Memorial Day Weekend '09

Two words...Phenomenal Weekend, to say the least. What a great 3 days of sun, fun, and family. I think the bonus was the purrrfect weather we had and could not have asked for more sunshine. After the torrential week long rain in Orlando, we were very lucky for the cloudless skies all weekend long. I have never bathed in the sea as much as I did this weekend. I never want to get wet, but that blue green water called my name for hours. There's so much to tell and describe the best way would be to break it down by days.

Day 1 - Lee and I left home at 7:30 am and by 9:30 am we met Marsha and Nicholas on Clearwater Beach. Our umbrella of umpteen years broke while trying to put it up, but luckily they had a mac-daddy tent already set up so we didn't fry too much. Beers flowed, Lee's chicken salad was off the hook, and my home made french onion dip was good enough to sell! Jerome met us a couple hours later and we spent the day in a vicious cycle - sunblock, ocean, lay out.

We packed up around 4 pm and checked into our hotel for a catnap before dinner. The sunset at Pier 60 was something to see, but nothing like the sunset we saw at Key West. Still got some great pics though. Dinner at Frenchie's was mediocre. We could thank Marsha for picking that restaurant but it wasn't detrimental. So Lee and I get back to our hotel and the room key dosen't work. WTF. I call management on my cell because there's no onsite management at night, and the Biatche has the nerve to tell me "Go sleep somewhere else and she'll get me in in the morning because she had a couple beers and not driving back to help us." Yes people - that's what she told me. During my convulsions after that conversation, Lee (the midnight cat burglar) tried the window. Thank God and all the angels in heaven it was open. He hoisted me through it and that's how we got into our room. Nice.

Day 2 - Packed our stuff up and hauled tail outa Clearwater. The rest of the bandwagon was already in Treasure Island Beach which was 45 minutes away. Let's just say we're lucky to all have cingular because the thousands of mobile to mobile minutes we used trying to get us all in one place was retarded. Everywhere was meter parking, but Lee found public parking and saved us 10 bucks each day by parking there. We all spent the day with Nicholas' parents and our group was a total of 13 family members and friends. Treasure Island Beach was amazing. The water was much warmer and cleaner than Clearwater and the sand was much whiter. Lee and I did not originally plan to spend the night in Treasure Island but after much peer pressure we went hotel hunting and found a small place for 60 bucks a night. While we were gone, Nicholas popped the question to Marsha. Lee and I missed the whole thing but we got a good account of what happened. Never a dull day with us I tell you! We left the beach around 7 and everybody went back to their respective rooms. The rest of the gang was grilling out but we opted for Subway and to hit the hay early. That sun drained us to the max. In true form, Lee snored all night and I spent 3/4's of the night pissed off and 1/2 asleep.

Day 3 - Back on the beach already 10 shades darker than when we got there. Kimberley and Andy had to leave around lunch time because they had a 4 hour drive ahead of them with a tired baby. Everybody else besides Lee & I busted out around 2 pm. I don't think anybody got a decent night's rest and everybody was ready for a nap. We did ours on the beach and around 4 pm we packed up, showered, and hunkered down for a 2 hour drive back to Orlando. The rain we got on I4 was nutz driving back. It just made us more appreciative of the great weather we left behind.

All in all, it was an amazing, fun, relaxing, FATTENING, weekend! I'm glad we all got to go and enjoy it together. According to the Brian Adams song I heard on the way to work - "...these are the best days of our lives!"

Cocoa Beach

Global warming has made Florida skip Spring and go straight from Winter to Summer and the temperature this weekend was 92 degrees. Thankfully we made plans all week to go to Cocoa Beach on Sunday. I haven't been there in years and it was a nice change from New Smyrna Beach. Lee and I woke up early Sunday with bells on and met at Marsha's house for 11 am. Of course, Johann & Megan were late but I might have had a coronary if they got there before us. After a short pit stop in Baskin Robbins for a Cappuccino Blast we were on our way. It was about an hour's drive but it passed quickly. In true form, Marsha had to pee so we detoured into a 7-11 gas-station for a potty break and beer run. Once we got there, it was a mission to unpack and tote the uncountable bags and beach paraphernalia; god help us when we have kids and have to add to the barrage of items.

The water was disappointing; Cold and dark looking. Maybe I'm spoilt from TnT crystal blue water but I've seen better beaches on the east coast. After setting up, it was time to break open the Buds and take a chill pill. There was a nice breeze, sun was warm but not scorching and the laughs were plentiful. Marsha's friend met us there with her three kids so it was more the merrier. We had devilled eggs, watermelon, tuna sandwiches, chips & dip, cookies, beer, soft drinks and everything else to add to our thighs. Five hours and a few follies (according to Marsha) later we were ready to pack up and head back to Orlando. It was a great day and good preamble to Clearwater!

Note to self: sunblock next time.

Pretty limber for a biggin!

Playing with his other woman child








Cooler congo line


One too many beers later

How many chinese men does it take to put up a tent?

Peeing facing foreward so they won't splash me..

Leeana & Lauryn

Lee has 2 kids from a previous marriage and I'm including them in the blog because they are a part of our lives and deserve a special "shout-out!"

