Northern exposure and our first shuttle landing
Friday, July 24 – We packed Lynne’s Accord to the gills, leaving just enough room for Michelle, Lynne and Jim. Departure was at 5:00 taking our usual route south on I-75. Since Kentucky had done away with the Berea rest stop and replaced it with the Artisan’s Center, we ate our donuts in the car again. 25E was down to just a few miles of two-lane road and construction. Traffic was not bad at all and we ate lunch at the South Carolina Welcome Center. We saw a pair of tanks on flatbed trucks going east on I-26 and a short time later, a pink PT Cruiser. Just outside Columbia we saw a pink Land Rover. Once east of Columbia we ran into the usual slowdowns from clumps of traffic and they continued on I-95. I-26 westbound had a huge backup which also halted traffic on northbound I-95. A massive downpour slowed us down through Savannah but we had some sunshine by the time we checked in to the Comfort Suites in Richmond Hill, the same hotel we had stayed in on our previous trip. We ate dinner at Denny’s and decided we were too tired for the hot tub (again).
Saturday, July 25 – I-95 was closed at our exit because of a fatal wreck. We took US 17 south and rejoined I-95 around mile marker 67. Only 26 of the 115 miles of expressway in Georgia were still under construction, being widened to three lanes. At 9:30 we arrived at the Florida Welcome Center for juice and brochures. Jacksonville was mostly uneventful, but Lynne had bad chest pains from indigestion and couldn’t enjoy the trip much. Her Garmin was navigating our trip in a female British voice and got confused as we wound our way through the eternal Jacksonville construction. Right about noon we arrived at New Smyrna Beach and ate lunch at the Little Drug Company. The office at the Ocean Reef Villas was closed for lunch when we arrived there, so we took a little drive to Canova Street to pay our respects to the dead guy in the middle of the road. Cliff and Chris were in the office when we got back to the condo and checked in at the same time we did. We were in unit 106 with a patio about 20 feet from the pool, but not much of a view of the ocean (again). Mom and Dave Seim arrived around 3:00 p.m. The Lawrences left Cincinnati late because Jessie was in dance camp, but still made it down around 4:30. We decided to do pizza night on Sunday because everyone’s schedule was so topsy-turvy. McDonald’s carryout for us this night.
Sunday, July 26 – The beach was extremely broad at high tide, and very flat up on the driving section. We spent most of the morning on the beach sunning, or cooling off in the ocean. There were a lot more people than we were used to having around us, and concessionaires were selling food and renting lounge chairs and ATVs. A rogue wave sent us scrambling to keep our beach bag dry and we had to help Cliff corral the flip flops, sand toys and boogie boards that started floating away. The pool was very warm. After lunch we saw lots of manatees at Bethune. Big storms over the mainland with lots of lightning shut things down later in the afternoon. We all ate Manny’s Pizza for dinner at the Lawrence’s unit, which had a much better view of the ocean than ours (again).
Monday, July 27 – The morning was still fairly overcast. Michelle had some sunburn. She and Lynne went to Chase’s for a drink in the afternoon. Bill caught a small hammerhead shark, and the next thing to take his bait bit through the steel leader. We ate dinner at Blackbeard’s. Dave Seim put a fork in his pocket when he went to the salad bar and forgot about it. The waitress spotted it and started teasing him about “stealing” the silverware. Dave offered the defense that Michelle must have put it in his pocket. The waitress didn’t buy it and brought him a pirate hat and eyepatch. Zachary rode back with us and Michelle and Carolyn had fun texting about him while he visited.
Tuesday, July 28 – Our day started late and we skipped the beach, which was very crowded, for the pool. Lynne and Michelle went to Mon Delice bakery and picked up an excellent Key Lime Pie which we ate after dinner at the condo for Jim’s 52nd birthday. For a change, we had a sunny evening.
Wednesday, July 29 – Lynne and Michelle went golfing at Hidden Lakes with Mom and Zachary. Lynne had the low score golfing. Jim and Dave drove to Teddy’s in Edgewater to meet the golf crew for brunch. The ocean was cold with decent waves out at the bars. The afternoon was overcast and kept the temperature down at P. J.’s at dinner time. We had a torrential rain as night fell.
Thursday, July 30 – Scott was supposed to arrive in Orlando at 10:30 but his connecting flight was delayed in Atlanta. Liquid leaked from a suitcase in the cargo hold and had to be treated as a hazmat situation requiring the plane to be scrubbed before it could take off. He got into Orlando a little after 12:30, and Lynne didn’t get back to the condo with him until around 2:30 for pool time followed by trivia and darts at Merk’s. Dinner was a free-for-all back at the condo.
