Update:   

Sorry it took so long,  been traveling....

 

Ukrainians loved Rock City and Ruby Falls in Chattanooga.   Who wouldn't?   Nature is truly beautiful, and America has preserved most of it, though in many cases in commercial form.

We did our first Florida loop.  We started in Panacea, Florida, (on the quiet side of Panama City.  Beautiful natural beaches, almost deserted.   Crabs and Sea turtles for the watching.  For a while, we were the only ones in this particular state park.  Two miles of beach for the six of us.  Very nice.  We had a great, fresh caught (that day!!!)  dinner of grouper and oysters. Visited Wakulla Springs State Park.  A real treat, swimming in ice cold spring water.    This side of Florida is Florida like it used to be back in the 60"s when I was a kid.  A real treat for any of you who are tired of the crowds.  Get a map out and find this place.  It is due south of Tallahassee.  No "on the beach" hotels here. 

From Panacea, I told my relatives we were driving from "heaven" to "hell".   On to Ocala and Orlando.   News flash......  Silver Springs closes at 5.  Since we got to the parking lot about 3, we wouldn't pay $28 each for 2 hours in the park, no matter how nice.  On to Orlando, the center of hell.

Walt Disney World was exactly as I remembered it 15 years ago, but my Ukrainian wife and relatives were totally thrilled.   I would estimate a crowd of quarter a million in the Magic Kingdom park the day we were there.  Only salve for this trip was the economy is so bad, we got a nice room for $45 a night right outside the park in Kissimmee.  Disney didn't care though and still charged me $139 each person for a two day ticket.   Rode all rides and stayed all day in Magic Kingdom.   Next day we all went to Hollywood Studios.   Don't bother wasting your money here.   Hardly any rides and of those we did see, the most exciting looking roller coaster was broke all day.   I am sure some of the other parks are much more interesting than this one, like Epcot or the Safari one.

After Orlando, we decided after all the walking for two days, (we were totally exhausted.  How someone does all the parks on one of those 10 day passes, I'll never know.) we bypassed Cypress Gardens (too bad, I enjoy the ski shows there) and JFK Space Center and decided to go to Daytona Beach for 3 days.   This turned out to be a great decision.   Got a room on Ocean for $112 a night and enjoyed all the amenities of one of Florida's premier beaches.   Got home this last Tuesday.

Observations about travelling with Russian/Ukrainians in close quarters.

#1   Totally money practical.    3 Ukrainians shared one entree at every restaurant we visited.  Ordered only two drinks.   They explained they noticed that most American restaurants served way too much food per entree and the practical thing to do was to order one plate and share it among themselves (man, woman, child of 9 years).  Their favorites were Waffle House, big breakfast including 2 eggs, hash browns, bacon, toast, waffle for $5.99, and IHOP, same kinda deal )   This seemed to me such a good idea, and certainly a more healthy way to eat, not to mention the cost savings, Natasha and I adopted this approach in the restaurants we visited and saved a lot of money, not to mention not leaving the restaurant feeling bloated because we ate too much.   Natasha was so happy about this cause she has picked up about 15 pounds living with me, saying we eat out too much.  This is probobly true.

#2  We shared rooms.   Most of the time, this was totally hilarious.  There were 6 of us, so it was against the hotel policy to allow more than four in the room.(fire code)   Screw that.  We just separated as we went in the lobby, rented the room, and then went to this room separately.  The Ukrainians overcame my objections by throwing the mattress (queen) off one bed into the floor, putting the available comforters onto the remaining box spring to make it a little softer, and poof....  Three queen beds in one room.  Course, we put it all back before housekeeping came.

All in all, this was the most economical vacation I have had since 1982.   We went to Disney world for a week, travelled 1450 miles round trip, and I spent 1400 dollars (this includes the $475 for the tickets at Disney), and had a great time.  I learned something very important,   I don't pay enough attention to how I spend my money.

Well, on to White Water on Sunday.   And then on to Panama City Florida first week of August.  

More updates then.....  

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Make each day count to improve yourself and those around you

Glad to hear you are surviving and having a good time.  It sounds like you have really hit it off with the relatives.  :)

You are a braver human than I am though... or maybe just more relaxed.

Regarding #1-  Sharing entrees is a great idea and I don't mind tasting drinks among close friends (in that "Hey, try this" kind of way), but I want ownership of my own drink. 

Regarding #2-  I could not do this.  You've just described a huge phobia of mine. 

I enjoy sharing a hotel room with my mother and/or grandmother (for the extra talking time) or with a romantic partner.  I can share a room, or even a bed, with Wayne (my best friend) if necessary, but we'd both rather have our own space.  That is pretty much it though.  I need down time away from the other people, especially people I've just met.  I nearly lost it when a former company had an ownership change and expected employees to share rooms for a conference a few years ago.  I spent as much time out of the room as possible and didn't sleep much that week.

