GONE SOUTH

Way back at the dawn of time (the Fall of 1999, to be exact), my family and I went on a trip of a lifetime--we spent nine days in Orlando, Florida, taking in the Disney Parks and Sea World.

Well, it seems that the "trip of a lifetime" can be done twice...but the differences are remarkable the second time around.

The first trip that we made was fun, but whirlwind. My son was just eight years old, and my daughter not quite ten--and their sense of wonder and fun made the trip fun for me, even though my tolerance for crowds and amusement parks is somewhat limited. But this was DISNEY, and that made all the difference.

My daughter went on her first "upside-down" rollercoaster there--Aerosmith's Rockin' Rollercoaster--and many of the other rides and attractions were of a unique nature not found at our 'local' amusement park, Six Flag's Great America. We even rode the "teacups" at Magic Kingdom, just to say that we had :-)

Eight years later, and there had been many changes to the parks, and we went to the Universal Studios parks this time, as well. But the most significant changes weren't in the parks, but in us.

I am eight years older. At forty, the parks were fun, but I was worn out at the end of the vacation. At forty-eight, the fun was mostly gone, and I was worn out after the first day. But I made the most of it, since it cost me an arm, a leg, and other body parts I can't mention to take us to Orlando for two full weeks.

My wife is a big kid. She loves the parks, the people, and the souvenirs. She laughs and thrills to the most silly and child-like of the attractions, and pouts like a baby when she can't get something that she wants. Sometimes I think these trips are all about her...but she tries to make things fun for all of us.

My kids are jaded. They have lost their sense of wonder, and want instant gratification in the place of fun. My son still thrills to a good ride, but thinks that anything with a Disney character theme is too "kiddish." My daughter just doesn't seem to enjoy anything that doesn't involve her car or her cell phone.

But this was the last big vacation that we'll be able to take as a family--at least for a long time--and we wanted to make it memorable. I took about 500 pictures, a bunch of 'coaster videos, and we finally saw the Magic Kingdom's fireworks (they were rained out in '99).

So, all things considered, it was worth the money, the headaches, and the taking off of shoes in the airport security checkpoint.

But time keeps on keepin' on, and when all is said and done, all we have of our trip are some souvenirs, some photos, and some memories. I hope that for all of us, they are good ones.

And so it goes...