FLORIDA!

Instead of placing pictures here, because it would take forever, I am giving you the link to my facebook photo album of our trip to Florida ( http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=228369&id=520695309&l=db74a0b24f ). I hope you enjoy the pics!

The trip was amazing! We were able to see my Great Aunt Edna and Great Uncle Del. It was nice being able to spend some time with them, especially since Del's medical happening since Christmas. Del and Edna will be celebrating their 61st anniversary in a couple of days. They are the cutest couple ever. The love they share is evident. Edna is a great care taker. She makes sure Del has all of his medications everyday to keep him alive and kicking. She also wakes up in the middle of the night to check on him to make sure he is doing okay. Del gives her a hard time, but that's just what he does and he is always kidding when he does so. When we pulled up to their house in Tampa I didn't recognize Del. He has lost almost 100lbs since I saw him last. He was 220 and now he is 139 and getting thinner. Those two are great together. It was nice being able to bring some sunshine into their lives. They have one son that lives in Maine and no grandchildren. They do not get to see their son much and don't get out much either. It was a good visit and I wish I didn't have to leave them. We were able to go to my favorite restaurant in all of Florida, Hellas. Hellas is an amazing Greek restaurant. The Gyros they serve are, no joke, as big as your head. The calamari is perfect, melt-in-your-mouth goodness. I love Hellas. Once you eat Hellas, you can not eat any other Greek food.

The rest of the trip was spent at Disney and Universal. We went to Epcot for our Disney Day. It was interesting. It is more of the science and nature park. The rides and lands you go into are more on the "let's help the environment and do our part" type. It is a learning experience. It was cool going on the "living with the Land" ride. The ride takes you through the Disney Garden. The garden area is full of fresh fruits and vegetables and many new scientifically researched methods for growing foods. The food in the restaurants in this area comes from the garden. I really wanted to get off the boat and go pick all the freshness. I know I would have been kicked out of the park and my picture posted as "Do not ever let this person back into the parks", but it was so tempting. It was neat to see a tomato tree, jack fruit, and a combination hydroponic/aquaponic growing area. Disney is on to some good stuff and great ideas and ways of growing foods. We also went through the Nemo exhibits. The dolphins and the manatee were putting on little shows for everyone. It was fun watching them in their aquariums. We also did the "Soarin'" ride. It was a great simulation sky ride over California. The best part of the ride was the scents that coordinated with the areas with you were flying over. Over pine trees there was a real pine smell and going over the orange groves you got the scent of fresh oranges. Thankfully it was all simulation on a screen because a few times I did get some motion sickness but all I had to do was close my eyes and I was fine. It was a great day a Disney!

The next day was spent at Universal Studios. This was my playground. Disney was great, but Universal was way better. Universal had a little bit of everything. We started out on the "Return of the Mummy" roller coaster ride. It was a little scary, especially for young ones, but it was the perfect rollar coaster for someone like me who gets motion sickness very easily. Then it was off the The Simpson's. It was fun standing in line (fun standing in a line? Yup!). Here's why. There were TVs that were playing clips from past shows and Krusty coming on to talk about the ride. There was always something to look at to take your mind off standing in lines. Once in the ride you are in a simulated environment. Again, if you get motion sickness, close your eyes. Like the "soarin'" ride all the rides and shows at Universal had scents, and water and air to make you more a part of the action. After The Simpson's we went to MIB (Men in Black). This ride has you going against the aliens. You have a laser gun and shoot at all the aliens you see. You are spinning, going backwards, and trying to shoot. It is a blast. Leland got almost 200,000 pts while I only got 47,000 points. I am a terrible shooter with a laser gun. Give me a real rifle and I am all over that. After MIB Leland went on the JAWS ride, I abstained from that ride because I still cannot watch the movie, it scares me a little too much. We then went on to Disaster! An activity in which they take people from the audience and place them in different roles as you are part of the filming for a new movie "Mutha Earth" starring "The Rock". It's a lot of fun and Leland was cast in one of roles. He played a guy screaming in terror for the trailor. The first part you on a sound stage and they are filming the different shots of people that were chosen for different roles. The second part you are in the subway and are caught in an earthquake. You have the responsibility to ham it up and really play the role as the cars go sideways, tankers blow up and water comes rushing in. As the ride goes back to the beginning the trailor plays and you get to see what you were a part of. It was quite fun and interactive. Then it was off to Twister! I was a little disappointed. I thought it was going to have more wind on the audience and less action so you could see everything that was going on. But it was like a real tornado ripping through the area with cars moving, signs falling, and things flying in the air. You are even sprayed with water and the roof above you starts to come apart. It was okay. We then went to Shrek and it's 4-D experience. The seats were moving, water was sprayed and air was rushed at your face and feet. Totally fun! Then there was Terminator 2. If you want a real 3-D experience, T2 is it. It was so freaky with things jumping off the screen right you.
We also went on to Islands of Adventure where we went to Jurassic Park (a little scary for little ones and makes your heart jump a little), Seuss Landing (where the worlds of Dr. Seuss come to life), The Wizarding World of Harry Potter (opens this weekend so it was closed for us, but we still got pictures), Spider Man (Way cool 3-D with character jumping on the car) and then Poseidon's Fury. That show was funny and full of action as Poseidon battles his fiery opponent. All the "rides" at Universal had actors and really made you a part of the action. It was so much fun! If you ever get a chance, Universal is the place to go!

That's the Florida trip in a nutshell. I wish I could share more on the experiences, but some things you have to try for yourself to get the true feeling of it. If you go to Disney or Universal, get the express passes. They put you at the front of every line. It is a little more expensive (we paid 30 per person but the price is different at different times of the month so check it out on-line first), there are only a certain number of passes allotted (so get there early), but it is totally worth it!