different kinds of berries and nuts. It's amazing. The simpler and cheaper the breakfast, the more I like it.

After breakfast we went to the Pioneer Florida Museum and Village in Dade City. It is a museum that has a number of old historic buildings from the area in which you can see things that were used by the pioneers. The building I liked the most was an old one-room school building. They had it furnished as it would have been in early 20th century. They also have a train depot, church, shoe shop, country store and other buildings. We were lucky, since when we were there, a school was having a field trip there as well, and we could listen to what the museum employees were explaining to the children. Once we were done visiting all the buildings we left for Brooksville, while stopping for lunch on the way.

In Brooksville we visited Roger's Christmas House and Village, which is a store (located in five different buildings) with Christmas decorations, knicknacks and other decorative items. After we finished browsing the store we went back to the hotel. I picked up the laundry and went to the laundromat, where I'm typing the adventures of late Monday and Tuesday.

Alas. Today we had the alarm set, but to keep with the tradition this holiday, we woke up before the alarm went off. We stayed in bed long enough to hear the wonderful country song that was supposed to wake us up. After shaving and showering we checked out of the hotel (as in: Beth checked out while I was toting bags from the room to the car).

Based on our great experience the day before, we went to Einstein Bagels for breakfast. I got a power bagel and a banana, and Beth got a power bagel and a whole wheat bagel with a smear of cream cheese. At least, she ordered a smear. She got a blob of cream cheese. But since they provide plastic knifes for free, Beth was able to smear the blob out.

After breakfast we went to Sam's house and arrived just before 8 AM. While Sam and I went to do grocery shopping for the trip, Beth and David finished packing up and loading the van. After everything was loaded and Amber and Chris finished breakfast we left for Sanibel Island.

I didn't pay a lot of detail to the directions that Beth had printed out. When we got onto I-75 southbound just outside of Tampa, I asked Beth which exit we had to take. Beth told me exit 131. The next mile marker said we were on mile 236. I hadn't expected that long of a drive! At this point I was still following Sam's car (David was driving). But I guess that once we got past the Tampa traffic, David found a turbo button in their van, since they took off while I kept driving 80 miles per hour (I won't go above 10 miles over the speed limit, which was 70 miles per hour). Since we had directions anyway, I didn't care. About halfway on I-75 we stopped for a bathroom break and to get some drinks. After we got off I-75, Sam called us, and it appeared that they were now behind us. When we got close to Sanibel Island we stopped for another bathroom break. Once we arrived at the hotel, it appeared that Sam and David had caught up and were just a few cars behind us.

It took us a while to check into the hotel. We first had to figure out how the phone at the front desk worked since we had to page the front desk employee. Then we had to get the credit card, which Sam had used to prepay the hotel room, refunded, since the hotel charges 3% if you pay with a credit card. We then paid with checks. Once we entered the cottage, Sam discovered that the cottage was repainted and redecorated and she liked the new look a lot better than the old one. She also noticed that a lot of the trees and undergrowth had disappeared after hurricane Charlie. We unloaded the cars and decided to stay in and around the cottage for the remainder of the day.

Sam discovered that she forgot to bring condiments (ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise), so Sam and I went to the local grocery store to purchase those as well as some fruit.

For lunch, David cooked up some hotdogs (I ate a cheese sandwich) and he also cooked chicken that was for dinner either that day or the day after. While David was cooking the hotdogs, Sam, Beth and I went to 7-eleven to purchase some playing cards.

After lunch we played cards and discovered that playing cards near a pool while the wind is blowing isn't the greatest idea. We ended up having to fish some cards out of the pool after a wind gust. After that we gave up on the idea of playing games (the cards had to dry anyway), so we went back inside and played a game of monopoly.

We decided to have lasagna (frozen) for dinner and tried to turn on the oven, which didn't want to turn on. After multiple attempts to get it to work by us and the hotel employee, we found out that the electric socket it was plugged into didn't work. After the hotel employee found an extension cord it was too late to heat up the lasagna (pre-heat and then 60 minutes in the oven), so we ended up eating the chicken (I ate sides).

