Sandcastles in the Sand

M&Em owned Margarittaville

Mickey Mouse-owned

Dinosaur-owned

Em getting owned by Shamu

Meg getting owned by the Hulk

Our most recent trip took us down south to Orlando, FL. Thankfully the plane ride down was uneventful. The return trip is another story - more to come on that. Once we arrived in sunny Florida, we immediately gathered our belongings and picked up Sweet Marie - our 2002, white Ford Caliber. Marie was good to us - taking us everywhere we needed to be - and then some.

After we checked into the resort - M&Em were immediately on their way to Sea World to see Shamu. The weather was beautiful for a walk around the park. Aside from petting dolphins, we saw the ocean's version of its gentle giant - the Manatee. The Manatee is a HUGE fatty patty - so dear and so cute. That evening, we hit up the Boardwalk for some Mediterranean fare at Spoodles. The food was good, the atmosphere was delightful and sitting outside people watching was entertaining as always. After dinner, we hit up Jelly Rolls a piano bar which lacked a necessary ingredient - people.

Saturday we rose early with the sun to hit up Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. The parks were filled with shops, great food and amazing rides. Emmett was Meg's biggest cheerleader as she climbed aboard every ride. Em looked more green than Meg did - and he didn't even ride the rides! After a few hours of convincing, Meg got Em to go on one rollercoaster - the Spider-Man. That is probably Em's last ride for a good long time. After a few hours at Universal Studios and lunching at Margaritaville, Magic Kingdom was next on our list. The park was filled with people, sun and fun rides. Splash Mountain was our final stop before heading back to Universal Studios. Meg's expletives while falling 50 feet didn't bode well for the children's ears in front of her. After grubbing at Pat O'Briens, M&Em made their way to see Pat Benetar in concert. Yeah that's right, we said Pat Benetar. We jammed, we drank and we ate churros ending the evening on a high note.

Unfortunately, the weekend quickly drew to a close and Sunday was upon us before we knew it. After dropping off Sweet Marie, we were at the airport ready to head home. As soon as we boarded the plane, Meg was sleeping in an instant while Emmett was death gripping the arm rests. Before taking off, the pilot came on the intercom to begin his pre-flight announcement, only to be cut off by a power failure. Meg woke up briefly to look over at Emmett who was white in the face and ready to walk to MD rather than fly. We made it though - safe and sound - bringing back more fun memories with us.