Florida here we are!

On Friday morning (April 25, 2008) we got up at 5am to catch a 7:45 flight out of Allentown for Orlando. I haven't flown since 1996 (on my honeymoon). Going through the gate check wasn't too bad but I did protest when they asked that I remove my belt. This holds up my pants and without it there are problems. Off with the shoes, remove all the crap from your pockets, take off all outerwear, remove any gold teeth, throw your brand-new laptop into a plastic tray, remove all metal rods from your spine, and proceed.

The airport breakfast food is something you do not want to consume. I bought a double-bacon egg omelet at Subway. Basically pre-cooked egg rolled out with pre-cooked bacon wrapped in a fajita and unheated. Sue went with the more practical blue-berry muffin (as did Carter). As I was leaving the subway my wife and son were no where to be found. I usually get a 'waa waa waa' (like the teacher on peanuts) and then realize I never heard what my wife told me. So I sat in front of the subway eating my omelet as they called 'last call for gate 10 to orlando'.. S**T that was our flight. I see Sue running and coming to a halt in a panic looking for me as I rustled with the spackled omlette and shoved it back in the bag.

We ran to the gate. No hurry since once we got through there was a line going onto the plane. This was Carter's first plane ride. The flight was pretty smooth but I did take offense to the flight attendant's attempt at humor during the safety instruction. .."if the flight becomes a cruise please use your seat as a floatation device"... somehow I remember hearing that in a movie..

During the flight they held a raffle and we bought 10 tickets for $5.00.. and we won! A Florida blanket and a deck of cards. I remember flying as a child and receiving 'wings' and a deck of cards.

Once we were about to touch down Carter moved over to the window seat (seen below).

We picked up the rental car (a Dodge Caliber) and went off to Seaworld. Even before we got inside Carter was wanting to see a Manatee! We have no idea where he even heard of a manatee before.

The manatee was one of the last things we saw before leaving. I wasn't very impressed with Seaworld after spending $200.00 on 3 tickets. The only things to drink were soda and water.. we could not find juice anywhere and you will think I'm lying but my son does not like either water (he drinks this sometimes) or soda (he hates soda; yes, he's my son). The shows were really bad; even for kids shows. Once you become a father (or mother) you become an expert on what kids like and otter/seal show was pretty bad. We didn't get to see the Shamu show since it was to capacity as we approached the gate. You have to walk about 3 miles to the stadium and then once you get there you are either told to 'come on in' or 'go away; we're full' (not exactly what they said). The food was over-priced (like most theme parks) - water $2.50 / bud - $5.00 - and if you are carrying your bud make sure they're aren't any small children in front of you. You could accidentally poor beer down there back if you aren't watching what you are doing.

What was very cool was that you could see Shamu up close and personal. He has his own tank. (see the photo below). The manatees were outside and you could get pretty close to them. You could also see sharks, stingrays, barracudas (these guys look mean; and have teeth!), dragonfish (look just like a floating plant), and the occasional squirrel. While we were sitting at the otter/seal show Sue looked over and a squirrel was staring at us from the aisle. They seem to seek me out! They are vicious little creatures and should be avoided at all costs.

I will post more as soon as I have more energy. Yesterday we went to Disney and 7 hours walking around in the sun takes a lot out of you. And we are heading back there today.

A Manatee named Jeremy