We got up thinking we'd have a leisurely morning swimming and packing, but at about 9:15 we realized that checkout time was 10 a.m. Whoops! David took the kids swimming while me and my parents rushed to pack everything up. We finished at about 10:10, just as the cleaning lady knocked on the door.
The drive home is normally 6 1/2 hours, but we decided to take a more scenic route in order to enjoy the ocean view. The first few hours were pouring rain and we actually couldn't see much of anything ocean-wise.
David loved how the palm trees just grew wild around the other vegetation.
The rain had calmed down a bit and we came to Datona Beach.
We decided to stop and wade around a bit. The sand was really hard. It also had a blue tint to it. It was quite different from any we had seen before.
Once it cleared up a little, the view was fantastic. We were along the coast for quite a ways.
Beach houses.
Eventually we came to St. Augustine. It was a very picturesque town with a beautiful lighthouse keeper's home. We all agreed we'd love to go back and spend more time. My sister and her husband went there for their honeymoon.
I thought this pine tree growing up in the middle of the oak tree was interesting.
Cool buildings in St. Augustine.
Castillo de San Marcos - the oldest masonry fort in the continental United States.
Castle Ottis looks like an ancient building, but its not. It was actually contructed in the 80's.
It ended up taking us until almost 10 p.m. (about 10 1/2 hours), but the drive was worth it. It was truly beautiful. On the way to Disney, I realized that I was seeing a huge variety of license plates. I decided to start keeping track. I saw plates from all but 12 states: Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. I also saw plates from Quebec and Ontario.
My mom and dad flew home today a little before 6 a.m. We headed to the airport a little before 5. I'm amazed at all they do considering they are over 70 years old. They don't look it so sometimes I forget that they can't do everything the same way they used to. I hope I can do even half of what they do when I'm their age. My parents are so good to us. My children love them so much.
It has been a crazy, busy summer, but it has been the best summer ever. We have had so much fun and have spent so much time with family. There is nothing I would rather do. I can't believe that school starts in a few short days. I'm not even close to being ready, especially for early morning seminary!
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