Vacation ending

We were scheduled to fly out of Clearwater on Monday night at 7:30 and ultimately flew out at 4:30 Tuesday morning. On the positive side, the flight was otherwise uneventful. When given the choice it's always better for the final flight to be messed up as opposed to the first flight. Ultimately I had to return to work one day later...bummer, I know.

It's good to be back and the dog is happy to be home from the kennel. He's almost unrecognizable after a thorough grooming. (And he looks about half his original size!)

Saturday Sunset

After enjoying our seafood and a quick drive back to our hotel we were able to make it to the beach 'just in time' for a short stroll down the beach at sunset. The boys really enjoyed searching for sand dollars and other shells. Vacation is almost over. Hopefully the weather will be better tomorrow and we'll be able to enjoy the sun and sand.

Building Mussels

2008 06 21_Lido Beach_0010
Originally uploaded by J-Travels

Jacob consumed his weight in mussels at the Phillippi Creek Village Restaurant. Both boys were intrigued by the oyster shucking at the next table but didn't seem interested enough to try them!

Restaurant site: www.creekseafood.com/index.htm

Dinner!

While chatting with a 64 year old man in the Gulf (his wife was in their room watching their 2 year old - did I mention she's 29!), I asked for a restaurant recommendation. So here we are at Phillipi Creek Village Rest. & Oyster bar jsut south of Sarasota.

Last Rides

There was one more return to Hollywood Studios tonight after dinner. Luckily for all of us I squirreled away 6 fastpass tickets for the Rockin Rollercoaster. We re-entered the park under pouring rain and dried off in the Tower of Terror...it scares the water right out of your clothes! Time to head home so we can be at the Magic Kingdom when they open in the morning... Pirates of the Carribean re-opens tomorrow!

lunch

Fresh off of shooting up the Pixar ride we satisfy our hunger with 'healthy choices' from the Studio Catering Co.

Epcot

2008 06 17_Epcot_0217_edited-1
Originally uploaded by J-Travels

While the clouds built nothing even materialized...I guess that's just part of the Disney magic. We had a wonderful day eating our way around Epcot. Tomorrow we're off to Disney's Hollywood Studios for our encore performance.

Epcot - DONE!

Okay, 12 1/2 hours at any place, even one of Walt's magical places is enough for any family. We logged in a full day at Disney's Epcot and literally ate our way around the world. It should be noted that while I'd like to be uploading the tons of pictures and videos that I've shot on this trip my internet connection just isn't strong enough to handle that request. In short, you've been saved from endless slideshows and shaky videos... you're welcome.

Tomorrow we're back to Hollywood Studios to hit the attractions that we somehow didn't get to the first time we visited...plus we'll be sure to ride Rock-n-Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror again, and again, and again....

Hello from Orlando

From Epcot we say Hello and be sure to check out the family blog at www.j-travels.blogspot.com (be sure to check daily for updates)

Epcot

Back in the Disney saddle.

Mickey Free day

Much to the chagrin of Walt & Co., today was a Mickey Free day. After 3 consecutive days at the parks we took a day to experience Orlando. We went for Cuban sandwiches and then a canoe trip in a state park. The Wekiwa Springs state park has a spring fed swimming hole and a river that feeds into the St. Joe river. The spring was full of fish, turtles, and even a river otter or two. We luckily got off the river before the rather large thunderstorm broke. Unfortunately, we weren't able to go swimming due to all the lightning. Maybe we'll return another day (or maybe we won't).

'Chinese to Go' was dinner tonight. An early bedtime for the boys was on order to hit Epcot when the doors open.

answer: the end

question: what's the best part of the Small World ride?

Birthday boys

The dessert choice was left up to the birthday boys... they chose the Mud Pie. John fretted about the bill at Wolfgang Puck but I didn't (Lisa picked up the bill!)... now back to the Magic Kingdom. :-)

Uninvited guest

Aunt MJ shows her face in FLA. :-)

The Magic

at the castle.

To infinity...

and beyond! It wasn't luck that earned me the high score on Buzz Lightyear, but rather the big payoff from all those hours of video game playing. Happy birthday Boys and happy father's day to me. now back to the fun...

Disney adventure

The Janezics manage the hour wait for the night show by indulging in more portable entertainment...reading!

What ride are we on?

I asked Jacob a simple question and he gave me:
1. a simple answer
2. clear directions

Chips!

We're eating casual tonight at the Gaylord Palms. While I planned on eating at the seafood restaurant Lisa couldn't find any non-seafood items to eat...so we're at a bar-and-grill.

Finding Nemo?

I took this photo and posted it from my phone. Okay, the built in camera is definitely not up to snuff for photographing action in low lighting. Nonetheless we enjoyed the show after a full day of adventure in Disney's Animal Kingdom.

We're back at our condo and the boys are going to hit the pool while Lisa sneaks in a nap. bfn

The Janezics have landed

After a rather pleasant flight on an airline that nobody has ever heard of before, we landed at St. Petersburg - Clearwater airport. The luggage carousel was spitting out luggage within 15 minutes of landing...a benefit of a six gate airport. Okay, six gates is an exaggeration in that all the 'gates' are on the tarmack and everybody enters throught the same door. We definitely recommend USA3000 (www.usa3000.com) as an airline to consider for your travels from Chicago to Florida.

Our accomodations are quite nice. We're in a two bedroom two bath condo development. While the reservations that Lisa booked were not in the system (even after repeated requests by me for her to call and confirm) they were able to accomodate us... and at a price lower than we had originally planned. Seeing that we thought we booked at $99 a night this seems to be quite a deal ... so far.

It's about 11:30 local time. The boys have finally gone to bed. I hope they don't oversleep and cause us to miss our first day at a Disney property (fat chance!). We're heading to Animal Kingdom to ease ourselves into the experience. Good night. Check back for photos and video.

Jun 07 2008 - Austin

Jun 07 2008 - Austin
Originally uploaded by J-Travels

I wonder who Austin looks like? Hmm...

Austin

Jun 07 2008 - VID00076
Originally uploaded by J-Travels

John and Jacob meet their new cousin. After holding Austin for a short while John had two things to say about the young man: he's heavy and he's hot.

Sounds like it was time for a diaper change!

Congratulations Dave and Kristin.