Check out more Myspace layouts at pYzam.

Well, here I sit now, 35 weeks pregnant and I feel like I'm about to pop!  Thank you to all my friends and family who have been so generous with their shower gifts.  Mike and I feel pretty well stocked and prepared for Alex to arrive in only a few weeks!  I'm feeling very excited and nervous at the same time for Alex to get here.  My emotions seems to be up and down a lot lately.  I guess that is to be expected for a 9 months pregnant woman....I hope:o)

I have been truly blessed with this pregnancy.  I've had no sickness, only minor aches and pains.  But nothing that has slowed me down too much.  Mike and I have been fortunate to be able to take a couple of vacations and have some fun over the summer.  We kicked off with Alex's first concert back in May.  We traveled down to Ft. Lauderdale to see Tool, during Tropical Storm Barry...which we didn't even realize- all we knew was that it very, very rainy and made travel messy. 

Then we went to see my cousin Emily in Chicago and boy was that a blast!  We had the best time and didn't really want to come back to Florida after that.  We  thought Chicago was Awesome!!!

Our next trip was to Myrtle Beach, SC for family reunion.  That was a fun few days spent sunning on the beach, playing in the ocean and visiting with family. 

The last thing we did was go to Tampa for a few days for Mike's birthday.  His birthday present was a shark-tank dive at the Florida Aquarium.  While we were there we also went to see Incubus at the Ford Amphitheatre.  It was a great time.  I was really impressed with the Florida Aquarium.  If you've never been.  It's worth stopping by.  It is educational about Florida's natural habitats and I felt inspired to get out and explore more of what Florida has to offer, with little Alex in tow.

We are done now with the overnight trips.  We are going to see Dave Matthews Band down in West Palm on 9/14 but we will drive down and come back right after the show.  I'm very much looking forward to see DMB again.  They are one of my favorite bands and awesome to experience live.  I can't wait.  If' you want a taste, I have a DMB video of a live "Wharehouse" performance on my home page..check it out!  I'm sure you'll love it as much as Mike and I do.

I can't wait for little Alex to get here and be able to post some pics here for all to see.   So...stay tuned!

-Cameron

Hey everyone! It has been a long time since we posted anything on MySpace.com. We have been busy doing quite a few different things. Our new BLOG is over at a new website we put up. You can find the site at: www.mcteems.com

If you want to go directly to the blog, try: www.mcteems.com/blog

There is a lot to see at our website, and we update it as often as possible. Enjoy!!

Man, I haven't updated in FOREVER!!!!

A lot has happened since June. I graduated with my A.A. from BCC and am currently working on an A.S in Computer Info. Technology. I will be finished with that next May. We dove again in August. We dove the Christ Statue in Key Largo, and swam through Minnow Cave. That was really cool! We had thousands of these tiny minnows all around us!!

We have also been keeping up with the concerts. I'm proud to say I am 30 years old and still going to concerts all the time! We saw a really good, new band called 10 Years in Tallahassee in late June. Then we caught two Dave Matthews shows in August. Our next concert is set for January 22nd. We will be seeing INCUBUS. It will be our 3rd time seeing them live. They have a new album out. GO BUY IT NOVEMBER 28th!! I heard a leak of it. It is awesome! But before that concert in January, we will be seeing Lewis Black do his comedy show two days before New Years Eve. That should be fun!

We met this guy near Gainesville in June who keeps two tigers at his compound. He is raising them and using them as ambassadors to educate people about the plight of Bengal tigers. Their names are BALI and AMIRA. They are so powerful!! Oh my God... I just love being around them. We actually got to take them out for walks and FEED THEM!! I will post a couple pics of them at the bottom of this entry.

I'm volunteering now at the Brevard Zoo as an Aviary Keeper Aide, and I work in the Petting Zoo (called Contact Yard) once a week. My goal is to become a zookeeper in a few years. We are moving to Gainesville next summer. Cameron is going to get he Bachelor's Degree in Nursing from the University of Florida. I will be getting a Zookeeping Degree from a Teaching Zoo there. We will also be closer to BALI and AMIRA, so I may get to work with them some more.

We are heading down for an Everglades vacation the week before Christmas. Maybe I will post an entry with some pictures when we get back from that. I'm THRILLED about the holidays being here. HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

Here are some pictures of us with the Bengal Tigers BALI & AMIRA:

Above: This is us having a moment with the majestic AMIRA.

Above: Here we are relaxing in the shade with BALI. She is so pretty!

Above: This is from a different visit. The cats were being rough this day. This is me petting AMIRA. She bit me later that day. It wasn't too bad though. She was only playing. THANK GOD!!!

Here are some pictures of the dives in August:

Above: Cameron is swimming 30 feet down with a HUGE school of Yellow-tail Snapper. I ate one of these gusy at a restaraunt later that night.

Above: This is a shot of me swimming up to the Christ of the Abyss Statue. I was captivated by the face. This was one of our favorite dives so far!!

Pompano Beach Dives
06/17/06
Dive 1   SS Copenhagen
Dive 2   The Nursery

Ok. So here is how our Pompano dive trip went.

We arrived in Pompano Friday evening around 5pm. Traffic was really thick after we passed West Palm Beach. It usually is pretty hairy down there. They always have road construction of some sort going on. The hotel was just after a draw bridge right on the intracoastal waterway. It was very close to the beach. We were on the 8th floor with a great view of the waterway. We watched boat traffic from the balcony of our room. There was a boat gas station where the boats kept puling up to refuel. I had never seen a boat gas station before. They were charging 3.44 per gallon. Yikes.

We ate dinner at a restaurant inside the hotel. It was very pricey. I had flounder topped with crab meat and spinach. Cameron had dolphin covered with crusted macadamia nuts. For an appetizer, we had a soft shell crab. It was our first time trying soft shell crabs - not bad. I prefer regular crab from the hard shell. We were very tired after dinner, so we ended the night around 10pm.

We woke up Saturday around 6am. It was right as the sun was coming up. We walked out on the balcony and listened to life rising on the waterway. We also had a view of the dive shop from our hotel. It was within walking distance. So we gathered our belongings and checked-out around 6:45am. The hotel didn't serve a breakfast in the morning. That really let us down. Those free breakfasts from hotels are GREAT for getting early starts. They did give us directions to a nearby Publix. So we headed over there and picked up some cereal, milk, bowls and spoons. We both went with honey nut cheerios and a bowl of strawberries and pineapple. Mmm, mmm.

It was about 7:15am when we finished eating. The boat was scheduled to leave at 8am. We headed straight back to the dive shop. We unloaded our gear right in the parking lot. There were MANY other divers unloading at the same time. The excitement was running high. After helping Cameron haul our gear onto the boat, I quickly drove the car up the road a couple blocks to a city parking lot while Cameron secured our gear to the boat. By the time I got back, it was about 7:45am.

