Stop in Henry County - as if you have a choice!

This is a picture of traffic in Henry County today, but it really is a picture of traffic for Henry County every day.  I can't really remember a time where traffic didn't look like this when going through Henry County.  In fact, from what I understand, they're slogan has now become:  "Stop in Henry County, as if you have a choice."

Obviously, we stopped in Henry Country today.  And then we went.  And then we stopped.  And then we went.  And then we stopped.  And so on.  Other counties in Georgia have nice little associations in our minds (White County is the "Gateway to the Mountains"), but Henry County will always be associated with traffic jams.  I mean, whatever the heck the DOT did down there with that extra lane thing is a complete and total bad idea, as made apparent every single time we drive into this county.  We see the "Welcome to Henry County" sign, and we're filled with dread.  Your county is so bad, we don't even want to drive through it!

We got home in good shape though, although a bit late.  Daddy was simply ready to get to bed, which was all of us, actually.  The house has a nice smell, one that reminds you that there's no place like home.  And here we are again.

It was nice this morning though - we all slept in, and watched the waves for a bit, looking at dolphins and surfers.  It's going to be warm weather in Daytona, much warmer.  We got out of there just in time, really.  Daddy wasn't into temperatures going up into the nineties.  Not yet, anyway.  Too soon, right?

We said our goodbyes to the grandparents though, which is always a bittersweet.  We carried the luggage down to the car and said our goodbyes down there, getting ready for the long drive home.  We knew it would be a longer one today, so at least we were ready for that much.  There was the usual stop at the Cordelle Chick-Fil-A, along with a stop at the nice rest area in Osceola National Forest.  But beyond that, there was a lot of time in the car.  We got through the mini-series that Riders in the Sky followed, one involving diamond mines in Australia, arctic land bridges, love in Paris, visits with Representatives in Washington, and lots of yodeling.  All this is fairly typical...!  We listen to that to pass the time on the way home, a fun mix of western music and radio comedies.

Anyway, we're home and all is well.  It was a longer drive than usual, but at least we're here, and despite all the usual traffic in Henry County, we made it.  It's good to be here again.

Kingdom Keepers

So we're really into these books now, the Kingdom Keepers series.  We're on book three currently, and again, I've read all these before.  But I'm remembering a lot as we re-read these out loud, and Maddie is enjoying the journey back through the parks and whatnot.  There are twelve books and a novella that I'm searching for right now, so we'll be in this series for a good while now, apparently!  I offered alternatives, but she wants to keep plugging along, and that's okay with me.  

Here's Juliet this morning - it's been a little rainy out there, but she and the rest of the village out there are standing up to the rain well enough.  It's also getting colder, so I'm not sure how she'll like that given she's got short sleeves and all. 

I had a busy day today.  First at cardio therapy for more walking, and then to a car dealership down in Alpharetta to get one of the cars checked up on.  It's doing well, but that took time.  Meanwhile, Mom and Nana were next door at a Goodwill, picking up a few items.  I peeked in at one time, getting a few things myself, including a new video game and a Michael W. Smith CD that I didn't have before.  

Madison was at school and she's starting trigonometry, which I have such a difficult time spelling.  Oh, and actually doing too.  It's been a while.  She's also working on a project on Henry County.  You read that right.  Henry County.  She was given choices as to what county in Georgia she could pick to do a project on.  And you'd think she's be all over Rabun County or Chatham or Ware or Stephens or ... anything.  I've been poking fun at her all day over that one.  In retrospect, she admits she probably could have chosen a county like that.  But Henry County it is, and she's learning a thing or two about it, so I suppose there's something there to that. 

We played some Disney Infinity today, going to the planet Hoth again, just because that's been one of our favorite destinations this year.  And tonight she spent some time studying for her upcoming math test, plus doing a bit towards her Henry County project.  

Yes, that's really happening.  I wasn't making it up!  She sort of wishes she picked something else, but you know what?  She'll probably be the most knowledgable person in her school when it comes to Henry County.  She'll probably know more about Henry County than people that actually live in Henry County!  She currently knows a whole lot more than I do about Henry County, that's for sure.

Anyway, meanwhile, the rest of us were watching the movie you see pictured above, "Gnomeo and Juliet."  Because why not?  Seriously, I do like that movie.

We read tonight, and went to bed early after reading from Exodus and from Kingdom Keepers.  It was a pretty full day of driving around for me, and after prayers, I'm ready for bed.

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...

Riders

Here we are, just getting started pretty much on our long journey home.  This is a picturesque rest stop somewhere near Jacksonville.  We stopped a few more times than usual on the way home, mainly because the thinking is we'd be able to be just as quick along I-75 northward as we were going southward.  It was a Saturday, so the traffic should be lighter, right?

Not really.  Guess where the trouble started?

Yes, Henry County, the traffic capital of the world.  This is in fact Henry County's chief export:  relentless traffic.  If you're looking up synonyms for "Henry County," you'll actually find the word, "traffic."  People spend more time in Henry County than others in Georgia, mainly because they have no choice.  When you account for all roads and traffic, the average speed in Henry County is roughly fifteen miles per hour.  On the interstates, the average is about four.  Even downtown Atlanta has better traffic, probably even with the I-85 bridge out.

