Day 1 5.11
Today was a L O N G driving day….920 or so miles & 15 hours. I finally stopped at the Florida “Welcome Center” for a few hours sleep. A couple of weeks ago, Sara phoned me with the info that their Nanny was moving on to another career. Sara's Mother-in-law, was filling in for the next two weeks, but asked if I could come down & be with the girls until a new Nanny was hired & ‘trained”. I was super over the top excited! Of course I said yes & was thrilled! Danny & I had flight reservations to go down in two weeks (it’d been so long since we’d seen the girls in person), but if I was going to be down in Florida for longer than 3 weeks, I wanted my 4Runner. So, I cancelled my flight, rearranged a few plans & appointments, loaded up Camper & took off. They didn’t expect me until Saturday, when Danny would fly in, so I took the opportunity to re-visit one of my favorite Florida National Parks…Gulf Island National Seashore in Pensacola.
Day 2 5.12
I was up & out early & drove into historic Pensacola. I found a brewery right off the start, but it was bad timing…7:15am. But, it’s the perfect time to walk around the area, looking in the windows of the closed shops & bars…there were tons of bars! I bet the nightlife here is great! I went into a coffee shop called the Fosko Coffee Bar & treated myself to a delicious honey latte. I rarely go out for coffee anymore…this was a cool spot & the morning was quiet as I sat outside & enjoyed the fresh gulf air.
I drove to Navarre to Scooters for lunch…a recommendation from my niece…& it was good seafood….yum! Then I drove out to Gulf Island National Seashore & checked into a campsite I’d scored online last week. I spent the rest of the day on the beach including a really long sandy beach walk & enjoyed the Gulf’s always gorgeous sunset.
I love the rugged-ness of this place & the color of the water was amazing!
Day 3 5.13
I met a really nice woman named Lynn in camp, who was car camping for the first time & loving it. We shared conversation for awhile—super nice woman! Then I took off driving again along the panhandle stopping in Apalachicola for lunch—more seafood—then on to Cedar Key & Shell Island campground. It was a beautiful place to camp…except for the no-seeums! Oh My God…these nasty tiny monsters just love me! My choices were to spray down with Deet or tuck inside camper. I did the later, stripping down as much as I could & blasting my teeny tiny fan.
The sunset was gorgeous!
Day 4 thru day 39 5.14-6.18
I drove until I landed in Orlando & got to watch Claire play her last t-ball game of the season…she did great hitting the coach-pitched ball a couple of times & running like a champ to the base!
Then I headed to the airport to pick up Danny. He would be staying the week & was just as anxious to spend time with Emma & Claire as I was.
To say we had a blast is such an understatement! Danny was there for the first week, flew home, then as airline travel goes these days, spent a hellacious trip for another week the last week I was there. We packed in so much & I loved my time when he was there & all the time in between. These girls are smart, funny, confident, energetic, sassy, beautiful & they always fill my heart with big joy!
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