Christmas In Virginia

Having snow on the ground made the week before Christmas challenging. People in Richmond don’t deal well with snow. Those who could get out had a hard time getting into and out of parking lots at the stores, due to the huge piles of snow. Susan’s parents were unable to get their car out of the driveway. This is why I will always own an all wheel drive car!

One day, we met our friend Gina and her mother at Red Robin for lunch. We also drove around looking for good sledding hills.

One evening, we drove to downtown Richmond to see the lights. This is a tradition that I feel the need to continue every year. This year was different and maybe event better, thanks to all the snow.

Today, we went to Christmas service. Andrew looked fantastic in his little tie and vest.

Drive To Virginia, Snow

According to the plan, the trip to Virginia was supposed to start at 3:00AM on December 19. We were supposed to pack the car and go to bed early Friday night so we could get an early start Saturday. Things didn’t go as planned.

While packing the car, Andrew climbed in and strapped himself in. This was at 9:00PM. We were still 6 hours from our planned time of departure. He said he was ready to go now. We told him we weren’t ready to go yet. He said he wanted to stay in the car. He also said he was getting tired, and soon afterwards was asleep.

We finished packing and thought about our plan. We decided that it didn’t make sense to wake up Andrew while getting him out of the car, so we scrapped the plan. Instead, we decided to leave early – really early.

The trip up went well, even though half of it was in the dark. Before we left, we heard that there was a winter storm heading for Virginia and perhaps North Carolina. During the drive, Susan’s Mom kept us informed as to the current conditions and even suggested that we might want to stop and come later. Apparently, the predictions were coming true and snow was falling heavily in Richmond. Our curiosity was piqued; it’s rare to see snow in Richmond and I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Andrew was very excited about the idea of playing in the snow.

In northern North Carolina, we started seeing our first traces of snow in patches in the grass along the interstate. Crossing into Virginia, the grass was covered with snow. By Petersburg, snow was covering the road and our drive was beginning to be affected. When we turned off the interstate to bypass downtown Richmond, only one lane of the the road had been touched by plows and the snow was about four inches deep on the other lane. As we neared the west end of Richmond, we nearly came to a stop due to a line of plows that crossed the entire highway. We decided to get off the highway and take the back roads the remaining distance.

Our first back road choice almost got us into trouble. The road had not been plowed and there were only deep tire tracks in the snow. We drove this for about a half mile before we came to a stop. There was a large tow truck blocking our progress. Eventually we started again and as we crested a hill, we saw a semi truck jackknifed ahead blocking the road - that explained the large tow truck. We turned around in the steadily deepening snow and returned to route 250. We tried a different route and, this time, had no issues to deal with. Thanks to all the snow, we missed setting a new personal best time-to-drive record to Virginia. ;)

When we got up this morning, the world was blanketed in white. Needless to say, Andrew was beside himself with excitement. We put on our warmest clothes – we did have warning, so we had our coats, boots, and gloves.

Job Offer From DRS Technologies

With just a few days remaining before our trip up north, I decided to make a follow up call to one of the companies that I’d interviewed with in November. After the initial interview, I called back once to talk to an engineer who was not available the day of the interview. Then I called back again to see how things were going and mentioned that I hadn’t talked to the Engineering Manager yet, so they arranged this and I talked with him for a while. I called again and was told that they were considering making me an offer.

When I called today, the Human Resources contact was not available, so I left a message. For some reason, I lost focus on what I wanted to say and left a rambling, stuttering, incomprehensible message. After interviewing successfully with four engineers, I felt I’d blown it with this message.

A little later, HR called me back. The first thing I heard was, “I’m sorry…”. My heart sank. My fear that I had blown it had been realized. But this was followed by, “… for not getting back to you earlier. We’d like to offer you the position.”

She emailed me an acceptance letter, which I immediately signed and returned. What a fantastic Christmas present for me and my family.

Christmas Card 2009

It’s that time of year again. Time to find a good backdrop for our family Christmas card photograph. So far, we haven’t had any luck finding a nice poinsettia tree. We were hoping to find something nice at the Grand Floridian resort, but we didn’t. Epcot Center actually had some nice decorations, but we were not dressed for the occasion.

This year, we took our family photo in front of the tree at Christ the King church. I set up the tripod near the entrance as the sun was dipping low enough to light the foyer. Meanwhile, families were streaming in for the dinner that was about to start. It was a little weird, but we did our best to ignore the looks and comments.

Getting the photos printed turned out to be a big adventure. I found a great deal at Walgreen’s, but it turned out to be a deal only if you used their cards with your photo. Well, I have my own custom design, so it wouldn’t work. We drove over to Wal-Mart instead. Wal-Mart was a little cheaper, but after pressing the Submit button, we learned that the photos are processed off-site and the due date was the afternoon that we were leaving for Virginia! Turns out they arrived a day early and all was well.

Blogging From Windows 98

For the better part of the past week, I've been trying to fix my poor printer output from my aging OKIPAGE 6e LED printer. For some unknown reason, the output has recently gone from fantastic and sharp to dull and gray; like the page was dropped in a mud puddle and hung out to dry. So, what does this have to do with Windows 98? Read on for details about the twisted path that led me to this point.

The following are Google searches and/or questions and where they led:

1. How to clean Okipage 6e. This search resulted in the Okipage 6e User's Guide. The guide referred to a "Cleaning Page" setting in the Status Monitor. What is the Status Monitor and where do I find it?
   
2. Okipage 6e Status Monitor. This search led me to the Okidata drivers page, where I discovered that Okidata stopped making drivers for my printer when Windows XP was released because the driver was included with the operating system. I did, however, find drivers for Windows 3.1, 95, 98, and NT. I downloaded the Windows 95/98 driver.
   
3. How to install Windows 95/98 drivers. Since I am now running the 64-bit version of Windows 7, the old 16-bit installer will not run. My backup computer is the 32-bit version of Windows 7 RC, so I tried installing the driver there. The driver hung at 95% complete. Looks like I need an old Windows installation.
   
4. How to install Windows 98 virtually. Windows 7 supports Microsoft Virtual PC, which allows you to install any operating system in a virtual environment on your computer. I installed Virtual PC 2007 SP1 and created a new image for Windows 98. Unfortunately, the virtual environment would not boot from the Windows 98 Upgrade cd.
5. How to boot from cd Virtual PC. This search resulted in a series of discussions about using ISO images (exact duplicates of a cd, but in a file).
6. How to create ISO image. Back on the main computer, I rebooted into my Windows XP image and started my cd burning software, Nero Express. After searching through its help file, I was unable to figure out how to create an ISO image.
7. How to create ISO image Nero Express. The search resulted in a discussion about doing a disk copy, but saving the copied image as an ISO image, then canceling the operation before burning a cd copy. This worked well. I then copied the ISO image to my second computer and set my virtual environment to use it to boot. It didn't work.
8. How to boot from Windows 98. This search resulted in a discussion that said that the Windows 98 cd is not bootable. That explains that problem. Just for proof, I inserted my Windows NT cd and restarted my virtual environment. Sure enough, the cd was recognized and I was looking at the Windows NT installer. What I needed now was a DOS disk to boot from.
9. Install DOS in my virtual environment. I pulled out my old DOS 5.0 floppy disks and inserted disk 1 into the floppy drive. I rebooted my environment and nothing happened. I then realized that the floppy drive was disabled in the BIOS.
10. Enable the floppy drive in the BIOS. After a reboot of the computer, I entered the BIOS and enabled the floppy drive. Then I started my virtual environment.The floppy drive made that nice crunching sound that it makes when it reads the disk. Unfortunately, it couldn't read the disk. I removed the disk and stuck it into my main computer's floppy drive. It crunched for a few seconds, then displayed all the files. That's when I remembered that my second floppy drive no longer works, and that's why I disabled it in the BIOS.
11. How to create bootable cd Nero Express. Nero Express has an option for creating a bootable cd, so I tried it out. I inserted the cd in my second computer and rebooted the virtual environment. This resulted in some old, DOS-sy screens with drivers being loaded, and finally to an A:> prompt. Wow, I haven't seen that in awhile.
12. Install Windows 98. I replaced the cd with the Windows 98 Upgrade cd and ran Setup. It started, then quickly failed with a vague error message - something about not enough space.
    