Despite the delays there, and a little in Atlanta, we got home eventually safe and sound.  It was a smooth trip up until Henry County in fact.  We had a stop at our Chick-Fil-A in Cordelle, the one next to the rocket there.  As it is "watermelon country," we tried a watermelon mint lemonade there, and it was absolutely delicious.

Another stop we made was at the book store.  It's a Book Warehouse, and another $3 Book Sale store.  We used to stop at these all the time, but eventually the lack of new stuff kept us from dropping by.  We haven't been in a while, so we dropped by one more time on the way home.  And... it has the same stuff still.  I mean, there were a few things we picked up, but mostly it was the same stuff.  We did get Madison a new Bible, one she was wanting.  It had a nice cover, and it was written in a language that children can understand easier.  That said, we couldn't resist picking that up for her.  She was grateful, and that's hard for a parent to resist:  a child grateful to get a Bible.

To help our journey home, we spent a lot of time listening to Riders Radio Theater.

This is a great radio program with skits and plenty of western music and guests.  The ongoing radio drama is hilarious at many points, and really helped us along as we drove northward.

Meanwhile, Madison was listening to Bethel Music and Hillsong.  Daddy got these for her before going on the trip, and she's been listening to a few tracks over and over again as she read and played games.  She loves the song "Oceans" so much, and "Lion and the Lamb," and another one "In Pieces."  You could hear her singing along in the backseat, and it's hard to hear something greater as a parent than your own daughter singing worship songs from the backseat.

We got home and you go through those same sensations:  what is this place?  It's only been a week, but it's seemed longer.  The grass needs cutting, which means it's rained a lot in our absence.  Other than that, things are all the same, aside from the piles of luggage and stuff we dragged into the house from the car.  It'll be an early night tonight - we're tired from the long day.  We read from "The Gauntlet" some more, and Tony Stark got the upper hand on the Mandarin, who tried a bit of cheating.  We also read some more from the Superflix devotional, part of the series we'll be visiting tomorrow morning at KidPak.

And after that we prayed, thanking God for a safe trip home, and a wonderful vacation.  It was a memorable one, something wonderful this summer.

Barbara Manatee

So we made the long drive home today, made longer of course by our typical stop in Henry County.  Of course, by "typical stop," I mean "unplanned county-long traffic jam created by road work that causes three lanes of bumper to bumper traffic the length of roughly thirty or more miles."  I'm not entirely sure what "construction work" they are doing at that one solitary bridge in Henry County, but I'm inclined to do some research now, as this is the third time we've spent A LOT of time in that confounded county.  Each time we're on our way back and we're thinking we're doing pretty good as far as time goes, and then it's time to enter Henry County.  Sorry, Henry County, but your name is now synonymous with "frustratingly long traffic jams."

And of course, this was the weekend that they decided to close THREE lanes of I-85 IN ATLANTA.  Yeah, that sounds like a good idea too.  Especially for all those suckers coming out of Henry County!

Other than that, the trip home was without incident.  We did go through a pretty nifty rain storm that just came out of nowhere, making the sky amazingly dark.  You couldn't see through the storm, and yet it wasn't much later that we were all driving out the other side of it.  Fortunately, everyone around us was driving with some sense, slowing down dramatically until we could feel our way to the other side.

We made a few stops at rest areas along the way, and also made a stop at our traditional book stores, where we picked up a few dietary books, the latest John Grisham book and a book for Madison.

But other than those things listed above, the trip was pretty ordinary.  Which is to say, we're glad we made it home in one piece.  So often we take these mundane little journeys for granted, don't we?  And yes, I'm complaining about traffic, but at the same time, we did make it home okay.

When we got home, it was nearly time for bed - mainly because we're all rather exhausted.  But we did plug in the Veggie Tales Silly Song DVD, just to see Larry the Cucumber sing about Barbara Manatee.  Madison did not remember this, but there's Larry carrying around a stuffed manatee, just like Madison has the last few days.

She went to bed earlier tonight, with both manatees at her side.  Mommy and Daddy played a bit of Scrabble for a time, but they were soon out like a light.  It was a good vacation - pretty inexpensive too!  But we definitely did a lot, and had a lot of fun together as a family.

Flippen

We left Daytona this morning, but before doing so, we finally opened our Christmas crackers.  These were supposed to be used on New Year's Eve, and then New Year's Day, but we simply didn't get around to it.  It's an English tradition more than anything, so this was done with Nana in mind, although it's fun for all of us - you pull at them and they pop!  Then you get what's inside, the colorful paper crown, and the gift inside.  There were useful things inside, like tape measure, a bottle opener, measuring spoons and other items.  So these were actually practical gifts, and in fact the tape measure was something Ba-ba was needing!

Anyway, we did that traditional, just as we did last New Year's Eve, and it was fun.  The rest of the morning we were packing, and lamenting the fact that it seemed like we just got here.  It's been a whirlwind sort of week, going up to Tennessee and then down here to Florida.  Coincidentally, a lot of other people from Tennessee were here in Florida to watch their football team play in the Gator Bowl.  Like them, we were all going home, going north today.

