The Beach

Monday March 11, 2013

.  

We couldn't go to Florida and not hit the beach so Monday was Beach Day.  We headed down to Holmes Beach which was close by and completely packed.  We headed a few blocks down the road and found a side street with beach access and headed down.  The beach was beautiful and the day was warm, though a touch breezy.  The boys got good and wet, playing in the surf, searching for shells and    sand dollars.  The water was cold, certainly too cold for swimming and even walking along the shoreline left my feet achy.  But still.  It's Florida and it's the beach.

Daniel was up to his same tricks again, harassing the waterfowl.  He would chase off the groups that congregated nearby in the sand.  But he got a bit of the same back from the birds at one point when some of the snacks we had brought with us spilled out of the bag.  With salty snacks on the line our feathery friends become significantly more bold and this time it was Daniel that was scurrying off.

We also got a fun little show.  Down the beach a few hundred yards there was a young girl with a couple of hula hoops.  She was doing something like this: Hula Dance.  It was pretty cool.

Brief Interlude

Two very quick points, mostly as placeholders for me so that I don't forget about them:

1) I do intend to finish up the posts on the Florida trip with a day-by-day summary including pictures as well as a final wrap up post about our thoughts on the trip itself, Disney, etc.

2) Just received an email link to an article on things to do in Italy for free.  Haven't looked it over yet but I expect there might be some good ideas we might want to consider.

More later.

Of Geckos, Geese & Gatherings around the Pool

Sunday March 10, 2013

The Great Gecko Hunt Begins

After a good night's sleep we were up and at it.  The day was beautiful - sunny and hot with a breeze.  The boys were on the hunt for geckos right out of the chute.  One of the neighbours provided a couple of butterfly nets and they were off, running around, looking in bushes and lurking behind trees, looking for opportunities to pounce.  Many sightings.  None captured.

We also spent some time at the pool, swimming and sunning.  The boys used the occasion to charm the residents.  They finagled some snacks as well as a gecko egg (sans gecko).  And they got lots of laughs and compliments.  It was really nice to get into the water; I hadn't realized how much I missed swimming until I got into the pool.  The water was fantastic and for the first hour or so we had the entire pool area almost entirely to ourselves.  Even later in the afternoon as people began to drift in it was still never what you would call busy.  There were never more than about fifteen people hanging around at any time.  And everyone was really friendly and it led to a good visit.


We rounded out the day with a walk down by the lake where a variety of geese and ducks make their home.  Daniel spent his time stalking a group of Muscovy Ducks.  He got to within about five  feet of the final bird before it finally tired of his presence and flew off into the night.  The noise from the beating of its wings was substantial and sent Dan-Dan scurrying in the opposite direction.
Everyone should sleep well tonight.  Except maybe the geese.

Tomorrow we plan to hit the beach.  It is supposed to be another sunny day so it should be a good day for it.  Again, the neighbours were good to the boys - someone dropped by at dinner time to lend them some toys for at the beach.  Tomorrow will be about shells, surf, buckets and shovels.  It should be another good day.

Beckley to Bradenton

Saturday March 9, 2013 - it's gonna be a long one...

Checking out.

Driving through the Appalachians by daylight is much more pleasant than at night.  The sun shines across them, leaving interesting shadows and highlighting other areas in pools of light.  Clouds hover in the valleys waiting for the heat of the day to burn them off.  The Blue Ridge Mountains loom ahead of us, true to their name and stark against an azure backdrop.  This is why we don't take I-75.

The hours and the miles pile up.  We pass through two mountain tunnels - fun facts available here: Big Walker Mountain Tunnel and East River Mountain Tunnel.  I learn that by using the numbers from my postal code and adding two zeros at the end I can use my credit card at gas pumps that require a zip code for verification.  Who knew?  Probably lots of people, but not me.  We play a game called Spot It! that has us looking for signs, bumper stickers and various vehicles on the highway as we drive.

Eventually we make it to the Florida state line and stop for our obligatory cup of fresh-squeezed OJ at the Welcome Centre.  Though we still have almost 5 hours to travel, it feels like we've arrived.  The temperature has climbed some since we left Beckley and although it is mild, we welcome it.  There is some debate about how much longer we have to go and the route for the final stretch, but eventually the navigator(s) decide on the route and we're off on the final leg of the journey.  Our GPS actually does most of the thinking for us in this regard which leads us to a scenic, if not quick, tour of some of the state's countryside.  We see some fantastic landscape including swamps, small towns and horse farms.  Giant horse farms. Apparently some of the best horse ranches around.

Let's cut across on 8 to the 301 then we can shoot down and pick up I-75 ...

