So continuing on with the vacation…on Friday we left early and drove the 2+ hrs up to Port St. Lucie to visit John’s parents who have been there since right after Christmas. It was so great to see them and I think that Florida really agrees with them. They are all tan and rested and seem to have very full schedules of fun things with friends. See, snowbird=good.

Port St. Lucie also happens to be the home of Mets Spring training (oh goody.) so after a very quick visit at the apartment, we drove over to the stadium and practice fields to watch the Mets train. I of course was thrilled beyond belief, but the boys were really very excited (and when I say boys, I mean Jack, Patrick, Timmy, John and his dad). John brought a ton of baseballs to get some signatures which they were able to do.

I do have to say that the people there were so unbelievably pushy and RUDE. Shoving people out of the way to get to the fence to get the autograph they wanted. I was seconds from throwing some elbows or stomping on some insteps after being shoved and pushed and watching the same thing happen to my boys. The 24-70mm L lens I had on my camera is very heavy and could be used as a weapon in the right situation (but I didn’t want to break it cause we were leaving for Disney next!). Really people, a little decorum.

So they did get some autographs (Jerry Manuel, John Franco- pictured above, and Kyle somebody) and had some fun watching some of the Mets practice. John says they are expecting good things out of this guy who’s name is Josh Thole (kid, really. How old is he- twelve??) and he was very nice and signed for all three boys and talked to all the boys.

It really pisses me off when the ‘big name’ guys won’t sign. Who is it exactly that you think is paying to watch you play, ya jerk.

A little lens envy. Ok, actually a LOT of lens envy. I mean look at that thing! I’ll even take the smaller one on the camera hanging from his shoulder…

Ya think Timmy’s shirt is big enough for him? At least he’ll have it for a while!

And then after practice, a little lunch with Grandma and Grandpa with a little school politics talk and a see you soon. They are headed home next week. I think we are all pretty happy about that. I mean all the kids are happy, not the grandparents. They’d probably like to stay longer, but it is parade season.

And we’re off to the big surprise of Disney…

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See, this time I’m keeping my word about posting pictures quickly.

This was our first trip where my parents wouldn’t be there (we would only have our last night of the trip all together) in the apartment. I was told that I had to take a picture of the way the pillows are arranged on the bed so that I could recreate it upon departure.

We flew down and arrived Tuesday evening and had our traditional first meal at Padrino’s (love me some croquettas!). Spent Wednesday afternoon (after my massage in the morning with the fabulous Asela) at the Miami Seaquarium. It wasn’t warm enough out to go swimming so we made the trip down there to do something different.

On the way down, John and I were discussing the itenerary for the rest of the trip. We decided that based on the weather forecast being pretty chilly for the weekend that we would go and visit his parents up in Port St. Lucie on Fri and see the Mets at spring training there too. I wondered out loud if Camie (my college roommmate) would be up to driving down from Orlando to meet us in St.Lucie so we could visit. It was at that point that John said something about going to Disney for two days- and did I want to do it. Uhhh…yeah! When would I not want to go to Disney??

So while John and the boys checked out the fish and the dolphins, I was on the phone with Disney reservations trying to figure something out for under $1000.00 for the weekend. More on Disney in another post, but suffice it to say we came in a little over budget but still decided to do it and totally surprise the boys.  So the rest of the day at the Seaquarium was just a little more fun, with me trying to surpress the giggles at the upcoming surprise!

Funny story with the picture of Timmy on the drain. He’s very, VERY wary about walking on things like that so I had to take a picture of him on there. He still takes a ginormous step out of elevators- I think he’s afraid of falling thru the crack between the elevator cab and the floor! He won’t walk over grates in the sidewalk, and has the same elevator issue when getting on the plane from the hallway thingy.

John loves pelicans. Or maybe just saying ‘pelican’ in his best scarface accent.

Went to Captain Jim’s (which is in the WORST neighborhood, with an armed guard stationed outside. Who we didn’t see this trip- maybe he was being held at gunpoint in the back?) for a seafood dinner. Probably not a great idea after leaving the Seaquarium,  but no one got the flipper special for dinner. So first we see em. Then we eat em.

