July 7 - Winter Park, FL (outside of Orlando)

Start Mileage - 44650

Karen fixed us a great dinner last night, and we talked until 11:00PM or so before going to bed.

Karen is Bob's cousin for those of you who don't know.

We left Karen's at around 9:00AM and decided not to go to EPCOT, or Disney World, or Bush Gardens, or Universal.

I was quite proud of us for not visiting any of those tourist spots.

We headed straight for the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) at Cape Canaveral. Great place! Rockets everywhere. Deb wasn't as excited as I was, but then I think it more of a "guy kinda place". It probably has something to do with the shape of the rockets. If women had designed them they'd probably be round and soft, and covered with pink velour.

Get off it!!

KSC is much larger than I would have thought. They assemble the shuttle in a building that is 3.5 miles from the launch pad. Everything here is big. KSC is an all-day trip. Very impressive.

I should mention that I had Space Dots today. It's KSC's answer to ice-cream. It comes in a cup and consists of round cold things that act kind of like ice cream but aren't. Just a culinary footnote in our Culinary Tour of the USA.

They look like miniature Styrofoam beads, but are cold to the tongue and melt upon contact. Totally weird.

Bob purchased his first tasteless tourist souvenir. It is a frosted NASA "Gateway to the Future" glass with rockets etched in fake gold. I'm sure someone will help me eliminate this item from my life before the summer is over.

I would like to note that ever since we started this trip, Deb has made me drink martinis from a crummy old plastic thing. It's plain. It's ugly. Today, however, while I was buying postcards for my friends and relatives, I spotted a very attractive frosted old-fashioned glass with the KSC insignia on it and "* Gateway to the Universe *" etched in genuine, imitation gold along the perimeter. It's quite a handsome glass, and it now sits proudly on our shelf and has also become my new martini glass. Deb, I am sorry to say, will continue to drink her martinis out of an old, scratched plastic cup.

During our tour we discovered that there was going to be a launch at 5:19AM tomorrow, and the absolute best place to watch it is from the fishing pier at Jetty Park Campground at Port Canaveral. Guess where we are now? (Wow! Is you-know-who crabby tonight!) We're camped at at Jetty Park Campground at Port Canaveral. I'm very excited. We just walked out on the fishing pier and you can see the launching pads across the bay.

It is a rocket launch tomorrow not a shuttle. The next shuttle is July 20 and I am afraid Bob is going to want to head back for Florida for this event. I personally am ready to leave this state and explore the rest of the hot and muggy USA.

As a side note. The tour of the Space Center made me "proud to be an American". They had clips of old broadcasts…Kennedy setting it all in motion and Walter Cronkite and others live when the launches to the moon were happening. There were interviews with the original astronauts talking about wiping tears from their eyes while in space cause it was all so awesome. And all the hype for the glory of the future if we continue to dream. It was inspiring.

This month is also the 30^th anniversary of the moon landing so KSC is hyped.

July 8 - Cape Canaveral, FL

Start Mileage - 44730

Talk about a disappointment! There we were… lined up on the pier at 5:00AM with a bunch of other people. The rocket was about three miles away gleaming white and lit by three banks of spotlights. It was quite impressive. Shining white, gases venting from the rocket, the tension was almost a living, tactile thing… However, no launch. It was scrubbed. We went back to bed.

Launch watching is the big event here at Port Canaveral. There we were with 500 of our closest friends tripping out into the darkness to get the best viewing spots . Moms and Dads had struggled to wake up and dress the little ones. The smart ones brought their fishing poles, so even after the launch was scrubbed they could sit out on the jetty and watch the sun come up.

We got up at 9:00 AM, dilly-dallied around for a while and began driving up the coast. I should mention that I predict that an American icon is going to leave us. I saw an IHOP (International House of Pancakes) with International House and Restaurant in very large letters and "of pancakes" in very small letters. So I predict that "International House of Pancakes" will soon be changing their name to "International House Restaurants". I am morose. Pancakes are a good, honest American food. No pretensions and no snobbery with a pancake. Just a simple food that cries, "Eat me! I want to contribute to your culinary satisfaction."

Anyway, we had an uneventful ride up the coast. Deb, because of the humidity and the mosquitoes, has "vetoed" Florida. I had no say in the matter. BUT, just wait until she picks out somewhere she wants to live… then I'll exercise my veto. I kind of liked Florida. Lots to do, canals, boats, no snow, scantily clad women, warm ocean water….

We stopped at Anastasia State Park on the beach just outside St. Augustine and went for a swim. It was quite nice. Fine, white sand and warm, warm water. It's really fun when you body surf in a large wave and your nose gets all full of salt water. Then, about an hour later, when you reach over to pick something up, all the water rushes back out your nose and dribbles all over your clothes and whatever you happen to be hovering over. Boy oh Boy! Is that ever fun.

Just before sunset is the nicest time of day here. We rode from the park out through the slough along another flat, straight road. The evening wind picks up and the temperature drops so it is pleasant being outside. Keep riding. Beat those mosquitoes. Oops, a spray truck is in back of us. I don't mind the end results of the spraying, but I do not want to be enveloped in the yellow mist as I ride down the road. We bolted to stay ahead of the truck.

July 9 - St. Augustine, FL

Start Mileage - 44862

A shower with no mosquitoes to nip at my bare butt!! Why? When I was done, I looked up and there was a spider's web across the top with many insect shells remaining as evidence of his diligence. I'm glad I saw him when I was finished with the shower.

