Clearwater

Friday morning Susan and I drove to Clearwater to visit the aquarium there, which was the home of the tailless dolphin Winter from the movie “Dolphin Tale”. The aquarium had an odd layout, apparently the result of being expanded several times over the decades, and the oldest sections are pretty dated. We only spent a little over an hour there, although there was a theater that shows multiple short films that we could have watched, and lots of things to read that we skimmed.

While the dolphin tanks were nice, and the aquarium does good rescue work, I would not recommend paying full admission. In the afternoon, we met Jennifer and a friend and set up for a book signing. I then headed home, while Susan and the girls stayed the night to attend the book event on Saturday.

Yesterday, Jenn went to Epic Universe with Bryan and a friend. She got to ride all the things we didn't get to do a year ago when we went, like the Harry Potter ride, Donkey Kong, the Werewolf coaster, and Stardust Racers. She was not a fan of the Werewolf coaster, as it's short and spinny, but said the other three were pretty good, but not great.

Islands of Adventure

While I was in Arlington, Jennifer was meeting readers and, occasionally, other authors. Saturday afternoon she and Susan continued signing and selling while I hung out at the hotel. They finished up in the evening and we packed up her booth and went to dinner. Sunday we made the long drive home.

This evening Susan and I went to Universal’s Islands of Adventure with Jenn and a friend. We figured we’d hang out for a few hours and use our after 4 pm express pass to go a few rides, but when we got the found out the parks were closing at six for Grad Bash. 

We quickly went on VelociCoaster and Hagrid’s Motorbikes and headed out. In Lost Continent, the Sinbad stunt show, which has been closed since before the pandemic, and the Poseidon walk through, which closed three years ago, were both behind construction walls. 

In CityWalk, the Epic Universe preview store has been converted to a Universal Legacy store. 

Arlington

Yesterday morning we set up Jenn’s booth, and in the afternoon I wandered around National Harbor and the hotel while Jenn and Susan signed and sold books. When they done for the day we went to dinner at a nearby restaurant.

This morning while they were signing and selling again, I visited Arlington National Cemetery. I took an Uber there, then boarded a tram tour. I got off at three stops to look around, the first being the gravesites of JFK and his wife Jackie. Arlington House, the home of Robert E. Lee, is on the hill above.

The second time I got off a tram was for the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Memorial Amphitheater. I got to watch the changing of the guard, and looked around the small museum. I then boarded another tram and got off at Arlington House. Besides the house, there’s a small museum to General Lee, an NPS gift shop, and great views of Washington. I then rode a tram back to the visitor center. I spent a little over two and a half hours touring the cemetery. 

Next I ubered to Alexandria. I requested the Alexandria Marina but instead it routed me to downtown, so I had to walk down King Street, which took about 15 minutes. The next water taxi to National Harbor was in 20 minutes, so I didn’t have time to look around Alexandria or get something to eat.

Once on board it took the water taxi a little less than a half an hour to cross the Potomac and dock at National Harbor. I was able to join the girls for lunch during their midday break.

Washington DC

Today, while Jenn and Susan went to book panels and other events, I did a trolley tour of Washington DC. The “trolley” picked up at the Gaylord at 10 am and drove to Union Station, where I boarded another bus and waited for the tour to begin. A little after 11, we headed south past the Capitol then west down the south side of the Mall and around the Tidal Basin. It wasn’t easy to get good photos from the trolley, and we spent a fair amount of time waiting for lights, but I enjoyed hearing about some of the things we drove past.

At the Lincoln Memorial, we turned east and went up the north side of the Mall and past the White House. Around 12:15 pm, we reached the Hard Rock Cafe, where I got off and had lunch. This was the 50th Hard Rock Cafe I have been to. 

After lunch I got on another trolley and went back to Union Station and waited for the loop to start again. Around 2 pm it reached the National Air and Space Museum, and I got off and looked around. It would be easy to spend several hours looking around this museum, but I had to be back at Union Station before 4 pm for my ride back to the Gaylord, so I was only able to spend an hour. I went quickly through all the rooms, and stopped only at a few things that peaked my interest, like the original model of Star Trek’s Enterprise. 

I then walked back to Union Station, stopping to check out the Eisenhower Memorial and the Grant Memorial in front of the Capitol. When we went to Washington DC back in 2005, we had spent almost all our time on the west half of the Mall so it was nice to see the East, although I didn’t have time to walk by the Supreme Court or the Library of Congress. 

I got back to Union Station, the second largest train station in the U.S., with just enough time to wander inside and look around for a few minutes before boarding the bus back to the Gaylord. Traffic was bad on the way back though, and we didn’t get to National Harbor until after 5 pm.

National Harbor

This weekend, Jennifer is an attending author at a book convention at the Gaylord National in National Harbor, which is in Maryland just south of Washington DC. This is the third year she has attended, and the second as an author.

We left Tuesday, and after stops at the Buc-ee’s in Daytona, Brunswick Georgia, and Florence South Carolina, made it to Rocky Mount North Carolina, where we stopped for the night. 

We made it to the Gaylord this afternoon, and Jennifer and Susan checked in with the convention then went to a mixer for authors and their assistants. The Gaylord is a big hotel, but not as impressive as the ones in Florida or Texas. 

We got upgraded to a suite with a view of the Potomac River and Alexandria. After putting our stuff in the room we went out to dinner at a nearby Italian restaurant with a couple of Jennifer’s friends.

Universal Orlando

The two weeks on either side of Easter are some of the busiest times at Florida’s amusement parks, so we stayed away when not working. Last month though, Susan and I decided to get Universal annual passes again after a year’s hiatus, and Thursday evening we went to the Studios to activate them. 

Jenn and a friend went with us. At the front of the park they’ve completed the removal of the Rip, Ride, Rockit roller coaster, and starter work on a new coaster. Once in the park, we rode the Mummy, then headed into Diagon Alley. 

We had a snack and looked around the shops. We were going to ride Gringott’s but it broke down right after we got in line, so we headed out, stopping at a couple more stores on the way. 

Last night we went to Epcot to see Berlin at Garden Rocks. They played four of their biggest hits plus a cover of White Rabbit, then ended the set with a “Disneyfied” version of their first hit. Afterwards we had dinner at Regal Eagle. 

Buzz Lightyear

Thursday morning we got to do a special cast preview of the revamped Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin at Magic Kingdom. We were allowed to three guests each, and both Susan and I got a preview, so we took the kids and rode twice.

The improvements to the ride make it much more fun. The guns are now on tethers instead of attached, and the targets light up with different colors. I still prefer Disneyland’s version with the different target shapes being worth different points, but it’s much better than the old version. 

Saturday afternoon Jenn and a friend went to Tampa for a hockey match. The Lightning rallied to defeat the Ottawa Senators 4-2.

Yesterday Susan had an evening shift, so after work I headed over to Epcot to catch the first set of .38 Special at Garden Rocks.