Because we had just left the restaurant a few miles back, we don't stop at the Florida Tourist Welcome Center. In fact, I don't believe we ever have, at least not recently enough for me to remember. We are on the last long stretch, and sort of in a hurry to get where we are going.
Florida, the Sunshine State, greeted us with a wet smack in the windshield. The rain started within a mile of the state line, and got quite heavy. It was pouring in sheets that required slowing down and cranking the wipers up to their fastest speed. It had slacked off some by the time we got off the interstate, and was a steady drizzle when we pulled into the parking lot of the megastore where we stop for supplies each year.
First order of business this time was a skirt for Little Girl, swimsuits for Bigger Girl and #2 Son, and pants for #2 Son, who was down to two pair of jeans with holes in them. Kids outgrow the stuff before I can even think to get more sometimes. We found what we needed and headed for the grocery section of the store.
Now comes the fun. I look for staples and fruits and veggies, the kids go get all the treat foods they don't get a chance to have during the rest of the year. #2 Son went for the Red Bull, which I told him he could have one a day (same caffeine as two colas). Makings for root beer floats. Chips and cookies. Mini cupcakes and cookies to take to church the next day for our contribution to the monthly church meal. Everyone picked something to have for dinner, all of it easy to fix as I'm not cooking after the long drive. To the checkout line with my insulated bags, we don't want all this stuff melting on the way, and we have about another 15/20 minutes driving time to the actual place where we stay.
The rain had stopped by the time we got out, so we scrunched in close, jammed in our purchases, and headed in. It is a two lane road from here, the rain drizzled off and on, and there were thunderheads menacing; somehow I knew that rain wasn't finished with me yet, and I was right.
Today is
Best Friends Day
Betty Picnic (honoring everyone in the world named Betty)
Bounty Day, Norfolk Island (celebrates the arrival of the Bounty descendents from Pitcairn Island)
Feast of Bona Mens -- Ancient Roman Calendar (goddess of right thinking)
Lindisfarne Day (commemorating the Viking raid on Lindisfarne in 793)
Name Your Poison Day
National Jelly-Filled Doughnut Day
St. William of York's Day
Upsy Daisy Day
Watch Day (sign that you are over 30 -- you still wear a watch!)
World Ocean Day
Birthdays Today:
Kim Clijsters, 1983
Kayne West, 1977
Keenen Ivory Wayans, 1958
Tim Berners-Lee, 1955
Boz Scaggs, 1944
Nancy Sinatra, 1940
Joan Rivers, 1933
Jerry Stiller, 1927
Barbara Bush, 1925
Robert Preston, 1918
Francis Crick, 1916
Frank Lloyd Wright, 1867
Today in History:
Vikings raid the abbey at Lindisfarne in Northumbria, commonly accepted as the beginning of the Scandinavian invasion of England, 793
Richard the Lionheart's Crusade begins with his arrival at Acre, 1191
American attackers are driven back at Trois-Rivières, Quebec, 1776
The volcano Laki, in Iceland, begins an eight-month eruption which kills over 9,000 people and starts a seven-year famine, 1783
Mr. Hall of NYC advertises the first commercially made ice cream, 1786
Ives W McGaffey of Chicago patents the first vacuum cleaner, 1869
Herman Hollerith receives a patent for his punched card calculator, 1887
Theodore Roosevelt signs the Antiquities Act into law, authorizing the President to restrict the use of certain parcels of public land with historical or conservation value, 1906
Carl Laemmle incorporates Universal Pictures, 1912
Milton Berle hosts the debut of Texaco Star Theater, 1948
The United States Supreme Court rules that Washington, D.C. restaurants could not refuse to serve black patrons, 1953
The first World Ocean Day is celebrated, coinciding with the Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1992
Our trips down to the coast always follow a consistent pattern.
