Trip to Disney World -2006

Sunday - May 21,2006

We spent a good part of today, getting things in order around the house, and getting the motorhome cleaned and straightened up.

Monday - May 22, 2006

We pretty much worked normal schedule today, did very little to get ready for trip.

Tuesday - May 23, 2006

We both took off most of the day, just went by office for a few minutes.  Loaded a bunch of 'stuff' in the coach and Donna went grocery shopping for the trip. Visited with a few friends at Charlie's to say good-bye.  Tomorrow we will be on our way.

Wednesday - May 24, 2006

We left home as soon as Austin graduated from 5 year old kindergarten.  Since there were three graduations at the same time, with limited seating for mega-people.  I elected to stay at the coach, get a few more things done, check the oil, coolant, tire pressure, and other little things before leaving. Donna went to the graduation, and said when the 3 and 4 yr olds finished, they and their parent, etc were excused, so there was plenty seats for all of Austin's class parents, etc. We actually left about 11am and headed for Beaumont and I-10 East.  We stopped first at the La. Welcome Center, took a break, walked over to their lake, and let Austin work off a little energy.

We thought that a Rest Area just before Baton Rouge would be our overnite stop, but we were there by 4pm, and decided to keep going.  We were actually in Baton Rouge for the 5pm traffic, but I-10 was not too bad, but I-12 for 30 miles or so was pretty heavy.

We got to Biloxi about 8 or a little after, decided to stay at the Outlet Mall there, but security ran us off.  She saw us park, drove off in her cart, then right at 9pm came over, said the lot closes at 9, so we had to leave.  Fortunately, there was a Sam's Club about 2 blocks away, so we stayed there.

Thursday - May 25, 2006

Today was another traveling day, Austin actually has been a really good traveler.  He has a couple of video games to play on the TV, he watches movies on the VCR, and with the In-Motion satellite, he can watch TV (cartoons).  We left Sam's Club parking lot by about 7 and hit the I-10 Super Slab headed east.  Not sure why so many folks complain about I-10, but I think overall its a pretty good highway.  Of course, through La, Miss, and Ala there was some construction, but mostly the highway was in good condition.  One of the major bridges took quite a hit from Katrina, with even some temporary section, and mostly one lane, but traffic was moving and work was progressing.  We didn't get over on the coast, along US 90, but from what I have heard the devastation is unbelievable.  Maybe on the way home we will check out a short stretch around Biloxi.

We were making good time and by mid-afternoon we would only have a 3 hour drive to Kissimmee, if we stopped around Live Oak, Fl for the night.  Donna looked in the campground book for an RV Park with a pool and found Secret of Suwannee Music Park, just off I-10, near the intersection of I-75.

The park was very large with about 1000 space, and a big field for Music Concerts.  We requested a large, long pull-thru site with no tree, so the internet would work.  Guess what we got.  Short, small and totally wooded.  We just kept driving past the site, and found one that suited us.  They were probably less the 20% full, since no concert was going on.

Donna and Austin went swimming while I got everything set up (We had a little problem with voltage, but they solved it.  They came and picked me up and I went back to the pool with them.  Very nice pool with a restaurant and cantina next door. 

After getting back from the pool, we decided to go back to the restaurant for dinner, where they were having 'Open Mike' nite, or Karaoke.  A guy impersonating Elvis was the MC.  He would sing several songs, then have 2 or 3 from the audience, then do it all again.  We saw 8 or 10 of the 'amatuer' perform, and a couple of them were actually pretty good.  Austin was, I guess you could saw "Awe-Struck".  He seemed to really enjoy.

Friday - May 26, 2006

We left the Secret Of Suwannee Music Park shortly after 8 this morning, with less that 200 miles to travel.  Originally planning to arrive in Kissimmee on Saturday, we had no reservations for Friday night.  Last night, I call the park where we will be staying, and they were full but had a 'sister' park a few blocks away that had room.  We arrived here about noon, had a bite of lunch, and decided to go exploring.

