The Trip-Part 1, Tuesday-Wednesday dinner

[rayvyn2k]

From my journal:
Tuesday: Up early, get toiletries packed after showering. A final goodbye to the kitties and then we're off. A quick stop at McDonald's for breakfast and then onto the Interstate.

Riding in the diamond lane gets us to the airport fast and we find a parking space literally right in front of the shuttle stop (from the economy parking lot.) We get to the terminal and check our bag. (The security guy noticed hubby's "Star Wars" tee shirt--"Han shot first!" hee)

We had about an hour to wait before boarding. The flight was not full so we got an entire row to ourselves. The ride was a bit bumpy due to bad weather which caused us to arrive about fifteen minutes late. Fort Lauderdale airport has changed a lot. We went downstairs to claim our bag and then went outside to catch the shuttle to the rental car place. Well, once we got outside, we didn't see any rental car shuttles or stops anywhere. After wandering up and down the length of the terminal we decided to go back inside and ask.

As it turned out, we didn't have to ask. Because we saw a big ol' sign with the words "Rental Cars" and and arrow pointing back toward the "up" escalator. DUH. So, back up we go, following the signs we hadn't seen before. It turns out all the construction they were doing three years ago is now complete and the rental car agencies are now on the airport site. Anyway, we finally got our Ford Taurus and were on our way to my sister's house--only an hour late.

Oh--did I mention that it was raining? Yeah, pretty hard, too.

We arrive at Beth's house and there are hugs and kisses all around. My sister brings me up to date on the wedding issues (place card drama--favors--and why are we decorating at a restaurant?) and then we head on out to TGIFriday's for a (very disappointing) meal. After that we went back to Beth's house for more talking, plotting and planning. Then sleep.

Wednesday:
Wake up early and get dressed. My son and grandson are coming over today. At about 8:45 I call him to see if he wants to meet earlier (we were supposed to meet for lunch) and have breakfast instead. He does and at 10am they arrive with a surprise--his fiance is with them!
Beth's dog Tabby giving Tyler doggie kisses.


So off we go to accomplish one of the three things I want to do on this trip:
1) Go to Denny's (there are none in Middle TN)
2) Go to Dunkin' Donuts (ditto)
3) Go to 7-11 for a Slurpee (ditto ditto)

So we all head on over to the nearest Denny's for a fantastic breakfast that couldn't be beat. It was lots of fun and we laughed a lot. After breakfast, we went over to Adam's house to visit until it was time to check in to the hotel. Their son Tyler is a bright and very beautiful child.
Tyler with his ball.


Playing with hubby "Pa-Pa"


He is very observant and doesn't miss anything. That is one smart boy and I hope his parents realize it. Hubby and I really enjoyed playing with him and he warmed right up to us, too. The look on his face when hubby hit his soccer ball to him with his head was priceless. After a wonderful visit capped by a drive along the beach, hubby and I said goodbye to my son's family and went to check into our hotel where we cleaned up and then rested for a while before dinner.

The original dinner plan was to meet with my father, his wife and the bride and groom at a restaurant. Unfortunately, dad and his wife had not been feeling well, so they called to cancel earlier in the day. I was really disappointed, but hubby saved the day once more. He suggested that we have dinner at one of our favorite restaurants in Fort Lauderdale called the Roadhouse Grill. What is special about this place is that it is located on the Intracoastal Waterway. That area on the left side of the picture in the link? That's the outdoor patio which is our favorite place to sit. We requested and were seated outside and we spent a lovely hour plus having a leisurely dinner and watching the boats go by. The weather was beautiful-blue skies, sea breeze and not too hot. A definate highlight of the trip.

This is long, so I'll post more tomorrow--including watching TAR with Beth, a visit to Howl at the Moon with my sister, my daughter and her best friend plus the rehersal on the beach! Oh, all right--here's a preview picture of the beach rehersal:
My daughter and her son walking to the wedding site.

Comments

[islandsmoke.livejournal.com]

Denny's, DD, and 7-11.
*shudders*

;-))

Tyler's a cutie!

[rayvyn2k.livejournal.com]

I know, sad, isn't it? The things one misses? What's worse is that we get the Denny's commercials here...so I get tortured with their breakfast-y goodness all the time. ;)

[gilda-m.livejournal.com]

I love that last picture. It's my favorite style of picture, the caught from behind holding hands. I have a picture like that of my wife and I visiting a zoo in the Philippines, and it's one of my treasures from that visit.