We start out listening to my favorite radio station, heading for the state line by the most direct route. Lots of jokes, declarations of what we are going to do when we get there, groans about things we now realize we have forgotten to pack. That's okay, we aren't going to Outer Mongolia, anything we really need we can pick up when we get there, with the exception of medications, which I very carefully made sure we have.
Just over the state line, we make our first stop at the Mississippi Tourist Welcome Center. Free (lousy) coffee and a chance to stretch our legs. Very pretty place.
Now it is the kids' turn to pick a movie for the rest of the drive. This year, it is Kung Fu Panda, or some such. I turn the speakers in the front of the van off to cut down on the aggravation factor.
As we drive through Mississippi, Sweetie comments on his memories of the area. He was born at Keesler Field AFB, in the old hospital that they tore down. Lived on the beach until the family moved when he was 6. Moved back to the area when he was in high school. He gets a lot of miles out of pointing out his high school and telling again the story of the Beauviour Ghost. The kids always get a chuckle out of the thought of the grandfather they never knew, who grew up to be a preacher, pranking a town as a teen by making them think the the place was haunted.
Our second stop is always at the Alabama Tourist Welcome Center. Another pretty little stop, with tolerable vending machine coffee. No, I shouldn't have any more. Yes, I am going to have a caffeine induced panic attack if I'm not careful. I've been up for hours, after a late night last night. I drink the coffee.
Mobile and the tunnel under the bay. The interstate is always at a dead stop there. You would think the people have lived with the tunnel long enough that they wouldn't feel the need to stop for the tunnel, but no. Always stopped, day or night, weekday or weekend. Amazing.
The battleship is an inspiring sight, and brings back memories of the times we have toured it and the submarine next to it.
Right after Mobile we stop at the very first Cracker Barrel restaurant. It is at the front of a shopping mall in Daphne, and the kids always look forward to getting their first souvenirs of the trip there. This time, Bigger Girl bought a very tiny cast iron skillet, #2 Son bought a miniature cap gun that broke the very first time he tried to use it, and Little Girl got yet another stuffed animal for her collection. You would think she would tire of those, she can barely fit on the bed with all the ones she already has. It's a regular menagerie.
Today is
Daniel Boone Day
Fete of St. Gilbert the Englishman
Fleur-de-Lis Day
National Chocolate Ice Cream Day
St. Willibald's Day
VCR Day (holding on to the past?)
Vestalia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (festival for Vesta, goddess of the hearth), through the 15th
Vivien Kellems Memorial Day 1896
Birthdays Today:
Michael Cera, 1988
Anna Kournikova, 1981
Larisa Oleynik, 1981
Allen Iverson, 1975
Karl Urban, 1972
Prince, 1958
Liam Neeson, 1952
Jenny Jones, 1946
Tom Jones, 1940
Gwendolyn Brooks, 1917
Dean Martin, 1917
Jessica Tandy, 1909
Paul Gauguin, 1848
Today in History:
The first Crusaders begin their Siege of Jerusalem, 1099
Port Royal, Jamaica, is devastated by an earthquake, 1692
David Thompson reaches the mouth of the Saskatchewan River in Manitoba, 1800
Asian cholera reaches Quebec, brought by Irish immigrants, and kills about 6,000 people in Lower Canada, 1832
1,800 Fenian raiders are repelled back to the United States after they loot and plunder around Saint-Armand and Frelighsburg, Quebec, 1866
Tolbert Lanston receives patents for monotype typesetting machines, 1887
Norway's parliament dissolves its union with Sweden, 1905
Sony introduces the Betamax videocassette recorder for sale to the public, 1975
Priscilla Presley opens Graceland to the public, 1982
Four am came early, as usual.
As much as I had tried to avoid it, I still had another load of laundry to tackle before we could leave. So I started that, loaded the dishwasher and started it, and began to tackle all the last minute stuff that just crowds into the hours before leaving on a road trip.
