Our FLORIDA Vacation with Austin and Colby (our two grandsons) began on Friday, 2 May 2008... a rainy, windy, all-round stormy midwest Spring day.
My wife Kathy (alias "Grammy") and I (alias "Papa") picked up the grandkids and left our little south-central Illinois town about 2:30 pm that afternoon... thus began our marathon, straight-through drive down to north Florida.
We headed south and crossed the Kentucky state line around 6:30 pm... it rained off and on the whole way.
We crossed over the swollen Ohio River on the Paducah, KY bridge.
Making good time, we crossed the Tennessee state line near Clarksville, TN about 8:00 pm. and ran into even more thunderstorms and high winds.
Colby and Austin loved the rolling hills and small mountains of KY and TN... it sure beats looking at flat old Illinois.
They both liked it when we crossed over the big Tennessee and Cumberland River bridges... and Colby got real excited when he spotted a waterfall splashing down one of the mountainsides.
We stopped at a truck stop for gas and Grammy took the guys in to buy some souvenir State Magnets... they like to collect them as they enter a State they've never been to before.
They bought: KY, TN, AL, GA, and TX (the station didn't have FL so they grabbed TX instead... go figure).
Made it to the northern Alabama border at around 11:00 pm and the rain was letting up a little.
Austin and Colby were sleeping when we entered the state, so they missed seeing the huge NASA Saturn V rocket standing tall at the visitor welcome center outside of Huntsville, AL.
Colby did later wake up in time to see the giant "peach" water tower near Clanton, AL... he thought that was pretty cool.
Finally... we made it to the Florida line at about 4:00 am Saturday morning! Everybody was asleep but the driver... me.
Austin did wake up in time to be the first one to spot the Florida palm trees as we pulled into our Ft. Walton Beach, FL destination.
No more rain, but still very windy... a storm is surely coming soon.
We checked into the Days Inn motel at around 5:30 am... and boy, oh boy was I tired!
After unloading the suitcases in the motel room, we ate a quick continental breakfast and headed down the road for the white sand beaches.
We parked by the "crashed plane" restaurant and cut through their gift shop area to get to the beach... the sand was powdered sugar-white and the waves were big and awesome... (especially big for the Gulf of Mexico side)!
The storm was coming soon, so the waves were really getting big. The guys excitedly ran in and out of the breakers and up and down the beach!
This was Colby's first time EVER to see the Gulf and play in the waves... he was in kiddie heaven!
(Austin had taken a trip to Panama Beach with us a couple years earlier.)
Austin is about to whack a tether ball back to Colby on the beach playground area.
Here's lovely Grammy getting wind-blown in her cool shades as she watches the guys playing on the beach.
Now, here comes two "way cool" surfer duds (oops... I mean "Dudes") riding the waves up onto the beach on the backs of two Great White Sharks... yeah right!
Here's Austin searching for buried Pirate treasure while Colby swings on the slide pole.
Both of them liked to feel their feet "sink" further into the sand after each wave washed by.
Here they are under the big fishing pier... just looking for any sea-animal-type "things".
Watch out for the sharp barnacles!
Uh oh... they spotted a lonely, little sand crab walking along up on the beach...
(this photo is enlarged to show just how "fierce" this little fighter crab was!)
Here they are picking up the sand crab on a small piece of plastic... they then "rescued" the cranky little crab by putting him back in the surf... where he quickly scooted away under water.
Papa gets the "shoe-carrying" job for the guys while they dip their legs in the big Gulf waves!
Austin and Colby take time out from their beach play to say "Hi" and check-in with their Mom (who had to stay and work at the hospital this week back in Illinois).
"Awesome" was the word they kept telling her most... when describing the beach and waves.
Here's Grammy finding a Spanish Gold Doubloon buried in the sand... oh no, darn it... it's just another sea shell !
We all spent an hour or so just playing around in the sand and soaking in that salty beach air.
On the way back to the motel, we stopped and ate lunch at Grammy's favorite fish joint ... good, ol' "Captain D's"! Um yum good !
While Papa finally got to take a nap in the room, Grammy walked the guys down to check out the outdoor swimming pool.
The motel pool was open... BUT... unheated !!! Icy cold pool water.
The guys didn't care too much, but they also didn't swim in it for long.
After they dried off (and thawed out)... Grammy took Austin and Colby across the street to walk through a cool little public "statue park". (Papa was still snoozing in the room)
Here they are, rudely bothering another family trying to have a little picnic on the park bench.