Like them, we were all doing just fine until we got to the Atlanta area.  I'll give you one guess what county it was that caused all the damage.  You probably already know.  Certainly if you've read this blog before, you know.

HENRY COUNTY

Madison was cracking up at one town we saw here in Henry County.  It's called "Flippen."  The laughter came when we were talking:  “We’re in the Flippen city limits!  Look, there’s the Flippen Library!  I wonder what the Flippen speed limit is?  I just love this Flippen place!”

We had stopped at the Chick-Fill-A in Cordele like always, and it was great.  And we filled up on gas there too.  We went through a crazy rain storm that had a look about it like it was something from the midwest.  But the traffic started in Spalding and was huge ordeal all throughout Henry County.  We got off at one exit, and just sat there at the Chick-Fil-A in McDonough, wondering how we were ever going to get home!  Daddy decided to try out that route 23 you see above, and right off the bat there was this car accident on route 20 to McDonough that stopped everyone.  But we made it past that, got stuck in traffic in McDonough itself, and finally found freedom with that route 23.  We drove on that one north to I-675, to I-285, to 400, and to freedom.  It took a while - two extra hours today - but we eventually made it home, exhausted from the epic journey.  It wasn't that epic until we got to Henry County, but the weather and the returning holiday traffic made it one of the most brutal traffic situations we've ever endured.  It just kept going on and on.  This little map above shows only a small part of the misery that is that stupid part of the I-75 in Henry County.

But we're home, and we're safe, so all is well.  We read some more from "Prince Caspian" tonight, and said our prayers, thanking God for the safe journey.  We're back, and we're ready for a good night's rest, and even a restful day tomorrow.  It's been a good start to the year.

A Literal and Metaphorical Storm

Here's our next group of college students at the church.  You can see Daddy in the front row there, ready to host and teach another year, alongside the other staff members of course.  It's going to be a great year, and it might be a crazy one too...

Today was a good day here, although down in Florida, things are more menacing.  The approach of Hurricane Florian has been one of the most unpredictable paths in recollection.  This one seems to defy forecasters left and right to the point that today, meteorologists were collectively saying, "Forget it!"  And just being honest, telling us all, "Look, it's going to hit somewhere on the East Coast.  Maybe."

Regardless, the safest path for Nana and Ba-Ba was northward, away from any coast at all, and into our home.  They made the safe journey upward without any incident.  At least until they got to Henry County.  Yes, they called you out by name, Henry County.  They don't even know of my personal animosity towards the interstate system through your county, and yet today we shared that all too common thing that is said about Henry County:  "We were driving along just fine, until we hit all that traffic in Henry County."  How many people say that on a daily basis is not possible to actually count at this point, as many of them are still technically stuck in traffic there at this moment as I type this.

At least they made it here safely, despite the Lord of the Rings journey they made to get here.  They arrived safely in the evening, and all of us were watching the forecasters sputter and struggle to find the right thing to say.  Despite this, it was a happy reunion today, all this during the other storm that is going on.

Tonight we had taekwondo, and Madison was looking sharp with her skills with the combat stick, all this while Daddy was doing a bit of writing for the new series.  This has been more of a struggle to write, but the end result turned out pretty decent.  The kids have really responded to this series, of course, but this is largely due to the efforts of Mommy and the costuming.  The actors have been overwhelmed by the response, seeing all these kids rushing forward and saying things like, "I met the real Buzz Lightyear!"

Anyway, it was a good day today.  There is a hint of menace in the air.  The other storm we mentioned above is the diagnosis for Ba-Ba.  He's been meeting with surgeons and next week - weather pending - an oncologist.  We'll see how things progress there, but the progress is moving rather slowly at present.  We'd love all this to be gone, of course.  We prayed tonight for him, and for all of us, and for everyone in the path of this storm.  The folks in the Bahamas are enduring first - it's a slow moving monster.  We prayed against both of these slow progressing storms, that they would weaken and die.  Peace, be still.

See Rock City Birdhouse

Mom and Nana got the "See Rock City" birdhouse up in our front yard, and it just looks marvelous there.  I pulled up to the house and saw it set up there, and it's such a great sight.  We picked that up so long ago when we went to Rock City, and I put it together, and even painted the post and attached it to the post itself.  But it's taken us a while to get into the ground, until today.  And it just looks so great there.  The house has compartments for six different nests, if that many birds would like to take up residence there.  I mean why not?  It's a bit more comfortable, I'd think, than our front door, right?

So we're in this odd gas shortage.  Human conditioning is such that when we're told to just get a half tank of gas as we wait for the supply to come back, we'll all collectively and immediately race out to the gas stations and not only fill up our tanks, but in many cases bring along extra gas tanks and barrels to fill up with even more gas.  It's similar to what happened last year with toilet paper, only this one was even more self-inflicted.  The gas lines out there are crazy, and gas stations left and right are sitting there, completely empty.  We filled up on Sunday night, so we're good.  But I pitied a lot of people on the way home, as I passed many who were sitting in these enormous lines at the otherwise uncrowded gas stations.

