Florida
Well, we're back from Florida. We had a fantastic time. One of the best vacations ever. Pictures can be found over at my picasa album: http://tiny.cc/9q2gt
We arrived Wednesday, to the St. Pete airport. I was supposed to get a car "like" a Pontiac G6. I got a PT Cruiser. Hated that stupid car. It had plenty of leg room, but no trunk space, and it had ZERO horsepower. I didn't think we were gonna make it up some of those causeway bridges in that thing. We headed to my uncle Silas' house where we had lasagna for dinner, tried to see if we could find the Cavs game (OMG, don't get me started) since he didn't have cable, and just generally sat around until bed time.
Thursday I took my mom to a tailor to get her dressed fixed for the wedding. She'd gotten this GORGEOUS dress, took it to someone here to fix, but they did a crappy job. Found someone in Clearwater who could do it for us. It rained a lot that day. We went out to Brandon to have lunch with my cousins and aunt and uncle, then I got my eyebrows and nails done, and we did some shopping. We wanted to head back "home" (Tio Silas'), but it was *pouring*. The rain finally subsided some, and we went back. Well, no one was home and we didn't have the key. So we called up my aunt Valha's house, talked to my cousin Gabriel, and headed over to their place for a bit. My dad and uncle Vladimir were already there too. Hung out for a bit, gathered up my dad, and went back "home". When we got to Tio Silas', Tia Liuba and Tia Halyna were just leaving. Said a quick hello to them, and it was bedtime.
Friday was the wedding. First, had to go down to get my mom's dress. It was pouring when we left, but it had stopped by the time we got there. While I waited in the car for her, saw a bunch of Scientologists. They dress like Mormons. But it was way creepier. We all got swanked out, then headed out to the wedding. Took awhile to get there. Wasn't the easiest place to find either; there was a sign out front that I managed to see at the last second, but then when we turned into the drive, we found ourselves at the University of South Florida or something. There were no signs indicating that the estate we wanted was further back. But eventually we got there. It was supposed to be an outdoor wedding. It started raining. Eventually the rain stopped, the sun broke through, and we had a lovely wedding. The food at the reception was yummy, and the dancing outdoors afterward was a blast.
Saturday morning, we decided to head to the beach for a bit. It was cloudy and supposed to rain, so we didn't think we'd be there that long. Dennis didn't bother with any sunscreen. The sun ended up coming out, and we ended up staying much longer than we had planned, with the result that Dennis ended up quite burned. But we had a really fun time! My cousin Rosie and her kids went too, and later my aunt Halyna and her three kids showed up too. Took a nice long nap that afternoon. That evening the whole clan got together at Bahama Breeze for dinner. It wasn't so great. Really loud, rather expensive, and the food was just ok, rather than awesome. I tried onion rings for the first time ever (I don't like onions) and found them to be ok. They probably would have been tastier if I had dipped them into one of the two sauces they came with. We then went to Tia Sara's for some coffee, then headed back home.
Sunday morning, right back to the beach. Much larger group this time, Rosie and her kids again, but this time she also brought Mimi's girls with her, and Tia Liuba and Tio Richard were there, and Marly showed up too. My parents went home that afternoon. On our way back from the beach we stopped to visit my grandma for a few minutes. Went home, ate, showered, then got ready to go to Tia Valha's for dinner. Lots of people there. Again, ridiculously loud. Got to watch Kung Fu Panda. Found it cute and somewhat amusing, but not that fantastic. Stayed to watch some of the Cavs game (ugh) and then went home.
Monday, Dennis and I went kayaking out in Safety Harbor and Cooper's Bay. It was fantastic. I really liked the boat I was in, a Hurricane Tampico. Spent two hours paddling about, mostly lazily. Saw quite a few birds, including a huge osprey. Also saw a bunch of fish that kept jumping out of the water. I don't know if they were trying to escape something or trying to catch bugs. That afternoon, we went to John's Pass with my cousin Ron, since the only thing planned seemed to be a trip to an outlet mall. After having some appetizers and looking around, we headed back to Clearwater, and then got in a round of mini golf. The last three holes was a bit of a race to get them in both before the place closed, and before the thunderstorm that was approaching broke.
Tuesday we hit the beach one last time, just for a little bit with my cousin Gabe. Saw my grandmother one last time, then packed it up to head on home. My dad picked us up from the airport, and we went to my parents' place for dinner. Made a quick stop at Rosie's house to drop off something her mom had gotten her while outlet shopping, then it was home, where the cats were very happy to see us.