We drove around part of the Disney area, and stopped at Downtown Disney.  Austin wanted to find a souvenir.  As we looked at refrigerator magnets, he saw some kids playing with the "Phart Putty". That settled that!  He had to have it, and it turned out to be worth every bit of the Five Dollar cost. 

After returning to the coach, we decided to have dinner at Olive Garden, a great choice.  There was a short wait, and we were giving a beeper to let us know when our table was ready.  Austin 'took charge' of the beeper, knowing exactly what it was far.  Austin ordered pizza, but he really enjoyed 'serving' mine and Donna's salad from the Salad Bowl.  He assured us he didn't like salad, but he sure liked 'helping' us.  He also 'helped' Donna with her entrée, which he also liked.

It came a little thunderstorm while we were at Olive Garden, with lots of lightening and thunder.  But it passed fairly quickly.

After dinner, we drove through the park where we will be moving to tomorrow.  Austin had one heck of a good time with his "Phart Putty", hanging out the window as we passed by folks and kids walking down the streets.  He sure surprised a few!

We then stopped by Old Town Kissimmee, NOT the original town site, but and area = that has been constructed to include a park with amusements, shops, and tourist shops.  Austin decided he wanted to do the "Bungee Kid" event, and he really loved it and had a great time.  The guy operating it, and assisting Austin, was a former Champion Gymnast, and a great guy.  He videod the entire "performance", and of course we just had to buy the video.  If I knew how, I would add the video here.

Back at the coach, we had to watch the video 3 or 4 times, and I am sure over the next few day, we will view it several more time.

We have really not taken any pictures as yet, just getting our bearing I guess, but I promise there will be plenty, starting tomorrow at, I think, Sea World.

Saturday - May 27, 2006

We moved to a different park this morning, where we plan to stay until we leave. After getting setup, we decided to go to Sea World.  It was about 10:00 by the time we headed out, about a 30 minute drive, and then about 30 minutes to park.  Another 30 minutes in line for tickets, and by 11:30 we were finally inside.  We actually made a whole day of it, staying in the park until almost 9pm.  The first show we saw was the "Believe" show, Killer Whales including the famous Shamu.

We then caught a bit of the "Fusion", with water sports such as Skiing, Diving, Dancing, and Wave Runners.  Later we went to the Blue Horizon show, featuring dolphins and lots of birds. Besides Shamu, this was probably one of the most interesting.  Other shows included: Clyde and Seymore take Pirate Island, featuring Sea Lions; Pets Ahoy, a really cute show of dogs, cats, and even a pig: Odyssea, a non-traditional circus; and a sidewalk show called Groove Chefs, a trio of guys playing pots, pans, and trash cans.

Austin spotted the "Journey to Atlantis" water ride, similar to Log Rides at other parks.  Since he was too small to ride by himself, Donna volunteered to go with him, no problem.  She told me later it was a lot worse that she thought it would be.. thought she might have a heart attack!!  And, they got plenty WET!! Course, "No-Fear" Austin loved it.

Austin also spotted another Bungee Jump attraction and wanted to do that again.  The 'Helper' was not near as good and the previous one in Old Town Kissimmee, but he loved it any way.  I got some good pictures and will get them on here later.

After getting a quick bite at Chick Filet, we got back to the coach and crashed pretty quick.  Tomorrow we plan on going to Kennedy Space Center, about an hour away.

Sunday - May 28, 2006

Today we drove about fifty miles from Kissimmee to visit Kennedy Space Center.  We arrived shortly before 10am, thinking it opened at 10.  Actually it had opened at 9am, and when we got there the lines for tickets were very long.  Only had less than half the ticker booths open, and the ticket sellers also had to explain everything to everybody, making it even slower.

We viewed a bunch of exhibits, on various parts of space exploration.  Austin particularly liked the series of mini-shows about Robots and Robots in space.  He assured me the robots were built by scientists and he may someday be a scientist.

There was also a 3-D IMAX movie about the US exploration of the moon from 1968 to 1972, including the use of the moon for future space exploration with people living and working on the moon.

