Ode to Henry County

We drove home today, and it was much more arduous than the typical drive.  We knew this right away when there was bumper to bumper traffic right there along I-95 at Daytona Beach.  I mean, we didn't even go ten minutes and we were already in bumper to bumper traffic.  The length of I-95 was like this, and then a good bit of I-10 west was the same:  bumper to bumper traffic.  It was clear we weren't going to set any records today.  We were pretty worn out already, but found ourselves on a good stretch of road along South Georgia where everything was fine and dandy.  That gave us hope.

Madison was sleeping for a bit, but she was also listening to music as well.  She had her eyes closed for a good part of the journey, relaxed.  Of course, her eyes opened up when we got close to Cordele, where we always stop at the Chick-Fil-A.  We had our usual meal, and then this peppermint milkshake that was just delicious!

Along the journey, Mommy and Daddy were listening to Riders Radio, and some more podcasts about certain Christmas origins, like how egg nog became associated with Christmas, and where it all started.  There was also an interesting one about "Miracle on 34th Street,"and another podcast about Christmas wrapping paper that we found interesting - how it started out at as an emergency fix because the tissue paper was not available.  Next thing you know, everyone is wanting their presents wrapped in paper that has printed pictures and designs on it.  These sorts of podcasts help the time go by quicker.

But nothing prepared us for the pathway of pain, the bit of I-75 that goes through Henry County.  We've mentioned this here before, but this time, this road was showing off all its despicable nastiness.  It was a banner day for I-75, and a reminder why this patch of road is easily the worst stretch of road in all of Georgia.  In fact, here's a poem I wrote to celebrate this heinous highway:

Ode to Henry County

Stop by in Henry County, as if you have a choice.
Because you can't go anywhere, my friends please hear my voice!
If you're in Henry County, prepare to sit and rot.
The interstate that's sitting there is just a parking lot!
This evil stretch of road, part of I-75,
those that make it through here are grateful to be alive.
In front of you a sea of angry brake lights looks your way,
those poor souls sitting there in cars have sat there this whole day.
Imprisoned and quite tortured, they just long to be free,
and every day they drive this drive, they blame GDOT.
For that is who designed this awful misery, we guess.
I'm sure someone thought it'd be great.  But it's always been a mess.
No, "mess" is not quite adequate when speaking of this route.
It's a vile and quite debilitating road of ill repute.
It's a pathway of pain, filling souls with despair!
Because they know inside their hearts, they can't go anywhere.
It's been a pit of torment there for many, many years.
My friends, a trip through Henry County only ends in tears.
So one last time, let me just use one word, and that's "BEWARE!"
When traveling this heinous highway, you are going ...nowhere.

Fortunately, we did in fact escape - eventually.  And barely.  We got home a lot later than expected, all due to Henry County.  Consider this, Henry County:  Atlanta Traffic was better.  It's still a traffic jam, but at least it moves somewhat, and on top of that at least there's a reason to for people to be in Atlanta.  Not so much for Henry County.  Again, the only reason people stop there is because they have to.  Their chief export is traffic jams.

If I sound bitter, that might be the case.  I'm rather tired from the drive.  But you know something?  We did get home safe and sound, and did call Nana and Ba-Ba to celebrate.  We had a great little trip away, despite today's horrendous highway.  We said our prayers, and went to bed in our own beds once more, sleeping soundly through the night.  At least... until those winds outside picked up...

Frozen II

We went to the Port Orange theater to see "Frozen 2" today, mainly because Madison could wait no longer!  Here we got to pay an extra five dollars again just to reserve a seat, something we used to do for free at movie theaters by... arriving earlier?

Anyway, the movie itself was good.  I think the consensus with the three of us was that this one wasn't as good as the previous, but it was still a good movie.  It was certainly different and daring in some directions.  And of course, the visuals were astounding.  The animation is just a wonder to behold, something that transports you far and away to Scandinavia, and the other mythical places mentioned in this movie.  It was nice - we sat together in our usual spot in the back, munching on popcorn and enjoying another movie together.

While out, we stopped at the grocery store to pick up some food items for the condo, amongst them egg nog!  Yes, Daddy got his egg nog!  Lately, it has to be a lactose free egg nog, but they make that, and it's pretty decent.