13. I have DOS, now what? Booting from a DOS disk was not enough; I still needed to install DOS in the environment and make it boot from the hard drive. Before I could do that, I had to partition the hard drive with FDISK, then format the drive to accept data. Then I copied all the DOS files from the cd to the hard drive, removed the cd, and rebooted the environment. It worked, but all I got was a date and time input, then the A:> prompt.
14. Configure the DOS environment. DOS uses a configuration file and a batch file to configure the system. I used the old DOS EDIT program to change the files to point to the files on the C: drive and rebooted the environment.
15. Install Windows 98. After rebooting to the DOS prompt, I ran the Windows 98 Setup again. This time it started, then failed with another vague error message regarding maximum file size.
16. DOS error maximum file size. This search resulted in a discussion about the memory size of DOS applications being limited to the amount of free memory. This reminded me of the old high memory tricks I used to have to do to move drivers out of the main memory. I edited the DOS configuration file to remove the unused drivers and move the remaining driver to high memory.
17. Install Windows 98. I rebooted the environment and ran the Windows 98 Setup again. This time it started and continued running. Since it was the upgrade disk, it went searching for an old version of Windows, but couldn't find one. It prompted me to insert my old Windows cd, so I did. It didn't recognize it. I reset the cd drive in the virtual environment and Setup found the new disk. At this point, it asked for the Product ID. When we moved to Florida, I got rid of all my old boxes, which had the Product ID stickers.
18. Windows 98 Product ID. This search resulted in a page with a common Product ID. I typed it in, but it didn't work. I have Windows 98 Upgrade; there must be a difference.
19. Windows 98 Upgrade Product ID. This search resulted in a page full of Product IDs from days gone by. I tried the upgrade ID and it worked. At this point, I let Setup run to the end.
20. Install Okipage 6e drivers. I installed the printer drivers per the User's Guide instructions. After it finished, I searched the computer for the Status Monitor, but couldn't find it.
21. Okipage 6e Status Monitor. I had tried this search earlier, but I tried it again anyway. Further down the results page, I found a golden nugget about the Okipage driver installation failing to install the Status Monitor if you change the default name of the printer; which I had done. I reinstalled the driver, leaving all default settings in place, and sure enough, the Status Monitor was installed. I found the "Cleaning Page" option and ran it several times. So far, the results aren't too good. The pages are slowly coming out cleaner, but certainly not white. I'll have to sacrifice a few dollars worth of paper in the hope that I don't have to buy a new printer drum or printer.
    
22. Install Firefox 2.0. Windows 98 shipped with Internet Explorer 4. I am unwilling to risk browsing the Internet with such a poor browser, so I went searching for a browser that would work in Windows 98. The only real option was Firefox 2.0. I downloaded and installed it, then ran it. It failed immediately with a DLL error.
23. Firefox OLEAUT32 error. This search resulted in a link to a Windows 98 DCOM upgrade. The link didn't work, but I was able to find the download on Microsoft's download page. After installing the patch, Firefox worked fine.
24. Write a blog about the experience. And since I'm in this new, historic environment, I figured I might as well write a blog entry while I'm here.
    

Running Around Disney World

Aunt Cathy and Uncle Dave left before dawn this morning and left us to fend for ourselves. No problem; we already had big plans ourselves and needed to be on our way. We were planning to spend the day running around Disney World and seeing a former co-worker, Alex.

The day started with the three of us gathered around the computer screen and NASA TV, watching the shuttle Atlantis land at Kennedy Space Center. Susan stepped outside and was convinced that she saw it gliding high above, but the binoculars gave proof that it was just a 747. Once the shuttle was on the ground, we were on our way to Disney.

In Orlando, I decided to make a quick stop at the Amtrak station. I wanted to see it, maybe see a train, and kill a little bit of time. We were not planning to meet Alex for another hour. Andrew stuck two quarters into the meter, but it only gave us a quarter’s worth of time, so we had to move quickly.

Back on the road, we drove to Downtown Disney, parked, and caught a free bus to the Contemporary Resort. From there, we rode one monorail train to the Ticketing and Transportation Center (TTC), then caught another monorail train to Epcot Center.

After meeting with Alex, it was back to the monorail station. We rode the train back to the TTC, then caught a boat across the lake to the Magic Kingdom. From there, we caught a smaller boat back across the lake to the Grand Floridian Resort and ate at the cafe. Then it was back on the small boat, over to the Polynesian Resort, and across the lake to the Magic Kingdom. From there, we got back on the monorail, did a full loop around, then got off at the Contemporary Resort. Finally, it was back on the bus and back to Downtown Disney.

Before going home, we had to make one more stop. Each time we visit this area, I drive past a particular landmark, but have never stopped. Today, I was determined to stop and check it out. The landmark I'm talking about is the "World's Largest Play Place" at McDonald's. On the outside, the building is quite large. I had visions of tubes running for miles, twisting and turning within the enormous area. When I got inside, I was a little disappointed to find that most of the area was consumed by arcade machines. The actual play tube area was bigger than any I'd ever seen before, but was less than I had expected. Regardless, Andrew had a great time.

The drive home was too much for me and Andrew. After filling up the tank, we both fell asleep and left Susan all alone to drive. Thankfully, she was awake enough to keep us all safe.

Thanksgiving in Sanford

This year, we were invited by Aunt Cathy and Uncle Dave to celebrate Thanksgiving at the C&D B&B. We drove up yesterday and spent the night. This gave us the great opportunity to actually help prepare the house and food, for a change.

Our first task was to setup the dining room table and the "kid's" table. For the dining room, we expanded the dining room table, then added the kitchen table to form a 'T'. These were covered by two table cloths and joined by a runner down the middle and some festive decorations and candles. For the kid's table, the round table from the porch was brought into the living room. A table cloth, some decorations, and candles added the needed touch of class worthy of Cathy's best dishes and silverware.

Cathy prepared the turkey as people started to arrive. Nikki was first, then Jen arrived a little later. Dave and I took Andrew and left to pick up Zak and his friend. While we were out, Dave's golfing buddy, John, and his wife and daughter arrived. When we returned, dinner was ready.

