This was our first family trip with friends and it turned out to be a great experience for all of us. Back in February we attended the ISU alumni Gala with our friends. They asked if we would like to bid on a one week vacation in Watercolor Florida. We had talked many times about our families going on a trip together and this sounded like a good way to do it. Not only would we get to vacation, we also would be helping to fund the scholarship program for a first generation college student. With that, we agreed to bid. We set our limit bid price and the auction started with Angelia bidding. It was climbing fast and I doubted our price would last. It got to our max bid price and the bidding stopped. Just like that, it was ours. It went for the exact price we set as our limit! It was meant to be, we were going on a vacation!
Jacob made the choice to stay home. He was afraid to miss to much of his class, thought out trip sounded boring, and offered to take care of pets and chores. It felt strange not having the whole family along. Going on a trip in September was so very different from flying back in February. Flying with a mask was a whole new experience. I still can't get used to wearing one and find myself continually pulling it below my nose. My mask is loose so I can leave it low and if need, lower my head and it slides back up. It's interesting how you can take it off to eat, so you just take your mask off and take your time eating a snack. Luke wore a gaiter, which is like a thin turtleneck that has been proven useless, but they are thin and most comfortable. With his new Pit Viper sunglasses and his loud busy gaiter mask, he looked pretty funny. He bought his sunglasses and a new hat with his own money and wore them with pride. Des Moines was quiet and security was a breeze. The masks were required in airports and on flights. We had a 1 hour layover in Charlotte. That airport was so full and busy!! When we flew out, we had to wait on the runway for other flights and counted 8 airplanes waiting for take-off behind us. All were just from our airlines. It was a busy place. IT is interesting to see so much activity during a pandemic with the number of travelers greatly dropped. We flew out on a Saturday at noon and arrived in our vacation home for the week around 6:30. Jayden joined us for 3 nights conveniently arriving at the airport just 30 minutes before us. It was hugs all around. We all miss her so much and she misses us too. I was so thankful it worked out for her to join us. Our friends arrived the night before, settled in and had dinner waiting on the table. Amazing!! Angelia fixed a great meal with salmon and chicken. We all got settled into the house and our rooms. They saved a king bed for princess Jayden. The house was wonderful, beautiful, spacious, and perfect. 3 king bedrooms, one bedroom with 4 bunk beds where the girls stayed, two beds in the hallway, 5 bathrooms, 6 televisions, vaulted ceilings, a ping pong table, and my favorite, a gigantic open kitchen, and the coolest back patio with a pool. It was a little slice of paradise and we were living it up. Everyday Dan had classical jazz music playing in the kitchen through the ceiling speakers. It was the perfect vibe. It just put you in a calm and relaxed vacation mood.
Dan and Angelia wanted to take us to the Seaside area where all the shops and food trucks were our first night. We had a 6 seater golf cart to use for the week along with bikes. All 9 of us could fit on the cart. It was smooth and fast. It was ideal for getting to Seaside, a 15 minute drive. By this time, we each cracked open a cold beverage and went for the drive. We had seen golf carts all over the area with beverages and coolers, so thought nothing of it. No sooner had we pulled our cart over to park, when a cop flipped on his lights, and made a quick U turn. He was out of his car and shining his flashlight at Mark's empty beer bottle. Fortunately he did not search anyone else or our cart. He had a long visit with Mark. The rest of us were half scared, half laughing, and certainly the talk of every by passer. The cops' lights were shinning on his car drawing attention to our golf cart where the rest of us sat. We were making quite the scene. We noticed the rest of the evening, the same cop, who we nicknamed, "Super Cop" pulled over many others for many misdemeanors. We were all in disbelief the rest of the night, especially Mark, who got a ticket. In the Seaside square, I had never seen so many young girls in one place. There were packs, all dressed the same, shorts as short as they could go and tops short to show their mid-section. Theses girls all looked to be 13 to 19 and trying to look much older. They were all pretty and many carried shopping bags, wore fancy shoes, and expensive sunglasses. They flung their hair around and wanted to be noticed. Back at the house, I talked with Jayden in her room late into the night getting caught up on all the latest. It was so good to chat with her face to face. 
On Sunday, I turned on praise and worship music and sat in the outdoor pool on my floatie. I packed my 3 floaties knowing we had our little pool and they were perfect. We turned on Cornerstone's church service and cranked up the volume. That is my kind of church, sitting poolside watching it on the big screen! It was hot in Florida, so the pool always felt refreshing, never cold. We made cold meat sandwiches for lunch, then headed to one of the onsite pools. The pool had a waterslide and lazy river. The sun was so hot, we couldn't wait to be in the water. The water was so warm, it didn't cool you down. We floated quite awhile and observed people in the area. Apparently there were no rules here. Social distancing and masks in Florida were only observed in the airport and shops. This pool had no lifeguards or staff watching. People carried smoothies and drinks in the pools. I saw kids that looked to be 17 or 18 with alcoholic beverages. Later while driving our golf cart back, we noticed a group of kids all on bikes. They varied in age from 10 to 13 and were in a group of about a dozen. We seemed to see them flying by corners, squealing tires and zipping along several times while making our way back. we overheard one of them saying they were going to get more tequila from the one chic. We saw they had water bottles and it was obvious they were not filled with water. These little 12 year old, as Jayden called them, "Hood Rats" were quite the kids. The kids around the area all appeared to be from wealthy families. They looked like little mini Frat boys. Later we went for groceries, then ate our supper at the Seaside food trucks. Jayden, Luke and I watched a movie on the outdoor big screen tv.
Monday morning I made Swedish pancakes for breakfast. We headed to the beach house for the afternoon. This was quite the place. It was like being in a VIP Clubhouse. there were 3 pools staggered on different levels on the side of the hill overlooking the beach. It was a beautiful place and we had waiters come around and serve drinks and ordered lunch at the poolside dinning. We were living the life. It was very hot, so we chose chairs in the shade and got in the water for a frequent cool down. It was so fun having Jayden there to sit with, chat with and enjoy. I know she was enjoying her time and break too. Jayden and I fixed evening dinner for everyone. We had purchased shrimp at the grocery store and made a shrimp and pasta dish. We had to eat early because we had big plans for the evening. Angelia made reservations to have a beach bonfire. This was something I had never heard of doing and it was awesome! The night was perfect, the weather was a slight breeze not cold or hot. We drove the golf car to our designated location on the beach and it was all set up ready for us. We had 9 chairs, tiki lamps, a bonfire complete with smores. It was picturesque and amazing. We took some photos and enjoyed the night. Abigail was content playing in the sand. We also had a game of corn hole set up and we played couples, guys against girls. The guys won by 2. After dark we all noticed green glowing specks in the sand. We could not figure out what they were. They glowed like a lightning bug, only smaller. What an amazing night we had. Back to the house on the back of the golf cart was the great finish to the night. The air was so nice late at night, it doesn't get cold, it is just prefect.
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