December Log

December 1 - Wednesday
Today was beauty day. The girls (and Alex) all went to Hair Heaven for hair cuts. Laura had her hair curled and Becca had hers braided. After, they went to Walmart for Christmas photos.

December 2 - Thursday
This morning we went to visit Sandra's Uncle Albert and Aunt Lupita in Alpharetta, Georgia. After lunch, Bill and the kids went to a very nice local park so the kids could get some fresh air and exercise while Sandra had a chance to talk to Uncle Albert. The girls enjoyed Aunt Lupita's singing Christmas cactus Paco.

December 3 - Friday
We thought we were leaving today but Bill got caught up in some last minute projects and Sandra wanted to get her resume updated and emailed to a friend before we left so instead of getting snarled in Atlanta rush hour traffic we ended up staying another night. Sandra and Karen went Christmas shopping after dinner.

December 4 - Saturday
Today we headed south on the final week of our journey. Before we left, Sandra and Kathy went to pick up the pottery that everyone had had painted Tuesday. We stopped for the night at Reed Bingham State Park in Georgia, about 40 miles north of the Florida border. We have stayed here before since it is about a 5 hour drive from North Georgia.

December 5 - Sunday
Midday today we crossed the state line back into our home state of Florida. The weather is warmer. The end of our journey now seems very near.

We set up camp at Payne's Prairie State Park just south of Gainesville. For the second night in a row, we are camping in a place we visited back in January as our trip was just beginning. After lunch, we went to the Florida Museum of Natural History, primarily to visit the new tropical butterfly house. Bill took the girls through and they enjoyed having the butterflies land on them. In addition to importing chrysalides, they raise some butterflies there - particularly some of the endangered Florida natives such as the Miami Blue. We also toured other parts of their exhibit which included history of the Calusa tribe of Native Americans, and flora and fauna of Florida estuaries. There was also a collection of same massive jaws belonging to prehistoric sharks. They made the great white shark look puny by comparison.

December 6 - Monday
We drove south to Magnolia Park, an Orange County Park in Apopka, FL that turns out to be another gem. It only has 18 RV sites. There are new playgrounds and across the street is Lake Apopka. A dozen peacocks roam the grounds. And it is only 20 minutes away to our surprise treat destination for the kids - Universal Studios, Orlando! The girls shouted with excitement when they realized that instead of 'yet another' national park, historic site, or museum, they were going to a theme park they had hadn't been to before. We went to Islands of Adventure and the kids enjoyed the themes of the different sections. We packed in a few hours of ride fun before the park closed at 6 p.m. and then we had dinner in City Walk. After dinner, we ran several errands, going to the library to hop on the internet for a few minutes before closing (yikes they charge for use here!), stopping to get our camera memory card burned to CD, and picking up some groceries before heading back to the RV and crashing for the night.

December 7 - Tuesday
We went back to Universal's Islands of Adventure today. Bill and Sandra started the morning by taking turns riding the Hulk roller coaster. The girls then headed for all the "get wet" rides. After lunch we split up. Bill took Alex and Sandra took the girls. We met up mid afternoon for the Sinbad stunt show. After the show, Alex wanted to ride the Caro-Seuss-el again. Just before we left for the day we took turns taking the girls on the 3D Spiderman ride. When Sandra got out of the ride with the girls, a troupe of superheroes had just arrived for pictures. We got shots with Captain America, Cyclops and Storm, and Wolverine and Rogue. We decided to make in an early evening and headed back to the RV shortly before the park closed. We want to have some energy left for Universal Studios tomorrow.

December 8 - Wednesday
Back to Universal. This time we went to Universal Studios. Sandra and Bill had been many years ago, before children. There are many new rides and shows. By mid-afternoon we were pretty much theme-parked out. We stopped at a store to buy dinner and the library to check email. Back at the campground we started a fire to cook hot dogs. For only the second time on our trip, the campground staff has delivered free firewood to our site. This happened at another county park in Florida back in January which reaffirms our belief that some of the county run campgrounds are "mostly undiscovered" gems. In this case, we suspect that they have a surplus of wood from their hurricane cleanup efforts but it is free delivered firewood nonetheless.

December 9 - Thurssday
We moved to Highlands Hammock State Park near Sebring. Late in the afternoon. we were visited by the Pareti family, who lived next door to us when we left but now live in Lake Placid, just south of Sebring. Not only where they our neighbors but Doug was the pastor at our church, Oceanview United Methodist, and now is pastor of Memorial United Methodist. The hurricane damage is very evident and they have many hurricane stories to tell since they were hit by three of them. The funniest thing is that Dr. Shields, the former head of the hurrican center in Miami, moved to Lake Placid because his research indicated it was the safest location in the state! Alex was especially happy to see Miss Roxanne again and the girls were overjoyed to see Carrie.

December 10 - Friday
Home. We weren't quite ready for our trip to end so we got the bikes down and went for a morning ride around the park. We saw alligators, wood storks, great white herons, deer, and a large herd of wild boars. We then packed everything up and headed down the familiar roads to our house. Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne left our yard, trees, and fences a mess but the house is undamaged. We tell people it was the power of all the prayers people have blessed us with that kept us and our home safe this year.

Alex doesn't seem to remember his home since the most recent 1/3 of his life has been spent away from it. He is, however, quite happy that this house has a bedroom for a little boy. The girls played with their toys that we left behind as if they were new acquisitions. Bill and Sandra are happy to have a pool, dishwasher, full size washer and dryer, gas grill, and full size refrigerator. We immediately set out putting all of them to good use.

The past year on the road was wonderful. It's hard to imagine how we could top it. 33 states, 3 countries, countless national, state, county, and city parks. Our thanks go out to all who joined us in some part of the trip by visiting, dining, or camping with us.

Epilogue
The epilogue to this trip will be written over many years as we watch how the time together and the learning experiences impact us and our children's lives.