Dinner was spectacular, as you'd expect. One surprise item appeared on the table. Nikki fried a fresh zucchini from Cathy's garden. The food was blessed and everyone ate. I'm pretty sure everyone had seconds. I designated myself the official mashed potato finisher - you can't let them go to waste! The zucchini plate was left clean in short order. After dinner, I decided to do something else non-traditional - I volunteered to help clean up the dishes. I think Jen felt sympathy for me, so she helped load the dishwasher.

After clean-up, I went straight for the pumpkin pie and whipped cream. The pies had been sitting out, in plane sight, for the past 24 hours. It was all I could do to keep myself from sneaking a piece up to this point. My patience was rewarded.

Screen on the Green

It’s autumn in Florida, and that means it’s time for monthly movies outside in the park at Pointe West. We missed the October movie, but made it to the November show tonight.

Tonight’s movie was supposed to be Wall-E, but for some reason, the website showed Ice Age 2: The Meltdown instead. No big deal; we like both movies. Susan prepared by popping three bags of Orville’s while I grabbed some blankets and threw them into Andrew’s John Deere wagon.

Susan called our friend from down the street and we walked to the park. Andrew insisted on pulling the wagon, and he got no argument from me. :-) We arrived about 10 minutes before the warm-up show finished. We carefully worked our way into the crowd and found a pretty good spot to spread out our stuff. A few minutes later, our friend showed up with her daughter, two of her friends, and their daughter.

The movie was great and the kids had a great time. Andrew spilled a bag of popcorn on the blanket, and apologized repeatedly. No one cared, and before long, it was eaten anyway.

When it was time to go, our friends’ daughter gave Andrew a peck on the cheek before she left. The girls then took turns pulling the wagon, with Andrew sitting like a prince inside. Wow! I guess outdoor movies have a strong, emotional effect on youngsters.

Stuart Air Show

Time certainly has a way of getting past us. I really felt it this weekend when I realized that things we did when we first arrived in Florida are showing up once again on the calendar. This weekend was the annual Chili Cook-off in our neighborhood and the annual Visiting Nurse Association Air Show in Stuart.

The Chili Cook-off was a big draw again this year, drawing folks from the neighborhood as well as from around town. We skipped the chili, but bought an all-access pass to the jumpers for Andrew. As usual, he got his money’s worth, alternating between the two bounce houses, the giant slide, and the obstacle course for almost two hours. The Tom Jackson Band filled the air with a great mix of country hits and their own songs.

After church, we made a quick stop at home, grabbed the coolers and cameras, and hit the highway to Stuart. We exited the highway just after 1:00 and started scanning the sky for planes; the show was scheduled to begin at 1:00. The show cost $20 per person – which goes to a good cause – but we had no plans of entering the gate. We found a good spot to park and watch on the west side of the airport.

I pulled out my scanner and tuned in the “Air Boss” on the airport’s ATIS frequency. Susan pulled out the coolers and started making lunch. Before long, we were settled in and ready to enjoy the show. One of the first acts was an A-10 “Warthog”. After that, it was almost entirely propeller planes.

The Aeroshell team of T-6 “Texans” flew a nice show with thick, white smoke against a perfectly clear blue sky.

Andrew enjoyed the show… for the first hour or so. He was taking pictures and videos with his camera while I took pictures with mine. He even told me, “I don’t know why I used to get bored at air shows when I was younger.” I laughed and said, “Let’s see how you feel later.” Five minutes later, he said, “I’m bored. What can I do?”.

The great thing about having a scanner is that you get to hear what’s about to happen, before it happens. While listening, I thought I heard “blimp”. It’s hard to be sure, because the noise of the air show overwhelms the radio. About 10 minutes later, I heard the Air Boss talking again. I pulled the radio closer, and sure enough, he said, “Goodyear blimp”. He told the blimp pilot to remain south of the field until contacted again. As the show continued, I periodically glanced to the south, just to see if I could see it coming. Before long, there it was. The Air Boss called again and told the blimp to enter the show. The blimp pilot did a couple “high speed” passes up and down the runway. It’s a pretty amazing sight; I wonder what it must look and feel like from inside the blimp. The engines rev to full power, the nose drops down about 20 to 30 degrees, and the blimp slowly accelerates forward and down. After a few minutes – yes, minutes – it reaches top speed. The pilot then pulls up hard on the nose and the climbs steeply, yet slowly, and decelerates.

As the blimp was leaving to the south, the Air Boss called and told him that there was time for one more pass. The blimp pilot turned around one more time, flew to midfield, then turned towards the west before heading back to the south. He didn’t fly right over us, but at least we got a nice clear look at him.

By now, it was starting to get late. The show was scheduled to end at 4:00 and it was about 4:00 already. Some of the fans nearby were growing restless at this point. Several asked me if I knew anything about when the jets would arrive. I hadn’t heard anything yet, and let them know. Apparently, there was a fast jet at the show the day before. Sure enough, their patience wore out and they started leaving. Before long, half the cars were gone. About this time, I heard something about “Mustang” and “Heritage Flight” on the scanner. In the past, the Heritage Flight has always been the P-51 “Mustang” and at least one modern fighter. I figured that if there was going to be a jet in the show, now would be the time.

Within minutes, the Mustang took off, followed closely by the Warthog. They climbed and departed to the east. A minute later, from apparently nowhere, an F-16 “Viper” darted across the airport from the east at a high rate of speed. Ahh, patience is rewarded once again! The Viper pilot put on a great show, then joined the Mustang and Warthog to form the Heritage Flight.

Andrew and Susan returned from a walk and were ready to go home. We packed up and dialed in Home on the GPS. As we were leaving, the Aeroshell team took to the air once again and flew the missing man formation to honor the veterans.

Windows 7 Home Premium

For the first time since Windows XP released - October 25, 2001 – I have a new, official, released Microsoft operating system to install. Now, there have been other installations since then, including a couple re-installs of Windows XP, for various reasons. Others included a couple different versions of Ubuntu (Linux) on my development computer, and more recently, the Beta and Release Candidates of Windows 7.

Just before dinner yesterday, Susan informed me that my Amazon package had arrived. I knew right away that it was the long awaited new operating system that I pre-ordered back on June 26. I immediately went to work installing it onto my extra partition. I’m keeping my original Windows XP installation safe in the primary partition, just in case I need it.

After dinner, I basically locked myself in the computer room and started installing applications. First up was my Trend Micro Internet Security software, followed by Microsoft Office and Google Chrome. This, along with creating Susan’s and Andrew’s user accounts, took me well into the night.

Today, the installation continues. My digital camera and video camera software is installed, as well as my sound card software. The big question now is, “Where are all of my original installation disks?” In Washington, I had nearly three shelves full of computer boxes with the original software inside. Before moving, I pulled out all the disks and recycled the boxes. So where are all of those disks now? I truly don’t know. They must be in the attic, because I can’t find them in the computer room. So, until I find them, I guess I’ll be needing to keep Windows XP around awhile longer.