I woke up pretty early in the morning, but waited with getting up until I noticed that most people were awake; one of the drawbacks of sharing a room with everyone. I got up and went running. I ran down a road that is about 1� miles long and ends up at a beach. After catching my breath while walking down the beach, I ran back to the cottage, took a shower and had an egg and cheese sandwich for breakfast.

After breakfast we went to Bowman's Beach (on the western side of the island) to look for shells. This beach has a lot of shells and we found out later that this was the first week it was open after the hurricane, which made finding nice shells even better. We picked up a lot of pretty small and medium size shells. Sam also found a large shell (she had to get her shoes and socks off to get that one since it was still in the water). But it had living conch in it. It even squirted some water at Beth. So Sam put it back in the sea. I got out my camcorder and started practicing making movies with it (I haven't used it much since I bought it, and I bought it before the baby was born so that I could practice using it). After a while Beth, David and I took a break from picking shells and watched Amber and Chris playing in the sand. After about two hours at the beach we went back to the cottage for lunch.

We had sandwiches for lunch and Sam washed the shells. After that we visited souvenir shops, junk shops and art shops. Beth and I bought a picture to hang up next to our other vacation pictures in our dining room. We also went by the grocery store and picked up some odds and ends.

When we got back to the hotel, Amber, David and I went to the parking lot of the shoe store nearby so Amber could learn how to ride her bike without training wheels (a nice construction guy took the training wheels off the bikes). After teaching her the basics (balancing, kicking off, bracing for a fall, etc), she started practicing by herself. After a while, Sam and David got Chris outside as well with his bike. I tried to teach him as well, but he didn't want to learn, so the only thing we worked on was the balancing. After practicing, Amber was able to ride the bike for a few feet without tipping over.

We were told that the electric socket was fixed (a breaker was flipped). But the oven still didn't work. They fixed the socket again, and after that it actually worked. We had lasagna for dinner (meat lasagna and veggie lasagna). After dinner we played Yatzee and cards.

Once again I woke up early and waited for everybody else to wake up. After that I shaved , took my shower and had cereal for breakfast.

After breakfast Amber and I went outside and she practiced more on her bike. By time we went back inside she was able to bike from one end of the parking lot to the other end. She still had problems with making turns.

When everybody was ready we went to go canoeing on the Tarpon Bay and the Commodore Creek water trail (which has mangrove tunnels). Beth and I went in a kayak. Sam, David and the kids went in a canoe after Sam and Amber had problems steering a kayak with the wind and water chops. We saw a lot of birds (among them pelicans, herons and roseate spoonbills).

After we were done canoeing, Sam, David and the kids went to a shop and lunch on Captiva Island, while Beth and I went back to the cottage for lunch. We had sandwiches for lunch with pineapple, corn chips and salsa for a snack.

After lunch, Beth and I went to the lighthouse (on the eastern side of the island). I made a few pictures of the lighthouse and we walked down the beach. While on the beach I practiced with the camcorder and made pictures of a number of birds (the 20x zoom is very helpful with that). After that we went to the Sanibel Historic Village and Museum, which has a number of old buildings that are furnished. They have a general store, a mail order house (a house that was ordered from a catalog and all the pieces were shipped), a tearoom, a post office, a cracker-style house and a fisherman's cottage. Next year they will also have a schoolhouse. At the old general store we talked for a while with a lady that lives on the island. Once we visited all the houses, we drove to Captiva Island to look at the hurricane damage (that island was hit the hardest by the hurricane).

After we came back to the cottage, I went to look how Amber was doing with her bike practice. She was now also able to make turns. While we were taking a break, Amber told me that she could run faster than her mother could drive in her car. I took Amber out to the road so she could show me that she could run faster than the cars out there (which drive about 30-40 miles per hour). There she learned that cars drive pretty fast.

