Florida Road Trip

Mom, the girls and I started our road trip to Florida on Friday the 25th. We drove 11 hours straight through to Ft. Lauderdale. The girls were great in the car thanks to the new DVD player (that broke before we got home). I booked a room at the Homestead Suites because it was the only place I could find for less than $170 a night. I will definitely pay attention to the reviews next time. One of them said the water was brown, I didn't think this would be a big deal. We have hard water right? Well if you can't see the bottom when there is only two inches in the tub that might be a problem. Unfortunately, I had to bathe the girls because their feet were so gross from walking on the floor in our room. At least the sheets were clean. Oh and there was a little lake out back where the girls fed the ducks. They really enjoyed it and were so funny running when the ducks started coming close for the crackers.

Dirty Bath Water

The girls running from the ducks

The purpose for our trip south was to see my Grandma Fran. Her 85th birthday was on the 26th. She is pretty ill so this might be the last time we get to spend time with her. It was so great to share this special day with her and for her to meet the girls. My Dad and Mary also happened to be in town, so we got to spend some time with them too. We celebrated Grandma's birthday at her house with pizza and funny stories. The girls loved playing at her house. She had this basket and 11 strands of beads that the girls played with the rest of the trip. Who knew they could be so easily entertained? Nora also loves the angel necklace Grandma Fran gave her.

Aunt Betty, Grandma Fran, & Aunt Nancy

....................................................................Nora's bead photo

From Ft. Lauderdale we headed across Alligator Alley to stay with Mr. and Mrs. Groenleer. It was very nice to have some place relaxing to stay with the girls. They had a pool, piano, Sparty, and the newly aquired basket of beads, what more could we ask for?? And it was way cleaner than our hotel! It was warm enough that we could swim in the pool and Nora loved this! We also met up with Bob, Emily, and Tommy Fonock for dinner. The next morning Nora helped her "friend" Bob make corn muffins for breakfast and they hung out with Sparty. They need to learn the correct team to root for, can't have them growing up blue bloods like their father.

Bob, Morgan, Sparty, Wilma, & Nora

Nora & Sparty

That afternoon we headed north to have dinner with some of the "Ohio Cousins" and got to swim in the pool again. Martha Belle, Harold, and Tom filled us in on what was going on with all the family and made us a yummy home cooked meal. I think this was the only time I didn't eat french fries all week. .......................................................Nora in the pool at Martha Belle's

After dinner we headed north again and spent the night with Al and Norrean. Nora walked right in and gave them both big hugs. We ate a yummy breakfast and loaded into the car yet again. We had to stop at Bob Evan's for lunch so Mom could get coleslaw, rolls, and bean soup. For dessert we enjoyed some circus peanuts. I think I must be getting older because these weren't quite the delicacy I remember from my childhood.

After lunch we stopped in to see Aunt Betty and Uncle Jim for the afternoon. I was nervous about stopping because my Aunt had a hip replacement eight days before our visit, but she looked fantastic. She was up on her walker and came out to watch all the kids play. Nora and Morgan loved climbing all over the playground and playing with Ethan and Hannah. In fact, Nora may have had her first date. I thought I would die when I saw her climb in a convertible with a boy and drive away. Then when she was driving by herself she nearly took Aunt Betty down. Yikes! When the kids started to wear out we walked across the street to Five Guys Burgers. If you live near one of these I suggest you visit immediately! Their fries are fresh cut and so yummy!!

Aunt Betty, Mom, & Uncle Jim

Ethan, Nora, & Hannah
(She looks very protective of her brother :o)

Me enjoying fries from my new favorite burger place

And after dinner...you guessed it we got back in the car! We headed to Orlando so we could be minutes from Sea World so we could get started playing as soon as they opened...well close to when they opened. Anheuser-Busch has a fantastic program for military families called "Here's to the Heroes". They let you into one of their theme parks free one time each year. This was great because we could enjoy the morning and when the girls tuckered out about 2:30 we could leave and not feel bad about missing part of the day. Nora is a huge fan of sharks and other fish so I thought this would be a fun way to end our road trip. Sea World did not disappoint! There was a show we watched in the morning that had dolphins working together to twist a performer around under water. I realize this description leaves a little to be desired, but just believe me when I say it was really cool! Then Morgan fell asleep in the stroller, so she hung out in the shade with Grandma while Nora and I saw the sharks (not as cool as Ripley's) and went on the kiddie rides. Nora went on her first roller coaster ride. She was so excited to go, but she had quite a look on her face when we got off. While we were on the rides Mom was in line for the Shamu show, but had to wait for us to get seats. Then while she was in line for hot dogs, I went with Nora to find Cheetos and they almost didn't let us back in. That would have been a bummer! Luckily we got back in and found seats just out of the soak zone. Then the whales decided they weren't really interested in performing at just that moment so the trainer filled us in on some other information about the park. They did eventually finish the show and it was spectacular. On the way out we picked up some stuffed animals which were a big hit when Nora woke up from her nap.

All in all it was a fabulous day that ended a nice trip of catching up with family and friends. Thank you everyone for your wonderful hospitality!

P.S. In all we drove nearly 1,500 miles on our 6 day road trip. Nearly 100 miles could be in U turns alone. Our trusty GPS did a good job of getting us from point A to almost B. Then when we were on our way home and just switched drivers this piece of caution tape hitched a ride. I can't believe Mom could drive over an hour with this thing flapping in her face. No wonder she didn't get tired. ha ha...