Osceola Fall Festival

Today was the Osceola Magnet School's big fundraiser; the Fall Festival. Each class was given a choice of fundraising activities and a 36" x 36" piece of cardboard to decorate. Andrew's kindergarten class picked the Lollipop Clown. But considering the fall theme of the festival, some of the parents decided to change the name to Pick-A-Pop Scarecrow.

Susan spent many hours with another parent working on the theme and ideas for an in-class activity for the kids to work on and contribute to the poster board. They decided on custom lollipops, colored and cut from construction paper, and glued to wooden dowels.

The night before the kids were to work on their piece of the project, the poster board arrived at our house, completely void of any decoration. I got busy thinking about how to apply nice looking lettering. My first thought was to paint on letter blocks, like those used by young kids. I knew my artistic talents would be stretched beyond their limited capacity, so I searched Google for a letter block font. I found a great, free font and printed "Kindergarten Class" in two inch letters across seven sheets of paper. I placed the pages onto the poster board with the idea that I would trace each letter, then paint each letter a different color. By the time I had traced the letters "K", "I", "N", and "D", my hand started to hurt and I figured there's got to be a better way than this. After a few thoughtful minutes, I came up with a new plan. I typed each letter into a three inch square in Microsoft Publisher, then changed the colors of the letters, and printed the results on my color printer. Then I cut out each letter and glued it individually to the poster board. This worked out fabulously.

Just when I thought I was finished, Susan realized that we didn't have the name of the fundraiser and the instructions written. Back in Publisher, we came up with a nice design using WordArt and some leaf graphics.

The next day at school, we let the kids decorate, cut, and glue their custom lollipop to the poster board. The kids left the classroom in groups of four at a time. We had three stations for them to work. First, they wrote their names on their lollipops and colored them. Then they moved on to the cutting station, where they cut out the lollipop and glued on a small ribbon. Finally, they moved to the poster board station, where they attached their creations to the wooden dowels that I had already glued down. It's funny how the girls selected the inner grouping and the boys selected the outer. Within an hour, all the lollipops (except for two due to the kids being absent) were attached.

I was now happy in the knowledge that my contribution to the festival was complete. I was wrong. Yesterday afternoon, Susan called me from school and told me they needed help with the easels. She told me they needed a hammer, nails, a drill, and wire. I was wondering to myself, "What in the world are they going to do with nails and wire?" After a quick stop at Home Depot, we had our supplies and were on our way to school.

Most of the easels were complete, but several were in bad shape. I managed to steal some wood from one to "fix" two others. Let it be known that I'm not proud of the results, but to my knowledge not one failed while in service at the festival.

Today, when I found our class fundraiser, I noticed that Susan added the border that Mom sent us in the mail - nice touch.

For the first three hours, Andrew and I were on our own. We did nearly everything there was to do: bounce houses, food and snacks, dart game, fishing game, peg boards, the lollipop tree, tubes of candy, and many more.

One of the big attractions that we avoided was the haunted house. Andrew wanted me to go first and tell him about it. He really didn't want to go in without some knowledge of what to expect. I didn't want to spend that many tickets. Eventually we decided to go in together. The parents did a fantastic job decorating the multipurpose room. Outside looked like a cemetery, and inside had many rooms with scary things all around. Several times, people jumped out at us from dark places. Luckily, the bigger kids raced ahead, so the initial shock of the scare was gone by the time we arrived on the scene. Even so, when we left the building, Andrew was clearly glad to be out. He told me that he didn't want to go back in again.

When Susan arrived, we met her at the Pick-A-Pop Scarecrow lollipop tree. She was about to start her shift at the booth. Andrew told her about all the things that he had done, with special emphasis on the haunted house. To my great surprise, Andrew asked Susan to go with him, back into the haunted house. After they entered, I went around back to wait for them at the exit. When they came out, I asked Andrew what he thought. He told me that he closed his eyes all the way through.

By now, we had seen and done everything at least once. I had know idea how to spend the next hour. Luckily, Andrew ran into one of his classmates and they filled the time playing at each bounce house and on the playground.

Unfortunately, the fun ended on a sad note. A boy gave Andrew a helium balloon after the festival ended. Andrew played with it while I helped take down some easels and clean up. When I went to tell him it was time to go, he wanted to see if some sand could hold the balloon. I told him not to let go of the string, but he did anyway. The balloon pulled free of the sand and slowly climbed away. I leaped for it, but couldn't reach it. Andrew was a wreck, tears flowing wildly down his cheeks.

Susan saw us walking back to the car and asked what happened. We told her the story and she said, "Oh, I have a balloon in the car for you." What a life saver! The day was now considered a complete success.

Uncle Donald's Farm

Now that I'm living in Florida, one of the things I find myself missing this time of year is farms. I've always enjoyed driving by or going to farms with cornfield mazes and pumpkin patches. In Washington, our favorite was Stocker Farms in Snohomish. Vero Beach, and all of Indian River, is known for its citrus fields. There are no cornfields or pumpkin patches to be found.

This year, we decided to go in search of a fun farm, even if it meant driving all day to get there. Within an hour of Internet searching, we decided to visit Uncle Donald's Farm in Lady Lake, Florida.

We started the trip by driving to the C&D B&B last night. This morning, I awoke to an empty house. Dave had already left on his weekly golfing adventure and Cathy had to work. We were very surprised to find the thermometer on the back porch showing only 60 degrees! For the first time in a long time, I had to wear jeans and my soft, fuzzy, long sleeve shirt. After a quick breakfast, we were on our way.

Right out of the gate, we ran into delays. Susan needed to stop at a post office to drop off a package for her mother. While she was inside, Andrew complained to me about his toe hurting in his shoe. When Susan got back in the car, she looked for his other shoes, but said they were back at the B&B. We drove all the way back, only to find that they were NOT at the B&B, but instead, in the way-back of the car. DOH!

Back on the road, our GPS started telling us to take the next right, then take the next left. It didn't take long before I realized that I had no idea where I was. If the GPS had failed, I would have had no idea how to find the farm, or the B&B for that matter. Even though we were completely lost, the drive was very nice and it was good to see some hills for a change.

Upon arrival at the farm, my first feeling was a bit of disappointment; there were no cornfields and from what I could tell, no real pumpkin patch. Nonetheless, the farm quickly grew on me. We were greeted in the parking lot by a large, scraggly, friendly white dog. The farm was obviously planned with young kids in mind. Near the entrance, we found a pen that had kids for sale at cheap prices.

The main area inside the gate was setup for familes to have picnic lunches. There were dozens of picnic tables sitting about randomly under the trees. I'm sure the shade is most appreciated most of the year, but today, I was looking for sunshine. It was probably still in the low 70's and quite chilly for us thin blooded Floridians.

Our first destination was the "pumpkin patch". The pumpkins were lying about for families to pick up and purchase. Nearby was the maze, constructed from large hay bails set about. Luckily for me, I could see the entire maze, but Andrew had to find his way through by trial and error. Inside the maze were lots of little posters with silly kid jokes written on them. For example: What animal can jump as high as a house? All of them; a house can't jump!

Next up was the hayride. A large group of parent, grandparents, and kids climbed into a long, open trailer with hay bails for seats. We were pulled around a large field, past the ostrich pen, to an area with a small herd of cows. We stopped so the cows could converge on the trailer. At that point, we were shown how to make "hay bouquets" to feed the cows.

