Beauty on the Backroads

Stories of grace for life's unexpected turns

Disney World

Best of vacation

How do you sum up your first-ever family vacation? How do you capture all the memories, especially the ones your camera missed?

For me, the answer is: write everything down! I’m trained as a journalist, which usually means I’m documenting everything that happens on vacation, in word and picture.

Here’s my best attempt at a “best of” list from our recent trip to Florida.

BIRD

Best: Pelicans. They soared in groups (flocks?) over the beach, apparently migrating north. I have a lot to learn about pelicans, but they were majestic.

Runner-up: Peacock. We visited an exotic bird ranch and saw lots of amazing species. Just as we were leaving, a peacock had spread its feathers (I’m pretty sure that’s not a good thing. He didn’t sound happy.) but it was beautiful to see.

Honorable mention: Jake, the cockatoo.  He talked to our kids. Really. He had us at “hello.”

ANIMAL

Best: Sea turtles. These “dudes” really are as cool as Pixar portrays them in Finding Nemo. We stopped at the Sea Turtle Center on Jekyll Island, Georgia and couldn’t get enough of these fascinating creatures. And these were just the sick ones recovering from injury or illness. I think sea turtle adoption might be in our future.

Runner-up: Wild horses on Assateague Island. I’m not much of a horse person, but driving along the road and seeing a horse minding its own business is kind of cool. I’m guessing the sight of these untamed creatures is even more impressive as spring turns to summer and they gallop along the shores. We did catch a glimpse of a foal, born only a week before.

Honorable mention: A 2-day-old baby bunny at the bird ranch we visited. Tiniest little thing I think I’ve ever seen. The kids were in awe.

KID QUOTES

Best: (from Isabelle in a very serious tone) “I have something to tell you. We’re going to walk around that pool. It was my idea. It flew into my head.”

Runner-up: (Corban, as we passed the Amway Center, home of the Orlando Magic, on our way to Disney) “Whoa. Can I climb there?”

Honorable mention: (Isabelle, seeing that we’re eating at Arby’s for dinner) “We’re eating at Hats!” (and if that doesn’t make sense, look at an Arby’s sign.)

REST AREA

Best: In Delaware, we stopped at a rest area on U.S. 13 that had a playground and a koi pond in addition to the usual picnic tables and restrooms. We had lunch, played, watched the fish and had an all-around great time. Not sure if all the rest areas in Delaware are that nice, but this one gave us a good impression of the state as a whole.

Runner-up: At a rest area in western Virginia (not West Virginia), we enjoyed views of the mountains and the rustic feel to the stop in general.

Honorable mention: South of the Border, S.C. While technically NOT a rest area, it is a place to get off the interstate and stretch your legs. And its amenities are incomparable. I mean, where else can you ride an elevator to the top of a 200-foot sombrero tower for $1?

FIRST EXPERIENCE

Best: Our 4-year-old daughter meeting princesses.

Runner-up: Our 2-year-old son swimming in a pool. (With a little — okay, a LOT — of coercion from Mommy.)

Honorable mention: Vacationing as parents. A three-generation, two-family vacation could get tiresome and awkward, but it was a lot of fun!

UNINTENTIONAL HUMOR

Best: My husband perused a hot sauce stand at the Daytona Flea Market. A very nice woman runs the stand and knows her hot sauce. In normal conversation, because she was telling us the names of some of the sauces, she said things like “a$$ blaster,” “sphincter” and “colon blow.” Yeah, I felt a little bit like Wayne and Garth or Beavis and Butthead. I mean, c’mon, it was like talking to your mother. But the hubby is enjoying the hot sauce and the great advice given!

Runner-up: Apparently you can’t sit at the head of a sofa bed to watch television together like you would in a regular bed. Nope. You will bend yourselves and the bed in half and leave the rest of the family, your children included, laughing so uncontrollably they can’t help you. (At least that’s how I remember it happening.)

FOOD I DIDN’T PREPARE

I’m giving this a three-way tie for best, so here they are in no particular order.

1. Shrimp salad and crab bisque at SeaJay’s on Jekyll Island, Georgia. Seafood just tastes better the closer you are to its source. Yum.

2. Houligan’s in Port Orange, Florida. Thanks to my college buddy Scott for recommending this place and its grilled wings (he and the hubby ate those) while I had a chicken wrap that was hot and spicy and tasty.

3. BBQ King, Charlotte, N.C. Food Network helped us find this gem of a restaurant (Guy Fieri found it first!) not far from our hotel. Hush puppies. That’s all I have to say. They were even good cold the next day. I had a minced pork sandwich that had cole slaw mixed in. Dee-licious. The kids had the best grilled cheese sandwich I’ve ever tasted. A great food find.

BEACH

Best: Driftwood beach on Jekyll Island, Georgia. Pictures don’t do it justice. The kids could have played here for hours.

Runner-up: Daytona Beach. We spent the most time here because our condo was right on the beach. It was not as crowded as I remember, and even though we saw half a dozen man o’wars (ew, but also kind of cool), this was our home base for the week. We loved hunting for sea shells and making sand castles.

Honorable mention: Assateague Island, Maryland. It was cold, cold, cold to be on the beach, but it was our first glimpse of the ocean, so it was magical.

USE OF SOCIAL NETWORKING IN THE REAL WORLD

Best: Okay, so there’s really only one instance of this, but it was too great not to mention, and the woman gave me her card, so she deserves some free PR. On Driftwood beach at Jekyll Island, Georgia, a woman offered to take our family’s picture. “I’m a photographer,” she said, “so, I’m qualified.” She lined us up on a piece of driftwood and made some magic with our six-year-old point and shoot that’s survived Iraq.

