Vacation 2012

So, this past Friday night, Aaron and I drove back home from two weeks in Daytona, Florida with his family. Yep, TWO WEEKS. It was really windy the whole time. It felt like the wind literally never stopped blowing. It started raining as soon as we got there. For the first five or six days, it stormed every night. Temperatures stayed in the 80s or so with a small chance of storms and rain just about everyday. 

BEWARE: This is a loooooong post.

We (Aaron's parents, me, Aaron, Zach, Linh, and Linh's brother Thanh) left at 5am on June 9 (MY BIRTHDAY), stopping at a Cracker Barrel just south of Atlanta for breakfast around 6:30am. I had whole wheat french toast. We made various stops for potty breaks and more food, and stopped at the Florida welcome center so I could have a glass of free orange juice. We made it to Daytona about 2:30pm and stopped to eat lunch at Aunt Catfish on the river. This was my choice, because it was my birthday. I had fried shrimp that were a little rubbery, a salad that tasted like dirt, and a really good cinnamon roll. After we ate, we headed to the condo, called Towers Ten, and unpacked. We were on the 10th floor. This place was all about security. You couldn't go anywhere without a key or a number code! But they had no WiFi! Aaron and I hit the pool for a little while and then went to Walmart to pick up a few necessities. We ate at TGI Fridays (I had parmesean crusted chicken) before heading back to the condo. 

On the second day, we all went to Walmart to shop for groceries. After that, Aaron and I headed to walk on the beach and for another dip in the pool. We cooked spaghetti and then discovered our condo had a pool table downstairs. We spent many, many nights down there playing pool. Attacked by a midnight craving, Aaron and I led Zach and Thanh on a wild goose chase for a Taco Bell. We finally found one but ate at IHOP instead. I had whole wheat french toast and hash browns while I listened to Zach criticize what I want to do with the rest of my life because the doctors can't figure out what's wrong with him. But after IHOP, we had to go back to Taco Bell so Zach could get Linh some tacos because apparently she loves Taco Bell as much as I do.    

 On the third day, we cooked breakfast (biscuits, sausage, and eggs) and then Aaron and I went to walk on the beach. We went souvenir shopping while Shelby passed a kidney stone. Then we went to Inlet Harbor. I absolutely hate that place. The music is deafening. I was miserable. I had forgotten to bring my earplugs. I was sitting in blinding sunlight (and I forgot my sunglasses). I found a hair in my Sprite after I drank about half of it. We were surrounded by people smoking so I couldn't breathe either. I ordered fried oysters and they were pretty good. After our meal, we realized that they had totally forgotten to bring our salads. We played pool back at the condo again and then went to search for a Redbox with Zach and Linh, with no luck. 

On the fourth day, we were sitting on the balcony and discovered one of our neighbors smokes out on the balcony and we were downwind. Ick! Aaron and I went to eat at Crabby Joe's with Zach. It's over water (on a pier) with wide cracks in the floor, which made me very nervous. I felt like I was swaying back and forth the whole time. We ordered a side of spiced apple rings to try. I ordered crab cakes with a side salad. The crab cakes were really good but the salad tasted like dirt to me again. Aaron and I ended up at Walmart again and then we went to the pool. It was freezing! It was about 4pm and the whole pool was in the shade of the building. We cooked hot dogs and chili that night and I realized I don't really care for hotdogs anymore. I didn't eat much of mine. Aaron and I went shopping again. We found a Barnes & Noble! Aaron bought a new Bible. The NBA finals game was on when we got back and Zach made some really good cheese dip! We played pool while Zach and Thanh watched the game. 

The fifth day was June 13, Chelsey's birthday!! We didn't do much in the morning. We didn't even really eat breakfast. So Aaron and I decided to go to Joe's Crab Shack for lunch and so I could buy a t-shirt. We ended up getting locked out of the car...for over an hour and a half. Aaron got a little sunburned but it was mostly me that got burnt. I had worn sunscreen every day and the one day I don't is the day I needed it so badly and got burnt. Both arms were burnt, and my cheeks and nose were pretty red too. Aaron's dad came to help us unlock it, using wire coat hangers. I made several trips to the beach to see if beach patrol could help us. Eventually, a beach patrol truck showed up and helped us. Finally, we went into Joe's and I ordered crab stuffed shrimp. They were delicious! After standing out in the sun for so long trying to unlock the car, Aaron and I were pretty tired (and dehydrated), so we took a nap when we got back to the condo. When we woke up, they had cooked baked chicken and mashed potatoes for dinner. Then we split up; the boys went to the pool room to play and watch a Braves game while the girls stayed and watched Joyful Noise. That was a cute movie. Then we all joined back up and watched Gone... I am NOT a fan of scary movies. AT ALL. 

