19. Spend at least 24 hours in 10 states (6/10) - Florida

Paul and I had some 'forced vacation' in December.. his two weeks due to the company we work for not allowing people to carry over annual leave from year to year, meaning he was clearing the last of his 2010 leave entitlement... time he still had due to the drilling Moratorium in the Gulf of Mexico; my entire anticipated month or so off (from December 4 at least) due to my employer not applying for an extension of my work visa in time.. and so I was waiting on the US Government to re-approve and re-issue my work visa so I could legally return to the office (and as of Jan 1, still I wait...) So in early December I convinced the husband, that it would be a sad and frustrating thing indeed to make me sit around at home for the next month or so pretending to be a good little housewife, and that to ensure I didn't become some desperate little housewife, it would be best for us to use this time off constructively.... by travelling somewhere we've always wanted to go... after much wheeling and dealing the destination was decided.. we where heading to the happiest place on earth... Disney World, Orlando Florida.

Due to the late nature of our decision we had two options... pay $700 each for the privilege of flying cattle class or jump in the car and road trip the 16 hour, roughly 1000 miles.. guess which one we chose?

After driving through Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama we finally arrive in Florida!! 

First stop on the Florida experience was Homosassa, one of only two places in the world where you can swim and snorkel with wild manatees who migrate up into the natural hot springs to stay warm during the winter months. It was a freezing cold day when we jumped in the toasty warm water to cuddle and scratch these amazingly large but gentle and curious creatures... manatee belly scratches... a once in a life time experience (will elaborate more on this in a separate post) 

Hello there little fella

We decided to spend our first day in Kissimmee, Florida (center of the universe for theme parks) at Disney's EPCOT (Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow) the more grown up Disney park mainly because of the evil anticipated weather forecast for the day... rain, wind, cold... ick!! The theme park consists of two areas; Future World, where you can explore, innovative applications of technology, or at least applications that were innovative back in the 80's and 90's and the second area; World Showcase, where Disney has 11 pavilions representing the culture and tradition (or at least the Disney interpretation) of Mexico, Norway, China, Germany, Italy, USA, Japan, Morocco, France, United Kingdom and Canada... yes soooo inclusive!! 

 Standing in front of the big golf ball / round pineapple EPCOT thingy 

EPCOT was probably a little more dated than it should be, the rides and pavilions looked just a little old and tired.. one of the most telling activities was 'Spaceship Earth' - the ride inside the big golf ball / round pineapple thingy.. which describes the communications journey that the human race has taken over their existence.. the ride slowly picks up pace, beginning with prehistoric cavemen fighting for survival and eventually learning to communicate basically, on to the Egyptians who invented the written language, Phoenicians who invented the alphabet... Ancient Greece... Rome... Jewish and then Islamic Scholars... Christian Monks... The Renaissance... The development of the printing press.. newspapers... LARGE computers and then suddenly BOOM... you're in a quick scene from the matrix.. with 0s and 1s flying everywhere and the ride is over... they set the scene so well in the beginning and then rush through the ending.. has nothing happened in human communication since 1980 and the discovery of the internet??? Oh well, I guess the big golf ball is only so big after all right??? 

Scary leafy Stitch outside of Spaceship Earth

After a couple of hours of exploring Future World and with the weather beginning to turn, we decided it was time to head across to World Showcase... My favourite country?? Mexico!! We found this gorgeous little tequila bar inside the pavilion and treated ourselves to a couple of margaritas and chicken tostadas.. Paul had a jalapeno margarita and I had a hibiscus margarita... YUM!!

Enjoying and adult beverage at La Cava del Tequila in the Mexico Pavilion 

Next stop on the Theme Park Extravaganza?? Universal Studios! Another theme park that is split into two different parks; Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. We decided that we could do both parks in one day... after all its the middle of the week and the nasty weather (sub zero temperatures in FL!!) will keep some people away... Right???... Indeed! 

