{"id":81139,"date":"2024-07-12T18:31:53","date_gmt":"2024-07-13T01:31:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/?p=81139"},"modified":"2026-08-30T08:29:36","modified_gmt":"2026-08-30T15:29:36","slug":"day-1-arrival-in-florida-and-meetng-with-the-kids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/?p=81139","title":{"rendered":"Acclimating To Tropical Weather In Florida And Meeting With The “Kids”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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We stumbled into the hotel at an ungodly hour, dragged ourselves to our room, and promptly realized the only thing that could revive us from our zombie-like state was breakfast. Brains… I mean, pancakes, please!.  We went to the hotel restaurant and were shocked by the $ 25.00-per-person breakfast, but we were tired and hungry, so we paid the price.  Breakfast was good, but the $50 for eggs and bacon seemed a little high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We are ready for breakfast!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Back in the room, we crashed for about three hours, which was much needed considering our epic battle with the snooze button. We had a view fit for royalty, and the silence was almost eerie, except for that one noisy seagull practicing its stand-up routine outside.  That seagull must have missed its calling as a comedian!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A room with a view.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We dragged ourselves out of bed and begrudgingly prepared for a much-needed drink, then stumbled upon the kids. We stumbled upon a great spot on the mezzanine, conveniently close to where we had breakfast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We must stop meeting like this.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We sat and talked for almost an hour, just catching up and making plans for the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Just us.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We were hanging out near this crazy bridge that seemed to have a mind of its own, going up and down like a roller coaster. As we watched the big boats pass by, we spotted a water taxi stopping point under the bridge. We thought, “Hey, why not hop on a water taxi and let the waves rock us into dinner mode?” Can’t wait for the water taxi ride to work up our appetite for a feast!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We heard something squeaking.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We took a vote and decided it was time to go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We were having fun on the 85-degree day!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For the water taxi, you needed to buy tickets on your iPhone. Oh my, everything is on the iPhone today. The kids took out their phones, and seconds later, we had tickets. It’s good to travel with the young.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The kids saved us.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Our ride arrives; it reminds me of the yellow cab of yesteryear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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They called a taxi<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We departed from landing #4 and had to go to landing #10, where our restaurant was located.   On the way, we saw Jay’s Floating Sandbar Food Boat, but we did not stop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We were not hungry yet!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Oh my, what if we had a disaster on the boat? We felt better knowing the Fire Rescue Boat was nearby.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Just in case.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We passed the world’s largest high dive, which was located at the Olympic Swimming facility.  At 27 meters, the structure is the tallest dive tower in the Western Hemisphere and the first in the world to incorporate both diving and high diving for competition in a single precast concrete structure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Time to jump.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We spotted our target just ahead. It was called “Shooters.” Mark and I were disappointed because we thought we were going to “Hooters.”<\/p>\n\n\n

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We are here!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

We were chilling outside, enjoying the warm but not scorching weather. Just as I started to think maybe it was Hooters after all, our waiter showed up, and to our surprise, it was a dude! I guess that shattered our lingering delusions!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their menu was quite varied, from steaks to seafood and everything in between.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Decisions decisions.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Way back twenty-five years!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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December 31, 1999, at sea with family!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The restaurant had an excellent cleanup crew, which saved money. While they did a good job, they were a little noisy. We thought the idea was for the birds.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The cleanup crew.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Mark and I did the shrimp appetizers. Mark went for the popcorn shrimp, which is served hot, while I opted for the shrimp cocktail.\u00a0 \u00a0I only got two pieces because Colleen has developed really long arms, and my shrimp disappeared if I looked away for more than two seconds.\u00a0 Her skills have been honed by regularly watching her four grandkids.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The shrimp were huge!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The cameras were clicking all afternoon.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Kibitzing is underway!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Our waiter dude did an excellent job of capturing the essence of the meal. Notice the plates are all empty! When we were done, we made the birds starve.<\/p>\n\n\n

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We had a perfect table.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

I told Colleen she should always try something new!  Well, this time her facial expression gave her feelings away.  (This was the best of the worst pictures… the others were scary)<\/p>\n\n\n

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Colleen didn’t like my drink!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Mr. Photogenic was looking good today once Colleen got the remaining food off his beard.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Mark is a serious moment.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Back on the boat, we headed down the Intercostal Waterway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Did You Know? <\/b> The Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) is a 3,000-mile (4,800 km) inland waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts of the United States, running from Massachusetts southward along the Atlantic Seaboard and around the southern tip of Florida, then following the Gulf Coast to Brownsville, Texas. Some sections of the waterway consist of natural inlets, saltwater rivers, bays, and sounds, while others are artificial canals. It provides a navigable route along its length without many of the hazards of travel on the open sea.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Mark, always the gentleman, saves Collen from seeing the world’s meanest animal, the Croc-a-Gator. It has a crocodile’s head on one end and an alligator’s head on the other end, and it has no place to go to the bathroom, which really makes it mean!<\/p>\n\n\n

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“I am protecting her eyes from the horrible scene unfolding”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

It was getting dark as we sailed back through the landing, looking for lost souls.<\/p>\n\n\n

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It was getting dark.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

We all had our matches, and we assisted the captain when we spotted our hotel in the distance.<\/p>\n\n\n

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We were happy to be “home”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

We verified the transportation at the front desk for tomorrow morning’s trip to the ship!  No bar tonight, it was home and crash!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We stumbled into the hotel at an ungodly hour, dragged ourselves to our room, and promptly realized the only thing that could revive us from our zombie-like state was breakfast. Brains… I mean, pancakes, please!.  We went to the hotel … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,5,4,236],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-81139","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adventures","category-family","category-fun","category-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81139","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=81139"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"http:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81139\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":99311,"href":"http:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81139\/revisions\/99311"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=81139"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=81139"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=81139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}