Really, Irene?

Story Time! - So I've lived in Orlando, Florida for two years now and there has yet to be a Hurricane... the ONE weekend I get to come home to Boston and they're the ones about to get hit by one... The first in 20 years... Back in 1991, before I was even in Kindergarten, Hurricane Bob hit Massachusetts... The only Hurricane I've ever "been" in. Now I'm stuck here waiting for Irene to make her moves.... And shes doing a pretty good job at ruining my trip but at least day one went off without a hitch.

OK, lets do this... Yorks!

Childhood memories from 20 years ago!... aww
(hey look at that... something else 20 years in the making)

 It's a Zoo Amusement Park Fair

Quack, quack, quack... Moving on!

((because))

After 15 years or so without a coaster..... The Zoo/Park has added this!

Wacky...Mouse

 Got my $2 in ride tokens... (thanks MOM)

And........... Cha-Ching? #665 I believe..... and certainly worth the 1,200 mile trek.

Oh hey and they have......

A Scrambler

And a Round-Up

After all that excitement I took a lovely stroll across the street and into York Beach, Maine.

An old New England seaside town? It'd be pretty if not for all the power lines.. everywhere.

Ah, much better! And so different looking/feeling than the Florida beaches I've been to this year.

Uh, or not.

FUN O RAMA

(That can only mean one thing!!!)

Cake flavored Ice Cream.

And some pretty beach side houses before Hurricane Irene destroys them

(like she destroyed the rest of my trip)

Ah, a nice 2 hour trip to Maine... Because nothing is better than being at work till 1.45am, being at the airport by 4.30, getting to Melrose by 11, and then sitting in a small car with your entire family for a few hours just so you can ride some stupid-ass-little-kiddie-coaster that you've already ridden at least 20 others of already.... but not this one and you needed to mark it off on Coaster-Count so your life could be complete.... and to top if off Not 1, nor 2, but 3 of your flights back home have been canceled due to the first Hurricane to hit New England in 20 years! [/RANT]

And a photo to leave this post with...

Disney's Pocahonts King! Yeah...

Who knew Tampa was more than just Busch Gardens?

And that we'd get lost......

So Nick and I went to Busch Gardens after weeks of trying to plan a trip out there.. After being rained out of the park we decided it would be a good idea to try and find downtown Tampa... In the process of that we kinda ended up at an Air Force base, oops.... And then some random little pier/park thing, Ballast Point.

Yup

Ballast Point Park, thrilling.

 I'm sure......

Hey look, a pier. It seemed like a good idea to walk down to its end, during a thunder storm...

So a-walking we went.

And what did we find along the way??? well...

Fishing poles...

A bucket with blue crabs in it?

And some fish that got cut the fish up

"It's hauntingly beautiful"

d'oh! Its not even the Gulf :( just Hillsborough/Tampa Bay
(maybe next time....)
And with the storms rolling back in.. and me not wanting to get my camera anymore wet than it already was... we ran back to Nicks car. yay
Oh yeah, and Tampa is like.. a real city..

See?