Last time I wrote that it was our 15th anniversary. Vicki and I didn’t get to celebrate beyond a trip to Captain D’s and Wal-Mart as we were in that mad scramble to get everything done before leaving on vacation. You know, that begs the question of why we give the house an extra cleaning before leaving for a week. Is it because if someone breaks in we want them to have a good impression of us before they trash our house looking for valuables we don’t have?
Our vacation was not a one destination trip. There were several legs to the journey. Actually, we had reserved a place at the beach several months ago and then got too busy to plan much else until the week before we left. The trip was as much about seeing family as it was about having time for ourselves.
MARIETTA. We left a week ago Friday (19th). Our first stop was in Marietta to visit the Yergler family. We got there mid-afternoon and went down to their community pool to swim. Afterwards they grilled hamburgers for supper and then we got on the road again. It was nice catching up with everyone even though the visit was too short. Sarah introduced us to a new recipe she had found on the internet -- Oatmeal Carmelitas (recipe available from Pillsbury). They’re good plain or a la mode!
ATHENS. We pulled in to Athens late Friday night and enjoyed spending the weekend with the Jones family. The only time we went anywhere was to church Sunday morning and then Cici’s Pizza for lunch. The rest of the time we stayed around the house where we all enjoyed playing games together. Cameron and I had an Axis & Allies rematch with Will participating. I played the Axis forces again and got off to a strong start but lost. Jenna and I also taught everyone a new card game called MAU. This was a game I learned back in college which is frustrating for new players to learn because the rules stipulate new players must learn by experience.
I also need to give credit in the ongoing Scrabble competition. Three games have been played between the two visits. Darice won when they were here in Cross Plains the previous weekend and again when we were in Georgia. I don’t know who won the third game.
SIX FLAGS, MORE FUN. Monday morning we loaded the van and drove to the other side of Atlanta to spend a day at Six Flags over Georgia. This was the first visit to Six Flags for all of us. The kids earned free tickets through a reading club at school. We stayed all day and got to our van almost an hour after the park closed. Vicki and the kids rode the raft ride three times and didn’t have a dry spot on them.
MUSEUM OF AVIATION. We drove to Macon after our day at Six Flags so we could make an early appearance at our next stop, the Museum of Aviation at Robins Air Force Base in Warner Robins, Georgia. If you are in the area this is a fun stop. It’s also free! They have quite an impressive collection of military aircraft on display with all but the largest inside air conditioned hangers. Of special interest to me was their B-29 which is being renovated (for display, not flight). This was the first time Vicki and the kids got to see one. The interior of this Superfortress is not open for tours but I got to talking to the volunteer working the information desk in this hanger and he let me climb on the scissor lift that was next to the left gunner’s position. The floor had so much debris from their renovation work it was impossible to crawl in, but this was the closest I’ve gotten to the position where Dad flew. After leaving the museum we headed for our final destination -- Ormond Beach, Florida.
SUN, SAND, AND SUNBURNS. We arrived at the beach Tuesday night and got two full days in before leaving on Friday. Wednesday we headed out for a morning of fun in the surf and sand. Jim, Dianna, Alex, and Chris drove over from Orlando to spend the afternoon with us. When we got out to the beach that afternoon the tide was out and it was a lot more fun to play both in the water and the sand.
Ben enjoyed boogie boarding the most of our family as you could barely pry the thing out of his hands. He got pretty good at it too. Nate took to playing in the sand. He gave up on building a castle and settled in to simply digging a hole. What was so funny was that he eventually became the unofficial foreman of a hole digging team. I looked over and he was giving orders to to Ben, and some other boys from Ocala, all of whom are older than he is and seemed more than happy to take direction from a six year old. They got about 30 inches toward China before giving up. Jenna was somewhat between these two extremes. She enjoyed both the ocean and the beach but most of the time was content to sit at the water’s edge with the waves lapping over her legs.
It’s never hard to find our kids at the beach, or the pool for that matter. They are the whitest people out there. I told Vicki we looked like polar bears. It doesn’t matter how much sunscreen we put on the sun still burns. Fortunately none of us have bad burns, but we had a few tender spots.
That night we all headed north up the coast to eat at Betty’s A1A. Vicki found this restaurant on the internet. It had good reviews and when the lady at the front desk of our condo made an independent recommendation we tried it. It was worth the trip.
CLIMBING A LIGHTHOUSE. Given our sunburns we decided to take a small sightseeing trip to the Ponce de Leon Inlet Light Station. At 175 feet this red lighthouse is the tallest in Florida. We climbed 203 steps to take in an incredible view of the area. Unfortunately, all our camera batteries died at the top. There is a lot more to see at this museum than the lighthouse. All the original buildings are still there and have exhibits about the life of lighthouse keepers. It turned out to be an interesting morning. On the way back we ate at Racing’s North Turn Restaurant.
CHARADES. Before leaving our condo in Ormond Beach we made a call for everyone to use the bathroom. We were waiting for Ben to get done and Nate started a game of Charades. Not one to be left out Ben was shouting his guesses from the bathroom with the door closed and down the hall from where we were sitting.
MORE FAMILY FUN BACK HOME. We left for home Friday morning. We made the trip with an overnight stop in Kennesaw, Georgia. We rested a few hours before heading back out for a Hancock family reunion in Orlinda. This was a lot of fun even if we were tired from our trip.
It has been nice to get away from home and the normal routine, but it’s good to be home too. I think Nate summed it up for everyone when Vicki asked the kids what their favorite part of our trip was. He said, “Just take everything and smash it all together and that was my favorite part.”
YARD WORK. One thing I have discovered over the last two days is that I am out of shape. Now that we are home we’ve been spending time trying to catch up on all the laundry and yard work. We’ve mowed and trimmed all three yards and weeded the strawberries. I have also hung a new storm door at our back door. Three of the four hinges had given way on the old one.
Vicki and I also got radical and took out all the shrubs from in front of the house. Digging up the roots is what let me know I need more exercise. We don’t know what we’re going to put back there yet so if anyone has any suggestions feel free to drop us an email. Whatever goes back must be short, pretty, and low maintenance.
Joe
