Happy to be home!

Well - I think we are slowly catching up to the rest of the country here. We landed in Orlando around 10:30pm Saturday night, caught a cab from the airport and was home unpacking by midnight. We hit the pillow around 12:30 and I was out till around 9am maybe 9:30am!!! It was sooooooo nice to be back in my bed! The Italians and French like to sleep on very firm mattresses. So, yesterday we finished up the laundry, Chris and Judith brought our puppy Bernardo back to us. Then the 4 of us (Bernardo had to stay home) went to Epcot to do what ... Eat food and drink wine!!! It was so nice being back home with friends!

Well ... I'll post later and tell you all about our next travel plans! *smile* ... they are in the works as we speak!

Ciao' ... Au Revior!

P.S. - I am reformatting some pictures that I will be posting soon.

At home ... Well in DC!!!

Sitttin at the bar waiting out our 3 hour layover!!! Very tired ... we have been awake since 10pm EST last night. Needless to say ... Someone is ready for night night ... and she is sittin next to me!

Landed in DC ... Yippeee!!!

We are back in the US ... as sad as we were to leave France, we are soooo glad to be home! We'll post more later ... flight was a long 9 hours. Hope you all are well ... talk to you soon! If you are from the cruise ... email me ... bill.brister@individui.com ... I look forward to hearing from you all!!!

Enjoy these ... Its Karaoke Time!!!

Here are some shots from the famous Karaoke night on the cruise!!! Its looks like we are very talented and that we should find an agent when we return ... but believe me when I say ... this was towards the "END" of the night!!!

Johan was awesome ... An Austrian bartender who could NOT be stumped with a drink order. The man was amazing ... I hope Johan knows that Dawn and I will always remember him and a few others for a very long time. Manuella, Tanya, James, Tervor, Carola ... all together they made our cruise the "Trip of a lifetime!"

Thank you all!

The French Riviera

Well, we have been in Nice France for the past 2 days ... 2 more days to go and it's back to reality! Nice is very beautiful, the people are nice and friendly, the shops are VERY expensive! Today is Thursday and so far Dawn and I have managed to wake up, shower, eat breakfast and stumble next door to a bar with "Free Internet" ... and $5 coffee! (They get you one way or another) ... its FAR better than the $35 / day Internet at the hotel. Anyway, we are meeting a tour guide in front of our hotel around 1:30 today and she is taking us around Nice's local area (where the Non-Tourists live and shop) ... then we will head off to Eze France. Colonel Doner told me to make sure I go here. I read about it on the flight over ... Eze is a castle on top of a hill that used to be a medieval fortress. Now, it is home to many shops and restaurants. There is a perfume factory up there too ... don't know if we'll have time to make that stop! After Eze we will hit a winery and maybe VilleFranche (where our ship dropped us off 2 days ago) ... its a sleepy little fishing village built into the mountains on the coast. ADORABLE!!! I am hoping we can get a quick pass through Monaco ... if we only have time. I would love to be able to drive the actual Monaco Grand Prix circuit!!! I think I can make the hairpin turn at about 60mph!!! We'll see ... ha ha!!!

Dawns turn ... here ya go!!!

I was laying in bed this morning thinking about all the things that have happened since we left the house to start this journey. From the trip down to Cheeca -- snorkeling with everyone when Bill found that huge green eel! Don't let me forget to tell you about Bill's singing and dancing career -- he was simply famous on the ship.

One of my favorite moments on board was when Bill introduced me to another passenger as "Dawn Brister" *smile*

Yesterday we toured a candy factory that I saw on Food Network where they make candied (preserved) fruits. They gave us a personal tour and allowed us to taste everything. The most unusual thing was rose flavored hard candy. It was fun to taste, but I didn't buy any of that ('nuff said). I did buy some candied fruit to share and some other stuff though.

Today I hope to find some local soaps and some Provencal fabric to bring home, then I think I'll be done with the shopping.

Till next time!
D&B

P.S. (This is Bill typing) ... My singing and dancing career Dawn is speaking about never happened. Its all rumors and lies spun by the liberal media to draw attention away from Dawn's FABULOUS outfits and Karaoke talents!!! Ask her if she knows all the words to "Hotel California" ... *snicker* ... We had such a great time!!!

