The first part of our Christmas vacation was all about home and family. But the second part was a little more exotic--a trip to Southeast Florida, to visit our friend Lori.
Lori bravely (and a little nervously) offered us the West Wing of her beautiful house, which Mark and I promptly filled with mayhem. We did our best to wear Lori out on a daily basis, making her stay up later, talk and scream louder, and laugh and panic far more than usual. I'm pretty sure Hannah's Christmas observation also applied to this visit--Lori was glad to see us come, and she was glad to see us go.
Our first full day was New Year's Eve. I crashed--err, attended--part of the Children with Diabetes conference, while Mark and Lori swam in the hotel pool. We spent the afternoon in Coconut Grove for the King Mango Strut parade, and then had dinner at my fav restaurant, Aruba.
Sine we had no official New Year's Eve plans, we headed downtown, where a giant ball of lights was about to drop. We got there just in time to see the ball light up.
Lori bravely (and a little nervously) offered us the West Wing of her beautiful house, which Mark and I promptly filled with mayhem. We did our best to wear Lori out on a daily basis, making her stay up later, talk and scream louder, and laugh and panic far more than usual. I'm pretty sure Hannah's Christmas observation also applied to this visit--Lori was glad to see us come, and she was glad to see us go.
Our first full day was New Year's Eve. I crashed--err, attended--part of the Children with Diabetes conference, while Mark and Lori swam in the hotel pool. We spent the afternoon in Coconut Grove for the King Mango Strut parade, and then had dinner at my fav restaurant, Aruba.
Sine we had no official New Year's Eve plans, we headed downtown, where a giant ball of lights was about to drop. We got there just in time to see the ball light up.
We scored some goofy 2012 glasses that lit up, and walked up and down, cracking ourselves up. We even amused up Obie, the Orange Bowl mascot, who we stopped to dance with in the street.
We a final stop for ice cream, and to make friends with a cute young guy, Andy, who declared us a fun bunch, and said he wanted to party with us. Mark was a little puzzled by that, but Lori and I cracked up.
Our 2012 glasses were a big hit, so we took them on the road, spreading good cheer to Ft. Lauderdale. We zoomed through the streets, windows down, wishing everyone a Happy New Year. I was having a blast yelling anonymously at people, until quite suddenly, we stopped, and I found myself two feet away from a bewildered couple on the sidewalk.
"HAPPY...uh, New Year," I said, dropping my volume as the car stopped. The couple looked at me, and just laughed. Puzzled, I looked at the road in front of us--there was no traffic stopping ahead. Then I glanced at Lori, who was doubled over laughing. She totally stopped on purpose, just to embarrass me, up close and personal, in front of that couple. As soon as I realized what was going on, I burst into laughter, too, and Lori zipped off. Well-played, Lori, well-played.
We ended our busy day at Lori's, watching a big raccoon in the backyard, and then the countdown specials on TV. My two favorite party animals fell asleep on the couch by 11:45, although Lori rallied and woke up just before the ball dropped.
The first day of 2012 was all about football. It was the Miami Dolphins last game of the season, and Mark's very first NFL game ever. (It was my second--I'm not much of a sports fan, but I love a big event!)
Lori reminded me once again we were in Don Shula country, and of course, just after she said that, we stumbled onto a statue of Mr. Perfect Season. She even goaded the ticket taker into asking me how much I love Don Shula. ("Soooooo much!" I answered enthusiastically.)
And then, ironically, who pulled onto the field in a golf cart, but Coach Shula himself? We lost it over that one.
Lori sported her 2012 glasses, which were such a big hit the night before. They were just as funny during the day.
The game was awesome--we scored awesome seats just behind Lori, the Dolphins won, and Jimmy Buffett sang "Fins" every time the Dolphins scored. I love Florida simply for the fact that they play Buffett music everywhere, at all times. I'd forgotten that happy little fact.
By Monday, all the travel and holiday craziness finally caught up with us. Poor Mark was exhausted, so we let him sleep in till almost 11:30, while Lori and I caught up. We returned to the Marriott to swim in their fancy pool, but when storm clouds and gray weather came rolling in, we bailed. The temperature quickly dropped, falling from 78 to 73 degrees. Lori immediately started shivering, and announced she had hypothermia. I laughed at her, until we returned to the empty beach parking lot.