Oh, and one other thing.  We finally spilled the beans about Disney to the boys.  They knew we were going to Florida and that we were going to see Bumpa & Beppa (grandpa & grandma).  But they didn't know about the mouse.  We were anticipating wild peals of laughing delight.  Not so much. They're happy and they're looking forward to it, but the news was received with less enthusiasm than we expected and was somewhat anticlimactic for us.  Figures right?  We were more geared up for it than they were.  Of course we both have experience with Disney and we've been planning it for awhile so we've had some time to build it up.  The upside is that we were able to keep the secret (with a number of near misses) until now. Now that we can finally speak openly about it we've been able to begin planning the Disney portion of the trip with the boys.  Getting them involved got them more excited but I still expect it won't be until we actually get there and they take it in for the first time that it will really hit them.  I'm looking forward to that moment.

Getting There

We headed out, packed with everything we thought we might need.  The new SUV is a bit more spacious than the Caravan was so everyone has a bit more elbow room.  Our first adventure, before even leaving Burlington was a trip to replace the DVD player I had picked up for the journey.  The power plug for in the vehicle was broken; rather than just swap out the part we had to swap out the entire unit.  That meant we had to set up the whole thing again - straps to attach the screens to headrests, plastic wrap removed, etc.  And then we almost departed with TMNT (that would be Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) still in the old player.  Signs of things to come?  Naw.

 The drive on Friday night was mostly uneventful.  As always we reminded the boys of the significance of the New River Gorge Bridge as we crossed it.  (For the uninitiated, the Judi and Rob mythology first  began on a rafting trip that took us under this same bridge.)  The plan was to push forward as far as possible, knowing we would wrap it up somewhere between Pittsburgh and Charlotte.  We finally settled on Beckley, WV as a place to stop for the night as it was 11pm, I was too tired to take another driving shift and Daniel, wide-awake, was "Are-we-there-yet?"-ing Judi ceaselessly.  It was time to saw it off and call it a night.  It also isn't a tonne of fun to drive through the hills of West Virginia in the dark.   During the day is another matter entirely.

Florida or Bust

So we're in the final throes of preparing for a week in Florida with the kids; bags are packed, newspaper is cancelled, tires are topped up to the proper kpa.  Now we just have to drive for 20 hours.  Both ways.  We've got plenty to keep us distracted (movies, books, music, games, snacks) and we've done it a few times already so it should be fine.  But still.  20 hours.

I'm hijacking the euro2013 blog to write a bit about  this trip.  It will be good practice, will give me an easy way to update anyone who is interested on how this trip is going, and well, it's my blog, so I'll do with it as I please.

Planning Continues

So while we are still many months away, the trip is nonetheless drawing closer.  Planning is still somewhat loose, but we were able to nail a few things down.  We've now limited our Italian stretch of the trip to Rome and parts south.  Tuscany, Venice (if it doesn't sink), Florence and Milan will have to wait for another time.  We've all agreed that Rome is a priority as well as the coast.

We're still working on the best approach for our little group - a package through an agent versus sourcing flights and accommodations ourselves.  I think we're starting to lean towards some sort of hybrid of the two but there really is nothing firm yet.

We also know that we want to do a canal cruise in Amsterdam, possibly in the evening for added effect.  And the cheese market in Alkmaar is a must; it will be the trifecta for me, having been there on both of my previous visits but I'm good with that - it's such a part of the experience that I wouldn't want anyone to miss out on it.  And I love me some cheese.

I also picked up a couple of guide books to help us both before and during the trip.  Not sure how they rate among the various travel guides out there but they met two important criteria: 1) they are both relatively small and so good for carrying along while we're travelling and 2) they weren't overly expensive.  We also purchased some new luggage; we have 2 carry on size bags that also have hideaway backpack straps that could prove useful.  We've agreed we're going to try to travel light, although I know that will be easier said than done.

And I bought a murse.  Or a man-bag.  Or messenger bag.  Call it what you will - it's a purse.  It's a biggish one, that will fit my netbook to allow me to do some writing on the go.  And it's high-tech too.  It's built specifically for travel so it has zippers that lock, wire woven throughout including in the strap to prevent thieves from slicing it and getting your contents.  Since I'll be in Europe anyway I imagine I'll be less self-conscious about it (until my wife asks me for a tissue and I pull one out of my purse for her).  My bigger concern is that after two weeks of carrying it around with me I'm going to feel dependent on it upon my return.  Maybe I'll have to do like the kids do and start carrying a backpack with me everywhere I go.  Of course then I won't be allowed into HMV.

Key ingredient for Netherly 2013 planning.