Madison was at school today, studying Henry County, or math problems.  You could combine the two in this interesting math challenge:

Question:  In Henry County, I-75 is 16.42 miles long.  A truck is moving north as it crosses the Henry County line on I-75 at 60 mph, while a small white Toyota is traveling south as it crosses the Henry County line on I-75 at 70 mph.  At what time do they meet?

Answer:  Four hours and fifty-five minutes, due to traffic.

We had a meeting with a dietician.  I had the laptop set up so that Mom could speak with the dietician as I as sitting there.  It made sense, as Mom prepares all the food in the house.  The end result of our meeting was "we're pretty close to the mark."  We're still needing to make some adjustments though, one of them being the replacement of our normal butter with a substitute butter.  There are other dietary changes too, but it was good to meet with this person to get advice.  It's been a good program afterwards, informative and helpful.  I've had ups and downs, but more ups than downs.

Tonight's viewing was more of season two of "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D."  We've seen these guys again:

"Your compliance will be rewarded."  What a quote.  It's the phrase used by Hydra operatives as they manipulate and control others.  It's best stated while sneering, or at least through gritted teeth.  It's also a phrase you can easily imagine our own government telling us when implementing laws or executive orders we don't agree with.  For example, just thinking off the top of my head here... "Get a vaccination.  Your compliance will be rewarded."  That sort of thing.

Anyway, we saw a few more episodes of this show tonight before heading up to read, and pray too.  Added to our prayers is a prayer for Israel, a nation under attack this week.  Our new President has condemned the terrorist rocket attacks against Israel, and supports Israel's right to defend itself.  That might seem fairly obvious, but it surprising given the political party he represents.  Still, it's going to go on  and on.  It's like a volcano that erupts from time to time.  I think there's a famous statement by Dave Barry about the Middle East that goes like this:  "They can hold all the peace talks they want, but there will never be peace in the Middle East. Billions of years from now, when Earth is hurtling toward the Sun and there is nothing left alive on the planet except a few microorganisms, the microorganisms living in the Middle East will be bitter enemies."

Regardless, we pray for Israel.  A lot of talk is going on about the end times, and that happens each time the volcano erupts over there.  Our job is to be ready regardless, pray for peace, and do the best we can.  And try to get a good night's rest.

Georgia on My Mind Day

All good things must come to an end, and this morning we needed to get going.  The big reason is that tomorrow is Nutcracker practice, and we can't miss that, can we?

After a quick breakfast, we said our goodbyes to Nana and Ba-Ba and were on our way up the road.  We were farther up in Florida, so theoretically, today's travels weren't quite as extensive.  In fact, we made it to Georgia in about two hours without any problem.

We stopped at the newly renovated Georgia Welcome Center, and coincidentally, it was "Georgia on My Mind Day."  That meant there were all sorts of tables, tents and representatives from all over the state to welcome us, some coming from as far as Gilmer County.  Of course, we were just in Gilmer County two weeks ago for apples.  Anyway, we went from table to table, canopy to canopy, and it was just like trick-or-treating.  There were candy and snacks at every table, and in some cases frisbees, hats and t-shirts.  Madison did some put-putting, spinning a wheel for a prize, and all kinds of snacking along the way.  She even posed for a picture in front of a green screen at one point, the end result showing her at some scenic place in Henry County.  Of course, it would be more fitting to have her image put in traffic stuck in Henry County... but I suppose this picture was nicer.

Speaking of Henry County, we avoided it completely again.  We left I-75 in Macon and went up through Gray, home of the world's longest red light.  Seriously, this light.  Continents move faster than the folks in line at this light.  Gray, Georgia, has no reason for anyone to stop there, so they made a tourist attraction that forces you to stop.  We'll figure this out next time, but behind us in the rear-view mirror, we could see dozens of cars veering off to take a back street in order to avoid the just-slightly-shorter-than-eternity red light.  Please don't think we're exaggerating.  Go there for yourself if you don't believe me.  Or maybe that's their plan?  This light is longer than drawbridge lights, or certain statistics classes in school.

Otherwise, the trip was incredibly smooth.  All the way, we were listening to the radio, and traffic sounded like a nightmare in Atlanta, Friday night rush hour.  Meanwhile, our trip was eventless, with slightly heavier traffic but no back-ups like we were hearing on the radio.

We got home in time to unpack and settle down.  There was even time to see a movie - we watched "Hocus Pocus" of course.

Amok!  Amok!  Amok!

There and Back Again

The trip home today was fairly common, with good weather and the traffic not so bad.  As usual, it was a mess in Henry County.  The official Henry County tourism motto should be this:

Seriously, they've got a gimmick here!  The chief export of Henry County is traffic, and why not just embrace it.  I mean, everyone experiences traffic.  But this place has a bumper crop of traffic all year round.  Name a time, and there's traffic.

