Quick trip to FL (without RV)

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No, we haven't been camping lately. Even in Alabama it's been a bit chilly. But we did take a trip to Florida in Feb to see the kids AND pick up some items they had been storing in their garage for us. For this trip we took the beat-up pickup truck since we had a lot to load and we would get better mileage than the RV. As a result, since the boys now occupy the two spare bedrooms, we got a room in a local motel.

This trip down, we tried a new route, heading east to GA then some backroads south out of Cave Springs to I-20, but taking Cabin Creek Parkway around Atlanta. It worked like a charm! Traffic, yes, but not the big trucks and crazy rush as on the interstate. Still, we had interstate 75 south until we got to Tifton, then US-82 east to Waycross. We like taking 82; little traffic, much of it 4 lane, places to eat, and nice scenery.

We got a motel about 10 miles from the kids that had an indoor pool. What a treat for the boys--to be able to swim in a nice pool in February. They also had a decent breakfast buffet. We checked in and then went to the kids. Josh had a bit of time before he had to go to work that evening with pizza delivery. Xander was cute as ever, smiling and eying everything and everyone. Drew had been primed for our arrival and has learned to say "Ba-san" and "Ji-san" instead of grandma and grandpa. He also wanted to know where the "V" was.

Josh is now a full-time, stay at home Dad, while Jen has gone back to work as an auditor. He enjoys his time with the boys, but to help with finances, he continues to deliver pizza in the evenings. So when he headed off to work, we stayed a bit with Jen and the boys, then, tired from the drive, drove back to the hotel and some rest. Next morning we enjoyed the food at the buffet and headed to the kids. Drew was up and actually happy to see us and show us more "stuff". We looked at books, videos, and toys. The weather was nice, and one of the outside toys Drew had was a T-ball set up to practice batting. It consists of a stand in which a tower is placed, a ball put on the tower (or Tee) and then the batter can hit the stationary ball. But this device can be converted to an automatic "pitcher" by placing the tower down low, loaded with 5 plastic balls, then turned on. It plays some rinky-dink music, has a bugle charge, and a ball pops up in the air and you are expected to hit it. It's not as easy as it seems!! Apparently when 'Drew' got the present, all the men present had to try it. Of course, they stood and swinging a bat was difficult for a 28" bat so they used only one hand. Now Drew thinks that is how to bat...one-handed. Drew tried and tried....no success. Then Daddy tried....he got a couple. Then Ji-san tried...missed most but got one or two. Finally we converted it to the Tee position and then Drew had success.

The boys had fun playing in the front yard...until the ball landed in an errant pile of doggy stuff. Drew picked it up, looked, and was very upset. At first we thought it was just dirt but a sniff proved otherwise. So ball and Drew got cleaned. Now Drew was upset and didn't want to play. But we had fun while it lasted.

We headed back to the hotel in the evening and decided to go for a swim in the pool and then soak in the sauna. When we got to the pool and stuck a toe in, it was cold! I don't mean cool, I mean COLD! Confusing us was the fact that the previous evening, two young boys had been playing and splashing and having a good time. Something was wrong with the pool so I quickly headed to the front desk and asked, "What is the temperature set at for the pool?" Answer--it's not a heated pool. What the ...? You have and indoor pool and it is NOT heated; what is the sense in that? The clerk just shrugged. I was willing to pay an extra $20 a night so the boys could come and enjoy, but this was not going to be enjoyable. We checked the sauna and it was still cool, so we went back to the room and I got online and stated checking other motels. Ended up getting a reservation for the same hotel we stayed in back in 2005 when Josh and Jen got married. It was only a couple of miles from them....and much cheaper. So next morning we moved.

It was a bit inconvenient not having the RV, but the really bad part was not being there as often. (Of course, it meant Josh and Jen had more time without us in the house, but we didn't get to see Drew as much.) We finished checking in to our new hotel and went over to spend time with the kids. Josh's best friend, James, made arrangements for all of us to meet for lunch at a pizza spot near them. So with Xander and Drew in their car seats, we ended up following Josh over to the pizza spot and joining James and his young ones. It was fun to see how the kids interact and get along and it is always good to see James, sort of a second son for us. We've known James since he and Josh were in 8th grade in Japan.