We heard a part of a talk from one of the astronauts from some years back.  Don't remember his name, but he has published a book and was to have a 'book-signing' mid afternoon. 

We left the Visitors Center, and went to the Hall of Fame, a really nice exhibit of space items from the early years to later years.  The main thing Austin like was the interactive exhibits, allowing kids ( and Kpoppa's ) to try vary experiments.  I flew the Shuttle from 13,000 ft to landing on the runway in a simulator.  Actually made it to the runway, but just didn't quite get on the ground...  50 high and over-reacted, nose down, hard hit on nose...  But the entire crew survived! Although that Shuttle will never fly again.   LOL

I expected more of and exhibit about the Columbia that crashed in East Texas.  Lots of tributes to all astronauts that have died in service, but no special emphasis on the Columbia Crew.  I did speak with one young man working there who told me his dad was a member of the Rapid Response Team and was in the air headed to East Texas within 5 minutes of the crash.

Monday - May 29, 2006

Today we went to Magic Kingdom, the signature Disney park.  We decided we wanted to be there as early as possible.  Opening time today was 9am, so we left the coach about 8:00.  It was a 15 minute drive to the Transportation and Ticket Center (parking area),  only took about 15 minutes to get tickets, and then about a 10 minute ride on the monorail to the gates.  We were there early enough to see the opening ceremonies with lots of the characters singing and dancing.

With the early planning we had done we went directly to Fantasy Land, where there are a lot of young kid attractions. And we were able to get on a lot of them.  Some of the most popular rides in the park have a "Fast Pass" option, meaning you can get a pass to the front of the line at an appointed time, a window of usually 40 - 60 minutes.  This allows you to go back to a line ride that has an hour wait time, but only have to wait 5 - 10 minutes.

We chose the rides that we thought Austin would like, but it seems we picked a lot of stuff that he considered too tame and boring.  The more risky, exciting, and scary, the more he liked it.  So, when we go back, we will get him on some of the rides for older kids, if we can.

We also explored the Liberty Square area, with the Hall of Presidents, an interesting presentation about all of the 43 Presidents.  Austin really liked the ride through the Haunted House, which really was pretty scary.

Right before leaving we watch the 5pm Flag Retreat, which was a special program since it was Memorial Day, with a group of singers, a band, and some military personnel.

On the 15 minute drive back to the coach, Austin crashed and took a little nap. But, back at the park, he was ready to again go swimming in the pool, which is usually Austin's favorite thing of the day.

Tuesday - May 30, 2006

We went to Gatorland today, which so far has been the most exciting for Austin.  They had several shows involving alligator and crocodiles, as well as a show with snakes and other critters.  At the Alligator wrestling show, Austin got to "wrestle a gator', by sitting on its back, holding its mouth shut, and pulling its head back.  I got quite a few pictures, which I will post here later.  I might point out that I am still unable to publish this journal to the web because of a router problem with my laptop.  Maybe get it solved soon. 

We came back to the coach about 3pm, hung around a while, then about 6pm went back to Sea World.  When we went to Sea World the other day, we bought a Fun Pass, which for $5 more each, we get unlimited access for the remainder of 2006.  We went to the 'Believe' show again, which was different from the one we saw on Sunday.  'Believe' is the Killer Whale show, featuring Shamu.

Then we watched the fireworks show which started at 9 last night. Quite an interesting show with lots of music, dancing waters, and lots of fireworks.

Wednesday - May 31, 2006

Disney's Animal Kingdom Day.  We arrived about 9:30 or so and started our exploration of Animal Kingdom.  We were really pleased that it was very wooded, with lots of shady places, and the temperature only reached about 85 today, compared to about 93 or so on the day we went to Magic Kingdom.  Although the park was not a big as Magic Kingdom, it seemed to have more of the things that Austin likes: Animals, Animals, Animals!!  Of course, there were plenty rides, too, but the Maharajah Jungle Trek and the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail through a couple of forests with lots of varied animal species really enthused Austin.

