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The Swamp

	My Flixster

Day 7 - Sea World

Finally, after 4 months of being married, I've finally gotten around to posting the last day of our honeymoon to Florida. It's not as fresh in my mind anymore, but it was still a fun experience I want to share at least a few pictures of, even though I may be a little short on the details and descriptions.

By this time in our vacation, we were so tired we didn't get to Sea World until about lunch time, even though it was within walking distance of our condo. The drawback is that we didn't get as much of a chance to linger at any of the habitats, as we wanted to see as many of the shows as possible, and you have to be at each show 15 - 30 minutes before it's scheduled start to get a decent seat. When one show was over, it was close to time to start for the next show. We ended up seeing three shows total.

First, upon entering the park, which we had access to due to our tickets to Discovery Cove, we turned left and spent some time watching the dolphins at the dolphin habitat before heading to the dolphin show.

A female trainer swam with, rode and was pushed by one or a combination of dolphins. A part of the show included a strange type of whale, which was presented by the male trainer.

After the dolphin show, we went through the penquin habitat, followed by watching the seals and sea lions in their habitat. The second show included seals and sea lions.

Lastly, we had to see Shamoo the Killer Whale. We were disappointed in that the normal show was canceled, as Shamo had just given birth on Monday of that week. We did however get to see her guiding her baby around the tank, teaching it to stear and swim, as well as watch the video of the birth on the jumbotron. The trainers would drop handfulls of fish in the mother's mouth each time she passed in front of the croud.She kept the baby on the outside of her closest to the croud, but it was still difficult to get a good shot of the baby.

Day 6 - Kennedy Space Center/Downtown Disney

I seem to have stopped before finishing my synopsis of our Florida honeymoon. I'm not entirely sure why the dry spell, though the last month or two have been emotionally draining, but I'll try to fill in what I can remember of Day 6. I apologize in advance as I know my recall of the day will not flow well, as it's a bit jumbled up in my brain. Luckily we have pictures, and I'll add them to my flickr site some time this weekend, which is linked on the right side of this page.

Before I do that though, for anyone who hasn't visited my better half's blog, we have a new addition to the family. I never thought I'd ever utter these words, but...we have purchased a cat. That's right, a C-A-T. No, hell has not frozen over, but I do love my wife, and she is after all a cat person, which I knew before I married her, so we went out together and purchased a stray from the local animal shelter. The next stop was at the local Petsmart, where I imagine the receipt total was easily more than the cat cost.

Taylor named her Lola...Here she is with what was to become her wooby. It's the first toy she played with, and she carries it around the house with her and leaves pink feathers on the carpet.

Her food bowl, water and bed are under the end table next to my recliner, since that is the first place she went when we let her out of the box. The sliding patio door is just behind her and she loves to watch the birds and squirrels.

Lying next to the box she came in.

I have to say, I'm surprised that this cat was still at the shelter. She's such a sweet and loving animal and if I'm not careful, she may break through my surly anti-cat exterior. I'm sure if you asked my wife, she would tell you she's done that already, but I have to keep up appearances, at least for a little while.

Anyway, on to day 6 - Kennedy Space Center

We were hoping to see a shuttle launch since one was scheduled to lift off while we were in Florida, but alas, it was not to be. The hail damage from the month prior grounded the shuttle until well after we were to leave town. It was decided therefore to visit Kennedy Space Center on a day that showed the highest promise of rain, which pushed our plans to visit Sea World to day 7.

There were 3 stops on our tour of the space center, the first of which was the observation gantry located between the current launch platform and the vehicle assembly building, which is the tallest single story structure in the world. Located next to the vehicle assembly building sat the Crawler Transporter, which has an astonishing fuel efficiency of 150 gallons per mile. You read that right folks, though granted it's max loaded speed is one mile per hour.

In one building was I believe a rocket from the Apollo missions that was built as a backup, but was never used.

We also saw pieces of the international space station, both under construction and complete and ready for loading. I think this was on the 3rd stop of the tour, but I'm not entirely sure anymore.

The remaining stop was at the old mission control, which was set up to simulate being present during a lift off, complete with countdown, lit computers and switches, rattling windows and surround sound of the engines during lift off.

After leaving NASA, we went to check out Downtown Disney, just to see what was there. We've marked it mentally for a place to spend more time if we ever get to visit Orlando again.

Next, Our final day in Florida, Day 7 - Sea World.