When I got back to the boat, we were all smiles. We were all set up and ready to go. After some chatting with the other divers, we ended up being paired together with a father and son. They were extremely nice people. The father looked to be in his mid-to-upper 40's and his son look to be in his lower 20's. We were also joined by a man without a dive buddy. His name was Mark and he was in his 50's. He looked VERY young for being in his 50's.

The boat left promptly at 8am as we headed north on the intracoastal waterway passing by out hotel we stayed in the night before. It was a gorgeous morning. I prayed for good weather a couple times the day before. We soon made our way out into the ocean. The water was very calm - calmer than we had ever experienced on a boat dive before.

The dive sites were closer to land than we had ever seen before too. They told us you could do the dives from the beach, but that it would be one heck of a swim. The first site was called the S.S. Copenhagen. It is a Florida Archeological Preserve. The Copenhagen was a steamship that transported coal back in 1898. It ran up on the reef in the early 1900's and was never freed. They unloaded the cargo and left it there. During WW2, the navy used the Copenhagen for target practice and blew the ship to pieces. Whatever was left remaining sank to the ocean floor.

We were in the water at about 8:50am. It was mildly warm. Underwater visibility was marginal though. It was the worst we had ever experienced. You could see for about 20 feet in any direction. It wasn't bad, but could have been much better. After submerging to the ocean floor, we swam west for awhile over sand and sea grasses until we reached a 10 foot ledge. Along the ledge was the reef line. And sure enough, there rested the S.S. Copenhagen. Her anchor was sitting upright and still mostly intact. The backbone of her hull went on for quite a distance. We managed to swim most of it. We saw parrotfish, blue tangs, puffers and plenty of coral and sponges. I saw the biggest angel fish I have ever seen. I managed to snap a picture of it before the current pulled me south. It wasn't a strong current, but we had to swim against it or we would have ended up drifting too far from the boat.

After about 35 minutes, we surfaced and swam to the boat. It was a great first dive! Our first dive on our own was complete! The only mistakes we made were with our tanks. Before the first dive, the BC strap that holds the tank is always dry. You are supposed to wet it before you strap your tank on. We forgot so our tanks came off in the water!! Thankfully, we managed to strap them back in place. We also got separated from the other three divers. We stopped for a photo of the anchor and when we finished they were gone.

Back on the boat, we began setting up for the second dive and going over what we could have done better. We talked with the other divers about trying to stay together. Everyone agreed to keep a better eye out. We also checked our tanks several times to ensure they stayed secure on the next dive. We applied more defogger to our masks, grabbed some water, and took a deep breath. We were already at dive sight #2.

The second dive was at a place called The Nursery. It is a location where people used to hand feed nurse sharks. Television shows on the discovery and national geographic networks have filmed the feedings in the past. We were expecting to see some nurse sharks. Unfortunately, we didn't. After all SIX of us took the plunge (we had another diver join us), we circled up and went down to the bottom. This time we followed a lead guy carrying the dive flag. We carried dive flags just in case we drifted too far from the boat. We saw more blue tangs, angelfish and a cute little puffer hiding inside a sponge. I saw a beautiful QUEEN ANGELFISH that looked like it was glowing! The yellow on fluorescent purple was beautiful. I managed to grab a picture of her. We saw a dead sea turtle under some rocks. That made me feel pretty bad. We LOVE our sea turtles! They are such lovable creatures. The captain of the boat dropped a bucket of chum in the water under the boat hoping to attract some nurse sharks. Instead, he attracted the biggest school of fish (chubs) I have ever seen!! OH MY GOD!! It was astounding! At the end of our dive, we hung out near the boat and swam amongst the feeding frenzy. They were all wide-eyed and nutty! They were all over me. I went to pick my hand up out of the water and the practically fell off me. There were that many! I snapped a few photos of that encounter.

We did MUCH better on the second dive as buddies with a team. Everyone was more comfortable with each other. The owner of the dive shop we frequently visit said that he saw a big jewfish. He wanted to take us back out to see it, but we had already taken our gear off. It was another fun 35 minute dive. You see something different every time.

The boat sounded with a round of applause for the great fun we had all just embarked upon as we headed back towards land. The ride back to the marina was one filled with a sense of accomplishment coming from everyone on the boat. That is one of my favorite parts of a boat dive - the ride back in. My other favorite part is when we first submerge below the surface. You are instantly transported into a different world that operates on different principles.

After getting back to the marina, we unloaded our gear off the boat and on to the pier. I headed over to get the car while Cameron watched our stuff. We quickly loaded up in the packed parking area and headed off. After a stop for lunch, we were on our way back to Melbourne. I feel great! I can't wait for our next dive in July!

We just ended our vacation a few days ago. Things are starting to get back to normal in Florida. I already miss the Smokies. It isnt as though the Smokies are anywhere near as dramatic as some of the other spectacular sights across our nation. However, being in the Smokies felt like being amongst a thick abundance of nature. And I really do mean THICK. The forest is lush and wet. Trees and flowers are in countless numbers. It is the stone and rock that is harder to come by, much unlike the national parks of the west.

In additional to the countless trees and flowers, there were what seemed like an endless supply of rivers and streams. Tiny brooks and streams sometimes crossed right over hiking paths. It was not uncommon to cross multiple bridges during hikes. If you spend your time outdoors in the Smokies, you must expect to get wet. Whether it is swimming in a stream or finding your way into rain shower, you will most certainly get wet at some point, which brings me to the next feature the mud.

Because of the large amounts of water in the park, you can also expect to get muddy. I do not believe there was a single day where we didnt get mud all over our shoes or clothing. At first it seemed to be an annoyance, but it soon became almost a necessity. If there wasnt mud on someone or something, then we were seemed to be missing something. The muddiest day of the vacation had to have been the day we went to the Gatlinburg Scottish Festival. The mud around the concession and shop tents had to have been a good 6 inches deep in some areas. It was like slopping around in a pig sty. I loved every second of it!

The vacation started with whitewater rafting. After rafting the Merced River the year before, our whitewater adventure on the Ocoee River seemed a bit more tame in comparison. The Ocoee is divided into two parts for rafting the Upper and Middle. We had the fortune of timing our trip when they were running both parts of the river in one trip. There were sporadic, explosive moments of Category 4 rapids spread throughout the entire experience. One part that stood out in particular to me was what they called the Olympic Run. It was established for the 1999 Olympics Games. It consisted of two back to back Category 4 rapids called Humongous and Godzilla. It was extreme enough to bend the front of the raft back and throw David and I backwards into Dad and Cameron in the row behind us.