Speaking of food items, we did have leftovers today, and the day after Thanksgiving, these are always so good.  Mommy was packing and getting us ready to go tomorrow, which is sad to think about because this was such a short trip.  But it was a good one.  We were sitting on the balcony, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, playing Scrabble and drinking hot tea.

Tonight we watched "Miracle on 34th Street" together, the original version, which was on Disney Plus.  We also enjoyed a few rounds of dominoes - Ba-Ba won three rounds in a row tonight, along with Mommy winning one.  That's okay for all the rest of us, who had fun just the same.  Dominoes is a tradition at the condo, and I think it will follow us wherever we all meet up together.

Inspired by "Frozen," we watched "Olaf's Frozen Adventure" tonight, this after Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortunate, which Madison was quite ready to watch all week long.  She loves these game shows, which is funny to see.  She'll even perk up a little when "The Price is Right" is on.  But Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune are her favorites, and they're fun to try and yell out answers to before the contestants do.  We get a good number of them, but it's easy to do that from your living room and not there with an audience and cameras looking at you.  I'm sure that's a whole different world when trying to make guesses before other people.  So we don't judge.  We just try to guess things, and it's fun to hear Madison guess correctly, or Nana and Madison call out the right answer at the same time. It's a fun little pastime.

Anyway, we were in bed earlier tonight, maybe because of all the turkey!  Regardless, we read from "The Horse and His Boy" again, and also from the devotional.  We said our prayers, and gave thanks for a wonderful week here.  Yes, again we have so much to be thankful for.

Thanksgiving on the Shore

Happy Thanksgiving!  Madison felt inspired to write this in the sand along the shoreline here, something she's been doing as a tradition for quite some time whenever we come to the beach.  Usually, she'll write someone's name and we'll send pictures back of that person's name in the sand.  Today she did that as well, but she wrote a few other things too, which you'll see soon enough.

In any event, today was Thanksgiving, and it was a different one than the usual feast we have at the house.  We were down in Daytona, and with the usual beautiful view of the ocean, we went about our Thanksgiving Day with some of the usual traditions, just in a different location.  For example, there were these two:

No Thanksgiving is complete without these two salt and pepper shakers.  We were up earlier and were ready for the other tradition, which is watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.  It was super windy today, and there were threats of not having the balloons in the parade, but at the last minute a decision was made, and the balloons were given the all clear.  The handlers just had to carry them low, and you could tell throughout the morning that there were difficulties in maneuvering the balloons through the streets.  In fact, Ronald McDonald did not make it to the parade's hub, nor did this other balloon by a Japanese artist.  Fortunately, all of the others did, as did the bands, floats and so on.  It was a great parade this morning, always fun to watch.

Here we are though, watching the KidPak Thanksgiving Special, which by this point had a lot more views from KidPak families all over.

You can see everyone watching here, an on screen you can see the three pilgrims:  Josh, Joey and Daddy there, as hosts of the special.

Speaking of group shots, here's a wonderful one of the family just prior to eating our Thanksgiving feast this afternoon.

As mentioned earlier, there's so much to be thankful for.  Yesterday's news, the end of radiation, was such a wonderful moment, and such a contrast to the misery that was about three or four weeks ago.  The fact that Ba-Ba was able to eat a little bit of a slice of turkey was in itself a miracle, and he was able to have some other items on his plate as well.  Mommy and Nana prepared a meal together in the kitchen, and it had of course turkey, but also cranberry sauce, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, and all the other wonderful traditions of Thanksgiving.  We said the blessing, and expressed our thanks for such an amazing moment, for being together with family.

That's what Madison wrote in the sand afterwards.  We were out there on the beach, walking along the shoreline on such a beautiful day.  At one point, we decided to dig this channel for the water to stream back to the ocean, and it turned into this big labor the two of us were working on for quite some time.

I'm not sure why we were doing this, but we did something like this earlier this week, so why not?  You can see Madison below, working on the dam that is diverting the water flow.  It's concentrated into one thinner channel, so the water is actually a little more fast-paced through that area.  Rafting is probably pretty good there.

We decorated one portion with a marker, a shell that we found nearby.  These shells are usually shattered and shiny, but this one actually was all in one piece, somehow surviving so that we could use it in our channel decor.