For dinner we had hamburgers (boca burger for me) with French fries, broccoli and leftovers, after which I'm typing what happened during the last few days.

After I was done typing we packed everything up, played a few card games and went to bed.

As usual I woke up early. Since Sam had read my narrative the night before and had told me that I didn't have to wait for everybody to wake up before getting up, I got up, shaved and took a shower.

For breakfast I had a slice of bread with an egg and cheese with a piece of fruit. Beth had a slice of bread with cheese, one with jelly, a piece of fruit and a protein drink. After we finished packing we drove to the Orlando area. In the beginning I followed David, but about halfway to Tampa he found the turbo button again and took off. The same thing happened as last time: we ended up ahead of them (I drive slower, but since we don't have kids, our break(s) are smaller which results into us getting faster to our destination). Sam, David and the kids stopped at their house to a number of things and change cars, but we went ahead and continued our drive to the Orlando area.

When we arrived in Lake Mary, we checked into the hotel. Once we got the room key we took all our luggage to the room. When we entered the room we were attacked by the smell of smoke. The room had a non smoking sign on the door, yet it had an ashtray and smelled like smoke. We dragged our luggage back to the front desk and asked for a different room. This room didn't smell like smoke; only smelled like fresh caulk since they justed caulked the windows. The hotel is undergoing a massive restoration, which was definitely needed based on the condition of the hotel. But based on what is done so far, it should look pretty good once it's done.

Once we had the baggage in the room and I had transferred my last narrative to the website, we left and drove to Sharon's house. I decided to take back roads instead of the interstate, and we found that the area has changed somewhat. This resulted into us taking some unexpected detours since we took a few wrong turns. But we arrived safely at our destination.

When we arrived at Sharon's house, Tom, Sue, Kristy, Sam, David, Chris and Amber were already there. We talked and snacked while we waited for Joan to arrive (she was matron of honor at our wedding). Once Joan arrived we opened the presents that were stacked up under the tree.

We got a lot of baby stuff, a very nice Pooh chest set from England, an Italian glass figurine and two book ends (one is the letter A and the other is the letter Z). I got a few books that I really wanted, a spoon from Verona in Italy and a beanie baby. Beth got a USB hub which allows her to use her USB drives without having to crawl under her desk to put the drives into the desktop computer. She also got English tea with a tea ball in the shape of a tea pot, the 'What to expect in the first year' book, a beanie baby and recipe book.

After everybody had opened their presents we had dinner, which was 'make-yourself-subs' with potato salad, pasta salad and vegetables. After dinner we talked for a while and when Joan left, Beth and I also left for the hotel.

After waking up I went running. I ran longer than usual (85 minutes) to work off all those extra pounds of food I ate the day before. After I had my shower we decided to eat a late breakfast at Sharon's house instead of going out for breakfast like we had planned the day before. I had cereal and Beth had a sub (I guess that made my meal a late breakfast, while Beth's was more an early lunch).

After breakfast (or lunch; whatever your wish to call it) I started a load of laundry while Beth helped Sharon with her Neverwinter Nights game. Beth and I also went for a walk around the neighborhood and found that the area had sprouted a new lake. Apparently, the area had a small pool that filled up with a lot of water during the hurricanes. Now it is a lake that threatens one house (the owners had a small dike built and are pumping water over the dike constantly) and has flooded another house. It also covers the road a few houses from Sharon's house. After we got back from the walk, we were quite hot and sat outside next to the pool for a while reading our books.

In the afternoon, Sharon, Charlie, Sam, David, Chris, Amber, Beth and I went to the house of Howard and Lee (two of Sharon's best friends) and talked for a while. After that we went back to Sharon's house, played a few video games and had dinner (burgers and hotdogs). After dinner Beth and I went back to the hotel (we stopped by the grocery store on the way to purchase a few items for breakfast).

After a lazy morning, we had cereal for breakfast in the hotel. After that we decided what items we did not need for the remainder of this trip, bagged and boxed them up and went to the UPS store. They packed everything and shipped it home.