One of the first shows we saw was Festival of the Lion King, a great production with some fantastic athletes.  This was a large theatre, in the round, but all seats were good.  We had good seats and a great view of all the action.  Because of the lighting, it was difficult to get good pictures, but Austin kept poking me, saying, "Kpoppa, take a picture, take a picture of that".

We also took the Kilimanjaro Safari, an open-air truck through an African savannah where giraffes, gazelles, elephants, rhinos and lions roam free.  Donna and Austin also rode the Kali River Rapids, a white water rafting ride down the turbulent waters of the Chakranadi River.

These Disney parks are awfully large, so old Kpoppa rented one of those Electric chairs to get around in, and Donna got a stroller for Austin and our bags to ride in.  Austin quickly figured out he could grab onto a bar across the back of the scooter and pull himself along without Donna having to push.  After that, Donna had a hard time keeping up with me and Austin.

"I bet I could get a job with a Reggae Band!"

" I know, I know, but a guy needs a little nourishment every now and then.  Besides, this Disney stuff is HUGE!"

One of the most fun shows was "It's Tough To Be A Bug". This is a 3-D presentation about bugs that got pretty "creepy-crawly" couple of times.  At one point a bug was going to spray the audience with 'killer spray', and as he did, everybody in the audience got a quick spray of water!  Then the 'Stink Bug' came out and fogged everyone, which had a horrible smell.  The most startling thing was right after the movie part, a voice told the audience to remained seated, while all the cockroaches and other similar bugs left the theatre.  All of a sudden the bench we were sitting on felt like something was crawling along the bench under our butt.  I nearly jumped out of my skin. 

Of course, Austin wanted to go swimming when we got home about 6:30, then we later drove around a bit, visited Old Town, where Austin won a stuffed dog, by beating me at a game of 'water cannon'.  A quick bite to eat at IHOP, then back to the coach and off to bed.

Thursday - June 1, 2006

After sleeping rather late today.. well not EVERY body slept late.  I was up at 7, Austin was up at 8, and Donna was up, uhh.. before 10.  We left about 11 or 11:30, deciding to drive over to Daytona Beach, about an hour drive.  Austin loves the beach, and at Daytona Beach, people are allowed to drive on parts of it.  It was actually a pretty beach, nice sand, not exactly bright white, but not brown either as I had expected. 

Austin quickly found 2 or 3 playmates about his age, and had a grand ole time in the sand and surf. We kept him sprayed with sun block.  The temperature was maybe mid 80's, with a nice breeze that kept us comfortable.  After an hour and a half or so, a huge, black cloud started moving in from the south, the wind got really strong, the officials ran up the red flags, and folks started abandoning the beach.  We did the same thing!

Since it was almost 3 pm, we found a place to eat lunch, Steve's Famous Diner.  Nice place, good menu, and not REAL expensive.  Nice folks working there, also.

After returning to Kissimmee, we took Austin to the pool for a short while, mostly to get all the sand off of him.  Then we went to get a little ice cream, and drove around a development called Celebration.  This 'town' is new from the ground up. Probably was a ranch, and is partially developed, but full of homes from $300,000 and up.  There also seemed to be a lot of condo's and apartments.

We then went back to Old Town that I mentioned earlier.  Austin and I drove in a Go-Kart race. Needless to say we didn't win. LOL  We found a game room, played a bunch of games, and Austin won another bear at a different Water Cannon game.  He played against Donna, this time.

Friday - June 2, 2006

This morning we hung around the coach for a while, then headed south of town to take a ride on an air boat.  Really nice facility at the very end of the pavement, even with an RV park.  Not that we would want to stay there, its 20 miles from Kissimmee.  The ride was quite interesting.  We went up one little canal that had an alligator den right at the very end of the canal.  Saw one of the two female gators that hang out there, as well as 5 or 6 little babies, about one year old and about a foot long.  They looked awful cute, but give a few years, and they will bite off your head... or arm... or leg.