After the hayride, we spent the rest of our time looking at the animals in pens. They had an amazing collection, including: horses, goats, sheep, rabbits, pigs, ducks, cougars, a river otter, cranes, turtles, a fox, coyotes, deer, a talking parrot, turkeys, hawks, owls, chickens, and a peacock. We even got to witness feeding time. Everyone was interested to see the cougars devour their raw meat.

While on the hayride, we overheard a couple talking about leaving to eat lunch at a nearby fast food restaurant. We had to interrupt because A) we were hungry and B) we hadn't seen much of any civilization for most of the drive from Sanford. After seeing everything at the farm, we followed their directions and quickly found The Villages. What a shocker that turned out to be. Check out the web site and be amazed. Almost every store you can imagine is located there; and all accessible by golf cart.

After lunch, we drove back to the B&B via a different route. I've heard a lot about Mt. Dora, so I had to stop and see for myself what all the fuss was about. After driving through the small town, I must say that it is quite charming. There are several blocks of small shops and restaurants along oak-lined streets, with a lake at the bottom of the hill. There's even a small, scenic rail tour operator.

Another Day On The River

Today, Aunt Cathy and Uncle Dave invited us to go for a boat ride and try out the newly installed Garmin GPS.

Dave put the boat in the water and we were on our way. Since I was the designated GPS tester, I got to sit in the driver's seat, and as such, got to drive the boat for the first hour. That was a great and unexpected treat!

The GPS display was very confusing at first. It showed our position, but we were surrounded by white areas that I mistook for land. After zooming out a little, I realized that the white areas were deeper water and the light blue was shallow water. With this knowledge, we headed east down the river. As we approached the Highway 46 bridge, we turned around and returned to the lake.

Back in the lake, we found a quiet spot along the northern edge and ate lunch. After lunch, Dave drove around randomly at high speed for a while, then headed back to the marina.

Late Afternoon Boat Ride

Yesterday, my uncle called me to ask if I could help him install a GPS and radio in his boat. I gladly said "Yes" and planned to leave early today to help out. Unfortunately, Susan wasn't feeling good and changed the plans on me. By early afternoon, she was feeling better, so again, the plans got another update. She packed some snacks and drinks in the cooler and we hit the road to Sanford.

When we arrived, Uncle Dave showed me his new gear. He had a new Garmin GPSMap 420 and a high-power Coast Guard approved radio. I was ready to climb in the boat, which was on the trailer in the driveway, and start looking for the perfect mounting location, but Susan was hungry and started making sandwiches. Within minutes, the thought of going out in the heat completely slipped my mind.

After lunch, Dave mentioned that it was getting late. If we wanted to go for boat ride, we'd need to leave soon. That caught me completely off guard. I thought we were going to work on the boat, not go play in it.

We jumped in the Honda and followed the boat to the marina. Shortly after leaving the subdivision, I could see something swirling around inside the boat. A second later, a white thing the size of a large grapefruit rose from the boat and started flying towards us. I slowed down, then pulled off the road to see what it was. Susan jumped out and ran back to grab it. It turned out to be a Styrofoam ball. I cannot imagine its purpose for existence.

Back on the road, we quickly caught up. A few minutes later, we arrived at the marina. After some quick maneuvering, the boat was in the water, we were on-board, and we were idling our way out into the lake. We turned to the west and headed for the I-4 bridge. We slowed for the no wake zone, passed under the bridges, passed by the power plant, and continued up river. On our way, we passed many others, enjoying the afternoon on the water. The one thing I didn't see - still - was an alligator. When we reached Marker 99, we turned around and headed back to the marina.

Back at the C&D B&B, we enjoyed a nice salad, some breaded shrimp, and baked potatoes. Andrew, Cathy, and Dave took turns drawing pictures on the tiny chef's chalkboard and trying to figure out what each were drawing. Gin stopped by to give something to Susan. We finally got on the road around 9:00.

Local Flight With The Family

For the first time in Vero Beach, I took the family for a short flight around the area. I rented a Piper Warrior from a local FBO to maintain proficiency and invited them along for the ride.

The weather looked a little questionable in the morning, but in Florida, it usually changes rapidly and, unless there's a thunderstorm, it's really not all that bad. By 12:45, it looked dark and uninviting to the west, but nice to the east.

We arrived at the airport at 1:00 and met Ken and Dennis. Ken started me on the required paperwork while Dennis, my instructor, copied my certificate, license, and medical. About fifteen minutes later, we were loading our stuff into the Warrior.

The flight was a basic checkout and included some slow flight, a power-off stall, and some steep turns. We ended up heading northwest because the clouds had moved quite a bit in the short time we were preparing for the flight. After the maneuvers, we headed east towards Sebastian, but there were skydivers in the air, so we diverted north to Valkaria. After a quick touch-and-go, we turned south back to Vero Beach. I mentioned to Dennis that I wanted to get three landings to be current, so we did another quick touch-and-go at Sebastian. Then it was back to Vero Beach.

As soon as the propeller stopped turning, Andrew stepped forward into the gap between the front seats and said, "I want to go flying again." We unloaded the plane while Andrew played with the controls and asked me the purpose of each instrument. It was nice to get out, and up, with the family again.

End Of Summer? Not Quite

With Labor Day past, summer is officially over in most parts of the country, but not Florida. Andrew has not forgotten the deal we made early this summer. After our first visit to the North County Aquatic Center, we told him that we could go once a month. Every month since, he's reminded us of this deal on the first day of the new month.

This weekend, we decided we'd go back to the pool one last time. After tomorrow, the activity pool will be closed for the season. We thought about going Saturday, but the forecast included afternoon thunderstorms, so we decided to try Sunday instead.

This morning, we packed a lunch and our swimming clothes, then headed for church. As soon as church finished, Andrew and I were ready to go, but first we had to stop at the snack table and grab some cheese puffs. They had cookies, too, but they looked like they might have nuts in them, so we passed on them. Susan was chatting, as usual, so we went outside to start the car and crank up the air conditioner. A few minutes later, we were on our way.

We arrived at the pool right around noon. Surprisingly, there wasn't much of a crowd and we easily found a table with an umbrella and chairs; not that we'd actually use them. We quickly changed out of the church clothes and into swimming suits and headed for the activity pool.

Right away, I could tell something was bothering Andrew. He wasn't his normal, excited self. Then I realized what was bothering him. The day before, he skinned his ankle pretty badly while running in floppy sandals. It was so large that it took two bandages to cover the wound. He was very concerned that the bandages would come off in the pool and get stuck in the filter. Susan and I offered to pull them off, but he was afraid it would hurt too much. So instead, we tentatively went from the one area to another, trying to find something he could do without worry. Eventually, I started to get frustrated with the situation. We spent money to be there and this was the final day for the activity pool.

By now, we'd worked our way over to the the big pool and I was trying to get Andrew to have some fun in the water. I would stand on the edge and pretend to be blown over by a big gust of wind, or fall off a ladder into the pool. Susan joined me and soon Andrew was starting to have some fun. Each time he jumped in the pool, the bandages worked their way closer to falling off.