Once everything was shipped, we left to go to Airboat Rides At Boggy Creek. The map on the flyer convinced Beth that it was close to I-4. It ended up being quite a bit from I-4, which caused us to arrive half an hour later than expected. But that didn't matter very much since you didn't have to make reservations. We went for a half-an-hour ride on East Lake Tohopekaliga. During the ride we spotted two alligators (one was 5 feet and the other was 6 feet) that were baking in the sun and three large turtles. With a temperature of about 50 degrees, the ride was quite chilly when the boat was going fast but we enjoyed the ride a lot anyway.

After the ride we we drove to Kissimmee, had lunch at Subway and drove to Congo River Golf. At least, we thought the place was Congo River Golf. The sign said River Adventure Golf and it had a gorilla in front of it. When we showed the Congo River Golf coupon, the lady behind the counter told us that they were River Adventure Golf, not Congo River Golf, but she took the coupon anyway. We had a great time playing golf, even though we are not the world's best golf players. I won, but neither of us didn't even come close the the 50 strokes you would have gotten if you played on par for each hole.

After our golf tournament we went to the Main Gate Flea Market, browsed the stalls for a while, bought a few gifts (one for ourself and a few for others). When it was about 4:30 PM we left for Arabian Nights where we had dinner with Sharon and Charlie. At Arabian Nights they provide a show with horses while you eat dinner. Since we were there in the Christmas season, they performed a Christmas show. We enjoyed it very much.

After dinner we drove back to the hotel and Beth packed the suitcases while I wrote up what happened the last few days.

Since we had this day planned full with a trip to Seaworld and since we wanted to beat the Orlando rush hour, we had the alarm set to 5 AM in the morning. We got up, shaved, showered and had a small breakfast (ever tried to take a multi-vitamin without food?). Sharon and Charlie picked us up at 6:30 and we drove to the other side of Orlando.

We had breakfast (or second breakfast as the hobbits say) at a place called First Watch, which is a store that specializes in breakfast and lunch. After breakfast we drove to Seaworld and arrived early. Apparently they do not open their parking lot until about half an hour before they open. We waited until they allowed us in, parked, bought tickets (saved a whole dollar with our AAA card) and entered Seaworld. Since we were still early they had most sections blocked off. Nine o'clock (opening time) went by and those sections remained blocked off. To spend some time while waiting for everything to be opened, Sharon and Charlie had a caricature made of them to finish their collection of caracitures (they already have one of Sam, David, Chris, Amber, Beth and me).

Once the caricatures was done, all the sections of Seaworld were opened. We first went to the Clyde and Seamore show, which has two sea lions (Clyde and Seamore), an otter and a walrus in it. From there we sent straight to the Pets Ahoy show in which all kinds of pets did tricks. After that we sent to the Shamu show with killer whales.

For lunch we ate at the Seafire Inn. I had a baked potato with stir-fried vegetables on it (I thought it would have been better with rice instead of a baked potato, but I guess that the person that put together the menu thought otherwise). Beth had a burger with fries.

After lunch we walked to the Turtle Point where we saw a few large turtles (one wasn't looking very well and according to the attendant he/she was sick). From there we went to the Stingray Lagoon where I got to touch a stingray, which feel like velvet. After that we went to the Dolphin Cove where we tried to pet a dolphin, but they weren't coming close. We also watched the dolphins from under the water. We did not go to the Key West Dolphin Fest since it was closed for renovations. We did go and watched some Manatees. We also did not go to the Journey to Atlantis and Kraken rides since Beth was pregnant. We did go to the Penguin Encounter and Shark Encounter. After that we went to see the Clydesdale horses, which are quite large. After that we went to the Wild Arctic and watches walruses and polar bears.

After that it was time to go home. I picked up the caricature that the caricature place held for us and we left Sea World.