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Went into the city on Sunday with the boys and Uncle Nelson (John went to work). I wanted to pick up a new crumpler camera bag at Mecca (aka B&H Photo).

I already have one (the 7 million dollar home) but it’s so HUGE and heavy that it’s hard to bring on trips and just short outings where I don’t need the extra camera body, the flash, the extra lenses and accessories. So I went and bought the 4 million dollar home which is perfect for travelling. I can fit in one 5d body with the big 24-70L lens on it, plus the 50mm lens and the Lensbaby too. Much lighter and easier to carry.

On leaving B&H, I somehow got stuck on the street that leads directly to the Lincoln Tunnel. And there is no turn off. Not to mention that it isn’t very well marked, so by the time I realized that I was going to be heading to Jersey, there was no turning back. So we made a brief yet unplanned and exciting trip to Weehawken, NJ. And then took the tunnel right back. Adventurey.

I must confess that it took me until I was 38 years  old to start driving in the city. I’ve been in many times via train or riding in someone else’s car, but was always terrified to drive in the city myself. But now with the navigation system, it’s a snap. (Well, other than the slight New Jersey issue).

So with not much time left in the day, we drove down to Chinatown to pick up some dinner from the Peking Duck House (which is hands down the BEST chinese food ever) and walk around down there while they were getting it ready. Went to the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory (yum) and Uncle Nelson got sucked into buying Timmy some Pokemon cards. I got myself a cute stripey handbag for $20.

The rest of the day’s pictures are below.

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First, a little business. They are coming tonight to take the computer (it's telling that my palms are actually sweating) for a cleaning and upgrade. So I will be without photoediting access for a few days. I will still be checking my emails (and facebook) if you need to reach me. If you are waiting for pictures or edits or other photo related projects, I will get your requests done as soon as I can once the computer comes back which had better be soon!!

On Sunday, we decided at the last minute to take a drive out east (Outlets in Riverhead and Coronet in Greenport). The big boys were in dire need of new sneakers and after driving all over Nassau county on Saturday with no luck, we figured we could try the outlets instead. So, to make a day of it we went to our favorite luncheonette in Greenport. The Coronet- home of the BEST chocolate milkshakes. Ever.

    Happiness at the wheel.           You can see how happy Patrick is getting his picture taken, right?                        

A stop at the 'pie farm' for supplies.

No trip to Greenport would be complete without a trip to the "duck store" with some purchases of course.

The best part (well, besides the milkshakes)? I found the baby scale I've been looking for over the last 9months or so. Wait til you see the first pictures with it! So worth every penny of the $39.

Tried to get the ingrates to stop along the road and take some pictures, but they wouldn't do it. And we did find some sneakers. Mission complete.

So, you'll either appreciate a few pictures of something sunny and nice, or you'll be cursing me across cyberspace.

Here's some more from our florida vacation. All taken at my parent's place pool. Beach shots coming tommorrow so don't log on if that's going to piss you off further.

By the way, I read 9 books on my Kindle while on vacation (one of the 9- The Gold Coast- I started before I left, so it was really like 8.5 books). So far, I've polished off: The Gold Coast, The GateHouse (both Nelson DeMille), Private (a teenangst boarding school book, but it was good and free), To The Scaffold:The Life of Marie Antoinette (she really had a very interesting and sad life, that was my second biography on her), Just Before Sunset (compilation of short stories by Stephen King), Against Medical Advice, Cross Country (both by James Patterson), Bones (Jonathan Kellerman), Your Heart Belongs to Me (Dean Koontz), and I just finished Memoirs of a Geisha which I had read a looooong time ago and wanted to read again. So 10 books down since getting the Kindle on 12/22. I love to read. Just glad I have time to do it again!

John is home (thank god) and I think I will get a small break tommorrow so I can start cleaning out and dismantling the scrapbook room. That era is officially over. Anyone out there want scrapbook supplies??