Florida - January 2014 Part 1

I recently returned from a trip to Florida and it was a trip packed with activities. As is often the case on my trips when I fly I stayed at a hotel in Sacramento where I can leave my car and take the shuttle to and from the airport. I made a point of seeing some parts of Sacramento that I hadn't seen before on my way up and that made it like an extra day of vacation. I stopped to visit William Land Park and walked for a while then I drove to a beach park on the river that I had never been to.

Another bit of good news is that they finally have a decent place to eat within walking distance of the hotel I stay in.

The main purpose of the trip was to watch my granddaughters compete in their cheer and dance competitions and I got to see Alyssa cheer in Daytona Beach and Allison dance in Sanford. They both did a good job and while their teams didn't finish on the podium they performed very well. One of the highlights was seeing Alyssa's team come back from a less than stellar performance on Saturday to knock it out of the park on Sunday. The parents and other supporters were beyond excited. It was fun to be a part of.

Mallory, Jeff, Alyssa (front), Allison (back), Rochelle

Allison's Dance Performance in Sanford, Florida

While the majority of my time was spent in Daytona Beach my trip actually started in Jacksonville. The morning after I flew in I was fortunate enough to meet an old friend and his wife for breakfast. Fred and his wife Leah drove down from Georgia and we had a great visit. Even though Fred and I have known each other since high school and he and Leah have been married since 1971 it was the first time that we met. Fred was one of the five who enlisted in the Navy together back in 1968 and he's one of the 2 who never returned to live in California when he got out. Over the years I've tried looking for him without luck but as you may have read in a prior post when I was visiting Clarence late last year in Georgia we were fortunate enough to find his information on line, call and we've been in touch since.

It was fun meeting Leah and great catching up with Fred. It felt as though we had just seen one another recently, not over 40 years ago. One of the coolest things that happened is when Leah said, "Okay let me see it". I immediately knew of course that she meant my "Hot Stuff" devil tattoo that so many of us have. One of the many fun things and memories that we shared as a group of friends from the 60's.

Fred & Leah Mershon

After breakfast I headed south to Daytona Beach but I had to make one stop on the way at a place I always visit when I go back east. Not this specific one mind you but always a Dunkin' Donuts.

Even though it was cold, I sat right under that umbrella and enjoyed my donut and coffee. I'm thankful that I have learned to slow down and enjoy the journey and not always be in a rush to get to the end.

My first day in Daytona Beach I walked around and familiarized myself with the area. I found a pub close to the hotel that I had to visit just because of the name.

Unfortunately in Florida you can still smoke in bars so I didn't stay very long. I was also disappointed that they didn't have any tee shirts or glasses for sale. I enjoyed visiting with the bartender who was also former Navy.

That's where I'll leave this post is my arrival in Daytona Beach.