Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Looking Back at '10

Looking back at 2010, I can only say "Wow".  That had to be the fastest year of my life.  So much happened and it actually was the most important year of my life, thus far, but it just seemed to fly by.  Emily finally finished school and we got married in September.  Tim and Laura had a baby and Mel and Cliff are finally getting ready to move back to New York and be closer to the family.  We had great times with friends and family.  So what did you do Jon, you might ask?  Well sit right down and let's go for a little ride through 2010:
March 2010:  Disney World!!! Our First Vacation Together!
The whole Stalica crew (all 8 of us) decided to go to the wonderful, magical world of Disney in March, thinking, maybe, it would be nice out.  YEAH RIGHT!!!  It didn't get over 65 the whole week.  Not that I am complaining or anything, but really???
We decided that week that we would do all the parks, which in hindsight, may have been a mistake, because we were all exhausted by the end.  When we arrived, we fell in love with the complex (thanks Mel and Cliff).  It was huge, with big rooms, a lake, several hot tubs and a golf course.  Our plan was to do Animal Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom, in that order.
Animal Kingdom:  I really appreciated Animal Kingdom, as I have always wanted to go on a Safari.  That is, by far, the coolest part of the park.  You ride around in a truck and see all these live animals in a "natural" habitat.  The ride was pretty long too, at least 45 minutes.  There were lions, giraffes, elephants, basically all the cool animals you always want to see.
Epcot: Some of the best rides in the Disney complex.  The virtual stuff was awesome.  There was the virtual space shuttle launch, which pushes your chest through your back, which is AWESOME!!  You can also design your own rollercoaster and ride it in this virtual reality machine.  Those were very cool.  We did ride space mountain, which was pretty cool, but there are better coasters out there.  Then it was on to Beers of the World.  Of course that ended up with some dancing in the streets and some beret wearing.  And also a movie starring Martin Short.  Crazy right?
Hollywood Studios: Best coasters of the complex.  The Tower of Terror was excellent, and we lucked out because there were very few people so we could do the ride, then go get right back in line.  Longest wait was probably 10 minutes.  The Aerosmith ride had the best take off and was very cool.  There are some great pics of Karen and Mel during take off.  HAHA!!  The family also watched a very cool stunt show that involved drifting cars and different action sequences.  I think that scene was portrayed in the movie Knight and Day.  Pretty cool.  I would have to say that Hollywood Studios was the best park, overall.
Magic Kingdom: For kids.  Definitely for kids.  Some cool rides, but it was the busiest park with the fewest attractions for grown ups.  Still pretty cool to see all that stuff I remember from when I was a kid.
Overall: What a great vacation!!!  We had a lot of fun and we were busy throughout the entire week.  By the end, we were all exhausted and ready to come home and relax a little bit.  I would go back to Disney when I have a family, but I will probably skip it on the next few vacations.

July 2010: Brad Paisley Concert
I have determined that Emily and I are concert goers.  That is our thing.  Some people like to hike, some like to play tennis, some like to go antiquing.  We are concert goers.  We have been to several.  This year, we went to see Brad Paisley as a wedding present from Emily's friend.  Usually, we sit in the lawn seats of Darien but this time we were under the awning.  What an experience!  I never thought it would make a big difference but with Brad Paisley, the show is just so much more entertaining up close.  At one point, he walked down into the crowd and played on a make shift stage with people crowded around him, about 2 rows from us.  Very cool.  That has to be the best concert I have ever been too.

July 2010: Baby Becca is born!
What a beautiful baby girl!! 

August 2010: Picton Party
Very low key this year.  Emily and I took it a little bit easier than we have in past years.  We still had a blast.  I will post pics soon.  I would say there was probably 300 people there throughout the day.  We rode over on Chris' boat with him and Missy.  Shaggy rocked out as usual.  I guess we might be getting old, or maybe it's because we didn't bring any friends this year.  Maybe 2011 will be different????

August 2010: Emily finished school!!!! She also got a great job!!!  We are growing up!!!

September 2010: Our Big Day!
See my various posts on this!

November/December 2010: Emily passed her test!  Chris also proposed to Missy!!!

As you can see, 2010 was a big year for Emily and I.  A lot of other things happened throughout the year, but I hit the big ones.  I can't wait to see what 2011 brings me.  So far we have 3 weddings (I'm in all 3), we are going to buy a house and I will be traveling for work.  Should be an interesting year!!!


1 comment: