We headed to Florida last Sunday. We hoped to leave at 6am, but left around 8 instead. Consequently, we didn't arrive in Florida until around 10pm. The drive down was uneventful, but we were pooped!
We settled in at Dan's grandparent's former home in Palm Coast and met up with Nancy (Dan's mom) on Monday. She moved there two years ago and this was the first time we'd been able to come and see her and her new house.
After a tour of her lovely, well-designed abode, we headed to the beach. It was the only day that it was going to be hot, so it was the best choice for our beach day.
Even though it was windy, we had a great time.
We went home, swam a little in Baba's (that's Nancy's Ukrainian nickname) pool, then got cleaned up and headed out for dinner. Our first plan was to eat at a little vegan cafe that Nancy had discovered, but they were closed. Next, we tried a Japanese restaurant that Nancy had suggested, but they were closed, too! We ended up at Thai by Thai, which was delicious--we weren't the slightest bit disappointed that it was our third choice!
On Tuesday, we decided to just relax and hang out around the house. Though it was a little chilly, Lyn and Margie still braved the pool, and Lyn and John had fun in Baba's play room watching videos. John also discovered the joys of some classic card games--War, Old Maid, and Crazy Eights! For dinner, Nancy prepared an interesting mix of Italian and Asian cuisine--a tortellini stir fry. It was yummy! After dinner Nancy treated us to ice cream at Bruster's. Double yum!
On Wednesday, it was still chilly, so we decided to find another indoor activity--this time we headed to the Museum of Arts and Sciences in Daytona. Our first stop was, of course, the cars (it was Daytona, after all). From there we moved to the Coca-Cola exhibit (the maker of the famous Coca-Cola bottle was a famous racecar owner), then a teddy bear exhibit popped into view. We even saw a teddy bear worth a quarter of a million dollars! Next was the train exhibit and we got to see inside a few luxury train cars--now that's riding in style. That was followed by an old time drug store and soda fountain. FINALLY, we headed to the hands on children's science museum.
The kids had fun playing a laser harp, building gravity tubes, turning gears, pulling a rope to demonstrate air pressure...
making pretend pizza, building electric circuits, building a race car, and pulling themselves up on a pulley system...
Dan even got into the act and built a huge tower of blocks.
Here's a picture with Nancy, who's only 5'1", just to show how tall it really is!
We were so engrossed that we almost missed lunch! We had intended to eat at the Museum Cafe, but found to our dismay that the "cafe" was just a vending machine! I guess we're spoiled by the Smithsonian... :o)
Instead, we left the grounds and stopped in at Steak and Shake, which was really good. Never doubt that a family of vegetarians can eat a place with the word "steak" in it! The kids enjoyed macaroni and cheese, Margie had a mushroom sandwich, and we all had yummy half-price shakes!
At the restaurant we ran into another family that had been at the museum and they told us that the planetarium show was starting 3 o'clock. We RUSHED back, but we were too late. Oh, well. Maybe next time.
Outside the museum was a little nature walk which we enjoyed before heading home for more time in the pool and a yummy dinner of spaghetti and Crazy Bread. Instead of coming back to the other house with us, Lyn stayed the night with Baba--it was a fun girl's night out (or in...)!
On Thursday, we had intended to have lunch with Dan's cousins in Gainesville, but that didn't work out, so, since we didn't have anywhere to go, Nancy made everyone a pancake brunch. (Lyn wants to make sure you know she watched Robin Hood in the morning before we got there and loved it!). After brunch, everyone but Dan went over to Beall's to do some shopping. John has outgrown all his pants, and we were in search of some more. Margie, who usually hates shopping, found that she loves Beall's! Not only did we find pants for John, but Margie also bought 4 dresses, one skirt, one pair of pants and a hat for herself! Lyn was also treated to a new outfit from Beall's that she loves and can't wait to wear to school tomorrow.
After our shopping expedition, Margie went on a beautiful 18 mile bike ride with Nancy's neighbor, Roger. Dan spent the day fixing things around the house, and Lyn and John spent the day hanging out with Baba. We finished off the evening with a pot pourri dinner--leftovers from everything we had had all week. Everyone got to choose their favorite!
We said goodbye and headed home Friday morning about 8:30am. Though on our side it was pretty smooth riding, there was a lot of traffic heading south--we were glad we were going the opposite direction!
Saturday we slept in and got things ready for Easter--including attending a choir practice with a potluck dinner--and here we are!
John, Margie, and Lyn got up early for choir. We discovered that the Easter Bunny had come and brought us lots of fun gifts in our easter baskets. John's favorite were the soft air darts. Lyn's favorite was the same thing. Margie loved her vegetarian Pop Tarts, and Dan will be enjoying his chocolate.
After church, we headed home for an Easter Egg hunt in the back yard! Since we don't really eat eggs, the kids leave empty plastic eggs for the Easter Bunny to fill and hide. Once they find them, we have double the fun opening them up to see what's inside.
This year, John got a DS cartridge in one of the eggs! Lyn's favorite was the Silly Putty.
Our Easter dinner was quick and easy, but it was delicious, too: Breaded "chicken" with gruyere and cranberries, rice pilaf, asparagus with dijon sauce, orange rolls, and pina colada to drink.
As soon as we finish this, we are going to have some yummy strawberry shortcake.
We hope your week and your Easter was as fun as ours!
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