Trip to Orlando, FL / November 2-4, 2007

The first trip we ever went on together was in November 2007. Destination: Orlando, Florida for the Sigma Xi conference. Albert was presenting research that he did for the University of Idaho.

it was like a 10 minute walk from our cars to the building!

the golf courses in the morning

the view from our room

We stayed at Shingle Creek Resort, a huge, uncomfortably luxurious hotel, resort, and spa that had a huge golf course, shops inside of the hotel building, valet parking, and like 5 pools, just to name a few of the amenities. They had a big aviary for zebra finches in the lobby:

two of the finches inside of their little nest!

Our drive home was by far our most favorite part.

a bridge on the way to Little Talbot Island

We camped at Little Talbot Island, which we can't wait to visit again! We hopped in our bathing suits and went to the beach before it got dark, but the water was freezing cold and the sand fleas were INSANE so we ended up with itchy backs for the next few weeks.

It was freezing! What were we thinking?

Albert on Little Talbot Island's Beach

Albert used to accidentally close his eyes for every photo!

the lake at the campground at sunset

another shot of the beautiful lake

By the time we got hungry, there was nothing to eat nearby, so we drove to Amelia Island and ate at Baxter's. It was delicious!

Albert's car, Hot Wheels, at the campsite the next morning

The next morning, we woke up and walked along the beach again. This time we dressed warmer. We saw a horseshoe crab on the beach and I got REALLY excited because I thought it was some kind of trilobite or ancient animal. We heavily debated whether or not to take it to the ranger's station, assuming they'd want it for testing or a collection or something, but we decided not to. We kept walking along the beach and saw more, and then felt silly because we realized they were really common! Later, when we visited the ranger's station, we saw a bunch of them on the mantle and asked them what they were. We still laugh about this today!

"the ancient wonder of the world"

one of my all time favorite photos of Albert!

Katie and Albert on the beach! We were 18 and 22 at the time!

It was a great trip! We can't wait to visit Little Talbot Island again!