Orlando Pictures (Vacation #1)

Three vacations since October. Yes, I think someone should pinch me. I'm spoiled rotten...and I still have vacation time - ah the perks of a "real job" as dad would say. It's been a long time in coming, so I’m not going to apologize for it!

So while I was preparing for my last vacation, it occurred to me that I have been leading a charmed life since October. Maybe two summers without vacation put a burr under my saddle, but that really can't be it either, since none of this was my doing. None of it except that they have all been places I would have happily chosen to go had I had a choice in the matter.

It all started when Roger's brother in law and sister were busy planning a Florida vacation with a bit of a catch. They wanted someone else in the family to experience the joys of a timeshare presentation with them, the purpose of course being that we would all stand strong together against the evil forces of timeshare salesmanship and after putting up with an hour long presentation (or as Roger can't resist calling it, "condo crap") would go on to enjoy our vacation. The aforementioned condo crap lasted quite a bit longer than the hour we had hoped for, but there is some evidence that we enjoyed our vacation anyway...

Having never been to Florida, I was a sponge, drinking in the palm trees, the gorgeous October weather, Disneyworld, the tourism, and of course…the ocean on our one cloudy day there. However, along the way we managed to uncover Disney's version of the Loch Ness Monster (made from Legos)...and a familiar Madam Octopus...eat your heart out, OctoMom.

Steve got me to try some virtual reality rides with him and I got sick (I felt like a wimp) but we had fun afterwards exploring, eating, shopping and taking in the sights of Orlando.

Besides the rides at Epcott Center, we toured (and sampled) their food, drinks and music from around the world, an expo that was set up just a week before our arrival. While in the British part of the tour, we encountered a "Beatles" group and had to stop and sing along with the crowd.

At the end of the day, the fireworks show was quite amazing.

New Boys in Town

 Well, we have rescued a couple kitties who were abandoned in South Carolina and delivered to us free of charge. They normally cost anywhere from $500-$3500! They are both very handsome boys - Bengal cats, one marble (who looks a lot like our Mister Jaguar) and one with spots. Marble and Spots (aren't we creative...?!) are going to the vet tomorrow to get a check-up after all that they've been through. We were told that 4 of the abondoned cats had to be put to sleep, they were in such rough shape.

These boys are what I would call high maintenance, but maybe it's just because I'm comparing them too much to my other kitty (who was perfect) :).

Marble is kind of shy and aloof and startles easily at odd noises. Rather than running to the door as MJ did  every time he heard it open, Marble runs away and hides under the bed for awhile...makes me think he was picked on by kids maybe, or at the very least ignored when he needed some TLC. He is snuggly when he finds you sitting in a chair and he's smart enough to figure out how to open cupboards and bedroom doors with his paws and enjoys drinking water out of the faucet.

Spots is the more "Bengal" looking of the two. (Yes, the Bengal breed is from the Asian leopard.) Spots has a very strong, loud purr which turns on the instant you start petting him. He is VERY affectionate...almost strangely so. He seems fascinated with faces, as he sniffs, kisses and pats like he really needs attention and has no problem asking for it (and he's not declawed). He's pretty skinny from lack of nutrition and actually has a pretty bad case of the sniffles  and congestion too, so we'll see. He could be in need of more care than we know right now.

They are definitely unique cats and the kind we were interested in. We're happy to be a part of their rescue, but I'm not particularly attached to them yet, so we'll see how they do and take it from there. It's tough when we don't have the chance to have them from kittenhood, where we can help train them and play with them, and know more about their background, etc. The poor cats don't even seem to know how to play! We were told to be patient with their adjustment process so that's what we're working on. I think maybe it's just as much of an adjustment process for us =P.

Reminiscing

I’ve cried a bunch this week because my kitty died. We started letting him outside occasionally last spring and he got to loving it so much (and was very persistent with his begging) that we kept giving in. He was on his way home, still about a block away, actually outside our subdivision, and he got hit by a car. Maybe if we had never let him out in the first place, he would never have gotten the urge to roam, but probably not.

He was an adventurer and so inquisitive, of course he had to investigate everything. He tried to get out the door anytime it was open. We would sometimes just let him out into the garage to let him feel like he was getting away with something and it was usually just as the overhead garage door was closing. He would bolt into the garage with anticipation and when he saw the door down he would turn and look at us like “that was a dirty trick.” He would then stay out there for awhile, as if to tell us he’d really wanted to be in the garage anyway.

We discovered right after we got him and took him to the vet that  MJ (Maggie Jessica) was actually a boy, and so he became Mister Jaguar. It was a perfect name of course for a cat belonging to us…but then the funny thing was that the vet asked us if he was part Bengal. Not only did we have no idea since he was a lost and found kitty, we had never heard of the Bengal breed before. Upon looking them up we realized that he didn’t have quite the distinctive markings of many of the cats we saw (very jaguar-like, gold with the distinctive black rosette markings), but he definitely was a handsome cat with some strong and unique distinctions in his coloring and personality. 