 The next morning, Aaron and I tried to get up early (8am) to go look for shells on the beach, but neither of us could get up. Louie and Val came with Haley about 10am. In all the mess, we lost a set of keys. It was hard enough sharing two sets between so many people, and then we lose a set! Shelby took Haley to the beach. Linh and I came down later, quickly realizing we were stuck outside with no keys. We couldn't get back in the building and couldn't get into the pool area. So Linh hopped the fence! I tried to hop it to and I got yelled at by this old man sitting on the other side of the pool. Thankfully, some lady came and let us in and Linh was telling her about us losing a set of keys. She helped us look around at the pool for them but we didn't find them. The old man looked like he was trying to take our picture with his phone and then was was calling someone. I just knew that he was tattling and we were going to go to jail or get kicked out or something, but nothing ever happened. Aaron and his dad had gone to a piano store and came back saying they were going to buy a new keyboard for Aaron! Later that afternoon, we ran into trouble with the office. The lady at the front desk told us we have too many people staying in our unit and some will have to leave (the limit is 8 people and we had 10!). Aaron's dad was not happy about he situation. The realty company they used knew how many people were coming and didn't say anything about a limit. He said they will never use that realty company again and will never stay at that condo again. Good thing. That place was too uptight. So many rules and people were snobby and rude. Then we all went to Crabby Joe's and actually had a waiter named Joe! I ordered crab cakes again, but they weren't as good as before. There was this old lady there in a t-shirt and a bikini bottom...ewww! Granny butt! That was entertaining. We ended up at Walmart, yet again! Back at he condo, Haley had a small tent and I played with her inside it. We played with paper dolls and then we colored. That night, Aaron and I went to Olive garden to use a gift card I had gotten for my birthday. We ordered chicken and shrimp carbonara and split it. I ordered the little desert thing with strawberries, cake, and white chocolate. It was heavenly. On the ride back to the condo, we hit a few more souvenir shops. 

On the seventh day, some man came to install WiFi for us. Linh showed us her wedding binder. We went with Zach and Linh to the Cracked Egg diner. Aaron and I split a Belgian waffle with strawberries. We stopped at the post office so I could mail some post cards home then we headed to Walmart to start our own wedding notebook! We officially started wedding planning on this vacation!! We did some more shopping. Justin and Niki came about 2pm and checked into the hotel next door. Everybody went on a (dolphin) boat tour, except me and Aaron. We sat on the balcony instead while he played piano. Then we all went to inlet harbor again. I HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE THAT PLACE. It was torture. The music was even louder than before. I remembered my sunglasses and my earplugs, but it didn't make a difference. The music was so loud that my ears were physically in pain, even with the earplugs in the whole time. I ordered the crab cake sandwich and wasn't to fond of it. The more I ate, the less I liked it. Aaron and danced a little, which was fun, but I was soooooo happy when we finally left. I will never go back to that place. Zach and Linh left that night at 3am. 

On the eighth day, Shelby passed another kidney stone. Aaron and I went to the beach for a little while. The beach patrol had a red flag up. Today was the first day it was a red flag (every other day was a yellow flag) and it stayed a red flag until we left. Then we headed next door and sat with Justin and Niki at their pool. We sat there a while and played word games with them. I was wrapped up in a towel so I didn't get burned. The lady sitting beside us eventually started smoking and I had to move away. They wanted to go shopping with us. We ate at Taco Bell first and then we went to so many different stores. By the time we got back, we were hungry again! We ate some pizza that Aaron's parents had picked up. We went to Cowlick's for ice cream. I had two scoops on a waffle cone. That was ALOT of ice cream! We ended up gong back to Justin and Niki's room with them ti play catch phrase. I noticed my nose and cheeks were starting to peel.

The next day was Father's day. Everybody went to eat at the Cracked Egg again but left me at the condo... My face was peeling more. We spent about three hours at the beach. The rip current warning/risk was very high. We stopped at the pool before heading back up to the room. There were all these little babies that could swim better than I can. When we got back, I discovered a bad heat rash on my legs and Aaron's back was sunburned so bad. They went our for BBQ...yuck. Aaron and I didn't go. We went to steak n shake instead. I had a single with fries. We stopped at he Krispy Kreme next to Steak n Shake and got an assorted dozen. Later that night, I noticed there is  red area on my back. We must have missed a spot with the sunscreen.

The next day, I noticed my ears were burnt too. Justin and Niki went to the beach really early and found tons of big shells, a sand dollar, and a piece of coral. He let me have the sand dollar. Aaron and I went to the mall and wandered around til we found the food court. We had chick fil a. That night for dinner, they all went to Inlet Harbor again. Aaron and I didn't go. Instead, we went to Boondock's and I finally had peel and eat cold shrimp. We were going to stop and ride the ferris wheel but we couldn't find any parking. We went to Congo River putt putt instead. They had baby gators you could feed. I ended up losing..badly. The final score was 54 to 46. We stopped at IHOP on the way back so I could eat again. I had whole wheat french toast, of course. My heat rash and Aaron's sunburn were both improving. 

