Our sixth Florida visit has a slight change of location
Friday, June 25 – This was going to be the year we slept a little later but construction on I-75 in Kentucky convinced us to take off early again, so we were on the road at 4:00. Breakfast was the usual doughnuts at the rest stop in Jellico, Tennessee. We had rain almost continuously from south of Lexington until we were well into South Carolina. We ate lunch at the Wendy’s in Clinton, South Carolina. The trip was uneventful but still cloudy in the afternoon. We stayed at the Econolodge in Richmond Hill, Georgia, and ate dinner at Denny’s. The highlight of the first day for the kids was having a microwave and refrigerator in the motel room so we had popcorn after dinner.
Saturday, June 26 – We left sunny Richmond Hill at 8:15 without breakfast. The sky rapidly turned gray and we had rain from mid-Georgia until we were past Jacksonville. After lunch at a McDonald’s in Daytona, we took SR 44 (at mile marker 249 on I-95) to A1A. The Winn Dixie, Hardee’s, and Holiday House restaurant were all vacant. We had rooms at the Southeaster this time because the Surfside was booked up for the Fourth of July. We were in room B211. Cliff’s family was in B202, and Mom, Dad and Carolyn’s family were in C206. The units were smaller than the Surfside’s, but parking was better. We also had a longer walk to the pool and beach than from the Surfside. We shopped for groceries at Food Lion and had pizza from Manny’s Pizza. It was cloudy all day.
Sunday, June 27 – It was cloudy again and the sun did not make an appearance all day. We saw fewer pelicans gliding than in the past. The business of the day was ocean, pool, lunch, ocean, pool, then we cooked stir fry for dinner.
Monday, June 28 – More gray skies gave us a gray ocean. The beach was not at all crowded. Michelle started making lots of new friends at the pool. Jim and Scott saw half a dozen manatees at Bethune Park. We ate dinner at Norwood’s and watched the rain pour outside. Scott is a bottomless pit. It rained for a couple of hours solid.
Tuesday, June 29 – Scott, Jim, Lynne and Juanita went golfing at Hidden Lakes. Scott won, Jim came in last. The golfers ate breakfast at Teddy’s while Michelle stayed with Grandpa. The sun still was hidden by a solid ceiling of cloud. Jim took the kids, Laura and her friend Lucy to Bethune Park, but the manatees weren’t there. They tried the dock at Canaveral National Seashore, but no manatees there, either. The ranger at Canaveral suggested we try Bethune Park. We took the kids shopping for Star Wars junk at WalMart, then made tacos for dinner at the condo.
Wednesday, June 30 – Jim took the crew from the day before back to Bethune where we saw plenty of manatees. There were turtle tracks on the beach in front of the condo. Still no sun at all. We had dinner at J.B.’s, an experience made memorable by the location of our table next to the storage room. Every time someone opened the door we were assaulted by the smell of fish. Rain started falling as we left the restaurant and continued until after dark.
Thursday, July 1 – We had a few minutes of sun in the morning through some gaps in the clouds and saw more turtle tracks on the beach. The rip current was very strong and the waves weren’t good at all. We took Zachary to see Star Wars: The Phantom Menace at the matinee show and the sun was shining when we came out of the theater. Back at the condo, we finally got to enjoy warm sand and a blue and green ocean. After spaghetti and meatballs at the condo we played miniature golf at Fisherman’s Landing.
Friday, July 2 – Jim, Lynne, Scott and Juanita went golfing at Hidden Lakes again. A sudden downpour soaked us at the fifth hole and pretty much took care of our scores. We all lost balls in the swamp on five and were too soaked to stop for breakfast after the match. The rain was gone by the time we got back to the condo and we had almost an entire day of perfect weather for the pool and beach. Everyone went to dinner at the Sea Treasure restaurant on the mainland. Scott and Michelle went to Fisherman’s Landing again after dinner.
Saturday, July 3 – The first gorgeous sunrise of the trip. We helped Mom and Dad move into B202 with Cliff’s family. Carolyn and Bill stuck around for a morning swim and left at lunch time. Jessica really enjoyed dunking people in the pool and liked it so much, she would dunk people on dry land. Lynne took the kids souvenir shopping in the afternoon. We had chili in the condo for dinner. The beach and condo were very crowded.
