Happy Birthday Lorelei

Happy Birthday Lorelei
Originally uploaded by thelinkels

Happy birthday to my baby girl who is 6 today. I still remember the very first itme I held you and my heart embraced pink!! We had to postpone her birthday party with her friends today and it does not look good for the family party tomorrow because of the snow. Brownies tonight and a pink flower cake tomorrow.

Rifle musket

Rifle musket
Originally uploaded by thelinkels

We got a late start again today, not leaving the campground until after 9 am. We stopped for breakfast at Waffle House and then went rolling up I-95 toward Savannah, GA. We stopped into Fort Pulaski which is a Civil War era fort. Much different from the colonial era forts we visited yesterday. We arrived just in time to see the musket rifle demonstration. Afterwards we toured walked around and read the signs and took pictures. We then stopped back into the visitor’s center to get our park stamps. We are quickly filling up the space in the Southeast section of our passport books and will probably run out of room considering that we only have 13 of the 39 in this region.

Once we were on the road heading for home, I made sandwiches and the kids settled in with some video games for the 4 hour ride. We have had a great trip (that we wish didn’t have to end). We have also learned a lot in our not so “dry run”.

•Bring more water to drink. You never know the quality you will get especially in beach areas.
•The kids need more down time at the campground to keep from being crabby.
•Getting up early will be harder the longer we are camping. Need to rethink the timing of activities for our two week Montana trip this summer.
•Don’t bring the dog. One more thing to have to deal with and it will be difficult in warmer weather to keep her cool when we park at national parks. Sorry to my parents up front, we need a dog sitter.

There are other things too like maybe getting a ladder for the overhead bunk and about some additional storage containers so that we can keep the camper reasonably clean and organized. Other than the leak problem things went great and that will hopefully be fixed when we drop it at the dealership tomorrow. I’m already working on another trip – maybe Atlanta for a weekend after Lorelei’s birthday?????

Castle fireworks

Castle fireworks
Originally uploaded by thelinkels

It rained all night on Thursday night. We are not talking a peaceful soothing drizzle, we are talking 2 – 3 inches per hour kind of storm. We woke up to find drips coming from two places in our overhead cabinets and one where the overhead bunk and truck cab meet. Our salesman at the RV dealership got an email from me before eight AM on Friday morning and by the time we were riding Buzz Lightyear’s Spacespin at 9:30 I had a message saying that we were the first appointment on the list for Monday morning.

Of course it was a beautiful morning and the sun was out and who doesn’t forget all their troubles in the happiest place on earth. We rode everything, the crowds were fairly light and the temperature was perfect. We went back out to the Disney parking lot and hopped into the camper for lunch and a little time to lie down before heading back into the park for the rest of the night. We closed the place down after the fireworks and the kids were so exhausted that they fell asleep in their clothes on the 10 minute drive back to the campground. We were exhausted too and headed straight to bed.

We got a late start this morning sleeping in until about 7:45 and we didn’t get on the road until 9. We all slept great, I think it was due to not having rain!! Our first stop after a two hour drive was a place on the scenic highway in Marineland. This was apparently THE place in Florida to come before Seaworld and Disney came along. There was a beachside picnic area where we ate lunch and then played on the beach. While we were climbing on the rocks the waves came in and Scott’s feet got wet but luckily he saved princess Lorelei from near disaster. If her feet had gotten wet that would have been the end of all of the fun.

Up the road from Marineland is Fort Matanzas National Monument. This pays homage to our nations’ Spanish heritage. It was probably one of the best places we have been because they have these volunteers that dress up and talk about what life was really like and some of them are making crafts or cleaning guns just like they did in the 17th and 18th centuries. I loved when I told Lorelei that we had to go on a Ferry to get across that she remembered that we had to do that at Fort Sumter. Scott and the kids got a cannon lesson while I learned about the British uniforms. We were the last people to leave from our boat.

Next we headed 15 miles up the road into St. Augustine and Castillo De San Marcos. The guys at Fort Matanzas told us about the firing of the cannons that they do and we were itching to make it by 3:30. Of course St. Augustine is a cramped “old” town and parking a 28 foot RV is a total bitch!! We finally found the RV lot which of course was not close. We were sure we had missed the firing but arrived just in time!! They actually fire pieces of bread as their blanks. The kids loved it. Then we hammed it up around the Fort and checked the exhibits and movie out.

It was nearly 5 o’clock by the time we left and we still had an hours drive to our campground. We originally planned to stop at Fort Caroline & Timucuan near Jacksonville but our late start, enjoyable lunch and time at Matanzas added to our decision to skip it (in my head I am already planning a trip to the Florida Keys with several stops along the way at Christmas time).
I know this was a long post but I had to sum up two days. We have had a good trip and the laughter has far outweighed the irritation. When we are rolling down the highway and the kids are telling horrible jokes or laughing at something silly, it makes it all worth it. Enjoy the pictures!

So, I am writing this from the KOA near Disney. Specifically I am in the laundry room. We had a fine drive through the rain all the way down I95. We stopped short of Disney so that Scott could spend the afternoon with a friend. We parked at Walmart so the kids and I could pick up a few things we realized we needed in the camper while Scott was away. It was raining and I was nervous about driving by myself the first time in the rain so we decided we would hang out in the parking lot and wait on Scott. From there things went downhill. Some thunder storms rolled through and Cherokee was freaking out so I gave here the sedative that the vet gave me. I think I regret that because she is completely loopy and can't seem to walk straight even 6 hours later. We finally arrived in orlando after 9 and parked at the campground. Scott hooked up the water and a valve on the back of the toilet broke. He figures that the 2 weeks of low temps froze it. We thought we had it drained but apparently not We used 4 towels to clean it up, which happen to be our shower towels - hence the laundry room. Not only is that a problem but we seem to also have a leak. Scott got dripped on in the drivers seat where the cab and bunk meet. We think it might be the seals on the window but we can't seem to exactly pinpoint it. I guess our first official trip is really "breaking" in our FunV. :(

Still hopeful that despite the late night we will find magic in the magic kingdom tomorrow.

Frustrated in Florida

Trailing car lights

Trailing car lights
Originally uploaded by thelinkels

"The lights are much brighter there, you can forget all your troubles, forget all your cares when your downtown..."

I had so much fun tonight learning how to use my camera and taking night time shots of the queen city. It was also really neat to be out on the streets and to have so many people stop to ask what we were doing. Everyone thought it was really cool. I really got to know how to use my tripod and I am very excited to try it out on the Magic Kingdom fireworks. Check out the rest of the experimental pics by following the link to FLICKR.

Stop Action 2

Stop Action 2
Originally uploaded by thelinkels

This shot was one of my homework assignments for the photography class that I am taking. I am having lots of fun experimenting and learning. This kids of course make great homework helpers. Wednesday night I am supposed to go to the night class where we will be photographing the city of Charlotte at sunset and at night (hoping for no rain). This could not come at a more perfect time because Friday night we should be in Disney World watching the fireworks. Hopefully I will be able to get some great shots. This will be our first official camping trip in the FunV. I can't wait to turn my face toward the warm Florida sunshine.

Tomorrow I start an 8 week photography course to get me better acquainted with the mire manual functions of my D-SLR. I am very excited about this because I love taking photographs and really want to be able to have some cool shots to show for all of our travels.
We also have scheduled our first FUNV trip. We are heading to Florida in 2 weeks. I am really stoked because January is not my favorite month because we don't usually go anywhere. I just can't wait to be on the road again!