The children have gotten old enough to be in charge of packing their own bags, in fact they insist on it. This causes me to run around asking about particular items -- did you remember your swimsuit? church clothes? sunscreen?
I didn't get the answers I wanted. Little Girl does not have a skirt or dress that is suitable for the very conservative church we visit on this trip. She has outgrown them all. Same story with #2 Son and his swimsuit. Put those items on the list for the afternoon shopping trip we will make when we get there.
One precaution I have had to take this year has to do with my and Sweetie's bedroom. Sweetie has insisted on training us to let the cats in and out of our room when they want. Horizon is particularly fond of our room, but he is also the only one we can trust not to pee on the bed. Banning him from the room for the duration would be cruel as it is his favorite area of the house, and he is a very shy and neurotic cat. So, I took a blue roof tarp and spread it over the bed. I figure if that can keep water from leaking through a damaged roof, it will keep cat pee from soaking our mattress. Ah, the ways we spoil our pets.
After consulting the lists multiple times and four trips back into the house to get one last thing, it was finally time to go.
Our goal was to leave at 8am, and we almost made it. We pulled out at 8:09. First stop, the Golden Arches. The rest of the family wants breakfast and I'm not messing up the kitchen. Also, by now, I want coffee -- I've already been up 4 hours and have a long day ahead.
Today is
Beypazari Havuç, Güveç, Turkey (weekend festival celebrating a traditional carrot dish)
Bonza Bottler Day
Children's Awareness Memorial Day
Day of the Rice God, Japan
D-Day
Festival of Chiu Hsien (Taoist festival of the Spirit of Wine)
Flag Day, Sweden
Memorial Day, Korea
National Cancer Survivors' Day
National Gardening Exercise Day- Get out and exercise with your plants.
National Yo-Yo Day
Sjómannadagurinn, Iceland (Seaman's Day, first Sunday in June)
St. Claude's Day
St. Martha's Day
Svenska Flaggaans Dag -- Flag Day, Sweden
Queensland Day, Queensland, Australia
Birthdays Today:
Staci Keanan, 1975
Max Casella, 1967
Ena, 1966
Bjorn Borg, 1956
Sandra Bernhard, 1955
Harvey Fierstein, 1952
Robert Englund, 1947
Gary U.S. Bonds, 1939
Thomas Mann, 1875
Nathan Hale, 1755
Today in History:
Twenty-four wagonloads of Talmudic books are burned in Paris, 1242
The Qing Dynasty Manchu forces led by the Shunzhi Emperor capture Beijing during the collapse of the Ming Dynasty; the Manchus would rule China until 1912 when the Republic of China is established, 1644
The Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, England, opens as the world's first university museum, 1683
A devastating fire destroys one-third of Moscow, including 18,000 homes, 1752
Napoleon's brother, Joseph Bonaparte is crowned King of Spain, 1808
The Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) is founded in London, 1844
More than 100,000 inhabitants of Bombay are killed as a cyclone in the Arabian Sea pushes huge waves into the harbour, 1882
The eruption of Novarupta in Alaska begins, the second largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century, 1912
The Chrysler Corporation is founded by Walter Percy Chrysler, 1925
The first drive-in theater opens, in Camden, New Jersey, United States, 1933
A new Instrument of Government is promulgated making Sweden a parliamentary monarchy, 1974
Mongolia holds its first direct presidential elections, 1993
Yes, ladies and germs, it's time once again for the
17th Annual 12 People In A Two Bedroom Condo At The Beach For A Week Family Should Be Close But Not This Close Vacation.
We will once again spend a week hanging at the pool and beach, shopping, playing in the game room, and just generally bumming around. A visit to the Naval Air Museum is included, and this year the kids want to see the Gulf Coast Zoo as well.
Yes, as close quartered as we get. the week is worth it. That's why we go back each year.
Thank you, Grandpa, for making it possible.
