Palm Coast -> Miami

Today we said goodbye to the Reagens, left our condo, picked up our RV, and headed 6 hours south to Miami. It was good drive through mostly boring Florida, but arriving in Miami was great. I love the tropical & Latino feel. After getting settled in I took the kids to the grocery store where we found a strong Latino influence and someone even had a pet monkey at the store. 

Friday in Palm Coast

Today we headed to the beach, about 15 minutes from our condo.
The waves were not too big, but Elliot managed to at least get up on the surfboard.
The wind and sun were a factor.
Most of us huddled behind an umbrella, for shelter from the wind.
Some of us dug.
For dinner we went out for pizza in the European Village. We waited over an hour.
After dinner we watched #16 UMBC beat #1 Virginia.

More Palm Coast Fun

The kids have been having fun in the game room.
In the afternoon we went to a state park with a formal garden. It was beautiful.
Erin & Nate watched all the kids tonight so that Susan and I could get out on a date.

First Flat

Yesterday we had to change the first flat tire on our RV. Luckily we noticed it as we were pulling in to park it for the week. The RV comes with a full-size spare, so that change was a pretty simple process. The one bump in the road was that our RV was parked in a field so the jack got pressed into the ground as we raised the axle. We had to do a couple of attempts to get some of the RV leveling blocks underneath it to help support it. 

After it was off the kids found a puncture on the side of the tire. We should be able to get it repaired/replaced this week and it will become our new spare tire.

Hudson -> Palm Coast

Today we made the 3 hour drive from Hudson, FL to Palm Coast, FL. After getting settled in, we had to go check out the beach. The water felt great and we all got pretty wet. The beach is like no beach I have ever seen. It is a mixture of sand and shells. It is called Cinnamon Beach because of the color it takes on. I can’t wait to explore more this week.

Oh yeah, I should mention that we are spending the week out of our RV. The Reagens are flying down tomorrow and we are staying in a condo just off the beach.

Clearwater Beach

Today we made the hour drive to Clearwater Beach.
We played on the beach a while, then made a sand castle.
We were proud of our work, so we took a picture.
We went for a walk down the beach. On our way back Andrew said, “I think I saw someone from Des Moines.” Sure enough, the Countrymans were at the same beach.
For one last bit of fun, we buried Mari.

New Orleans -> Hudson, FL

Over the weekend we traveled from New Orleans to Hudson, FL, where we are staying for the week. It is on Florida’s Nature Coast, where the beaches are not as great as the panhandle. It is nice to be back on the gulf.

Checking out the water. It was warm, but windy.
Familie
Working on dinner