This year was a little different though. First, we now have three cats (Jason brought his two cats up from Kentucky). Second, I only had a few vacation days left after the wedding, honeymoon, and going to Honduras. Third, Mom and Gary didn't get a chance to come up to Ohio during the summer, and if I didn't go down for Christmas, I wouldn't see my mom again until next Spring.
I'm not sure why I didn't think of it sooner, but we decided to go down to Florida over Thanksgiving instead. I haven't done Thanksgiving with my mom and step-dad for about 10 years. It's not our favorite holiday since neither my mom nor I like to cook, and we don't have family in Ohio to get together with. But this year Jason came down with me, and he loves to cook! It was definitely the first Thanksgiving that I didn't feel useless standing outside of the kitchen wishing I knew how I could help. Jason and Mom had it completely handled and all I had to do was stuff leftovers in the fridge and help Mom wash dishes when it was all over with.
We were originally going to drive down to Florida, but with gas prices after Ike (which was when we were planning this), it would have been $300 for gas down there and back home. Not to mention it's an 18 hour drive, and if you stay at hotel to break up the driving, we're now talking close to $500 for the entire trip - and wasting 4 days of the vacation driving. So then the search for cheap airline tickets started. Mom offered to send us Christmas money to help pay for our tickets, which really helped. We ended up getting tickets from the Tuesday before Thanksgiving to the Monday after for $331 each. (That's everything, including fees & taxes.) However, the "cheap" tickets required that we fly out of Columbus and that our first flight out left at 6:00 am.
So then we started looking for a cheap hotel around Columbus that we could check into Monday night. Through AAA we got a room at the Crowne Plaza North for $59.99. The hotel room was gorgeous with a King sized bed, little treats everywhere, including a sleep mask, ear plugs, and lavender linen spray. (And you know I love lavender!) There was also a complenetary CD with sounds to put you to sleep. The room was actually nicer than any of the hotels my law firm had set me up with. (And they use nice hotels.) So we sat on the huge comfy bed, checking emails on my laptop, watching Dancing with the Stars, and munching on snacks. The vacation definitely started early!
We got up around 3:30 am and were on the road a little after 4am. We pulled into the long-term parking lot at the airport and a sign told us what row to park in. As we headed for that row, there were men waving us to a parking spot. The shuttle bus was right there ready to pick us up. I've left my car in long term parking a few times at different airports and this was by far my best experience. We got checked in before 5:00 am and were in the air a little after 6am.
We landed in Naples, Florida by 11:15 am. We stopped at Bonita Beach for lunch at a place on the beach. We ate on the 2nd level where there was an amazing view of the beach and the gulf. It was a breezy 72 degrees, while back in Dayton I'm sure it wasn't 30 degrees. I had to take a picture and send it to my friends back home. (Love you guys! And yes, I'm a brat.)
Wednesday we went shopping at the Apple store to check out the iPod Touch. (It's like the iPhone, without the phone.) I tried to sell Mom & Gary on a MacBook but I don't think they're ready to convert. (I'll keep praying for them... ha.) Then we hit the grocery store and got all our supplies for Thanksgiving and the rest of the week.
Jason and Mom started Thanksgiving dinner early and the turkey was done quicker than they thought. There was one forgotten item, so I got to rush to the grocery store down the street and save the day. (It's good to feel useful.) We ate around 2pm and then waddled around the rest of the day. Just because it was Thanksgiving and we were in Florida, we had to get in the pool. The pool was heated (about 82 degrees) but it was in the low 70's and just too chilly to stay in for long. It was one of those things - how often do you get to say that you went swimming Thanksgiving day? :)
Thursday night Mom and I had a first. We went shopping! Michael's (a craft store) was open from 6-9pm Thanksgiving night, so we spent an hour there. Mom didn't get anything, but I got quite a few supplies I was needing. (The gourd parrot and the Pinto rock can now be painted!) Does this count as black Friday shopping?
Jason and I headed out on Friday to do some shopping at Macy's with gift cards we still had from our wedding. We had over $200 in gift cards but only managed to spend $57. I think there were just too many people there and not enough practical gift ideas. And for some reason it was difficult to shop for ourselves. Jason works the day after Christmas, so I have a feeling I'll be spending the rest of those gift cards that day. We also hit Bealls and got a few items, though we couldn't find the prelit aligator or parrot that we saw in the ads. Jason wanted to get a prelit palm tree and decorate that instead of a regular Christmas tree. With three cats, I'm starting to think that this would have been a good idea.
Saturday we went to the beach in the afternoon and then watched the sunset over the gulf. Gorgeous!! I'll post pictures below. Afterwards we hit our favorite (fresh) seafood spot, Kelly's Fish House. I got the garlic butter shrimp as I always do. It's the type of place where everything you eat is yummy, from the salads to the baked potatoes to the hush puppies - not just the main entree.
Sunday we decided to go to the Vineyard Church in Naples. We drove past the building the night before on our way home after dinner. We got there early the next morning and... there was no one there. I remembered that the church was on Davis Road and we were on Radio Road, so the church must have moved. So we headed towards Davis Road. I remembered that I had put Google Directory Assistance on my cell phone, so I called and got directions to the church. Without this free service, we would never have found it. The pastor talked about agape love and how to make your love (for your spouse, family or friends) better. His sermon series was based on the Fireproof movie. I really liked his preaching and got quite a bit out of it. It was a tiny little church, maybe 20 people. They're in a transition period right now so attendance is low. Naples is so different from Dayton.
Sunday afternoon it rained. Jason and I saw out on the covered part of the back patio and watched the rain. We decided that a rainy day in Florida is better than any day in Dayton. We really didn't want to go home, but our real lives are here in Dayton. Yesterday we got in the pool one last time before heading home. We flew Delta down to Florida - a wonderful experience. We flew US Airways home - we'll never fly them again. We shouldn't have been so surprised by the charges for checked bags and drinks, and the lack of snacks on board. What we were really surprised about was how rude the flight attendants were. Actually almost all of the crew we came in contact with were unprofessional, in my opinion. One good thing, we landed 15 minutes early which got us home and in bed much quicker.
The fuzzies were so happy to see us. Sleeping in our own bed made it good to be home. There really is no place like home. (Even if it's 20 degrees outside.) :)
I'm so happy you had a terrific Thanksgiving. Florida and a short vacation sounds really great right now!! Oh, and whenever I have flown, I always fly out of Columbus. It's usually cheaper and they just seem nicer.
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