Summer Break

When I was planning this summer's road trip I had considered staying on the road for almost two full months.  I quickly thought better of that and scheduled a two week break back at home to rest and recuperate.

Clint and Laura got to spend 4th of July at church camp and me and the three little boys went to the fought of July celebration at Panther Island in downtown Fort Worth.

Sarah's van was on it's last legs, so when I came across a low milage used van at a steal of a price I bought it.  This will let me avoid putting so many miles on my SUV.

When the kids got back we spent the next week cleaning up and restocking the trailer for the next trip.  We also had some time to explore the Dallas Aquarium

And I took the big kids on a helicopter ride.

Soon it was time to load up for the next part of our summer road trip.  We left not a moment too soon,  North Texas had two weeks of temperatures over 100 while we were away.

Headed Home!

Sunday morning, we started packing up to leave Disney and start working our way home.

Our first stop was Devils Den Springs in central Florida. Clint and I dove in the cavern while Laura snorkeled.

The next day, we drove to Pensacola to visit the area.  The kids were all starting to grate on each other's nerves and spent a lot of the drive fighting in the back seats.  After we arrived and set up camp, and the kids all settled down.

The next day we went to the Naval Aviation Museum on the Air Station.  I hadn't been there since I was training at the Navy and Marine schools back in 1998.  The museum was great, but very busy and trying to keep up with the kids was a challenge.  I got to see a new addition to the museum that had a VH-3 like I had worked on at Quantico

That evening, I took the kids to see The Incredibles 2 at the movie theater.

The next morning My parents said good by and began driving home to Kansas, while we drove a short leg to Mobile.  The following day we drove to New Orleans and visited the WW2 museum there (I forgot to take any pictures).

Finally we made it back to Texas and had dinner with Sarah's parents at their home in Conroe.

The last day was a Saturday and very hot.  Of course we had to stop at Buccees for gas to properly end a Texas road trip.

Four weeks and 4200 mile later, we were finally home.

Disney

After leaving Key West we visited Everglades National Park and the famous fruit stand near the entrance.  The kids enjoyed their key lime milkshakes.

The next day we arrived at Ft Wilderness which is the campground for Disney World.  This is probably one of the nicest RV campgrounds in the country.  The cost is not cheap, but it is considerably less than a hotel suite.  We also were able to save some money by cooking most of our meals at "home" while we were there.

The first day, I took the older kids to Magic Kingdom while Mom and Dad took the little boys.  WE first went to Space Mountain before the lines got too long, but after waiting an hour and about 5 minutes from our turn, the fire alarm went off and the entire building was evactuated.

After a few more rides, the temperature was climbing and the crowds growing pretty thick, we went back to the trailer for lunch and a nap.  Later that evening we all went back to the park to see a few more rides.  This time we had a "fastness" for Space Mountain so we didn't have to wait long at all.  I've never ridden a roller coaster that I couldn't see the track before, it was a lot of fun.

We got a picture of the whole family in front of Cinderella's Castle before the little guys went back to the campsite with Grandma and Grandpa.

At the end of the night we enjoyed the fireworks show and headed back for a well earned rest.

The next day we lounged around through the morning before heading to Epcot around noon.  Laura, Clint and I were scheduled to scuba dive at the aquarium.  It was a great experience scuba diving in front of an audience.  My parents brought the younger boys so they could see us through the window.

Thursday was Patricks 9th Birthday.  The little boys were pretty over done with the theme parks, so I took the older kids to Disney Hollywood Studios.  We enjoyed the rides and shows, I even broke my "no gift shop stuff" rule for Patrick since it was his birthday.  Grandma bought a cake for Patrick and we celebrated his birthday.

Friday, we drove over to Clearwater Marine Aquarium to see the dolphins from the movie, and then drove to Sarasota to visit with a couple of my friends college.

Saturday was a hot day, but we enjoyed swimming and exploring the campground before packing up to leave on Sunday.

The Keys

We spent this past week in the Florida Keys and had a wonderful time.  

Monday we drove from Coca Beach to Key Largo.  As usual we found ourselves driving through thunderstorms.  We actually beat Grandma and Grandpa to the campground for once, but only by about five minutes.  

Tuesday, Clint, Laura and I went Scuba Diving.

After the first dive, Laura had a problem with her braces gabbing her in the gums due to the regulator mouthpiece, so she sat out the second dive.  We found an orthodontist who fixed her up so she could go diving the next day.  

The next day Grandma and Grandpa took the little boys and headed on toward Key West while we went diving again and followed after lunch.  On my first dive, one of my weight pockets fell out, so I couldn't descend, but the dive master took care of Clint and Laura who saw a moray eel and a nurse shark.  On the second dive Clint got really tired swimming against the current so the dive master took him back up to the boat. 

After our dives were over, we picked up our trailer and drove down the road to Key West.  Once we got there and set up our trailer, Mom and Dad went out for dinner and I took the kids to the grocery store.  

Next morning Laura wasn't feeling well, so Clint and I went for another dive.   After this dive, he was  a little burnt out from all the dives so we decided to cancel the dive scheduled for Saturday.  Instead we booked a fishing trip with one of the local charter boats.

After lunch and a nap, I took the older kids to see Ernest Hemingway's house.  Laura could have cared less about the history, she only cared about the cats.

For dinner I took the kids to see the famous Mallory Square Sunset Celebration.  I had my own reasons for this.  Sarah and I had celebrated our 14th anniversary here two years ago.  

I wanted the kids to remember that Sarah's memory will always be with us.

The next day we woke up supper early to catch the ferry to Ft Jefferson out in the Dry Tortugas National Park.  The boat ride was a bit long, but the kids did well.  We explored the fort and then snorkeled in the waters around the island.  

Saturday I took Clint, Laura and Patrick fishing.  The captain took us out past Sand Key into the Gulf Stream to find some Mahi Mahi.  The kids hooked three keepers almost right away.  Laura caught a Bonito that she had a hard time reeling in until something bit off it's tail and Clint caught one whole. I caught two barracuda and at the very end of our trip, a pretty big Mahi.  At one point we had something big, probably a sailfish on the line, but it broke off long before we could get it back to the boat.

That evening we took our catch to a nearby restaurant who cooked them for us.  

Today we left the keys behind and started working our way back home.  We visited the Everglades National Park and camped in central Florida near Lake Okeechobee.  Tomorrow we arrive at Disney.