Ironically, once we got through Atlanta, that was it.  There was no traffic anywhere else, and so our travels were relatively mundane.  Madison was taking a serious nap in the back seat, and Mommy and Daddy were finishing up their latest Riders Radio broadcast.  We made a few stops at rest areas, and one of our favorite Chick-Fil-A stops at Cordelle, which is fast becoming a tradition for us.  The other rest area down in Osceola is just such a nice place to stop - it's along I-10, and is one of the best rest areas you can stop at.  Everything is clean, and yes, you're in a state park.  You can tell because there are advertisements of things you can do there in the deep forests of Florida.  One such thing you can do is go waterskiing.  On the surface, this perhaps may seem like a great idea.  But given the notorious population of alligators in Florida, I'd rather not do anything that involves any part of my body touching the water in a swamp/forest.

We got home in good time tonight, unpacking and pretty much back before we realized we were gone.  It was a very quick trip to the beach, but more about spending time with family of course.  Tonight, we got home and caught up on last week's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., watching it on the big television downstairs, and then catching the latest episode upstairs off of the antenna.  We were all snuggled together, still barely awake enough to watch a television show long enough, and then head straight to bed.

But a few notes about tonight's episode.  First of all, we love Phil Coulson.  He's been one of our favorite Marvel characters ever.  Tonight's episode reinforced that, because of his love of Captain Crunch.  Yes, this made Daddy want to go out and get another box of that cereal.  How hilarious that two of the imprisoned good guys were munching on Captain Crunch.  The third character was the Absorbing Man, who got into a fight with a young girl with advanced fighting skills.  And here's my thought:  he's the Absorbing Man.  Meaning, all he has to do is absorb something metal, and there's that.  End of fight.  He becomes metal, and nothing can stop him.  Nothing breaks him, nothing bends him, nothing happens.  He wins.  Unfortunately, that didn't quite happen tonight.  He didn't necessarily lose the fight, but for some reason he didn't absorb things, and that sort of was odd.

Beyond that, we're enjoying the show, all three of us.  Hopefully we'll move forward on a more positive note, after a bit of adventure.  There's talk of this character or that dying, but if it's all the same, I'm okay with everyone surviving, thank you very much.

Anyway, we went to bed right after this, all three of us.  It was a long day.  We left late this morning from Daytona, and here we were in North Georgia, watching television together.  Time to get some shuteye, right?

Back Seat Artist

Madison created masterpiece after masterpiece in the backseat of the car today.  We were on our way back home, and she was just in the mood to draw these elaborate creations.  We had a pad for her, markers and pencils she got for her birthday, and of course she had a lot of time.  So that's what she chose to do - practice her drawing skills.  She's actually getting pretty good.  You can see the progress she's making with this skill over time.  In all the other areas of her life, you could see this year - second grade - as the big one for learning and growth.  And now we're starting to really see it with her drawing as well.

We drove back home today, as described earlier.  This was a longer drive, as our starting point was Satellite Beach.  And we left later, because we simply could not resist one last long stroll down the beach.  Today, the conditions were best of all in the morning.  The heat was not there yet, and that ocean breeze was gentle.  The tide was lower, so there was no dancing around to avoid smooshing through the seaweed.  We couldn't resist collecting even more shells, and Daddy couldn't resist taking a whole lot of pictures once more.

One our way back up the Space Coast, we saw the Silver Surfer again - someone has this incredible model of the Silver Surfer in front of their place of business.  Also, we saw a Disney cruise ship at port this time, along with the other cruise ships.  The three of us took in a breath and made a wish for a cruise next time.  We're suddenly more cruisers than anything else.  Madison would like to do one again very much.

So we left the beach area and drove up I-95, passing by Daytona and all that.  We went across I-10, and went through Osceola National Forest, and soon enough were back on I-75 northbound.  And yep, we made a significant stop in Henry County.  Not by design, of course.  The traffic there is always horrendous.  It has been horrendous there for years.  Madison has spent hours of her life in Henry County, just sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic.  Because as far as I know at the moment, that is all you do in Henry County.  Perhaps it is their way of getting you to spend more time there.

Anyway, after that, and consequently the following Atlanta traffic, we got home pretty worn out.  But we got there safe, to God be the glory.  So many times we make these journeys and we sort of take for granted our safe arrival.  But tonight we are truly thankful, tired a bit, but also grateful for a wonderful vacation.

Traffic-palooza

Really?  Today was one of those journeys that you don't want to talk about much, but it happened, so there it is.  We made it out of Florida without incident.  But the entire state of Georgia was a parking lot of sorts.  Imagine the rush of cars leaving a parking lot after a big event - that was I-75 today.  We had gone through so much, and we hadn't even got to Henry County yet.

Yes, it was the typical traffic mess it always is.  That should be Henry County's motto:  "Stop by Henry County!"  See what I did there?  Anyway, Madison spent the day watching movies, playing games and relaxing in the backseat of the car.  She and Mommy napped a little too, while Daddy did the stop-and-go all the way home.  We did take a few walkabouts, just to ease the tension and stretch for a bit.  We stopped at a rest area or two, and our typical stop at the book store at the state line.  No books this time - we didn't see anything we were interested in for the first time in forever.  But we made up for that with a trip to Dairy Queen to get a Dilly Bar or two.  Daddy is looking for a Dairy Queen that will make the chocolate-covered cherry Blizzard the way it used to be made, the way it should be made.  The one in Gainesville occasionally does it right - there's a guy there who is a master of the lost art!  No luck today, although it was still a good treat.

