| FLA 2004 The pics are viewable at:
Check back in a week, I�ll get more posted. The Trip: Only me & Austin (his 8th grade graduation behind us), we took off one day after the last day of school. We flew to Orlando � stayed at my cousins� and visited there 3 nights. Austin�s been anxious to spend time with his two 2nd cousins (Eric �also 14 & Ashley 15). Ashley�s a funny, animated girl. Yes, she�s pretty too- been modeling since she was 3, and (done some small parts in a couple of movies) recently in a national AT&T print ad. Drove to Ft. Lauderdale � stayed at my girlfriend�s two nights. During the day, while she worked, I visited my Grandma. More like - I came in like a tornado, and reorganized her over-cluttered pack-ratting, so it would be nice to walk around freely, in a two room elderly efficiency apt. Austin spend the 2nd day with Nancy�s new husband, 13 yr old daughter (who�s too addicted to being online � to even get up and go swim in their pool with him), and an adopted 3rd daughter�finishing her senior year here instead of moving away. Austin declares her to be �HOT!� Nancy�s oldest daughter, 17yo, was invited to a college summer program, hence gone. We stayed up partying til 2am� one drink and all coffee for me. Yahoooo. My cousin, from Orlando, drove down and we met up again�we drove to the Keys together. A very nice ride across the islands to get to Key West. The shirt that said �A latitude Attitude� says it all! I loved it there ! The land where Cocks rule. Roosters run wild. Stop the car � one�s crossing the street. They filter into shoppes and restaurants. We had a whole family of chickens walk under our table and hop across our feet � while we ate. Hilarious. Have you ever seen chickens nesting and perched in trees? Well, they manage to jump from the low & winding limbs of some of the trees and do just that! Funniest Moment� First night, at City Walk (a themed entertainment area � outside of Universal)� while the kid�s stood debating which movie to go see, Austin seemed half awake (a long day of travel�s jet-lag), yet when the young girl with the nearly see-through low hip-hugging pants, and the deep cut mini top strolled by� his eyes perked up like a thirsty sailor. I thought he�d get whiplash- turning his neck to follow her exit- like the Exorcist�s 180? neck scene. He really needs to improve the obviousness of the roaming eyes scanning every girl up and down routine. Now declares he wants to move to Florida, because the girls are so scantily dressed. LOL Most embarrassing moment�. Day 2- went to Busch Gardens with my cousin. We waited for the trolley (from parking lot to park), groups formed lines along the ones painted on the ground- signaling each seats� queing. When the trolley pulled up- the group ranked 3rd in the line next to us, crossed over and cut ahead of everyone. Okay, I may be one to make a comment, but it wasn�t as if we didn�t get on or had to rush about it. My cousin starts yelling and commenting about how �some ignorant people are so rude & inconsiderate� it�s not as if the LINE wasn�t obvious.� Everyone within 25 ft. was puzzled and wondering if she was referring to them. Scary moments� being the passenger�. These Florida drivers (cousin & friend)�don�t seem to believe in braking � although already tailgating � at high speeds� unless the car ahead seems like he�s serious about hitting his brake lights, this time. Austin has noticed and articulated the rules of driving in FLA: 1) Be an Asshole (a prerequisite for licensing- apparently) 2) Cut off as many people as possible 3) Never let anyone in front of you 4) Never drive less than 15 miles OVER the posted speed limit. But, hey�that�s just the norm� What really made me nervous about being the passenger with my cousin� is her Latin tendency to gesticulate � with BOTH hands while driving- often while turning to look at me during conversation. And the car had no �oh shit� grips to steady my nerves� although my feet kept pumping the imaginary brake on my side. You know you�re old when�. We let the kids go their own way after lunch to do their own thing� they met 3 other local kids and had a great time at Busch Gardens. We went to the mild rides, but backed out of the mini-roller coaster in the kiddy area. It had no neck support, those audio �pre-condition� warnings�.you can figure the rest� Austin�s Trip highlight: He got to drive a $50,000 sports car, convertible, no less. How? Well, my friend (in Ft. Laud) is an attorney� after years of struggling- finally splurged on an indulgence�. A car that her mother can�t borrow, her daughter can�t drive, etc. Heck, her new husband�s only been allowed to drive it a handful number of times. Well, as we pushed the boys out � so John (an older British chap) can give Austin a ride� Austin returned all aglow, and excited, claiming he loved that John let him drive the car. Nancy wanted to dismiss this� after all it was a stick shift � �Ha ha, nice joke�.right?� I sternly asked Austin if he�s joking. �NOPE�for real!� <all grins> Nancy looked at me, dubiously pleading �but it�s a stick shift.� I had to chuckle� �I have taught him to drive, and yes � he can drive a manual.