Vacation ReCap (Finally)

Florida rocks. It was hotter n' hell, and humid to boot. But it wasn't smoggy or grimy and there was enough of a breeze where the air didn't feel stagnant. And there are lakes everywhere in Central Florida, so at least there's a *reason* for the humidity. It was hot, though.

We got down there late Thursday night. On the way to Shoefly's friend's house, we stopped by "Steak N Shake" for burgers and stuff. My new favorite place. We were all pretty tired, having worked that day and all so we turned in. I got to sleep by myself! The Sun slept in a room with the Moon and Cometboy, though he protested. I successfully got the Sun to sleep in the boy's room except for the last night. Cometboy is a little hectic, but cute. The next morning, Shoefly so very nicely let me sleep while she fed my kid, along with hers, and it was really appreciated since I hadn't really slept in a week. Cometboy's mom had to work from home so we headed out to SeaWorld.

Shamu rocks. The dolphins are cute, they really are. The shark tank thingie that you walk through was also very cool. But Shamu rocks. It's amazing that something that big and vicious (in it's natural habitat) can be trained to do that many things. And there's something about black and white animals (pandas, zebras, killer whales) that makes them very appealing. The "Shamu Rocks" show was exactly a half hour long, and if you're in the first 16 rows, you WILL get wet, and the Sun kept looking over saying "Is it over? It's not over yet, right? Good! Cuz I don't want it to be over!" When it was, he was so disappointed. If we had been by ourselves, or if it had been earlier in the day, we totally would have stayed for the next show at 9:15P. But... we headed out. Sea World's fireworks go off at about 10, and we happened to be walking by the perfect spot when the show started, so we stayed and watched. It was way cool; they project moving images onto a watery mist, there's flames shooting out of the lake and fountains and fireworks. Awesome.

The next day, Saturday, we set off for Universal Studios. Disney was just too expensive, and Cometboy's mom wasn't able to score any discounts. The virtual rides werean interesting experience. As far as I'm concerned, they were one huge 4-D advertisement, because at the end of the "ride", you get dumped right into a store where all the merchandising is there for the rapid impulse-buying grab. And they hustle you out of the theater quickly to make room for the next showing, but it has the effect of adding to the frenzied feeling. Because my funds are extremely limited, I couldn't just buy anything (and neither could Shoefly), but the boys were all great about seeing everything and *then* deciding on the one thing they wanted most. For the Sun and the Moon, the thing they wanted above all else was a small "Bumblebee" Transformer; something they could have gotten at the local Toys R Us... but it was $10 so it was all good. The thing we spent the most money on was snacks and food. And stuff to drink... because again, it was blazing hot.

Cometboy's mom works at Margaritaville. Which gave me a WHOLE new perspective on Jimmy Buffet. I like the few songs I know, well enough, and I've always loved the song "Margaritaville" because for a long while back when I was a drunk 20-something chick, Tequila was my drink of choice, particularly Margaritas. And just for the record, the restaurant's "Top Shelf" margarita was, well, top shelf. The right amount of salt. I sucked it down like water, but I refrained from another one, seeing as how there were kids and all. But I tell you, that place was definitely the sort of place that... had there been no kids I would have reverted to my former drinking habits. I once did 8 tequila shots and had 5 margaritas in the space of a few hours... and that *wasn't* the time I got drunk and passed out in a bar on West 72nd, waking up as I was being walked across the George Washington Bridge. I ended up living on the other side of the GW because of that night, where I switched to vodka. Recently though, I rediscovered how very much I love Tequila. But I digress.

We left Universal to have dinner at Margaritaville, and to celebrate Shoefly's birthday. Which by the way, was the whole reason for the trip in the first place. The restaurant has a store attached to it, and it was the store that got my attention first. I love T-shirts. I don't wear them as much any more because I think a 42YO woman should probably dress like a woman, and not some teenaged boy in graphic tees and jeans. A few years back I put most of my t-shirt collection on eBay, or got rid of the rest, and if I think about it long enough I'm going to have some serious regrets. Cuz I had some pretty cool shirts. So I was in heaven at the store, looking at all the different shirts. But I didn't get one. Over dinner, Cometboy's mom mentioned they'll be hiring in the coming months and this is how the whole "suppose I move?" question happened. And of course, after a "Top Shelf" margarita, I was already living in Orlando but now that I'm back home all the scary reasons NOT to move are slowly chipping away at me. But I'm still going to give it some serious thought.

After dinner, we went back to Universal. After a full day of "virtual rides", we decided to try "Jaws". We didn't realize till we were there that it was more like a "real" ride. And it was now dark... The ride scared the pants off of The Sun. He was "screamin' like a girl"... the only other kid who screamed louder than he was the slightly older girl in front of us.

On Sunday, we started out going to Cocoa Beach, but took a wrong turn somewhere and ended up in Daytona Beach Shores (not at all the same as Daytona Beach). The water was soo clean, compared to the ones in the Big Apple. The kids loved it. I loved it. I had joked with The Sun that he would see, once we got to the beach, why I can't stand the smelly water out here on The Rock. So when we got there, he giggled and said to me "now I get it!"

Shoefly had a harder time dragging me out of the water when it was time to go, than she did the boys. We came home, showered, ate a spaghetti dinner and then went to Downtown Disney. That was fun too.... packed with people late on a Sunday night. It was a tad bit overwhelming.

And then on Monday it was time to come home. Our flight was "rerouted"... AirTran's word for "CANCELLED!" and so we had to entertain ourselves at the airport until 4, when our new flight was. The flight was packed. Shoefly and the Moon got stuck sitting behind a huge family returning from Disney; The Sun and I had the pleasure of sitting in front of Sophie-and-Olivia; two of the world's most obnoxious, badly-behaved and screechy blonde kids. The mom, who was sitting behind me, kept making wild and ineffective threats, taking away their bikes, toys, and playdates with friends until she finally said "I don't know what's left to take away from you!" "You!" Sophie-and-Olivia squealed. See... right there? That woulda been a big smack. It turned out that dad was sitting behind us, too, but in the other aisle, so he must have seen the bemused/amused/annoyed look I exchanged with the woman in the aisle to the left of me. But he never said a word, never chimed in the entire two-and-a-half-hour flight, so I had no idea he was dad until we were departing the plane, when he finally jacked one of Sophie-and-Olivia up. Shit. It was far too late for that. Ironically, sitting next to the Sun and I, in the window seat, was a young mom with a really cute baby about 4 months old. She nursed him at take-off, and again while we were landing, and the baby never made a peep.

We got home, and my Sprint phones that were supposed to be here, weren't here, and despite an hour on hold with customer service, I never got through. The following morning I spent arguing with Sprint, until I finally went out at lunch and just set up my own damn account with them for The Sun, so that I could get the Family Locator thing working. It rocks, by the way. But Tuesday, it sucked to be back at the same boring job, with the same, insurmountable problems. I finally got information on the Sun's flight, and I'm so angry and annoyed about the scheduling I can't even begin to bitch. I just want this over, and my Sun back.

And then I can figure out if moving to Orlando is a possible dream....

Wastin' away again, at Margaritaville/Searchin' for my last shaker of salt...

SALT! SALT! SALT!