Tour of Florida

Here is a quick recap of our vacation. A link to all of the pictures (and I mean a LOT) will be coming soon.

Wed - We were on the road a little before 6 a.m. Our goal was to get to Deltona, FL, where my great grandparents live. We made super great time ( I drove the first 6 hours) and so when the exit for Daytona came along, I just felt we had to go to the beach. I had been to Daytona's beach so many times growing up, and Jacob had never been, so we took our first detour. We spent 2 hours on the beach, and then finished the drive to Deltona. My grandparents were full of energy, and we all went out to eat. Jacob and I stayed the night at their house.

Thurs - We got up early and drove the 45 minutes to Orlando. We went to Island of Adventure, Universal Park. We have both been to Universal before, but the new Harry Potter World just opened last month, and Jacob really wanted to see it. Because it was so new, we waited over an hour just to get into Harry Potter World, and then there was a wait for everything. To ride the rides, to get in the stores, to buy drinks....it was so crowded. It was almost too much. We waited in line for the "Harry Potter Adventure" and after 1.5 hours the ride broke down. We waited around for a little while (we were literally maybe 10 minutes away) and then got out of line. We checked back a while later and it was still broken, so we made a good decision. We did our other favorite rides in Universal and then before we left we decided to try Harry Potter one more time. This time we split up and went as single riders. It was perfect. We waited about 20 minutes and got on the ride. It was so worth it! The ride was amazing! It was different from any other ride we had been on.

After Universal we drove to Fort Myers, where Shane and Diana are staying. We got there about 10 p.m. and we sat around and chatted. Shane and Diana asked both Jacob and I to stand up in their wedding (of course we said yes) and so lots of wedding talk. Around midnight we decide it was time to go to bed. That is when Jacob realized that he can't find his glasses. The last place he had them was at my grandparent's. This normally wouldn't be that big of a deal, but the only real thing we needed for that trip was Jacob's glasses. He HAD TO HAVE glasses for the state optometrist test, that he was in FL to sit for. So after calling my grandparents (after midnight) and getting no answer, we decide the best thing would be is to drive back to Deltona to get them. So around 12:30 a.m. we get back in the car and drive all night to Deltona.

The whole drive back we were trying to think what to do. These are my great grandparents, in their nineties, when we left in the morning Grandpa wasn't feeling so well. We didn't want to scare them. They have a house alarm that they may or may not have left on. We didn't want to ring the door bell, or set off the alarm (we were afraid of heart attacks) Really we had no plan besides we had to stay awake to get there, and we would decide what to do when we arrived.

We arrived in Deltona around 4:30. I see my grandma Linda's SVU in the driveway and decide it is worth a try to call her cell phone. She didn't answer so I leave this message " Hi grandma. I know it is really early, and random, but we need Jacob's glasses that are in Grandma and Grandpa's house, and we saw that your car was here, so I thought maybe you could help us. We will be sleeping in the driveway so just call me back, or just tap on the window" We had just laid down, and Grandma called back. She was getting up and would let us in. We went in the house, quietly, and she told us what was going on. Grandpa had driven himself to the hospital, because of side pains, Grandma Linda had been called, she left work, and called my 17 year old cousin Kein, who lives close to come and stay with them. But Grandma Linda had stayed at the hospital until she had to go to sleep to get to work, and then when we showed up we assumed Grandma, Grandpa, and Kein were all in the house, because Kein's truck was outside. After getting the low down, and making sure we didn't need to stay, we got back in the car for the 4 hour drive back to Ft. Myers.

Fri - We arrive back at Shane and Diana's a little after 10 a.m. Now I will remind you I worked third shift for four years, while going to school full time, and in marching/pep band. But I had not stayed up with no/little sleep in a really long time. But I felt amazing! The four of us got in the Stewart's pool, and played around. Then we went to Ft. Myers beach. It is on the Gulf of Mexico, and the beach was beautiful. We stayed around there for about 3 hours, and then went back and packed for Ft. Lauderdal. On our way to Ft. Lauderdal we stopped and I tried on the bridesmaids dress that Diana had picked out. It is perfect for a beach wedding ( I can't wait for next June). Then we took off through the Everglades (Alligator Alley) towards Ft. Lauderdal. We made it to the hotel. By that time Jacob and I were exhausted, and headed to bed soon after dinner.

Sat - We just hung out around Ft. Lauderdal. The lack of sleep finally caught up to us and we took a lot of naps, and hung out around the hotel. Diana's brother, Steve, flew in from New Jersey to sit for her test ( My eyes are too bad and I am not a candidate, only Jacob). Late afternoon we went to Ft. Lauderdal's beach, but didn't stay for too long. The sun was going down, I was super tired, and the test was the next morning. Shane and Diana practiced one last time on Jacob, and then we went to bed.

Sun - We had to wake up early to make sure Shane was not late for his test. Jacob and Shane left around 6:45 a.m. Diana's test was a little later, so she had some more time. We did say our goodbyes, and good lucks because Jacob and I were to leave as soon as Shane's test was over. While the boys did the test, I went for a run. I didn't like the area around the hotel (and I would have been alone, so not such a great idea) so I ran on the treadmill in the fitness room. I hate treadmills, and of course half the buttons didn't work. I ran for 90 minutes, and went close to 8 miles I think. At least I was active for 90 minutes. Shane finished his test, and Jacob said he did really well. We will find out if he passed in 10 days or so. We finished packing and said our goodbyes. We headed back through the Everglades, and up to Tampa.

Our friends Josh and Ashley moved to Tampa almost 2 years ago. We were going right by their exit, so we decided to stop. We stayed only about an hour. We got to see their new house, and it was amazing. Jacob's dream is to live in FL, and boy did he LOVE Tampa, and especially their neighborhood. It was a great visit, and then back on the road to Atlanta. We didn't stop again until we pulled into our garage. The cats were SO HAPPY to see us. It was after midnight, when I got into bed, and went to sleep.

That was our trip. We added a bit more driving than we first had anticipated, but I love road trips, and Jacob and I hadn't taken on in almost 4 years. It was great fun to just be free, kinda free, to roam. We had a lot of quality time together, and it was a perfect trip right before I had to go back to school.

I reported to school at 7 a.m. this morning. I just finished opening mail, paying bills, updating our budget, unpacking, working on my school calendar, and the last load of laundry is in the dryer right now. We picked up the girls from boarding earlier today, and the whole zoo is so happy to be home, and have us back. We missed them too, but oh that beautiful FL sun...and sand...and free road...