After they had an Easter morning breakfast of candy and donuts, it seemed like a good idea to take the Russo Boys Gen 2 out to the park to burn off some sugar. Kim & Steve are blessed to live in an area that is full of nice parks and today we chose Falls Lake (I think that’s the name of it).

There were guys fishing, people kayaking and SUPing, joggers, bicyclists, hikers all kinds of folks just enjoying the great outdoors. It was cool and breezy and we moved through a few of the different areas.

He’s a dancing machine.

Of course Steve, outdoorsman of the year, did not care to join our excursion. Instead, remaining behind to enjoy some alone time with his computer.

I am king of the world!

The boys enjoyed some playground time, skateboarding, scootering and skipping stones (or launching boulders) into the lake.

We then returned home for lunch and Don began preparations for our Easter feast. Grilled lamb, a ham, roasted herb potatoes, grilled green beans (Kim taught us something new) and salad. The Russo males are heavy carnivores and there was sufficient meat to satisfy the hungry hoard. Nana schooled the little boys in Nok Hockey then got herself schooled by Michael. I taught him a few of the trick shots that made me a playground champion back in the day so he’s pretty much invincible now.
As the “food coma” set in (Steve’s words) the boys retreated to video games and the adults stared blankly at the T.V. screen. The next day was to be a return to the real world, as Kim and the boys would return to work and school and we would conclude our journey by heading back to Rancho Russo.

My heart and soul have been replenished by the opportunity we were blessed with to spend time with our family. Although spread apart physically, we can take comfort in the renewal of our relationships with each other and the grace God continually provides to us. Happy Trails!
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The morning was cool and grey. It was still dreary and raining a fine spritz. We grabbed some breakfast and then had to make the decision: do we just go to the gym & pool or do we try to head down to the River Walk? Seeing that it might be some time before Matt & Damian get the opportunity to visit Savannah again, we decide to give it a shot.

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 We pulled out the panchos and joined a small number of brave souls at the waterfront. Then it started to pour again. We had passed an area of antique shops so we headed over there.

I bought these cool spools that were salvaged from a local factory. They have been spattered with dyes through the years and have an amazing patina. I plan to use them as plant stands in the garden. The cashier said, “What are you planning to do with these?” When I explained, she looked astonished and said, “What a great idea!” I expect next time to see a display with potted plants on top of them. Don bought a cool old Navy belt buckle with different types of ships on it.

When we emerged from the shops, the rain had stopped. We headed for the river.

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The place started filling up pretty quickly as all the tourists who were unable to get there yesterday due to the torrential rains descended.

One thing about Savannah, they let you drink in the street as long as it’s in a cup. It’s funny seeing people chugging beer from a cup at 10 a.m. just because they can. We headed off to Don’s favorite oyster bar. Bernie’s Oyster Bar is located in a pre-Civil War building on the ground floor. It’s dark and dank and people sign their names all over the walls in chalk. They serve good oysters and did I mention it’s haunted? Finally, we decided to head out after lunch and make the trek to Raleigh.

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I neglected to mention the absolutely fascinating phenomenon that we witnessed while at Aquatica the other day. I looked up at the sky and there was a cloud around the sun that had a circumferential rainbow. I have never seen anything like it before. The fact that it was relatively early in the morning when I witnessed it and there were few people around made me concerned. I thought it might be The Rapture and I wanted to know why the heck I was still here??? I was reassured by Don that it wasn’t The Rapture (although the fact that he was by my side still was more evidence that I was “left behind”). We googled it and discovered that it had to do with ice crystals in the atmosphere (or some crap like that). Apparently, it was visible all up the east coast. Pretty crazy.

Anyway, back to our story. Today our plan was to leave Villa Volpone in Florida and head for Savannah, Georgia. Don & I have been to Savannah several times and I find it a thoroughly enjoyable place.

Yeah, I know.

Anyway, we were planning to spend the evening on River Street. It’s usually a very festive place. Don was drooling for oysters and we were excited to show Matt & Damian the steamboats, fireworks, street performers & shops. Then my sister-in-law, Brenda, called to inform us of the storm that was approaching and planning to submerge our section of the east coastline. So, we bid farewell to Bill & Rose Marie (Masters of the Universe) and hit the road.

Once again we encountered a solid wall of traffic but this time with the added enhancement of relentless rain. Oh Joy. We did have some diversion. One of our friends who was also doing Spring Break in Florida came to meet us and have lunch. It was fun to catch up and a nice break from the traffic jam. In retrospect, the choice of Mexican food when you will be confined in a car for hours with other humans was probably not wise.

