we're back!!

Well we survived another vacation. We are back in the frigid tundra, known as Iowa. I guess we picked the best week to be away, however the entire country was under a cold spell, the warmest it was in Florida the last few days we were there was about 68 degrees.

Well lets see, where was I in the updating of the activities? Looks like i need to start with Wednesday. Since the cooler weather was moving in, we hoped in the car and headed to Fort Launderdale, about 60 miles south. We found a spot close to the beach for parking and sat on the beach in the sun all day. It was a bit windy, but nice. There were construction workers in the area, that took their lunch break on the beach, one guy was wearing a flannel shirt and stocking hat. I wonder what they would have worn in the actual cold.

We took the scenic route back to Jupiter along the ocean, we hadn't had anything to eat, so we stopped off at this place for a slice of pizza. We ordered 2 slices by mistake, they were huge, we ate like a half of a pizza each. Then we got back to Jupiter and got cleaned up for a late supper, not realizing how burnt we were. We went to this sports bar called the Quarterdeck, good food an lots of water!!

Then on Thursday the forecast was about 67 and cloudy. We just couldn't imagine not going to the beach that day, so we waited until the afternoon, when it might have been warmer. In the morning we went to a Busch Animal place, where they rescue animals people think are pets and try to release them back in the wild, or make a nice home for them. We saw foxes, gators, eagles, panthers, and many more. While we there we thought we woul dcheck out the gift shop, well the old lady running the place about checked out too...the EMT's were there, things weren't looking good for her health. We left and headed for the beach.

For supper we tried out this place called Guanabanas. A new restuarant in town desgined after Hawaii. The restuarant was entirely outside, well except for the kitchen. It was cool, palm trees and tiki huts. The food was delicious as well, I would highly recommend the macadamia nut, coconut encrusted snapper.

Each night we came back to the hotel room to the Game Show Network, I am addicted. I wish we had it at home. I think we can get it for a 2394 dollar upgrade. There is just something satisfying about yelling at the tv to answer the game show questions, makes you feel smarter than the contestant.

Friday came, and we had to get to Orlando by 6 ish to catch our flight. WE decided to leave early and take the ocean road back north, the interstate is just too boring. We took US Highway 1, there are lots of little ocean towns, with many expensive homes.

We stopped back at Cocoa Beach one last time, shopped around a little more, and decided to get a meal on the pier. It was the warmest spot around, in a break from the wind and facing the sun. There was a foursome from Boston at the bar that we chatted with as well. There are so many nice people vacationing in Florida, as well as nice locals, very laid back. While we were visiting and eating, Josh was the lucky one who got pooped on by a seagull! It really topped off the vacation, and it was super funny. After all that excitement we took one last walk on the beach, Josh changed his shirt and we headed for Orlando.

Once in Orlando we were going to visit with some folks who winter there, that are from Iowa. We managed to catch up with them for a little while, then had to be off as to not miss our flight, we still had to return the rental.

We grabbed a super quick bite to eat at Joe's Crab Shack, and in the hub-bub Josh left his debit card behind. Things were not looking up for him.

We returned the car, checked in and were ready to fly home. We were both anxious as we saw on the news the previous day the plane crash in New York. I hate flying to begin with, I was so happy when we landed at the Moline airport just before midnight.

We bundled up, as much as we could, considering we didn't take our winter coats to FLorida, found our car, cleaned the snow off, and made the trek back to Iowa City. And that is our vacation. We aren't planning any more vacations for a while, i will appreciate the break from flying. However this time of year does get a little boring ( i am sure i will be super busy with the scrapbooking)