Family Vacation

We have been away on a much needed vacation. We visited the Cotter family in Orlando, played in the sand at Ormond Beach, and spent time with the Jones family in Athens on the way home. Here's some details of our traveling adventures.

DRIVING TO FLORIDA. We got on the road after Cub Scout camp was over on Friday, the 9th, and drove to Forsyth, Georgia, arriving around midnight. The next day we got back on the road and tackled the rest of the distance to Orlando. We didn't run into any traffic snags and the kids entertained themselves with movies the whole way so it was a very pleasant trip down.

TIME WITH THE COTTER FAMILY. An extra special part of our trip was that we got to see a lot of Uncle Bob and Aunt Linda even though we stayed across town with Jim, Dianna, and the boys.

We arrived by mid-afternoon on Saturday. Aunt Linda and Uncle Bob came over for supper a little later. After supper we enjoyed ice cream at the local Twistee Treat. It's really a good thing that we don't have one of these in Cross Plains.

We went to Jim and Dianna's church, First Baptist of Windermere (http://fbcwindermere.com/), Sunday morning. Lunch was a family birthday party for Chris who is turning 12. The guest list included both sets of Chris' grandparents and Dianna's sister and brother-in-law. After eating the kids played video games while the adults visited. Later that afternoon (after all the guests had left) we walked over to the community pool so the kids could swim.

On Monday we took an airboat tour on the St. Johns River (http://www.airboatridesatmidway.com/). We got to see a lot of Florida wildlife, including some great views of alligators and a bald eagle. We even got to hold a baby alligator at the end of the tour. We ate supper at the 4Rivers Smokehouse (http://4rsmokehouse.com/). I'd never had brisket before and really enjoyed it.

FUN IN THE SAND. On Tuesday, the 14th, we headed over to Ormond Beach. After checking in to our condo, finding some supper, and making a run to the store for supplies we were ready for a sunset stroll on the beach. We spent the next day playing in the surf and sand as well, though we did go out to eat at a restaurant we found last summer.

This year Volusia County and the neighboring area are experiencing a number of wildfires. Wednesday should have been a clear day with blue skies all around, but the smoke from the fires obscured all that and even made the high rise buildings a half mile down the beach hard to see. The odor of burning wood was strong. This was evident all week, but Wednesday was the worst day by far.

Friday was also a beach day. This time Dianna and the boys drove over to enjoy the morning with us (Jim had to work). We had a great time visiting and playing together.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER. We took a break from the beach on Thursday to drive down to the Kennedy Space Center. There is a lot to see down there if you are a space history buff. When we arrived we took the bus tour that was part of our admission price.

The first stop on the tour was the launch pad observation deck. It was here that we could see the last space shuttle poised on the launch pad, ready for it's final trip next month, over a mile away. Unfortunately, the launch pad is situated where the tower and external fuel tank are about all you see, but it was neat to get as close as we did. The other stop on the tour was the old Apollo building where all sorts of hardware from the Apollo program is on display.

Back at the visitor center we enjoyed looking around at the exhibits on space probes, future missions to Mars, and the visiting Star Trek exhibit. We also took in the Shuttle Launch Experience. (Well, Vicki and Ben did that. I observed with Jenna and Nate.)

TIME WITH THE JONES FAMILY. We relocated again on Saturday, this time heading north to spend time with the Jones family. We got there in time for supper.

We enjoyed visiting, swimming, playing games, and watching movies together on this leg of our trip. We didn't get out except to go to church at St. Anna's (http://www.st-annas.com/) on Sunday and do a little shopping on Monday.

Tuesday we loaded the van and came home. While it is good to sleep in my own bed I can truly say this year I was not ready to come home. I still have some vacation time from work, and I'll enjoy getting some odd jobs done around here, but this year it was good to be away.


Joe