Our hopes for having a hot time in the old town were fading fast. The National Weather Service was predicting a 100% chance of rain in Savannah tonight with 2-3 inches possible. We decided to cancel our reservation at the crappy motel we had figured we would come to late and leave early, instead, upgrading to a nice place with a suite, heated indoor pool, spa and exercise room. Performing these tasks in the car via phone apps enabled us to pass some of the time. What else did I do to amuse myself during this seemingly unending trip? Well, I polished my toes. (Not an easy task in a moving vehicle. Try it.)

I also reset the ringtones in my phone to personalize them with my family.

I ate candy.

I fussed over the orchids I bought.

I sent pins to friends.

Generally speaking, I amused and entertained myself. Finally, we arrived in Savannah. The rain still fell. We checked into our hotel and decided to break out the rain gear and brave the elements. Don called his favorite oyster joint, which is located in a haunted building, and to his dismay they did not have sufficient oysters tonight to offer their “go shuck yourself bucket o’ oysters”. As far as he was concerned, there was no point going to the waterfront tonight. Instead, we opted for some Subway sandwiches and a swim.

We are hoping to make a detour to the river walk tomorrow, weather permitting, before heading on to Raleigh, NC and Easter with Steven & family.

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 Today was the day we had set aside for Don to reconnect with the friend with whom he has had the longest ongoing relationship. Alice Thomas and Don have been friends since Don was 11 years old and Alice was 10. Their friendship has endured through teenage angst, military service, marriages, kids, career changes and grief. They have a very special relationship.

We all met at Don’s parents and then travelled together to the town of Celebration. A community reminiscent of the National Harbor. The center of town being set along a lake with a cute, trendy shopping and dining area. We had a lovely lunch at a Japanese restaurant.

Theirs is the type of relationship where Alice says, “Go ahead and stand in the fountain and I’ll take your picture.” So we get in the middle of the fountain when it is not spouting. When it starts up, we start screaming that we are getting wet and her response is, “Too bad. Stay still.” My kind of girl.

After lunch, we went for ice cream.

The gang at Celebration

Then we headed to an unusual indoor flea market. They were selling the most beautiful orchids for $6.00

Guess who bought some to take back to Virginia & made her son carry?

We also bought a good sized cactus and aloe plant for $2.50 each. Matt was so excited he climbed a tree.

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We then returned to Villa Volpone for a good old fashioned pasta dinner. Grandma Rose was so happy that she told us she was going to steal our car battery so we couldn’t leave tomorrow. What can I say? The woman’s a gangsta.

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Today was the day we had planned to visit Sea World’s water park, Aquatica. However, it was chilly this morning. OK, chilly by Florida’s standards (I know I’m not getting any sympathy from those of you who experienced the “wintery mix” yesterday). It was 53 degrees this morning when we set out.
The locals were bundled up in hoodies and long pants like it was cold. We had on our bathing suits & shorts. Luckily, we had some jackets stashed in the car because it sure was breezy when we arrived at the park.

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 Since we were not particularly anxious to get wet when we first arrived we decided to scope out some of the animal attractions. Damian won some dolphin tattoos by correctly identifying some animal skulls. ( Isn’t that how Jeffery Dahmer started? I’d better keep my eye on him.) They had several macaws hanging out by the beach where we claimed our spot.

We paid many visits to the large tortoises. We even got to see them being fed. I was amazed at how much they consumed and how quickly. Their menu today consisted of what appeared to be a salad of spring mix, cucumber, carrot and kale. Don was quick to comment that it looked like one of my lunches.

There were a type of dolphin I’ve never seen or heard of before that looks like very small Orca whales.

Finally, we could contain Damian no longer so we consented to letting him hit this crazy water works thing while we continued to wait for the sun to provide some warmth.
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Eventually, it became warm enough for even Don & I to get wet. We had a fun time in a rapids simulation pool. It traverses the park and the jets in it propel you through. Don & Damian were a little more adventurous and tackled a big water slide.

