# Hey, Jacksonville (and vicinity) Dopers - Meet and greet Cecil... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 19, 2002, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-jacksonville-and-vicinity-dopers-meet-and-greet-cecil/124641 "2002-08-19T20:40:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2002, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-jacksonville-and-vicinity-dopers-meet-and-greet-cecil/124641/21 "2002-08-23T14:06:10Z")
I’ll make sure to bring my camera as well. I sure hope you did make it to hot down there though I’m sick of the heat up here. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2002, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-jacksonville-and-vicinity-dopers-meet-and-greet-cecil/124641/22 "2002-08-23T15:49:23Z")
Well, the heat wouldn’t be bad if it wasn’t for the humidity and the bugs… Welcome to the Sunshine State!! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2002, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-jacksonville-and-vicinity-dopers-meet-and-greet-cecil/124641/23 "2002-08-23T16:03:10Z")
Incidentally, the forecast is for a heat index in the low 100s on Saturday. Sorry… ---
**Author:** ![screech-owl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@screech-owl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/screech-owl)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2002, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-jacksonville-and-vicinity-dopers-meet-and-greet-cecil/124641/24 "2002-08-23T16:28:38Z")
Um, what’s the “cloud sweat” (rain) forecast for Sunday? I’ll bring plastic Zip-loc bags. Cecil may suffocate, but he won’t get wet. ---
**Author:** ![JaxBeachBoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@JaxBeachBoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaxBeachBoy)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2002, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-jacksonville-and-vicinity-dopers-meet-and-greet-cecil/124641/25 "2002-08-24T00:32:09Z")
Take him to get a pic on the pier!!! oh wait, never mind… ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2002, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-jacksonville-and-vicinity-dopers-meet-and-greet-cecil/124641/26 "2002-08-24T01:28:48Z")
Hah! Good one, **JaxBeachBoy**! So, you wanna meet us at the Landing at 6:30 tomorrow?? ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2002, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-jacksonville-and-vicinity-dopers-meet-and-greet-cecil/124641/27 "2002-08-25T19:18:50Z")
**Cecil the Bear** took off with **screech-owl** just before noon. The Perfect Child[sup]TM[/sup] and I met her at Marineland Florida - turns out you can see the whole place in 10-15 minutes. We watched one of the dolphin shows, bought a few souvenirs for Cecil, then parted company. They were heading to EPCOT, I think… or one of those other Orlando vacation destinations. The kid and I came home. We had the pleasure of meeting and dining with **Edward the Head** at the Jacksonville Landing last night - he’s a biking fool!! I was going to make an Iron Butt comment here, but I wasn’t sure how to make it clever, so I passed. 😃 Because I’m a lousy photographer, the Polaroids I took are mostly marginal, but I’ve scanned them all and I’ll be zapping them to **Jodi** in little batches so as not to overload her Inbox. And I’ll be mailing the originals (minus a couple that the Perfect Child[sup]TM[/sup] snagged for herself) along with some of the souvenirs - else the box would become too heavy and the chance of loss or breakage would be high. It was a pleasure taking part in this adventure! Thanks, **Jodi**!! And now I’ve got to make appropriate wedding attire for **FairyChatMoose** so she can attend her first doper wedding… ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2002, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-jacksonville-and-vicinity-dopers-meet-and-greet-cecil/124641/28 "2002-08-26T03:40:28Z")
A thousand thank yous, **FCM**. You are the coolest! 🙂 I’ll work on posting a link for pix when I get some. Speaking of . . . [praying for vanity searches] . . . **CanadianSue** and **The Punkyova** , did you guys happen to take pictures. If so . . . . ahem . . . where are they? Just wunnering. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2002, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-jacksonville-and-vicinity-dopers-meet-and-greet-cecil/124641/29 "2002-08-26T11:11:34Z")
Well I ended up making it back fine. I had to stop short of the GA border because it had been a long day. It was a lot of fun though. Oh and FCM the bridge is that purple color on both sides. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2002, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-jacksonville-and-vicinity-dopers-meet-and-greet-cecil/124641/30 "2002-08-26T11:24:35Z")
Glad you made it home OK! Ya know, I decided to go home on surface roads along the river rather then heading back to the interstate, and I drove by the foot of that bridge It never occurred to me to check out the far side. Thanks for looking at it for me!! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![screech-owl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@screech-owl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/screech-owl)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2002, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-jacksonville-and-vicinity-dopers-meet-and-greet-cecil/124641/31 "2002-08-26T12:31:30Z")
**FCM**. it was wonderful meeting you and **TPC**!!! Cecil, Cthulu and I made it to Universal Studios at about one o’clock Did both parks in 6 hours, and most of the employees were amused by the situation (me running about the park with a camera, a teddy bear, and a fuzzy Elder Evil God). Valet parking: nothing but the best for Cecil. Islands of Adventure and CityWalk: Lots of photos all over the park, with Captain America, Spiderman, a few of the X-men, Dr. Doom (who was strangling poor Cecil), and Green Goblin (except he was orange), who held poor Cecil upside-down by one foot!, the Cat in the Hat and Thing 1 and 2 (Thing 2 would NOT let go of Cecil and tried to walk backstage with him). Cecil is not a racing fanatic, but did consent to be photographed with Jef Gordon’s car at the NASCAR cafe, as a favor to me, and found the large NASCAR duffle bag to be more comfy than being toted round in an Islands of Adventure plastic bag. Somehow Cecil slipped past the “You must be THIS tall to ride this ride” sign at Dueling Dragons. I managed to get him off the ride (and get a shot of him in the front seat) before the ride left the station. He did get away from me at one point, and I did manage to rescue him from the jaws of the blue dragon at the entrance. He wanted to ride the "Cat in the Hat " ride, but I really didn’t feel like spending the rest of the afternoon barfing (roller coasters I can handle, spinning rides are right out). Universal Orlando (the original park): We did manage to ride Terminator 2: 3D. Cecil loved it. Rather enjoyed the Horror Make-up Show (I was grossed out) and we got a nice shot on-stage with Mark James, the make-up artist. We met Doc Brown from “Back to the Future”, who was more impressed with Cthulu, but missed the little dog from “Men in Black II” and Barney (might take a run back to get a photo with Barney - heh, I am so sadistic). The park closed at 7 and we still had some time to kill, so we went to EPCOT. We only stayed a little bit because Cthulu was getting cranky. After I took a photo in front of the big sphere with both of them sitting on the stone momument up front (actually, it’s a big ad for “Leave a Legacy” photos, but it looks like a dedication monument, so we’ll leave it at that), Cecil took a tumble backwards into the flower bed. Cecil says Cuthulu pushed him; Cthulu says he must have lost his balance. As I was NOT going to mediate a dispute between the avatar of The Perfect Master and an Elder Evil God, I thought it was time to go home. We’ll see what the next couple of days may bring, and perhaps go to the Magic Kingdom before his trip to Australia. Lots of souvenirs for Cecil: postcards, collectable pins, and lots of memories. Unfortunately, his little t-shirt got smudged (you try walking around a theme park in 95 degree heat and not sweat, and we even avoided the water rides), so I am packing him a new one, and if I have time, making him a nice little Florida shirt - can’t decide between the flamingos or sharks, though. We’re having a great time. screech-owl [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-jacksonville-and-vicinity-dopers-meet-and-greet-cecil/124641.md?page=1)