Vacation 2005 - 2006 - Day 6 (last day)

Our last full day of vacation was started off right. Chris, Brandi, Zack, Kayla, Jill and I got up early to head to the Whale Harbor charter fishing docks. We boarded Captain Paul Johnson's boat (his real name). Our goal was the Sailfish, a large game fish. We would start the day off trying for some Sailfish bait - mainly yellowtail and Ballyhoo.
Here's Zack with his first catch of the day, a nice little yellowtail. It's too bad he wasn't a keeper, because these are tasty little dudes.
Chris caught one too. I can't remember if this was yellowtail or something else, but he was sure proud of the catch.
Kayla had a blast, but sometimes being 6 just catches up to you...
Jill with her ridiculous fish. She reeled this thing in like it was no big deal, but he sure was a big one. We caught two big fish, the one Jill has above, a Porgie, and also a King Mackeral that was smaller but a little longer.
The fish looked a lot better after the chef at Whale Harbor fried them up. They have an outdoor boardwalk where you can sit and eat your catch while overlooking the ocean.
It was a fun last night of the trip. Thanks again to Mom and Dad for taking all of us. I know we all had a great time, and created many long-lasting memories, like when Dad was speaking with our Polish waiter in his native language :) It was great to be able to spend time all together like that, which is something that we can't do as much as we'd like.

Vacation 2005 - 2006 - Day 5

Day 5 was the first full day in Key Largo. We drove down in the afternoon and evening of Day 4. We signed up to go deep-sea fishing, on one of the boats like the ones here.
We went down to Marathon and had some great seafood. It doesn't get much fresher than this! Chris found some sweet glasses in the parking lot that had been run over a couple times.
After lunch we decided to feed some fishes. Zack is holding a slimy bait fish to give to the huge Tarpon below. They come up and take the fish from your hand, which can be a little unnerving. The lattice is meant to keep the pelicans away and let you feed the fish, but they still stick their long beaks through it to try and take the fish from you.
There's Zack and I laying down to feed the Tarpon. You can see 6 or 7 of them in the murky water below. Unfortunately the tide was out at the time, making it a bit of a reach to give them the fishes.

Vacation 2005 - 2006 - Day 4

Unfortunately Day 4 began with Chris, Brandi, Zack, Kayla, Mom, Dad, Jill and I leaving the rental house in Orlando to begin our drive Northwest to Crystal River. Randy and Meredithe had to head back to South Bend on this day, to get back to work :( The rest of us went to Crystal River to go snorkeling with the manatees. The picture above is Chris helping Zack get into his wetsuit - probably the least fun part of snorkeling or diving.
After we all got our wetsuits and snorkels, we jumped in the water to find some manatees. They are an endangered species, and Crystal River is home to a protected area for them. You are not allowed to ride, chase, or grab them, but you are allowed to pet them - if they approach you first, or are passing by.
We had a great time, and probably saw 30 or more manatees in only a couple hours. This picture was taken from the boat, so that gives you an idea of how close they get. They weigh on average about 1,000 pounds, and are about 10 feet long. They look pretty imposing when approaching under the water, but are very docile (and thankfully are herbivores).
Here's Brandi, Kayla and Mom on the boat.
Jill and I on the boat getting some sun. It was a nice day to be out there, and no one got seasick.
Dad teaching Zack to drive the boat. He did a good job, we didn't run into anything :)

Vacation 2005 - 2006 - Day 3

Day 3 was spent in two different destinations. Chris, Brandi, Zack, Kayla, Randy, Meredithe, and Brenna spent the day with Shamu at Sea World. Mom, Dad, Jill and I were on "theme-park overload", so instead of going over there we split up and we went to Cape Canaveral. There is a very nice visitor's center with many exhibits and a bus tour showing visitors the Saturn V rocket launch room (and rocket) as well as many other space-stuff.
That's me with the infamous Shuttle Pop. It's the best value, because your secondary rocket boosters can be filled with cola, while the shuttle tail holds much of the ice. Oh - and that's an indoor Saturn V rocket in the background. It's big.
Jill and I with some rockets in the outdoor exhibit.

Gonna find my baby, gonna hold her tight - gonna grab some afternoon delight. My motto's always been; when it's right, it's right. Why wait until the middle of a cold dark night.When everything's a little clearer in the light of day. And you know the night is always gonna be there any way. Sky rockets in flight. Afternoon delight. Afternoon delight.
Mom and Dad at the Crab Shuttle, the best seafood dive in Titusville (across the waterway from the Cape). We had our reservations about the place when we saw their "mural" on the outer wall with a Space Shuttle and crabs falling out of it, but this place was GREAT.
The nightly ritual at the rental house - playing some 8-Ball, 9-Ball, and some game that Zack made up. He convinced Randy that his neighbor taught him a game, which he really had just made up. Quite an imagination on that boy...

Vacation 2005 - 2006 - Day 2

Day 2 was the trip to MGM Studios! Here we have the lovely Jill Carnes riding the parking lot tram from the car to the park entrance.
Kayla, Zack, Chris, Dad and Mom waiting to board the Star Wars ride. It was supposed to be a tour of the moon of Endor, but it ended up being a flight through a battlezone near Star Destroyers and Tie Fighters. We got through it ok though...
Ok, these pictures are a bit out of order. These happy faces are Kayla and Brenna, early in the morning before leaving for MGM. Looks like they enjoy being cousins.
Brenna and Meredithe, getting ready for the Muppets in 3-D. I think the show still works if the glasses are upside down...
Mom and Dad enjoying the hot tub at the rental house.
Chris and I at Walgreen's. We asked Kayla that night what her favorite part of the day was, and she said "Walgreen's"....They did have an interesting selection.

Vacation 2005 - 2006, Day 1

This year after Christmas we went down to Orlando, Florida, to meet up with my parents and brother Randy and his family at a rental house where we all would stay. Flying with us down to Orlando was Chris and family. Mom and Dad rented a house near the theme parks, big enough that we could all stay together in one place. It was a nice house, with a pool in the back, but of course we didn't go to Orlando of all places to hang out at the house - we went for the "Happiest Place on Earth". To start us off right, we made it over to the Magic Kingdom at Disneyworld for the first day of the vacation. You can see Chris was very excited as we pulled up to the park in our rental minivan.
Brenna shared in Chris' excitement. Meredithe is holding her while Grandma watches patiently on the ferry ride from the Magic Kingdom parking lot tram to the entrance to the park.
Randy and Dad in line for the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse. I have to admit, this was much cooler when I was 6, but I also though people actually lived in it, so it's really your perspective that counts.
Kayla and Aunt Jill ready for some 3-D fun with the Disney characters. Unfortunately Chris, Zack and I missed the 3-D and Toon-Land fun while we went on Splash and Space Mountains. Great Disney theatrics of course, but the rides really don't hold a candle to Cedar Point. Of course though, nobody takes care of the whole experience better than Disney. After we all met up and walked through Minnie's house - next to Mickey's, I guess they couldn't live together, not being married and all...
Chris and Kayla waiting for the monorail back to the tram to the parking lot. Heading back to the car is a hour-long experience at Disney - you either have to take a ferry or a train to get to a parking lot tram to your car. Of course Disney does it best and it went very quickly.

Randy grillin' some kabobs for dinner. Each of the 3 kid-couples (Randy/Meredithe, Chris/Brandi, Jill/Me) cooked dinner one night each since we were all there for 3 nights. Overall - a great first day of vacation.