Three Different Spring Breaks Spent In Florida

The second was a two day road trip with our family and an aunt and uncle in a station wagon.

The third was hopping on a plane and visiting my grandparents.

For those who know movies I throw this one out at you - planes trains and automobiles. The reason for this as that all three have been in these trips. Where and when you are wondering? Well keep reading to find out.

To see where I got this image from - Click Here

Its always interesting remembering and sharing your memories...

As the title said I was in Florida three times for spring break. All three were "not" college trips. All three were with the family.

The first was in elementary school when the family drove there in an RV.

Where my dad worked back in the old days was for a real estate company. They had a mobile home what they now call an RV. It was a way to woo the customers. It was also used by the employees for vacations. In our case it was a vacation.

I remember driving to Florida. Usually my dad would drive. The nice thing is we were not in a hurry. Just to warn you now you will read a lot about memories on this trip through this page... One thing that this RV had was an 8-track player. One of my uncles had recorded a tape for us with him talking and lots of music by various artist. One of the first things he said was to my sister and I about being the "rug rats" in the back seat. And that comment stuck for many years.

One of the trailer parks we stayed in had a little boy about our age. His parents owned the park so we were able to see a few things that the other kids didn't. Nice don't you think. At this same park I also remember running up to our front door and having to climb up more that usual to get in. Thinking this was strange I didn't let it stop me. The person inside the RV - no relative of mine was a bit surprised to see me. Yes I was good and apologized and went to the next RV in line and was then at the correct one.

There were several things that we did when we were in Florida. For me the one that stands out the most was the visit to the Kennedy Space Center. What's that you say it wasn't Disney? No we did go there and they were just starting to work on Space Mountain. Interesting correlation don't you think?

Anyway when visiting the Space Center they were just starting to work on the Shuttle. There were diagrams and pictures. There was even a little model of the shuttle attached to the rocket that would take it into space. I remember the parents getting me and my sister each a one piece jump suit that had the space center logos as patches on the chest. We then wore them the next day when we visited Disney. How do I remember you ask? Easy the parents still have the phonographs to show us and or black-male us with. Your call.

Growing up I had several of Elton John's songs on vial. 33 1/3 to be exact.

My mom and the aunt were sisters and the grandparents were their parents. My aunts husband's parents were also in Florida and near to my grand parents so it was like two family trips for the price of one. Two things from this trip sick out in my head.

1) One of the kids (me) kept reading out loud the millage markers. One after another to the point where more than once asked then told to stop.

2) There were many, many signs for a place that remains nameless. They were advertising. In the good news the grandparents had told us about them and we drove right on by. Also the guy who was counting out the millage markers ignored those signs.

As they say, "Train up a child" in this case it was a train ride. OK a two day train ride. There was a Scheduled cabin for the family. But they booked us in a small cabin for one not four. As I remember my dad got part of the fees back because of their mistake. You go dad. No Matter How Old I Think I Am Dad Is Always There

So we went to the normal passenger cars with all the seats. Here is where you are going to get a few memories. Like my boys I tended to reach out and talk to others. My parents were in the seat right next to me as I talked to this stranger for a couple of hours until he got off the train. A few later I found out from my mom that after he got off the train and placed in hand cuffs by several police officers.

There was a car where they had a mini bar and lots of tables. I found a couple that were not sure how to shuffle a desk of cards. Back then it was fun to be able to show adults how to do something. And I think that I did teach them how.

And as a final note - Where I currently work there are a few sets of train tracks. Its always nice to see the Amtrak trains go through as they are a great way to bring back the memories that I have shared with you.

There were two different ways we used to drive to Florida and I would like to know which you would use?

Set a goal and stick to it. For me it was save the money and getting a plane ticket to Florida. In the good news back then the round trip was only about $150.00. It took me about six mounts to do so. Growing up I would set other goals and would not go forward until I had the cash to do the full buy. This included my first car.

Any ways it was interesting having my parents drop me off at the airport and letting me go. It was nice that they trusted me. As a parent now I am not always sure how they did it. When I got to Florida I found a Cadbury Egg in my carry on bag. It was good, melted, but good. As I was looking for a place to wash the hands is when the Grandparents spotted me. OK I was looking around but did not see them.

But who you spend the time with.

It was interesting how there were so many things that they were willing to do with me while I was there. Yes Disney was one of them but like before it was not the main reason for the visit. You see my grandfather was on dialysis three times a week for four hours each day. And for me just being there was worth the cost of the plane ticket. One of the days that he was on dialysis my grandma took me just down the road to a water slide. Another day they had some suggestions for a day trip and I turned it down. Gasp! As I said before it was not about the day trips it was about the time spent with them. So my grand father did not have to drive. We just went for a walk or two and played cards. Kings in the Corner to be exact. This was a game I always looked forward to playing with him. In fact that game was what motivated me to do the following site that then became a lens of the day. - December 28 is Card Playing Day

It was also interesting how just riding a bicycle around the neighborhood was fun and relaxing. Of course if you are not familiar with the neighborhood don't ride at night. Or if you do have a phone number to call and get directions. Yes this was me and no I did not have the number. What I did have were two grandparents that know me and were out looking for and found me.