We got home late, as you could imagine.  And worn out.  But we got home safe, and that's what's important.  Madison went to bed quickly, as did Mommy and Daddy.  We made it home from another Spring Break.  This one wasn't as crammed as some of the others, but it was still a very nice holiday.

Begin Your Adventure!

We had a pretty epic day today, all starting out with two services at KidPak, which went really well by the way!  You can see above some of the heroes from our newest adventure series, the ones that are trying to find out the meaning of the medallion, as well as rescue the Professor, who happens to be me. Madison likes the whole series a lot, as does Daddy, who is always into Indiana Jones stuff.  Lots of fun, with great messages.  Today's message was about avoiding pitfalls, or avoiding tempting situations.

We left church today, and instead of driving home... we drove to Satellite Beach.  Yes, that's a long drive, especially when you start the drive at about two or three in the afternoon.  But Sodapalooza got Daddy some caffeine, which really works well when you don't have much caffeine that often.  As usual, we had traffic in Atlanta, and Henry County.  Speaking of which, it just so happens that they have all these billboards there with our adventure theme:

They've got this adventure theme going on with their board of tourism.  This is I believe to offset the image of Henry County that some may have gotten over the years, having endured immensely inconvenient traffic jams (well documented on this blog!).

We made a few stops along the way at various rest areas, but ours was a mission that was straight forward:  get to Satellite Beach before it was too late.  And stay awake, too.  That helps.  The new car did just wonderfully - we listened to all sorts of music on the little nanopod, and Madison was playing games and watching movies in the backseat.

We did see three different rainbows on the way down, the strongest one along interstate 10 - this served to give us a heads up, as we were about to enter a pretty heavy rainstorm.  There was another rainbow, and rainstorm, along I-95 on the way down as well.

But we did make it, and there was much warmth and happiness as we poured into the condo.  We found it entirely based on memory, by the way - no maps.  And no problems either, although we give credit to God for that, and grace over our travels on the way down.

So, just as Henry County's billboards suggest, it's time to 'begin our adventure.'  It's going to be a great week!

Zoom Zoom

We left a little later today, but that's okay - all we had to do was get down to Summerfield.  We slept in, and did some other last-minute packing.  We also stopped by the church for some pranks.  You'll probably hear about that tomorrow.  The trip down was quick, and uneventful.  Madison watched "Frozen" for the fourth time, and played on her Kindle and Explorer some more.  Mommy slept a lot, and Daddy was moving down the road.  There wasn't any traffic to speak of, not even in Henry County - although this was the trip down.  Traditionally, it's Henry County on the way back that gives us trouble.  We stopped at the Dooley County rest area, which is becoming a tradition for us.  Madison announced she had to use the restroom, and with remarkable timing and favor, within a mile there it was:  the rest area. 

Mommy always packs sandwiches and snacks, so we munched in the car as we travelled.  The weather was perfect, and the roads were clear.  Even the roadwork seemed to be minimal this time. 

We got to Nana and Ba-Ba's house early, and already there was food.  This is one of the trademarks of going to Nana and Ba-Ba's house, an epic amount of food.  I do not use the word "epic" lightly.  If it is going to be epic, it had better meet that definition full on.  And in this case, it does.  Certain cruise lines don't offer as much food as Nana and Ba-Ba do at their house.  Just saying.

So Madison set up her station when we arrived.  This is a table that is set up in the living room, complete with crayons and activity books.  Mommy gave her one that has math problems in it, presented in a fun way.  Madison was busy zooming through these, and working on her latest paper airplane design.  She's also busy coloring and cutting out shapes, like snowflakes and balloons.

We talked for a while, after dropping the luggage off in the rooms.  Daddy was ready for bed a little early, but before going to bed, he and Madison read another comic together.  This week's comic features the Punisher.  Now Daddy doesn't regularly read the Punisher, but this particular comic was a story about the time the Punisher visited the hometown of Archie.  It was a crossover of comics, where somehow the integrity of the Punisher comics was kept, as was the integrity of the Archie series.  It's fun, with a little action and a little comedy too.  We started that read tonight, and will probably finish it before the week is over.

So tonight we got to bed in Florida.  It's good to be back.  Our stay here won't be as grand as they used to be - it's a scaled back and more budget-friendly trip away.  But we'll have some new highlights.  And Madison doesn't mind a bit, so long as she can hit the pool and be with her grandparents.
 

Babysitter!

Madison has a babysitter at home, and today is the farthest she's ever been away from both of us, something like eight hours.  This picture above is what we see when we FaceTime with her... oh wait, where is she?

Oh, there she is.  Anyway, she's doing well today because she's with Camille and her mom, who are both spending the night with Madison this week while we're gone in Florida.  She's even taking her to taekwondo, which you can see here below.

This is Madison at taekwondo tonight, at leadership class.  I was still on the road at this time, as there was a good deal of traffic on the road, and it took a while to get through the accidents.  Yes, there was a lot of traffic in Henry County as well.  But that stretch of road inside Henry County is a vile and quite debilitating road of ill repute and a pathway to pain.  But every hero's journey has a trial and challenge, and today I faced this heinous highway with a extra supply of patience, a bag of chips, and a snappy soundtrack.

