Florida Vacation

It's been quite a while since I've been on vacation. So when my friends wanted to go to Florida, I thought this would be the perfect time to get away. While my friends flew to Florida, I thought it might be fun to drive, taking my time and spending some time at my favorite gambling casinos. I don't mind the long drive but I don't have the free hands to take pictures along the way and the only stops I make are gas stations and McDonald's. Then when I get to where I'm going, I forget to take pictures. So the trip down was peaceful but uneventful.

I spent a couple days at Vero Beach then met my friends in Orlando to begin our beach week at New Smyrna Beach.

Most of the days were spent at the beach or shopping and the evenings spent doing karaoke, dining and dancing.

All too soon the week was up. As I was dropping them off at the airport it finally hit me that I had 22 hours to drive home. Yikes! So off I headed. My first stop back was in Tampa so I only had a few hours to drive. Instead of printing off directions I decided to be tech savvy and use the GPS on my phone to drive from Tampa to Tunica, MS. It never dawned on me that the battery on my phone would only last a few hours. You can imagine my dismay when the phone beeped only 20% battery life left and I was somewhere deep within no where of Alabama. I finally pulled into, what seemed to me, a bigger town and I thought for sure there would be a Walmart. All Walmarts sell electronics, right? So you can imagine my relief when I saw a T-Mobile. Screeching to a stop, I ran inside and was back on the road with my phone securely plugged into a charger. Good thing, too, because there is no direct major highway to Tunica. I went through so many small towns and made so many turns. If it wasn't for the T-Mobile store, I'd probably be living in Alabama now.

I had instructions from Violet to bring her back 10 surprise souvenirs. Most of the stuff I bought her was from hotel gift shops and Walmarts in different towns. With Violet right now it's not quality that counts but quantity. I didn't realize I got her 2 different gifts featuring "poop". One was cow poop and the other was flamingo poop (candy). Not quite the thing you want a three year old laughing about and continuously shouting days before she begins preschool.

Lincoln was easier. He got a plastic key chain and a t-shirt. Key chains are his favorite right now.

As much as I loved getting away I still miss seeing the smiling faces of my kids anytime I want.

Winter is quickly approaching. Do I plan another trip or spend the day with Violet and Lincoln? Only time will tell.