Hello all. I'm sorry that we have not been able to update this in the last while. It might seem like we're not wanting to keep in touch but the fact of the matter is that we've been travelling or touring a lot in the last few days. I'll fill you in on a little bit of what we've been doing and perhaps you'll feel more inclined to forgive us our lack of updating.
On Tuesday of last week we travelled in a delightfully boring fashion - by that I mean that there were no mechanical or other problems with the vehicle or its occupants - and we made it as far as Wheeling, West Virginia. Unfortunately we arrived too late to be able to check out the biggest Cabela's I can remember ever seeing.
On Wednesday we travelled from Wheeling to Harrisonburg, VA and reconnected with our friends from our last sabbatical, the Hiett family. It was nice to be able to go out with just the adults for Klines frozen custard and to be able to see the remarkable changes technology has brought to Richard's business - video production.
Thursday was spent in Harrisonburg at the Hiett's and shopping and just generally being bums.
On Friday we left Harrisonburg by 8 AM and aimed the truck in the direction of Florida. After many hours of rolling hills it was nice to get onto the coastal plain of South Carolina and drive on level land again. It sort of reminded us of southern Manitoba with pine trees and palm trees. We decided that instead of rushing all the way to Orlando in one day - over 800 miles - we would travel as far as Daytona Beach and stay at a hotel on the ocean. We were able to get a reasonably priced hotel on the beach in Daytona Beach and on Friday night we walked on the beach and even let the waves lap against our feet a bit. Friday morning there had been frost on the grass in Harrisonburg and here we were a matter of hours later walking in shorts on the beach with the waves of the Atlantic lapping at our feet. It was simply delightful.
On Saturday we played on the beach a little more. It seems that overnight a strong Northeast breeze blew up and the surf was much rougher than it was on Friday night. We pretended to body surf, as if people from Manitoba would have any clue how to body surf, and we even drove the Suburban on the beach, roof top carrier and all.
Later on Saturday we left Daytona and travelled as far as Titusville, FL which is home to the Kennedy Space Center. We saw many fascinating and historically interesting things having to do with the Space Program.
From Cape Canaveral we continued on to Orlando/Kissimmee, FL. Since it was fairly late when we arrived we ended up settling for a rather unpleasant hotel room at the Old Town Suites. It was spacious but not clean, nor was it without it's six-legged friends. On Sunday we sought and found more pleasant accommodations.
Also, on Sunday we travelled to the Magic Kingdom where we and thousands of others jostled our way through the park from 10 AM till 10 PM. The rides were fine for Herb, Rey, Hannah and Jeff while Joan was occupied holding the backpack and making sure various benches did not move from their appointed place - she doesn't do rides. The 8 PM parade was magnificent and the fireworks at the end of the evening were absolutely spectacular.
By Sunday night we were quite pooped and on Monday at Sea World we were a more mellow bunch. The ride crew - Herb, Rey, Hannah and Jeff - enjoyed the Journey to Atlantis and Kraken a log flume ride and an amazing floorless roller coaster ride. All of us really enjoyed the dolphin and whale show, the sea lion and sea otter show and the Killer Whale show. I didn't realize that Sea World was owned and operated by Anheisser Busch and I have never seen so many beer logos in so many places - including on the plumbing fixtures. We left the park at 7:30 PM having enjoyed another full day.
Today, we returned to Disney to take in the Animal Kingdom. It was absolutely amazing. The ride crew once again enjoyed the rides - Everest roller coaster was the favorite. The actual park setting was a horticulturist's dream. The construction of the facilities matched wonderfully the locations that were being depicted. The safari was fascinating and the animals were wonderful to see in their pseudo-natural setting. We ended the day with a typical Disney over the top Lion King production. Since the park closed at 5 PM we were able to eat supper at a proper hour and Joan and I spent the evening on a "date" doing laundry in a local coin operated laundromat.
On Tuesday of last week we travelled in a delightfully boring fashion - by that I mean that there were no mechanical or other problems with the vehicle or its occupants - and we made it as far as Wheeling, West Virginia. Unfortunately we arrived too late to be able to check out the biggest Cabela's I can remember ever seeing.
On Wednesday we travelled from Wheeling to Harrisonburg, VA and reconnected with our friends from our last sabbatical, the Hiett family. It was nice to be able to go out with just the adults for Klines frozen custard and to be able to see the remarkable changes technology has brought to Richard's business - video production.
Thursday was spent in Harrisonburg at the Hiett's and shopping and just generally being bums.
On Friday we left Harrisonburg by 8 AM and aimed the truck in the direction of Florida. After many hours of rolling hills it was nice to get onto the coastal plain of South Carolina and drive on level land again. It sort of reminded us of southern Manitoba with pine trees and palm trees. We decided that instead of rushing all the way to Orlando in one day - over 800 miles - we would travel as far as Daytona Beach and stay at a hotel on the ocean. We were able to get a reasonably priced hotel on the beach in Daytona Beach and on Friday night we walked on the beach and even let the waves lap against our feet a bit. Friday morning there had been frost on the grass in Harrisonburg and here we were a matter of hours later walking in shorts on the beach with the waves of the Atlantic lapping at our feet. It was simply delightful.
On Saturday we played on the beach a little more. It seems that overnight a strong Northeast breeze blew up and the surf was much rougher than it was on Friday night. We pretended to body surf, as if people from Manitoba would have any clue how to body surf, and we even drove the Suburban on the beach, roof top carrier and all.
Later on Saturday we left Daytona and travelled as far as Titusville, FL which is home to the Kennedy Space Center. We saw many fascinating and historically interesting things having to do with the Space Program.
From Cape Canaveral we continued on to Orlando/Kissimmee, FL. Since it was fairly late when we arrived we ended up settling for a rather unpleasant hotel room at the Old Town Suites. It was spacious but not clean, nor was it without it's six-legged friends. On Sunday we sought and found more pleasant accommodations.
Also, on Sunday we travelled to the Magic Kingdom where we and thousands of others jostled our way through the park from 10 AM till 10 PM. The rides were fine for Herb, Rey, Hannah and Jeff while Joan was occupied holding the backpack and making sure various benches did not move from their appointed place - she doesn't do rides. The 8 PM parade was magnificent and the fireworks at the end of the evening were absolutely spectacular.
By Sunday night we were quite pooped and on Monday at Sea World we were a more mellow bunch. The ride crew - Herb, Rey, Hannah and Jeff - enjoyed the Journey to Atlantis and Kraken a log flume ride and an amazing floorless roller coaster ride. All of us really enjoyed the dolphin and whale show, the sea lion and sea otter show and the Killer Whale show. I didn't realize that Sea World was owned and operated by Anheisser Busch and I have never seen so many beer logos in so many places - including on the plumbing fixtures. We left the park at 7:30 PM having enjoyed another full day.
Today, we returned to Disney to take in the Animal Kingdom. It was absolutely amazing. The ride crew once again enjoyed the rides - Everest roller coaster was the favorite. The actual park setting was a horticulturist's dream. The construction of the facilities matched wonderfully the locations that were being depicted. The safari was fascinating and the animals were wonderful to see in their pseudo-natural setting. We ended the day with a typical Disney over the top Lion King production. Since the park closed at 5 PM we were able to eat supper at a proper hour and Joan and I spent the evening on a "date" doing laundry in a local coin operated laundromat.
posted by Franz Sabbatical Updates @ 10:01 PM
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