For dinner we met Joan, Tom, Sue and Kristy at TGI Friday's in Lake Mary. I wanted a veggy burger on whole wheat bread with a side salad. Instead I got a veggy burger on a white bun with fries. After some confusion and a free set of breadsticks, I got what I wanted.

After dinner we went back to the hotel and packed everything.

Once again a day with an alarm. When it went off we got up, shaved, showered and ate breakfast. After that we finished packing and drove the car to the car rental office. We actually took the correct road this time (the toll road) and as a result avoided another trip through Orlando (which we did on Monday on the way to the airboat rides).

I enjoyed the Celica a lot and its gas mileage was pretty decent (about 30 miles a gallon for our trips). It definitely made it to my 'next car list', which is a list of cars that I want to check out if something happens to my current car.

From the car rental office there we took the shuttle to the airport. For once the plane was one time, and we arrived in Atlanta on time. Over here the car rental (Alamo this time) had an office in the airport so we could arrange everything there. They wanted a $8 a day to add me as a secondary driver. That was a little ridiculous. So we switched primary driver to me (since I usually do the driving) and did not add Beth as a driver. We got a mid-size car. When we got to the car lot and were dropped off at the mid-size car area we were allowed to chose from about 7 different cars. I walked around all the cars to see what kind of cars they were. The first was a Chevy Malibu. The second was a Chevy Malibu. The third was a Chevy Malibu. Are you seeing where this is going? They were all Chevy Malibus. Not much choice! So guess what? We decided to go drive a Chevy Malibu. We put all the luggage in the car and left the airport following signs for I-20, not knowing that following those signs was going to take us through the middle of Atlanta. Lucky for us it was in the middle of the day, so the interstates were not yet converted into the usual rush hour parking lot.

When we arrived in Jacksonville Alabama, we drove to the hotel (University Inn) and unpacked (at least, unpacked as far as we usually unpack, which means that we put the bathroom stuff on the bathroom sink and leave the rest in the suitcases).

On the way to Debbie's house, we made a quick side trip to Wal-Mart to buy some additional gifts for Chris and Amber since their original gift was canceled by the online store we ordered it from. Once we arrived at Debbie's house we found that Sam, Chris and Amber had already arrived, as had Eric (Beth's step-brother). We talked for a while and wrapped the gifts (ours weren't wrapped since you are not allowed to wrap gifts when you are flying and we had almost everything else shipped to Debbie's house).

For dinner we had a good tasting minestrone soup. After dinner we talked again and after that left for the hotel. On the way to the hotel we made a side trip to Winn Dixie to buy breakfast stuff (the Hotel's free continental breakfast was muffins and coffee).

This morning I was planning on running for about half an hour. Beth had told me that she thought that she could walk to Debbie's house in about half an hour. So I thought I would be able to run that and back in about half an hour. Later I learned that I hadn't heard the complete conversation. She had said that she was able to walk from the Chief Ladiga trail to Debbie's house in half an hour. So after running on the Chief Ladiga trail for a quite a while (I didn't have a watch with me) I still hadn't reached the road that I would have to take to Debbie's house. So I went ahead and took the next road into Jacksonville and ran back to the hotel. The run ended up being about an hour, and I also learned something while running, since I stopped to read the signs next to the trail. So I learned the history of the town.

After showering we drove to Debbie's house and I did some laundry. For lunch we had sandwiches. After lunch Beth and I went grocery shopping with Debbie, Chris and Amber. When we got back we cleaned up the kitchen and read our books.

We helped make dinner (spaghetti). After dinner Beth played with a used game cube that John (her father) had bought for her. After that we did some more talking and went back to the hotel.

Christmas Eve. That is, if you can call a morning an 'eve'. We got up and went to Wal-Mart to buy a few odds and ends. After that we went to Debbie's house and helped Sam wrap gifts. In the middle of wrapping gifts I had a make a quick trip to Wal-Mart since we ran out of tape and wrapping gifts without tape isn't easy (at least, if you want the paper to keep wrapped around the gift. I guess we could have done that with some twine, but tape is so much easier...). When I was at Wal-Mart I also printed a digital picture of a gift for Sam that we left (on purpose) at Sharon's house. Call it lazy, but we didn't want to carry a big box of canisters around with us from De Bary Florida to Jacksonville Alabama just for Sam to drive it back to Florida.

