Last Saturday afternoon started our weekend getaway to Orlando. Before arriving at Disneyworld, we stopped at the Orlando outlets. We scored some great bargains, but were happy to leave the very crowded stores. The majority of people there were foreign tourists and I'm sure they were loving the prices and exchange rate! We checked into the All Star Music Resort (read: Disney's version of a cheap hotel) and decided to take the shuttle over to Disney's Boardwalk for dinner (it's supposed to look like a boardwalk at the beach, but I wasn't buying it). We ended up eating at the ESPN Zone....Bill watched the Jaguars and I watched the Red Sox on NESN....gotta love lots of commercials for Dunkin' Donuts and Bob's Discount Furniture.
Sunday we went to Disney's two water parks....so fun! One of them had a wave pool that created 6 foot waves every 90 seconds (although I could go to the beach today and find the same thing w/ this storm!). The good thing about staying on the property is that in the middle of the day when it got really sunny and hot, we caught the bus back to the hotel for lunch and to relax out of the sun. The weather was pretty mild for August and the intermittent cloud covering really helped. The next day we hit the theme parks. We had a hopper pass, so we started at 8am and visited all four parks in one day. Since we've been to the parks before, we hit only the new rides or things that we really liked (sorry Mom, I skipped "It's a Small World"). It worked out well, but we were very tired at the end of the day. It poured twice that day, but we had ponchos to stay dry; the heat at times was oppressive that day, but the second rain really cooled things down....it really didn't feel like Florida in August! The next morning we headed home, just starting to experience the outer bands of Tropical Stom Fay.....good timing! We really did have a lot of fun and were glad to get away for a few days from work, cell phones, and computers. But because we have the stupidest camera in the world, we have no pictures to share! (Hence the long blog!)
So this storm is quite annoying! The only way it could move slower is if it went backwards. I most definitely have cabin fever as I have been stuck in the house since Wednesday afternoon. It's crazy windy today and the rain has been non-stop since yesterday afternoon. It didn't look like it was going to amount to much, but last night was so loud and started to make me a little nervous....the cats were definitely afraid! We have a small tree in the front that is starting to lean and I hope that it doesn't fall victim to the storm. But compared to the people in S. Florida, we have fared pretty well (at least in our neighborhood). We lose power every once in a while, but never for more than 30 minutes. Hopefully by Sunday we will see a little sun again!
Hope all is well with everyone and that you are enjoying summer as it winds down. School starts Monday for me, so my 3-week "summer" is officially over then. But it's my last semester, so I'm happy about that!!! Bring on the last 3 classes!! :)
Friday, August 22, 2008
Sunday, August 10, 2008
GO JAGS!
Not much happened this week, just work and extreme heat. We have settled into a routine of watching the Olympics each night, starting with the opening ceremonies on Friday. Not sure if anyone also caught it, but we were amazed at how big a show it was. I read that the Chinese spent $300 billion just on Friday's show....it looked it too.
I scored free tickets from work, so Saturday we headed out to the Jacksonville Jaguars pre-season game against the Falcons. It was in the high 80's at game time (at 7:30!), so it was a hot, sticky night....not exactly football weather in the traditional sense, but it is August. Our seats were pretty good considering they were pretty high up (one section below the top). Since it was my first football game, I don't have another stadium to compare it to, but it looked good to me! The Jaguars won 20-17. And after another sweaty hike back to the car (in flip flops.....not recommended), we headed home for some more Olympics.
Bill was called into work unexpectedly today, but I think Target is calling my name, so off I go to browse. Next weekend we take a mini-vacation to Disneyworld, so we'll write more then!
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
August in FL
Can you believe how fast the summer is flying by? Or is it just me b/c I've had my head stuck in a book all summer? Either way, I can't believe August is here already! Not that it means the cooler weather will be here any time soon....
My dad was here this weekend and just went home today. We drove EVERYWHERE around north Florida and were able to take in some beach time. Saturday took us to St. Augustine; we toured some new construction neighborhoods and ate at Bill Murray's "Caddy Shack" restaurant....yummy! It's in the World Golf Village and we also explored the official PGA store...it's 2 floors of nothing but golf stuff, including a putting green. Needless to say, I'm keeping my day job. It was in this store that I discovered that golf is an expensive sport.
Sunday was a perfect day for the beach. We got there early which was good b/c about 12:30 it got really hot. After a picnic lunch, we changed and headed out for the boys to look at cars (Bill needs a new car, so we're in the "researching" stage.....call it what you want, but I hate the whole process). Later on we went to a Japanese Steakhouse for dinner.....we sat at the grill where they cook right in front of you and put on a little show. This may be my new favorite restaurant!! The food was absolutely delicious and we had enough left over for lunch the next day, plus a little extra. Can't wait to take new visitors!!
We also went to this place near our house called the "Catty Shack Ranch". It's a big cat wildlife rescue and we went to a night feeding of their tigers, lions, jaguars, etc. It was SO cool! It's only 2.5 mi from the house.....I mapquested it b/c one night I heard roaring outside....wonder what it's like to live next door. They are always looking for volunteers to help out....I'm thinking about it once school is done.
Another trip to the beach, some more car shopping, and then just like that, Dad had to leave. It always goes to fast when people come to visit. Not sure when we'll have more visitors, but the guest room is ready!
On a final note, school ended last Friday and not a minute too soon. I'm pretty sure at some point last week I lost my mind, but I'm hoping that during this 3 week break I will find it again. It felt weird not having to do homework this weekend and I said to Bill that I didn't know what to do with myself! Tonight I'm going to "veg" before going back to work tomorrow.....and I'm going to enjoy every minute of it.
My dad was here this weekend and just went home today. We drove EVERYWHERE around north Florida and were able to take in some beach time. Saturday took us to St. Augustine; we toured some new construction neighborhoods and ate at Bill Murray's "Caddy Shack" restaurant....yummy! It's in the World Golf Village and we also explored the official PGA store...it's 2 floors of nothing but golf stuff, including a putting green. Needless to say, I'm keeping my day job. It was in this store that I discovered that golf is an expensive sport.
Sunday was a perfect day for the beach. We got there early which was good b/c about 12:30 it got really hot. After a picnic lunch, we changed and headed out for the boys to look at cars (Bill needs a new car, so we're in the "researching" stage.....call it what you want, but I hate the whole process). Later on we went to a Japanese Steakhouse for dinner.....we sat at the grill where they cook right in front of you and put on a little show. This may be my new favorite restaurant!! The food was absolutely delicious and we had enough left over for lunch the next day, plus a little extra. Can't wait to take new visitors!!
We also went to this place near our house called the "Catty Shack Ranch". It's a big cat wildlife rescue and we went to a night feeding of their tigers, lions, jaguars, etc. It was SO cool! It's only 2.5 mi from the house.....I mapquested it b/c one night I heard roaring outside....wonder what it's like to live next door. They are always looking for volunteers to help out....I'm thinking about it once school is done.
Another trip to the beach, some more car shopping, and then just like that, Dad had to leave. It always goes to fast when people come to visit. Not sure when we'll have more visitors, but the guest room is ready!
On a final note, school ended last Friday and not a minute too soon. I'm pretty sure at some point last week I lost my mind, but I'm hoping that during this 3 week break I will find it again. It felt weird not having to do homework this weekend and I said to Bill that I didn't know what to do with myself! Tonight I'm going to "veg" before going back to work tomorrow.....and I'm going to enjoy every minute of it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
