World United States Florida Orlando

Bill and Helen's Fulltime Travels Here we go again and again

A Birthday Surprise Jan 20, 2009

When we last left you, we were on our way to the Orlando Airport. For months I have been plotting with Bill’s two daughters a surprise visit from them during the week of his 70th Birthday. I can’t believe how close we all came to slipping up and making him specious. You can just imagine the look on his face when he saw instead of my Sister like he thought he was picking up, the smiling faces of Cheryl and Laura. They had left Minnesota earlier that afternoon with temperatures of -25 degrees so even though we have had the coldest week we have ever experienced since we started coming to Florida, they think it is wonderful. It was very late by the time we got home Wednesday night and a long, long day, even though it was one of our most exciting days.

The girls had opted to stay at a hotel that was close by and on Thursday morning we picked them up and took them to the car rental agency so they could have their won wheels while here. Next we came back home so we could show them our home. Soon we were off and running and haven’t stopped yet.

The first day we went to Silver Springs Park and took them on the glass bottom boats. We walked the entire park and saw all the sights but because the weather was so cold, they did not have any of the bird shows or some of the shops open. What we did find though were the wild monkeys. Or should I say that they found us? They were up in the trees and as Laura tried to get closer for pictures, one swung down on a vine just like you see in the movies and started after Laura… She sure moved fast and next he came after me. They can really get mean when they want. We did manage to get some good pictures though. Of course Laura will never be able to live down the fact that she was chased by wild monkeys. That story will be told for years to come.

Friday we took the gals to the Market Marion where we sampled all the fruits, boiled peanuts, pecans and everything else they were giving away. From there we went to The Villages for a late lunch and a tour (on foot) around the entire area. The sun was out but the wind was strong. By the time we got back home we were all exhausted.

Saturday morning I was up before 6:00 am. We were having a pancake breakfast at the club house and I was on the serving committee. At 6:30 I went to the clubhouse to get things set up and at 7:30 when we opened for business, Bill came for his breakfast. We put candles on his pancakes and everyone sang Happy Birthday to him. It was a lot of fun. Next, we picked up the girls (they didn’t want to get up that early for breakfast) and drove to the Gulf Coast. We had lunch outside at Old Town Homosassa and then went to Homosassa Springs State Park to see the manatees. The girls enjoyed that very much and we never tire of seeing them. Next we went further north to Crystal River and drove to the beach. We made a stop at the Fish Market and bought fresh Stone Crabs that we brought home and ate for dinner. Ummm.

Sunday was a beautiful day. Temps got to about 70 degrees and the sun was shining. We had all been invited to Cheryl and Laura Aunt’s house for lunch. Noreen lives in The Villages and when we arrived, she had her cousin visiting from Tampa so the girls not only saw their Aunt but also met their second cousin. What a nice day we all had. Noreen had fixed a delicious lunch and there was a lot of laughing and joking going on. Bill had not seen his ex sister-in-law for close to twenty years but both of them said that the other hadn’t changed much. Noreen then gave us the Grand Tour of the Villages. This is a part that we have never seen before. She took us inside buildings and recreation areas that are members only and showed us many new restaurants that allow the public inside. We would never have found these places without her but now that we know where they are, we will check them out one at a time.

We ended the evening at a private club called Katie Belles where we watched the entertainment and ate pizza etc. What a nice day. We thank you so much Noreen and hope to see you again soon.

Monday was another nice day so we left early and headed to the beach again. This time we went to Daytona Beach. We stopped first at Ormond Beach where we found a Starbucks and Cheryl found a cute boutique that had a pair of shoes just waiting for her to see. They are so cute. We took our coffee with us and walked the beach for awhile and then got in the car and drove along in the sand until we got to Daytona Beach where we moved back up to the main road.

The kids have been to Daytona many times before and one of their favorite places to eat is called Down the Hatch. It is a restaurant way down by the lighthouse and we made our way to it. The restaurant still has great food and a wonderful view. We sat by the window and watch three dolphins passing by. This time though, the service was awful. The place was way understaffed and the wait was long even though there were lots of empty tables. Our Waitress was really bad. The appetizer wasn’t delivered until we got our meal and half of the order wasn’t there. The salad came after the meal was eaten. Like I said…. Bad day at Down the Hatch.. What we ate was really good though and we will go back again and give them another chance. The manager tried to make it right by comp-ing some of the food.

After lunch, we went to the lighthouse. I found a beautiful glass pelican there that will look just perfect in our new house when it arrives. They have some really nice gifts at this lighthouse and through the years I have purchased quite a few.

We got back late again and it didn’t take long for us to crawl in bed.

Today we will have a much slower day. We will follow the girls while they return their rental car and then I plan on cooking dinner here at home. I’m not sure just what else we might do. I think we will take them by John Travolta’s homestead just so they can say they have been there.

Tomorrow, we will drive them back to the Orlando Airport for their return trip to the cold tundra. Thursday, our temps are supposed to return to the mid 70’s but tomorrow is supposed to be the coldest it has been here in five years. What a shame that the weather was so cool the whole time they were here. We have had a wonderful time in spite of it.