Vacation Adventures January 2012

We got out of Dodge just as the first snowstorm of the season was arriving. Had a little trouble deciding just when to leave but settled on Wednesday morning, with a leisurely drive to Florida planned. In conversation with Kathy on Tuesday, Bob discovered that Stefan needed a ride back to SIU. He was hoping to go back on ...Wednesday! So, Wednesday morning we loaded up the Prius with our stuff, then picked up Stefan and HIS STUFF and took off for Champaign. It was a nice ride and fun to have Stefan with us. How often do you have your grand son captive for so many hours? I was very surprised when we pulled up in front of Stefan's Frat house - it is quite impressive on the outside! (Bob's been in Frat houses before, so he wasn't fooled.) Bob and Stef carried in all his stuff, then Stefan invited me in to see the house and his room. That was very brave of him. The guys in the house seem to have a tradition of leaving things for the next resident, and they move every six month. I don't think this is an efficient plan, but no one has asked me... I advised Stef to get some big garbage bags and a shovel. The problem is that the previous kid asked him to "put all his stuff in one corner" and it filled the whole room. Bob was concerned because the big, thick mattress was basically 'V' shaped and he wondered how Stef would sleep. After cleaning the room he was probably so tired he could have slept anywhere. We left him to his work and headed South.

Stefan Salzano in from of Frat House in Champaign, Illinois 1-2012

We often find our way to the Marietta Diner when driving to Florida and it's one of my favorite stops!

Friday was a beautiful day and we found Barbara and Charles, in The Villages, of Florida right on time. It is always fun to visit with them! We had a nice dinner, ice-cream and lots of conversation. Bob loves the non-dairy ice-cream in The Villages in all its delicious fruit flavors.

Late Saturday afternoon we arrived at Lake Bryan, Diamond resort. It is a beautiful place to stay. We had a cute two room suite with large, flat screen TV's in both rooms and HBO. All the appliances were top of the line. We loved the hammocks on the beach and it is just off 'World Drive' and all the Disney property. A great place to be.

I still love the Magic Kingdom. I probably won't ever out grow it, but I do have trouble remembering not to call it DisneyWorld as that is confusing to others...(when I first went there, it was DisneyWorld, and that was all there was. Don't they know it confuses old people when they rename things? We enjoyed visiting Epcot another day and decided to save "Universal" the next trip.

The sign said 'Don't feed the wild life' but Bob didn't see it!

Driving back, we stopped at a gas station/fruit stand for a unique shopping experience. First off - we went from pump to pump, looking for one that was working - the all had plastic bags over the spouts. Finally realized that they don't sell gas any more. We had to wait to purchase our Peach Cider while Bubba chased down Sissy to help us, so he could talk to his parole officer.

Smoky Mountains - Tennessee

The weather got colder and darker as we drove North, and we met up with the snow in Champaign. Visibility was terrible, but driving wasn't too bad, just slow. We decided against asking Stefan for a place to stay, and s.l.ooo.w.l.y  proceed home.