CARNIVAL RIDES

I've got a great idea: Let's build some carnival rides for small children and then paint hot chicks wearing as little or no clothing as possible. That'll get the kindergartners out to ride!

Maybe I'm not European enough to understand, but I think this one with Winnie the Pooh is a little more age appropriate:

GET TO THE CHOPPER!

My Czech family: Deanna, is it ok if we arrange a helicopter ride to get a nice view of the Šumava forest this weekend?
Deanna: Umm...I guess so.


Are you kidding me?! This first timer in a helicopter was SO excited.

TREE TOP WALK

We spent the weekend in Borová Lada (which I was told is the coldest place in the Czech Republic) and decided to take an afternoon trip to Germany. No big deal. So we loaded the Mercedes and went to baumwipelpfad.

This is home of the world´s longest tree top walk located in the Bavarian Forest National Park. It is an egg shaped structure made of pure genius and wood. The path inside is 1300 meters long and winds up to a tower with and impressive view at a height of 44 meters.

Along the path to the structure are fun, safe obstacles you can choose to take or avoid. Just makes the walk a little more fun.

The view of Germany at the top is breathtaking.

ANALOG WATCH

I need to admit something: I'm afraid of getting older and losing my mind...literally. I mean, I want to stay on top of my game for as long as possible. SO I decided to buy a watch. The analog kind (which means I have to exercise my brain a little bit more to count by fives instead of just looking at the digital clock on my mobile device).
Here she is:

Not bad for 79Kč huh?!
I'm also thinking this new addition to my daily wardrobe might make me seem more responsible.

But then again maybe not when I get caught wearing it while drinking from the carton...baby steps.

THINGS I LEARNED FROM ITALY

We spent a week in Sardinia. Here is a list of things I learned during that stay:

It's ok to eat salami for breakfast.

A unibrow is NOT hot.

The beach is fabulous--day or night.

There's no wrong way to say spaghetti.

And I am pretty sure falling asleep in the sand has and will always be in my top five favorite things to do EVER...even though you might find sand in places it has no business being for the next two days.

VIEW FROM MY WINDOW

So what if this is the view from my window in Prague...

Meet Orloj. He was made back in the 1400's and sits in the Old Town Square. He has a clock, a calender, figures that move around 2 small windows and a guy who blows a trumpet at the very top of the tower every hour from 9am to 9pm. Orloj makes me smile.

DUH! SWIMMING!

My first real full day in Czech and what did William and I do (twice)?

Duh! Swimming...of course!

WELL TRAVELED

I was checking my bag at the airport when the lady at the counter commented with, "You can tell a well-traveled person by their luggage."
To which I quickly replied, "Or you can spot an airline that doesn't give a darn about customer service."
Thank you, Delta Airlines.
I want my $50 back!

PS I left to the Czech Republic for a bit.

LOVE MY AMERICA

I just want to say, after 4 years of missing it, I am SO excited to be in the states for July 4. I sure do love my America!

I especially loved spending it with these kids:

CRUISING DAY 10: DEBARKATION

Our wonderful cruise was officially over after one final breakfast. So we all headed to the airport together to save on shuttle charges. Too bad we didn't know we would have 7 hours to kill in the Orlando airport. So...what is there to do at MCO?

PLENTY! I just don't want to have to do it again any time soon.

CRUISING DAY 8 & 9: BIRTHDAY AT SEA

Day 8: The Dream was supposed to port in Costa Maya this morning, but our cruise director Gary (whom I loved listening to each morning with his adorable British accent) and ship captain decided it was too windy and so we had and extra day at sea.

My uncle Duane celebrated his "hoppy birsaday" (sung by the beloved asian staff members) onboard today.

DAY 9: with plenty of time at sea now we were able to say bye to our favorite crew members, learn how to fold some towel animals, work on our tan lines, play some bingo, enjoy shows, and eat some buffet food.