Friends, Stuckys, and Discovery

“Mabel, put the coffee on, company’s coming.” We were on our way back from getting some groceries when Lenny’s cell phone rang. He was driving so I answered it. It was friends from NC. We knew they were visiting her daughter in the Orlando area and we were planning on getting together with them in the next two weeks when we were back in that area. What we didn’t know was that they were passing right by the campground we are currently at on their way to Venice, Fl. Not having seen any of our “northern” friends for six weeks, it was a pleasant surprise to visit with Barb and Jim. Barb and Lenny go way back to when they both worked at Burger King, long before I had met him. They live on the coast in NC during the winter and have a summer place in Maine where we have been invited to spend some time. On their way back and forth, they usually spend a day or two at my mother-in-laws house back in Clifton. We chatted about the weather, bugs, our kids, and how Lenny is adjusting to his “retirement”. I say it that way because, while he is retired from the Board of Education, he is much too young to never work again. I told Barb it was a good thing they stopped by on Wednesday, because the following day  we had plans to go see the Discovery lift off for the last time.

Thursday was a long day. Most of those who know us, know that we get up with the roosters still. I’ve been getting better, some days sleeping in till 7, but for the most part we’re up at 6am or earlier. We were both excited to be in Florida during a shuttle launch. Never having seen a live launch, we made plans to get as close to Cocoa Beach as possible. I plugged in the GPS and we headed east. Do you know how much I greatly dislike my GPS! Today was no different. First it wanted to take us on some toll road, then I blocked that option so we ended up on Rt 60. Now, to give you an idea of this highway, we traveled on it for well over 100 miles. At least it seemed like it. Along the way we saw farm land, orange groves, more farms, more orange groves. Good thing we started out with a full tank of gas! We finally came to a town called Yeehaw Junction. Lenny was beginning to wonder if we were near Petticoat Junction. It is located near the Florida Turnpike. They have a Pilot gas station and a Stuckeys. Len had not seen a Stuckeys in a long time, so we pulled in and looked around. He just had to get a pecan roll. We still had another 30 miles to drive, so back on this two lane highway that has absolutely nothing except farms and oranges, at least until we got closer to Vero Beach. Finally civilization.

We found a State Recreation Area to park in and walked out to the beach. There were a few people there with their chairs facing north. We started talking to one couple and found out they moved here from New Jersey about 20 years ago. As the time got closer to the launch, the beach really started filling up. There were people everywhere with video cameras and regular cameras. All of sudden everyone started counting down and then a minute later we saw it. The flame from the rocket booster. What an awesome sight. There were a lot of clouds, so we didn’t get to see too much, but it was still an exciting afternoon. We’ll still be in the area when it lands, so I’ve put it on my phone as a reminder. If we’re not too busy, we just might drive over to the east coast again to see it land. Only this time, we’ll take a different highway.

Friday was an easy drive from Wauchula back to Clermont where we will spend the next two weeks. Our daughter, Chrissy, will arrive on Monday to spend a week with us. It will be good to see her again. I can’t believe we’ve already been on the road for six weeks. Thanks for traveling along with us on The Thomas’ Trails…until next time.