Till tomorrow ... or the next day!!!
Bill

Just a taste of our trip ... Pictures!!!

Here are a few pictures I took ... I'll put more online soon! First you see Dawn and I on our first night for dinner and then the second night for dinner. We look GOOOOD! Next is the fish market in Palermo (Very Smelly) then the next 4 are the Pompeii pictures (Breathtaking). Lastly, I took this picture at the Vatican. We were standing in line and that was the side of the building out through a window. Dawn just like the way it looked … enjoy!!! (Click on the pictures to see them bigger!!!)

Finally -- a Post from Dawn

Eat . . . Sleep . . . Drink . . . repeat. that's pretty much the cruise. It's been the trip of a lifetime. I get to be Mrs. Brister! And I get to spend all my time with my HUSBAND.

We're having a great trip. The service on this cruise is amazing. They are all very kind and smart. They think of what you want before you know you want it. The other people on the ship are really cool. We have a circle of "cruise friends" that we hang out with every day and are having a blast. Bill and I are the "kids" on the cruise and it's made us celebrities! That and the fact that we are honeymooning -- or maybe it was Bill's Karaoke performance of Just a Gigolo -- he brought down the house. We'll post pictures soon.

For now -- we have to run, they are opening the lunch buffet!

Update ... On our way to France!!!

Our flight to Rome was not to memorable … since we both slept! Dawn carried her bouquet all the way to Remo’s Bed and Breakfast!!! I surprised her with another bunch of flowers when the driver picked us up at the airport in Rome. Daniele (Daniel) was our driver, he is the son of Remo and Angela. Remo owns a limo and tour company … www.driverinrome.com … all I have to say is that if you EVER make it to Rome, you have to take a tour with Remo or Daniele. Dawn and I saw in 3 hours more than we would have seen in 3 days!!! The line outside of the Vatican was over a mile long. People were waiting outside for over 3 hours to get in and Daniele drove us to the front of the line … hopped out of the car … yelled something in Italian to some guy in line and told us to “Get in here!!!” We were inside of the Vatican within 5 minutes, we saw the Museum, rooms painted by Raphel (some fancy artist guy who did frescos), we walked through the Sistine Chapel and saw the famous finger touching painting … then we went form there into the Basilica. It took my breath away when I walked in there … amazing. Daniele gave us his cell phone to call him when we were finished. It took us about 90 minutes in the Vatican. From there we headed to the forums.

The forums were breathtaking also … HUGE granite and marble columns! I had no clue what I was in for from reading about the places we were going to visit and actually being there. So, Rome was GREAT! Off to the cruise … We got on board around 5pm on Tuesday and when we were checking in we were told “Its so nice to see young people on board!” Dawn and I did not know what to think … ha ha ha … I was thinking it couldn’t be that bad and its not. The average age here on the ship is about 55, but these “older” folks … boy, they know how to let loose. There are about 5 other couples around Dawn’s and my age, but we certainly are the youngest ones here. The ship is GORGEOUS!!! They take care of you like royalty here … like anytime you eat at the buffet, when you finish loading up your plate a waiter jumps out of nowhere and takes your plate to your seat, while he follows you. The first time that happened to me I said “Hey, that’s mine!” Yea, I am classy like that … ha ha ha. So, the people we have met here … most of them are wonderful. There are a couple people here that would rather not be bothered so we just ignore them. The ones we hang out with are just hilarious. There are 3 couples from Nassau (Bahamas) … Then there is a couple from Wisconsin, another couple from Southern California and one couple from San Francisco. The couple from San Francisco are the CUTEST in the world … he is 98 years old and a kick in the pants. He is very funny and very sweet and his wife is the most adorable woman, and the best part about them is when they look at eachother they just shine. I hope Dawn and I have that when we reach that age! I’ll keep my fingers crossed.

