Two launches highlight a hot time in New Smyrna Beach
Friday, July 27 – Our party consisted of Jim, Lynne and Michelle for the drive south. We planned on hitting the road at 5:00; we actually left at 5:02, late for once. Our plan was to eat at the rest area south of Lexington so we stopped at a McDonald’s north of the city for coffee. Surprise, the rest area was no longer there, apparently replaced by the Kentucky Artisan’s Center. Plan B – we ate as we drove. It was overcast but with no rain almost all day. Repair work at the Cumberland Gap tunnel had both directions sharing one of the tunnels but we were not delayed at all. We were finishing lunch at the South Carolina Welcome Center when Cliff, Chris, Kayla and Caleb pulled in. Very humid but still cloudy until we passed Columbia when the sun started popping out.
Traffic kept coming to a crawl or a dead stop on 26. Eventually we passed a slow yellow crane which was the apparent cause of the congestion. We used our points to get a very nice room at the Comfort Suites in Richmond Hill at the U.S. 17 exit. It featured two waterfalls in the lobby and a glass elevator, and our suite had a couch and lots of room. After driving up and down lots of streets we found the Upper Crust, the only Italian restaurant listed in the area. Michelle had some buffalo chicken she said was really good. Jim and Lynne had their spaghetti and meatballs which was awful. It stormed after dinner wiping out a planned trip to the hot tub.
Saturday, July 28 – Breakfast was at the hotel. A bright and sunny morning after the overcast and storms of the previous day. Traffic was very light through Georgia. At the Florida Welcome Center we saw one of the workers at the hospitality desk pouring cartons of orange juice into the dispenser. So much for fresh squeezed. Construction in Jacksonville was a pain and drivers there were panicky and stupid. We got to New Smyrna Beach about noon and ate lunch at Pappa’s Drive-In on U.S. 1. We were the first to arrive at the Surfside and checked into unit 223. Cliff’s crew were next in 209 followed by the Lawrences and Mom and Dave Seim in 103. Our unit had a wonderful view of the ocean from the living room and master bedroom but was a bit of a walk from the other units. Hot and sunny turned to dark and cloudy with lots of wind while we were shopping at the Food Lion. Rain was falling when we picked up pizza from Manny’s for dinner, followed by a birthday cake for Jim’s 50th. All the kids took turns coming over to tell him he was old. We tried a walk on the beach afterwards but the bugs were biting terribly.
Sunday, July 29 – For a change we hit the pool first. Lynne opted to stay there while Jim and Michelle went to the beach. Kayla and Caleb surprised everyone with their swimming ability. Waves in the ocean didn’t faze them in the least. All the parking spots in Bethune Park were taken up so we had to skip seeing the manatees. We wasted a good part of the afternoon trying to get the computers to dial in to work. Rain and storms in the afternoon gave way to sunshine by the time we went to Mi Mexico for dinner. The food was excellent and we all ate too much.
Monday, July 30 – Our unit had a tide clock as part of its decor so we knew we were in for high tide in the morning. The breakers were good but the northward current was very strong. We spent a lot of time at the pool afterward, saw a lot of manatees at Bethune, and took some big-time naps before dinner at P.J.’s Sea Shack. It had rained every evening but on this night it was sunny, hot and humid. Plexiglass covers on the windows kept the breeze away. P.J.’s drink prices are high, and it was very hot and humid.
Tuesday, July 31 – Lynne and Michelle went golfing at Hidden Lakes with Mom, Dave and Zach. Afterwards they had brunch at Teddy’s in Edgewater. There were at least a dozen manatees at Bethune, several in the little spot between the docks. Bill, Carolyn and Jessie came down to see them putting an end to Carolyn’s curse. We saw dolphins in the ocean a couple of times during the day. Zach and Jessie spent the afternoon with us as huge storms rolled through, knocking out the power a couple of times. We went shopping at Walmart and had a late dinner at Beef O’Brady’s Sports Bar at a table festooned with Florida Gator paraphernalia.
Wednesday, August 1 – A cloudy, uninviting morning made for a late start. Most of the clan didn’t make it down to the beach until after 11:00. Rumbles of thunder cut off swimming at 2:00. We ate dinner at Blackbeard’s ending up at three separate tables.
