--I was away at the Orlando Florida theme parks for several days with the family with very limited access to e-mail, let alone Internet boards.

This all happened sort of last-minute, so I neglected to leave a message here pointing out that I'd be away several days (for which I hereby apologize).

My son had more fun than I did; I like thrill rides but have less tolerance for them one after the other than I used to. (My son has no such compunction--maybe I'm just jaded.)

I will say I was very disappointed in SeaWorld, which I remembered with fondness; the whale/sea mammal shows, which used to be more about the natural history of the animals, their training, and the bonds they had with the trainers, have been replaced with glitzy, strobe-flashing, cheesy-music extravaganzas that seem to be trying to out-Cirque de Soleil. It was as if in this era the shows' producers don't think the animals themselves are interesting enough.