Leeana: Turns 14 ( i know, Lee started young) in July and is the exact replica of Lee (poor kid..just joking! Lee makes a pretty girl). She's extremly smart, focused, responsible, calm, sensitive and conservative. She rather read a good 1,000 page book than anything else and isn't really interested in strenuous activity. Unlike the average teenager, she's well-mannered, polite, could not tell a lie to save her life. Even though she hears profanities on the bus, and is exposed to rougher kids in school you'll never hear her take God's name in vain, or use bad language. I've try to get her to sip my wine, but won't entertain me in the least. She starts high school in the fall and wants to be an actress when she grows up..oh yea - she has a GREAT voice. I've tried to talk her out of being an actress but realised its her passion. I rather she be a starving artist than get a business degree like me and hate every minute of corporate america. She loves to shop and wear the lastest Hollister or American Eagle clothes - which is a rip off to me but God forbid she show up in school without the appropriate emblem stitched on her clothes. All in all, she's a great kid and so well rounded its wierd.

Lauryn: Ahh, the fireball. Fun loving, outdoorsy, adventerous, animal lover. First met her when she was 6 (hadda do some math for that) and it was love at first sight for both of us. Can't believe she's 10 already and how big she got. She's the total opposite of Leeana; rather go catch lizzards or jump rope than read a book. Loves water, her stuffed animals, and still dosen't like clothes for gifts. She's fun, funny, loves to help, and could make watching paint dry fun. Shy at first, but would talk your head off once she starts. She's got Lee's dexterity and definately his eyes, nose, and chin. Lauryn's a picky eater and dosen't like her food touching eachother...but what a curry mouth! She's not as academically inclined as Leeana but definately a favorite on the playground! She's equally mannerly, sensitive, and respectful. You can't drag Lauryn out of the beach - its never time to go.

Being in a relationship with somebody who has 2 kids was never on my life plan. Never thought it would happen, but it did and I had to deal wtih it. Took a while to get use too (because i have sharing issues) and its still hard sometimes to accept. But they are GREAT KIDS and they make it easy to love them and be around. I hear horror stories of people who have my same situation, and I thank god they aren't spoilt, selfish, rude, or jealous children. I know if Lee & I didn't make it in the end, I'll mourn more for the children than Lee. I only hope my own children are just as great as they are.

Trinidad & Tobago Vacation 2009

In a nutshell - Twelve days of sun, food, and beach. It definately was one of the best vacations we've ever had...and we've had some good ones! Lee was laid off but we decided to hell with it, we'll still go and enjoy it to the fullest. We arrived on a Wednesday 17th April, tired from travelling all day but happy to see my parents and start the festivities! Againist tradition of curry crab and dumpling for our entry dinner, we instead had my mother's famous split pea soup with dumplings and pig tail. It's the best soup ever and that's not a biased opinion! The 1st couple days we did the must-do's - doubles, maracas bay, and Richard's bake and shark. Three days later we packed up the car, took the ferry to Tobago and spent 5 glorious days on the beach, sightseeing, eating, tanning, drinking, and relaxing. The weather was perfect and where we stayed was a 2 level condo with a full kitchen and all the amenities. We spent our days at the pool, snoozing under a coconut tree, visiting historial forts, snorkelling, jacuzzi-ing, and just being overall bums! It was definately the highlight of the entire vacationWe still weren't ready to leave 5 days after, but still had some more time to spend in Trinidad again. Another highlight was the visit to Matura Beach late at night to see the Leatherback Turtles nest. AMAZING AMAZING creatures comming back to the beach they were born on to lay their own eggs.We ended the vacation, on our last day, by going to a football game in the stadium where Trinidad played Honduras. Lee drank way too much and made a spectacle of himself with the natives, to put it nicely! Time flew quick, and before we knew it it was time to head back to America. I loved being home, back in my old bed, seeing old friends, and enjoying the time with Lee (who of course is a Trinidadian himself!). Every day we would have a moment of silence to appreicate where we were and remember the smells, sights, and sounds. I still look at the pics over and over again and could still remember every detail of being there. We plan to visit again next year for Carnival 2010 and it couldn't come any sooner!Looking back now, I'm so glad we took this trip even though Lee was broke as a convict. We had a great time and it was worth every penny. Now that he's working and can afford vacations, he doesn't have the time off but we still have the memories to last us a lifetime.

.









 

 

Who we are

I'm Danielle, the creator and mastermind behind this blog! I have a trusty side kick Lee who would put in his 2 cents every so often on the blog. We've been together for about 4 years and its been nothing but fun, new learning experiences, and life lessons with eachother. I'm 26 and from a beautiful Caribbean island Trinidad & Tobago. Lee's an oldie but goodie at 35 and is originally from North Kack a-lacky (North Carolina). We love the same foods, same sense of adventure, and willingness to try new things (within reason of course!) Lee's adopted the Trinidadian way of life, speech, and tolerance for spicyness as much as a local native. As we go through life together we'll share our memories with you on this blog. Not to say we have such a captivating life but it has its moments worth sharing!

We hope you enjoy all our posts as much as we did creating them! HAVE FUN!