Thursday, August 2 – Jim, Michelle and Jessie drove to Orlando International Airport to pick up Scott who flew in on AirTRAN. Rain started falling before they got out of New Smyrna and never let up. Scott’s flight was on time despite the weather but the pouring rain scuttled a planned trip to Cypress Gardens. They settled for some rubbernecking on International Drive and lunch at a Burger King. Between the construction and rain delays it took almost an hour to get across Orlando. The constant rain also torpedoed a planned shopping expedition for Lynne, Carolyn and Mom. Zach came over and the kids played cards with Lynne. The rain finally let up early in the evening and Scott, Lynne and Jim went to the Sea Treasure Restaurant on U.S. 1 for dinner.
Friday, August 3 – A complete turnaround from the previous day. Abundant sunshine as the meteorologists on Central Florida News kept telling us. We spent the morning at beach and pool. Michelle’s friend Jessie came down from Gainesville in the afternoon. She’s studying animal care and zookeeping and was ecstatic to see the manatees at Bethune. The rain from the previous day had raised the water level in Mosquito Lagoon to the point where the manatees could swim in areas usually too shallow and they were putting on quite a show rolling around and nibbling plants right by the shore. We drove up to Ponce Inlet for dinner at Down The Hatch. Cliff and his crew opted to walk around the inlet while the rest of us went to Pirate’s Cove Miniature Golf in South Daytona for an extremely hot game. Dave and Mom decided they’d had enough of the heat and left us. The Robinsons and Lawrences went to Cow Lick’s for ice cream. Zach rode back with us and he, Scott and Jessie kept us entertained in an extremely politically incorrect fashion.
Saturday, August 4 – Lynne, Jim and Scott went down to the beach at 5:26 for the launch of a Delta II rocket carrying the Phoenix lander bound for Mars. We were able to watch it for several minutes and saw both sets of solid rocket boosters fall away as it headed for space. Scott went back to sleep but Jim and Lynne went to Manny’s for breakfast. During our morning beach time Lynne, Zach, Michelle and Chris all got stung by jellyfish so we moved up to the pool. The Robinsons, Lawrences and guest Jessie went to Toni & Joe’s for lunch. The Flagler Avenue area was a zoo with all the weekend crowds and Jim and Bill ended up parking several blocks away from the restaurant. Jessie had exams on Monday so she had to leave late in the afternoon and we were all sorry to see her go. We went to 103 for Manny’s Pizza and discovered Carolyn had gone back in the ocean that afternoon and got stung badly on both legs. After dinner Zach came up to our unit for some serious Uno. Jim and Michelle talked with the owner of unit 222 and found out he’s from Delhi and used to live a few blocks from us. He and his wife decided to buy a unit after coming down and renting for 20 plus years.
Sunday, August 5 – The jellyfish stings faded nicely for most of the victims but Chris and Carolyn ended up with welts. The paper said lifeguards had treated over 400 people on the beach for stings and recommended white vinegar as first aid. Jim and Lynne went to the Little Theater for their production of “Cocktails with Mimi”, a farce of mistaken identities put on by the local community theater group. We ate dinner at the Main Street Grille on U.S. 1. Michelle was very happy when we spotted three cats behind the restaurant. Scott and Michelle went down to 103 for games after dinner.
Monday, August 6 – Lynne, Michelle and Scott went golfing with Mom and Zach at Hidden Lakes. Lynne got her first ever birdie on the par 3 second hole when she chipped her second shot into the cup from off the green. Jim went swimming with Jessie before meeting the golf crew at Teddy’s for breakfast. The pool was warm but the ocean was cooler. Carolyn read in the paper that the jellyfish invasion was supposed to be over so we spent a lot of time at the beach. Norwood’s now has call-ahead for preferred seating and we combined that with their earlybird specials for an excellent dinner. Game night was at our unit. Scott had gone shopping at Flagler Avenue and we discovered someone had put a dent and a scrape in the Windstar’s bumper while it was parked in the public lot by the beach.
Tuesday, August 7 – We all went to Blue Spring for a picnic. It was incredibly hot. The park had undergone some large changes since our last visit including a new children’s play area, a concession stand, a new parking lot, lockers, tube rentals, and a pair of docks with steps and ladders. Everyone except Mom, Dave, Michelle and Lynne opted to try the 72 degree water. The bottom of the channel was very rocky by the docks but was sandy nearer the spring. Sunken logs and the current made for a difficult journey to the spring but we all made it. From the boardwalk we saw an alligator, an osprey, lots of turtles and gars, and plenty of birds. Back at the picnic shelter Bill fired up some charcoal in a grill for hot dogs, bratts and metts. A raccoon put in a couple of appearances while we were eating. We didn’t stay long after dining because of the heat. Dave said the thermometer on his car registered 100 degrees on the drive back. The pool was like bathwater and the ocean only a little better. Tired of dining out, we opted to stay in the air conditioning and finish off leftovers.