So the places we have seen, First stop was in Naples … we did an excursion to Pompeii for half the day. It was so incredible there. I could actually envision the people of that day milling around the streets, going to the market, living, working ... the excavation that has been done is incredible. There are still walls with paintings on them. There are shops that still have the milling wheels to mill the flour and on the other side of the shop there is the oven that they would bake the bread. If you have not read or seen anything on Pompeii … please, check it out. It is unreal. Naples was a very busy and noisy city. It reminded me of the financial district in San Francisco on a Friday at around 5pm … WALL TO WALL People. We drove around in the bus on the way back from Pompeii and they showed us downtown. Dawn and I both agreed that what we saw from the bus was PLENTY!!! Plus, we only had about 3 hours so we didn’t want to get to far from the ship. Our second stop was Palermo Sicily. That city was VERY crowded, VERY dirty, VERY loud … We walked around for about 4 hours. Walked up through town, down through a side street market area (SMELLY) … they had fish just laying out and they would chop off a piece, wrap it in newspaper and sell it. There were a bunch of people buying the fish, so I guess it couldn’t be to bad. Ha ha … We checked out a museum, a church a fountain or 2. We were about 2 blocks from the boat, our feet hurt, the back pack was heavy from a camera, 2 bottles of wine, a few nick nacks we bought at the market and a sweater … and it starts to rain!!! We hoped from building to building and when we got about 100 yards from the boat entrance … it stops raining. We laughed our way up to the cabin, showered, and took a nap!!! AHHHHHH, The Life!!!

Today we are at sea … we are heading up to Bastia France which is on an island (Corsica) up near the French Riviera. Today we woke up … a little sore from our formal night last night. Since this is an all inclusive ship you can not finish a drink before someone is putting another one in your hand. Its horrible … Last night was the “formal” night. Dawn and I got all fancied up and looked GOOOOD!!! We ate yummy food, danced, the boat was rocking back and forth from the waves since we were in a small storm so the funniest part of the evening was to watch the people on the dance floor go from one side of it to the other, the whole while NOT trying to lose step in their dancing! Ha ha ha

It has been an amazing day at sea … relaxing, calm, sunny. I think we have taken 2 naps today and Dawn just laid down to take her 3rd nap. I am going to log on to upload this post and get to work on the next post. I’ll try to get Dawn to type something out to you all soon. Hope everyone is well and I will post again soon I hope!!!

At $0.55 per minute ... this is going to be short!

OK ... so I am in the port of Naples Italy. We made it to Rome and had an amazing time!!! I am going to put my thoughts into a word document and tomorrow or the next day I will log on and just cut and paste them. All I have to say is that this cruise ship is amazing, Rome was breathtaking, our driver was awesome ... (I think I can find a few more adjectives) ha ha

Dawn and I did a tour of Pompeii today ... everytime we turn around, all we can say is "Look at that!" and "Oh my goodness!!!"

This is an experience that everyone should have at least once in their lifetime!!!

I'll have more later with pictures!!! Talk to you all soon.

Bill

Next stop Germany ... Then Rome!!!

We are in our seat ... sippin the bubbly and reading over the menu!!! Sleep well my friends ... for tomorrow we will be in Rome!!! I will get Dawn to write up something for the blog ... Ciao'

I know its dark ...

We had 55 minutes in DC ... luckily our gate was about a 2 minute walk from where we landed. Dawn and I grabbed a quick beer at the lounge and headed to our plane!!! Here comes that picture ... *smile* ... heading now to Germany!!!

Starting the morning ... ready for our NEW life together!!!

We got about 4 hours of sleep, between saying goodbye and packing the stuff going home, and getting our honeymoon things in place!!! We are sitting @ the Miami airport waiting to board. What an amazing night. Dawn took my breath away when I saw her ... the weddding was gorgeous and everything went pretty well.

We will be on an airplane for the next bagillion hours. Will post more when I am on my computer! Bye for now ... The Bristers (Bill and Dawn)

T Minus 1 hour 10 minutes!

Here I go ... waiting for the call from the ladies that my wife to be is ready to see me! Will have more in a while!

Its Saturday - 12:12am ... Wedding Day!!!

