Here Be Dragons

2007-12-10

Saturday was a whirlwind of travel but we managed to fly Jet Blue with its incredible GPS system and individual TV screens and watch not just TV but our progress down the east coast until we landed in Orlando. We got on a Payless shuttle and got our rental car, which Fred routinely upgrades, and this time we have a convertible Chrysler Sebring. It�s a beauty!

We finally arrived in Cocoa Beach about 5:30 PM and down here it�s light until about 6:30 and that�s two more hours of daylight than we get in Boston. Everything just seems a wee bit better in Florida including the next day�s high of 81 degrees.

Sunday we were going to lay low so we wouldn�t miss the launch of the shuttle Atlantis at 3:31PM but it was scrubbed by 10 AM so we decided to go on an air boat ride instead. It was so much fun! I was grinning from ear to ear and I got to ride next to the pilot in the big high seats in the back. What a view! We saw uncountable species of coastal birds and at least a dozen free swimming gators. The guide said that for every inch of muzzle you could see above the water you could guesstimate a foot of length so I think we easily saw some 8 and 9 footers. Scary!

Afterwards we went to a sports bar and watched our Patriots win while guzzling a couple large Bud Lights, well I did anyways, Fred was driving and had a slight fever from a wind and sun burn. He�s sleeping in the other room as I speak. If I didn�t know better I�d think he was trying to get out of the kayak ride through Mangrove swamps and along a channel with Manatees today, Monday. If he can�t go today I�ll reschedule and trick him and not let him off the hook. I really want to share this experience with him. If he can get over his fear of water he�ll have the experience of a lifetime, but of course if he is honest and just flat refuses then I guess there is nothing I can do.

I�m hoping to get him on a horse at the Merritt Island preserve and to Universal Studios too and if we�re lucky then today at 5:04 we�ll watch an Atlas rocket take off from Cape Canaveral from our private balcony at twilight. It�s not as dramatic as a night launch but I hope it�s just as spectacular for him. I�ve seen them over the years and I really want Fred to see a launch too.

Fred gave me a new camera for Christmas, a little early, so I could use it this vacation. I forgot it for the air boat ride but I won�t forget it for the kayak adventure today. I hope he doesn�t wimp out on me. It was this very trip that convinced me to run out and buy not one but two kayaks. I really want to share this with him and have him be bumped by manatees and see birds everywhere in the mangrove labyrinth. It�s just so beautiful and feels like a secret world made special, just for you.

I�ll let you know what happens! *crosses fingers*

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