The great escape (long post ahead!)

Have you ever felt all couped up? Like you were going to self destruct at any moment? That is exactly how I have been feeling this winter. I am convinced I have a seasonal disorder called SAD. January every year makes me feel a lot claustrophobic with all the bad air hanging around. Then one day my hubby said to me "We have a two for one flight reward from Delta. When and where shall we use it?" My answer................"NOW! And wherever it is warm and sunny, right now!"

We decided since we had a condo that sleeps 6, to invite some friends along for the fun. Scott grew up with Greg and when he and his wife Susan were dating I met Scott and we all became friends. Families, the Bingham's moving to West Jordan and just life in general got in the way of doing much together over the years. So we decided that they were the ones to ask. It proved to be a wonderful choice.

So 2 weeks later on a cold and blustery Saturday, we were on our way to Daytona Beach, Florida!!!!!

Saturday evening we arrived in Orlando, picked up our rental car and drove an hour to Daytona. It was getting late so we decided to stop for groceries before arriving at the condo. It was hard to find a store but finally we spotted one, turned around and went in side to get our supplies. The store had bars on the windows, a security guard, and workers that informed us that they were closing in 5 minutes. So the mad dash began, if this spanish store had salsa on the right isle we would have been out quicker! Then when we were finally ready to check out, the teller informed us that plastic bags were 10 cents a piece but boxes were free ( it's funny how tight you can be when it comes to probably about 50- 60 cents!), we chose boxes.
When we finally arrived at the condo, it was all we expected and we settled in for the night. We woke up to this!!!!!!!!

A room with a view!!!!!!!!!!!!



Ready for Church

 Sunday was my favorite day of the whole trip. Before we left we knew we wanted to have a nice Sabbath day to rest and prepare the the next 4 days. Church began at 9, the ward was so welcoming and so diverse. We had a laugh out loud moment, when the chorister got an itchy nose and proceeded to stop leading to scratch the itch but, we continued singing and the organist continued playing since he was blind, he never skipped a beat. The talks were wonderful and I felt the spirit with our fellow saints in Florida!

After Church

 We went back to the condo for lunch and a walk on the beach.

The beach in front of our condo

My dream job!!!

The sand was like flour, so fine and soft! It was just a little chilly so there weren't any people in the water. The life guard seems to have a pretty cushy life....in the winter any way. There are many to lives to save in the summer months he told us. They let you drive your cars on the beach so of course we had to try it out in our rental car, I'm glad to say we didn't get stuck once.

After our walk we drove over to the Ponce De Leon inlet to see the 2nd tallest lighthouse in the USA. We didn't get to climb the 250 steps to the top on this trip but, next time for sure.

As my family can attest, I  love lighthouses! They remind me of our Savior, He gives us His light to look for and follow through the darkest of days and nights. He is our beacon and has been/ will be, there for me through the hard things in life. I look to Him for my salvation and safety!

We went back to the condo, ate a home cooked meal, and played games into the night. I won enhanced Uno by the way!Greg :-p,, thought I was a bad sport. Can you imagine that? I let him win another game after wards, Lol!

This is the beautiful sunrise we had on Monday morning from our balcony (are you sufficiently jealous yet?).

Yes! Then the adventure began at Universal Theaters. We bought 2 day passes, so we went on Monday and Wednesday. There are 2 islands so of course we chose the one with Harry Potter world for the first day.

Hogwarts castle, Hogsmead, Diagon Alley, and butter beer, I was in heaven!!!




Yummy!!!

 

This is the incredible Hulk ride. Take my advice and steer clear of this ride. Wicked!! It launches you out of that tube, then through all those twists and turns and spits you out to be dizzy and ruined for hours.

Tuesday we were off to the Kennedy Space Center. Greg and Susan had never been there before so of course they needed to see it. I almost stayed at the condo because I have seen it and I'm not real crazy about it. Don't get me wrong I love stars, planets, space stations, satelights and the technology that came from the space program (I love the benefits of Velcro for crying out loud, I had 4 kids with 2 feet each and the shoes were a God send)  but, ONCE is enough. I went anyway for the company. This is me, trying to look interested!



It was a long day though but the company was good.

The Simpson's. Not a fan but I was there

The next day back to Universal.





Jaws!!!

On the way back to the condo that night, we decided to stop by the Orlando Temple. It was so beautiful! I wish that we had more time to go inside.

Thursday afternoon it was time to come home! Man, that was one fast trip. We said good bye to Greg and Susan at the airport because we were on different flights home. We got on our plane to Atlanta but right away we knew we had problems. The plane had no running water (hello! Washing your hands after the potty, Yuck! Thank goodness for hand sanitizer, right?), then a man started throwing up, and the paramedics came. Some guys with a stretcher came and hauled the guy and his travel companions off the plane, the cleaning crew came rushing in (like on Monsters Inc. when that one monster had a little girls stocking on his back) and finally we took off.

In Atlanta the flight was way over booked and for the first time ever we could actually volunteer to give up our seats. They gave us 2 $400 vouchers for a future flight, vouchers for dinner and breakfast, and accommodations for the night at the nicest hotel I have ever stayed in. We arrived home Friday around noon.

It was a great trip and so spur of the moment! I guess being a empty nester has it's privileges!