Today is
Apple II Day
Belmont Stakes
Change Your Mind Day
Constitution Day, Denmark
Doughnut Day
Drawing Day (a/k/a Pencil Day)
Elfreth's Alley Day (Fete Day), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (one of the oldest continuously inhabited streets in the country, first Saturday in June)
Festival of Popular Delusions Day
Liberation Day, Seychelles
National Gingerbread Day
National Trails Day
Pink Tomato Festival, Warren, Arkansas -- through the 12th
St. Boniface's Day
St. Gobnatt's Day
St, James Salomonelli's Day (patron against cancer)
World Environment Day
Birthdays Today:
Mark Wahlberg, 1971
Brian McKnight, 1969
Kenny G, 1956
Jill Biden, 1951
Suze Orman, 1951
Ken Follett, 1949
Spalding Gray, 1941
Bill Moyers, 1934
Tony Richardson, 1928
Panco Villa, 1878
Thomas Chippendale, 1718
Pu Songling, 1640
Today in History:
Titus and his Roman legions breach the middle wall of Jerusalem in the Siege of Jerusalem, 70
Kraków, Poland receives city rights, 1257
The first Great Lakes steamer, the Frontenac, is launched, 1817
Houston, Texas is incorporated by the Republic of Texas, 1837
Denmark becomes a constitutional monarchy, 1849
Harriet Beecher Stowe's anti-slavery serial, Uncle Tom's Cabin or, Life Among the Lowly starts a ten-month run in the National Era abolitionist newspaper, 1851
Denmark amends its constitution to allow women's suffrage, 1915
Elvis Presley introduces his new single, "Hound Dog", on The Milton Berle Show, scandalizing the audience with his suggestive hip movements, 1956
The first government of the State of Singapore is sworn in, 1959
The Apple II, the first practical personal computer, goes on sale, 1977
Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi orders an attack on the Golden Temple, the holiest site of the Sikh religion, 1984
A severe heat wave across Pakistan and India reaches its peak, as temperatures exceed 50°C (122°F) in the region, 2003
Last night was such fun!
The Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus was back in town. Clown antics, trained cats -- house cats and lions both, elephants, juggling from horseback, high wires and trapeze and magicians and ladies who hang by their hair and peanuts and popcorn and lemonade and overpriced tchotchkes galore.
One lady behind us was so taken with the clowns that we laughed partly just hearing her laughter. She was so tickled it was contagious. We all took turns wearing the flashing clown nose that came with the program for a couple of minutes, then I handed it to a little boy with Down Syndrome who looked fascinated with it.
An evening of smiles and thrills, and a headache to top it off because the music was so loud. I guess that is a sign that I am getting old.
Not too old to go to the circus, though.
Today is
Applesauce Cake Day
Audacity to Hope Day
Cheese Day
Emancipation Day, Tonga
Flag Day, Finland, Panama
Hug Your Cat Day
International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression
National Cognac Day
National Doughnut Day always the first Friday in June, sponsored by the Salvation Army
National Frozen Yogurt Day
Old Maid's Day
St. Optatus' Day
Swing Day
Birthdays Today:
Russell Brand, 1975
Angelina Jolie, 1975
Noah Wyle, 1971
Sam Harris, 1961
George Noory, 1950
Michelle Phillips, 1944
Joyce Meyer, 1943
Bruce Dern, 1936
John Drew Barrymore, 1932
Dr. Ruth Westheimer, 1928
Dennis Weaver, 1924
Robert Merrill, 1919
Rosalind Russell, 1907
Today in History:
Chinese astronomers make the first recording of a solar eclipse, BC781
Sir Walter Raleigh establishes the first English colony on Roanoke Island, old Virginia (now North Carolina), 1584
Forces under the shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu take Osaka Castle in Japan, 1615
New England planters arrive to claim land in Nova Scotia, Canada taken from the Acadians, 1760
A transit of Venus is followed five hours later by a total solar eclipse, the shortest such interval in history, 1769
The Montgolfier brothers publicly demonstrate their montgolfière (hot air balloon), 1783
Captain George Vancouver claims Puget Sound for the Kingdom of Great Britain, 1792
The Ottoman Empire cedes Cyprus to the United Kingdom but retains nominal title, 1878
Massachusetts becomes the first state of the United States to set a minimum wage, 1912
A patent for the ATM is granted to Donald Wetzel, Tom Barnes and George Chastain, 1973
The Tiananmen Square protests are violently ended in Beijing by the People's Liberation Army, 1989
Solidarity's victory in the first (somewhat) free parliamentary elections in post-war Poland sparks off a succession of peaceful anti-communist revolutions in Eastern Europe, 1989
We had the joy yesterday of dealing with the "You don't have all of the right paperwork" people and the "This is not the right office to get that" folks.