Meeting the Cat in the Hat

Now this is what I expected when I thought I was going to a theme park!! My favourite parts?? Having the Cat in the Hat hit on me; when I approached the character for a photo he put his arm around me and proceeded to purr right into my ear the entire time!! Bad Pussy!! The Wizarding World Of Harry Potter; OMG how fricken cool is this place?!?! Its a miniature Hogsmeade complete with a Honeydukes for all your candy needs (Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans anyone??), Ollivanders, where if your lucky your wand may choose you, an Owl Post, where you can post an actual letter and it will arrive at its destination post marked Hogsmeade! And a Hogs Head and Three Broomsticks where you can wet your whistle with a butterbeer (mmmm butterbeer... creaming soda with a frothy foamy butterscotch cream on top... a delicious sugary nightmare!!) And I haven't even mentioned the rides yet!!! 

Is it too early in the morning for a Butterbeer?? Never!!

The Flight of the Hippogriff is a cute little kiddy rollercoaster, The Dragon Challenge is aa double rollercoaster with some super awesome twists and turns BUT the real drawcard is the state of the art, groundbreaking, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey.. talk about game changing!! It was so awesome I made Paul come back at the end of the day for one last ride!! 

Hogwarts Castle at night - Home of the Forbidden Journey Ride 

My other favourites? The Incredible Hulk Coaster; you go from like 0 to 60 mph in 5 seconds before zipping thought multiple barrel loops... The Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit, you get to pick the music you listen to during the ride and it begins by literally hoisting you upwards at a 90 degree angle before dropping you straight down.. gulp.. and the Simpsons Ride... a newer style interactive rollercoaster which entirely tricks you the whole way through... Yes I'm a coster convert!! 

KrustyLand - Universal Studios of Florida

Final stop on the trip.... Magical Kingdom, Disney World!! And although I had originally come all the way to Florida specifically to visit this one theme park.. after spending the day before at Universal I kinda had reservations about Magical Kingdom... its blasphemous I know but lets face it Universal is more thrill ridey and Disney is more cutesy right?? Yup, pretty much!! But it was still a wonderful day out

Disney World!!

The only problem with Magical Kingdom?? I felt like I needed to steal someone's child to get the full effect... very cutsey, very geared towards little ones!! It was great to finally get to ride 'Its a Small World' see the tea cups and the Dumbo ride.. Space Mountain was actually really cool and would of been groundbreaking when originally opened however the lack of neck support on a pitch black rollercoaster was a little jarring and the Pirates of the Caribbean ride was good although a little disappointing (apparently its been adjusted from its original to be more politically correct.. after all pirates wouldn't rape and pillage... they steal pies and kisses right?!?!) and I'm absolutely amazed they haven't taken advantage of all of that space in the Disney Castle and placed a ride or attraction inside it (guess it was built in the days before they did those sorts of things) All in all it was a cute day and I'm glad we braved the crowds to experience the happiest place on earth... just wish I had of had a little one to share the joy with... if only for the day!! 

Country Bear Jamboree 

Would I go to Theme Park, Florida again? Sure... but only in the summer so I could take advantage of all the water rides and water parks... then again perhaps next time we should head to California to also take advantage of Knotts Berry Farm and see some different parks?? OR perhaps we should head to Ohio to Cedar Point, the largest rollercoaster park in the US... maybe :D

19. Spend at least 24 hours in 10 states (5/10) - Honolulu, Hawaii

Ok so I'm seriously seriously behind with my blogging... thankfully its the holiday season right now... I'm on extended vacation and have just returned from a glorious week in the Colorado Rockies sans hubby (he's diverted to New Orleans on our way back home for a week offshore on the rig) and my first day back in Houston has been one of those Texas Winter days... rain, thunderstorms, icky inside with a book and a cup of day, domestic goddess types of days... in other words perfect for catching up on the MOUNTAIN of blogging I have to do... First stop... i need to head back in time about a month or so and remember the time I spent sitting overlooking the beach with a glass of Sav Blanc and a plate full of 'raw ocean bar' (oysters, king crab, lobster, yellowtail sashimi, ahi sashimi, and tiger prawns) while enjoying the relaxing sounds of the ukulele and the ever present and calming sigh of the tradewinds... Yes, I'm heading back to Hawaii....

The dinner in question - enjoying the 'raw ocean bar' plate at The Beachhouse at the Moana, Honolulu

Months before I was lucky enough to find myself landing on the sandy shores and perfect beaches of Hawaii, I was talking to my dear Aunt Deb in Adelaide... she was desperate for a vacation... I was unsure of how I was going to spend Thanksgiving since the Hubby was scheduled to be offshore on the rig (this was indeed before the whole Moratorium business) and therefore a catchup seemed like a good idea... but where to go??? Well what is halfway between Houston, Texas and Adelaide, South Australia??? Honolulu!!