I don't think I could even sleep knowing everything was in disarray, with mattresses and bodies all over the floor.  I'd probably get up in the middle of the night, trip over one of the floor mattresses and land on top of someone.  I'd be in bed mentally straightening up the room over and over and over. 

Or I'd be taping off an area with duct tape along the floor and forbidding everyone from crossing the line.  I once did that around my desk at work.  My boss provided the duct tape and I still run into former coworkers who make WKRP jokes.  I think I'm a little bit territorial.
 

mkgilstrap:

#1   Totally money practical.    

 

:-) cool story.

My interpretation:

- slavic people's psyche: work less, save more.

- american psyche: work more, save less. 

Might be one of the reasons why both, russia and ukraine, still suck ass economy wise, and the US is booming... 

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Observations from Ukrainians

I wonder if any of you agree or disagree?  Discuss?

#1  American house construction techniques stink.   Been listening to this for 6 weeks now.   Ukrainians say "house no good"   " Need new house"   Something about houses in Ukraine built from concrete in city.   Now, yes, the houses in city are built from block or concrete, but what about the inside construction?   And the pictures of houses I have seen in countryside are of wood, like ours.  Seems are houses are just fine to me.

#2  They have favorable impression of state of ecology here.  I have heard many comments that our air and water are much cleaner than where they live.  (Chernovtsi, Ukraine)  Thanks, our whole country works hard on that.

#3  Eating out in a restaurant here is much cheaper than Ukraine.   I would have thought the opposite.

#4  American kids are spoiled .   Naw.... duh.

#5  American lifestyle is ruining Ukrainian children.   Now here is something I can agree on.   Getting so there is no difference between my Ukrainian daughter and my two American ones.   All they think of is having fun.. fun... fun...  all at my expense.

#6  American government uses money generally to pay for better roads and services.  It is why Americans are willing to pay higher taxes generally.   I agree somewhat, though I am sure he is comparing our system to his almost universally corrupt one in the Ukraine.  He says "whole country run by mafia.  Very few people have all money".    Hate to hear that, though it explains a lot.

Other observations to follow.

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Make each day count to improve yourself and those around you

mkgilstrap:

#1  American house construction techniques stink.   Been listening to this for 6 weeks now.   Ukrainians say "house no good"   " Need new house"   Something about houses in Ukraine built from concrete in city.   Now, yes, the houses in city are built from block or concrete, but what about the inside construction?   And the pictures of houses I have seen in countryside are of wood, like ours.  Seems are houses are just fine to me.

I don't know about houses in Ukraine, but I tend to agree about American new construction.  To me, studs covered by drywall sheets are not real walls.  Real walls are finished with plaster.  Also, in 12 years, I only encountered three houses built after 1950 in which a row of allegedly identical windows(or the allegedly identical amount of space between them) are actually identical in size down to 1/8 of an inch.  Trust me, I've measured lots of them over the years.

I agree Leah.  After he started pointing out how his home was built,  I was a little peaked.  Sure, I've gotten a few rotten boards exposed on my house.  Sure, my piping is 20 years old and there is a little leak under the sink.  Sure, my tubs are fiberglass.  

He says a real wall is concrete block with plaster on it.   Maybe true, but not too "homey" feeling, ya think?  We southerners tend to build our houses according to the climate down here.  Big front porches,  lots of sunlight, exterior walls only filled with insulation,  insulation underneath and overhead,  We think a lot more about cooling a house here than heating one.  Fireplaces are usually only for asthetics.  Also,  most houses in south are 8 foot ceiling.   He says real house at least 9 feet ceiling.    Sure, many new houses are brick, but most are still wood.

And I agree with you totally about imperfections in construction.  Actually, I would have bet you would have found NONE that were identical down to 1/8 inch.  LOL  Have you seen the rednecks that are usually on a framing crew?    Usually Billy Bob and his two brothers, Giva Sh*t and Dumb Sh*t.

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Make each day count to improve yourself and those around you

mkgilstrap:

I agree Leah.  After he started pointing out how his home was built,  I was a little peaked.  Sure, I've gotten a few rotten boards exposed on my house.  Sure, my piping is 20 years old and there is a little leak under the sink.  Sure, my tubs are fiberglass.  

He says a real wall is concrete block with plaster on it.   Maybe true, but not too "homey" feeling, ya think?  We southerners tend to build our houses according to the climate down here.  Big front porches,  lots of sunlight, exterior walls only filled with insulation,  insulation underneath and overhead,  We think a lot more about cooling a house here than heating one.  Fireplaces are usually only for asthetics.  Also,  most houses in south are 8 foot ceiling.   He says real house at least 9 feet ceiling.    Sure, many new houses are brick, but most are still wood.