� Turns out John�s European mind-set didn�t see anything wrong with it, in fact � he even let Austin park the daughter�s F-150 truck into the driveway too. My friend seemed a little hot under the collar. Trusths & Self discovery: Okay, I�m all for roughing it, and togetherness time. I have never understood why Vic always insists on wanting his own space at the end of the night�instead of �crashing� with friends. To paint the picture� I�ll start by saying that Austin & I shared one duffle bag for the entire week. My cousin and 2 kids packed like 7 bags � for the 3 days in the Keys. From the moment we opened the hotel room door, it was like the Cat in the Hat had sprung loose- all over the entire room. I stood at the threshold wondering where on earth I could squeeze our stuff. Ya see, generally, when we get a hotel room, we are very orderly (those of you that know me � understand how anal retentive I can be, sorry � it�s a Virgo trait)�each of us stake out a spot for �our� stuff. Vic will claim a spot, and put his wallet, keys etc, and I will put my jewelry, glasses in a specific spot, etc. Okay, so I spotted a small closet in the corner, and rushed to claim it before it too became infiltrated, and grabbed one of the chairs (from the table), removing the items on it (heck we should be entitled to some space), and issued it to Austin. Damn�. By the end of the night their stuff had found its way on top of ours! I was especially mad to find wet suits on top of my duffle bag! Eric planted himself as ruler of the TV, and between him & the 2 girls� we couldn�t even get into the bathroom to wash up or change. Austin & I ended up going down to the bathroom by the pool area. Ahhhh - I moment of peace. Tracy, my cousin, accused me of being irritable, snappy and bitchy� well, of course. I explained that cluttered, claustrophobic spaces make me very nasty. I decided the best thing to do is only enter the room to sleep. I kicked Eric out once so I can change in the room, because it didn�t look like there was any hope of getting a turn in the bathroom. And by the second day�I just got fed up and started changing at will, Eric left on his own. How, on earth, can you find anything when everything is scattered across, drawers, shelves, and floors � at random, as if spewed from a fire hose? Okay, this is the 2nd time I�ve experienced this kind of chaos� I will swear now � to never again share a room with anyone- who is disorganized about their travel gear !!! I guess, I am no longer as flexible and tolerant as I use to be in my younger days. I�ve become �set in my ways,� huh? We had planned on driving out of the Keys late, and had a room waiting once we hit the mainland� a bo-hic town amidst the Everglades. At only $40/night� I can endure no more� I made a 2nd room reservation. This was the BEST night yet ! We each had a bed to ourselves, the air temperature suited us, not everyone else�s frigid tastes, where Austin ended up with a sore throat & stuffy nose�and heck -I was shivering. We didn�t even turn on the TV � I could move around the room freely, and into the peaceful quiet of the night. Activity Highlights: We went on a snorkel and sunset Sailing trip to some coral reefs. Beautiful catamaran experience. Saw all the street performers that come out to celebrate each evening�s sunset celebration at Mallory Square, i.e. escape artists, magicians, sword swallowers, fire jugglers, etc. We rented bicycles (the best way to get around the island). Went parasailing ! WOW ! Key West is not known for its beaches, however we spent some time at Ft. Zachary Beach, and in the hotel pool. Austin confirmed that the women on South Beach were topless. Despite growing up at �camp�� he confesses that old women are not as visually appealing as the younger ones. LOL Cuban Time Zone: We went there hoping to participate in the Cuban Heritage Festival. The banner was up in the middle street. Where did all the events go? I got my fill of Cuban food at the restaurant, but where�s the street kiosk tastes, and event t-shirts? I loved the music, artifacts and food at El Meson�s just off Mallory Sq. We stayed late for the Coast to coast (1mile � Atlantic to Gulf) conga line. It was slated to start at 8pm� but is that American time? --- or Cuban time (which means anytime between 8:30pm and sometime the next day...whenever everyone decides to show up, and things get going� It must have been Cuban time�only half of Duval St. got blocked off, and never found a group of conga followers or the music float. Apparently, the organizers were busy opening up a new restaurant, and let this event fall through the cracks. It seems the only time Cuban�s were ahead of their time was in history� when Jose Marti (a Spanish elite) wanted all slaves to be free, and gave weapons, set fire to plantations� a war that lasted against Spain�s interests for 10 yrs. The Cuban Consulate bldg. (now the San Carlos Institute in Key West) � became the first bi-racial, and bi-lingual school house� this was pre 1850�s. Best Lines: When we got to the room, and Eric was gloating that he�d be in the bed, and Austin would get the floor cot� Austin replied, �that�s because I�m obviously the only REAL man staying in the room!� When Ashley was asked if she knew the Cuban national anthem� she began singing� �Row, row, row your boat�� This was definitely a coming of age trip for Austin. I left with what I viewed as my little boy, and returned with someone whom I respected as a man in his own right. Afterall, he did help me keep track of the money, expenses, tip amounts and other math burdens I hate. I need a vacation from my vacation. Damn -- it's cold up here !! All in all� it was a good trip, and we miss those guys ! Next adventure 2 weeks� Bike around Lake Michigan. |