Road Trip...Day 34 - Day 36

Day 34...Oct 18

It was an early start today for the Florida Malan's. Steph and Justin left early as they had responsibilities at their church (Coastline Calvary in Gulf Breeze Florida). Justin's job was running slides and Steph was taking care of 1st and 2nd grade kids in Sunday School during the first service. We didn't have to be there until the second service started at 11:00am.  Since Brandon had a sleep over at a friend's house last night, all we had to do was bring Daisy with us when we left. She got to ride in the back of the van...in our camper...on our bed. Yes, she fell asleep.

Daisy getting Grammy Advice

After getting back home everyone took a quick nap after a lunch of leftovers. The rest of the afternoon was spent watching Green Bay battle it out with San Diego. We passed the rest of the evening eating dessert and watching a movie.

My sore throat wasn't getting any better and now, Kerry was also starting to feel less than energetic.

Day 35..Oct 19

Daisy left to drive  Brandon to school this morning just as we were getting up. The house was already abuzz, like a busy beehive. 

After a short visit with Justin, he too left to dive into his workday. We got to visit with Steph for awhile before she too left for a hair appointment. Kerry and I decided to head to the beach, with Rosie, to get some sand and sea pictures.

Because the Navarre Beach doesn't allow dogs we had to park on the street and settle for a walk around the neighborhood, where the sand meets cement and the homes were perched high upon stilts to keep the ocean surges at bay. I turned and looked back at out van for some instinctive reason and saw a white pickup pull in and park right next to our van. He just sat there as I looked back a half dozen times. My thought was, "Do you look like a tourist (target) when you have a new vehicle with Oregon plates and a Yakama on the roof?" My conclusion was YES! He could be just sitting there watching  until we were out of sight...at which point he would simply help himself to our stuff . Pretty much everything we had was inside of the van.

I told Kerry my contemplation and suggested that he head back to our van and park somewhere else. She looked, she saw, she agreed. As we returned this guy just watched us as we unlocked our doors, got in and drove away. Kerry made eye contact with him and suggested that he may have only been there to eat his lunch. This may be true I told her, but on the other hand, my suspicions could have also been on point.

We soon found a great parking spot near the water and before we went out to our photo shoot, we cracked open all of the windows for Rosie. Yes, she was left behind. Luckily the weather was in the mid 60's and so the interior of the van was very comfortable. 

After a dozen or so beach shots were taken we headed back to the van. Back home again we made some sandwiches for lunch.

Brandon needed a ride home from school so Grammy (Kerry) took the van to go get him while I sat back with a cold glass of water (yes...water) and CNN playing on the tube. It's good to be King! 

On the way home with Brandon Kerry stopped at Home Depot to pick up a new faucet for the kitchen sink. She wants us (me) to do a project on their house while we were here. I don't mind. I do enjoy fixin' stuff.

It took an hour to remove the old faucet assembly and to get the new one in place, secured and tested. There were a couple of challenges along the way but Justin and I were able to sort them out. The new faucet looked good and worked perfectly. Being a Delta product we knew that this faucet will last for years and when a piece needs repair, the "A Life Time" warranty is just that, a Life Time warranty.

After a small bowl of ice cream we decided to call it a day. The ice cream was soothing on my sore throat,

Day 36...Oct 20

Today is what we call a quiet day. The grandkids were in school and their parents were at work. We had the day to ourselves and Kerry had a plan. Once we finished breakfast we were ready to go. Kerry's plan was to drive a short 20 miles down the road to downtown Pensacola. She googled the best seafood in Pensacola and a place called the Fish House popped up to the top of the list. Destination...the Fish House.

It was sunny and warm outside. I wanted to sit inside by a window. Kerry on the other hand wanted to sit outside overlooking the water. We sat outside overlooking the water...and she was absolutely right. To deal with the hot midday sun the waiter brought out an umbrella which suddenly placed us sitting in a nice shady table with a million dollar view. Did I mention that Kerry was right?

I ordered a plate of calamari and a bowl of seafood gumbo. Kerry got the fish taco plate with a locally brewed draft. We always like to share our food with each other, giving us the maximum dining experience. Allow me tell you this about the quality of the food...AMAZING, and reasonably priced too.

Since we were going to make supper tonight, on the way home we stopped at a Super Walmart to get some supplies. Kerry prepared one of her best spaghetti meals ever. Tons of leftovers for another day. Daisy was working after school today and would be home late. We prepared a plate for her so she could eat once she gets home at 9:00pm.

While waiting for Daisy to return Brandon went to his room to finish his homework. Justin, Steph, Kerry and me watched the Voice. We were ready for bed after Daisy finished her meal and disappeared to start working on her own homework. It was a long, wonderful kind of day. My throat is still irritated...maybe I am allergic to something in the air.