Vacation 2008

Vacation is over and I'm back at work and I must say work is kicking my ass this week. Deadlines are a bitch. So vacation. As I mentioned, Ann and I went to Cocoa Beach. My Dad's girlfriend, Lee, owns a condo on the beach that she graciously lets us use - for free. And how weird is it so have to say my Dad has a girlfriend even though they've been together for years and years? People always look at me funny when I tell them I'm going to Florida during August. The reasons are pretty clear. First, the price is right. Free condo right on the beach? Yes! But it will be so hot you say? It's not any hotter then in Virginia this time of year plus you have a nice ocean breeze. And look at this beach. There is no one on it. You think the beaches at Ocean City or Rehoboth look like this? Hardly. It's wall to wall people up there. Plus Lee cooks for us and does laundry nonstop. We hardly have time to wear something before it's washed, dried and folded. It's amazing. I think we made the right choice. This is view from the condo. Sweet.

Since we traveled without the kids, Daughter#1 wasn't there to organize every minute of the trip. So a typical day would be:

7:00-7:30 Get out of bed

7:30-8:00 Read paper, slurp down my morning Coke, watch Today Show

8:30-9:00 Enjoy hot tasty breakfast cooked by Lee

9:00-9:30 Get ready for beach

9:30-12:30 Sit/Lay out on beach and read books. Maybe take a walk

12:30-2:00 Lunch, including a few beers

2:00-4:30 Back on beach

4:30-6:00 Shower and cocktail hour

6:00-8:00 Dinner Sometimes Lee would cook us dinner sometimes we would go out

8:00-10:00 Read or watch TV

10:00 Lights out and sleep

Repeat the next day. t was very relaxing to say the least and much needed. Ann doesn't share my love for being out on the beach and frying so she did most of her reading inside. She would come out with me first thing (before 10:00) and we would take a walk on the beach. Here she is reading Merle's Door: Lessons from a Free Thinking Dog, which she loved and thinks you all should read it too. She liked it so much that she gave this copy to Daughter#2 and bought a second copy so I could read it. While Ann was reading about Merle, I read 1948, Polar Shift, and a Patricia Cornwell novel, which I can't remember the title. All good beach reads except maybe 1948, which is non-fiction, but interesting enough to keep my attention.

We've been to Cocoa Beach a number of times now so we've developed a list of restaurants that we enjoy going too. Since Lee was nice enough to make her condo available to us, we picked up the restaurant tabs (except one which my Dad picked up). Here is my Dad and Lee at the Sunset Waterfront Cafe on the Banana River. I had the blackened scallops. Mmmmmm.

Tradition all calls for us to eat at the Pig and Whistle our first night there. Fish and Chips and Bass Ale gets the vacation off on the right foot. Our last night before heading home we always hit Rusty's Seafood. It's a loud, raucous seafood place (notice the seafood theme), which is a nice way to wrap up our stay. Here my Dad and I enjoy some steamed clams. Something we did often during our vacation.

My Dad and Lee were able to join us for the entire time at the beach (they actually live in the Orlando area) so that was a good deal since we don't get to see them enough. My sister lives in Melbourne, which is right next door to Cocoa Beach, so we got to visit with her and her husband. They are a cute and fun pair.

While in Florida I celebrated my birthday. My Dad was very generous with his gift. Also a Happy Birthday to my brother, whose birthday falls two days before my own.