After we drove back into Kissimmee, we had lunch at Perkins, a Denny's type place.  Food was fair, not too expensive, and the service was good. 

We stopped for a little while at a "Shell Outlet" where they had all kinds of shells and sea 'stuff'.  Austin spent a little of his money for a few items.

We then drove over to the "World of Orchids", a retail place specializing in orchids, with a huge indoor greenhouse for raising the orchids.  There was also a stream in the greenhouse with lots of fish, mostly gold fish or Koi.  We did buy a couple of very small orchid plants to take home.  Maybe they will live.

After hanging around the coach a while, and taking Austin to the pool, we decided to go eat at Cracker Barrel.  The meal was very good, but Austin dropped the top bun of his hamburger on the floor, so he cut what was left in half, flipped it over, and said: "Kpoppa, I got a double burger just like you get".

After eating, we again went to Old Town, the amusement, restaurant, and shopping development right here by the RV Park.  Austin played a bunch of games, had a great time, and I got to look at a lot of Old Cars.

Saturday - June 3, 2006

Our plans for early today (before 10am) were to take a Helicopter Ride, while it was still fairly cool, but when we got to the place, it was closed until 6:30 pm with the chopper off at a special event. But, more on that later.

We drove south on 192 and looked at some of the sights, then went to Historic Downtown Kissimme, a small but very vibrant downtown.  We had been there a couple days earlier to buy a screwdriver to fix one of Austin's toys.  We stopped at a hardware store, that was pretty historic itself, being operated by the third generations.

While looking at some parks, we spotted the Amtrak station, and guess who wanted to browse around. Yup, Me.  One of four passenger trains schedule through today was due shortly, so we hung around and watched the train come and go, and the people getting on and off.

One of the workers there told me that this train, the first for the day, was the only one that would be on time.

We then got back on 192, the main drag, and ate at McDonalds, then back to coach and hung around for a while.  Austin and Donna went swimming and when they got back Austin found some playmates that he enjoyed for a couple of hours.  We think the group was two sisters, their mother, and about 4 or 5 kids. No husbands.  One of the ladies and a couple of the kids asked Austin to see the motorhome, so he brought them right in.  Things were kinda a mess, but no problem. 

We had snacks for supper, then left about 6:30 to go take the Helicopter ride. Although Austin was very enthused about flying in a helicopter, I was not sure how he would react once in the air.  He literally ran to the copter when it was our turn jumped in and immediately starting putting on the earphones.  We got strapped in with the seat belts.  Another couple was on the flight with us, the lady sat up front, Austin was by one window in the back, the other guy buy the other window, and I was in the middle. 

We took off in a wide sweeping turn of about 180 degrees, real easy, no problem.  The pilot then made a sharp, hard banking turn of about 90 degrees, really laid it over with Austin on the down side.  He took a deep breath, grabbed my leg, looked up at me with a BIG GRIN.  We made quite a few more tight turns, but by then he was an "Old Pro" at helicopters.. LOL

After about a 10 minute flight over a lot the attractions, as we were coming back in for a landing, Austin realized the earphones also had a microphone, and if he said something he could hear himself in the earphone, so he starting cutting up a bit, making noises. 

We then took a drive north from Kissimmee on International Drive, a major thoroughfare with lots of development, hotels, attractions, and restaurants.

When we got back to the street to the park, which is right alongside Old Town, there was a tremendous traffic jam.  And, Austin wanted to go to the Arcade (no surprise).  So he and Donna got out of the truck and I drove on to the RV Park.  It took about 15 minutes to get through the traffic.  The reason for all the people was there was a Car Show all day Saturday, with over 400 cars. 

I waited for Donna to call me on the cell-a-phone, then I drove up to to front of the of the Park to pick them up, They only had to walk a couple hundred yards.

Sunday - June 4, 2006

We left Kissimmee this morning about 9am and by 11am we were at the Rock Crusher RV park near Homosassa Springs and Crystal City.  First item on the agenda, guess what... swimming.  I hung around the coach trying to update the web site.  The satellite locked on pretty quick and when my laptop booted up, I had a quick connection on the wireless, and the internet was actually working.  i was able to publish all the stuff I had previously written, and get the web site updated through Friday.  I will try to add the pictures later.

