Road Trip 2010 (part 1)

“Really? Florida? I get to go on vacation and you say Florida? Does your sister want to go? Any friends want to spend a week with you in Florida? I don’t do well in the humidity and the beaches aren’t my favorite place… I mean, what’s up with all that sand? Does it really have to be so sticky to the body?” I was full of excuses and complaining before this vacation started and I was wrong for doing it. Julie wanted to see her good friend Megan and Praveen, her grandfather, Bud and Sharon and a lot of other family too, and all she got from her “best-friend”, “helpmate”, “supporter” and husband was argument after argument… quite tetchy! Probably has something to do with my sign, but more to do with “self”.

As launch date got closer, the squabbling lessened and the mood shifted and there was a little more excitement and anticipation; although I still had the childhood memories of disliking the beach still in my head.

Friday, July 9

I got off work and gave the Torbecks hugs and kisses and handshakes with a good squeeze and Neil and I did a bro-hug. I got into my vehicle and drove out of the neighborhood toward the local Speedway gas station (I’ve been influenced by a good friend and all the media to choose other stations than BP) and noticed that I was a little sad. I analyzed these feelings and discovered that I was truly going to miss work, because work seems more like family and I have come to love everyone I work around. But, because guys don’t cry too easily I took a deep breath and released and filled up the Ford Escape ’09 with gasoline.

On my way home I ran a couple errands and by the time I actually got home it was about 11:30p, so I did a couple things around the house and got a quick snack and then hopped into bed (12:30a).

Saturday, July 10

On the road by 4:10a... Heck ya! I got enough sleep to start the trip and Julie, well, Julie enjoyed getting to sleep. She had a ton to do around the house to prep for our return and finish her packing, so she decided that she would just stay awake until we left and I slept so that I could drive.

It was a great start... you've got to love driving for three hours and ending up in your fourth state! Indiana to Ohio, back to Indiana and then Kentucky! The sun came up and was, oh so beautiful!

The drive continued and from Kentucky to Tennessee and then through a tad bit of North Carolina! I got super excited to go through this state, and just enough to make me want to return (if you know me you'll know that I am a UNC fan!). Then we went through South Carolina and then Georgia (if you're counting that is 7 states in about 12 hours). Now, the trip should have taken so much faster, but we lost an hour and a half in traffic, but finally ended up in our 8th state and final stop for the day... Jacksonville, Florida!

Julie has had a faithful, wonderful, encouraging and fantastic friend since college that we decided to visit. So when we walked into this house there was much rejoicing! Hugs all around! Much clatter! It was an exciting atmosphere, but not because we were there (gotcha!), but rather because they had invited a few friends over for a game night. It was so neat to meet all these new people! There was Tom, Dick and Harry. Thelma and Louise and oh, what about Bob! (2 1991 movie references in 1 sentence... I'm good!) No, but seriously, there were quite a few people all hosted by the infamous, Darius... not Rucker, but Motiwalla and Megan and Praveen (the burger master).

Food note: Randomly I am going to break in the blog to bring you a food note. These are notes about food. :) The patties were formed and sauteed onions (sauteed in bacon grease and butter), bacon and cheese were placed inside the patties and then grilled on a George Forman! Can we say... WOW!!!!!

There was great conversation, fun conversation, interesting conversation, rated-M conversation and put-the-kids-to-bed conversation... what a fun night! Thanks to all who contributed... it was so nice to meet you all!

Sunday, July 11

Slept in! Zzzz... heck ya!

After a cup of coffee, and a couple eggs on toast (Thank you Megan)...

Food note: These eggs were over-easy and made to perfection. You know when you want runny eggs, but they are in the in between stage, these were not that... these were perfect!