Occassionaly, Don & I would beg for a few minutes to dry off and warm up but Damian was pretty relentless. We hit the wave pool and some horrible thing where I was sitting in a giant tube with the both of them then I was flying down some flume-like object backwards, . . . screaming.
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But, the best of all was the Dolphin Plunge. In this tube ride you start down a tube lying on your back with your legs and arms crossed. The tube is dark except for small pinpoint lights that illuminate it. Then you fly through an area where the tube is totally clear and translucent. You look around and you are plummeting through the dolphin tank! I looked to my left and there was a dolphin swimming right outside my tube. It made me laugh out loud, it was such a joyous experience.

It continued to be windy and some clouds were rolling in making the sun exposure less frequent. Don & I were done since he was beginning to resemble a cooked lobster. It was convincing Damian to leave that was the hard part.
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After one more round in the water works thing, he agreed to leave. All in all a ‘cold’, windy day in Florida is better than a ‘wintery mix’ elsewhere.

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Back in February when we informed Damian that we would be taking him to Florida for Spring Break we gave him a choice of where he wanted to visit. We offered him Disney World, Universal Studios or Sea World. He opted for Sea World.

I have no plans to defend or prosecute Sea World. I understand there is controversy.

This is about fulfilling a little boys dreams which I, as Nana, have a mandate to do. Damian, from his earliest days has been crazy for any creature that creeps, crawls, swims or claws it’s way through the oceans. He has an aquarium in his room. We have a frog pond in our garden. His bed is covered with a collection of stuffed animals, not your usual teddy bears, dogs, etc. but frogs, turtles, fish, dolphins, crabs and octopuseseses. (octopi?)

Upon our arrival at Sea World, it was as if a switch was flipped inside Damian. His excitement level went into overdrive and it was like a sponge with legs, soaking up everything. (Sponge Damian Shark Pants?)

   We hit this park HARD!

Manta rays, turtles, sharks, fish, penguins, beluga whales, flamingoes, polar bears you name it! Interactive exhibits, crazy thrill rides, simulators, hands-on experiences, 3-D films, on and on and on.

Then there were the shows. One more amazing than the next.

I can’t even begin to describe the awesomeness.

Damian was enthralled with it all! We collected animal trading cards from the handlers. We made souvenier pennies. We ate ice cream from a whale-shaped bowl.

He touched manta rays, dolphins & birds.

After 12 hours it was getting difficult keeping up with him and even he was starting to exhibit signs of fatigue (finally!)

If I can offer some advice for prospective Sea World visitors, if at all possible invest in the “Quick Que” & “Reserved Show Seating”. These extras allow you to bypass any lines for the rides and arrive at the shows just before they begin and have perfectly positioned seats waiting for you. If we did not have these 2 things, we would not have been able to see the park in one day. We would have wasted enormous amounts of time waiting in lines. They also allow you to bring in snacks & we also popped for the priority parking which put us right outside the park entrance enabling us to run out to the cooler in the car for lunch. Save the money you would’ve spent on the junky food and spring for these upgrades!

  Ok, so when we get home and have had a little distance from his magical experience I will have a conversation with Damian about the controversy around Sea World. It is always beneficial to be able to see the big picture and Damian is a very smart little boy. He will process this information and come to his own conclusions but he will always have some magical memories.

Yeah, I know. Blackfish. Not P.C. but they were having so much fun!

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 We have packed a lot of living into the 2 days since we arrived. After our never-ending car journey on Saturday, we needed a day just to recharge our batteries. So, bright and early the next morning Don & I dropped Matt and Damian off at the indoor pool and we set out on a walk.

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 The irony of the fact that the “retired” folks live very active lives did not escape us.

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 Being a fan of flora & fauna, my photo subjects reflect my preferences.

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 While taking this picture, which I have entitled “Succulent” for several reasons, a man emerged from his house and approached us with his cat trailing behind him. He remarked that he saw us taking the picture of the plant and asked us if we knew anything about that type of plant. Of course, we knew nothing so the man enlightened us. It was a cool conversation and we then found out some of his history and how he came to a retirement home in Florida. I love getting people’s stories.

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 We retuned to the pool to retrieve Matt & Damian but they also decided that they wanted to walk back to Grandma’s. (It seems the lovely Florida weather makes us want to walk!)

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 Eventually, we all return to Villa Volpone and my in-laws inform us that they would like to take us to dinner tonight at their favorite Karaoke Club. Being the adventurous lot we are, we agree. Our in-laws then begin to tell us that they go to 2 different karaoke venues. They also tell us about their other activities: poker, pinochele, tai chai, tutoring school kids, red hat society and then they drop the bomb that they are now into “role playing”.