Then they spotted the life-size "Blackbeard II" pirate ship... it must have been blown up on shore about 200 years ago during a hurricane or something!
The guys are trying to capture a baby dinosaur for their Florida souvenir... too big though!
A real, wild, and free-walking peacock hen jumped up on the back of this guy's white pickup truck... won't he be surprised if it stays there till he gets back.
Now, THAT's a BIG pelican!
It's a good thing it's only a statue or he just might be having two kids for his lunch!
A pretty cool "statue park"!
After that, it was Grammy's turn to take a quick nap.
So, all of us "guys" went for a drive looking for souvenir shops and attractions.
We went in one souvenir shop that had about a million t-shirts and postcards, and of course, the "live" little turtles and hermit crabs to raise at home.
They also sold big and little stuffed alligator heads... one of them for sale was humongous!!!
We stumbled upon the Florida Gulfarium and went inside to check it out.
They did have big water tanks (giant aquariums) and had scheduled, live sea animal shows... but the performances were a bit too pricey for us (plus we didn't have Grammy with us anyway).
The guys did get to go in the Gulfarium gift shop and bought a couple of gifts for their Mom and small toy animals for themselves.
The big rainstorm finally blew on past so, we went back to the motel and woke Grammy up.
Then we took her out to one of her favorite "hobby" shops... a local Goodwill Thrift Store!
About half an hour later, it was back to the beach so the guys could play in the sand and see a colorful, after-the-storm, Gulf of Mexico sunset.
Colby loved running along the wet sand, just daring those waves to catch his feet.
Austin loved throwing seashells or pebbles he found back into the crashing waves.
Running, running... and more running along the waveline!
More playing "tag, you're wet" with the waves as the sun sets.
Hey, did a shark get Colby's other leg... or is he just imitating a pink flamingo or something?
On the way back to the motel, we stopped at this souvenir store that had a cool, hodgepodge of a mosaic-style entryway.
A pretty colorful, creative, and clever recycling use of tons of old broken glass, mirrors, pottery, picture frames, seashells, knick-knacks, baubles, chess pieces... and much, much more!!!
We went back to the motel and ate a pizza, looked at local attraction brochures, and watched boxing on TV.
Before the guys passed out, Colby said he liked the beach 1,000%... so, Austin said he liked the beach 1,000,000% !!!
I guess they enjoyed their first day at the beach.
As expected, the long drive, fresh Gulf air, and all the running around on the beach knocked everybody out early that night. The guys were zonked out.
We woke up about 7:00 am and had a nice continental breakfast down in the motel kitchen area.
"Us guys" drove down the road a mile or so and found Henderson Beach State Park... a nice, sunny, clean stretch of white sand and surf.
It was gorgeous there... and oh so tempting for Austin and Colby.
The next thing I know, they beg to take their sandals off and just let the waves come up on their feet and ankles a little.
Soon after, Austin is checking out the girlies... and wait... I think his pants are getting wetter.
Look out! A "rogue" wave must have jumped up and got him... now he is soaked!
And now he is waist deep, playing, and loving it.
Colby's doing pretty good at first, but keeps inching out there a bit further.
Wow, another one of those "rogue" waves must have come in and gotten him soaked, too!
It knocked him clear over, so... yeah, I think he's pretty wet now, too!
With both of them drenched and the damage done...
They took time out to dry off in the sun and built a rough-looking sand castle.
Sand, sand everywhere... all over them and their clothes... so, they headed for the chilly, outdoor wash-off shower by the beach entrance.
After showering off, Austin noticed a couple of little chameleons running along the railing.
It was a 3 hour drive just to get over to I-75 South.
And we saw the historic, dark-colored Suwannee River itself from the bridge.
We pulled in and ate at a famous-across-the-South "Whataburger" restaurant... famous for their huge, tasty burgers since 1950 ! They were pretty darn good !
After a long day in the car, we finally saw the lights of Orlando, Florida and we knew we were getting close to our resort!
We arrived at the fabulous Celebrity II Resort on Poinciana Blvd. in Kissimmee about 8:00 pm.
The luxury part was quickly evident... this pool was great!
And the facilities were gorgeous everywhere we turned.
And WOW... Room #115 was GREAT !!!
A nice kitchen, 2 bathrooms... and a jacuzzi tub !
The guys quickly found the fold-out sofa near a big-screen TV.
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