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Today we arrived in Orlando at about 6:00 pm. We checked into our hotel, The Country Inn & Suites and got settled into our room. We booked the Jacuzzi suite, which had a big Jacuzzi whirl tub right in the middle of the room. After we were settled in we went to Downtown Disney to eat dinner.

We decided to eat at T-Rex, a restaurant kind of like Rainforest Cafe, but themed around dinosaurs. The inside is amazing with moving dinosaurs and lights that make entire rooms change colors. Since there was an hour wait, we walked around the shops for a bit until it was time to eat. We finally ate dinner around 10:00 pm and it was very good. Dessert was even better. The portions were huge and we suggest going there with a bigger group because when we were done we were stuffed and still had leftovers. After dinner we walked around a little more and then headed back to the hotel.

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Today when we woke up we were docked just off the Great Stirrup Cay Island. This is a private island owned by Norwegian Cruise Lines. After breakfast we all tendered over to the island and grabbed a spot on the beach.

Karen and I already had our eye on something we wanted to do while there. Geocache! We had plotted out 2 geocaches that we wanted to discover so we decided to head out for an early hike before it got too late. We took Shely with us and headed out onto a dirt trail. After about a 1 mile walk we came to the opposite side of the island where we found lots of cliffs and a rocky beach area. The island had previously been a military base so there we reminiscence of old military buildings. Be hind one of them was the geocache!

We then headed out to grab the second one. Along the way we stopped and took pictures near the Great Stirrup Cay International Airport, which is just an old helipad. We continued hiking for about half a mile and found the last cache, an old abandoned lighthouse. In the area of the lighthouse was old homes and an old cemetery. After logging our find we took our 2 mile hike back. Once back at the beach we ate lunch and Karen played in a volleyball game with the guys. We then went swimming and snorkeling in the ocean and saw lots of colorful fish, along with a sting ray and shark. before we knew it, it was time to head back to the ship.

Once back at the ship we had dinner and went to play the final BINGO game. We lost. After the game the kids went to watch/play The Quest. Basically they break the room into teams. The cruise director then asks each team all at once to bring up to him or do different activities and each team that does gets points. They asked for a guys shoe laces, out of the shoes. They also asked for to guys dancing, that would be Rami and Josi. the final "quest" was for one guy from each team to go on stage wearing boxers, a bra, high heels, and carrying a handbag. Josi ran up dressed like that and our team won the game! For winning we each got a Norwegian Cruise Line shirt. The Quest was hilarious and we laughed the entire time. After the game we went upstairs to grab a quick midnight snack and then head off to bed.

For the complete gallery of photos check our album here

http://picasaweb.google.com/fla030/Cruise12251229#

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Today we got off the boat in Nassau and took a cab over to Atlantis. When we got there we walked over to the private beach where Josi, Tamara, Rami, Allan, and Jodi went jet skiing. Karen laid out in the sun and I went exploring the area. After jet skiing we walked onto the Atlantis property where we hung out by the pool and private beach. Karen and I then went back into town while everyone else snuck into Atlantis and rode the water slides, until being kicked out. We then went to Senor Frogs where we got huge yard drinks and lunch. It was soon time to board the ship and we all went back to get ready for dinner. After dinner we all went to the theater where Mimi and Mark played in the newlywed game. They didn't win, but it sure was funny. After the show we went to the pool deck where they had a "snow party" where everyone is supposed to wear white. We hung out and danced for a bit and then headed back to the cabins.

For the complete gallery of photos check our album here

http://picasaweb.google.com/fla030/Cruise12251229#

           

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Gagis_Birthday_Cruise_-_Day_2.zip (23013 KB)

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Karen's grandfather (Gagi) recently turned 80 and he wanted to celebrate in a special way. So he took us all on a cruise to celebrate. There were 17 us of us......Let me see if I can get this right;

Gagi & Gima - the grandparents
Karen & I
Mark & Mimi - Karen's parents
Allan & Jodi - Karen's older brother and his wife
Rami - Karen's younger brother
Shely & Mark, Sofia & Shaun - Karen's aunt and her husband and their kids Sofia & Shaun (Josi & Sarita are also Shely's kids)
Josi & Tamara - Karen's cousin and his girlfriend
Sarita & Elan - Karen's cousin and her boyfriend

WOW think I got everyone. So on Friday we all embarked the Norwegian Sky at the Port Of Miami. The first thing we did was hit the lunch buffet and I found myself a Pina Colada, my favorite drink. Then we went up to the pool deck in our bathing suites and watched as the ship pulled out of port. I really like leaving out of Miami because you get such great views of downtown Miami. Before we knew it we were out to sea and they were calling for everyone to do the muster drill.

After the drill we went to Gagi & Gima's cabin because they wanted to surprise everyone with shirts to wear to dinner that night. Prior to going on the cruise, Gagi told everyone to wear jeans that night because he secretly had gotten us all matching shirts. When we got to the room they gave us polo shirts to wear to dinner. Guys got a yellow Lacoste and the girls got a pink Polo. They were really nice shirts! We stayed on Gagi's balcony for a bit while we watched the ship pull away from land and then went back to our cabins to get ready for dinner.

Just before dinner all the kids went to one of the bars where they had 2 for 1 margaritas. I again, had a Pina Colada. Then it was off to dinner. At dinner we had such a big group that they had to split us up at 2 tables. Most of the grandkids had to sit at one table and everyone else sat at another table. The dinner was good, but the service was really slow. After dinner the kids again went to one of the lounges and hung out for a bit before going to bed. Great first day!

