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.

On the road.

Well, we are officially on our road trip.

We got a soggy start to our road trip with a serious rain system moving trough DFW as we loaded up Monday morning.  I didn't intend to rush the kids out the door, but as I was waking everyone I heard thunder and saw rain approaching on the RADAR.

We fought through DFW Monday morning traffic and finally arrived at Buccees which should be the official start of any Texan's road trip.  We made a quick pit stop in the world's cleanest bathrooms and filled up the truck.

We arrived at Chuck and Lisa's farm outside of Shreveport a few hours later.  We ate lunch and the kids started playing with their cousins.  I set up the trailer and plugged it into Chuck's shop so we could run the AC.  My in-laws drove up to visit with us.  

The next morning I hooked up the trailer before more rain storms blew in.  We wound up driving through several more rainstorms which made towing the trailer quite a challenge.  After we fueled up and ate lunch in Lafayette I found myself racing the same set of storms I had just gotten ahead of.  

We finally arrived in Biloxi Mississippi and met up with my parents.  Once we got set up and dinner under our belts, the Patrick asked to go to be beach.  After a while all my folks brought the rest of the kids over too.

The next day was another driving day.  Patrick rode with my folks in their rig, and the rest of the kids stuck with me.  The kids needed a pit stop so we pulled over at a rest area in Florida.  As the kids were going to the restroom, I did my typical walk around of the trailer and I noticed that one of the tires was going flat.  I had picked up a screw in that tire and it had lost most of the air pressure.  I drove on to the next exit where I got the tire fixed. 

We arrived later at the Jellystone campground in Madison FL.  We stayed there for an extra day so the kids could relax and have some fun.  The all the kids loved playing in the pool area and going down the slide.

The next day we traveled to Coco Beach, but first we stopped in Daytona to tour the race track there.  We managed to arrive at the same time as a serious downpour.  The tour trolly had to cut things short and we got totally soaked and cold.  The kids were great about this and didn't complain at all.  

On Saturday, we drove up to Kennedy Space Center to tour the launch facilities.  We got to see the Space Shuttle Atlantis and several displays about the upcoming missions to explore Mars.  After lunch we boarded the buses that drove us out to the VAB and Launch pads.  The bus dropped us at the  exhibit that houses one of the remaining Saturn V rockets.

Today, Sunday, is Father's Day and we drove down to Vero Beach where I went to flight school in 2002, and where Sarah and I lived just after we got married.  I saw our first apartment and showed the kids several of the places we hung out when we lived here.  I hadn't been back since we moved away 16 years ago, but not a lot changed.

We also enjoyed swimming on the beach and watching the cruise ships arrive and depart.  Tomorrow we depart for our drive down to the Keys.

NYC trip

Laura got to enjoy a trip with some of her school classmates to New York City this past week.  Sarah had taken the kids there three years ago, but Laura enjoyed seeing the city again.

One of her teachers, Mrs. Jones, organized this trip with a tour company.  The tour company handled all the logistics of airplane tickets and hotels.  At one point, Laura decided she didn't want to go because she didn't have any close friends going on the trip.  I convinced her that she should still go and that she would still have fun and would probably make some new friends.

We had to wake up extra early to meet the group for a 0605 departure, but she did great.

She got to see the Empire State building, Times Square, Grand Central Station, Ellis Island, and Yankee Stadium.

On the third day, they went to see a Broadway Musical, "Hello Dolly", which was playing in the same theater they had visited three years ago.

Sure enough, Laura made a new friend while she was there.

I missed having her around, and I certainly wish I could have gone with her, but I'm glad she got to have fun.