Well we made it through the dress rehersal, our rehersal dinner and the events that followed ... what a night!!! It looks like it is all coming together pretty smoothly ... now since I said that, all hell will break loose today!!! ha ha

Here is the picture of Dawn when she was handed the bouquet of flowers for the rehersal ... all we told the florist was our "colors" ... she put together such an amazing arrangement of flowers ... I cant wait to see what she brings tomorrow for the "Big Day" ... needless to say, by the look on Dawns face ... she was pretty pleased with the flowers and the way they turned out!!! *smile* ... I love it when she is happy ... cause when Dawn is happy, WE all are happy!!!

Here is Dawn and Madeline ... Dawn is wearing her mothers wedding dress!!! Thats right ... the dress Dawn is wearing is the SAME dress her mother wore on her wedding day. The story goes like this ... Dawn and her mom were cleaning out some stuff at her parents house one day (about 2 years ago) ... and Dawn happened across a glad trash bag stuffed in a corner of a cedar chest. She tenderly pulled it out since it looked like it had been in there for a little while. Dawn opened the bag and found this wedding dress bunched up and tossed into a garbage bag. The dress you see Dawn wearing is 37 years old ... when Dawn found it ... it was yellow!!! We looked around and found a person who can restore older clothes. We took the dress HOPING to get back something that Dawn could at least try on ... something that would "look ok" to wear somewhere ... she was hoping that "somewhere" would be her wedding but I dont think she was getting her hopes up.

Here is a good shot of Madeline's mom and dad ... Brian is my closest friend and Michelle (his wife) and Madeline have become part of my extended family ... here is a picture of Dawn and them ... not sure why Dawn is cracking up, but I am sure she thought it was HILLARIOUS!!!

So, back to the story of the dress ... we got the dress back from the people who restore clothing and Dawn took it into the bathroom. About 15 minutes later, she comes out of the bathroom, eyes watering, standing there telling me how the dress she had on was the dress her mother wore on her wedding night and since that night, NOBODY has wore it ... that she was the first person in 36 years to put that dress on. Dawn told me that night she would be wearing it sometime in the wedding. Our rehersal party was the perfect time for her to wear that dress ... she looked AMAZING in it. I have such a gorgeous wife!!! I am a very lucky man ... more pictures you say??? Coming right up!!!

Tyler and Bryan were wonderful during the rehersal ... I am excited to stand with them tomorrow and welcome Dawn into our family!!!

Lets see ... what other pictures do I have??? ONE MORE!!!

OK ... well there ya go ... a little glimpse into the rehersal dinner for our wedding ... it was quick and it was wonderful. We had such a great time with our friends and family. I am sure tomorrow is going to FLY by and when I turn around I will be married and the night will be over!!! I can NOT wait to start my married life with Dawn ... *grin* ... I am such a lucky man!

Good night friends ...

Bottle of Dom ... to go???

So here I sit ... 4:30pm and Danw has to run down the street to give a damn imprint of a credit card to a hotel so our vendor can check in ... well, in 60 fun filled minutes we will hopefully be practicing our wedding ceremony! One thing I have learned from this fun experience ... nothing is ever "done" when it comes to planning a wedding! So ... I have broken out the big gun ... our bottle of Dom that I will have ready to pour into a chilled flute the moment Dawn walks in the door ... its for my own safety! ha ha ... more later ... gotta iron my pants!

The Day Before ... Are we there yet???

So, yesterday, if there was ever a day that would try my patience and sense of humor ... yesterday is one for the books! It all starts with my parents calling me from Ft Lauderdale because Delta decided to switch the non-stop flight we had the boys on. It changed to a flight through Atlanta and a 2 hour time change. The boys were scheduled in at noon ... when they called me it was changed to 2pmish ... I was a bit upset. 2pm rolls around and I am now notified that their 1 hour layover in Atlanta was being extended to a 3 hour 30 minute layover ... after 45 minutes on the phone with Delta explaining to them how upset we were that this is happening (in not so nice of terms) ... they were telling us that they boys were getting on the plane now and they will be in a 5:45 ... does it end there??? I would like to say it does, but alas ... 5:45 rolls around and we are told they are delayed an hour!!! Have you seen the cartoons where the red line rises up the characters body and the steam comes out of their ears??? Imagine that ACTUALLY happening ... it was close to 7pm when they FINALLY landed ... a simple 2 hour, non stop flight turned into a 9 hour debacle!!! The boys are here, mom and dad are with them!!!