... Praveen and I left our ladies back at home and went to the beach (I know, doesn't sound right... too much like a bromance right? Well, keep reading). This was a wonderful time filled with great conversation, laughs and free counseling! :) We drove up into a parking lot which had a sign "parking $5" and checked our pockets for cash (no credit or checks accepted). We had no cash, so a frenzy began in search of coinage! LOL! Between the coins in my vehicle and in Praveen's pockets we came up with $4.98! After looking at each other for the last two pennies I realized it was time for me to put on the charm. I turned around and with those eyes only a Dominican can give I said, "oh, we're two pennies off, can we bring it back to you?" This mammoth of a woman just stood there as if she was guarding the President of America when this other lady jumped from behind her and said, "how much are you short?" I said, "Two pennies" and then she said, "oh, just go ahead, I'll take care of it". "Oh, thank you", I said and drove off. After parking we walked around and finally found the restaurant/bar, Sneakers, that we parked right next to... LOL!

Now, here is why we left the girls, because we watched the final match of the World Cup at Sneakers and had to stand the whole time! It was amazing! The atmosphere was perfect for such an event! Flags of Spain were waiving in the air as people were chanting for their team. Every time something happened the crowds went crazy and when Spain finally scored, in the extra time, the place just erupted with an amount of elation that can only happen in an atmosphere like this. There were trains of people going throughout Sneakers, people throwing each other up for joy and Spanish music blaring from the corner of the room! I am telling you, if you have never experienced anything like this before, I highly suggest it! So much fun!

We then met up with the girls and walked the beach a little bit and then ate dinner (no food note because the food wasn't as good as the lady hyped it up to be). We walked the Pier and enjoyed the beauty of God's creation... just for us for that moment. :)

Monday, July 12

We woke up and said our goodbyes and headed toward Venice, FL. We decided to stop in St. Augustine for a few hours and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

There was so much to do and see; so much history! We saw the oldest town in Florida and all of the US, the fort that so many people fought in and around, the old Spanish city and Julie even took a picture with a real Spaniard... shhhhh... she thinks it was a pirate. We enjoyed each other and the atmosphere and I bought some cigars and smoked one as we walked around. It was a wonderful spontaneous stop in our road trip.

Food note: We shared a Key Lime ice cream waffle cone and ate at this wonderful pizza place. We shared this chicken stuffed thing and a slice of lasagna pizza... such a great stop!

We took several pictures before it started raining! We hustled up to our vehicle and continued our road trip.

We drove to Venice, FL where we were welcomed by two of the sweetest people anyone will ever meet! We were taken out to eat at a little hole-in-the-wall fish restaurant where I ate some wonderful shrimp!

Food note: These shrimp weren't covered by oil, but rather by coconut and batter. They were dipped into a wonderful orange sauce! So tasty! I also had some lobster bisque which was amazing!

We then were taken to the Venice Beach to see the sun set... another amazing spectacle.

Tuesday, July 13

Another wonderful day of relaxation... we slept in, were fed a wonderful breakfast, swam in the pool, played Rummikub, ate a fantastic dinner and swam more and then watched the All Star baseball game. It was a wonderful day!

Wednesday, July 14

This was beach day! We woke up, had another great breakfast and were scooted off to the beach. We saw two different beaches and we got a lot of sun (Julie baked pretty bad... ouchy)! The beach isn't as bad as I remember, I think I will owe that to the great breeze and the not-so humid days. :)

We got back, had another amazing dinner and got out to see the sun set again!

What a wonderful way to end our time in Venice, FL! Thank you God!

Food note: Sharon cooked four meals for us and they were all wonderful! First it was eggs, bacon, biscuits and cantaloupe. Then it was an amazing pork tenderloin with wonderful sides! Another fantastic breakfast of eggs, waffles, sausage and bacon followed by a fantastic dinner of fish with a peach/mango sauce and a wonderful salad and baked potato! Amazing food! Before coming to Florida I thought I didn't enjoy sea food, but I'm leaving knowing that there is seafood that I truly enjoy! Thank you Sharon, the food was amazingly wonderful!