Flaarida

That's right. After Rebecca's lesson on east coast accents, it was down to Florida to see a wedding, some alligators, Miami nightlife and of course, aunt Jody.

Wedding

Elizabeth and Ian's wedding was beautiful. It was on Ft. Meyers beach and happened right at sunset, just when the light was shining through the clouds. Even though we arrived a hefty hour before the wedding (surprise, you're doing a reading!!) we made it through alive and enjoyed the rest of the day celebrating. Met some old friends from DC, Rebecca got to hang out with good college friends, and basically we danced, ate and drank the night away. Top notch wedding!

Things that happened at the wedding

1. Folks got married.
2. Folks got drunk at reception.
3. Folks decide we need more beer for after party.
4. Everyone gets beer and therefore the afterparty never ends.
5. Amit and Rebecca go swimming at 2:00am while Nick films them burbling the tune of "heart and soul" in the pool. Hilarious.

Everglades

We woke up (blearily) from the wedding and headed out to start our journey through the everglades. Shockingly there are houses going up all over the place. I'm not sure how the old cliche phrase of, "I have some land in the everglades to sell you" became a reality, but believe it. They're building on swamps now.

After a very unsatisfying (and slightly horrifying) supposed eco-tour on a fanboat, we headed to the national park to throw some recycling away and get a real glimpse as to what's happening in the everglades. Read up on it, it's sad but amazing.

Things that happened in the Everglades

1. We took a fanboat tour
2. Our fanboat broke in the middle of nowhere. Well, not really nowhere, there was a gator near by.
3. Our eco-tour guide flicked his cigarette into the water.
4. Fellow eco-tour guides refused to give a marshmallow to the already ADHD child on their boat. Apparently marshmallows were only for the alligators.
5. We didn't get any money back.

Miami Beach
After our Everglades debocle, we hightailed it to Miami beach in search for nightlife and warm beaches. We were not disappointed. The food at Yuca (http://www.yuca.com/) was amazing, and the energy didn't die down throughout the night. It also helped that it was 80° outside most of the day and night.

Things that happened in Miami Beach

1. Nick fantasized about driving a Ferrari and being called Crockett for the night.
2. We saw some kids get busted at a stoplight in the middle of traffic for smoking pot.
3. We ate some of the most amazing food ever.
4. We didn't get Key Lime Pie at the Big Pink. Très décevant.

Melbourne

Ok, off to see Aunt Jody for New Years. The drive up was uneventful (except for experiencing the mega-freeway that goes into and out of Miami. We arrived at Jody's and immediately felt good about being there. Her house is awesome, and she has this great way of making you feel at home immediately. We relaxed, ate some food and enjoyed the tour of her amazing backyard and house. That night we spent some time with Jody on the beach toasting champagne for new years and chatting it up with her friends Judy and Richie.

Next day we woke up and hung around the house while Jody ran some errands. Then we all took a trip to Sebastian inlet (no manatees sighted unfortunately) and enjoyed the day watching the surfers ride the warm water (quite a change from the Pacific). That night we explored Jody's business, got to try out the biomat (more info here: http://www.thebiomat.com) and had a nice, relaxing mexican meal down the road at a local place. Que bueno.

Our next day we woke up late while Jody was at work, and basically read and hung around the house. That afternoon we went to visit a few of her friends houses, including Richie's place to see his amazing home remodel work. Definitely worth a visit if you're in the area. Blue, hand-tiled bathroom and a set of skylights in the living room made us just a little jealous that our house was a wreck back in Portland.

The remainder of our trip consisted of chatting and laughing with Jody, reading books, lounging around, and enjoying the sorely missed sunshine and 80° weather.

Things that happened in Melbourne

1. Rebecca passed out numerous times on the biomat.
2. Jody luckily warned us in time not to use the colander under the sink, as that was reserved for gallbladder flushes, and not for pasta as you might think.
3. We stopped at Starbucks twice. I swear, we thought it was our only choice.