We cooked burgers on the grill outside, and had a fun lunch.. Austin's favorite meal!!  After lunch we drove around some and found a beach that we might go back to tomorrow.  We came back to the coach, Donna baked some cookies, and then we ALL went swimming in the pool.  The pool here is really big, and covered with mesh (Florida Room) to keep it cooler.

We then drove over to the old part of Homosassa, right on the river, and had dinner at the Riverside Crab place.  We sat right by the window, overlooking the river, and just a few yards from Monkey Island, a small island inhabited by 3 or 4 monkeys that have lots of things to play on.  Austin really enjoyed that.  Guess what he had to eat.. yup, hamburger !!

Austin really enjoyed the monkeys on Monkey Island and also enjoyed imitating them.

Monday - June 5, 2006

I don't really have any explanation for why I have been unable to publish to the the web site for most of the week.  The problem started on Monday, I think.  We could connect to the internet with no problem on Donna's computer, but not on my laptop.  I think it was the wireless card on my Laptop.  Since all the web stuff is on the Laptop, I could not publish.  Then, when we got here to Homosassa yesterday, everything was back to normal, at least most of the time.  I still have and occasional problem with communication between my Laptop and the Web hosting service.

I finally got one picture posted, and maybe today will have time to post some more.  We are right now (8:30 am) getting ready to go see the Manatee's.  More Later!

We went to the Homosassa Wildlife Park, a state park, this morning, arriving at opening time of 9am.  Many of the animals were out and active since it was still cool.  This park, started in the early 1900's as a private park, was assumed by the state in the 80's, and now contains ONLY animals native to Florida.  With one exception.  When the state was going to move Lu the Hippo, the last non-native, out of the park, local kids raised a stink, so the governor came down and made Lu an honorary Floridian.

The main focus of the park is its group of Manatee's.  There are six there right now, being re-habilitated from injuries received in the wild.  They have been hit by boats, got tangled in fishing lines, and have suffered all sorts of injuries  Here they are nursed back to health, and eventually released if they are capable of living in the wild afterwards.  The above picture is of the lady that did a presentation about Manatee's and fed the one that came up.  Usually about 4 or 5 will show up for the special feeding and show.  The Manatee in the photo weighs about 1200 lbs, but the largest in the park weighs in at over 3200 lbs.

Austin was very excited about all the animals as we walked the board walk viewing all the various exhibits.  He actually knew what most of the them were, without any help from us.  Maybe he was reading the signs, but I think he knew them from the pictures at the display, or from seeing the animal.  As we came upon the bald eagles above, Austin said, " Those are the Bald Eagles, and they are very rare"

We also went to a "Wildlife Presentation" and as we walked in a guy was holding what I knew to be and Owl.  But Austin quickly informed Donna and I that it was a "Barn Owl", said he could tell because his face was 'heart shaped'.  Of course, he was exactly right, for the right reason, too.  I guess I just will never cease to be amazed at what this six-year knows.

We got back to the coach about 2 or so, fixed sandwiches, and guess what!!  Austin wanted to go swimming!  So Donna took him to the pool, while I stayed in coach to work on this website.  After they got back, Donna got a nap for about 2 hours, then we both took him back to the pool.  Guess you might say Austin loves swimming.

Tuesday - June 6, 2006

Today was a driving day, mostly anyway.  We left Homosassa about 6:45 with about 365 miles to drive to Navarre Beach, just east of Pensacola.  We got fuel at the Flying J, near Quincy, and arrived at the campground about 2pm.  We have a really great site, right on the Navarre Sound, with a nice beach, and plenty of shells for Austin to pick up.