Friday, July 31 – Scott caught up on sleep in the morning while Jim, Lynne and Michelle drove down to Titusville to watch the shuttle Endeavour land. Lynne spotted a small park, William J. Manzo, on U.S. 1 which was directly across the Indian River from the launch complex. The sonic booms from the shuttle were like a couple of shotgun blasts fired in quick succession. Michelle had never heard a sonic boom before. We were able to watch the shuttle make its final approach as it glided to a landing from the northeast. Pool time in the afternoon was followed by a condo full of kids who had all come to visit Scott. Lynne wasn’t feeling well and stayed behind while the rest of us headed up to Ponce Inlet for dinner at Down the Hatch.
Saturday, August 1 – Scott overdid the sun and had a nasty burn. He and Michelle spent the day indoors. Lynne skipped the ocean in favor of the pool. Michelle ate pizza at the Lawrences, Jim and Lynne ate dinner at Mi Mexico, and Scott stayed at the condo and healed.
Sunday, August 2 – Michelle, Scott and Jim went to SeaWorld with Zach, Jessie and Carolyn. Lynne stayed in New Smyrna doing boring chores and making her back sore. Jessie wanted to sit in the splash zone at the Shamu show and Scott sat with her. They both got deluged with 52° water. The killer whales were still establishing a hierarchy after a new whale had been added to their group and most refused to perform. The Journey to Atlantis ride drenched our crew and forced a halt to our day around 6:00 p.m. Highlights included the Kraken and Manta roller coasters, sea lions, Chinese acrobats, sharks, penguins, manatees, rays and Scott, Jessie and Carolyn feeding and petting dolphins.
Monday, August 3 – Scott hid from the sun, Michelle hid from the water, and again we were blasted by heavy rains in the late afternoon, just in time to make our short drive to Norwood’s interesting.
Tuesday, August 4 – The ocean had a distinct band marked by bubbles and different tints to the water on either side, with the dark water considerably warmer than the lighter. Lynne and Jim had breakfast at the Beacon then drove through the Venetian Bay and Turnbull Bay developments. We had light rain without lightning in the afternoon and ate dinner at the condo.
Wednesday, August 5 – Lynne, Scott, Mom and Zach went golfing at Hidden Lakes. Scott got the low score this time. Jim and Cliff watched dolphins ride the waves in toward shore in the morning. Dave and Jim met the golf crew at Pappa’s for brunch this time. Jim, Michelle, Bill and Cliff went to Peanut’s in the pouring rain to play trivia in the afternoon. Bill wasn’t feeling well and stayed behind while the rest of us ate dinner at Clancy’s in their new location on Flagler Avenue. Ty’aira pointed to everyone at the table and said they were “great” except when she got to Jim or Zach, who were both “not so great”. Scott made the rounds to say goodbye to everyone after dinner.
Thursday, August 6 – Jim and Scott left for the Orlando airport a little before 4:00 a.m. Scott’s connecting flight in Atlanta was delayed again but he still got back to Dayton by noon. Lynne and Michelle both skipped the beach and spent their aquatic time at the pool. Rain again in the afternoon. Mom, Dave and the Lawrences (minus Jessie) took the water taxi up to Ponce Inlet and Lynne, Michelle and Jim met them for an early dinner at the Inlet Harbor Restaurant. The food was good and we enjoyed the atmosphere there but the band was too loud. Another gray evening back in NSB.
Friday, August 7 – There was a fresh track from a sea turtle on the beach next door at the Islander Resort but the Turtle Patrol didn’t mark the nest so apparently no eggs were laid. None of the nests to the south had hatched yet. Carolyn, Caleb and Kayla all had swimmer’s ear. Lynne spent the morning at the day spa at the Riverview Hotel. Lots of dolphin activity in the ocean and lots of silliness in the pool with Zach, Jessie, Kayla, Caleb and Ty’aira. There were only a couple of manatees out in the middle of the cove at Bethune when Jim went in the afternoon. We all met at Mom and Dave’s condo for pizza from Mikey’s and Dave’s lemonade. We finished our major packing, got the car gassed up and vacuumed out, and picked up Mon Delice pastries for the journey north.
Saturday, August 8 – Left NSB a little before 6:00, hitting the McDonald’s on route 44 for coffee, and eating our pastries in the car at the Georgia Welcome Center because of the heat and humidity. Traffic was very aggravating on 95 and 26 east of Columbia, and Jim came down with a cold. We skipped lunch and snacked in the car because of the weather. We got a room at the Comfort Inn in Powell, Tennessee, off I-75 just north of Knoxville. The Lawrences checked in about an hour later and we all had dinner at Five Guys Burgers and Fries followed by the hot tub and pool.
Sunday, August 9 – We said goodbye to the Lawrences and hit the road at 8:00, encountering no problems other than Jim’s cold on the way north, and were sitting in the Skyline on North Bend eating lunch by noon.
Milestones on this trip: Saw the space shuttle Endeavour land.
States and provinces we visited: Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida.
Capital cities we saw: Columbia.