Susan and I figured that a few jumps from the diving board would surely take the bandages off. Sure enough, after two or three jumps, they were gone. Andrew came to me as quickly as he could go, without running, and showed me his naked ankle. And then he asked something completely unexpected. He asked if he could jump off the high dive.

The previous times we've been to the pool, the high dive was closed, but not today. Lots of people were jumping from it, including some small kids. Needless to say, we were pretty surprised and a little concerned with possible outcomes, but we said yes. Susan went first and waited in the water below the board. Andrew walked to the end, looked down, thought about it for a few seconds, then changed his mind and went back down the ladder. We congratulated him on his courage to try. I wasn't sure if he'd try again, but in the past, he's always had to build up to new challenges, and I thought that was a great first step. Sure enough, five minutes later, he was ready to try again.

This time, I could tell he was ready. He boldly walked to the edge, made sure Susan was ready down below, and leaped off. Susan helped him swim to the side of the pool. A small group of parents near by congratulated him and Susan got a high thirty, then a high thirty five from Andrew. I'm so impressed with how he pressed through his initial fear and overcame the challenge.

By 2:00, the sky darkened dramatically to the west. It was pretty obvious that our day at the pool would be ending soon. We decided to try to get as many runs down the slide we could before the pool closed. After three runs, the storm was right over top of us, yet we hadn't seen any lightning yet. Regardless, we headed for shelter and decided to call it a day. Within ten minutes, the horn sounded and the pool was officially closed. Since it was not yet 2:30, everyone got a pass to come back; good for about six weeks. Too bad the activity pool will be closed, but then again, I don't think Andrew will mind at all.

Vero Beach Sea Turtle Sculptures

Ever since moving to Vero Beach, I've been intrigued by the sea turtle sculptures that are placed all around town. Last week, my nephew Gabe was talking about them. His family was staying at the Driftwood Resort, which has a couple sculptures within close walking distance. I was inspired to try to find them all, take pictures, gather information, and place the information on a Google Map. Searching the web, I found Turtle Trax. The turtles are sponsored by local companies and painted by local artists and the proceeds support Mental Health Services.

Today, we were at the spray park at Royal Palm Point for a birthday party. The park is home to "Peace On Earth". Here are the pictures I took while there.

From Sea Turtles

From Sea Turtles

I added the pictures to my new public Web Album. I also started working on my Google Map that shows all the locations around town. As time permits and the weather cooperates, I'll make my way to each location and get my own photographs and add them to the map. I've already discovered that the location from Turtle Trax is not accurate, so it will take some time to track them all down.

An Afternoon At Disney World

Today we finally did something we've talked about for many months; we rode the Disney World Monorail. Since we were in Sanford again, we decided to drive down to Disney World. To avoid paying for parking, we parked outside Planet Hollywood and waited for a bus to the Disney Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. The monorail has stops at three of the Disney resorts: the Grand Floridian, the Contemporary, and the Polynesian. We chose the Grand Floridian because the name conjured up an image of southern elegance. After ten minutes, the bus arrived and we stepped on board.

The ride on the bus was great. Along the way, we passed several Disney attractions. Before reaching the Grand Floridian, we picked up passengers at the Disney Wilderness Lodge. This lodge looks fantastic. If we had more time, we would have stopped to look inside. As the bus pulled away, I noticed a group of deer near the horticulture Canadian Geese. After a few seconds, I realized that the deer were actually living, breathing animals. At Disney World, it's easy to assume that everything is make-believe.

As the bus approached the Grand Floridian, my image of southern elegance came to life. The building was truly stunning. I felt like I was going back in time and arriving at a southern mansion. We followed the fence-lined path toward the stairs leading up to the monorail platform, only to find that they, like most things in Disney, were purely for show. We continued towards the main entrance and our jaws dropped as we entered. The entryway opens to a large, open floor surrounded on all sides by five floors of open balconies. The second floor contains shops, while the remaining floors have guest rooms. A large, open elevator on the right side of the floor and a wide, wrapping staircase connect the main floor to the second floor. An immense chandelier hangs from the ceiling five stories above.

From the second floor, we found our way to the monorail stop. After a few minutes, a train arrived, but was on the opposite track. After another few minutes, another train came through in the opposite direction. Finally a train arrived on our track and we eagerly climbed aboard.

The gold train took us first past the Magic Kingdom, the through the Contemporary resort, and on to the Transportation and Ticket Center. At that point, we got off the gold train and boarded the red train to Epcot Center. We rode this train around the 'white death star' two times, then jumped on the silver train back to the Grand Floridian. We soon realized that we were on the Magic Kingdom train instead of the resort train. We quickly switched once again and returned to the Grand Floridian.

The sun had set and we enjoyed watching lightning bolts illuminate a distant cumulonimbus cloud. From the Grand Floridian, we tried to watch the fireworks over the Magic Kingdom, but they were blocked from site. We caught the next bus back to Downtown Disney.

We got off the bus outside Planet Hollywood; the 'blue death star'. Susan and I wanted to see inside, but Andrew was reluctant when he saw the UFO that was crashed into the entrance. We convinced him that it would be awesome inside and in we went. We walked up the stairs to the top of the sphere, then took the elevator back down to the bottom.

By that time, it was 10:00PM and we still had a two hour drive ahead of us. Andrew announced that he would like to fall asleep, and quickly followed through with his plan. We arrived home just after midnight.

Making Rakott Krumpli

I had the opportunity to help make one of my all-time favorite Hungarian dishes. It is a casserole consisting of potatoes, eggs, pepperoni, and sour cream. Here's how it is made:

Ingredients:

• 1 tub sour cream
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 5 pounds red potatoes
• 1 dozen eggs, hard boiled
• 1 package pepperoni
• 1 pinch of salt

Steps:

• Lightly grease a casserole pan with oil spray
• Peel and boil the potatoes until soft
• Mix the olive oil and sour cream
• Add a layer of sliced potatoes to the casserole
• Lightly salt the potatoes
• Add a thin layer of sour cream over the potatoes
• Add a layer of pepperoni over the sour cream
• Add a layer of sliced eggs over the pepperoni
• Repeat two more times
• Finish with a layer of sour cream
• Bake for 45 minutes at 375 degrees

Enjoy

Mom's Visit

On Thursday (8/13) night, Mom's flight arrived in Orlando at 9:30PM. We arrived at the airport early and Andrew watched the hotel elevators go up the wall and down into the floor. When Mom's flight arrived, Andrew and I walked down a hall alongside a glass wall separating the incoming passengers from those not flying. When we saw Mom coming, Andrew got very excited and said, "Grandma!", then raced along the glass wall to the meet-and-greet area. When Mom arrived, he gave her a great big hug. I love how freely he shows his affection.

Her visit overlapped that of the Haksch and Pearce family, so we had to get creative with our plans. The early plan was to spend Friday with the whole clan at Holy Land Experience, and Saturday at one of the Disney parks, since it was free on my birthday. After looking at Disney prices, we decided against Disney, simply on principle. How can they possibly justify their prices, especially in this economy? Apparently, people are willing to pay that much. With Disney scrubbed, we thought about doing the Holy Land Experience on Saturday. If we could get 15 people to agree to go, we could get a group discount. The initial head count sounded like we might meet the quota, but after asking around, we came up short and scrapped that plan, too.