So, if you live in the Valdosta, Georgia area, check out The Way I See It Photography.

Runner-up: This doesn’t really count because both parties are too young for Facebook, but while in line for the teacups at Disney, Isabelle made friends with an Armenian girl. Like, best friends. They held hands through the entire line and almost got into tea cups together. I was sure Isabelle was going to be adopted and we’d never see her again. We broke their hearts by pulling them apart. If they’d been teenagers, they probably would already be friends on Facebook.

BRIDGE

Best: Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, hands-down. A little freaky, yes, but very cool. The kids slept through the whole thing and only woke up when we stopped the car, hoping to grab a bite to eat on one of the manmade islands in the middle of the Bay. The restaurant was closed but we got some great views from the pier.

Runner-up: The Sidney Lanier Bridge over the Brunswick River in Georgia.

Honorable mention: The C & D Canal Bridge in central Delaware.

DISNEY RIDE

Best: Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin. You get to shoot at aliens while you ride. ‘Nuff said, right?

Runner-up: The Barnstormer. Corban was just a smidge taller than the minimum height so we all got to ride this low-thrill roller coaster. It was actually a little more thrilling than we expected because Corban was riding with Phil (who is tall) and they couldn’t get the bar down close enough to Corban. Phil spent most of the ride with arms and legs across Corban to make sure he didn’t fall out. (It sounds more dramatic than it probably was, but let’s just say I don’t think Corban is going to be quick to get on a roller coaster again.)

Honorable mention: It’s a Small World. I know, I know. Now you have the song stuck in your head. But it IS a pretty neat display. That Disney, he was something else.

Thanks for indulging my vacation memories. I’d love to hear about yours. What’s your best vacation memory?

I want off

The first roller coaster type of ride I was ever on was Space Mountain at Disney World. I don’t remember when this was, but I was an older child, too old for this to have been my first experience with roller coasters. Years later, my brother, cousin and I would stand in line at Six Flags Great America to ride The Demon, which at the time would have been my first upside-down roller coaster if we hadn’t been too freaked out by a malfunction that left riders stranded on one of the loops. We picked another ride.

I wouldn’t say roller coasters are my favorite pastime. We joke around this house that if our daughter continues on her daredevil bent, then my husband will be the one to ride with her, even though he’s not the biggest fan of them either.

I’m not even sure what it is I don’t like. I’ve ridden several in my life and have fond associations of those times. I’m not really a big risk-taker. And I definitely don’t like to be out of control. I suppose those qualities contribute to my anti-roller coaster nature.

Lately I’ve been having a bit of a roller coaster emotional life. One day the world’s as great as can be; the next day I can hardly muster the strength to get on with my day. Some days there are reasons for either or both of these feelings. It’s possible I’m mildly depressed. Having kids can do that to you, I’m told.

But I’m tired of this ride. I want off, in a sense. More than that, I want to enjoy it. I don’t want to fear the clack-clack-clack as the coaster cars climb the hill, uncertain of what’s around the bend. I want to stop gripping the bar that holds me in with white knuckles and have the freedom to throw up my hands and let out a scream of pure exhilaration. I want to look the coaster in the face, so to speak, and tell it I’m not afraid. That I will ride it again and again and again and not lose my lunch.

My recent emotional ride reminds me of a story I once heard. I’ve posted it below. I want off the ride that lets my circumstances determine whether my day is good or bad, whether what happens to me is good for me or bad for me. The Bible says that God works for good in the lives of those who love and trust Him. I want to believe that even the worst things that happen can be worked out for good, even if when they happen, all I can think is how bad they are.

Once there was a farmer who  had one son and one horse.  One day his horse ran away.  When his neighbors heard about it, they came to comfort him. 

“Such bad luck- we’re sorry your only horse ran away.” they said.  

“Who is to say whether it’s good or bad, replied the farmer.  All I can say for sure is, my horse has run away.  Time will tell whether this is good or bad.”  

His neighbors just shook their heads and walked away.

A week later, his horse returned home-  along with 20 wild horses!!!

 His neighbors, upon hearing the news, came to congratulate him. 

“What good luck you have.  Not only did your horse return, but he brought with him 20 more.  Such a lucky man you are!”

“Who is to say whether it’s good or bad-  All I know is my horse has come home along with 20 wild horses-  and leave it at that.” 

Again, his neighbors shook their heads and  scoffed –  “Of course it’s good luck you old fool!  Twenty new horses is obviously good luck!”

The next week the  farmer’s son was out riding in the pen with the new horses, fell off and broke his leg. 

Upon hearing the news, the neighbors came over to comfort the farmer. 

“You were right- Those wild horses were not a sign of good fortune- now your son has broken his leg- and right before the harvest.  Such bad luck!”

 Again the farmer replied- “Why do you constantly want to label something as good or bad.  Why can’t you just say, ‘My son has broken his leg while riding a horse’ and leave it at that.  Who is to say whether it is good or bad?”

Upon hearing this, the neighbors were indignant.

“Listen old man, to have your son break his leg at this time is unfortunate and a sign of bad luck.  You are such a fool to think otherwise.”

The following week, an army came to town and drafted all the eligible young men, and sent them off to war in a far away place.  They did not take the farmer’s son on account of his broken leg.  Afterwards, the people were heartbroken and came to the farmer in tears.

“You were right. Our sons are gone, we’ll probably never see them again. Such bad luck our town has experienced!”

 The old farmer (again) said “Why do you continue to insist an event is good or bad?  We do not know the end from the beginning. Why can’t you just say, Our sons have been drafted, and only time will tell if it is good or not.”