Marco Island, November 2014
| Nick and Trish were kind enough to invite us to their wedding on Marco Island, Florida. As they chose the very auspicious date of November 28th for their big day, we turned the trip into a vacation/anniversary/wedding celebration. First stop, since we were in the neighborhood, was Legoland; clearly making Robert's day, week, month and year! |
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In addition to lots of Lego structures, scenes, villages and cities, they have rides. Loosely Lego themed — with Lego Star Wars, Lego Raiders of the Lost Ark it's easy to come up with lots of ideas for rides. Sarah and Robert were in the last car of the Coastersaurus, Robert's first full-sized roller coaster. And Robert now has his driver's license — issued by Legoland. |
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The Flying School ride was so much fun, we did it several times. The connection to Lego was a little tenuous, at least in my book. Of course Robert does have several Lego model planes, so maybe that's it... And how can you pass up a photo-op with a gigantic Einstein bust made of Legos? |
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| The water-park was closed for the winter — crazy as it was 80 degrees while we were there. But they did have some water themed rides. This one let spectators try to blast water on the riders; Sarah got Robert and me when it was my turn. |
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| All-in-all, lots of fun. And a great break from the early snow dusting Alexandria was getting while we were checking out all the cool Lego scenes. |
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The drive from Legoland to Marco Island was uneventful but ran a little late. Robert was glad he brought his laptop for the trip. The next day, we checked out piece of paradise. Trish's family had arranged for several condos for family members and we enjoyed ours and the beach it came along with. |
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| Robert (and I) did manage to score some Lego sets, but he was careful to be sure we got sets for Luca, Sebi, Sam and Ian. We ran into Luca and Sebi on Tuesday and Robert helped Luca with his while Sebi did his own building. That was the warm-up for the Star Wars police ship Robert choose. Lego construction was great for the one rainy period we had; the beaches were perfect for the rest of the trip. |
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Robert remembered our anniversary during the trip and carefully wrote out on the beach:
Robert = David + Sarah It was late November, so the water was cool, but it was also fun to try to outrun the waves. If you weren't fast enough, you could end up with an impressive case of foam foot. |
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The bride's family also arranged a great Thanksgiving dinner (for about 75 folks) before a beautiful Florida Friday for the wedding. The weather was fantastic. There was time to check on the upgraded tower: the sand only version didn't survive the tide; this rock, sand and shell version did. And look for more shells while being watched by the pelicans. |
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While the women-folk were getting their hair done, David Z. arranged for a HobieCat trip for Ian, Sam and Robert. Then it was time for the main big event. |
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| The reception following kept up the pace of fun times. Ian played some piano before the DJ took over for post dinner dancing. |
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| The next day, we did a little more touristing on our own — we discovered Barefoot Williams Road and checked out the silly water vehicles at Tiger Beach. |
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| Then we connected with the rest of the Zapolsky-Hubbard-Turshman clan for a trip to Shark Valley, the land of alligators. Robert has grown a bit since our last visit — that time we walked in a little ways. This time we took the tram tour so we were able to take in the view from the observation tower. And had a guide to explain the mating dance we happened upon between the egrets. |
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| I was kidding when I asked Robert to take a little step back... |
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| One last chance to enjoy the beach before flying back to "scattered flurries." A great trip and a lot of fun! Thank you Nick and Trish, and best of luck on your life together! |
Vacation notes:
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