The other thing that stood out about this whitewater rafting experience was the way we maneuvered the raft. We were permitted to attempt tricks this time. On the middle Ocoee, we paddled back into a rapid called Double Suck and managed to surf the whitewater while the raft shifted around on the rapid. Water gushed over the front of the raft bringing the entire raft to a near-flooded level. But keep in mind that the rafts are self-bailing and drain after a short period of time. What a great experience! The next trick we did was an attempt at spinning the raft 360 degrees while running a rapid. We managed to spin the raft at least 3 or more times all while running at Category 3 rapid. It was lots of fun! We were spinning so often that I lost count! The last trick we attempted was to run a rapid with the raft facing backwards. It felt weird at first, but actually turned out to be a smooth ride. It certainly gave us a different perspective!

I had visited Gatlinburg once before this vacation with a youth group as a teenager. There were at least 14 years between visits. The town still had many of the attractions with a bit of a more modern twist added in. The modern twist came from the addition of more mainstream business and restaurants. My favorite thing as a teen was my favorite thing as an adult the Gatlinburg Skylift. The Skylift takes two people at a time in a seat basket up to the top of a mountain where you are able to get out and explore a gift shop while taking in the breathtaking views of the Smokies and the city. The other thing I especially enjoyed with this visit was our trips to the Smoky Mountain Brewery. During our visits, we were able to sample all of the beers that where brewed by the brewmaster right on the premises. It was a great chance to learn more about the different varieties of beer. I now have a much better understanding of the differences between lager, ale, bock and porter flavors. Everyone seemed to really enjoy the brewmasters special brew the Vellas Hellas. It was a lager that he has been tweaking for years.

Pigeon Forge is a town that is located just outside Gatlinburg and the park. This was my first visit to the town. It is similar to Gatlinburg except for one major feature the roadways. Gatlinburg has a two lane road that runs through it. It makes for continuous, bumper-to-bumper traffic during busy times of the day, but it offers a much more enjoyable town to explore by foot. Pigeon Forge on the other hand has a six lane highway that runs right through it! It is much easier to navigate Pigeon Forge in an automobile. During our visit, we rode go-karts and played various games for tickets. The go-karts were fairly quick and the track took the driver up a three story loop. The ride down was a blast! David and Cameron decided they were going to bungee jump while we were there. Yes, thats right. You heard me correctly BUNGEE JUMP! They looked nervous getting suited up, excited climbing the stairs, nervous at the top, scared out of their minds during the jump, and all smiles at the bottom. Are they brave or what!?!?! I recorded both jumps to video and laugh every time I watch them.

We were fortunate enough to be offered a free 2 ½ hour horseback ride from Sugarlands Stables during our visit. The stables are located near the Gatlinburg entrance to the park. It had been years since my last ride on a horse, so I was really looking forward to this experience. My horses name was Strawberry. She was a star! She had a long, gorgeous mane that was a shiny orange-brown color in the sun. Her mane was long enough to give her bangs that came down just over the tops of her eyes. I felt like we created a friendship during the ride. She was trying to nibble on plant life right from the start of the ride. The guide told us to not let the horses nibble or they will try to do it constantly. So I decided to let her graze whenever we made the longer stops on the trail. Of course, if she made her mind up that she was getting a drive-by nibble, there wasnt a whole lot I could do about it. She was very strong and fit!

Towards the end of the ride, I felt very comfortable on her. I watched Dave get his horse Little Big Man to gallop up a steeper climb and decided to see if Strawberry had it in her to do the same. Sure enough, after two swift kicks, she climbed like a champ! Behind me, Dads horse Domino saw us galloping and decided to give it a go as well. I know Cameron enjoyed her ride on Peanut. She looked very comfortable while riding. Still, I must note the discomfort of a horses saddle. When was the last time those things were modified? 1840!? After about an hour of riding, the saddle gets very uncomfortable. It is odd that they havent built saddles with gel built into the sitting area yet. Maybe they do have them already, and this stable didnt carry them. Lets just say I will never forget getting off of Strawberry after 2 ½ hours of riding the trails. My legs were so stiff and numb that I thought they werent going to move for me! After about 5 minutes of slow walking, they started to loosen up again. It was a great ride overall, and I would have LOVED to be able to ride Strawberry on a regular basis.

The highlight of this vacation, without any doubt, was our visit to Cades Cove. If you have never been to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, you must visit Cades Cove. The cove is a one-way 11 mile loop road that takes you through some of the most beautiful landscape in all of America. It is just drop-dead gorgeous! I imagine the early settlers settled there because they felt like they could honestly die happy there. There are still some remnants of evidence that show where the people lived. You can explore small houses, churches, and mills in the cove by foot. The mill near the visitors center is probably the highlight of the cove. It is the actual building that was built in the late 1800s! It still has a functioning grinder that operates off of flowing water that turns a series of gears which turns a huge stone. The stone was grinding corn into corn meal when we visited. It was incredible to see something like that still operating today.

The best way to see Cades Cove is to bike the entire 11 mile loop. The park offers this service to the public by closing the loop road to motor vehicles on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 7am until 10am. They allow visitors to explore the loop by bike or foot. I highly recommend bringing a bike or renting one from the store at the beginning of the loop. We brought two bikes and rented two bikes. The road has a series of hills that the rider must climb and then descend. We were really flying down some of the hills! The wind was whipping past our ears. The scenery was never ending. We saw 10 12 deer along the ride. One of them actually jumped out and across the road right in front of us before we zoomed past! A small group of about four were grazing near the road at one point of the loop. I was able to get off my bike and climb up to within about 10 feet of them.

The scariest part of this adventure came from one of Dads bikes. The handlebars came loose after the halfway point of the loop, so I was forced to ride the bike the rest of the way with dangling handle bars. It was a bit scary at times, especially since one of the steepest hills came near the end of the loop. But I never felt like I was in danger of falling off.

After the bike ride, we drive around the loop until we reached the Abrams Falls trailhead. Dad and Dave were eager to get going so they started the trail right away. After a short rest, Cameron and I decided to make our way along the 2.5 mile trail to the falls. The falls were beautiful! There was a rather large pool that the falls ran into. That is where Dad and Dave were sitting when we arrived. After a small snack, Cameron and I decided to brave the ice cold water. It was exhilarating to swim there! I will never forget it. My body was aching before the swim. And directly after the swim, my body was so cold that I felt dizzy and my motor functions were very limited. But after about 10 minutes in the sun, my aches and pains seemed to almost completely diminish! The hike back to the car was undoubtedly easier than the hike to the falls. Cades Cove is a special place that will always have a special place in my heart. For the record, we biked 11 miles and hiked 5 miles that day!

Hiking actually has become a major part of my life these days. The Smokies offer countless trails for us all to explore and enjoy. During our stay, we managed to hike 4 trails. They were the Grotto Falls trail, the Chimney Tops trail, the Laurel Falls trail, and the Abrams Falls trail. They totaled up to 14 miles of hiking! Not too bad. But as hikers know, it isnt the distance that really tells of the difficulty. It is the gain in elevation. Three of the four trails we did had elevation gains of less than 1000 feet. Those hikes were all to waterfalls and are designed for hikers of all levels of experience to enjoy. But the hike to Chimney Tops was a different kind of trail.