Jen came home early that day and Drew wanted to go outside to play. He especially wanted to show us his bike. Yep, he has a 2-wheeler with training wheels and can pedal quite fast. Because the kids live on a street with a long cul-de-sac, it was relatively safe. Drew has to wear a helmet and can only go in the street if a parent is with him. So Drew took off back and forth in front of the house, maneuvering quite well. Then his Daddy decided to race him to the end and back. Off they went. Next it was Ji-san's turn. Drew was yelling and cheering the whole way and when I (sort of) pretended I was tired and couldn't go as fast, he just laughed and went faster. I don't know if HE was tired, but I sure was!

Saturday Trish and I drove north to near the mouth of the St. John's River for a meeting of the Southwest Chapter of the American Bamboo Society. We have joined and this was our first opportunity to actually attend a meeting. It was very informal and held at a members home where he is growing a large number and variety of bamboo. Everyone we met seemed very knowledgeable and informed. They often used the Latin names for the various bamboos and we toured the yard looking at the species and hearing how they fared in warm/cold weather and problems in growing and propagating. It was sort of overwhelming. They also held a plant auction and though she originally said NO, when a particular strain of a black bamboo came up, Trish bid and won it. So we would bring it back and plant it in the yard eventually (when danger of frost was past.)

We opted not to join the group for lunch and a tour of the zoo and their bamboo. Instead we took a ferry across the river to Singleton's Fish Market where we were meeting Josh and family for lunch. The river is wide at that point and the 15 minute ride across was pleasant and relaxing. We got to the restaurant ahead of everyone so got a large table by the windows overlooking the river and then had a cup of chowder each and I had a large coffee to warm up from standing in the cold for several hours. The kids arrived and we had a wonderful fish lunch. While we were there several large cargo ships went by and Drew and Daddy went outside to watch.

We got back to the kid's house after lunch and Josh and I proceeded to put a large, heavy above ground pool (still boxed up) in the back of the pickup. We then loaded a large heavy plastic fish pond in on top and added a pump, waterfall, and other pieces. The pool was purchased last fall at end of year and we got a good deal on it. We couldn't load it in the RV and still have room to move; hence, the need to head back to FL this late winter. The fish pond had been in their backyard for several years and they no longer wanted to keep fish and turtles, so we had pulled it out last fall and this was the opportunity to get it and bring it back with us. We got everything in and then put bungee netting over it and extra bungee cords to make sure it was all tight. We finished just as it started to rain. We spent the rest of the afternoon/evening with the kids, then headed back to the hotel for early bed since we would be leaving before daylight.

Next morning we retraced our route back to Alabama, staying off interstates except for the stretch from Tifton to near the Atlanta airport. The bungee held fine and we got home before dark. All was unloaded and now we just await better weather to dig in the fish pond and set up the above ground pool for summer fun.

Next time we see the Florida family will be Kim's wedding in May.

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Photos

Drew's automated batting toy
Hand/eye coordination is still being learned. But we had fun playing ball in the front yard.

Success!
As you can see, the ball can also be set up T-ball style. Drew has better luck than when it "pops" up automatically.

Parents and kids
Xander is growing fast! He is wearing clothes larger than his brother did at 3 months. Both boys are healthy, happy and well behaved.

Racing daddy
Drew and daddy raced down the street to the end of the cul-d-sac and back. Drew can really pedal fast! Than Ojisan had to race....yep, he beat me and was laughing all the way.

Bamboo along the St. Johns river
We attended a meeting of the Southeast American Bamboo Society and learned about growing bamboo, tips, and had a chance to see various strains in one of the member's yard. It was informative and really nice to meet these folks and see some beautiful growths.

Trip to Mayport, FL by ferry
After leaving the bamboo meeting, we drove to the ferry and went across the St. Johns river to Mayport. There we met Josh, Jen and the boys at Singletons's Seafood restaurant for lunch. This is a shot from the ferry heading to Mayport.

Passing freighter
During lunch, Drew enjoyed the passing river traffic. At one point this huge freighter came down river heading for the ocean. Drew and daddy went to look. Drew was excited (and a bit confused) because all the cargo vans looked like stacks of box cars, so he thought it was a VERY large (and strange) train in the middle of the river.

Lunch on the river
Great food as always...clam chowder, fish, fries and hot coffee. (It was cold that day!)

Home safely
The old pickup is loaded with an above ground pool and a preformed fish pond. We never could have fit this into the RV. Our speed was a bit slower coming home but we had it all securely tied down.

Comments

[dad]

what I got out of this...aside from reading about your fun with family...is the interesting route to Florida that was new to me