After we finished wrapping gifts we had lunch (sandwiches again - easy and quick to make) and we helped cleanup the house in preparation of the Christmas party.

After cleaning up, Beth took a nap and I went for a walk around the neighborhood. I talked to a few people and everybody was complaining about the cold (which I considered nice walking weather..., but I guess that's because I'm used to the weather further north).

After 4:30 or so, the family started arriving. Some people I met once before while I was in Alabama, but I knew nobody very well. Sam left to pick David up at the airport. Eric left as well (telling Debbie he was going home, but in reality going to the airport with Sam to pick up Hiromi - his wife).

Dinner was a walking/sitting buffet consisting of things that Debbie cooked and that people brought. After dinner we opened gifts (at least, the gifts from the people that weren't going to be in Debbie's house on Saturday, which is when we were going to open the other presents). The opening of presents seemed to me like a competition between the kids on who could open all their gifts the fasted. Maybe I'm a control freak, but I really prefer presents opened by one person at a time, so that you can really see their reaction on opening the gifts. Instead every kid opened gifts at the same time and when they had one opened, they went straight for opening the next one without really looking at what they just opened). But I guess that's how the family wanted it, and since none of those gifts were from me and Beth, I wasn't really about to complain about it. The mad dash of present opening was over in a surprisingly short time. After we talked for a while with the family members, Hiromi arrived (to the surprise of Debbie) with Eric, David and Sam.

Shortly after that Beth and I went back to the hotel.

Christmas Day. We got up and packed most things back into the suitcase in preparation for leaving on Sunday. After that we drove to Debbie's house and everybody opened presents. This time they were opened one at a time, which I enjoyed a lot better that the race of the night before. I got a very nice collection spoon case and baby sitter emergency information notepad. Beth got a beautiful Pooh bird bath, a baby toy, a ring, a candle and a set of slipper socks.

After opening the presents we played Uno until everybody except me had over 500 points. While playing Uno everyone had snacked enough so that we didn't need lunch.

After the game I went for a walk, but I didn't get very far when Beth called and told me to turn around since Craig (her step-brother), Cammie (has wife) and Brooke (his daughter) had arrived. When I got back to the house, we opened presents again (to and from Craig, Cammie and Brooke). I got the Legacy of the Drow collection (four books from RA Salvatore).

For dinner we a similar buffet to the day before. After dinner most people in the family played Cranium. But since I don't like that game very much, I declined and read a book. Beth declined and read a book as well. After the game was over we left for the hotel.

We got up after the alarm went off and finished packing. After eating breakfast at the hotel we left for the airport and dropped the car off at the car rental office. The Chevy Malibu is definitely not on the 'next car list'. I didn't like driving it even though it did what it needed to - get us from place A to place B without problems. From the car rental office we took the shuttle to the airport. AirTran Airlines had a booth right inside the airport so we got rid of our luggage very quickly.

Boarding went smooth and after everybody was boarded we were notified that they had a problem with the heater of the plane and that they were checking if it could be fixed quickly or not. After a while they told us that it could not be fixed quickly and that they had found another plane for us to use. So everybody had to leave the airplane again, then everybody had to walk (and take the train) to the next terminal. There we boarded the other place and left for Baltimore.

Since we arrived later than expected in Baltimore, we stopped by Applebees for dinner. And after that we went home to discover that we suddenly had very fat cats (in the first week our neighbor fed them about four times as much as they usually get). They each gained 5 pounds (which is quite a bit for a 10 pound cat).

We unpacked our cloths and bathroom stuff and got ready to return back to the real world (as in... getting to bed early so that we can wake up at 4:45 AM the next morning when the alarm goes off).