Lasso the Moon

Your Score: Jimmy Stewart

You scored 16% Tough, 19% Roguish, 52% Friendly, and 14% Charming!

You are the fun and friendly boy next door, the classic nice guy who still manages to get the girl most of the time. You're every nice girl's dreamboat, open and kind, nutty and charming, even a little mischievous at times, but always a real stand up guy. You're dependable and forthright, and women are drawn to your reliability, even as they're dazzled by your sense of adventure and fun. You try to be tough when you need to be, and will gladly stand up for any damsel in distress, but you'd rather catch a girl with a little bit of flair. Your leading ladies include Jean Arthur and Donna Reed, those sweet girl-next-door types.

Find out what kind of classic dame you'd make by taking the Classic Dames Test.

Link: The Classic Leading Man Test written by gidgetgoes on OkCupid, home of the The Dating Persona Test

"Our Mrs. Reynolds"

It's and end of an era. An end to life as we have previously known it. In just over 27 hours, our fearless captain will venture out into a new life in which his life will no longer be his own. Yes, it's the end of an era, but alas, it's also the beginning of a great adventure.

There have been a lot of changes...big changes...this year. What's more, I see more changes ahead. The future is ever changing, and I look forward to seeing what it has in store.

The Art Of A Good Marriage
Wilferd Arlan Peterson

Happiness in marriage is not something that just happens. A good marriage must be created.
In marriage the little things are the big things.
It is never being too old to hold hands.
It is remembering to say "I love you" at least once a day.
It is never going to sleep angry.
It is at no time taking the other for granted; the courtship should not end with the honeymoon, it should continue through the years.
It is having a mutual sense of values and common objectives.
It is standing together facing the world.
It is forming a circle of love that gathers the whole family.
It is doing things for each other, not in the attitude of duty or sacrifice, but in the spirit of joy.
It is speaking words of appreciation and demonstrating gratitude in thoughtful ways.
It is not looking for perfection in each other.
It is cultivating flexibility, patience, understanding and a sense of humour.
It is having the capacity to forgive and forget.
It is giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow old.
It is a common search for the good and the beautiful.
It is establishing a relationship in which the independence is equal, dependence is mutual and the obligation is reciprocal.
It is not only marrying the right partner; it is being the right partner.

Congratulations, Oh Captain my captain. Congratulations "Our Mrs. Reynolds."

Day 5 - The Titanic Experience

We were supposed to get rain on Thursday and Friday so we planned activities that would take us indoors. As it turned out, the weather cooperated enough that when it did rain, we were either in the car or under cover.

Since the previous 3 days had been so full of walking on pavement while park hopping, being outside all day, bustling in crowds and generally just wearing ourselves completely out, we decided this should be more of a relaxing day. We got up when we woke up, and not a minute before. Since we didn't have to be anywhere by a certain time, we took our time getting ready to leave, so it was probably close to noon before we left the condo.

Since our condo, which was the Hilton Grand Vacations Club at Sea World, was located just down the street from Sea World and Discovery Cove, we were also located very close to International Parkway, or "I Drive" as the locals call it, which is loaded with hotels, the convention center, restaurants, stores and Titanic, the Experience.

After the tour, we ate a late lunch at Chili's on "I Drive", then drove into Orlando, where we stopped off at a Russian bakery, then went on to the White Wolf Cafe, which was a restaurant featured on Rachael Ray's Food Network TV show $40 a Day. We sat outside under the awning behind the front sidewalk at a rough granite slab table and just enjoyed our time together. The temperature was perfect, and as we sat, we watched as a thunder shower came through. As there was no wind and the rain wasn't heavy, it was a very enjoyable experience.

The covered porch wasn't very deep. Taylor and I sat on the bench with our backs to the glass windows of the restaurant. The table had a bench seat on the other side which is obscured by the railing with potted flowers. I stood on the sidewalk out front to take the picture after it quit raining. There was an unoccupied table on either side of us, then 3 tables on the other side of the entrance, so we pretty much had the space to ourselves.

I took this picture from my seat next to Taylor of the little antique shop across the street from the cafe. You can see the clouds and the wet street from the storm that had just passed.

As we drove back to the condo, the rain started again, but it had quit raining by the time we pulled into the parking lot, so as it turned out, we never needed our umbrellas.

Next time, Day 6 - Kennedy Space Center.