Hot summer nights in Hyrum, Utah

Once again out of order, but this is as much an online picture sharing vehicle as a blog so it is what it is. Good times were had by all hanging out with the Williams family enjoying some outdoor barbeque, baseball, badminton and catching up with family all while being serenaded by the local rodeo blaring in the background 5 blocks away. It was great to see family since the kids have grown up quite a bit since Christmas. Thanks to all who cooked and worked hard to make our visit a memorable one.

Cedar City Datwyler Family Reunion June 07

I'm writing out of order but I wanted to capture the other big trip of summer 2007. My memories of this years reunion are Golfing with Doug and the prairie dogs, playing board games, cool southern utah hike with dad, richard and doug, and visiting with family. Attached our picts from the trip that speak louder then words.

Epcot Center

Monday we ventured northward to explore some of the wonderful world of Disney. Our theme park of choice to spend the day was The Epcot Center. We got an early start and drove 3 hours with eager anticipation of line waiting in the land where dreams come true. Quite a bit had changed since I had visited the Park 14 years earlier. My highlights were once again the China 360 degree movie, Norway for dinner excellent fish (pickled, smoked, poached varieties), Soaring cool ride that simulates hang gliding over California and Honey I shrunk the audience. Annie liked dinner with the disney princesses in Norway , finding Nemo ride and cool aquarium, cool green house ride with tropical plants and the architecture of the Intl. villages. Annie did not like Mission to Mars which simulates some series gravity and stomach ping pong and almost caused her to toss her cookies.

West Palm Beach

Saturday and Sunday we spent with our friends Jim and Gretchen Hofeling. They were gracious local tour guides and hosts. They introduced us to Steak and Shake a fun fast food chain and took us to their favorite beach on Jupiter Island where Tiger Woods resides. We had fun collecting sea shells enjoying the ocean breeze and visiting with Jim and Gretchen. They also showed us a cool sea turtle hospital where locals volunteer and assist in caring for injured or abandoned turtles. We enjoyed the diversity of members at church in the West Palm Beach Ward on Sunday. In the afternoon we explored a local swamp nature trail near the Hofeling's home.

Key Largo

Key Largo, Montego, Baby why don't we go to Aruba, well folks now we've been to Key Largo cross one off the list. The next couple of days we spent snorkeling and scuba diving at the John Pennekamp national marine preserve I think. We still need to develop and scan the really cool picts of underwater sea life but needless to say we saw cool schools of tropical fish, lobsters, rays, Annie saw a sea turtle and I saw a nurse shark. Needless to say Scuba diving is awesome, Annie and I are considering PADI certification so we can feel a bit more confident under the sea. Driving down the #1 hwy was cool driving over open water stretches in between different islands on the keys and of course we had to try Key Lime Pie.

Miami Beach and South Beach

Since I'm a novice blogger I need to learn the primary lesson less words more pictures. Day two was great lots of sunshine to explore the beaches of Miami on July 4th. Our primary mode of transportation being as Annie and I like to call them Fat Butt Bikes or beach cruisers as the rental shop called them mine even came equiped with a front basket.

Florida Trip July 2007

Warm waters and undersea life seem to call to me in the same way that tropical rain forests do. Every year or two I'm drawn to explore some new spot unique and beautiful. This year was no different Annie and I decided to visit southern Florida and the Keys. Our parents graciously offered to tend the kids so this trip became a mini honeymoon 7 1/2 years removed.

The trip began with a flight to Miami we immediately felt the humidity and muggy heat that comes with 90 degree heat and 90% humidity. It took us a minute to gather our bearings in the rent a car and figure out which direction was East in order to find our way to downtown where our hotel was for the next few days. We never found a proper freeway and ended up taking backroads through the heart of Miami with some neighborhoods looking more similar to those of Mexico then the U.S. with iron bars guarding windows. As we passed the Orange Bowl home of the Univ. of Miami Hurricanes I wished that we had scheduled the trip during college football season since I've been a fan of the canes since middle school.

We arrive at the downtown Marriott on Biscayne Bay blvd. Our room had a nice view of the Bay as well as Dark thunderstorms rolling in from the west we would see more of later that evening. Annie and I left to find food since Northwest didn't provide snacks on our flight from SLC thru Minnesota and then onto Miami.

We found an outdoor mall downtown just past the basketball arena. As we arrived the rain had just started to fall but it was light and warm so it didn't bother us too much. It was quite an international scene where the locals seemed to be Haitians, Cubans, Puerto Ricans and Mexicans and the tourist were Columbian, Spaniards, Germans and Brits. We tried an all you can eat Argentine barbeque called the Knife and found the meats to be quite good. The entertainment for the evening was provided by mother nature as some impressive thunder storms engulfed the bay.