Law's Happy Hogs and Splendid Sheep

Dave really wanted Mariah and me to come to Baltimore with him this year. He thinks going to those conferences by himself are really boring. So, Mariah got her weeks worth of homework to do on the plane and we took off for our fall vacation.

As soon as we arrived in Baltimore, we found that is was freezing cold. Much colder than Roosevelt. That humid cold brought back all of my memories of Wisconsin. Mariah and I were so, so glad that we had bought gloves and I was thrilled to find a warm headband in my coat pocket!

We spent the day exploring Baltimore while Dave was in meetings. This time it was not nearly as scary as it had been 19 years ago. I think Baltimore is trying to change their evil image. In fact there are signs all over the place referring to it as Charm City. Hum, that may be a longshot, but it sure was a lot nicer and there were a lot more police around ensuring that.

Here is a newly built World Trade Tower in Baltimore in honor of 9/11.

Here we are hanging out at the Inner Harbor. This is the happening place in the city. However, when it's this cold, not a lot is happening.

We went to the gift shop and found the exact same crab that Dave and I had bought when Cado was a baby 19 years ago. We would always laugh, because on the flight home back then, every time Cado would cry we would wind up the crab and basically scare him "cryless!" It was very effective.

This is how we bundled up each and every day. Going out took a lot of bravery.

I feel the ship as it comes to a stop. Running to the window I look out to see the greenness and lusciousness of Florida. We have made it to the first stop on our cruise, Fort Canaveral. I am still tired from spending yesterday cooped up in an airplane on the way to Maryland, but am so glad I have one last week to be able to spend with my family before my youngest brother leaves to live in Mexico for two years. Deciding that I need to make this week worth everything, I pick my nephew up off the floor to twirl him around. I watch his face as excitement takes over his entire body. His wide eyes stare into mine making me laugh. The rest of my family sits around watching us, and makes faces to get my nephew to laugh. I laugh with them and realize how much my family means to me. No matter where I am or what I am doing my brothers always manage to get a smile out of me. They are able to brighten up the gloomiest of days. I sit down on the bed and think again how excited I am to spend the day with them riding airboats through the jungle, feeding alligators, enjoying the cruise ship, and spending time with my brothers.

Rushing off to breakfast so as not to miss the days events, I quickly eat and make my way back to my room to get ready for the day. My family is finally ready to leave the ship, and we make our way to the elevators. Seeing that the lobby is packed with people we decide to take the stairs, going slowly so my brother can maneuver his crutches and broken foot safely down each stair. I enjoy mocking him as he tries to keep up, and he in turn enjoys poking me with his crutches. We are all high spirited and laughing as the morning sun glares at us while we step off the ship. Making our way to our designated bus, rain begins to fall out of nowhere. It comes harder and harder making us think twice about our day ahead. Just as soon as it had started, the rain comes to an abrupt halt. The bus lurches forward as we pass by the beach surrounded by palm trees. I can taste the salt and smile because the beach is one of my favorite places. We are soon engulfed by the busy Florida roads with cars continually passing by. My interest in the outside world now lost, I turn back to talk with my brother. Soon we are off the busy roads and find ourselves parked in front of a small building covered with all sorts of stuff about alligators. Exiting the bus we walk into the building. I go around the corner of the door too quickly, and find myself face to face with a large pig. Little did I know the staff kept a pet pig around to entertain the guests! Looking up at me, he grunts and then proceeds to lay down.

What I had been looking forward to all day was finally here! A tour guide led a group of about fifteen of us down a boat ramp and into a big blue airboat. He proceeded to tell us what to expect and the expectations for us in order to be kept safe. As the motors of the giant fans in the back came to life, nothing could be heard over the noise. I placed my headset over my ears as we set out on our journey. My hair whipped wildly around my face. My hand was no longer able to run smoothly through it, but instead left it in a tangled heap I would have to deal with later. Our boat skidded over the water and the grassy surroundings. Through the headset I could hear the guide announce each new alligator that was spotted. I searched to find them each time being surprised to see two beady black eyes staring back at me. The boat would stop so we could creep closer to the alligator before it would dive under the murky water, only leaving a small ripple as any evidence that an alligator was ever there. We would sit back up as the boat would hum back to life again. The gentle breeze that came along with it felt good against the humid Florida air.

We were once again back at the dock ready for the next adventure. My brother helped me off the boat and we went along with the rest of our group to a cage holding many baby alligators. Our tour guide grabbed one as a line to hold it began to form. I waited my turn until I was handed one of the strangest feeling creatures! My brothers gathered around me as we handed it off to each other making sure we got our picture taken each time.

After the alligator holding was done we again loaded the bus. Not sure what to expect next, you could say we were pretty excited about stopping in front of a building that looked exactly like a giant alligator. Walking through the giant alligator we came to a bridge that overlooked a swamp buzzing with alligators. My brothers thought they were funny as they pretended to push me off the bridge. We walked off into the jungle which was set up as a zoo. We looked at all the animals, and lots more alligators. The tour guides came and got us as we were led to a small building. Inside we sat down on wooden benches as more alligators, skunks, snakes, and tarantulas were passed around for us to hold. Each one squirmed in my hands, and I quickly passed them off before I dropped one. With that adventure over, we were taken on another boat ride. We watched in awe as alligators swarmed around the boat just as curious about us as we were about them.

As the sky had done earlier, rain came pouring down soaking everybody in the boat. The alligators disappeared deep into the murky water. Our boat was quickly turned around and taken back to the dock where we ran to take cover under the bridge. Once again, as quickly as it had started, the sun reappeared to dry us and stop our shivering.

The day was coming too quickly to an end. Loading the bus, I laughed with my brother all the way back about everything that had happened. The tiredness caught up with us as walking to the ship was done with droopy eyes. I helped my brother as we went through security, and screws in his foot went off yet again. I waited knowing it was going to take a while to be sure he was not a terrorist.

Dazing off, I watched many unfamiliar faces pass me by. I am sure many of them had this vacation planned out for many months. The excitement leading up to this trip was probably similar to many of them as it was to me. I realized that all of them would keep and cherish the memories from this trip for many, many years. Lots of the memories would revolve around the people they loved, same with mine. I knew we had chosen this vacation because it was the last week before my brother was gone for two years. We knew that by the time he got home we would have more additions to our family. Trying to get everybody on the same vacation together was going to be difficult then.

A lot of that day was spent retelling old memories and creating new ones. It was not where I was, but the people I was there with that made that vacation so much fun. I grew closer to every one of my siblings and I realized how much they truly meant to me. Their spirits always brighten my day, and make me want to become better. I knew in that moment how much my family meant, and the special part they play in my life.