Florida & Bahamas 2007
- Mostly holiday with a tiny little bit of work -
Finally, a real holiday for us all! Alvaro, Kristin, Rob and Hild turned their noses toward Orlando, Florida. Rob and Hild flew from Ottawa through Detroit to Orlando while Alvaro and Kristin came from Denver through Dallas. Since Rob and Hild arrived first they got the hire car and checked into the hotel.
We were going to stay 3 nights in Orlando, 2 nights on a cruise to the Bahamas and 2 nights in Fort Lauderdale. Here are som pictures and notes from our holiday:
We were going to stay 3 nights in Orlando, 2 nights on a cruise to the Bahamas and 2 nights in Fort Lauderdale. Here are som pictures and notes from our holiday:
| ORLANDO before we got to the EPCOT center | ||
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| Rob, Hild, Alvaro and Kristin at Cypress Lake. | Alvaro outside our hotel - SleepInn - close to Universal Studios. | Rob, Kristin and Alvaro with our hire car: Hyundai Sonata, blue or green (we never really quite agreed on which...). |
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| We only looked at the air boats. | Hild and Kristin enjoying ice cream and pop. | Alvaro saying hello to a new friend. |
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EPCOT center (We sent Alvaro on a mission and he discovered that it stands for "Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow") |
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| Kristin, Hild and Alvaro on their way into Epcot. | Tigger in treeform made Kristin and Alvaro home sick - doggies being left behind in Lakewood... | A beautiful garden. |
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| England in Epcot. | China in Epcot. | Norway in Epcot - with turf-roof, Heddal Stavkyrkje, viking boat trip, and bakery - yum yum yum. |
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| Rob and Hild eating skulebrød ("schoolbread") for elevenses in the Norwegian bakery (we also had lefse) | Germany in Epcot. | |
| To Fort Lauderdale | ||
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| Beach life at the Atlantic Ocean - South of West Palm Beach, Florida | Not the best weather with strong under-tows and dangerous marine life!!!... so we only waded ... | |
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| Rob and Alvaro wading in the Atlantic Ocean. | ... and shortly after this picture was taken a large wave came in and various people got wet bottoms... | On our way from West Palm Beach we were caught by a bridge opening up for passing boats... Rob and Hild were reasonably patient... |
| På Cruise!!! | ||
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| The Regal Empress - our ship!!! | ... not the Regal Empress, but a bit larger ship .... | ... luckily this isn't the Regal Empress either, but a Norwegian ship at the docks in Fort Lauderdale. |
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| Hild on a cruise... she's looking toward the Bahamas thinking that the clouds look to dark (maybe one should take a tablet or five?). | Loading a dump truck??? Do we really need one of those? | Alvaro and Kristin on deck. Alvaro thinks rum-punch is better than tablets! |
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| Alvaro proudly showing off his practical and stylish birthday present: He was the only one whose tie did not dangle in the soup that night... | Alvaro proudly showing off his second birthday present: He was also the only one who wasn't cold that night... | Alvaro thanking Rob for his birthday cake. |
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| Alvaro cutting the birthday cake. | The restaurant staff offer up a burning cake - but first they carry it around on their heads!! - we come to the conclusion that this must be a cruise-ship thing... | The restaurant staff on the ship dancing the Macarena! |
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| Rob gambles everything - and wins it all back... - with some rum-punch... | Royal Empress' flag at sunset. | Life at the Royal Empress - pool side! |
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A tiny little bit of work.... Annual General Meeting of the Rygnestad companies. |
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| A little bit of work with large drinks. | Kristin "working". | Hild "working". |
| Nassau, Bahamas | ||
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| Kristin gazing out over Nassau with our ship in the background. | The water tower is the highest point on the island. | The houses in Nassau have many bright colours that were used as addresses before: the green house on Main Street... the yellow house on School Street... |
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| Alvaro enjoying the view from the top of the boat. | The bottom of the boat was made of glas so we could see all the fish and the reefs. | On the boat tour we saw the houses of may famous people: Oprah Winfrey, Michael Jordan and many others. |
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| A typical street in Nassau. | Rob and Hild racing each other up the Queen's Staircase in Nassau. Ex-slaves built it for Queen Victoria. 65 steps - one for each year she ruled the colony. | Our car in Nassau. Kristin talking with our chauffeur/guide Joe-Joe. |
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| Back on the cruise ship: Folded towels becomes an art form. | Breakfast on deck before we left the ship in Fort Lauderdale. | |
| The Florida Keys | ||
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Panorama picture of all of us - and some friends?! Click here for a larger version of the panorama picture (3 MB!) |
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| Kristin and Alvaro in The Florida Keys. | Hild and Rob in The Florida Keys. | A lot of yummy desserts - in stead of dinner! Chocolate cake, keylime pie, creme brulee, sticky-toffee pudding. |
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| Everybody in the Florida Keys. | Bird in The Florida Keys. Yes it is a crane and not a dump truck (Kristin and Hild are very construction-oriented) | Rob showing where we are on the map - approximately. |
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| Long roads in the Florida Keys. | Sunset in the Florida Keys. | Alvaro, Rob and Kristin waving to the photographer. |
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Fort Lauderdale The holiday is over soon |
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| Kristin relaxing by the pool in Fort Lauderdale. | Alvaro in deep in Fort Lauderdale. | Hild and Rob relaxing by the pool in Fort Lauderdale. |
This was a great trip that we'll remember for a long time - especially those of us that came away with a sun burn more than a sun tan!
Hild Rygnestad
April 2007