Dreamin’ of Florida for this Winter’s trip

  Well, Dennis and I have decided to try doing Florida again this Winter. We tried a couple years ago, but got called back after 5 weeks when Uncle Jr. fell..I got just a taste of it and knew we had to go back…Not that we haven’t been there before…When our kids were little we use to go almost every summer, beginning in 1972, which was the 2nd year it was open. All they had was the Magic Kingdom…

The first year we went, Kelly was 2 1/2 and I was pregnant with Terrie…We stayed at Daytona Beach and drove over to Orlando for the day..As the kids got older, a couple of our friends started going with us…Eventually we had a small caravan of families, and the property got bigger and bigger…Walt Disney World is still one very magical place to me….

 

 

Left was taken on Den and my very first trip to Florida in summer of 1970.  I was pregnant with our son and oldest, due on August 22nd. We decided to go to Florida in July, when Caterpillar Tractor shut down for 2 weeks vacation. Hey, I wasn’t due for 6 weeks! So I asked my Doctor and he said “Sure, go ahead. They have doctors in Florida”. He then gave me a slip of paper with my blood type on it and something about I was healthy, told me to pack a bag for the baby and gave us his blessing. Heck, Dennis said he could deliver our baby, he had read the book!..My Mom and Den’s Mom , on the other hand, were none too happy.

Long story short, our good friends (he worked at Cat too) followed us down. That photo you see on the left was at Cocoa Beach Holiday Inn. My friend, Sharon is behind me, and that would be her hubby, Ron, with his toes on the diving board and his body underwater…No, I didn’t dive…we took this for our parents….and..NO, they did NOT think it was funny!!

 

 

 

 

Our love affair with Florida continued when Chris and John got married on the beach at the Hilton Inn on Longboat Key, near Sarasota….I think I have changed my favorite coast from the Atlantic to the Gulf…

In August, 2005, we took the Cougar down for Chris and John’s wedding…We met the Heisers at Disneyworld and camped at Ft. Wilderness, then drove to Long Boat Key for the wedding…I guess you could say that we have been in Florida more than any other state. Texas probably runs a close second. I have already booked us in for Ft. Pickens campground, Ocala National Recreation Area, and Ortona South Army Corps camgrounds at LaBelle, FL…DO YA THINK I’M ANXIOUS?????

Before I get up from my computer chair and have a nice white wine, I want to thank you all for the encouraging words concerning my parathyroid issues. I am booked for out-patient surgery at Rush-Copley Medical Center on July 23rd…Oh, and one more thing…Our oldest daughter, Terrie, was just diagnosed with Hyperparathyroidism..just like me..She has an appointment with an Endocrinologist August 1st…Yep, good ol’ genetics dealt her a real bad hand…

“One of these things is NOT like the others”…That would be Christie, on the right….no thyroid issues there!