2012

So, that goal of writing in this last year did not work out so much. Rather pathetic actually. I think this year's goal will be to at least get the vacations documented on here. That is a more reasonable goal, I think. So, I shall do that. So far, we have 2 planned. First is Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. We had airline miles on US Airways to use, so we picked a place that would fit in the number of points we had. Thinking it will be a pretty relaxing vacation. Staying at an all-inclusive, have almost nothing planned. We'll just see how it goes. Second trip is Disney with some of flarf's family. The neices are going for the first time. We decided to go along for part of the trip (not staying the whole week). Should be fun. Not sure after that.

In 2011, we did Kenya in January (didn't quite finish the posts about that - will have to do that soon). Then we went to New Orleans with flarf's parents at the end of April for a 4 day weekend. Fun trip. Will happily go back. Stayed at the Bourbon Orleans Hotel (did a travelocity secret hotel and ended up with that - worked out well.) Hotel was nice and in a great location. Listened to some music, ate some oysters, did a swamp tour, ate more oysters, wandered the French Quarter, ate more oysters, listened to more music, ate beignets, ate po boys, ate more oysters. (needed some serious workouts when we came home, but completely worth it.)

In August, we went on a cruise from NYC to St. John and Halifax on the Carnival Glory. That was a relaxing trip and super easy since it left from NYC. We spent the weekend before in the city since the ship left on a Monday. Splurged on a balcony cabin. Worth it. Carnival has a less formal dress code now which made packing easier - only one set of nice clothes. St. John was rainy and cold, but a cute little town. Halifax was great. Would consider just going there for vacation.

In September, we went to Orlando to go to Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure - Harry Potter world! (Southwest had a big sale, so it seemed silly NOT to take advantage). We stayed on property at the Pacific Beach Hotel. Of the 3, that is the shortest walk to Islands and City Walk, so that was nice. Hotel was decent. They have a luau there which we did one night. Not quite like being in Hawaii, but a decent experience. Met some nice British people and a Universal exec at our table. Had a good time at Harry Potter World. They did a nice job with the theming. And there is a pub. So that always makes it better. Learned neither one of us can do rides like we used to. The new ride in Hogwarts made us both REALLY sick (and thankful for the pub as a cool place to relax and fix the tummy). (The Hogshead Brew is a decent beer. I find the butterbeer to be gross, but most people like it. Pumpkin juice was good though.) It's worth just walking through the castle though - if you tell the line people you just want to do that, there is a separate line to go in. I remember going on dueling dragons a dozen times in a row when we were there 8 or 9 years ago. Twice appears to be my limit now. (They also don't duel any longer (stupid people throwing stuff ruin it for everyone) and are themed after Book 4 - the Dragon Challenge.) The nice thing about staying on property is your room key is a fast pass for almost all the rides (not the Harry Potter ride). We barely waited 10 minutes for anything, so did the park very quickly even with sitting down for long relaxing lunches. Universal has a new coaster where you can choose music to play in your seat as you ride. We went a few times. Was fun. Glad we went on the Jaws ride one last time since they are taking it down this year. The Simpsons ride was the death of me for a few hours (used to be Back to the Future) - my head and stomach can no longer handle those types of rides, I guess. A good trip.

Other events - worked on a movie in October. Took one day off of work for filming (had a small part). Was a fun experience. Flarf broke his wrist playing football on Thanksgiving. Cast should come off soon, we hope. Nice Christmas season, though too short as always. Low key New Year's Eve because we've been so busy and have more stuff coming up soon. Also managed to get one more book in there - Familyhood by Paul Reiser.

Happy New Year to all.