Well, people are starting to arrive and it is bound to get crazy over the next 2 days!!! Tonight we have our welcome reception and our rehersal ... I might be able to throw a few pictures up here from the camera phone today. In about 30 minutes I am meeting some friends to do a little snorkeling ... when we get back, we shower, change and get a round or 2 of golf in. Dawn is going to do a "practice" run on the hair and makup!

I'll be back later ... hope you all have a beautiful day!!!

We are finally here!!! 2 days ... *GRIN*

I posted a picture of the pool last night when we checked in and walked around. I'll tell you something, its a 5 hour drive from where we live to here ... yet when you get here, its a whole other world. Jimmy Buffett has it right in his songs ... there is an "Island way of life" here. It took me about 10 minutes to get the truck unpacked, versus the 3 hours it took me to pack it at home - WHY IS THAT??? ha ha

Well ... it was July 24th, 2005 ... I just stood up from being on one knee in front of my whole family and cousins asking Dawn to marry me. October 14th was going to be the day!!! I remember sitting back down in my chair thinking ... it will NEVER get here fast enough! Well, after 14 months, 19 days and (come on, do you expect me to count down the hours ... FINE) 12ish hours later, here I sit ... on the couch in our room at the Cheeca Lodge. It is 8:30am and my mind is racing 100 MPH!!! Its finally here. I could not be happier ... well I could own a boat! But the toys can wait ... I have the woman of my dreams willing to marry me ... IN 2 DAYS!!!

Last night Dawn and I had our final "single date night" ... we dressed up (and Dawn looked AMAZING!) We drove across the street to a place called the Morada Bay. It is a small restaurant on the beach ... we sat on the porch, drank wine, talked about the past and the road we both took to get to this point and had some good laughs. Dawn said it first ... "you know, this is the last date we will be going on as "Brister/Slusher," next time it will be "The Bristers."" She is to cute ... we had a good dinner, great conversation, breath taking view! It was the perfect date to close the book on Bill Brister and Dawn Slusher ... This morning, we begin to draft the chapters in the book titled "Bill and Dawn Brister!"

One of my closest friends is flying in from Los Angeles today, I just got a text from him ... they are sitting in Chicago waiting for their 2nd leg to Miami. They should be here sometime around 5pm. My parents are picking up Tyler and Bryan in Ft. Lauderdale and will be here sometime around 2 or 3pm ... and my brother Eric, wife Cina and 2 daughters (Makena and Sydney) will be here sometime this afternoon. We are all getting together at 6pm tonight on the Gulf side of the island to watch the AMAZING sunset ... I'll shoot a picture of it tonight and send it up her for you all to enjoy it!

Well, I guess I should start to get ready for my day. 9am and I hear the Islamorada Bakery calling my name!!! That place has the BEST breakfast in town ... Gloria (the owner) is the one who put Dawn and I in touch with just about all of the vendors we are using!!! I can not tell you how awesome Gloria is and, oh yea, she is also making our wedding cake!!! Yea, there will be pictures of that ... it is an amazing cake!!! Gloria is an amazing person and the planning of this wedding would have been alot tougher if it was not for her. Thank you Gloria and Robert for all of your contacts and food!!! *smile*

OK ... time to go ... till next time friends.

In the Florida Keys ... Preparing!!!

Here is the pool at the Cheeca ... its as welcoming as it looks! We checked in, checked the weddin site, walked the pier, changed clothes and heading across the street for dinner! I cant believe its finally here ... stay tuned for more!

Thats right ... its LOVERBOY!

Hangin at Epcot listening to Loverboy ... takin me back to 1986!!! What a great show!

6 Days Left and NO Loverboy last night!!!

Well ... looks like we were a day off on the Loverboy concert schedule. They play tonight and YEP, I'll be there! We walked up to the American Pavilion last night and noticed that the sign still said "Survivor" (you know the "Eye of the Tiger" band). Well, we decided not to see that show and instead went to meet up with some friends for a birthday party. What a GREAT time - tasing wine from around the country and food prepared by chef's from around the world. Its a Disney "Invite Only" party for Wineries and Chefs to show their food. Here is a picture of Dawn, Devin and Judith I took while we were hanging out before the wine and food shin-dig!