If you want to employ anyone under the age of 18 here, you have to have permission from the school board, even if the child is homeschooled. The problem is that no one wants to take the responsibility of issuing the proper paperwork.
We had to go to 4 different places, and beg, and get told we had the wrong papers, and we finally found a lady who got angry that the buck had been passed and got us what we needed.
So, Bigger Girl will be taking care of horses for the local university's agriculture school.
Someday, the world is going to drown in paperwork.
Today is
Blessing of the Fleet Festival, Biloxi, Mississippi (through the 6th)
Broken Dolls Day, Japan
Chimborazo Day
Corpus Christi -- Roman Catholic Christian
Egg Day
Festival of Bellona -- Ancient Roman Calendar (goddess of war)
Impersonate Authority Day (at your own risk!)
Jack Jouett Day, Virginia (the "Paul Revere" of his day, rode to warn Governor Thomas Jefferson that the British were coming, 1781)
National Chocolate Macaroon Day
National Running Day
Repeat Day (I said "Repeat Day")
St. Clotilde's Day
St. Kevin's Day (patron of Ireland)
Worst Day in the Fairy Year -- Fairy Calendar (must be nice to know when your worst day will be)
Anniversaries Today:
The Duke of Windsor marries Wallis Simpson, 1937
Birthdays Today:
Lalaine, 1987
Rafael Nadal, 1986
Anderson Cooper, 1967
Deniece Williams, 1951
Suzi Quatro, 1950
Curtis Mayfield, 1942
Colleen Dewhurst, 1926
Allen Ginsberg, 1926
Tony Curtis, 1925
Leo Gorcey, 1917
Josephine Baker, 1906
Dr. Charles Drew, 1904
Ransom E. Olds, 1864
Jefferson Davis, 1808
Today in History:
French scholar Peter Abelard is found guilty of heresy, 1140
Hernando De Soto claims Florida for Spain, 1539
Construction of the oldest stone church in French North America, Notre-Dame-des-Anges, begins at Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, 1620
Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo is founded in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, 1770
President John Adams moves to Washington, D.C., to live in a tavern (the White House wasn't ready), 1800
In Humen, China, Lin Tse-hsü destroys 1.2 million kg of opium confiscated from British merchants, which prompts the First Opium War, 1839
In the last military engagement fought on Canadian soil Cree leader Big Bear escapes the North West Mounted Police, 1885
The poem "Casey at the Bat", by Ernest Lawrence Thayer, is published in the San Francisco Examiner, 1888
The coast to coast Canadian Pacific Railway is completed, 1889
One thousand unemployed Canadian workers board freight cars in Vancouver, British Columbia, beginning a protest trek to Ottawa, Ontario, 1935
SkyDome is officially opened in Toronto, Ontario, 1989
I like dogs. Really. They are fun and funny and make great friends.
I don't own a dog because they are also very labor intensive. A dog requires outdoor walks frequently, lots of exercise if it is a high energy or working breed, and plenty of consistent training.
While I would enjoy dog ownership, I know I would do the poor animal a disservice, and it would not be as well trained as it should be. I wouldn't be able to put the time and effort into it that the animal would deserve.