What an odd thing to do for Thanksgiving, but again, why not?  We walked north on the shoreline for just a bit, and then decided to get to work right away on our big project.  The floodplains were spared, and hopefully crops were saved and a hydroelectric dam will be built along the way to supply everyone with electricity.

We worked on this for a little bit, but then it was soon time to part ways with our enterprise.  You can see Project Manager Madison here below in this photo, posing in the midst of this master work.  

It is somewhat relaxing and therapeutic, isn't it?  Working in the sand, and creating various castles and channels, or burying things or digging holes.  It's winter, so we don't have to worry about the pathway of sea turtles in the sand, so we left this one as is, where it rested until the tide started coming back in again.

We had pie and ice cream a bit later on, and Mommy and Nana were working on their ancestry online, looking through old pictures and gathering up info and reminiscing about various people in that family tree.  We watched the official pardoning ceremony of Bread and Butter, the two turkeys that were taken to the White House.  Both had luxurious accommodations, and have no idea how blessed they really are.  It was fun watching this little ceremony though, a tradition that goes back many, many years.

It was a good Thanksgiving.  Again, we have so much to be thankful for.  We don't have to look to far to see the miraculous on display, but then again, there are so many things that we take for granted as well.  And those are miracles too.  Life is full of miracles.

Ringing the Bell

Today was a very wonderful day for this reason above:  we were on hand to see Ba-Ba as he came back from his last visit for radiation.  As is the new tradition, he got to ring the bell on the way out - there's a bell that many chemotherapy and radiation facilities are installing, one hanging on the wall.  When used, it signals to everyone another patient that has done all the prescribed radiation treatments.  Mommy didn't have this at the time when she was going through her procedures, but there is a bell in Gainesville now, as there is one here in the Daytona clinic.  So Ba-Ba rang that bell today, and on top of that they gave him this "certificate," which was nice as well.

It definitely gives us something spectacular to be thankful for, just before Thanksgiving.  How wonderful!

This commercial keeps repeating, one where cancer patients are in a bell choir, ringing those bells in harmony.  Cancer patients are seen ringing the bell on the wall as the bell choir performs, and it's very moving.  Especially so, with Ba-Ba sitting right there on the couch.  He rang that bell today, and the music of it is sweet to our ears.

On their way home, they were doing a bit of shopping for dinner tomorrow.  And we were watching dolphins surf:

Surfing Dolphins!

They came by about the same time as yesterday, but this time, not only were they looking for food, they were also surfing the waves!  Pictures don't do the moment justice, of course.  It was pretty neat!

Today Daddy and Madison were out on the beach, and we did go for a little walk - this time southward.  But on the way back, we were working on this big project in the sand.  I'm not sure how these things start, but we decided to create a water channel that connected this large reservoir of water with the ocean.  The end result was this raging river the two of us created, a water project we were quite proud of.  The channel kept moving along rather well, and we talked about irrigation for the community, saving those folks in the flood zone, and hydroelectric dams.  We've got big dreams for this little bit of property here!

Tonight, we aired out KidPak Thanksgiving Special!

We shared this online tonight, having obviously filmed it beforehand.  These are some of our favorite Thanksgiving videos from the past, connected by host videos - the hosts dressed in Pilgrim costumes.  And of course we also have the short videos filmed in all our campuses of staff, volunteers and kids all wishing everyone a happy Thanksgiving.  We put this on the big television here late this afternoon, watching it together with Ba-Ba, Nana, Mommy, Madison and Daddy.  And everyone enjoyed it quite a bit.  As of this typing, it has a few hundred views, so hopefully others in the KidPak family are enjoying this as well, wherever they are.

Madison and Daddy were at the pool again, the indoor pool through.  It was nice and warm in there.  We swam for about an hour, and also used the jacuzzi, as Madison was wanting to jump in there again.  We swim for a bit, and play "Yes or No" still, trying to guess various obscure Marvel or Star Wars characters.  Or sometimes real people from play practice...!

It was a nice day, a big one of course.  Tonight as we wound down, we were watching "Christmas in Connecticut," and Nana and Mommy were doing some genealogy research together, looking at really old pictures collected on this computer.  It was a nice day, a pretty important one, and one we're all super thankful for!

