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Have you ever been so busy that you completely forgot to do something important? Some of my business friends get so busy on projects that they forget to invoice for them. For me, I've been so busy working on projects and jobs that I haven't updated the web site or written any new, interesting content. (Some of this has to do with the fact that I've been working mostly in the Orlando area and I don't generally take photos on job sites that are close to home.)
Still, there have been interesting things that have happened in the last few months that should be shared.
Harry Potter Grand Opening - I got the phone call in late January that
Electrosonic might need help with Potter because of a scheduling issue with the original AMX programmer. I was a little reluctant to accept this assignment but the project did turn into a very interesting and exciting study in automation theory. There were a few items that came up and we thought that they would be complete show stoppers but they turned into relatively easy things to fix. Then there were things that we never considered hard that turned into programming and media nightmares. The ride came together and I predict that it will become one of the most popular rides at Universal if not all of Orlando. (Sorry, no photos of the ride or the land. That's not really something that makes Universal happy at this point.)
Pee Paw's 75th Birthday - My father ("Pee Paw" got his name when Nathan heard the Radio Shack door bell at the Eustis Lake Diabetes office) celebrated his 75th birthday this year. 
We all got together and had a mini-reunion in Daytona Beach Shores where he and Mom live.
Some of us started the event day with a tennis championship down the street from the condo and they played hard. I was there just to shoot photos but I was still sweating thru my clothes. (You never get used to the Florida heat and humidity!)
Jeff and Allison at Disney - Part of the family who came in for Pee Paw's birthday was my cousin Jeff and his family. Jeff had lived with us for a summer when we were all younger and we all worked for "The Mouse." He hadn't been to Disney since so we planned a trip for his family and our family to meet at the Magic Kingdom one day and EPCOT the next.
In true "Hartwell" fashion, we opened the park and stayed until they kicked us out. (Actually, we were almost an hour late and left during the second parade to avoid the crowds. What wimps!) We did stay and watch the Nighttime Spectacular fireworks. These were, by far, the best fireworks that I've ever seen - EVER. Disney has outdone themselves with this show. Emily was excited about the show but was most impressed that Tinkerbell flew right over us and looked right at Emily and waved to her. (No way I'm going to argue with this!)
Family Reunion in North Carolina - We had another gathering in Clyde, North Carolina this summer and went back to visit the cabin we've stayed in multiple times.(I don't have a summer photo of the cabin - the trees were too thick to get a shot from far away but here's a winter shot.) This place is 4000 square feet and has been a very enjoyable place to stay for a week or so.
This was our first time to visit during the summer and we happened to visit during a heat spell. We found out the hard way that most houses in this area don't have air conditioning because they don't generally need it. It's not that the residents of Florida aren't already used to being hot, it's just that we are used to GOING INSIDE TO GET AWAY FROM THE HOT! I've never considered myself a wimp where comfort was concerned but this was the most uncomfortable I've been on any vacation and I was not alone. We prayed for snow but our prayers went unanswered.
White Water Rafting - While in NC, we planned to do a long list of fun things including horse back riding, rafting, hiking, visits to Biltmore and Grove Park Inn. We ended up adding in a visit to Grandfather Mountain, Santa Land, Cataloochee Valley (Elk sighting), Cherokee and TWO rafting trips.
Our "Easy" rafting was on the Nantahala River where the rapids weren't as huge or challenging but we figured it would be a good way for us to get our feet wet and remember how to white water raft. We realized quickly that when your feet get wet in that water, it's really cold. (With no AC at the cabin, this was quite refreshing.) Here's a photo of our team - that's me on the far right and my boys opposite of me on the raft. The guy two seats behind me popped out of the raft just before one of the final rapids and really hurt himself. We had to go down gingerly because he was in a lot of pain.
The second trip that we took was on the Ocoee River.
Now this river is a bit more challenging than the Nantahala and the water wasn't as cold. We had John Anderson as a guide (neither of the singers, they have a different revenue stream) and he was great and I would highly recommend him as a guide if you go. I was mid-boat on this trip and at one point we hit a bump and Kathy (my little sister) and I both fell back but maintained our footing in the boat. John had to pull both of us in to avoid the oncoming rocks and nobody got hurt. About midway on the trip is a calm section of the water where they let us out to take a dip in the water. This was extremely refreshing and it felt great to get out of the boat and just float in the river.
Grandfather Mountain - It's a long story explaining how Grandfather Mountain go added to our trip itinerary (it's a long drive too) so I won't go there. Suffice it to say that if you're in the area and want to spend half a day doing something memorable, this might be for you. To us, the best part was the "Mile High Bridge" which isn't actually a mile high except to say that it's a mile above sea level. (We couldn't see the sea to verify this but we'll trust the proprietor.) A cloud bank flew in while we were at the summit - you can see it behind the boys in the photo. It was certainly cooler up here.
After the bridge and approaching the peak, the park had posted a sign that both of my Home Schooled, future employees grossly misread. We had a really good laugh about this (or was it the lack of oxygen?) Clearly the sign reads "Stay back from ledge, SURPRISE CHILDREN." Like that would make sense! You might as well say "Sneak up on the little one and goose her before she realizes how high a mile is!" (Not that Emily was up with us - she wouldn't even go on the stairs to the entrance of the bridge.)
Baby Kitty - Speaking of Emily, she's been spending a lot of time recently with her best friend, Candy Cane. CC is a male cat (he was named as a kitten which was before "The Boys" were clearly visible - he's grown out of this problem now!) and he enjoys Emily's company. They sleep together in Emily's room every night.
Nathan has used Baby Kitty extensively on his web site www.CatsAreDoom.com and he's a favorite on many of his videos and web casts. I invite you to check out some of the silly things that he's done. You can even get your own T-shirt with Baby Kitty on it!
I know this has been very "Family Oriented" post and not heavy on the work related issues typical of
a work web site. The truth is that this entire thing is just a platform to show the photos that I'm able to capture with my Nikon kit.
Watch out for the cars,
Chris Hartwell
Hartwell AVD Inc.