We should check to see if we won on that powerball ticket Dennis bought; he's pretty much ready to move to Florida after this trip!
We arrived Wednesday, to the St. Pete airport. I was supposed to get a car "like" a Pontiac G6. I got a PT Cruiser. Hated that stupid car. It had plenty of leg room, but no trunk space, and it had ZERO horsepower. I didn't think we were gonna make it up some of those causeway bridges in that thing. We headed to my uncle Silas' house where we had lasagna for dinner, tried to see if we could find the Cavs game (OMG, don't get me started) since he didn't have cable, and just generally sat around until bed time.
Thursday I took my mom to a tailor to get her dressed fixed for the wedding. She'd gotten this GORGEOUS dress, took it to someone here to fix, but they did a crappy job. Found someone in Clearwater who could do it for us. It rained a lot that day. We went out to Brandon to have lunch with my cousins and aunt and uncle, then I got my eyebrows and nails done, and we did some shopping. We wanted to head back "home" (Tio Silas'), but it was *pouring*. The rain finally subsided some, and we went back. Well, no one was home and we didn't have the key. So we called up my aunt Valha's house, talked to my cousin Gabriel, and headed over to their place for a bit. My dad and uncle Vladimir were already there too. Hung out for a bit, gathered up my dad, and went back "home". When we got to Tio Silas', Tia Liuba and Tia Halyna were just leaving. Said a quick hello to them, and it was bedtime.
Friday was the wedding. First, had to go down to get my mom's dress. It was pouring when we left, but it had stopped by the time we got there. While I waited in the car for her, saw a bunch of Scientologists. They dress like Mormons. But it was way creepier. We all got swanked out, then headed out to the wedding. Took awhile to get there. Wasn't the easiest place to find either; there was a sign out front that I managed to see at the last second, but then when we turned into the drive, we found ourselves at the University of South Florida or something. There were no signs indicating that the estate we wanted was further back. But eventually we got there. It was supposed to be an outdoor wedding. It started raining. Eventually the rain stopped, the sun broke through, and we had a lovely wedding. The food at the reception was yummy, and the dancing outdoors afterward was a blast.
Saturday morning, we decided to head to the beach for a bit. It was cloudy and supposed to rain, so we didn't think we'd be there that long. Dennis didn't bother with any sunscreen. The sun ended up coming out, and we ended up staying much longer than we had planned, with the result that Dennis ended up quite burned. But we had a really fun time! My cousin Rosie and her kids went too, and later my aunt Halyna and her three kids showed up too. Took a nice long nap that afternoon. That evening the whole clan got together at Bahama Breeze for dinner. It wasn't so great. Really loud, rather expensive, and the food was just ok, rather than awesome. I tried onion rings for the first time ever (I don't like onions) and found them to be ok. They probably would have been tastier if I had dipped them into one of the two sauces they came with. We then went to Tia Sara's for some coffee, then headed back home.
Sunday morning, right back to the beach. Much larger group this time, Rosie and her kids again, but this time she also brought Mimi's girls with her, and Tia Liuba and Tio Richard were there, and Marly showed up too. My parents went home that afternoon. On our way back from the beach we stopped to visit my grandma for a few minutes. Went home, ate, showered, then got ready to go to Tia Valha's for dinner. Lots of people there. Again, ridiculously loud. Got to watch Kung Fu Panda. Found it cute and somewhat amusing, but not that fantastic. Stayed to watch some of the Cavs game (ugh) and then went home.
Monday, Dennis and I went kayaking out in Safety Harbor and Cooper's Bay. It was fantastic. I really liked the boat I was in, a Hurricane Tampico. Spent two hours paddling about, mostly lazily. Saw quite a few birds, including a huge osprey. Also saw a bunch of fish that kept jumping out of the water. I don't know if they were trying to escape something or trying to catch bugs. That afternoon, we went to John's Pass with my cousin Ron, since the only thing planned seemed to be a trip to an outlet mall. After having some appetizers and looking around, we headed back to Clearwater, and then got in a round of mini golf. The last three holes was a bit of a race to get them in both before the place closed, and before the thunderstorm that was approaching broke.
Tuesday we hit the beach one last time, just for a little bit with my cousin Gabe. Saw my grandmother one last time, then packed it up to head on home. My dad picked us up from the airport, and we went to my parents' place for dinner. Made a quick stop at Rosie's house to drop off something her mom had gotten her while outlet shopping, then it was home, where the cats were very happy to see us.
We should check to see if we won on that powerball ticket Dennis bought; he's pretty much ready to move to Florida after this trip!