Magic of Lights, Daytona International Speedway

The dolphins were back this morning, and there were a lot of them!  I'd estimate about 15-20 dolphins, so many that there were always a few above the surface of the waves, swimming about.

Some came up right close to the shore, obviously looking for some late breakfast.  It was a nice welcoming committee!  How blessed to be able to walk out of our condo here, walk out on the balcony, and see so many dolphins waving back at us.  We're very blessed!

It was a relaxing day today, sitting on the balcony in this perfect weather watching hawks, pelicans, seagulls and sandpipers.  Beachgoers were enjoying the stroll, with a few brave enough to plunge into the cooler water.  Daddy was reading, and Madison was watching some episodes of "Jessie" again.  Ba-Ba and Nana were off to get the second-to-last treatment of radiation.  Mommy was working on ancestry some, and we brought down a leftover pumpkin, and made it into a nice Thanksgiving decoration!

Mommy and Daddy sat on the deck here and played a game of Scrabble, something we used to do more often on these beach trips.  Mommy loves Scrabble!

When the grandparents got back, we had Taco Tuesday, and we of course were spending a lot of time talking together, doing quite a bit of catching up.  But when the sun went down, we got back into the car, returning to the Daytona International Speedway!

They have Christmas lights there now, and a lot of them.  We heard about this last time, and the timing was such that we could go and see it this year.  This was just the sort of seasonal thing that the grandparents could come along for, and we could all enjoy it together as a family.

We had the Christmas music playing - we brought along plenty of Christmas CDs, but there was also a radio station playing Christmas music that they suggested, so we had that going too.  The traffic going through was nice and slow, and the weather outside nice and cool - it was a very fine evening.

Madison took most of these pictures, by the way.  She hung out the car with the camera and was snapping away the first time we went through.  On Tuesdays - the reason we went tonight - they let you go through twice for the price of one visit.  So we went through twice, as everyone was up for it.

This picture above might be my favorite one that Madison took tonight.  The way we traveled was not out onto the actual racetrack itself, but rather through their parking lot, and along a road that goes underneath the stands themselves, beneath the stadium seating area.

The amount of lights here were enormous!  Ba-Ba had a coupon that was given to him, this from his visit to the clinic.  We got in for $20, which we kept commenting was about $40 less than a certain similar "Nights of Lights" event nearby our house in Gainesville.  And yet there were many, many, many more lights.  This kept going on and on, and it was just fine with everyone.

Ah look!  Loth wolves!  They guided us along the interior of the stadium.  You could almost hear the deep echoing voice call out, "DUME!"  And below, here's another unusual sight:

A yeti going fishing.  Yes, it's not every light show that gives us a glimpse at a yeti going fishing.  But that's the magic that is Daytona International Speedway!  This was an animated display, so the yeti was catching fish after fish.  And there were at least three of these yetis going fishing.  If you're looking for a good spot to catch some fish, here it is.  But be considerate of the yetis.

The Victorian area might have been my favorite.  There was even an ice skating rink set up for the characters, and a large Victorian house, all lit up in a colorful display.  And of course, given that we were at the Daytona International Speedway, there were several displays of racing cars.

And being so close to the Space Coast, there was a great display of outer space decorations too!

There was a light tunnel we went through to get here, with stars all around us and above us, and then as we passed by the various planets, we arrived at a spot with a space shuttle and an alien too.

Here's an astronaut with a Christmas hat on, ready to wish us all a Merry Christmas!

The Night Before Christmas display was nice, because it depicted various parts of the famous poem, and you sort of had to figure things out as you went along.  Oh, look - he's throwing up the sash!  And there's a mouse sleeping.  And there's Santa, coming down the chimney with a bound!

The Christmas tree was ready for Santa, and I think we are too, after seeing all this on display.  There were so many things to see, and the first run-through, Madison snapped probably 200 pictures!

Here below is one from the Candy Land segment, one right in front of the Daytona International Speedway sign.  Daddy was driving slowly through, so obviously he wasn't taking any pictures.  But the family was looking out the windows, and Madison was actually hanging out the window with that camera for much of the night.

