Florida....

Just returned from a vacation to the north east coast of Florida. What I found most interesting about Florida is that nobody is actually from Florida. Everyone is from somewhere else. We met people from France, Spain, Germany, Norway, many of the USA states - but not one true Floridian!

The coast is beautiful. We flew into Jacksonville and drove to Daytona Beach for our first night. We stayed at the BAHAMA HOUSE. What a great little mom/pop business. Accommodations were great and the staff was outstanding. A plus in our book.

While in Daytona, we had dinner at at the INLET HARBOR....YUMMY!! Prior to our picture being snapped, Gary took off his glasses, they hit his leg and PLOP right into the ocean. They sank so fast, you would have thought they had anchor on them. So we went shopping for CHEAP replacements...cute, huh??

The next day we drove down the coast and landed in Kissamanee. Here we stayed at the GRAND BEACH RESORT. This is a beautiful place and very comfortable. Our friends, Chris and Andre from Missouri, joined us later in the day and we enjoyed a great dinner together.

Friday we did Universal Studios. It was crowded, hot and lots of walking. The best part was the Harry Potter Castle and ride. WOW....it was the coolest thing - if you go, don't miss it!

On Saturday we drove to NASA and Cocoa Beach. With the shuttle missions now gone, NASA is basically just a place to walk around and look at PAST launch pads. Pretty boring to me. I guess it is nostalgic in I can say I was there....

Sunday we drove to Tampa. Stopped in St. Petersburg and Brandenton. Along the way we visited some national monuments. Chris and Andre got us started on the PASSPORT thing, where you get STAMPED when you visit national monuments. It has now become an obsession. On this trip, I think we hit 3 or 4 different places. A little history lesson along the way !!

We went to YBOR CITY, Tampa. Cool, Cuban based historic town.

Monday was the day we parted ways and headed back to Jacksonville for a trip home on Tuesday. Chris and Andre were headed (by car) to Michigan for her sorority conference. They are amazing friends and we had a great time being with them. Thanks Chris and Andre for another great vacation!

We stopped in St. Augustine for our last night. This is suppose to be the oldest city in the USA. Quiet the little town. We made our way down to the historic district. Lots of shopping, eating and people watching. A hard rain started and we found a little pub - Scarlett OHara's place. Raining, 73degrees, couple of drinks and some great food and a special time - just the two of us. What a way to finish off the last night.

Tuesday we were Texas bound. I love vacations, but I love going back home. Originally scheduled for a 2:30 flight, AA over booked (really, imagine that) and offered two $300.00 vouchers to two people that could change their plans. HELLLOOOOOOOOOOOOO - I am so there. So we took a later flight, flew to North Carolina, got off the plane, raced to the OTHER end of the terminal and took our last leg home.

Home sweet home.......