And I agree with you totally about imperfections in construction.  Actually, I would have bet you would have found NONE that were identical down to 1/8 inch.  LOL  Have you seen the rednecks that are usually on a framing crew?    Usually Billy Bob and his two brothers, Giva Sh*t and Dumb Sh*t.

Mine are brick covered in plaster and I think it is very homey.  I love plaster.  I even love the cracks in plaster (Messed up or paint globbed woodwork drives me nuts though).  My favorite crack is getting longer though.  I think my upstairs neighbor has been bowling in the room above it. 

As for your 20 year old piping, don't feel too bad.  Mine still has the plumbing from 1929.  It still has the same heating system from that time too.  ;) 

Tell him my ceilings are 10 feet.  ;)  

mkgilstrap:

Observations from Ukrainians

I wonder if any of you agree or disagree?  Discuss?

#1  American house construction techniques stink.   Been listening to this for 6 weeks now.   Ukrainians say "house no good"   " Need new house"   Something about houses in Ukraine built from concrete in city.   Now, yes, the houses in city are built from block or concrete, but what about the inside construction?   And the pictures of houses I have seen in countryside are of wood, like ours.  Seems are houses are just fine to me.

true.

Climate and cost is the key here

#2  They have favorable impression of state of ecology here.  I have heard many comments that our air and water are much cleaner than where they live.  (Chernovtsi, Ukraine)  Thanks, our whole country works hard on that.

true again.

but fruits and milk taste better there ;)

#3  Eating out in a restaurant here is much cheaper than Ukraine.   I would have thought the opposite.

generaly true.

dining out is a casual thing here, there it's a special occasion.

#4  American kids are spoiled .   Naw.... duh.

yep

#6  American government uses money generally to pay for better roads and services.  It is why Americans are willing to pay higher taxes generally.   I agree somewhat, though I am sure he is comparing our system to his almost universally corrupt one in the Ukraine.  He says "whole country run by mafia.  Very few people have all money".    Hate to hear that, though it explains a lot.

Other observations to follow.

true. amazingly enough, corruption here doesn't reach same proportions as there, so the roads are actualy built and maintained...... to an extend ;)

 

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- Независимость - это когда в 20-й раз наступаешь на одни и те же грабли, а русские уже ни при чем....

#3  Eating ut in a restaurant here is much cheaper than Ukraine.   I would have thought the opposite.

generaly true.

dining out is a casual thing here, there it's a special occasion.

В разных городах Украины по разному. Страна контрастов, так сказать. Что касается в Америке дешевле, то да - 100% Но, в Америке, наверное не найдешь такое количество Макдоналдсов как в Украине, имею ввиду крупные города. Хотя, в целом, культура домашней еды сильнее, но появился класс, нет, скорее еще прослойка, народа, которые нормально кушают в ресторанах, на завтрак, обед и ужин. Другое дело, что классы этих ресторанов чуточку смещены, причем в непонятную сторону. +Мода на что нибудь. Сейчас все прутся в Якиторию (разновидность Мака, только не с гамбургерами, а суши и роллами), а в рыбном ресторане - пусто, и дело не в цене, и даже качестве еды, а в скорости обслуживания + модно. Все там. Стадность неискоренима. И еще национальное украинское "тянуться", щоб було не хуже, чем у Клавы. 

 

#4  American kids are spoiled .   Naw.... duh.

yep

Украинские тоже. Еще как. Моментами еще хуже Американских. 

#6  American government uses money generally to pay for better roads and services.  It is why Americans are willing to pay higher taxes generally.   I agree somewhat, though I am sure he is comparing our system to his almost universally corrupt one in the Ukraine.  He says "whole country run by mafia.  Very few people have all money".    Hate to hear that, though it explains a lot.

Other observations to follow.

true. amazingly enough, corruption here doesn't reach same proportions as there, so the roads are actualy built and maintained...... to an extend ;)

 

Зато в Украине веселее! :(

mkgilstrap,

Sidenote,   our relative got a better deal on the tickets from delta than I could get on ANY web site or even calling Delta direct.   lowest I got was $946 per person from Kiev to Atl with stop in New York.   He got 900 each and 800 for his kid.  I couldn't even get Delta to talk to me about a child discount.  (She is 8).   He used some internet service available in Ukraine.  Don't know what this service is but his confirmation ticket said  info@kruiz.cv.ua    must be one hell of a good web site.

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 $946 это с таксами? Где такая низкая цена? я собираюсь лететь в Киев в середине сентября и мне попадаются цены не ниже $1200

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=Душа поддается влиянию другой души. И человек вполне свободен, только когда один.=

http://www.delta.com/  - весь прикол с ценами в месяце и дне отбытия-прибытия, если правильно помню, будние дни чуть ли не в половину дешевле выходных, и с месяцами там то же какой-то прикол. вообщем метод научного тыка поможет. В этом году в мае до Киев-Атланта-Киев был вообще самый дешевый $520 с налогами.