Chimney Tops is a trail that is 4 miles roundtrip. However, there are two things about this trail that make it a strenuous hike even for hikers with some experience under their belt. First, the trail gains 1500 feet in 2 miles! That makes for a steep climb most of the way. Second, there is a gauntlet of jagged rocks that the hiker must negotiate at the peak of the mountain! Those rocks are The Chimneys. The four of us (Dad, Dave, Cameron and I) did the entire trip in four hours, including several stops for photos along the trail. Climbing the steep parts of the trail was grueling in some spots, but nothing was quite as sobering as the rock climb to the tops of the chimneys. Cameron and I chose to take a shorter steeper route to the top while Dad and Dave went along the longer scramble over the rocks. It was our first taste of rock climbing! There were plenty of footholds to aid our climb to the top. But some were very narrow requiring us to use only the balls of our feet! Once we arrived at the top, it made all our efforts feel worthwhile. It was like being on top of the world! We were above the clouds looking down on the park. The four of us ate lunch on the chimneys. We were told by another hiker that there were a couple black & white birds that meet hikers at the top for nibbles of food. It turned out to be a chickadee, and Dave offered it a nibble or two.

Right as we finished up lunch, a drizzle started to fall. It made the climb down a bit more upsetting. Because of the steepness of the climb up, Cameron and I decided to take the longer scramble back down. Because the rocks were wet, it made for a much slower and deliberate climb down. After clearing the chimneys, we suited up with rain gear and prepared for a wet, muddy two mile trek back to the car. On the way down, Cameron and I created a little jingle in memory of the climb to Chimney Tops. It simply goes, Goin up top. Up top to Chimney Tops. Up top to Chimney Tops. Up top to Chimney Tops. This hike gave me the greatest feeling of accomplishment during the vacation!

The culture of Tennessee comes across as a very simple, laid-back style of living. Most of the people we met seemed to be friendly. In Florida, people move about their business much faster, and are often more inconsiderate towards others. The thing about Tennesseans is that they enjoy a good laugh. Most often, they enjoy laughing at others and themselves. Our rafting guide said it best, Sometimes you see a show, and sometimes you are the show! They enjoy a good belch or fart as much as a good stumble and fall. Basically, they enjoy laughing at minor misfortunes that happen in daily life. I got a sense that family was very important to them too. I imagine a large dinner table filled with burping family members would make a Tennesseans heart fill with warmth.

Cameron and I thoroughly enjoyed Gatlinburg and the GSMNP! We enjoyed it so much that we are already trying to figure out the best time to go back and explore some of the areas we were unable to get to this time. It isnt a place that we could see ourselves living out our lives in, but it is certainly an amazing place that we desire to explore in the future. There is so much to soak up in the Smokies! I highly recommend that everyone visit that area more than once in a lifetime. My next visit will be my third. I can hardly wait!

Cameron and I are currently attempting to get our scuba certifications. We have met with our instructors twice already. Our first session, we filled out all the necessary paperwork, watched some videos, took a written test, and went down to a local dive shop to get fitted for wetsuits and gear. The second session was our first confined water dive in a pool. It was our first taste of scuba diving.

The water was very cold in the pool. Before we put the gear on, they started things by requiring us to swim 200 yards, and then tread water for 10 minutes straight. It was very tough for me (Mike). I only got 3 hours of sleep the night before. We didn't even know it was required. But we both did somehow finish it successfully, and then moved on to the fun stuff.

We geared up and practiced a bunch of scuba skills like taking your mask off underwater, putting it back on filled with water, and then clearing it by tilting your head back and blowing air out of your nose. It was a bit tricky, but we did well. We also had to take the regulator (breathing hose) out of our mouth while underwater, put it back in, clear the water from it, and begin breathing from it again. That sounds harder than it is. We did well.

By the end of the session, we were swimming around the pool underwater doing twists and spins and taking pictures. It was lots of fun! I think we both feel more confident about scuba diving now. I need to work on my ability to swim long distances on the surface though. Cameron is a good swimmer, but she said she needs to improve some as well. We may start swimming regularly at the gym this summer after the scuba certification.

So we have one more confined water dive (pool dive), and then we move on to the real deal. That confined dive will be a review of what we learned already with the addition of some more advanced skills to prpare us for the boat. We also have to swim 400 yards at the next confined dive!! Whew.

We are planning a weekend trip to Key Largo in late April - this is the real deal. It will be two days of diving (two dives each day). After the fourth dive, we will be scuba certified!! We can't wait! We are already talking about trying to dive one weekend in June, and maybe again in August on our own.

I will try and post some of the scuba pictures that our instructor took of our first confined pool dive when they become available to us. Take care!

Tuesday (March 21st) Update:

Here are a few pics from the first confined dive.

Tuesday (April 11th) Update:

We have completed two more confined water dives, and passed all of our pool skills!!! Some of them were pretty challenging. We are becoming more comfortable in the water. I am starting to see swimming in a totally different way. Everything is much harder in water at the surface. Everything moves much slower when you go under. You must be very graceful about your movements underwater - the more precise, the better! It is so incredible to breathe underwater. We have an open practice session in the pool this Sunday, and then we are heading down to the Keys the following weekend to get certified!!

Here are some shots from the last two pool dives:

Tuesday (April 25th) Update:

Well, WE DID IT!! Cameron and I completed our scuba diving training last weekend. It was a really awesome experience. We completed four dives over two days. It was exhausting, but lots of fun! We saw countless fish, a green turtle, schools of big permit fish, a HUGE goliath group (or Jewfish), lobsters, and nurse sharks. On the third dive, we were kneeling as a group in a circle on the ocean floor when three nurse sharks decided to swim over and check us out! They swam close enough to us that you could reach out your arm and touch them. We were nervous at first, but then became really comfortable in the water with them. They were not aggressive at all.

So that is it. We are offical scuba divers now!  We are not sure where our next steps will be just yet. They have so much training out there for scuba divers. It is a sport that one could do for a lifetime. Our next certification would be "Advanced Scuba Diver", if we choose to go for another certification. We have talked about spending at least a year diving before we work on another certification though. There are two dives in Pompano that sound fun, and a beach dive in Jupiter that would be easy. We are also talking about going back down to the Keys. So we have lots of diving ideas in the future.

My recommendation to anyone reading this who may be interested in trying out scuba would be:

1. Keep in mind that it is a physical sport. It takes alot of endurance. You need to be prepared to do alot of swimming.

2. If you are not a good swimmer, spend some time in a pool practicing your swimming skills before you start scuba training.

