My Orlando Pics

The Rosen Centre Hotel

The Pool from my room window

Roller Coaster @ Sea World and a 5 story parking deck @ night

Night view from my window and a huge mural painted on a building down town

Shops and a foutain down town and Wonder Works museum (upside down building)

Picture of a city through the clouds taken from the airplane window

I took the pic at night when it was dark, but the light from the red eye reducer made it look like day time.

Back to the Salt Mines

I had a great weekend in Orlando.  But it didn't start out great.  I was on the plane (small cramped type) ready for take-off when the captain announced we were delayed on the tarmac for an hour due to fog.  Fortunately, my plane out of Charlotte was delayed, as well, for the same reason.  I arrived and got checked into the hotel.  I was staying at The Rosen Centre, a very ritzy hotel on International Drive.  My room was on the 21st floor of 24 floors!  I had a great view of Orlando.  There was a lot I could have done (like visit Sea World) for free if I had known in time.  Alas, I did not, however.  Friday afternoon I went walking down I-Dr. with the intent of visiting Wonder Works. It was a museum down town.  Before going I went across the street to Pizza Hut for some lunch/dinner, and asked the staff there about Wonder Works.  They said it was a nice little place, but was really for middle aged kids.  But Bobbi, the girl who was waiting on me, suggested I go see Avatar at the IMAX theatre just behind there.  So, that's exactly what I did!  Bad Ass!!  I had been wanting to see Avatar (I enjoy those Sci-Fi types of movies) and in 3-D had to be the best way to see it.  And it was!  At one point I was swatting away bugs that were in my face.  And I was gripping to seat when the dragons were flying!  It was late evening when I got out of there, so I just walked up and down the strip looking at all the lights and touristy places.  I called it an early night, as breakfast was being served at 6:30 a.m.  I had classes on and off thru Saturday, but was fed a good lunch, as well.  I was done with classes around 4:30 p.m. and spent a good hour just chatting it up with other soldiers I met while there.  Whilst waiting around the pool area a man with a beard and a jacket with a Vietnam Veteran patch came around to everyone and invited them back that evening to free drinks on him!!  I was all over that.  I headed to the store for a couple of things, then to McDonald's for a quick dinner.  Then I changed to my bathing suit and went back to the pool.  I had a few drinks on this guy, whom I didn't even see that evening.  The bar tender said he was good for it, though.  Then had a few more as I chilled in the pool and hot tub.  Just chatted and got to meet a few other soldiers and people who were guests at the hotel.  I went to bed around 1:30 a.m. and didn't wake for breakfast on Sunday.  But I had already completed the class scheduled for that Morning.  Headed for the airport right after lunch.  I hated the idea of leaving such warm temps.  It was in the 80's while I was there!  Nice and warm!  And I received some valuable info on some of my benefits that are available as a Veteran of the War in Iraq (OIF).  It was back to work Monday morning with rain and thunder storms and highs in the upper 50's.  Ho hum.  Got a few pics, but haven't had a chance to upload them yet.  I'll try by the end of the week.

I'm Outty!

This has been an unpleasant  insane day at work.  And it's only Thursday!  Normally that would mean there is one more day to the work week, but in my case that is not the truth this week.  You see, the U.S. Army has this program called the Yellow Ribbon Campaign.  When a soldier returns from Iraq or Afghanistan he or she is supposed to attend a class on suicide prevention.  I never did, and I got out.  But, I went back into the Reserves before my original contract was up.  So my name was still in the system.  So, now I am required to attend this class.  But the campaign is really more than just a suicide prevention class.  The also have people who can give information about all sorts of Veterans Affairs benefits.  Some examples are financing to assist with school, medical information, mental wellness information, and more.  Therefore, I will be getting on a plane at 7 a.m. local time tomorrow morning to fly to beautiful, sunny Orlando, Florida!  It is supposed to be 75 degrees there tomorrow!  That's so much better than the mid-forties we have here today!  Of course, I'll just be gone for the weekend, but that's okay.  The whole trip is paid for, as well.  With that, I must say a large thank you to our American tax payers.  It is not wasted monies, as I know I will get useful information and assistance from this trip.  I also thank you all for supporting the troops.  American, British, Italian, French, Japanese, it matters not.  You may not agree with the idea behind the war or how it is being handled.  But I must say that whatever the reason, I served and am serving as a proud American who loves the FREEDOM the so many before me died for.  Thanks and God bless.  See you all next week!!