Not long ago, the Edges' sent us some flowers for our loss, and today I made one of the longer flower delivery runs in the history of the business, taking it about nine hours in the car, and straight to the condo, where I eventually got in after waiting for forty minutes because the intercom system is inoperative.

Anyway, it was a happy reunion.  It was so good to see Mommy again.  It was good to see Nana too.  Both are coping, although Nana is quite a mess, her symptoms seemingly amplified by the loss.  She's lost and desperate to get her mind together, and clarity comes and goes like the rays of sunshine that occasionally peek through the clouds here.  But then all is dark again, and the questions come again, the sighs, the tears, the worries too.

It's difficult here, but we're glad that Madison is doing okay.  She's enjoying her new guardian, and she'll be okay. We'll miss her, of course.  But she'll be fine.  We read, said our prayers, and tried to get some sleep tonight.  The sleep isn't coming that easily though - Nana is up in the night, and it's not been easy here.  Hopefully this too shall pass.

Rainy Trip Down

Here we are, back at Buc-ee's again.  This was taken at the one down in mid-Georgia along I-75, a well-deserved rest after that rot otherwise known as Henry County.  It's a well-documented route of pure misery.  Driving through Atlanta is nothing.  Driving through Henry County is awful.  Words are failing when trying to describe how utterly terrible that stretch of highway is, although some time ago I wrote a poem about it.  You'd think someone would have figured something out by now about how to deal with that traffic, but no.   I think if someone ever does, a Nobel prize is clearly on the table.

Anyway, thankfully there's a Buc-ee's not much further down.  Mom, Maddie and I were shopping around and looking for something to eat there.  I actually got a cool Buc-ee's Hawaiian shirt there, plus a Fourth of July t-shirt too.  Maddie got a bbq sandwich, and we all got something to eat there actually.  

And look!  Joey was there too!  We get the sweet tea, and usually some chicken salad, and just spend some  time walking around, stretching and looking at the different items for sale.  There are traditional places to pose too, of course, which Joey found right away.

And then we were on our way!  Here's Maddie and her latest plushie, Tater Joe.  We had a long drive today, one full of lots of rainy weather.  Unbeknownst to us, there was actually a tornado that crossed over I-75 later on today at 5pm.  Glad to have missed that!

We got through to Florida, and filled up our gas tank at the other Buc-ee's down there in Jacksonville after enduring rainy rush hour traffic.  By that time we were wanting to stop at Cracker Barrel for a nice meal, which we enjoyed together (after figuring out how to get there, getting off the exit!).

It was dark when we arrived at our hotel, but check-in was easy.  Long drive today, made longer by all the traffic and rain.  But Mom remembered the rain-x, and that was a great, great thing.  And really, we made it okay, and that's what matters most.  We passed by the port and we're right there next to the where the ships will be.  It'll be easy in the morning.  We said our prayers, surfed for a bit - and I even wrote all this out, and then... it's time for some sleep!

Daytona Shores, July 2020

We finally made it back to Daytona, back to the beach as you can see from Madison's signature in the sand above.  We got here in time for sunset, and Madison brought along her camera as we strolled along the beach looking for turtle nests and watching the ocean waves roll up on the shore.

The beach was quiet, the temperature just right for a nice walk through the sand.  It's been quite a while since we've been down here, this due to all the world situation, and of course according to the news, things have gotten worse lately.

But this is an important trip, of course, one we've been waiting on for some time.  Yes, there's time for strolls and beach visits and so forth.  But the primary reason of course is to see Ba-Ba and Nana, who were at the front entrance to see us.

We greeted each other warmly, the first visit together in person in some time.  We've been meeting on the computer lately, but it was so good to see each other in person.  We passed along medication and chocolate and a framed picture or two, and some other things that we've been holding on to for some time.

The trip down here to Florida was probably the quickest we've ever made.  It was somewhere around seven hours, and the only slow down was of course in Henry County.  Seriously, we never even slowed down in Atlanta.  But leave it to Henry County, the pestilence of the interstate system, to spoil the perfect drive.  At least it wasn't that much of a slowdown.  In fact, once we got through there, we stopped for gas at Cordele at our usual spot.  We picked up Chick-Fil-A from there as well, as per usual.  Of course, we couldn't go inside yet.  But we went through the drive through, and then drove over to the Confederate rocket where we parked and had a small picnic under the shadow of a relic of the CSS's glorious missile defense system.

Anyway, that was the last time we got out of the car.  We drove straight to Daytona after that, at one point going through a heavy storm on I-10 that blew the car in a way I've never felt before.  It was a pretty big storm.

Madison was crocheting in the back seat to pass some time, and she made herself a little basket.  We were listening to Riders in the Sky, Perry Stone, and some Christmas stuff too, believe it or not.  There's a neat Christmas podcast about unusual Christmas traditions, and we were having fun listening to those.  We were also listening to a new podcast we've been enjoying called Woodsong, which is basically a concert with traditional instruments.  One episode we were listening to was dedicated to jug bands, which was pretty awesome.