3. Scuba diving is an expensive sport. It will cost about $600 per person to get scuba certified. And that doesn't include ANY gear you might decide to buy. At minimum, you have to have a mask, snorkel, fins and a weight belt.

Here are some pictures from the open water certification dives in Key Largo:

Hello everyone. Cameron and I are finishing up all preparations this week in order to sell our house in Palm Bay. We meet with the realtor this Friday (March 3rd) to finalize the paperwork and put the house on the market. Pray that the house sells quickly, and that we get a fair value. If anyone is interested in buying a 2 1/2 year old, 3 bedroom, 2 bath house, please let us know!

Update (Monday, March 20th):

Wow! We already sold our house! It only took two days to get an offer for the entire amount we asked for. Offers started pouring in after the house was on the market for only a matter of hours. It was unbelievable! We were certainly blessed. The realtor told us several times that we had a beautiful house, and that it stood out from the rest. We were very happy to hear that because we worked so hard to get it looking good.

We have been signing a lot of paperwork over the past couple weeks to prepare for closing. There were inspections done on the house, and we are taking care of a few minor repairs. The last of that should be done this week. It looks like we will close on the house March 28th. So we will be moving into an apartment by the end of the month. We can't wait!

Update (Sunday, April 2nd):

We have closed the sale of our house, and moved into an apartment now. It was a total success! Things could not hvae gone any better for us. We feel very blessed. We send much love to our realtor Joyce. She was awesome! Now it is time to get settled back into apartment living. The buyer purchased most of our furniture with the home. We will be furnishing the apartment over the next couple months. This time we are on the second floor. So far we love it! It feels like living in the trees when you look out the living room window. We couldn't be happier! Thanks for your prayers!

Hello readers! Cameron and I have been very busy getting ready for the holidays. So I haven't been able to post anything about our cruise in Hawaii last month until now. What a blast it was! Hawaii is a very special place. We will be going back as soon as we possibly can. I wrote a review for a message board on the second day after we returned. It is geared for those who will be cruising on the exact same cruise we took. It is very long, but tells the story very well. I will post it below. Also, I will post some pics. Enjoy!

Mike’s Hawaii Review (posted on 11/29/2005)

So I just got back Sunday from my 7 day Pride of America cruise. What a blast! It is hard to even know where to begin. I guess I will start with the ship. The Pride of America is a beautiful ship. It is HUGE! I heard some complaints about the food on the ship, and it made me worried before we left. However, we did not have many problems at all. The two main dining halls are the Skyline and the Liberty. The Skyline is on the 5th floor and the Liberty is right above it. You can access both of them via one flight of stairs. We ate breakfast once in the Skyline and dinner once at the Liberty. The breakfast at the Skyline was good. We were early so we did not have to wait long. The dinner at the Liberty was EXCELLENT. We sat right next to the piano player on lobster night. Our waitress was so nice. She informed us that my wife and I could each place a double order of lobster. We got quite a healthy serving! It was delicious. The only complaint I had about the Liberty was about the wait to get in. We had reservations and STILL had to wait in line for awhile. It wasn't very organized at the door. But once we were seated, it was VERY nice. I didn't eat at any of the specialty restaurants. If you want to eat at a specialty restaurant, you better make your reservations the FIRST NIGHT on the boat. If you are anything like we were, you will be too busy to sit around eating every night anyway. The Aloha Cafe on the 11th floor serves a buffet for breakfast lunch and dinner. We found ourselves in that cafe most of the time grabbing a bite to eat at our own leisure. You will find that it has very convenient hours.

As far as nightlife on the boat, there are several bars to choose from. We relaxed at the Pink Champagne & Cigar Bar one night. They have a very talented piano player there that sings. He made us laugh a few times because he kept changing the words to fit the situations happening on the cruise. We also went to the Mardi Gras Club a couple nights. That is the place that stays open late. Lots of dancing there and themed events are scheduled each night. We were there for 70's disco night and for 90's night. DJ Chris will play anything you request as long as he has it available. We sipped drinks Thanksgiving night at the Lanai Bar on the 13th floor. Not many people know about that place. It is usually less crowded than some of the other bars on Deck 5. They have a talented acoustic guitar player there. He plays mostly modern music and has a nice voice.

If you want to watch performances, you will go to the Hollywood Theatre. We watched two different Broadway shows here. The first was on Sunday night and it was called the "The Dance of Life". We found it very entertaining. One of our cousins was in the show, and he did an excellent job. I highly recommend that show, if you have the time available. The second was a show about American History. Once again, it was entertaining. At the end of the show, they had the Pride of America staff come up on the stage and sing a song. There were performers, stewards, receptionists, crew officers, cooks, and even the ship's captain was on stage. It was really cool. They kept coming into the theatre until the stage was completely full.

So I guess that about does it for the ship. Here are a few more tips though. If you plan to leave the ship without an excursion through the ship, GET UP EARLY. If you are there right when disembarkation starts, you will get off very quickly without any delay. Next, make sure you go to the reception desk on Deck 5 to check your stateroom balance at least once during your cruise. They will give you a printout showing all the charges made to your room. All charges are done with a swipe card that bills your room. If you want to pay for you ship expenses with cash, you add money to your account on the first day at the reception desk, and then you can add more as needed later during your cruise. But there is a delay when you try to add to your account, so deposit the money the day before you plan to use it.

Ok, on to the excursions now.

In Hilo, we went to Punalu'u Black Sand Beach and to the Volcano National Park. This can be done in one day. We were off the boat at 8am, and were due back at 5:30pm. We made it back at 5pm with no problems. You pass the Volcano Park on the way to the black sand beach. The Punalu'u Beach is worth the drive! It was gorgeous. It was the first time we had ever seen a black sand beach. If you get there early, there will only be a few people there. Eventually, the tour buses start showing up and it gets crowded. I think we were there before 10am. It is about 30 minutes from the Volcano National Park. So allow for an extra hour of driving if you choose to go there (30 minutes there and 30 minutes back to the park). After the beach, we entered the VNP. We decided to only do some of Crater Rim Drive. We drove up to the Volcano House first. You have to go there and check out the view from behind the Volcano House. It is gorgeous, and very easy to access! Next, we went to the steam vents. They were kicking out steam everywhere. The steam was very warm. It left us amazed. There is a great view from the steam vent pulloff. It is a short walk to get there. Many people missed it because they did not take the time to find the path. After the steam vents, we turned around and went the other way on Crater Rim Drive back passed the Volcano House. We stopped at Kilauea IKI Crater, and took in the view. That is a cool stop. The landscape is incredible. You can see where the lava burst right out of the side of the crater. After Iki, we decided to skip the lava tube and catch it on the way out. Instead, we headed down Chain of Craters Road. If you have time, GO DOWN THIS ROAD! It is incredible. One minute you are driving through lush green rainforest, and the next minute you are driving past volcanic lava fields that make you feel like you just landed on the moon. There is a lookout right before you start the BIG descent down to the coastline. Stop there if you see it. The view is incredible! I forget the name of it. Most of the descent happens after that lookout. Slow down and drive carefully. We made it down to the end of the road, and hiked about a 1/2 mile to the lava field. It was awesome. The lava there is only a few years old. You can hike on it a short ways right up to the coastline. It is a long drop down to the waterline. Be careful. Waves were crashing into the lava wall. If you fell off, it would be your end. But anyway, you can see steam billowing into the sky right off the coast a couple miles away. That is where the lava is entering the ocean. It is a sight to see! Don't worry about hiking across the lava field to see it up close. That would take all day, and it would be hard on your body. The lava field is extremely unforgiving to knees and ankles. After we rested on the rocks for awhile, we headed back up Chain of Craters Road making a quick stop to see the Sea Arch. It is located right at the ranger’s station. It is a very short walk to the coast to see it. Pretty cool. After getting back up to Crater Rim Drive, we walked through the lava tube with two of our cousins up until the point where the lights go out. You can walk further, but you would need a flashlight. And at this point we would have needed more time. We quickly exited the park and cruised back to the rental car drop-off (Thrifty). We were back on the boat around 5pm. We were completely exhausted, but what a day.