Ft. Lauderdale
Our last day in Florida. We visited Jody's neighbor and saw their coy pond, said goodbye to Melbourne, and headed south in pursuit of my old house growing up in Pompano Beach and the sunny beach of Ft. Lauderdale.
We got both and it was a great way to spend the last day rlaxing before hopping the flight back to PDX via Las Vegas at 1 in the morning.
Whew.

New Yawk, New Yawk

Our holiday journey back east included transportation to or from 6 different airports:
Portland.
JFK.
LaGuardia.
Tampa.
Fort Lauderdale.
Las Vegas.
Portland.

Helloooo Americana. Pics are here.

Memory of New York? The Botanical Garden exhibit featuring building landmarks remodeled on miniature scale out of wholly natural (as opposed to synthetic) materials. A house decorated to the hilt with wreaths, ribbons, candles, lights -- you name it! (O'Neils - we don't have any of your Christmas photos, please send the huge blown up Homer Simpson in the front yard, etc..) A family that rivals my own in decibel levels, cooing over the youngest generation, love and chatter and munching, laughter (cackling?) and plain holiday cheer perhaps fueled by an excellent wine selection (I know my cheer was so fueled).

Nick and I did spend one eventful evening in the City. I guessed correctly on almost ALL features of Nick's best friend James' new girlfriend. That's right, I'm awesome. She is short and dark (check!), dresses trendy and not too cute (ding!), and she works in publishing (ka-ching!). Pitchers of Sangria, then a sobering visit to the WTC site, and a good sit-down with Fred Lin who, contrary to his Hippocratic Oath advised me to take up snowboarding.

We watched Gold-fingaaaaa! to celebrate Christmas day. Mr O'Neil was duly tricked into a goose chase around the house, at the end of which was the spectacular prize of Ale-8 "A Late One," the Kentucky beverage of choice! Kind of sharper, sweeter ginger ale. The absolute best, however, was the clue

O T O G
U F O T

Mr O'Neil asked, "Ot. Og. Oof. Ot. What is this?" We gestured to the mirror, which the clue was hidden behind. Mr. O'Neil, handicapped by my handwriting, asked, "Go to F-you?"

After we finally rose from the floor - which the three of us hit after this question - and gathered our breath, we suggested that he try again.

He consulted the mirror. "Go to-to F-you?" he asked. (If you haven't figured it out, sleuth, think hard and look at the second photo in this series.)

This was New York City. Oh and we went to the Met! (If you ever go to the Met, remember, it is FREE. There is a recommended donation of $20, but they are loaded and you and I are not. So- give what you want, but don't give $20 if you would rather give zip.) We saw Washington Crossing the Delaware - check it out yourself here. The painting is HUGE. The plaque next to the painting advises that there are several historical inaccuracies but nevertheless, the painting was popular in Germany during the Nationalist period. Fascinating Germans.

No ice skating in Central Park, but that's OK it was too warm for the illusion of ice. And no New York Times, which I regret but - who wants more international depressing news over the holidays? Not even me.

We did enjoy wonderful visits with the hostess with the mostess Aunt Mare and the artful, fun Aunt Jacobean. This Kentuckian (Mid-Westerner? Southerner? Non-Yankee?) received a lesson from Jacqueline and Richie on the difference between a New York accent and a Boston accent. Does everyone know this? New Yorkers transfer "O" sounds to an "Aw" sound - so it's New Yawk, oh my Gawd, get me a cawfee, I'd like a glass of wawdder. Bostoners and their environs turn "O" to "Aaa" and "Ar" to - well, "Aaa." So, a sample, "Where'd you paaak the caaa?" and "My Dunkin' Donuts aaan't cooked, they taste raaa." I do not yet sound convincing mimicking this accent, apparently, but I'm getting there, I'm getting there.

We attended a beautiful Midnight Mass at Holy Family, the Priaulx family Catholic church (thank you, O'Neils, for the hugs and the ritual - I will remember it), and an incredible performance of O Holy Night, my mom's favorite.

A very good Christmas. The time flew.