My first morning on Waikiki Beach at Sunrise

In my normal crazy way, I flew in from Midland, Texas from a pre-spud meeting the Wendesday before Thanksgiving arriving into Houston at 8pm that night only to fly back out to Hawaii (on a 10 hour flight, with a 4 hour time difference) the next morning (Thanksgiving morning) at 8am.. and when I finally made it, I realised I'd landed in, what could only be described as paradise! 

 Aunt Deb's first ever Turkey Day!

The next seven days was absolute bliss... we shopped at the Honolulu Mall, Ala Moana on Black Friday, indulged in a plate of nachos bigger than my head at Jimmy Buffet, toured Pearl Harbour, the MSS Missouri and checked out Punchbowl Cemetery, climbed Diamond Head crater, did a SUPER long day trip to the Big Island, the Island of Hawai'i and walked on dried lava beds, marveled at the black sand beaches and crashing surf, ate our way through Mauna Loa macadamia nut plantation (a nut that is not indigenous to Hawaii but is instead, an Aussie treat), sniffed beautiful orchids and visited Volcanos National Park, viewing the amazing Kilauea - the most active volcano on the planet!! 

The smoking Halema'uma'u crater - In the caldera of Mt Kilauea 

Walking through Thurston Lava Tube, Volcanos National Park

It was an absolutely amazing trip.. I got to catch up with my Aunt Deb in a tropical paradise, got to experience the beauty that was Hawai'i and, as I was of course still in the US, got to eat a delicious amount of food... I'm such a lucky gal!! 

19. Spend at least 24 hours in 10 states (4/10) - Nevada

Last weekend we headed to Vegas... well at first it really didn't seem like we were going to make it at all... we arrived at the airport with 45 minutes to spare... booked in and then proceeded to wait in the security line for 30 minutes meaning we literally were the last ones to board the flight whereby Paul immediately gets upgraded to First Class and I have to remain in 'Coach'... I hadn't eaten a thing ALL day expecting to indulge in alligator bites and a glass of wine at the airport so got to enjoy the 3 hour flight with my tummy eating itself (US airlines don't serve meals to passengers) while Paul slept through his meal service and didn't eat a bite or think to send some of it, even a cookie, my way (US airlines don't serve meals to passengers UNLESS you're in the pointy end of the plane)... We finally arrive... and all I want to do is get my butt to an Inn-N-Out burger for a taste sensation before heading to the strip BUT we're sitting at the baggage carousel waiting... and waiting... and waiting for my bag... finally the evil truth sinks in... my bag isn't in Vegas... SO we head to the Continental Baggage claim office where I'm given a toiletries baggie and told that my bag isn't lost, merely delayed and will be delivered to the Hotel at around 2am... So now I'm in desert, its about 10 degrees and I'm in a summer dress with no change of clothes anywhere... GRRR!! Ok... its Ok... lets just head to Avis and collect our car.... WELL.. Avis are sweet, they upgrade us to a convertible and we're on our way... WRONG!! We get to the car, throw in our bags and get accosted by another couple stating that this was their car... Avis had given both of us the same vehicle... so back Paul goes to the counter to sort it out.. where he tosses a coin for the car and loses... He's given another car... this time a cute little convertible... a two seater... which really won't work for the four of us... so back we go again... by this time we've been at the airport for just over 2 hours and I think the sales assistant feels bad for us so he hooks us up with a brand new, all the bells and whistles, Ford Flex, a definite upgrade... NICE! So we're finally on our way... We arrive at Planet Hollywood (our home away from home for the next 3 nights) and are told that unfortunately they only have smoking rooms available.... YOU ARE KIDDING ME RIGHT?!?!? So after just about falling apart and considering just heading right back to the airport and jumping on a flight home, I convince the girl that I cannot possibly stay in a smoking room as I'm.. ahem.. asthmatic (a little white lie I know) and suddenly she manages to find us a non-smoking room... even if it happens to have two queen size beds... by this point we no longer care... say thank-you, grab the keys and head to our room hoping that this wasn't a sign of things to come!!