Of course, this conjures up all kinds of images for us. None of which we want in our heads. So, I decide to delve some more. “So, are we talking D & D, WOW or whips & chains?”

It turns out that what they mean is they will talk to each other with foreign accents and use different names as alter egos. OK, so that seems harmless enough. Whatever floats your boat!

Evening comes and it’s off to karaoke.

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 It seems my in-laws are quite the karaoke stars.

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 That’s my mother-in-law, RoseMarie- Francesca-Golda (those are her “role playing” identities,. . .  whatever.) She sings under the identity “The Original Show Girls” (Perhaps my in-laws retreated to Florida for the witness protection program? That might explain all this “role playing”)

 My father-in-law, Bill, is the undisputed King of Karaoke here. He goes big right from the start tackling Frank Sinatra’s version of “That’s Life” as his opening number. The night ends with a rousing version of “When the Saints Go Marching In” sung by a 92 year old man that is so swinging the patrons form a conga-line and dance their way through the restaurant! So tell me, who are the “old folks”? Is it those who are sitting home on their couches or these swinging seniors??

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A typical Carmageddon road trip is one that allows for meanderings and wanderings at a relaxed pace. This provides for optimum visual and gustatory experiences and a sense of relaxed well-being.

OK, so this trip was different.

Perhaps it was due to the fact that all of the continental United States is on Spring Break. At least that is how it appears. It took us 2 hours to get from Rancho Russo to Fredericksburg, VA. By the time we were 6 hours into the road war we had enough and were somewhere in northern North Carolina. While I worked the Kayak app over our Pizza Hut dinner, Don would call potential hotels/motels/inns & hostels seeking the elusive accommodations.

OK, so every room is booked.

We decide to venture outside of the larger cities and finally find a reasonable room in a non-shithole in a little town called, Kenly. Upon our arrival there is a line of huge vehicles sporting racing team logos and such with their respective owners all attempting to rent rooms. Fortunately, our calling ahead enabled us to secure our room while the racing convention attendees duked it out in the parking lot for the remaining spots. We spent a relatively restful night, except for the train. We discovered that a train crossing was  directly behind our hotel and darned if that train didn’t run on time. All night. Every 2 hours.

The next day the pit crews all had departed by the time we headed for breakfast. It was a clear, warm day and we were planning to drive this last leg straight through to Florida. We piled into our very fuel efficient rental vehicle and headed for the open road. Except the road wasn’t very open. All of North and South Carolina’s stretch of I-95 was a solid wall of traffic. None of it moving above 25 miles per hour for very long stretches. Then finally, it would open up and we would do about 70mph for about 2 miles and then back to bumper to bumper traffic.

We left North Carolina at 9:15 a.m. and arrived in Florida at the home of my in-laws, Villa Volpone, at …. wait for it….9:30 p.m. Full of aches & pains but in enormously good spirits. So, as you can tell. It was a pretty boring trip. I-95 is my least favorite road ever as it is miles & miles of the same landscape traversing 5 states. All of it ugly. It was supposed to save us time. Obviously, that didn’t happen. That’s it. Nothing more to tell you.

Except, I discovered this little gem while driving in Florida heading to Villa Volpone.

Yep. All lit up like Sodom and Gomorrah we passed what seemed to be the temple at Jerusalem along with numerous other artificial edifices suggestive of someone’s strange interpretation of the Biblical Mid-East. Multi-colored search light illuminated the sky above and I was intrigued.

You know a place must be magnificent if Bill Maher has made the pilgrimage to interview Jesus.

Obviously, Jesus wasn’t wearing his headset when Bill was there. I am told that after hamming it up with the tourists He announces that if anyone wants to get baptized to line up.

Of course, no good baptism should occur without “The Holy Land Dancers”. I bet they’d give the “Fly Girls” from In Living Color a run for their “talents”. Speaking of talents (the coinage of biblical times), in case you run short of cash you can always visit one of the “ark of the covenant” themed ATMs.

Once you moneychangers reload, head over to the gift shop where you can purchase your Jesus Bobblehead (cross sold separately) or perhaps your “Speaking in Tongues” microphone?

Needless to say, the highlight of any otherwise very long, tedious trip.

NOTICE TO RELIGIOUS FANATICS: Please refrain from writing me letters, posts or burning crosses or me in effigy.

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In honor of St. Patrick’s Day I decided to visit the archives of my pre-Carmageddon days and pull out some photos from our trip to Ireland in 2009.

