Vacation Week Finale

After having internet issues the last couple weeks maybe I can finish my vacation posts. We finally bought the mobile internet option our cell phone company has today. We will be cancelling the satellite internet that is slow and doesn't work consistently.

Monday:


source

We went to the Webster Flea Market in Webster, Florida. What a disappointment. It was like a dollar store spread out. I had read their web site and a couple reviews prior to the trip, so I figured a flea market that is only open on Mondays may be interesting. Plus the only time we could go is when on vacation. I was very let down, but I had to check it out to know.


source

Tuesday:

We went to Jacksonville. We had a coupon for Dave & Busters. On the way there we hit a Goodwill. Then I remembered the Jacksonville Fire Museum. We haven't been there and it is on our list of places to see.

Interiors

The effect of the great fire of 1901

the building exterior

It is located on the same road as the football and baseball stadium. It is inside an old fire station. After going to the Memphis Fire Museum everything else seems small. This is a small but packed building. I think children and adults would enjoy seeing all the items and learning about how the great fire affected Jacksonville. It is a free museum that accepts donations. 

Then we went to Whataburger for lunch. The husband misses the Whataburger near the house since it closed so we go there when we are close to one. He loves a big burger. 

Then we made it to Dave & Busters. I love the basketball shooting game. It is one of the few things I can beat the husband at. After a while a guy came up and gave the husband an unlimited game card. We were already using a half price deal for D&B but I never pass down free. Sp we used the rest of our credits for the ticket producing games and the free games for things we don't always play. I played almost everything. We had so much fun. It made up for the disappointing Monday. 

Wednesday:

I almost didn't go camping because one of the dogs had been sick. We ended up taking him to the in-laws house and they were going to check on the other dogs and cats at home while we were gone.

We went to the panhandle. The plan was to drive west, camp and go to the cavern in the morning.

source

We stopped at the Tallahassee Auto Museum on the way. It is a huge building filled with mainly antique cars on the first floor. But they had a lot more than that - pianos, motorcycles, boat motors, cash registers, case knives, toy cars, and on and on. White it wasn't worth the entry fee of $__ it was somewhere we haven't been to. Plus we learned a Bass Pro Shop is coming to Tallahassee. The husband loves that store. The only other somewhat close stores are in Orlando and Savannah.

My favorite

We stayed at the Falling Waters State Park in Chipley, Florida. There was no water in Florida’s highest waterfall. We were drenched when walking down into the sinkhole. We camped in the tent. which was a little damp. The park is very cute, clean and the people were very friendly. It was only $20 to camp with electricity. They had a decent bath house. 

Our little tent

The sinkhole from above


We cooked hot dogs and marshmallows in the drizzle. I was able to use my $3 Bass pro Shop poncho after I was drenched. We joked about the experience since the other time we camped it rained too. 

Thursday:

 We went to the Florida Cavern State Park as soon as we were up. We made the first tour of the day, It was AWESOME! I have been wanting to go to a cavern since I've never been. Then I found out that Florida had a cavern. Of course it made the vacation week list. A co-worker went when he was 10 and still has the Tshirt. Ironically they still sell the same Tshirt. 

The tour is $8 for adults. There were a few children in our group of around 20 people. The guide was very knowledgeable. You could tell her is very into the job and caves/caverns. He was so fun. He told us you can request a night tour that uses only flashlights. I must do that one day.

It was so neat to see all the rooms and the formations. Photos do not do justice for them. The husband took all the pictures. He is a great photographer and is always trying different angles.

Normally the tour is 45 minutes. Ours was about an hour and a half. It was definitely worth the trip.

After we drove through the cute, yet small town of Marianna, Florida we decided to take highway 90 back home. We found a couple thrift stores. The husband nearly bought another stereo/8 track player. Then a man decided to try and haggle. He was so obnoxious. It made me think of the post Thrift Core on Thrift Store Reseller Hatred. The man even said he was going to resell it. I see what they mean about some people ruining it for everyone. I mainly buy for myself, but I resell some. Since I only dabble in resale I am not always looking for items and I definitely wouldn't be obnoxious. If I find a deal that's fine. I do not want to scream out what I am planning to do with the item.

We had a rainy but leisurely drive back home. It was a wet but lovely trip. 

Friday:

We were bums. We stayed home. 

Saturday:

 We slept in and went to Gainesville. We hit a few thrifts. We ate at Sweet Mel’s again. I had the Guido which has fried cheese half moons on it. Yummy! Definitely one of our favorite burger places. 


source

Sunday:

Chores and Nascar as usual. Winding down and preparing ourselves for returning to work. Ah, another vacation over.

We decided our next vacation would be in October after our 5th anniversary. We put in for it already since he has to ask at least a month ahead and my jobs is going through transition so I better put dibs on it before the switch over to the other company. Hmmm, where to go?