"See," Lori told me. "All the other Floridians went home, too. They couldn't handle the cold weather, either."
Turns out Lori was right...because the next day, Florida had a cold snap. The weather was 50 degrees and windy, and you could immediately spot the locals. They were bundled up in parkas, scarves, beanies and gloves. You could also spot the Northeastern tourists, who wore shorts and t-shirts.
We'd planned a mini road-trip that day to the Everglades. It was incredible--and worthy of its own post tomorrow. (I took a LOT of pix there!!)
Our last couple days were also pretty busy. We saw lots of Florida wildlife, including a mama duck and her little ducklings. I made Lori pull over so we could see them up close. As Lori scooted ever closer, I warned her to keep her distance, and not anger the mama duck. Lori haughtily replied that ducks don't attack people.
And she was right, that mama duck did not. But when she moved in for a closer look at another duck on the nearby pier, all hell broke loose. I turned to see all hell break loose, in this order:
"See," Lori told me. "All the other Floridians went home, too. They couldn't handle the cold weather, either."
Turns out Lori was right...because the next day, Florida had a cold snap. The weather was 50 degrees and windy, and you could immediately spot the locals. They were bundled up in parkas, scarves, beanies and gloves. You could also spot the Northeastern tourists, who wore shorts and t-shirts.
We'd planned a mini road-trip that day to the Everglades. It was incredible--and worthy of its own post tomorrow. (I took a LOT of pix there!!)
Our last couple days were also pretty busy. We saw lots of Florida wildlife, including a mama duck and her little ducklings. I made Lori pull over so we could see them up close. As Lori scooted ever closer, I warned her to keep her distance, and not anger the mama duck. Lori haughtily replied that ducks don't attack people.
And she was right, that mama duck did not. But when she moved in for a closer look at another duck on the nearby pier, all hell broke loose. I turned to see all hell break loose, in this order:
- Lori approach the duck.
- The duck honked, and flew directly at Lori.
- Lori screamed and ran away, protecting her head.
- A nearby walker jumped out of her shoes, and moments later confessed that Lori and the duck scared the crap out of her.
In the two minutes it took all of that to occur, I nearly died of laughter. Mark was still in the car and missed the entire scene, but Lori and I could not stop laughing about it the rest of the trip. I congratulated Lori on her animal instincts, and the fact that she has a new-found duck phobia.
Despite Lori's new fear, we did have a date with another duck--the Miami Duck. Unfortunately, it must've heard Lori's other duck story, because it broke down before we even hit the road or the water. We sat in the Busted Duck until they fixed it. Lori took this time to become close friends with the tour guide, a cute young guy named Javier. Javier loved his new best friend Lori (or, as he called her, "Lo-Lo") and made her the star of the tour, which Lo-Lo loved.
What I loved was Lori's outfit--my favorite Floridian still hadn't thawed out. Check out the differences in our wardrobe:
Despite Lori's new fear, we did have a date with another duck--the Miami Duck. Unfortunately, it must've heard Lori's other duck story, because it broke down before we even hit the road or the water. We sat in the Busted Duck until they fixed it. Lori took this time to become close friends with the tour guide, a cute young guy named Javier. Javier loved his new best friend Lori (or, as he called her, "Lo-Lo") and made her the star of the tour, which Lo-Lo loved.
What I loved was Lori's outfit--my favorite Floridian still hadn't thawed out. Check out the differences in our wardrobe:
It was, I might add, a freezing 68 degrees.
The sun finally came out on our last day. We checked off our last few wish list items for Ft. Lauderdale, which included lunch in a swinging table, and prying open a fallen coconut. Lori and Mark refused to let me help, citing I was not to be given any sharp tools. Instead, I watched them work from Lori's new backyard swing.
Our trip was such a blast. We had so much fun with Lori--thank you, Lo-Lo, for being such a wonderful, hilarious (and patient) hostess! My face still hurts from laughing so much. I had a great time hanging out with Lori, and showing Mark all around Florida. Our adventures were the perfect start to a new year, and a great reminder of just how lucky I am. If the rest of my year is even half as good as this first week was, then 2012 will be AWESOME!
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