Same beach, different condo
Friday, June 27 – We left at 5:30 for a change. Besides our regular crew, Scott’s girlfriend Sarah and Lynne’s mom were with us, so we drove both the Windstar and the Taurus and used a pair of radios to keep in contact. Breakfast was doughnuts at the second rest stop headed southbound on I-75 in Kentucky. Our route took us to the I-295 bypass around Knoxville. Sarah managed to sleep all the way to North Carolina and woke up just before the first of the two tunnels. Our picnic lunch at the North Carolina Welcome Center was a quick one because the bugs were terrible. On I-95 in South Carolina we saw a tiki bar headed north on a flatbed truck. We stayed at the Comfort Inn in Hardeeville and ate at the Shoney’s next door. After dinner, Scott and Sarah drove down to Savannah. Jim joked that Cliff and his family were probably in the Howard Johnson’s across the street and we later found out he was right.
Saturday, June 28 – Continental breakfast at the Comfort Inn. The drive through Georgia was very pleasant with light traffic but we found heavy crowds at the Florida Welcome Center. In Jacksonville, Jim got cut off by a green jeep and narrowly avoided a wreck. A few minutes later a white SUV swung into his lane and he had to swerve left to avoid another accident. South of Jacksonville I-95 turned into a parking lot and delayed us a good hour. There were several police cars in the median with a few cars pulled over but we never did find out what the delay was all about. We hit a McDonald’s for lunch and had heavy rain falling when we left. Rolled into New Smyrna Beach around 3:00 and checked in the Castle Reef on A1A across from the Food Lion. Cliff and Alex were in 522 while Michelle stayed with Mom in 515. Jim, Lynne, Scott and Sarah were in 310. The kids said the ocean was cold and it stayed overcast all day.
Manny’s pizza for dinner. While picking up the pizzas, we found out all the restaurants in Florida were to become non-smoking on July 1. Cliff looked like he’d never be the same. A cloudburst drenched us as we unloaded groceries after dinner. We stayed up until midnight to watch the Mars Rover B launch but it was scrubbed due to the weather.
Sunday, June 29 – Gray and overcast all morning. The kids hit the pool rather than the beach. We went to Bethune Park and saw more manatees in the lagoon than we had ever seen there before and they were extremely active. The afternoon had hazy sunshine. We made spaghetti and meatballs for dinner.
Monday, June 30 – Mostly spent our time at the pool. No one seemed too interested in the beach. The pool at Castle Reef was saltwater rather than chlorinated. We ate dinner outside at J. B.’s. No manatees, but lots of crabs, three small raccoons, and a couple of mooching cats roaming around the tables. Played Uno at Mom’s condo after dinner.
Tuesday, July 1 – Michelle, Sarah, Scott and Jim went to Busch Gardens. I-4 seemed to be under construction almost the entire way. Michelle was happy because she passed Scott’s coaster count. Scott rode the sky ride at Busch a couple of times and it didn’t bother him. Busch was extremely hot again. Rides kept shutting down but the park got them running again in fairly quick order. We spent more time looking at the animals this time. Back in New Smyrna, Lynne and Mom took a walk downtown.
Wednesday, July 2 – Pretty uneventful all day. Lynne wasn’t feeling well and stayed at the condo while everyone else headed up to Ponce Inlet for dinner at Down the Hatch. Alex had heard about an amusement park by the pier at Daytona so most of the crew headed up there to take Kayla and Caleb on the kiddie rides. We drove up A1A, sized up the crowds and decided to pass on the park ourselves. The drive made us appreciate the simplicity of New Smyrna.
Thursday, July 3 – Kayla and Caleb delight in finding “crabby houses” (ghost crab burrows) and filling them with sand. The ocean was cold. Cliff talked to the lifeguard and found out the water temperature was running almost ten degrees cooler than normal for the time of year. We ate cheesy chicken at the condo for dinner and played cards afterwards. The July Fourth crowd started showing up and partying in the evening and we were serenaded with “Jingle Bells” by a group of drunks during the night.
