Trip Highlights
The time away was much needed and helpful. Florida is not my ultimate favourite destination, but being a road trip, we got a beautiful view going through the mountains, and visiting historical locations. I must say, 80 degrees wasn't all that bad either!

I've heard that after 24 hours, whatever you remember are the poignant memories, and everything else was just moments in that particular time. Well, following are a few poignant memories...

Travelling
There was a lot of driving, as I discovered that I had exceeding my 3000 mile rule of changing the oil when we got back. I had just changed it before we left.

Friends
Getting to see the people responsible for our marriage was great! The radar on "trip value" shot way up when I discovered that Noelle has to go to England for a friend's wedding, and Denny can't go, so she was looking for a travelling companion. That decision took about 3 milliseconds. I already bought the ticket :)

Orlando
Since our resort was 6 miles from Disney World, it was tough getting away from the concept. May I just say that I will never take my child to an amusement park that costs $60 a person. Since I hate amusement parks anyway, this decision wasn't difficult at all. Unfortunately, Eric loves those terrifying beasts referred to as roller coasters, so I am the official holder of stuff in amusement parks. Pleasure Island was awesome though. Great comedy club in there...

Seaworld
Although I realise that Seaworld is in Orlando, it gets it's own catagory because ...well... it's SEAWORLD! Yes, I am one of those people that goes to as many zoos as possible and will stare at animals for hours on end, so I was in a dream come true at Seaworld. It's really sad though...I skipped Shamu completely. Something about the whale's fame annoyed me, so I spent more time with the manatees to compensate.

NASA
This was the most exciting part of the trip. Apparently they only use 5% of the island for rocket stuff, and the rest is dedicated to animal preservation...right down my alley! I saw a wild turtle coming out of his hole, a hawk swoop down and get a fish (the most awesome and poignant memory of the trip), and a wild Bald Eagle's nest. I also saw a wild armadillo cross the parking lot. There was a lot of discussion on shuttles and rockets, but it was either listen to the guide, or watch the animals. Gee, that's a toughie. According to Eric though, NASA is the most marvelous thing on the planet. I would suggest, if you are interested about the up close and personal views of the launch pads and such stuff, speak to Eric. :)

Columbia Zoo
Oh yeah! This is a great zoo, and I have some awesome photos. Since I obviously can't pop down to Columbia SC very often, I was very attentive to my camera, so I had Eric tagging behind me making notes of which photos were which animals.

Smoky Mountain National Park
As this park is the home of 70 miles of the trail I want to walk, and gorgeous besides, we had to visit. For my birthday, Eric had bought me Fendi sandals, and like a moron, was wearing them as we drove through the park....so when he wanted a picture of a waterfall with me next it, and water dripped on my Fendi sandals, there were many tears involved. Yes, I cried. I thought they were ruined, but Eric said since it was clean mountain water, it would dry all right. They did. I was happy again. Once again, I am proven that I will have to be a lot tougher for my Appalacian Trail hike.