Friday (8/14) was boat day with Mom, Aunt Cathy, Uncle Dave, and Gin on Lake Monroe, on the north side of Sanford. We were met at the dock by a pair of volunteer safety inspectors from the Coast Guard. The lady was very nice as she went through her checklist of items. She offered some tips and best practices and told us how to avoid getting eaten by alligators. Out on the lake, we were surprise by the color of the water. It was very dark and tinted brown; it reminded me of a cola. After driving around awhile, we decided to throw out the tube. Andrew and I jumped in first. As usual, Andrew loved it completely. Next up was Gin and Susan, with Andrew on Susan's lap. Finally, Mom and Aunt Cathy went for a ride. Back at home, Mom and Cathy worked on canning green beans.

After dinner, I wanted to go to Downtown Disney. Susan made plans with her family and we headed south. Aunt Cathy and Uncle Dave decided to come along, too. The parking lot was extremely full and we had to drive past three entrances before finding one that was open. While parking, we were separated from Cathy and Dave. A quick call and a bit of walking later, we met them near the AMC movie theater.

We hooked up with the Pearces and started walking past the shops. I particularly wanted to go inside T-Rex. We peaked inside and saw the animated 'meatosaurs'. Andrew decided that he did not want to go inside. I stayed outside with him, but then I saw the dinosaur bone digging area. I showed Andrew and he wanted to go play there. We walked into the restaurant, past the first 'meatosaur' display, and into the sandbox area. Andrew stayed and played for at least a half hour. After finally convincing him to get out and put his shoes back on, we walked through the rest of the restaurant. It is really quite amazing. The coolest part was ice cave area that changed colors every couple minutes.

The next fascination was the LEGO store. First we looked at each of the window displays, depicting major international cities, then we examined the life-size LEGO family and their dogs, and then we went inside. We were most impressed by the Star Wars collection.

Saturday (8/15), we stayed at the B&B most of the day. Mom & Aunt Cathy finished canning green beans. After dinner, we celebrated my birthday with a nice little cake that - thankfully - had two number candles rather than 42 individual candles.

Sunday (8/16), we went to the new church. Afterwards, we stopped to visit the Haksch and Pearce clans at the Driftwood Resort.

Monday (8/17), we went to the North County Aquatic Center. The Haksch and Pearce families met us and we drove to Sebastian. We arrived a little early and picked out tables with umbrellas. When it opened, we all played in the activity pool. As expected, the boys wanted to do the slide. Andrew and Susan went, then I joined them, and before long, everyone in the group (except Noah) had been down the slide at least once.

Soon I was starting to get hungry. I looked through the snack bag, but didn't see the bread. Caleb and I drove to the nearby Publix to get some. While there, I had to fight the urge to grab the "Buy one, get one free" chocolate covered doughnuts. We found some bread, and I picked up two 120 minute TracFone cards. Back in the car, Caleb realized that he had a message on his phone. It was Noemi; she wanted some Fritos. Back inside, past the chocolate covered doughnuts once again, we went to the chip row and found a family size bag of Fritos.

After lunch, I headed to the competition pool with Gabe and Caleb. I swam a few laps before Andrew and Mom came over. Andrew wanted to learn how to dive into the pool. With some tips from a lifeguard, I started showing Andrew how to dive. He put his arms above his head, bent at the waist and fell forward into the pool while I lifted his feet to follow his body. His 'dive' was more like a front somersault into the water, and he was loving it. Eventually, we worked our way to the diving board. Andrew and Mom watched while Gabe, Caleb, Peter, Susan, and I went off the board. Andrew wanted to join us. I asked him if he was sure and he said yes. I jumped in first and swam away from the board. He walked to the edge, jumped in, and swam to me. Before long, he was swimming to the side by himself.

Back at home, we fired up the grill and started cooking dinner. Gabe and I charbroiled a dozen burgers and a dozen hot dogs while Noemi made her special baked bean salad and a cucumber salad. We also had potato salad - Southern Style - from Publix.

Tuesday (8/18) was Mom's last day in Vero Beach. I had a few more items to complete on Aunt Patty's computer and Andrew needed to get his final HCT shot for school. We took Andrew to his pediatrician. He was extremely upset when he realized that it was time for his shot. It took both Susan and I to hold him still enough for the doctor to apply the shot in his leg. He screamed and struggled like we were trying to cut off his leg or something. Parenting question: How to convince your child that it won't be as bad as it seems? After the shot, I picked up some memory for Patty's computer while Mom and Susan bought some drinks at Dunkin Donut.

Once home, I installed the memory and was distraught when I found that it was showing up as 128MB modules instead of 256MB, as it was labeled. I called the computer store and they said that all sales are final and that the memory was not mislabeled. I disagreed, but they told me there was nothing I could do about it. I was about to explode, but I had no way to know for sure if the memory was mislabeled, or the computer BIOS was simply unable to detect 256MB memory modules. Luckily, Alex had a pair of slightly slower 256MB modules waiting at Aunt Cathy's house, so I decided to give them a try later. Mom packed her bags and we headed north to Sanford. I installed the memory from Alex and the computer had no problem recognizing it as 256MB modules, thus proving to me that the computer store in Vero Beach sold me mislabeled memory and refused to stand behind their sale; completely unbelievable.

I put the computer back together and we headed for the airport. We were hungry and had arrived early, so we grabbed a bite to eat. After eating, Andrew watched the elevators until it was time for Mom to go. We said our good-byes and went our separate ways. On the way home, Mom called Susan and told her to look in her book. Susan was confused, but started flipping through the pages. Eventually she found some cash hidden between the pages. Very sneaky, Mom! Thank you, we enjoyed your visit.

Family Visitors - Day 3

Today, Andrew woke us at the C&D B&B. Aunt Cathy was at work and Uncle Dave was in the kitchen, about to make breakfast. He asked us what we wanted and I suggested chocolate chip pancakes - Andrew whole-heartedly agreed with this choice.

After breakfast, Dave left to go work on an old Cadillac. After he left, I flipped the channels on his TV and found The Wedding Singer. Since we don't get any channels on our TV, I easily get sucked in whenever cable TV is present. I couldn't pull myself away and we ended up staying until the movie was over.

We finished getting ready, then headed back to the resort. As far as I know, we didn't leave any of our stuff behind this time. We arrived around 1:00. The plan today was to spend some time at River Island. Susan and her mother went to the store to pick up some cucumbers and a few other items. The Pearce family gathered and left for the pool. I decided to wait for Susan to return. I figured it should only take them about 15 minutes to go to the store; after all, it was right at the entrance to the resort. I don't know how long I waited, but at 3:00, they were still not back yet, so Andrew and I went to the pool without her.

The pool was as fun as I had imagined. Andrew put on his life vest and we headed out the on ramp to the river. We didn't have the official, licensed, resort-approved, for-rent, $7-each rafts, so we decided to just walk around the loop; it is only four feet deep at the deepest spots. A nice couple saw our need and offered theirs for us to borrow. We graciously accepted!