Returned and Tagged

My, my, my. Well, I have camera issues, so pictures will have to hold off for a bit. But I will get it straight. My trip to Florida was somewhat enjoyable. It was an eight hour drive, but we were on a charter bus. So it wasn't too bad. We thought we were going down there to train in our military jobs, but that turned out to be different. We got hooked into working for civilians. We were divided into three groups working on three different jobs. The group I was with was taking apart carousels with metal racks on them. They were set up in two rows. Our commander didn't think we could finish the first row in the first week, so we made it a bet. If we did, he had to take our group of 12 or 13 out to dinner. We did, so he paid. We went to this steak and seafood restaraunt on the St. Johns River. He said get whatever we wanted. I had a few screwdrivers, escargot, and pan seared Atlantic Swordfish. The bill totaled 938.00!! (That's over 569.00 British Pounds!) He might think before talking next time.

We also visited Universal Studios. That was fun, but it would not have been if I had paid. The offered free tickets to military. They were $100.00 US dollars or over 60 Birtish pounds. Lines were long. Some rides were over two hour waits to get on them. We went to the beach one day, and that was fun, too. I went and bought a boogey board and did a little body surfing. We had a pool party on our last day, then some of us went shopping. I went along, but I bought nothing. Most of what I was wanting is really out of my price range (Movado watches lol). I have some pics of the trip, but they will have to wait till later :(

I guess I've been tagged so I must share about myself. Umm.....

1) I love peanut butter candies...like Reece's Peanut Butter Cups, peanut butter fudge, etc.

2) I have a job in accounting, but I was horrible at math...I failed two math classes in high school and had to retake them to graduate!! (I hated math, too)

3) Mike and I both enjoy fishing. My parents live on the water, and everytime we go visit he takes his poles and spends hours fishing. I fish there, too, but not as long as he does.

4) I enjoy traveling....my life goal is to visit all 50 US States and all seven continents. I am only lacking two states...Alaska and Hawaii, and only two continents...Australia and Antartica. The only one that may be questionable is Antartica, but I ain't giving up hope!!

5) When it comes to food, I'll try anything once. I've eaten live termites, live crabs, zebra, giraffe, ostrich, crocodile, snails, and even some foods in other countries that I didn't even know what they were.

6) We both enjoy entertaining. We like having friends and/or family over for dinner and drinks, especially if we can cook on the grill!!

I don't know that many other people, yet, so I will only be tagging...John @ Going Gently, Berte @ River Bend, Paula @ Fraker Farm, Becca @ Southern Garden by Becca, and Cal @ Cozy Corner. If you've already been tagged, please disregard. : D

Gotta Roll Out

Hey everybody! How has your week gone? Mine has been so very busy. I've had so much to do before I have to leave for Florida. Well, obviously that has kept me from blogging like I'd like to do. But it's all good, right? I didn't even get things done here at work that had to be done. I'm making some notes so those here can help me out. I'd hate to come back to work and be way backed up with 2 or 3 week old stuff. On top of that, I had to go to court again this morning for a ticket I got back in February. This is the fourth time I've gone to court over it!! I was trying to get it thrown out, but I've had no luck. The judge gave me one more continuance, to which the assistant district attorney objected. I guess I will just have to pay the lousy fines! But I'm digressing. I have no pics for today. I did lose another bitty. He got into a water dish and drowned. It was awful. He had one eye open and one closed. I buried it in the yard. I"m down to nine now. But I should have some new bitties by the time I get back. I leave Sunday morning for Florida, and I'll be gone for 2 weeks. But I'll get some pics while I'm down there and tell y'all all about it when I get back! Y'all behave, and I'll see you soon!!

R

Florida Bound

What an uneventful weekend. I had drill this weekend. I am in the Army Reserves. I served four years on active duty, and did a tour in Iraq. That was the worst year of my life. I decided to go back into the reserves because I can live my normal life with the exception of one weekend a month (and two weeks a year). I have been back in the reserves since February. I kinda like it. It's a totally different creature from active duty. We have had some fun weekends. We did some team building obstacles courses and land navigation tasks in the woods of central N.C. a few weeks ago. We also went to Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, NC for some range qualifying and enemy scenarios. And we've had some boring admin weekends with classes and/or paperworks stuff. Overall, I enjoy it. We are heading to Jacksonville, FL in two weeks for training. I think that will be pretty cool. We are going to try to go to Disney World and/or Universal Studios while we are there, as well. The way work has been lately, it will certainly feel like a vacation. I know that I am so ready for it.