Florida: Day One

Friday June 5th- we had to leave our house by 3am to get to LAX in time for our flight at 6:10 am. Kurt had pulled an all nighter playing xbox with his brothers. I didn't sleep all that great either, I just can't sleep if he's not in bed. We stopped off at the local gas station to get some drinks and treats to keep us awake. Kurt was having a really hard time staying awake as soon as we hit Valencia, so I suggested we go to the Van Nuys flyaway instead of driving the whole way to LAX. Thank goodness we did because he was scaring me the whole way there. I would have taken over driving but his car is a stick and I am not a stick shift driver. We got to the airport in plenty of time and flew to Dallas, TX. We switched planes and flew into Tampa, FL. Each flight was about 3 hrs, Kurt slept through the first flight and the 2nd flight we played Phase 10.

We arrived in Tampa at 4 pm their time. As we were landing we couldn't help but comment on how all the backyards have a pool w/ a giant screen around it. From the airport we took a shuttle to pick up our rental vehicle. We had requested a midsize and all they had in that category was a minivan, the salesman told us if we bought the insurance for the vehicle he'd give us a convertible. We went for it! We got a Chrysler Sebring convertible, it was a fun vacation vehicle. From Tampa it's about an hours drive to my grandparents house in Spring Hill. The drive was beautiful! Here in CA there are all kinds of buildings and just plain stuff off the freeway. Our drive to Sping Hill was just beautiful green landscape. The route we took was a toll road so thank goodness we had a couple bucks in cash to pay the tolls. We got to my Nana and Pop pops house at 5 pm. They were so welcoming and the house was super cute! Everyone in Florida seems to have a ton of screens, screens on their grarage doors, pools, front doors, etc.

My grandparents ordered some pizza, and a big antipasto salad for dinner. We spent the evening telling stories and catching up. My Pop Pop is probably one of the funniest guys around. He is absolutely hilarious and I see where my Dad gets it. He's still got the NY in him. My Nana is super sweet and I have always felt a special connection with her even though we haven't lived close by. She used to send me letters all the time on these beautiful fairy cards. We turned in at about 12pm, that's only 9 CA time. :)