Austin and I immediately went to the little beach here, he got a few shells, the we decided to drive over to an island (there IS a bridge) to check out the Gulf side beaches.  Lots of new high rise condos being built, plenty of public access to the beautiful white, and I mean white, beaches.  So white they almost blind you.  On the way back to the campground, we stopped at a little city park, with some slides and water play stuff.  Stayed there about an hour, then back to the campground

At little later Donna took Austin to the pool for a couple of hours.  I joined them after about an hour.  A few minutes before we left, he took off his Life Jacket, saying he could swim.  And, swim he did!  At least kinda like swimming.  He could make progress in the water, but does not have a breathing technique established yet. 

While at the pool, I met John Howser, the author of The Howser House web page.  I have been reading his blog for several months, and had read that he, his wife, his daughter and 3 grandkids would be here this week.  I recognized him as he came to talk to his daughter, who was in the pool with the two oldest grandkids.  I introduced myself, he joined Donna and I at our table and we had a great visit. 

After grilling steaks, baking sweet potatoes, and having some black eyed peas for supper, a little boy about 12 staying close by, stopped to show Austin the Hermit crabs he had just picked up on the beach here.  Naturally, Austin wanted to go get some, so the kid, Travis, took him back to try and get some.  They didn't find any, so Travis gave him one of his, which we put in an old ice chest we had.

While at the pool, we also talked to a guy that told us the Blue Angels were at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola and would practicing again tomorrow morning at 8:30.  So we are planning to drive over there in the morning.  There is also a Naval Air Museum there which we also plan to visit.

Wednesday, June 7, 2006

We got up this morning at 7:00 so we could be on the road to the Naval Station by 7:30.  We arrived at the gate about 8:20 and were told by the guard the practice would be right behind the Musuem.  When we arrived, there were hardly any cars or people, just a couple guys at a drive way leading toward what looked like hangers.  We stopped, and they told us the practice had been cancelled, that the Blue Angels had decided to leave early for a trip to Canada, scheduled for later in the day.  We were allowed to enter the Museum early, however.

The museum was really great, and Austin loved it, explaining all sorts of things to me about planes, rockets, and torpedoes.  I am still amazed at some of the things he knows, or at least is fairly accurate about.

After an hour and a half in the museum we drove around a little, found the 'passenger terminal', and pull in a parking lot.  Across the tarmac we could see the 6 Blue Angel planes with folks working around them, apparently preparing for the trip to Canada.  Several folks were there watching, expecting a practice but they left about the time we stopped, saying to others that the practice had been cancelled.  (Remember this is about 2 hours after we learned of the cancellation, which I will explain in a minute.)

I asked Donna yesterday if we were back in Central time, and she said No.  I told her I thought she had mentioned when we were at the Florida Welcome Center on the way down here that we didn't change to Eastern for about 150 miles down I-10, but she said she didn't say that.  Ok, I was wrong.

I kept looking today for a Bank with time and temperature, but never found one.  So, after leaving the Naval Academy, about 10:30 we stopped at a Sonic, for a bite of breakfast.  The cash register ticket showed 9:30.  HUH? (First Clue)

So after driving around Pensacola Beach, we returned to Navarre Beach, stopped at a Shark Museum and Shell place for Austin to buy a Hermit crab.  They also had a baby shark on display in an aquarium.  As we checked out the young lady said, "If you come back at noon you can watch us feed the shark".  I looked at my watch, 12:10pm.  (Second Clue)

I concluded we WERE back in Central Time, and we were an hour early for the Blue Angel show, that had been cancelled anyway.  No matter, the Museum was worth the trip and the time.

After returning to the coach, and having Frito Pie for lunch, Donna took a nap while I watched Austin, then Donna and Austin went to the pool, while I took a nap.  Then I joined them at the pool, till about 5:30, when we came back to the coach, grilled pork chops and baked potatoes.  Then about 6:30 or 7:00, we went back to the pool till almost dark.  We are pretty well battened down to leave early in the morning.  I think we are about 575 to 600 miles from home, and doubt we will try to get home tomorrow.  No more scheduled stops, just over-nite in a rest area or parking lot.

Thursday, June 8, 2006

Friday, June 9, 2006