Orlando

Off we went, I have a large suitcase full of stuff, JD has a small suitcase that is half full. I am sure I will run out of clothes before him but am putting my trust in the shopping malls of the south.

Orlando - hotel was worn but ok, for $50 a night you cant be too picky. We immediately found an ale house across the street where we started off by drinking bud light (5 for $10 - that is good value) and watching football. The next day we took the complimentary shuttle to Magic Kingdom. Well actually we had breakfast with a couple of nice guys who tried to sell us a timeshare ("oh no its not a timeshare, its a vacation program and you get a deed") so we got 1/2 price tickets.

Magic Kingdom. Its January. Should be low season. OMG. I do not want to know how this place looks like in high season. We managed to do 3 rides. That's it. We spent hours queuing. We did see both the show and parade and the Presidents show. Overall impressions: Space Mountain is good, its all very pretty, all female dancers have wigs (Walt must have loved the straight bob - not a curly hair in sight...) and there is no beer. One day was plenty.

We spent the next day (next two days in JD's case) at Kennedy Space Center. LOVED IT! The space shuttle experience was very cool, the tour of the area (and seeing the shuttle scheduled to leave early Feb up and being made ready) was amazing! We saw alligators, bald eagles, armadillos and turtles.

I then spent two days in a conference, which was surprisingly good. Being there with Courtney did help, we had a good time together and as the only two blonds (and a minority as women) stood out quite a bit.

Today we finished off the Orlando visit with a swamp tour in Kissimmee. Just JD and I in a swamp boat, with a guide driving us around showing us all the birds (white and blue heron, white and black ibises, egrets, wee running birds, eagles, vultures etc) and lots of alligators who were lying in the sun trying to warm up. From babies (2 1/2 years old) and medium sized to very large ones. Luckily they didnt care about us so we sneaked up on them, took a look and left them to keep sunbathing.

Driving up to St Augustine we hit a massive rain storm so at one point JD was driving 30mph and wasnt able to see the side lines but luckily with straight roads it was ok in the end. We are staying on the beach but havent been able to enjoy it yet due to the rain. But we have had gator for dinner, well I had while JD chickened out and ordered tuna.