The rest of the trip was absolutely fantastic! Friday morning we jumped in our pimped out ride, and road tripped it out to the Grand Canyon, and the state of Arizona to check out the Grand Canyon and where we also accidentally stumbled across the amazing Bearizona - An American wildlife park styled after the wild game parks in Africa - bison, mountain goats, black bears... roaming free!!

Waving at each other across state lines - Me in Nevada, Kel in Arizona - Hoover Dam

Bernie and I at the Grand Canyon

Paul and I doing the touristy thing - Grand Canyon National Park

Playing with the Black Bears at Bearizona

Arriving back in Vegas at around 8pm it was time for beer and wings and so off we trotted to Hooters Hotel and Casino for a true authentic wings experience... it was fatty, it was sinful, it was delicious! Next stop.. the MGM Grand to see the lions, who were off loafing it up somewhere else, lazy buggers, a round of 4 drinks which almost required a mortgage payment, and then a quick trip to the Bellagio where the fountains also appeared to have the day off.. oh well at least we got to see a 1000lb pumpkin, the amazingly decorated foyer and a Chocolate Fountain... mmm... chocolate!! 

Saturday was a little more low key - There was time for a little bit of gambling in the morning... I was proud of myself for turning $2 into $14 on my first two spins playing Beaver Bucks and was, as far as I was concerned, done with gambling for the weekend (Yes I'm such a high roller). Then it was time for a little spot of lunch at the Venetian where we dined at Wolfgang Pucks Postrio Bar and Grill across from Wolfgang Puck himself!! The food was delicious - like, last meal on earth delicious, the wine went down a treat (probably a little too well in fact), and the company was entertaining as always! The perfect meal, in a magical setting... gotta love the Venetian!  

Enjoying our lunch..

Right next to Wolfgang Puck himself!

After lunch it was time for a little bit of oxygen and a massage at an oxygen bar which was soooo relaxing and dare I say it orgasmic, that we all needed a glass of red in the casino immediately afterwards! Next stop, O'Sheas Casino where Kelly and Nick bought into a poker tournament - and Nick won!! The Flamingo, to see, what else, Flamingos.. and then home to the hotel to relax before cocktails and rollercoasters in the evening.

Cocktails at Koi for my Baby's 32nd Birthday

So in the end, a bad start to a perfectly wonderful weekend in Las Vegas... I'm looking forward to heading back sometime soon.. perhaps next time we'll even make it to a show!! 

19. Spend at least 24 hours in 10 states (3/10) - Oklahoma

OooOOoo klahoma... where the wind comes sweeping down the plains... but apart from the musical and twisters, what else is Okie state really known for.. farm land and a horrific bombing?? You know what, I need to Google this.. population 3.6 million, member of the bible belt, large Native Indian population, state beverage is milk... and a major producer of natural gas and oil... ahhhh now my trip is suddenly making sense!!

This week I made my way to teeny tiny Velma, Oklahoma to co-present a pre-spud safety meeting for a drilling program we are about to start in town.  Due to the size of Velma (official population 750) I stayed overnight in nearby Duncan - a town that I swear must, at some point in the distant past in become a subsidiary of Halliburton!! There was a Halliburton Lane, Halliburton Blvd, Halliburton Research Centre, Halliburton Credit Union, I could even get a Halliburger at the local bar and grill.. you get the point!! But I think what I was most surprised with was how beautiful the countryside really was in Okie... everything was the most amazing shade of green, rolling hills, small country towns, farms and thousands of fat, happily content looking cows all lazing around chewing their cud... it'll be interesting to see what the change of seasons does to all the beauty when I return in a couple of weeks.

91. Read and Review 100 Books (13/100) Disaster: Hurricane Katrina and the Failure of Homeland Security, Christopher Cooper

'The fatal inundation of New Orleans was no natural disaster, argues this hard-hitting investigative report. Wall Street Journal reporters Cooper and Block finger two very man-made causes of the tragedy. The first was the decades-long failure of local officials and the Army Corps of Engineers to fix New Orleans' poorly designed and constructed levees and floodwalls, which collapsed under moderate hurricane conditions. The second and more spectacular was the breakdown of the Federal Emergency Management Agency after its incorporation into the Department of Homeland Security, which cut FEMA's funding and authority and reoriented it toward the national obsession with terrorism. The result, when the flood came, was a bumbling federal response hobbled by complacent planning, miscommunication, red tape (even recovery of the dead was delayed by paperwork) and an inability to deliver promised supplies and transportation. The authors' exhaustively researched account slogs through the intricacies of this bureaucratic nightmare and goes beyond the usual pillorying of FEMA head Michael Brown to criticize higher officials in the White House and, especially, DHS. Cooper and Block manage to thread a readable, coherent story through the morass of detail and acronyms, with disquieting implications about the government's ability to cope with catastrophe'