Madison and Mommy were out on the beach, and Madison brought her phone along.  She drew Camille's name in the sand, and got that image ready to send.

The sun was setting, so I had to take a picture of her there on the shoreline too.  But she got the camera and was taking some nice pictures of the scenery here, the beach, the sand, and the Atlantic Ocean.

It's nice here, with pleasant weather at sunrise and sunset.  The afternoons will be pretty hot, and the indoor pool is shut down temporarily.  Fortunately, the outdoor pool is open, and it is in the shade by around noon or so.

Madison is watching "Agent Carter" with Ba-Ba and Nana right now.  Mommy is rubbing essential oils on my feet as I type this, and some things to help out with congestion too.  I've still got a little wheeze in my chest, whereas Zena and Josh recovered from this a lot quicker.  I seem to have more difficulty with my lungs lately, so it isn't surprising.

We've been praying on this visit.  And we'll pray tonight too.  We'll read, and we'll pray.  Then it's time for a good night's rest, and the start of a full day down here tomorrow.

There's No Place Like Home

It was time to say goodbye to the Magic today, and we were ready to come home.  It was a longer cruise, the longest one we've been on, but it's been so full of fun too.  These two servers were a part of that too - Dharma and Air.  Maddie loved them, and she loved seeing Antonio, our room host too.

Ah, here's Maddie at the door one more time.  We're looking out at Port Canaveral and the Disney Terminal there, which you can see in the reflection.  Mom had everything packed, and of course at 10pm the previous night we had the three suitcases packed and in the hallway.  

This morning, we had just a few limited items to carry away, thanks to all of Mom's hard work.  I got a shower using that amazing shampoo and soap, fresh and ready for breakfast at Lumiere's one more time.

We had a really nice breakfast of course.  My tradition is salmon on a bagel, and Mom got some tasty gluten free offerings - doughnuts and pastries too.  Maddie went with the Denver omelette, and we left the boat once again quite full!  Here's one more picture onboard, where we sat in the Soul Kat Lounge one last time, relaxing and waiting to disembark.

It was again a lovely cruise.  We got off very quickly, walking down the gang plank and then back through the bottom of the terminal where we found our luggage and did a facial scan recognition for a much quicker exit.  We got to the car, and yes, that was that.  Or not quite:  we weren't ready to go home right away.  Last time we heard about a museum nearby that sounded intriguing!

Just down the road is the Wizard of Oz Museum, a small museum just packed with a lot of things related to the series of books and movies, a place where we stayed a lot longer than we expected.  We actually really enjoyed the visit there!

Toto stood in the poppies outside - not sleepy though!

To my delight, there was a big "Return to Oz" section.

Time is running out!

Yes, that's something to celebrate!

The kids section was packed with colorful tables and animated movies.

Oh dear...

There was a room with projected screens that you could sit and rest in.

 

Plenty, plenty of themed dolls on shelf after shelf.

"Oz, The Great and Powerful" was represented with several shelves too.

Authentic Winkie spear from the original movie.

We all know Buddy Ebson was originally the Tin Man.

Here the girls are in front of the original Dorothy dress from the original movie.  Very cool.

Also an Emerald City costume from the original movie.

With "Wicked" here in theaters, this museum might see an increase of visits.

Look at all these plates...

Yeah, nightmare fuel for some!

Don't forget "The Wiz"!

There were so many shelves with so many books, many original first-run copies.

Ah, the ruby slippers from the Disney MGM ride.

Signed by original author Frank Baum.

Signed by Frank Baum himself - and Shirley Temple!

Here it is, the original book with original cover.

Fun with Professor Marvel's illusions!

So after that, we were ready to head north.  We stopped at the grocery store there for flowers though, because we had one more stop nearby to make, an important visit.  

We spent a few minutes with Ba-Ba and Nana here.  The rain held off for us, and the cemetery was quiet and peaceful as always.  It was a good visit, and of course emotional.  We hadn't been here since Nana's name was engraved in stone, and it was good to see.  We snapped pictures to send to Uncle George.

And then we were off.  We did about three stops today on the way home after this, and you can probably guess where two of those stops were:

They've got this figured out.  We filled up in Jacksonville, got some food and drinks - and were on our way quickly after that.  And then we were off to drive across I-10, and to the state line where we stopped for a moment and a stretch at the Georgia Visitor Center.  Next stop:  Buc-ee's.  We stopped at the one in Georgia there, a quick stop to fill up and visit their vast bathrooms, and then it was time to head home.

Of course we spent a huge amount of time in Henry County because the traffic there is always horrible.  I mean, when is the traffic in Henry County ever good?  Maybe 2am, possibly?  I doubt it.  Driving through that county is the worst.

Anyway, we did get home, and I was so exhausted.  We all were.  We were listening to a book in the car, but also the usual bit of music for traveling.  We got home and quickly unpacked - and that was about it for the day. We were all rather tired, but quite happy from our trip.  And very grateful.  We still read from our Kingdom Keepers book, and we said our prayers after that.  And then we were glad to sleep again in our own beds, although the equilibrium is still a bit off - we were staggering about the house as if still on the ocean waves, somewhat like Jack Sparrow.  

 

Goodnight mates!