Where St. Patrick baptized the masses

Now, I will regale you with a story from our trip.

When we arrived in Ireland we were staying in the quaint little village of Adare. Located just outside of Limerick, the village is known for it’s thatched-roof cottages and the ruins of a castle from the middle ages. We were staying at a resort that was on the former grounds of said castle. As we were checking in at the manor house, we asked the concierge how we could go about hiring a driver for a day. We had a rental car but were planning to go through a treacherous pass to get to the Dingle Peninsula and it had been recommended that we not drive there ourselves. The concierge told us there were several local drivers he could recommend and he would get us the information.

Less than 30 minutes later the door to our villa opens and a bear of a man saunters into our entryway. He introduced himself as Tim and told us he heard we were looking for a driver and just exactly where did we want to go and when? He produced his business card and brochure then proceeded to sit down at our table. This was our introduction to the man who would become critical to our successful negotiation around the sites of the Emerald Isle.

He drove a Mercedes Benz passenger van and took us to The Burren where he showed us Neolithic ruins of dwellings that dotted the landscape as well as burial sites.

We went to the Cliffs of Mohr, the Dingle Peninsula, we kissed the Blarney Stone and frolicked on the beach where Ryan’s Daughter was filmed. All the while Tim would point out and divert us to little points of interest. He would answer all our endless questions about Irish culture, history and modern Ireland.

When we said we wanted to go to explore County Cork and see Cobh (where most of the immigrants left from to head to the U. S., also where the Titanic set sail from) Tim plotted out our drive for us on our map. He made sure to tell us of the little side interest points we wouldn’t want to miss. He would even call us on our cell phones to make sure we were OK and arrived where we were supposed end up. He plotted our jaunts to Galway and Dublin too. He would give us directions in Irish – speak using terminology we were unfamiliar with like, “slip road” (exit ramp) & “round about” (traffic circle). His most famous saying was, “It’s a BIG sign, ya can’t miss it!” (which we invariably missed) and that became our catch phrase for the trip.

He told us which whiskey was best (Red Breast, not Jameson).

He told us instead of paying 18 euro for the Guinness tour and getting one pint we should go support the local pub and buy several pints of Guinness for the 18 euro.

He told us which on & off bus tour we should do in Galway.

He told us to make sure we visited the old jail in Dublin (we did & it was awesome).

He told us to order the “bacon & cabbage” at a local pub (we didn’t and regretted it).

He told us not to drink the Potcheen, which is Irish moonshine  (we didn’t listen and again regretted it).

But, my all time favorite Tim story is when we asked him if he had ever been to America:

“Aye. I came to the States to visit the wife’s family. We landed in New Yawk airport and we was goin tru the Customs. A Black feller asked if we had anything to declare. I said,” No”. They had a dog sniffin tru the line and all of ta sudden the dog starts hollerin near me bags. The Black feller opens me bag and starts goin tru it. He pulls out a tin, which I ain’t never seen. He opens ta tin and it’s full a white powder. He eyes me and asks, “What’s in the tin?” I looks at the wife and asks er, “What’s in the tin?” She tells me, “Tis the cookin powder. Me mum & I are gonna be makin the pies.” I looks at the feller & says, “Tis the cookin powder she says.” The feller says, “Cooking what?” I says, “You know, for the pies to bake?” He eyes me and says, “You mean this is baking powder?” “Aye!” the wife says and nods. The feller puts the tin back into the bag and lets us pass tru. I turns to the wife and says, “Now are ye tryin to get me arrested in New Yark? Why would ye take cookin powder fer Gawd’s sake?” She answers, “Tis a good thing he didn’t look in me other bag, I’ve half a pig’s head in ter!” “Oh Jeysas!” I says.”

Tim & Us

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As we inch ever so closer to actual Spring and it’s accompanying Spring Break, I decided it was time to do some Spring cleaning on the old Carmegeddon blog. Allow me to present Carmegeddon 2.0 with all the things you love about the old site in a fresh, new package.

I’ve moved the site from Blogger to WordPress for one thing. The bigger news is now we have our own domain:
mycarmageddon.com
which we hope will make it easier for you to find us.

Treemandous

I’ll be kicking the dust off my boots, metaphorically and we’ll be heading to Orlando, Florida with Damian in April.

Kick off the dust & saddle up!

So stay tuned for our take on some major theme parks. You won’t be disappointed. Oh, and drop a comment and let me know what you think of the new look and features.

Happy Trails!

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