Friday, July 4 – Mom, Jim and Lynne drove up to Daytona to eat breakfast at an IHOP. Daytona was packed with race fans. All the parking spots were taken at the Castle Reef and the security people there were directing cars across the street to the Food Lion’s lot. Someone set off the fire extinguisher in the laundry room outside our door and left the room and breezeway coated with yellow powder that tracked everywhere. With parking such a mess, we opted to walk across the street to the Touch of Italy restaurant for dinner. The police were keeping a close eye on the fireworks displays and only allowed a few groups on the beach at a time so the show went on longer and the quality was a bit higher than previous years. Everyone had a little bit of sunburn except Lynne.
Saturday, July 5 – Coronado’s moved again into an even smaller location and carries fewer souvenirs. We bought a beach umbrella at Tiro. Scott and Sarah saw a baby manatee at Bethune. We ate dinner at Kelsey’s Riverview (third name change in as many trips). The food was superb again, easily the best meal this trip. We hosted a big Killer Challenge Uno game in our condo afterwards.
Sunday, July 6 – Beach day. The crowds were noticably thinner at the beach and pool and the place was much more peaceful as the holiday crowd headed out. At Bethune, the dolphins were quite active out in Mosquito Lagoon. Lynne made taco bake for dinner.
Monday, July 7 – Breakfast at Teddy’s, another New Smyrna tradition. We skipped the beach today and spent our time at the pool instead. Dinner was at Clancy’s where a few of us had “The Duke” for dinner in Dad’s memory. After missing its first window, the Mars Rover B finally lifted off at 11:18 p.m. and gave us a spectacular show in the night sky.
Tuesday, July 8 – Scott and Sarah went to Universal’s Islands of Adventure. Michelle wasn’t feeling well so she and Jim passed this time. IOA was “hot and full of stupid people” so the kids were back earlier than we expected. Michelle was feeling better later that day and she and Jim played a little tennis and found out why there is no problem getting court time during the afternoon in the summer. We ate dinner at a little hotdog and ice cream shop on Flagler then window shopped at some of the trendy surf stores where we gagged at the prices. Another big Uno match capped the day.
Wednesday, July 9 – Lynne, Scott and Mom played golf in the morning. Sarah and Jim met them at Pappa’s on U.S. 1 for breakfast. Another day of beach and pool. Dinner at Norwoods.
Thursday, July 10 – Scott and Sarah went to the Magic Kingdom at Disneyworld – her first ever visit there. Unlike Islands of Adventure, they didn’t get back until well after the park closed. Sarah was sporting Minnie Mouse ears with a polka dot bow and Scott was wearing a top hat with Mickey ears. Lynne and Michelle went to the Holy Land Experience in Orlando where they saw a Passion Play, a Gutenberg Bible, and a re-creation of Jerusalem at the time of Christ. Jim stayed at the condo to run laundry and clean up and spent the day with the sound of jackhammers as Castle Reef was replacing the balconies on some of the units. We had spaghetti and meatballs for dinner.
Friday, July 11 – We saw crabs in the surf and Jim found a (dead) starfish. Caleb was afraid of it until we told him it was Patrick from the Spongebob Squarepants show. When he picked it up the texture threw him for a loop and he spent some time worrying about it. Sarah bought her grandmother a pair of lime trees. We saw both manatees and dolphins at Bethune. Dinner was at P. J.’s Sea Shack. Their blackened dishes should not be eaten prior to a long drive. Packing after dinner.
Saturday, July 12 – We planned on leaving at 5:30 but didn’t get on the road until 6. Sarah’s lime trees barely fit in the back of the Taurus. Publix doughnuts for breakfast in Florida and sandwiches for lunch at a rest stop in South Carolina. We stayed in the Family Inns of America in Newport, Tennessee and ate at the Cracker Barrel next door. The motel smelled of disinfectant and all the hotels in Newport were overpriced.
Sunday, July 13 – Breakfast at Shoney’s in Newport. We took U.S. 25E back – it is almost all four lanes now. We split off from Scott and Sarah in Kentucky so they could head to Loveland and we could head for the west side of town. After lunch at Wendy’s in Kentucky, we dropped mom off at her condo and headed for home.
Milestones on this trip: First time we actually stayed in New Smyrna Beach and Sarah’s first visit to NSB.
States and provinces we visited: Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida.
Capital cities we saw: Columbia.