For the complete gallery of photos check our album here

http://picasaweb.google.com/fla030/Cruise12251229#

             

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The last day of geocaching started out with a C.I.T.O. event. CITO stands for Cache In, Trash Out. Basically it means you always leave a cache site cleaner then when you found it. You can clean up a little at each cache site while you are geocaching, or you can even have C.I.T.O. events where lots of people get together to clean up an entire area. This particular C.I.T.O. event was put together to clean out all the vines and weeds that have been taking over the shore line of the Loxahatchee River. About 50 people showed up and we all started to pull out vines and weeds from along the river. In about 2 hours we pulled out almost all of the weeds. You could actually see the river now. After the event we hit the trails again to find a few more caches.

Everyone who camped out had to leave that afternoon but Karen and I stayed in Jupiter and extra night. So after we were done geocaching we headed back to the hotel and I took Karen to dinner at a nice seafood restaurant overlooking the intercoastal and the Jupiter Beach Lighthouse. We had a really great time and met lots of really great people. We got a total of 67 geocaches even though there were over 250 in the entire park. We plan on going back a few times in the next few months just to get some more geocaches that we couldn't get during the event. We also can not wait to go to Cacheapalooza 5!

           

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Saturday was the main geocaching day. We started early and head out to the trails. It rained all day long, but that was OK because it kept us nice and cool. We ended up riding our bikes 15 miles thru the woods and found about 45 geocaches. For dinner everyone that attended the event got together for a pot luck dinner and BBQ. About 150 attended and we had so much food. There was also a raffle going on during dinner and although we bought tickets, we didn't win anything. After the dinner we headed back to Steve and Sharon's camp site and lite a fire. It was freezing out so we kept warm by marking shmores. Later that night we attended another night cache which required us to use flashlights and find little glowing markers in the woods. We followed these markers for about 3 miles until we found the cache. We were the first people to find it out of a group of about 50 so we got to keep the actual cache container which was an old ammo can. At around 1:00 am, we made it back to the hotel, took nice warm showers and went to bed. One last day of geocaching awaited us.

                         

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Cacheapalooza is a big geocaching event held every year in Jonathan Dickinson State Park in Hobe Sound. Since Karen and I just started geocaching we decided this was a must do event. A friend of ours Steve is also into geocaching and he was going to attend the event too with his son, Steve Jr. We also planned on meeting a few other local cachers at the park that we had met and talked to online. Steve and everyone else was camping out in tents for the weekend, but Karen and I were staying at the Jupiter Beach Resort and Spa just up the street. After we checked into the hotel we went to the park and met up with everyone. We all hopped on our bikes and headed out to grab some caches before it got dark. We had a nice bike ride and got about 15 caches.

Later that night there was a night geocaching event, where we had to look around for caches using flashlights. This event was really fun and was a different kind of geocaching experience for us. We then headed back to the hotel and called it a night since we had a long day of geocaching ahead of us.

           

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Last day in New York City. We started out by having brunch at Allan and Jodi's apartment with everyone including Jodi's parents. After lunch we had a few hours to kill so Karen and I went to Bryant Park. here they have lots of little shops and art galleries outside during the winter time. They also have ice skating, but we didn't do that. It was then time to head back to Brooklyn so Allan and Jodi could take us all to the airport. We had a great time in New York and can't wait to see everyone again. Next time I'm driving! :)

           

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We woke up to nice cold weather again. Everyone promised me that we could have New York Pizza, so Allan took Karen, Mark, Mimi, and me to Di Fara's pizza. The pizza is made by the original owner who is about 80 years old. He makes the pizzas himself and does not let anyone else make the pizza. He also takes the pizza out of the oven with his bare hands. Everyone stand around and watches in amazement. The place is really small with only a few tables so everyone crowds around and waits for a really amazing pizza. It was really good and does not compare to Florida pizza.

Later that day Karen and I went to the wax museum in Manhattan where we took lots of pictures with famous people. Karen and I then walked around for a bit and even found a geocache in the middle of Times Square. We then met Rami and Stephanie at a place called Charley O's Bar & Grill. The food was really good and after we went to see The Phantom of the Opera. Stephanie had seen it 4 times before and Karen had seen it once. I had only watched the movie, but loved it. The play was really really good. After the show we went to a place called Cafe Lalo in the upper west side. It was a dessert place that was packed when we got there and packed when we left at 1:30am. We ordered cake, pies, ice cream, cheesecake, and a few other things we probably should not have.

After we rolled out of Cafe Lalo Rami and Stephanie went back to the hotel and Karen and I went to the lower east side to meet Allan and Jodi at a local bar. We stayed there for about an hour talking and then headed back to the hotel.

           

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Karen and I headed out today along to see the city. We started out eating lunch at Katz's Deli. I had matzoh ball soup and corned beef. Soooo yummy. Then we walked up canal street and did some window shopping. We ended up taking the subway to the World Trade Center site and stopped in to chat with the firefighters of engine 10 at the "Ten House" we took a bunch of pictures of the memorial they had inside the station.

After the firehouse we took the subway up to Central Park and walked around 5th Ave. We also went to Rockefeller Center and saw everyone ice skating. We then caught the subway to Queens where we had Shabbat dinner with Jodi's parents. Again there was 17 people eating a lot of very good food.

           

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