We had a fun time here ... This was Devin's first visit to Epcot and I think she got a good taste of what the park has to offer. Next time we will start in France and go backwards!!!

So, as I sit here watching the Talladega NASCAR race and wait for Dawn and Cindy to get home I sit here thinking ... next week at this time Dawn and I will be sitting in Washington DC waiting to board the plane for the 8 hour flight to Frankfurt Germany ... with my WIFE!!!

Well Dawn and Cindy have returned from their jaunt to the mall in search of Cindy's outfit she is going to wear to the wedding, from what I hear, there was a successfull outcome to their trip. I am now watching Dawn make her famous "Lemoncello" but with Key Limes ... so we call this batch "Key-Limencello" ... if you dont know, it is straight vodka that has been infused with key lime for 4 weeks. She then made a simple syrup and will now mix the 2 together ... freeze for 24 hours and then drink. Talk about YUMMMY!!!

Well ... we have offically started packing for the wedding. The first box is in the truck and we will start getting our clothes ready and packed for the 3 weeks of FUN AND ENJOYMENT!!!

Till the next post ...

Devin Judith and Dawn

The women at EPCOT ... sittin in Italy drinkin!

The Love Birds!!!

Dawn and I at Daytona for the Pepsi 400!!!

7 Days Away - Starting the "Last of ... " week!!!

It is Saturday October 7th and Dawn is out doing some yard sale pillaging! I was able to grab a brand new Ping bag and some cheap irons for $40 ... oh yea, and an HP Laser Jet printer for $15 ... not bad for just dropping her off on the corner so she can walk around to look at other peoples junk. Oh well, what to do ... I know ... BLOG!!! The pictures are my "wishful thinking" thoughts I am sending to Dawn ... who know, somone might be looking to get rid of that junker they have in the back yard for $50!!! A boy can dream right??? *smile*

So, to the title of my post today ... I call this the "Last of ..." week because I can just hear it. From tomorrow morning till next Saturday when we get married, either Dawn or myself will be doing something, we'll stop, look at eachother and say ... "You know, this is the last {insert weekly chore, day of the week, bill being paid, or anything that might not be done the rest of the week here} of our single life ... Next time we do this we'll be MARRIED!!!" I am about as excited as she is and I am sure the first 2 or 3 "Last of's" we come up with will be followed with an "awwwwwww thats so sweet" or "*smile* ... I know baby, I am so excited!!!" But come Wednesday or Thursday, it will take every ounce of energy for me to say ... "Your right honey, this IS the last time I'll be folding your bra as a single guy!" ha ha ... yea, I know I am going to pay for that!!! *grin*

So, today, after Dawn and Devin come back from the yard sale excursion ... we are going to grab a bite to eat and head over to Epcot @ Disney. Every year they put on a "Food and Wine Festival" and during this festival they have bands come to play. Well, tonight they have the one, the only ... LOVERBOY!!! That is right "Everybody's working for the weekend" and "Hot girls in love" and who can forget "The kid is hot tonight" ... let me preface this by saying when I was 16 years old my first EVER concert was Loverboy and The Hooters at the COW Palace in San Francisco!!! I was introduced to the live concert scene by LOVERBOY and have always smiled recently when I step into an elevator or dentist office and hear "Turn me loose" being played over the background music speakers!

So, tonight I will be shooting a few "LOVERBOY LIVE" pictures and sending them up here for everyone to enjoy!!! Well, all 3 of my friends who read this blog!!! ha ha.

OK ... well I have been charged by Dawn to hang a painting in the bathroom before she gets home so I need to break out my tape measure and hammer in order to properly install said painting!

Single digits till W-Day (9 days left)

I am now in scramble mode ... did I wrap everything up? Will life cease to exist once I leave Central Florida for my wedding and will I come home to chaos and mayhem because I forgot to forward my email. Dawn and I were talking yesterday and we reached a point in the conversation where we both looked at eachother and said "If its not scheduled now, its not important." Our wedding has turned from the original idea of having a couple friends and family around us on a beach somewhere in sandals and beach wear ... to a "beach formal" affair with flowers, caterers, photographers, videographers, dresses, suits, DJ's ... I think you get my point!

