Christmas Travel Adventures Part 2 - 1,000 snuggles in FL

Hello Beautiful People!

I have not forgotten that I need to finish up my Floriday trip. Haha. Just so much to talk about lately.

So when last we spoke about the trip Mom and I had arrived in Florida close to midnight and the baby was asleep. We waited him out and were still up when he woke up for some Auntie snuggles!  Well Auntie and Mom-Mom snuggles.

 Okay so before we left Virginia not only did my aunt give me presents to bring down for my brother's family, but she also sent down a giant bin of cookies. Happily the bin made it down unopened. Sadly, I hit it up every chance I got. There was this chocolate cookie with a marshmallow on top...OMG! I did leave them with plenty of cookies in the bin when I left...but I did make a nice dent in it.

Christmas Eve we didn't leave the house.  It was an exhausting drive down and there was lots of fighting over who got to hold the baby to be had. I had a protein bar for breakfast and drank lots of water. 

Being in a different place and not being used to other people's eating schedules was a little tough. I had bought some veggies, bread and dipping oil, meat and cheese for the gathering in Charlotte. Since we had arrived so late we just kept it packed to bring down to Florida. So while we were patiently awaiting the A Christmas Story marathon to begin (FYI it is my most favorite 24 hours of the year!) I brought them all out to snack on.

My sister-in-law, Theresa, was making pasta with homemade meatballs for dinner (like a good Italian should!). It smelled sooooo good all day.  So I snacked on the food I put out. The dipping oil was awesome!  I had picked it up at the Food Show back in November. Gonna need to buy a bunch more this year.  In fact, it was such a big hit that I left the bottle down there for them. The good news is that I purchased 2 bottles for Christmas presents....I am keeping the other bottle for me.

This was our first visit to my brother's house since they moved to Florida.  When we were given the official tour one of the highlights was the two giant stacks of Ghirardelli chocolate bars.  They were even divided between dark chocolate and milk chocolate (I am thinking this OCD thing may be genetic and have never loved my brother more!). We were told to help ourselves.  There were two particular bars that were up for grabs.  They were dark chocolate with sea salt caramel. I tested one out and liked it. And wouldn't you know it, Santa put the other one in my stocking Christmas morning. haha.

Okay so I knew something was going to happen on the trip. Starting in Charlotte when we were staying at Ms. Marisol's the allergies started. She has a cat and for the most part I was good until it was time to go to bed. Then the itchy eyes and scratchy throat started. I felt better in the morning, but we still stopped for allergy medicine while we were on the road. I even took some medicine an hour before our estimated arrival time because my brother has 3 dogs: two bulldogs and a bull mastiff. I was drugged up for three days. Breathing was difficult and so exercise was not really at the top of my agenda.

So I had made sure to bring a gym bag full of workout clothes. The only time they made an appearance was when I ran out of clothes that did not have dog drool on them...ewwww.

One of the highlights of the trip was going to Legoland on Christmas day. Theresa works there...BONUS! It was nice to walk around outside at a leisurely pace for a while. We got there at 3 and they closed at 6. One of the first things I saw was Granny's Apple Fries. I wanted!

We walked around Miniland for a little while and then we needed to get some food. The stand we went to had hamburgers and salads. Normally I would be all over the idea of a salad, but a salad made at an amusement park did not sound super appetizing. I couldn't imagine that it would be fresh and healthy. Theresa said that they were actually pretty good, but I went with the burger anyway. I was starving.

When we were leaving for the day we passed the Granny's Apple Fries stand and she and I had to stop. O.M.G!  Apples sliced like french fries baked in a cinnamon powder with a whip cream dip. I WANT MORE!

The next day we were running out for some errands, after my little buddy had his 2 month check up.  My mom had discovered a Tropical Smoothie in the area. Theresa had never been. We took her and introduced her to the wonderful world.  She got the Smokin' Spinach Turkey wrap that I had gotten on our way down. She can handle the Hot more than I can.   The bonus of this trip was that the smoothie felt soooooooooo good on my scratchie throat.

Since we didn't get to get my BBQ in Savannah and my brother is always bragging about the Florida BBQ they have, of course that's what we had for dinner on our last night there. At 5:30 I was told by Theresa that we had to leave immediately!  Brock's closes at 6.  Brock's is a trailer on the side of the road and O.M.G. they make gooooooood BBQ!   I could not have my BBQ without a quart of Sweet Tea...Oh man I was in Heaven.

I had planned so well for this trip.  There were some great moments and some not so proud ones. I knew I was going to have trouble dealing with other people's schedules. I knew I was going to have problems with allergies.  I knew I was going to use every possible moment to hug that nephew. I wasn't prepared for the almost total shut down of my brain and body. I can't even tell you what I did when I wasn't holding the baby. I wasn't reading. I wasn't on my computer. I was sort of knitting.  Oh I did paint a crate for the little guy's toys.  My body took Vacation super seriously. I was mad at myself for the snacking and the lack of activity, but I also know that I have worked my butt off this year and I deserved some time off. Just wasn't expecting the whole week. It's a good thing that baby is so stinkin cute!  I miss him!!!!

So before I go, I would like to mention that I was very excited about a lot the talks my brother and I had. He has competed in a marathon and some halfs. It was nice to have that as a mutual interest. This was sooooo not our interests while we were growing up.  We are hoping to do a race together one day...so if I have to go back to Florida for it then so be it!

Okay, that's enough for tonight. Christmas Travel Adventures Part 3 will include the train ride back to Virginia and my weekend there before heading home and back to work.

Have a Blessed Night my friends

Don't forget my Fundraising for Autism Research:

https://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/jennifer-henderson-6/RNRUSA13

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