d is for day at the beach June 27, 2009

I am having a great time here in Orlando.  I went out for breakfast with Nancy and new friend Ruth.  Afterwards we did our browsing at Staples where they did have some fantastic new items including individual Bic markers, we came home.  While Tom mowed, we got everything ready to go to the beach. Nancy packed us each a Birthday Berry Blast which consisted of a plastic container of mixed berries.  We also packed water and Nancy’s two can’s of Arnold Palmers which she got for her birthday.  We drove over to Cocoa.  It was raining when we got there, so we went to the Old Cocoa area of town where we browsed little shops.  The most interesting was a record store where they had some gems, include a Toto album and three of Dan Fogelburgs finest, all for a dollar each!  By then the weather had cleared so we headed down to the beach.   We got set up with chairs, enjoyed our berries, read magazines and walked on the beach a little.  After a couple of hours, we packed up and drove up and down the coast looking for a spot for an early dinner.  We went to the Coconuts on Beach.  It was a pleasant enough beach bar and the food was decent.

On the way home, there were tons of cars and people with cameras parked along the causeway.  We stopped and asked and people said there was a launch imminent.  We stopped to watch and found out it was a Delta rocket launching from Canaveral.  We stood and watched for a while.  Nancy saw a group of porpoises.  But when one of the spectators announced a push back of the launch by 20 minutes, we got back on the road.  We did see the rocket take off 20 minutes later on the road back to Orlando.  It was pretty cool.

Tonight we are staying in, getting showers and watching TV and eating more cupcakes.  We’ll go to early church tomorrow and then come home and eat breakfast. Then the girls will head off for a Disney adventure.  We are stopping at the brand new fancy Whole Foods store along the way.  We’ll probably stop and get some noodles for floating around in the 6 pools at our resort hotel!  Nancy got us a great deal, being a FL resident and all.  Should be lots of good, clean fun!

B is for back in action. June 27, 2009

Kate is back in travel mode, so I am back with the stories.  This night finds me blogging live from Orlando where I paid a super sneaky surprise visit to my BFF for her birthday.  We are having all kinds of fun.

After spending the morning teaching bible memory at VBS, we are recovering.  I went with Miss Nancy and together with our  8th grade assistant, Brooke, we led 5 sessions of bible verse memory games.  It was quite a morning.  Went by quickly then we went to lunch with Kristin  at Panera.  Now, everyone is home and we are regrouping and making plans for the rest of our days.  Ideas such as cheap beach hotels, cheap Disney hotel, Ikea, Whole Foods, etc. have been tossed around.  It’s great being here.  Dave and I had such a nice visit on the way back from the airport.  He leaves tomorrow for Kentucky, so tonight we are having a cookout at home with some salmon on the grill.  We are also getting cupcakes from a little shop up at Waterford.  We had some samples last night from there.  it’s called “Sweet” and I had the dulce de leche variety and it was fantastic.  Really the best cupcake I have ever had.  I’m not sure what else will be happening.  We are having breakfast with Nancy’s friend Ruth tomorrow.  Again, all I can say is that it’s really great to be here.  It feels like I’ve stopped thinking  and am in a delightful vacation mode.  Except for missing J., all is delightful.