Mess & Mow - Vacation's First Weekend

This week was leading up to our first vacation of the year. I think I have only taken a day off since January. Too much work! We need the break. The husband was getting fed up with work. I know I was getting crankier too.

source

Just like last June’s vacation we are staycationing. Last year I had a bunch of Groupons to keep us busy. This year I found a few places we have never been that we will check out on day trips. One overnight is planned for camping. With the dogs, cats and new kittens it is tough to get someone to watch them. Usually it’s the father in-law and lately the nephew. He started working so it gets tough to work around his schedule and how he says he needs 10 hours a day of sleep. 

In the first two days of vacation we have managed to get some stuff accomplished at home. The husband dragged his feet on mowing. Once the dogs have to make paths to get back to the house I know it’s been too long. I was surprised Friday when I got home with him mowing. I finished the mowing on Saturday morning.

source

We also took a trip to the dump. I will not say how long it has been since he took trash, but it has been way too long. We have a “trash trailer” we put the bag trash in until we hook it up to the pickup to take to the dump. I am still amazed with all the recycling we have and the paper products we burn, how little trash we actually accumulate.

The bad part is that the recycling at the dump no longer has glass recycling. Now I am trying to figure out where to take our glass. We don’t buy much that comes in glass, but I have a recycling container full of glass. I checked the website for our county and they don’t have glass listed. I may need to ask around or check the other dump sites. We just go to the one closest to the house.

source

Saturday I also planned more in my bathtub planter. I still haven’t added to the wheelbarrow planter. Thank goodness the house and porch plants are mainly doing well. I out the one that looks like a pineapple top outside and it did not like all that sun.

Saturday night we took the in-laws out to dinner to Betty’s Pizza. The mother in-law did not like the calzone. I loved my Stromboli. The husband didn’t eat lunch so he ate two dinners. Yes, he has done eating contests and won. It was a nice night with the family.

source

Sunday the husband and I went to the Waldo Flea Market. He found a container and 296 photo slides for me and he paid for it! It has lots of great stuff – purchased slides from a cavern & of JFK’s funeral, to trip slides to a wedding to stuff around the house. They say 60s and 70s. I love them. We rarely see slides and I have that cool slide projector and hardly any slides. Somehow I have 4 slide holder containers and not enough slides.

We also went to the antique store but found nothing that interested us to purchase. We like to look around and comment. Antique stores are like museums the husband says. I like to look and he doesn’t complain.

source

The other big news today is our old phones selling on ebay. I usually donate my old phones to domestic violence shelters. These phones are only 2 years or less so we figured we could possibly make some money to cover what we paid for the new phones. Well, the bidding ends today and we made more than we spent on the new phones. The husband was so funny watching them every day and doing a countdown to the end of the bidding. They both sold for more than we expected. I even added in my “terminal loop” dead phone in case they wanted a parts phone.

I am excited about going to new places…. Like a flea market, state parks and possibly some other Florida touristy places we haven’t been to before. 

source

13 in 13: May Update

  source
1. Sell 150 items: 
24 items sold in 2013

  source

2. Weekly Blog Posts: 
Every week !

source

3. Read a Book Per Month: 
Started reading My Mother's Keeper: A Daughter's Memoir of Growing Up in the Shadow of Schizophrenia by Tara Elgin Holley

      Source

4. Track my Food to Lose Weight: 
The $5 bike (now up to almost $100 invested is now on the road. I rode it 1 time :(

 source

5. Monthly Adventures: 
Miniature Golfing in Orlando

  source
6. Get serious about starting a family: 
Still trying. Nothing yet :( I got kittens to compensate.

  source      

7. Save Money: 
$300. Vacation will spend it, but we sold our old phones so that will restart the savings.

      

  source

8. Watch More Movies:

Pageant
Pennies From Heaven (1981)
Student Bodies (re-watch and made the husband watch it, he did not enjoy it)


  source     
9. Improve at Work: 
My case load increased. I am usually now around 100. I managed to see as many as will show up.

   source

10. Take a Real Vacation: 
It's vacation time. A staycation where we go on day trips and have one overnight!

  source      

11. Try Something New: 
Why is it whenever I think of something new I think food? We tried Fuddrucker's.

   source  

12. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: 
Always re-using containers for leftovers. We gave a bunch of containers to the father in-law for his plants. We seem to have less and less trash with the two recycling bins for plastics and cans, plus a couple containers full of soda cans and one for glass. The husband has been good at burning the paper and cardboard when the container gets full.

We also recycle egg cartons. The neighbor fills them up with eggs. I also recycle plant containers and replanted house plants when they outgrew their container this month.


     source
13. More home improvement: 
I cleaned up the front porch by moving some things around. Still saving towards the big projects. They need to happen. The husband keeps bringing home free cups from restaurants & I need more cabinet space.