Wednesday, August 8 – Scott woke up heaving and felt sick all morning. When we mentioned it to Cliff later he said he had felt the same way a couple of days before. Jim and Lynne ate breakfast at the Little Drug Company in downtown New Smyrna. Lynne had a cheese egg sandwich called a MacLittle. Jim had read that former Reds pitcher Jack Billingham lived in New Smyrna so we looked him up in the phone book and drove past his house on Faulkner. Kayla and Caleb caught a dinky ghost crab on the beach; it kept escaping when they tried to show it to people. Carolyn found a sand dollar which she kept trying to “forget” but the helpful kids made sure she didn’t leave it at the beach. Michelle went shopping with Carolyn in the afternoon. Jim, Lynne and Scott took a walk at the Indian River Nature Preserve off Saxon then drove over to Flagler for souvenirs. We all ended up at the store with the purple awning because it’s the only place we can find Key Lime Cooler cookies. Michelle bid Carolyn au revoir and rejoined us for dinner at Clancy’s. We were back in plenty of time to join the crowd on the beach for the launch of the Space Shuttle Endeavour. The initial portion of the launch was hard to see because of the haze over the beach but as the shuttle climbed we had an excellent view and were able to see the solid rocket boosters separate from the orbiter. Afterwards we played Dave’s National Parks Monopoly and watched Jessie.
Thursday, August 8 – Jim, Scott, Michelle and Zach went to Busch Gardens Africa in Tampa. It was very hot and humid without the usual afternoon shower to cool things down. Scott lost his cell phone while riding Sheikra. We rode front seat on all the roller coasters except Gwazi which we all opted to skip. Lynne spent the day cleaning and organizing and went shopping before joining the Lawrences and Mom and Dave for dinner at their unit.
Friday, August 10 – Jim ran into the Turtle Patrol on his morning walk and got to help shepherd a hatchling to the ocean. It had gotten caught in some vegetation when the rest of the babies made their way to the water during the night. Mom and Dave had said they were leaving at 9:00 but left early without saying goodbye to everyone. The ocean was cold and refreshing. With this being the last day, more time than usual was spent at the beach and pool. Jim, Scott and Zach ate lunch at J. B.’s and Scott finally got his dozen steamers. The manatees had disappeared from Bethune, probably because of the colder water that showed up Thursday. Carolyn suggested we order from Manny’s rather than go out to eat so everyone would have more time to get packed. Unfortunately she placed our orders with the wrong Manny’s calling their location in Ormond Beach so we ended up eating a much later dinner than planned. Carolyn said one day we would all have a laugh about her mistake and we assured her it would never be brought up.
Saturday, August 11 – Lynne suggested leaving at 6:00, Jim at 5:00, so we compromised and left at 5:30. Skies were hazy through the morning and traffic light for the first hours of the drive. We ate breakfast at a McDonald’s on the south side of Jacksonville. Scott rode back with us and with him and his luggage added to the mix, the Windstar was loaded to the gunwales. Scott said to make a note that the back seat was uncomfortable as a result. Lynne said the front wasn’t much better. At Hardeeville we stopped for gas and found it was a lousy place if one wanted clean restrooms and fast food service that was actually fast. I-95 started to bunch up and we ran into swarms of brake lights about 30 miles south of I-26. 26 wasn’t any better to the point where we looked at the map and tried to detour to route 176 north of the Interstate. Unfortunately the road we took just looped us back to I-26 a couple of miles after we exited. Traffic came to a complete halt a couple of times in Columbia. After that the road opened up nicely and we had smooth sailing to I-40 running into no delays until we were near Knoxville. We stayed at the Quality Inn at exit 398 and ate dinner at Ruby Tuesday’s. The room was small and the shower head whistled like a tea kettle.
Sunday, August 6 – We left the hotel a little before 8:00 taking the beltway around Knoxville to I-75. The mountains were very pretty and we ran into a few miles of foggy weather in southern Kentucky. The drive was uneventful until we got to Kyles Lane in northern Kentucky where work on the Cut in the Hill was producing delays. We exited and took Madison Pike and the Clay Wade Bailey bridge back to Cincinnati and were in the garage and unloading by 12:30. We were so early we ended up at the Animal Ark kennel before they opened and had to wait until 2:00 to pick up the cats.
Milestones on this trip: None really, just a good relaxing time.
States and provinces we visited: Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida.
Capital cities we saw: Columbia.