So, I have cats. Yes, the fosters are a lot of work, but that comes in waves, they grow and get adopted. Their training consists of introducing them to a litter box at 3 1/2 to 4 weeks. Their instinct is to bury their business, so they sniff and scratch and squat, and they are trained.
Yet, there are times, like now, when I am so happy to own a cat, I could just barf. Oh, wait, never mind, one of the cats already did it for me. Right in the middle of the carpet. Or worse, the bed.
Daily chores for the cat owner -- dishes, laundry, sweeping, cleaning cat barf.
Last night, I went in to my bedroom to get ready for bed, and smelled it right away. Not barf, this time one of them had gifted me with a puddle on the bed and my pillow.
I'm so happy to be a cat person, so happy, so happy...
Today is
Clean Air Day, Canada
Constitution Day, Tunisia
Eel Festival, Denmark
Festival of Light and Dark Spots -- Fairy Calendar
Festival of Utter Confusion (this is the one for me!)
Hristo Botev Day, Bulgaria
Independence Day, Italy (the day Italy became a Republic in 1946)
National Bubba Day
National Rocky Road Day
National Tailors Day
Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival, through the 6th
Scripps National Spelling Bee, through the 4th
St. Blandina's Day (patron of girls)
St. Elmo's Day (a/k/a St. Erasmus; patron of sailors, childbirth;
against seasickness, stomachaches)
St. Nicephorus' Day
St. Pothinus' Day
Yell "Fudge" at the Cobras in North America Day
Visaka Bucha Day
Anniversaries Today:
U.S. President Grover Cleveland marries Frances Folsom, 1886
(only president to wed in the executive mansion)
Elizabeth II is crowned Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Her Other Realms and Territories & Head of the Commonwealth, 1953 (the first major international event to be televised)
Birthdays Today:
Justin Long, 1978
Zachary Quinto, 1977
Queen 'Masenate Mohato Seeiso, Queen consort of Lesotho, 1976
Wayne Brady, 1972
Joel Tobeck, 1971
Dana Carvey, 1955
Dennis Haysbert, 1954
Cornel West, 1953
Jerry Mathers, 1948
Marvin Hamlisch, 1944
Stacy Keach, 1941
Charlie Watts, 1941
Sally Kellerman, 1937
Johnny Weissmuller, 1904
Hedda Hopper, 1890
Sir Edward Elgar, 1857
Thomas Hardy, 1840
Marquis de Sade, 1740
Martha Dandridge Custiss Washington, 1731
Today in History:
The Vandals enter Rome and begin 2 weeks of plundering, 455
The First Siege of Antioch ends when Crusader forces take the city, 1098
The first Récollet missionaries arrive at Quebec City, from Rouen, France, 1615
Bridget Bishop is the first person to go to trial in the Salem witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts, 1692
The Derby horserace is held for the first time in Epsom, England, 1780
P. T. Barnum and his circus start their first tour of the United States, 1835
The Slavic congress in Prague begins, 1848
Guglielmo Marconi applies for a patent for his early radio device, 1896
U.S. President Calvin Coolidge signs the Indian Citizenship Act, making Native American Indians withing US territories and states US citizens, 1924
Lou Gehrig begins his 2,130 consecutive games played, 1925
In a referendum, Italians vote to turn Italy from a monarchy into a Republic, and exile their king, Umberto II di Savoia, 1946
The USSR and Yugoslavia sign the Belgrade declaration and thus normalize relations, 1955
Surveyor 1 lands in Oceanus Procellarum on the Moon, becoming the first U.S. spacecraft to soft land on another world, 1966
Pope John Paul II visits his native Poland, becoming the first Pope to visit a Communist country, 1979
The Bhutan Broadcasting Service brings television transmissions to the Kingdom for the first time, 1999
Europe launches its first voyage to another planet, Mars, 2003