We got back in line and did it all again.  Nana and Ba-Ba both said how much they enjoyed this evening, and we did too.  It was nice for the whole family, and especially on Tuesdays, I can't recommend it any more.  There were a good deal of cars there, so I imagine it will get a lot more crowded when December arrives.  So this worked out well for us.  We had a little wait at the beginning, but once you're in the middle of things, it's okay to stop and look around.

I think our favorite of these sorts of destinations may still be Calloway Gardens, but this was a great thing to convert the racetrack area to.  It's this big destination anyway, and yet here it is at night, all decked out with colorful lighting, and getting everyone ready for the Christmas season.

Obviously, we had a nice evening together as family.  We've been going out to see light displays for many years together.  I remember one of the first trips with Madison, and it's become a tradition for us quite some time.

It was a nice night!  We got home, and we read and prayed, and gave thanks for a nice trip here with family for a special week.

Lightning Strikes Twice

We made our way down today without too much fanfare, heading down to Daytona once more for a brief stay.  Amazingly - amazingly - we didn't run into traffic in Atlanta.  Even more so, we pretty much drove through Henry County without any traffic either.  The only place we slowed down a bit was in Jacksonville, but it was about rush hour at that time.  The day was actually a beautiful one.  We slept in late, given we had a later night.  That being said, we left later, and that was okay, given the amount of traffic in Atlanta in the morning.  

Madison was listening to music and watching movies in the back seat, while Daddy and Mommy spent the entire ride listening to some really interesting podcasts.  The one about KFC at Christmas in Japan was probably our favorite.

We had no idea about this one.  Apparently, an industrious KFC worker in Japan convinced a lot of people that what we do in America is eat KFC every Christmas.

Therefore, by extension, to properly celebrate the holiday, Japanese people ought to have KFC on Christmas too.  Right?  This grew into this proper Christmas monster, with all these people wanting KFC on Christmas.  One year people were waiting for hours to get their pre-ordered chicken.  Because you can't do Christmas without KFC chicken, right?

And the funny thing is that many of the people may have heard the truth: many of them probably aware that we here in America - as a large group - don't celebrate Christmas with KFC.  Still, in Japan, it's only right to have KFC chicken on Christmas, and you don't want to be that family that doesn't have it on the table.

Anyway, the guy who came up with this idea is a legend for KFC, I'm sure.  I mean, this Christmas, I'm super tempted to get a bucket.

But here we see fake news in action.  I mean, literally, it starts with this lie, which is "that everyone else thinks this is the way it works."  And everyone believes it to the point that they're going out, and investing a lot, all based on that initial lie.  And it keeps perpetuating and growing to the point that in an odd way, it actually becomes reality.  Only, of course, this reality for these people is built entirely on a not-quite-true foundation.

Weird, huh?  This wasn't meant to go into any metaphor.  Because I'm pretty firm in my belief system:  I know what I know.  Jesus was born on Christmas Day, and that's what it's all about.  And... I might be getting a bucket of KFC chicken for Christmas this year, just because.

Right about I-10 on the way down, we listened to a radio show that was just wonderful.  Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed were performing on the radio show, and it was an audio version of "It's a Wonderful Life."  It was just super fun to hear this performed in front of a live audience, and the quality was very good.  I can't imagine all the stress and complications of doing something like that live, but radio shows did that all the time, just as the stage performances were done in front of live audiences.  These days, we watch more things that are pre-recorded, done after several takes and done from different angles.  Back then, there was so much energy to these live performances.  We'll have a live performance of our own pretty soon, with Madison and Daddy on the big stage - and on television screens - in front of thousands.  That makes me super nervous, so I'm changing the subject now...

We got to Daytona Beach Shores, and it was dark, but there were a few Christmas lights here or there.  Along the street lights, there are some decorations, and at the top of some condos you can see more.  I imagine by week's end there will be more.

Nana and Ba-Ba were happy to see us, of course.  We did a bit of catching up, ate a little bit, unpacked, and just sat talking for a time.  Afterwards, Madison and Ba-Ba were watching the Tampa Bay Lightning humiliate the Buffalo Sabres.  The Lightning were down a player, so the Sabres had one extra player.  And even one player down, during one power play the Lightning scored twice!  Yes, and here comes the obvious joke:  Lightning strikes twice.

