Amerisuites Lakeland Center

Trin-i-tee 5:7 As In T57 Did A New CD!! Call Love, Peace, And Joy At Christmas And It's Excited!! I love The Trin-i-tee Look With There R&B Style And The Soul Look I Love Many Of There Songs Like The Christmas Song And This Christmas Those Are My Favorties.

... the tower. I went off to view Pinewood Estate (which was, unfortunately, not open because they are preparing it for the holidays) and drifted along a few paths. Given the time of year, very little was in bloom, but it was still pleasant. The temperature was perfect, and the breeze made it ideal.

The Tower was interesting to view from the outside, but it would have been nice to get closer and to see inside. Still, I circled it a couple of times and paused ...

Arriving in balmy Florida to familiar faces was fantastic! After a long long time of not knowing anyone or anything, the comfort of a beautiful South African accent face to face was music to our ears (never thought I'd say that)

Being met at the airport by my family and being driven in an actual car with actual airconditioning was the next marvelosity! To be driven to a clean house with clean bathrooms and hot showers and SPACE was almost too much to bare...only copious ...

... which I was grateful for. I had thought that I was going to have to drive us home that night, but Conrad agreed that it would be better for us to stay there for the night. It didn't take long before the jetlag caught up to us. We called our perspective parental units to let them know we had arrived safely, got some food in our bellies, and passed out!! In the morning we head home, where we can see our girls and the comfort of our own beds ...

... that day.

Saturday morning, we will head to Kreuztal, Germany to visit Julia and her family.

Wednesday, we head down to Hanau to start the Fairy Tale Road with stops in Steinau an der Strasse and Kassel.

Thursday takes us to Göttingen, Sababurg, Bodenwerder, and Hameln.

Friday is Hannover and a bit of a rest.

Saturday we take ...

Our backpacks are loaded and we are almost ready to hit the road. I was hoping that I could pack lighter this year but it doesn't seem like I am succeeding. My pack is only 35 pounds but full. Brandy's is 28 pounds and Sydney's is 21 pounds. It's not the weight that I am concerned with, it's the size. I'd like to have a little extra space for things I pick up along the way.

I really ...

... sort of agrees, but it will require more dog proofing b/c he's so small he can get under stuff.
We finally made it to Gram's Place at 1030 pm. I was tired. We stayed in the Blues Room. We met a lovely couple from Sweden currently living in Jacksonville. Conrad stayed up with them and drank beers while I went to bed.

... drink cart repeatedly smash into ones elbows and ankles by a driver that uncannily gives off the vibe of an elementary school cafeteria woman asking whether you want the goulash or the macaroni surprise. Ew. As for food, no lunch lady carts there either. The flight attendants actually carried the snacks in baskets. I was impressed with the variety of both drink and food. From Dunkin Donuts coffee to Arizona Tea and Terra Blue Chips to 100 Calorie packs of ...

Thursday morning when we woke up, we headed down to the spa to work out - a great start to the day! Then, we headed south on the Strip down to some of the other resort hotels to check them out. We went to the Excalibur, Luxor, Mandalay Bay, Four Seasons, and New York New York. All of them were extremely luxurious in their own way. We had brunch at the Luxor, the pyramid hotel. Then we walked around the hotel a bit to check out its theming. It was, of course, designed around ...

... We had three ocean view cabins on the Empress deck, forward port. My room number was E2. I wish I had pictures of the room to show everyone, but I wasn't the best picture taker back in the day. We immediately headed for the Brasserie Bar and Buffet. After a quick and delicious meal, we were off to the upper decks, taking pictures of the Tampa area.
As any experienced cruiser ...