On the eleventh day, Aaron and I started the morning by going to the beach and the pool, which probably was a bad idea. My heat rash was worse and was now on both legs instead of just one. Shelby said she woke up with a sore throat. Later that afternoon, we found out we were getting fined $100 for my towels hanging on the balcony to dry. That place is so ridiculous. I was ready to go home. Aaron's dad said he wants to go home Thursday, but Shelby said no. We went to Sloppy Joe's with Justin and Niki. I ordered tilapia fish tacos. I didn't like them, but Aaron did! Niki had fried shrimp and said they were really good. After dark, the four of us went crabbing. We found several. I even caught one! Aaron picked one up. We didn't see any turtles. I stepped on something really sharp in the sand. Then back in the condo we discovered a weird sunburn on my feet. I was red only UNDER the flip flop straps.

I woke up the next morning at 8am because my foot was hurting so badly. It was really red and super sore. I couldn't walk without a limp. My heat rash was still really itchy too. Aaron and I went to the beach about 9am to look for shells...but we only found lots of seaweed and a few small shells. We met up with Justin and Niki at Point Park, the end of the peninsula Daytona is on. The water was really rough. The waves were big and rough and just kept coming, one right after another and people were surfing in those waves! Crazy people. Most of them were kids. One kid wasn't even half the length of his surfboard! He looked like he was about 5. We didn't find any shells there either and we were getting hungry so Aaron and I left to go to Denny's for late breakfast/lunch. I don't think I have ever been to Denny's before. I ordered pancake puppies (like hush puppies made of pancake batter served with syrup) and the moons over my hammy sandwich (egg, cheese, ham) with hash browns. Then we went to shop at Bealls outlet. When we go back to the condo, Aaron and I both were tired and crashed to take a nap. Justin and Niki left about 2:30pm and drove on the beach before leaving and got stuck in the sand! For dinner, Aaron and I decided to go to Sloppy Joe's again. He wanted fish tacos (Yes people, Aaron ate fish and liked it!!) and I wanted fried shrimp. It was the best fried shrimp I had eaten the whole time we were down there. It was so good. We both really liked that restaurant. Back at the condo, we put peroxide and neosporin on my foot because it was hurting so much. Aaron and I also discussed leaving on Friday instead of waiting until Saturday. I had trouble falling asleep because of my foot hurting. 

We tried again the next day to get up early (5:30am) to go look for shells, but it didn't happen. I noticed my other foot was sore from limping and favoring my left foot so much the day before. We ate at Taco Bell again and stopped by a pet store to play with birds and these little tiny puppies. Aaron and I decided that we would leave Friday. I took a nap back at the condo and then we went to Charlie Horse for dinner. I had peel and eat cold shrimp again. They were really big shrimp! On the way back to the condo we stopped at the Bealls store and Cowlick's. I had one scoop of mint chocolate chip on a waffle cone. We packed most of our stuff back up to make packing easier the next day. 

Finally, on our last day, we managed to get up at 5:30am and go look for shells. We found tons of shells but not really any big ones. My foot was really hurting, probably from the sand and baby powder getting on it. We went back to sleep when we got back to the condo for another three hours and got up at 11:25am. Oops. We wanted to get up at about 10am... But it didn't take long at all to finish packing and we loaded the car in one trip. We ate at Aunt Catfish one more time on the way out because I really wanted some fried oysters. Oh my goodness, they were really good, too. Aaron tried them and said they were okay. He tried some tilapia too and said he still likes it. We left Daytona at about 2:30pm. The ride back was alot of fun. We didn't turn on the radio the whole time. We started working on our wedding guest list and then stopped to eat at Lake City, FL at a Steak n Shake (after making a wrong turn and heading south on I75 instead of north). My foot was causing me some much discomfort. It had constantly hurt and ached all the way up to the ankle since we left Daytona. Aaron let me drive and the pain mostly stopped, so I drove almost the entire way home. In the car, my ear started peeling. It was so cool. It all peeled off in three big pieces! We stopped at a chick fil a in Macon to eat again. We stopped a few more times because of my tiny bladder. We got back home at 12:45am, which was about 10 hours. The whole trip was 558 miles. My foot (and ankle) was swollen when I got home and had trouble sleeping again. That's probably why it was making me so uncomfortable in the car and why it felt tingly and numb when we stopped at Steak n Shake.

Overall, I did have fun. 

The last few days were rough, though. 

I was itchy from the heat rash, 

and limping because of my foot, 

and Aaron was burned.

We were almost bored, too. 

I don't really like Daytona, with the cars driving on the beach. 

I wouldn't choose to go there on my own. 

But I would definitely go again, if invited.

The sand was clean but the waves were rough.

My favorite restaurants were Aunt Catfish and Sloppy Joe's.