Anyway, it was nice sitting down together.  And it was an uneventful drive.  Ba-Ba is doing well, and his spirts  are upbeat, which is important.  His weight is very low, which is concerning.  But there is hope, and there is a determination and grit to carry on and beat this thing.  Stage Four cancer is a dragon, but St. George has valiantly went off to battle this beast, and shortly, he shall slay it.  Just this week, he'll finish his radiation treatments - we already have so much to be thankful for!

A Christmas Carol

Tonight we were able to do something we've been wanting to do for many, many years:  see the Alliance Theater's production of "A Christmas Carol."

It was worth the wait.  We drove down and had no problems with traffic at all on a Sunday night, and since we pre-paid for our parking, we were able to just drive right up a little early to a nice spot by the elevator, after which we went up to the theater to see the production.

Isn't it funny how we've all seen this story so many times and know exactly how it goes - and yet we keep going back to see it again?  From the beginning, the very moment we walked into the theater, we knew we were in for a wonderful night.

The costuming and performances were just magnificent, and the theater seating just right pretty much no matter where you were seated.  We were able to see everything just fine, and right up close.  It was captivating - Madison really enjoyed it.  She was sitting between Mommy and Daddy, and despite the formality of it all, there was an energy and atmosphere that just sucked you in to this remarkable story.

And the performances were fantastic as well.  The actors all played multiple roles throughout, and it certainly kept everyone busy with costume changes and so forth.  But it was flawless, at least to the untrained eye.

There were some additions to the story, and normally you sort of think these are just embellishments for the fun of it, but these bits with Jacob Marley actually make a bit of sense, and suddenly you see the shift of Ebenezer Scrooge not so dramatically to greed, but rather a slower slide into the miserly person he becomes, this based on a mentorship of Jacob Marley.  We'll just call Jacob Marley the Emperor in this scenario, and of course Scrooge is our Anakin.  This does not go well for Belle.

Belle was played by an actor from the GTA, one Madison has seen a few times before, including a performance of "Sophie and the Pirates."  We didn't know she'd be in this play here in Atlanta, so it was somewhat of a surprise.  Also from Gainesville, the girl who played the role of Tiny Tim was from our church!

After seeing this, of course we want to go and see all the different versions of this classic story there are on film.  There were a lot of kids there tonight, and it was great to see such interest in the theater, which itself looked amazing.  It was recently renovated, and the final product was comfortable, and visually a treat.

And the stage itself was perfect for this story, with such character.  An elevator brought the visiting ghosts to Scrooge up through the middle of the stage, or that is how they'd exit.  There were harnesses that helped Jacob Marley fly to and fro across the stage as Scrooge fearfully looked on.

And Scrooge's performance was spot on.  He's an interesting character, so iconic and tied to Christmas.  His transformation is something we all can't wait to see.  And of course, we love spending Christmas with the Cratchit family as well.

Tiny Tim's performance was just right for this:  "God bless us, every one."  You have to end the play with that, don't you?

In the end, we were all filled with the warmth of the season.  We were talking with the other people in the seating about the play, and about the Christmas season, and how this sort of thing is just what's needed to bring everyone together.  Hopefully just that can happen, where everyone can put aside all the animosity, and focus instead on doing things for one another.

In the end, Scrooge could do it.  And it's so wonderful to see the generosity and giving, and the warm smile upon his face when meeting with the Cratchits.  There's a moment where he meets up with them, and wants to be a part of their family, and it just hits all the right notes of this time of year.

We loved it, obviously, and despite the drive down and so forth, it's certainly worth going to again.  Afterwards, we made it home rather easily, and there we got ready for bed rather quickly.  It was a full day, and this was just the ending part of it.

This morning we were at church, and the service was good, the one we had dedicated to "Queen of Katwe," and the game of chess.  Madison got a kick out of the clip with the little girl so upset that her opponent took her queen.  But all the kids got the main message, that "the little one can become the big one," and that we should "run for our lives," and "never be too quick to tip our king."

With church in the morning - two services - and a visit to the Alliance Theater, we had ourselves a very full day.  But it was a memorable one, and wonderful one.  And it was just the right thing, a very special moment in this Christmas season.