Frustrating to read, this account of what occurred during the catastrophe that was Hurricane Katrina seemed to be a reasonably bipartisan account of the US Governments response toward the Gulf Coast. The book includes background on the levy systems in New Orleans, history of FEMA, and information on the relationships between each governmental organisation involved in the disaster relief effort. I very much found myself reading the book like I was watching a movie, disseminating the players into good v evil... I find Katrina fascinating, most likely due to my current location 300 miles away from ground zero and found that this book gave me a good overall picture of what not only went wrong but also what did go right.. the book showed that to a certain degree people are just that... people... and we can only ever do our best, and even the most capable people can make mistakes in tough situations. This book doesn't lay blame but it doesn't make excuses for people either and in the end it perfectly captures the fact that the US Government dropped the ball and forgot the people of Louisiana in a spectacular fashion... 

19. Spend at least 24 hours in 10 states (3/10) - New Mexico

We jumped on another plane last weekend bound for those snow covered mountains.. trying to make the most of the season before it melts away...  this time we landed into Albuquerque, New Mexico, the Excitement State, late on a Friday evening pumped for our two and a half hour haul into heart of Indian country and the Sangre de Cristo Mountain range to our final destination Taos. 

Heading up the mountain on that warm sunny morning we were both charged up and ready to hit the slopes! 

Riding the cattle car from the car park to the chair lifts... warm day!!

Expecting it to be nice and slushy due to the positive temperatures I headed up the lift planning to practice my carving... Only to be massively surprised when I heard the terrifying sound of 'packed powder' scraping away my boards wax on my first blue run... uh oh... its been a while since I've taken my chances on a hard surface... why so nervous? You see soft, fresh or slightly powdery or slushy surfaces are ULTRA forgiving... you dig in an edge or only partially commit to a turn and the surface forgives you and compensates, keeping you upright and still hurtling 'in a controlled manner' down the mountain.. on packed surfaces... totally different story!!! On hard surfaces you need to be totally and utterly committed, you need to be aggressive and succinct in your motions or the mountain makes you pay... uh oh indeed.... I hit the ground HARD on my first run - thankfully my head broke my fall.. even more thankfully I had decided to wear my helmet that day... and it was just my neck and arm that took the brunt of the fall... off to the bar I went... yes I knew it was only 10:30 but seriously screw it... I just narrowly missed a concussion.. time for a beer... 

You know its going to be a bad day on the mountain when your sitting at the bar at 11am!

So after my injection of liquid courage I thought, stuff you stupid evil mountain (there could of been more expletives in there) you're not going to beat me... I strapped up and jumped on that chair lift ready to give it another go... Everything was good! I made a number of runs without having anything go awry.. the beer helped calm my nerves a little and I was gaining confidence and picking up speed... UNTIL WHAM!! I dug in a heel edge and hit the snow once again HARD... this time my butt took the brunt of the impact... Not fun!! Well at that point I'm afraid to say I decided it was time to call it a day and I limped and hobbled my way across to the bar for some liquid condolence.

Yup, the mountain kicked my ass... BAD!!!

So I spent the rest of the day at the bar... unfortunately I didn't meet any cute alpine ski instructors.. but I guess that would be counter-productive these days anyways (teehehe) 

At the end of the day we decided to trek a couple of miles down the road (by car... I was in no condition to walk) to check out the Rio Grande Gorge - which  was actually really cool - just like the Grand Canyon, its a gorge that has over time has been created by a river, in this case the Rio Grande... very awesome! From there we headed back to the hotel, showered, I took about a million Tylenol and we headed out for pizza and beer in the picturesque and historic town of Taos. 

Standing on the bridge across the Rio Grande Gorge

...So 5 days later everything is finally starting to feel normal again.. apart from my poor upper arms and shoulder blades... yup.. guess I might have two more things to add to that phyiso list!