This wedding is going to be such an amazing day ... I think that our original idea was the raw canvas with a few broad strokes on what our wedding was going to look like, and over the past 18 months Dawn and I have been able to fill in the details and the picture is now a masterpiece. We went down to the Keys for a weekend to "finalize" everything and met with the photographer. She snapped a few pictures of us and all I have to say is I AM ONE LUCKY MAN!!! I cant wait to see Dawn when she walks down the aisle toward me.

As you can see ... lucky does not even begin to describe it! So, now what? We are sure there is that ONE detail that is being overlooked and until we return home from our honeymoon and find that the world is still turning and that Central Florida is still one of the BEST places to live ... we will be happy!!! I am going to have plenty of pictures to share and stories posted here from the different places we visit.

We have an action packed honeymoon ... wanna hear about it? Well, sit back and enjoy our trip with us. After the wedding Saturday night, we are picked up from the hotel at 9:30am and whisked away to the Miami airport where we fly from there to Washington DC, then to Frankfurt Germany and from there to Rome Italy! We stay in Rome overnight (Monday), tour the city on Tuesday morning and around 5pm we end up on the coast to board our cruise! We leave Rome Tuesday night and make stops in Naples Italy, Palermo Sicily, Basita France, Marseille France, Cannes France and end our tour in Nice France where we will relax in Nice for a few days before coming home! Yea - I like that itinerary too!!!

So ... the countdown has now reached the single digits. I never thought this time would come so quickly. I am glad its finaly here and I am going to be even more excited to continue my life when we return from our world tour!

Ever visit Knoxville, TN???

Dawn and I flew up to Knoxville to go check out the Bristol race. For those of you who are not privvy to the Nascar circuit ... Bristol is one of the 2 races every race fan must attend. #1 would be the Daytona 500. #2 would be Bristol. The track is a 1/2 mile track that 43 race cars drive around at about 110 mph.

We went to the race Friday night and Sat night ... Sunday we didnt fly out till 7pm so we decided to walk around Knoxville and check out the city. If you ever get a chance, visit Knoxville!

We started down town at the Downtown Brewery. I have to hand it to these brewmasters ... they know how to craft a very tasty IPA.

Knoxville had a very cute small town feel to it ... well I guess, cause it is a small town. Dawn and I were able to walk down and around the town in a matter of 45 minutes. I am sure there are more areas of the city we did not see, but all in all, Knoxville was one place we really enjoyed.

We happend upon a breakfast place called "Sunspot" ... this place had a pretty good breakfast menu, eclectic, and a pretty fun atmosphere. Dawn said that they make the BEST Bloody Mary! Check it out if you are ever in town. Here are a few more pictures of Knoxville ... enjoy!

New Technology Toy - Thanks Ewan!!!

Found a new company ... www.nakama.ca

I can upload pictures from my phone straight to my blog ... OH HAPPY DAY!

This is going to come in VERY handy when I am out and about!!!

Stay tuned for more ...



Posted straight from my phone with Nakama. Click to see more.

Introductions - T minus 12 days

Well hello - in 12 days I will be marrying my best friend and partner in life. Dawn and I met 2 1/2 years ago, 3 months after I moved to Orlando Florida to be closer to my 2 boys. If you want to get to know me better before we go on check out www.thebristers.com ... here is where I have introduced all the players in this play called "My Life!"

I'll be using this blog mainly to talk about the places Dawn and I go ... we love to travel to far away places and explore. In the 2 1/2 years we have been together we have been to the West Coast (San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles), Washington DC, Pensacola Florida, Bristol Tennessee and the Florida Keys (where we are getting married). We have also been to Paris and Versailles France ... that was a wonderful trip and we REALLY enjoyed our week there.

I'll do my best to keep this blog up to date on our trips with pictures and stories ... leave comments, suggestions or ideas if you want to.

Thanks for reading -

Bill Brister