In Maui (Day One), we were off the ship again around 8am. We picked up the rental car from Thrifty and went directly to the Iao Valley. Beautiful! What a special place. Take your time here. It is a VERY short drive from the port. Get there early before the crowds arrive because THEY WILL - and in great numbers. Thankfully, we beat the crowd. After that, we went to the other side of the island to Ka'anapali Beach. This is a MAJOR resort area. Lots of money is being spent there. There is some pretty good shopping at the Whaler's Village. You can eat there too. Parking is free for 3 hours there if you by something over $10 at a store and get them to validate. We did just that - parked, shopped, got validated and then headed for Black Rock. We brought our snorkeling gear with us and paddled out into the crowd. It is very easy to snorkel, even in crowds. People tend to be less hostile in water. We saw quite a few fish. The highlight for me was being investigated by a puffer fish. They seem to have no fear of human beings. When they get close, check out there eyes. They are the size of our eyes and they use them to scan you. I felt like it was checking me out or something.  After the snorkel, we sat on the beach and watched a couple people jump off the rock. After that, we got lunch in Whaler's Village and headed over to Lahaina. In Lahaina, we hung out around the GIANT Banyan Tree and did some shopping. That tree was remarkable. The roots come straight down off the limbs and start new trunks everywhere. Incredible. After a short stay in Lahaina, we headed over to the Old Lahaina Luau. What a great show! When you get there, they give you a guide that covers the evening’s events along with a lei. Drinks are free and they serve quite a bit of food. You get to watch them prepare the poi and unearth the pig. It was very interesting, especially the pig. They have a couple short dances for guests to watch during dinner. Then, after dinner is finished, the big show begins. The drumming is extremely LOUD! It is one of the most incredible events to witness. The drumming tempos change without a moments notice! The dancers are extremely talented. They move so fast! You can’t take your eyes off them. The show tells about the history of Hawaii. If you have the time, go to this luau. You will not regret it.

In Maui (Day Two), we decided to do a ship excursion. We did the Haleakala Zipline Adventure. The Zipline, Horseback riding and ATV rides are in the same location. You will ride the same bus together. Our zipline was at 10:15am. It was great! You get suited with a harness and helmet. Then, you take a short walk into the forest. There are 5 ziplines and an Indiana Jones Bridge. The first zipline is easy. It sure doesn't seem that way when you are first starting out though. If it is your first time, your heart will be pumping. Mine was. But in retrospect, the first zipline was very easy. After the first couple zips, you get the hang of it. There is some minor steering involved. The guides show you how to do it. The third zip is tricky because you have to get a running start. It was very cool though. However, noting could compare to the last zipline. HOLY COW! That sucker is 750 feet long. The drop is 125 feet down, and you go around 40 miles per hour over treetops. It is ridiculous! I loved every second of it. It was the best zip by far. You DO NOT steer on that one. You just hang on for dear life. LOL! This excursion was very safe, and the guides were great. They provided narration and did several checks before letting anyone zip. After the zipline, we were dropped off back at the port. We had parked in the lot near the ship the night before (which was murder by the way). If you don't get back early the first night in Maui, parking can be tricky. We did find a spot though. After getting to the car, we headed for Paia. Right upon entering the town, we stopped at Pizza Paia and got a BBQ Chicken Pizza to go. We took it down to Ho'okipa Beach Park to watch the surfers. This was very cool. The waves were kicking! There were lots of surfers out. No windsurfers though. We really enjoyed eating there. They have tables and restrooms there. After that, we headed over to Thrifty and dropped the car off. We made it back to the ship with time to spare before departure.

Have to go for now. To be continued...

On with the rest.

In Kona, we decided to do another ship excursion. Kona is the only port in which you will tender from the ship. The tender boat is rather small, but it does hold quite a few people. If you do not have an excursion through the ship this day, it will most likely take awhile to tender from the ship. The good thing is that the tenders run about every 15 minutes. There were two boats running constantly. Since you are unable to meet with your ship excursion group right outside the ship in the port (like the other days), you will meet in the Hollywood Theatre on Deck 5 (this is only if you have an excursion through the ship that day). They escort you to the exit and on to the tender boat. We were off on the second boat that morning. Our excursion of choice was the Kona Beach Snuba. The great thing about this excursion was that it took place right off the pier in Kona. It was a very short walk right to the beach. We were lucky to be the only two people doing the snuba excursion at that time. Our instructor was very nice. He met us at the pier and walked with us to the shoreline. We were fitted with the breathing apparatus and fins. We brought our own masks. After a quick 10 minute safety briefing, we were walking into the water. It was freezing! The water at that beach is fed buy a natural spring. The water is ice cold! I was trembling. My wife and I were hiding it well though. We were just doing our best to remember the hand signals we had gone over earlier. After a short paddle out past the rocks (and past King Kamehameha's personal temple), we were at the reef. The water was warmer, and the underwater view was clear. This was our first time underwater for a prolonged period of time. I believe we were underwater for at least 30 minutes without coming up. We dove deep enough that you had to pop your ears several times to equalize. We went the full extent of the tube, which is 25 feet deep (or so I was told). It was amazing! Popping your ears can be a very uncomfortable experience though. My ears have never been the same since this dive. And I mean that in a good way. Your ears will be put to the test. That's for sure. Swimming with the marine life was like being on a different planet. We saw lots of tropical fish. But the coolest part was the reef itself. There were hundreds of sea urchins everywhere! Our instructor picked one up from the bottom and allowed us to hold it. They have suction cups all over them, so they stick to your hands. It was remarkable. Everything moves at a crawl underwater that deep. We loved every slow second of it! Just before our O2 ran out, we calmly made our way back to surface. We couldn't stop talking about the experience. If you are even remotely interested in scuba diving, try this out! It gives you a nibble of what scuba diving can be like. We are highly considering becoming scuba certified.

After the snuba, we walked awhile down Alii Drive. We stopped to see the Mokuaikaua Church. Go inside this church if you have the chance. We signed the book they have inside for travelers to leave their name in. We saw the Hulihe'e Palace from the outside because they want $7 per person to get inside. We eventually worked our way down to the Kona Shopping Village. This is where we rented our bicycles from. They were only $15 a piece for 5 hours. They offer you a lock and helmet for no extra charge. After we got the bikes, we took off through the shopping area. I hadn't ridden a bike in years so I managed to moderately crash into the window of a corner store.  It was good for a quick laugh. We quickly found our stride, and weaved through the shoppers until we finally exited the shopping area. It was about 5 miles to Kahalu'u Beach, and that was our destination. It was quite a leg workout to get there, but it was one of the most adventurous, and dangerous, parts of the entire vacation. The traffic was only inches away from us at times. When we finally pulled in to Kahalu'u Beach, we were thrilled. Go to this beach! If you don't want to ride a bike, take the shuttle or a cab. This beach was incredible! They have restrooms, showers, picnic tables and even a snack truck. You can also rent snorkeling gear and bodyboards there. It has everything! One side of the beach has a moderately rough current with decent waves to surf. We stayed to the opposite side where the snorkeling was. Oh my God! The snorkeling here will blow you away! Seriously, it was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. The reef has so many fish living on it that you will be engulfed by them at some point. One time, we were actually surrounded by a school of large, purple fish. And once again, I had a puffer fish checking me out all day!  But the real highlight of this beach is the turtles. They are everywhere! We counted about 6 of them feeding in the tide pools. There was a HUGE one feeding underwater. I spent a lot of time with it. At one point, I was actually following it around searching for a place to feed on the reef. Reef algae is not my thing though, so I mostly watched.  After hours of snorkeling and swimming, we decided to get hot dogs and some shave ice. The hot dogs hit the spot, but SKIP THE SHAVE ICE THERE. Ugh. It was garbage. We eventually ran out of time. I could have stayed there forever. But it was time to go. We hopped back on the bikes and headed back to the pier area. Traffic was worse on the way back (about the time everyone was getting off work). My wife had a close call with a truck. It was more of a miscommunication. She ended up stubbing her toe between the pedal and the pavement. Ouch! Thankfully, it wasn't serious. We made it back to the bike rental shop, dropped off the bikes and did a little shopping. By this time, it was getting extremely late. We only had about 30 minutes before we had to catch the last tender at 5PM. But for some reason, I was dying to give the shave ice another try. So we stopped at this place right near the pier called Scandinavian Shave Ice. Oh... My... God. That shave ice was amazing! It really is a special treat. They even offer shave ice with ice cream in the middle. GET IT! You will not regret it. The place was a bit eccentric. The staff was playing heavy metal softly in the background. They were definitely unique, and they knew how to make shave ice. It was almost like an art form or something. So we got the shave ice and moved on towards the pier. And that is when it hit us. The line to get on the tender boats was HUGE!! Do not wait until the last tender unless you are willing to wait a long time to get back to the ship. However, they will not leave you stranded, so do not panic. Some people where starting to get irritated because they kept thinking the ship was going to leave us. The ship said the last tender was at 5pm, but it ended up being at about 6pm. We set sail around 6:30 instead of 6pm. What an amazing day that was! My wife and I both agreed that Kona was a very special place.

In Kauai, we only had one day because the ship was going to be at sea all day on Friday. So we decided that we needed to stay active while we had the chance. Our day in Kauai also happened to be on Thanksgiving Day. What a Thanksgiving Day it was! We decided to rent a car again (Thrifty). The shuttle picked us up right outside the port. The Thrifty sight in Kauai is not at the airport. But then again, the only Thrifty that was right at an airport was in Hilo. That doesn't really matter though because you can catch the shuttle to and from the port with no problem. If you don't want to wait, take a cab. After we got the car, we headed straight for Wailua Falls. The falls were really nice, and it was our first encounter with the chickens. An entire row of them ran out in front of our rental car! They are everywhere on Kauai. It is tricky getting up to the falls. Drive slowly! After a certain point, the road narrows and there are potholes everywhere. But if you have the time, it is worth the drive. The falls were beautiful. We were lucky enough to beat the crowd again. Go early. The parking is narrow at the falls. I can only imagine has stressful the driving would have been later in the day. After Wailua, we headed south for Hanapepe. We had reservations with Inter-island Helicopters. Before we checked in with Inter-island, we stopped at the Salt Pond Beach Park. It is right next to the heliport. If you have the time, stop here. It is a great place to sit on the beach and relax. Also, more chickens and a rooster. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to relax. We only had about 20 minutes to kill. After a short stay at Salt Pond Beach Park, we headed over to Inter-island. Check-in was easy, and the receptionist was nice. We watched a short safety film and were directed to wait outside until our flight time at 11:30am. We were both very nervous. This was going to be our first helicopter flight. The helicopters are loud! The special thing about Inter-island is that their helicopters have NO DOORS! Holy Moses! It was intimidating at first. But we were both very excited and ready to see Kauai from the air. If you take a doorless helicopter flight, dress warmly. We wore wind breakers and they did just fine. Also, WEAR SUNGLASSES. The wind is pretty strong without the doors. But do not be afraid of the idea of flying in a helicopter with no doors. The seatbelts keep you securely in the helicopter. The danger is minimal. You would have to do something extremely dumb to get hurt or die. After we boarded the helicopter, we were securely fastened in by a staff member. Then, the flight began. Amazing. We started from Hanapepe and were quickly inside Waimea Canyon. I cannot even begin to describe how beautiful the view was. It was unnatural to see the island that way. It was heavenly. It made you feel like you were in a dream. Soon, we were heading directly for the Na Pali Coastline. You could see the ocean, and a steep drop. And then it hit us. Heavenly. The view is stunning. It will leave your mouth open and your heart racing. The pilot took us in and out of valleys in the mountains. Before we knew it, we were passing Ke'e Beach. We were at the north shore. It was extremely overcast there. The temperature quickly dropped. Water was beading up on the helicopters windshield. I still couldn't believe what I was seeing. The pilot was very nice and decided to go ahead, despite the weather, and take up into an amazing place. We went into the wettest place on Earth - the Wai'ale'ale Crater. The "Revealed" Hawaii book calls this place a "spiritual splendor". I think that description hits the nail on the head. We passed a 3000 FOOT WATERFALL in there! Unbelievable! 3000 feet! There were waterfalls everywhere. Oh, it was incredible. The pilot said they can't always get in there, and you can't hike up in there. We were very lucky to have witnessed it. After that, we headed across the Wailua Valley. There were many waterfalls to be seen. It was gorgeous. At this point, we had snapped just about all the pictures we could take. If you bring a camera, have it on a neck or wrist strap. The pictures come out great, due to the fact that the doors are missing. Before we knew it, we were descending into Hanapepe. What a flight. It pretty much drained the both of us. After disembarking the helicopter, my wife began to feel a bit woozy. We just sat in the rental car for awhile with the windows down until we could catch our breath (and footing). What an experience. If you can afford a helicopter flight over Kauai, DO IT! If you want an adventure, do it with no doors. There were times when I was looking straight down at the ground. The pilot would bend and twist the helicopter so that everyone had their chance to see the sites.