Sunday, July 4 – Lynne stayed out of the sun all day. Alex and Chantelle had gone to Daytona Beach the night before and Alex was now sporting a tatoo on his left arm. It was mostly sunny, but we had a couple of episodes of rain during the morning and after lunch. Scott and Michelle made a new friend, Sarah Bell from Memphis, Indiana. We had pizza from Bocci’s Apizza for dinner. At sundown we set up our beach chairs on the seawall and watched the fireworks for an hour. A few people had some very impressive displays but the smoke was blowing back at us and we finally gave up.
Monday, July 5 – Alex, Chantelle and Laura’s friend Lucy left at 7:00. The beach was a mess of litter from the fireworks the night before and was even more crowded than on Sunday. The pool was also very crowded. Scott, Michelle, Laura and Sarah played cards all afternoon. We had dinner at Clancy’s Cantina where Lynne resisted temptation and did not order The Duke.
Tuesday, July 6 – Lynne played 18 holes at the New Smyrna Country Club with Mom, Dad and Cliff. Jim took Michelle and Scott to Universal Studios in Orlando. They took the tour of Nickelodeon Studios and went on the Jaws, Kongfrontation, Back to the Future and Twister attractions. At the Earthquake ride, Michelle was picked to play an extra in a scene where shoppers in a mall are trapped on an escalator when the earthquake hits. We watched trained animals go through their paces and had lunch at the Movie Monster Cafe. We were eating pizza when a huge green hand suddenly reached for Scott through an opening in the back of the booth. It was Frankenstein’s Monster! After spooking Scott, the monster and Michelle played a duet drumming on the table with their hands. The kids rode the E.T. ride to cap off the day but turned down dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe.
Wednesday, July 7 – Lynne and Jim had breakfast at Restaurant Place next to Clancy’s. Mom, Dad and Cliff’s family went out on the Sun Cruz gambling boat from Ponce Inlet. Lynne was still hiding from the sun and Scott and Michelle spent the day at the pool with their friends. We drove up I-95 to Daytona Beach Shores and down A1A to Ponce Inlet and met everyone at the boat for dinner at Down the Hatch. Nobody on the boat came out ahead. Michelle liked the talking parrots at the restaurant and Lynne ate some dip made with grouper.
Thursday, July 8 – Mom, Dad and Jim went down to the beach at 5:15 to watch a Delta rocket launch from Cape Canaveral but it didn’t take off. The kids spent most of the day at the pool with Laura and Sarah and got burned. Michelle went with Lynne and Grandma to shop at the New Smyrna Country Club. Lynne and Jim went to Coronado’s for souvenirs and Key Lime Cookies. We had steak at the condo. There was a big thunderstorm after dinner.
Friday, July 9 – The morning was very sunny. We saw some dolphins in the ocean. We spent the morning in the ocean and started cleaning and packing after lunch. Dinner was at Riverview Charlie’s and it was excellent. We sat on their covered deck watching boats sail under the drawbridge and got out just before a storm hit. After the rain the kids took a walk on the beach with their new friends while Lynne and Jim packed.
Saturday, July 10 – We left the Southeaster at 4:45 and by luck, saw the Delta rocket take off. The trip back was mostly uneventful. We ate breakfast at a Burger King in Darien, Georgia. In Columbia, we watched a State Trooper chase a red truck which was weaving through traffic for a few miles. We stopped for lunch in Clinton, South Carolina, the same town where we ate lunch on the way down. The Wendy’s was too busy so we got takeout from McDonald’s and ate at a parking area near the North Carolina border. I-40 put us back in the rain which continued, off and on, up 25-E. We stayed at the Best Western in Middlesboro, Kentucky, just past the tunnel and had dinner at Donrico’s Cafeteria at the hotel.
Sunday, July 11 – We left the Best Western around eight and had breakfast at the Shoney’s in Corbin. I-75 wasn’t too bad going north. We ate lunch at a Subway south of Florence. After unloading the car, we picked up Salem and Justin from the kennel and put an official close to our trip.
Milestones on this trip: None, really, just a very relaxing vacation.
States and provinces we visited: Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida.
Capital cities we saw: Columbia.
