OK, I was going to try to do this daily, but since you're reading this Saturday, and I've been here since Thursday, obviously that didn't work out too well. But hey, better late than never, and this is mostly for my own benefit anyway. As always, if you enjoy it, I'm doubly pleased.
THURSDAY (I'm imagining "The Shining" titles as I do this)
We flew out of Kalamazoo on Thursday. Direct Air… one of those smaller charter flights where you can get a good deal. Very comfortable flight, actually. (No problems with "too fat to fly," thank you very much.) Little bit of a delay out of K'Zoo, but nothing major… and a direct flight is always nice. Niece and nephew Cayla and Zach were incredibly excited; the enthusiasm is definitely infectious.
We arrived in Sanford Airport (just outside of Orlando), and the first major headache was dealing with the rental car company. Not that National isn't a decent company to work with, but if you don't have a credit card, you have to get creative. I needed proof of my itinerary, and unfortunately we booked our tickets online… no proof of return trip. So, off to the Direct Air counter, and since Direct Air only runs one flight a day from K'Zoo to Sanford, there is of course nobody at their ticket counter. Thankfully, I batted my puppy dog eyes (or "verging on the criminally insane" eyes; I don't know the difference anymore) at a nearby Allegiant employee, and she was nice enough to help me. (Thanks Allegiant!) So, we finally obtained a Dodge Caliber for Camille and I, and away we go.
Off to the rental house… very nice place… I will try to post pictures. Six bedrooms for Camille and I, Carla and Don, Bob and Charlotte, and separate rooms for Zach and Cayla, which, as somebody who once had to room with his brother (love ya, Kent!), is definitely appreciated. One left over in case somebody needs it. Bathrooms for everybody, so we have no Brady Bunch style morning fights over who gets to use it next. Pool and hot tub in the back. OK, maybe not a "hot" tub. Heating is apparently out, so it's not even a lukewarm tub at this point. Beggars can't be choosers, and the niece and nephew will go in anyway.
Amazingly, Carla, Camille, and Charlotte head to the grocery store to pick up supplies for the week. Despite the travel exhaustion, these women will not be stopped in their mission to make sure we have peanut butter in the morning. It's why we love them.
As for the men, it's our job to secure dinner. In times of old, that would have meant heading into the forest to hunt something down. These days, it's Pizza Hut. My father-in-law Bob and I head off to gather the pies while Don stays back with the kids. We get there, and I inquire, at the top of my loud Michigander voice, "Hey, do you have that $10 pizza deal?" To which the waitress immediately responded with a stricken look and pulled me aside, shushing me like I was giving away nuclear secrets to the Iranians. She informed me that they were a FRANCHISE and that they did not usually honor the $10 deal that has been shown on television. I responded with a confused look on my face, but what they hey, we still got the pies for $10 apiece.
While we waited for the pizza, my father-in-law and I went next door to the quick stop (or whatever it called itself) to obtain the necessary adult fluid for the week. The shopkeeper was quite the character, a friendly immigrant from some Eastern European country (didn't ask him where). He made some astute observations about my relationship with Bob (son-in-law instead of son, since I actually reached for my wallet to pay for the beer; apparently a son wouldn't have done that) and told us a good joke. Always good to have more jokes on hand from Eastern European immigrant quickie stop owners.
Back to the ranch and after a late dinner some much-needed sleep. Tomorrow, the Tampa Zoo. Can't wait!
Of course I love it (and you) a lot :)
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