At this point, we decided we need to get some fresh air. So we headed for the beach. We chose to go to the Poipu area. Instead of Poipu Beach, we decided to try out Shipwreck Beach. Good choice. The beach is gorgeous, and right nearby are the lithified cliffs. You can take a short hike to a wonderful view of the Pacific Ocean crashing against the rocks. Nobody was up there. It gave us plenty of time to rest with only the sound of the ocean nearby. Check this beach out, if you have the time. It was soon lunchtime, so we headed to the Poipu Village. It was very similar to the Whaler's Village in Maui. There are plenty of places to shop and eat. We did a bit of both. We decided to make a quick stop at Spouting Horn after lunch. It was not gushing very high into the air, but the sound it made was very odd sound and shook the ground. Also, more chickens.

Our last stop of the day was at Kipu Falls. This is a place I learned of through the "Revealed" books. Buy those books. The falls are easy to find. You just follow Kipu road until you get to a bridge. Stop before the bridge! You can park on the side of the road. You will then have a short hike through what looked like sugar cane. And before long, you are at Kipu Falls. What a neat little place. It is truly like something out of a movie. Our entire family was there waiting on us. Quite a few of our family members jumped off the falls into the water (including my wife). I managed to find a way to climb down some roots to get some spectacular shots of the falls and the activities from the shoreline. There is a rope swing there as well. Many people were trying that out too. It looked like a blast. The thing to note about Kipu Falls is two things. First, bring bug spray. You will most likely need it. Second, watch out for the red dirt. Your shoes will get muddy. Your rear-end may even get muddy if you slip on the trail. Mine did.  But oddly enough, no chickens.

Well, that about sums up the excursions. We had a blast on every island! There is SO MUCH TO DO in Hawaii! Get out and see some things. Those chickens in Kauai are everywhere. I truly got the meaning of the red dirt shirt that shows the chicken and says "Road Warrior". If you are out and about in Kauai, you will come across them.


Here are a few tips about each island:

Hilo - Go see the VNP (roll the windows down), driving in Hilo is easy, you can get fresh leis right off the ship (buy one here because they get harder to find).

Maui - Ka'anapali Beach is nothing spectacular, Lahaina is interesting (great shopping), try the zipline!, take the Road to Hana (I would have done with more time).

Kona - GREAT SNORKELING AT KAHALU'U BEACH, do your snorkeling during your stop in Kona, get the shave ice, Captain Zodiac's Adventure is popular here (heard it was a chance to see dolphins and do some great snorkeling).

Kauai - Do your helicopter tour here, get out and see this island, red dirt will stain clothes & shoes.


A few more tips about the boat:

1. Tip your steward. Our steward's name was Eli. He kept our room looking great.
2. Have your swipe/key card and ID/Driver's License easily accessible. They are checked, or used, quite frequently during your cruise.
3. On the last night, you will need to pack everything inside your luggage and leave it outside your stateroom door. You will pick up your bags right outside the ship the following morning.


One final note:

We used two backpacks the entire trip. They were our carry-on bags for the airplane, and they were used to carry everything we needed on the islands during our excursions. Make sure to carry plenty of water when you are out and about! It also helps to have snacks with you (i.e. trail mix). ENJOY YOUR CRUISE!!

Here we are at the end of CHAIN OF CRATERS RD. This is where lava flowed over the road in 2003. You can see where lava is currently entering the ocean from this spot.

I'm that dot on the bridge. That is the Iao Needle behind me. It is located on the island of Maui.

This is a picture of Cameron and I after a luau on Maui. There was dancing, drumming and chanting! It was incredible!

The pictures above are of Cameron and I ziplining in Maui. It was lots of fun!

This is a nice shot of the Na Pali coastline from our helicopter tour. What a ride that was! Spectacular!

Here we are after the helicopter ride over Kauai. We loved that island!

This is all the pictures I am going to post. We had about 900 pictures from the trip!  Aloha!

Hello everyone. We just returned from the Audioslave concert at the Hard Rock Live in Orlando. It was a great show! Cameron, David and myself attended. We got their early around 6pm and had dinner at the Jimmy Buffet Restaurant. Dave had steak and shrimp and Cameron had a Carribean Salad with chicken. They both enjoyed their meals. I had a fish sandwich that wasn't very good. However, it did the trick because I was pretty hungry at that point. After dinner, we hung out in front of the venue and talked. The show was sold out, so alot of people were asking us for extra tickets. David got a compliment on his Tool t-shirt. It was nice to see another fan of Tool.

Eventually, we made our way inside. We had GREAT seats! We were up in the balcony where they had private bars and bathrooms. If you get tickets general admission, you have to wait in huge lines for drinks and to use the restroom. We didn't have to deal with any of that.

A band called 30 Seconds To Mars opened first. They were pretty good. It was the first time I had heard their music before. Dave and Cameron heard their new single on the radio before the show. Next was a band called Seether. I knew two of their songs from the radio. They were pretty good too. The highlight of their set was the last song. They did a cover of Alice in Chains called 'Man in the Box'. We all LOVE that song! They did a great job playing it too.

Finally, Audioslave came out. They had the curtain down so you couldn't see the stage. A picture of blue ocean waves were projected onto the curtain. The lights went out and you heard the beginning of the song called 'Your Time Has Come'. Right as the opening riff ended, the curtain dropped and the music exploded! It was great. They played most of my favorites. In the middle of the set, the played two or three acoustic songs. One of them was an old Soundgarden song called 'Black Hole Sun'. Great song. After the acoustic portion, the band pick things up again big time. They played a couple of Rage Against The Machine songs. They place went nuts. It was so much fun.

Overall, I would have to say they exerience was better than I expected. I wasn't sure what to expect. They played a great set and the opening bands were good too. The seats were great and the view of the stage was perfect. I wouldn't mind seeing them again. But I'm thinking the next concerts for us will be early next year when Tool releases their new album. We have already talked about following them around the southeastern US. Can't wait for that!