From the moment we got him, he was never “just a cat.” Even though I was determined to not treat him like our baby, the truth was the house belonged to him and he was simply sharing it with us. We got a new bed last Christmas, and I’m pretty sure he thinks we got it for him. (We have since changed the decor in the bedroom, but I still love this picture!) Usually 15-20 minutes after getting into bed, sometimes later, we would feel him jump up on the bed to curl up at our feet, or sometimes right next to me. There were a few times that he could sense we were sleeping in, or were sick, that he’d actually curl up right on top of us, trying to watch over us maybe…it’s a fun thought. Even though I’ve always liked cats, I never wanted to be the couple whose pets are their life. However he got past my mental protests and definitely rooted himself pretty deeply into my heart.

Not only was he a very special gift from my husband via my sister-in-law, he was a very unique cat with lots of personality – the perfect blend of cuddly and playful. I’m pretty sure he thought he was a dog. He would chase Roger around the house, playing hide and seek. He would even play tag with us, waiting around a corner or finding a hiding spot, and then he would bat at us with his paws when we got close – or he would just jump and attack my legs when I walked by. However, he was total cat with the neighbor’s dogs on either side of us. He loved walking the fence and antagonizing them. And he loved it when we pet him….however he was very stingy with his purring…he purred only when he was very, very happy, usually when we came home from work, or when he had been comfortably curled up asleep in your lap so long you couldn’t move…and you didn’t want to, he was so cute about it.

Yes, I miss him. Death no matter how small or seemingly trivial, makes life that much more meaningful. It is always a good time to remember what’s important and take the time to appreciate those things.

Virtual vs Reality Rides

I learned that that I don’t handle dizzying simulated rides well anymore.The little white upchuck bags below the command console should have been my clue to bail, but by that time I was in my seat, getting strapped in. Let’s just say I was glad to get out of that one still standing. Later I tried the roller coaster “test drive” ride where I was actually in a car moving on a track, a combination of simulated bumper cars and roller coaster, and I enjoyed it. My faith was restored –  I can still enjoy amusement parks!

We slept in a bit Sunday morning and then after a fantastic brunch at Cheesecake Factory, we pointed the car in the direction of Cocoa Beach. Experiencing the beach is an important part of the Florida experience (in Stephanie's book of rules) so everyone humored me and we picked the closest beach to Orlando- about an hour's drive away. We were told that Clearwater Beach an hour and a half away was also a nice one to visit, but an hour was enough and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

The beach was well-populated, but not too many people, with some surfers,lots of vacationers and seagulls all over the place and a very entertaining sandpiper who managed to keep himself dry (but just barely) as he foraged for food in the surf. I could have watched him and the surfers all day. Roger took me wading in the surf and eventually coaxed me to walk in deeper. Depending on the way the waves carved out the sand, sometime we were in up to our waist, sometimes we were in up to our chins. Riding the waves as they came in (all the while trying not to swallow salt water) was a fun experience…between the surf and sand, they could have left me there the rest of the day and I’d have been perfectly happy. It definitely made up for the unfriendly virtual ride at Epcot Center.  

Greetings from Orlando!

Having never been to Florida before, I was quite excited to walk out of the airport and see palm trees and sunshine...and my hayfever seems to be disappearing (while unfortunately, Roger has been sneezing enough for the both of us)!

We are here with Steve and Melissa (Roger's sister) and have enjoyed exploring. We got in yesterday early afternoon. We unpacked, rested a bit and then went to dinner at Salt Island, a fish house that had exceptional quality of service, food and atmosphere. The only problem was the expense....a little over the top, but upon finding out we were celebrating my birthday, they provided us with a HUGE slice of chocolate frosted chocolate cake FREE, with fresh strawberries as a garnish. I was in 7th heaven as I enjoyed a little chocolate with my strawberries....always have loved strawberries, thanks to dear old Leonard and Valerie Hammer.

This morning we were treated to a timeshare sales presentation as the referred guests of Melissa and Steve. After almost 4 hours of some hard core sales techniques from a skilled team of used car....I mean timeshare sales people, we somehow managed to walk out with our wallets still intact. I have no idea how. The presentation, though ridiculously long and drawn out, was a good offer, allowed for flexibility in vacation times and locations, and was reasonable financially, but we had decided we weren't prepared to move forward and spend the money and we stuck to it...somehow! Maybe one day in the future we'll reconsider, but for now, we'll save the frivolous spending for Disney hats and t-shirts.

Got one of those too...a hat that says Disney - est. 1971. I liked the year and Roger liked the hat, and we got a matching duffel bag too, to take all the extra stuff home in! Mostly though we enjoyed just people watching - from little girls in the "Princess Boutique" Downtown Disney who were getting sprayed and made up and dressed up to look like the Disney princess of their choice (for a small fee of course), to the street musicians who played everything from Mexican music to blues on the sax. And of course I had to squeeze a little pool time in too....that's a true vacation.