After one lap around, we returned the rafts to the nice couple. Walking back the off ramp, we found Susan heading our way. With her, we made two more treks around. After the second loop, we dropped off Andrew with Noemi and headed for the water tube slide. It looked similar to what you'd see in a McDonald's Play Place, but a little taller, with water running through. I was surprised at how fast you could go. I'm pretty sure I pulled two G's on that final turn before being out the end of the pipe. We all went down three times, then convinced Susan to give it a try. We called it quits at 5:00 and returned to the condo.

Dinner tonight was a Hungarian dish that I call 'rumpley-crumpley', for lack of ability to recall its real name. It reminds me of a Hungarian variation on lasagna. It is made with layers of sliced potatoes with sour cream, hard boiled eggs, and pepperonis between. It is delicious. I'm sure I ate more than my share, and I even considered slipping the leftover pan into my bag while no one was looking.

At 7:00, we returned home. Tonight, I'm sitting at my computer desk in Vero Beach once again. We'll be heading back to the resort again on Thursday.

Family Visitors - Day 2

Today, we found ourselves alone in Nikki's apartment; well, nearly alone. Nikki was at work by the time Andrew came in to wake us. Out in the living room, fat cat and scaredy dog were napping and were a little surprised to see us. Fat cat was cool, but scaredy dog made a dash for the dining room table, then thought better of that plan and ran for cover in Nikki's bedroom, where he stayed for the rest of the morning.

After showers and a microwaved cinnamon bun, we were on our way back to the resort. Once there, we changed into our swimming clothes, but things were slow to develop. Eventually, we made it to the North Village pool. This pool was much more interesting than the first pool. It was shaped in a horseshoe. At the left point, there was a small slide. Moving toward the middle, there was as in-pool volleyball area and basketball area. The middle featured a zero-entry area that increased in depth to the right and ended in a small waterfall. Most of the family spent a couple hours playing in pool before heading back to the condo for a break from the sun.

Back at the condo, I started getting restless, so Gabe, Caleb, and I jumped in the Honda to explore River Island. River Island is an amazing piece of engineered water and pool fun. It's main feature was a lazy river that weaves its way around the park. At both the north and south ends, it had 'exits' that lead into large, zero-entry pools for small kids to play. In the middle of the river loop, there is an elevated island with bridges crossing over the river. At the highpoint, there are two hot tubs surrounded by rocks that mark the tops of the waterfalls the cascade into the river below. The whole area is surrounded by cabanas, lawn chairs, and shops. When we left, we were all pretty excited about going back and spending some time there tomorrow.

Back at the resort once again, the ladies returned from the extremely long shopping extravaganza. I truly do not understand what takes women so long in a grocery store. They go in with a list, yet they're gone for hours. And with three of them, you'd think they could divide and conquer and be finished three times faster. It's a mystery to me.

It was getting late and dinner was the next order of business. The plan was to have homemade pizzas. Ever since arriving at the resort, I'd been longing a slice of the pizza that was advertised in the resort handout. It looked absolutely amazing, with rich sauce, large chunks of tomato, basil, and bubbly cheese. The visit to Cici's didn't even come close to satisfying my desire for good pizza. I was strangely surprised when I saw Noemi start browning about four pounds of ground beef on the stove. And, although I looked, I was unable to find anything resembling pizza fixings. Susan was busy chopping a huge purple onion. I asked her what it was for and she said it was for the pizza. If I wasn't so hungry, I would have lost interest altogether at that point, but my stomach was still curious about where all this was leading. Fifteen minutes later, out from the oven came two 'pizzas'. They were covered with ground beef and a touch of mozzarella cheese. The ground beef was smothered in barbecue sauce. After it cooled a bit, I was pleasantly surprised; it was much better than I had imagined.

Noemi and Gabe prepare to serve the 'pizza'

A close-up shot of the 'pizza'

After dinner, we had some frozen yogurt for dessert, then packed up to leave. Tonight, we were staying at the C&D B&B. As is often the case, we left some of our stuff where we didn't intend it to be. This time, we left a bag of towels at Nikki's, so we had to make a quick stop at her place before reaching our final sleeping destination.

Andrew, wrapped in my shirt, enjoying his cold dessert

Family Visitors - Day 1

The day started early today; the alarm went off at 5:30AM. By 7:00, we were on our way to Sanford to meet Susan's parents. They were on the Amtrak Auto Train and scheduled to arrive at 9:30. The train left the day before from Lorton, Virginia, at 3:47; thirteen minutes ahead of schedule.

We arrived at the station in Sanford at 9:10. We parked the car and wandered around the station until the train arrived. It stopped just outside the station around 9:20. A few minutes later, it eased into the station and stopped. The workers split the train apart, then backed the remaining passenger cars onto the parallel boarding track. As the passengers left the train, the first thing they did was stretch their arms and legs. The second thing they did was comment about the heat. And the third thing they did was say they wanted to get back on the train where it was cooler. The Haksch's reported that the A/C failed in their car, so it was uncomfortably warm for them. In addition to this, they were in the second coach from the front, so they heard the horn blare at every crossing for 800 miles.

Andrew and Susan waiting for the passengers to exit the train

Passengers were then herded into a large, air conditioned tent to wait for their cars to be unloaded. Then the Amtrak lottery system started. Each car was labeled with a magnetic number and a man announced the number over the PA system. "AV230, AV172", etc. "Auto 210, Auto 254", oh darn, off by one digit! After 50 minutes, our number finally came up... we won!

Then it was off to the resort. My in-laws are spending a week in a condo in Kissimmee, then a week in Vero Beach. On the way, we made a quick stop at the C&D B&B to drop off our extra stuff. The driveway was full of cars, people, and C&D's new (to them) Maxum ski boat. Surprisingly, the B&B was already booked solid. That's what we get for not calling ahead and making reservations. Luckily for us, Nikki offered us use of her spare bedroom. With sleeping arrangements set, we were on our way to the resort.

We arrived at the registration office at 2:00PM. Check-in was at 4:00, but the condo was available and they were able to give us the keys early. We drove to the condo and helped unpack and move in. The Pearce family arrived an hour later and moved in. A bunch of us were hungry, so we went to Cici's for their pizza buffet. At that point, I came to the realization that Gabe looked taller when he was thinner. It was a strange realization, so I just had to share it with everyone. Gabe responded by saying that Caleb must look like a midget.

Andrew finds a cave in the Cici waterfall

Back at the resort, Gabe, Caleb, Peter, Andrew, and I changed into bathing suits and drove to the pool. Andrew was excited because the pool was zero-entrance. We played with his sinker sticks for hours. Peter and Gabe had enough of the pool and walked back to the condo. After another 30 minutes, I had to negotiate the terms of our departure with Andrew. He wanted to walk around the outside edge of the pool one more time. I agreed, he did, and we drove back to the condo.

Andrew and I changed into dry clothes. Gabe pulled out his lacrosse gear and Andrew and I joined him outside behind the condo. After a dozen throws, Andrew was frustrated with his lack of catching ability, so I took over. I can see why people like that game. Before long, it was too dark to see the ball. We decided to call it a day, so we jumped back in the car and returned to Sanford for the night. Nikki had her spare room set up nicely for us. She showed us where to find the towels and cinnamon buns. With this information, we collapsed onto the futon.