We had left our wet swimsuits out on the picnic table to dry last night. This morning there were raccoon prints all over the backside of mine. We are still in the wilds.

We left the campground around 10:00 for the drive to St. Augustine. The first thing we ran into in town was another old fort, Castillo de San Marcos. Naturally, we went to see it. This was one of the best old forts we had seen. It's one of the oldest forts in the country, and surprisingly, one of the best preserved. It was very worthwhile. Visitors are allowed to roam throughout most of it. This fort had never been taken in battle.

We noticed during this tour that we were really, really hot. I think this was the hottest day we have experienced so far. Swelter-O-Rama. We went on a walking tour of St. Augustine which we had thought would be historical, but the shops and restaurants far outnumbered the historical buildings most of which charged a fee for admittance.

The historic district of St. Augustine is worth a visit. It is compact and attractive. There are some wonderful buildings--churches and Flagler College and old houses. We did not pay to see the inside of any of them, but I enjoyed the city regardless of Bob's carping.

My nose is getting much too much sun. I bought a big floppy hat, but it blows off in the wind. But I must wear it to protect my nose. Even wearing sunscreen every day doesn't seem to protect it. Then 2 nights ago a mosquito bit me on the nose in the spot that always tries to peel. An added insult.

Deb bought a new hat. I was not allowed to buy one. I got some crap like, "Just because I buy a new hat, does that mean you have to get one?" However, it is important to notice that a bit later when I stopped at the local DQ to get a milkshake, Deb got a Dilly Bar. And did I make rude comments? No, I didn't. Did I deny the one I love the joy of getting a sweet, nutritious goody? No, I didn't. I feel somewhat vindicated, however, when I look at her nose and see that big red mosquito bite.

Anyway, enough about Deb's shortcomings…. We didn't get very far after leaving St. Augustine. We found a very nice city park with many amenities so we stopped early since it's Friday night, and we didn't know whether or not the local parks would fill. We decided to put up the Florida Room in case we decided to stay more than a day. As soon as we started the rain began to fall. Now we have a fully-erected andwet Florida Room that's it's too hot and muggy to sit in.

NOTE: Campsites don't fill up in Florida in July!! Probably not August either.

It was practice putting it up. After last time we noted that we needed a better system to attach the screen to the outside of the van along the ground and the wheel well. Our solution was magnets. I am happy to report that this idea worked wonderfully. Much better than the duct tape we used last time. Plus we figures out how to set it up so it drains the water off the top. Now tomorrow we will have to figure out how to dry it so it doesn't mold while wrapped up tightly in its box.

We reset the Min/Max Thermometer today:

Min Inside - 71.8

Min Outside - 70.3

Max Inside - 113.5 (Parked in direct sun in St. Augustine--poor Vinnie)

Max Outside 99.5

The last reset was July 2:

Min Inside - 72.0

Min Outside - 64.6

Max Inside - 115.3

Max Outside - 103.6

What would I do for another 64F?

I saw my first LIVE armadillo. I know now why there are so many dead ones alongside the roadways. They are not the most observant creatures. We were not quietly walking through the forest and there he was next to the trail. He stopped for a second, looked about and went snuffling about nose to the earth grubbing his way along the forest floor. He didn't even know we were next to him.

July 10, 1999 - Atlantic Beach, FL

Start Mileage - 44905

We are getting very lazy. Coffee and books in bed before we amble out into the world.

But finally! We have left Florida. It's still hot and muggy, and there are still palmettos all over the place, but we're heading north. We tried to get one last swim in at a Florida beach on the way up, but most people were getting stung by jellyfish in the water so we decided not to add stings to our sunburn, ant bites, and mosquito bites. Once over the state line, gas dropped from $1.15/gal. to about $.92/gal.

It was a most beautiful beach at Little Talbot Island. A long, wide stretch of flat sand. The tide was really low today. Windswept dunes. Florida has built walkways to cross over the dunes to the beaches throughout the state. It is probably protectionism at its best, since the dunes protect from the hurricanes, but the dunes do not have pathways and footprints carved through them.

Funny sign we just saw in Georgia. Rather than "Estate Sale", one company had a big sign out front that read, "Dead People's Things For Sale". Perhaps Georgia has a more "down to earth" outlook on life.

Stopped at a DQ for my daily fix. I waited about five minutes for some grandma to order food for two kids. She had to review each of the available options for each of the various foods, interpret for the little darlings, wait while the kid made up his mind, and then tell the clerk. Then the next lady started doing the same thing with her kid. I left. Things don't happen too quickly here in the south during the summer months.

I was very surprised that he came out without his daily dairy portion.

We visited Jeckyll Island, which apparently was a playground for the rich and famous many years ago and has now been restored and is a flourishing resort area. It's very nice.

But we kept driving. Bob promised to take me out for dinner. It is Saturday night, you know. We had to keep going until we came somewhat close to a town.

So now here we are in Brunswick, GA. We saw a sign advertising a bowling tournament so we think it's the place that makes bowling balls and bowling alleys. We're going to treat ourselves to a nice dinner tonight. Deb wants to go have diner in a bowling alley, but I mentioned something about "over my dead body", and I think she may be relenting.

I've also advised her not to say anything like, "Hi! My name's Sherman. I'm from Gettysburg, PA. Anybody got a Pepsi? That last peach gave me indigestion. No peanuts for me, thanks. They give me gas."

I just fixed myself a nice, ice-cold martini in my handsome, new glass from the Kennedy Space Center. The one with the genuine, imitation gold letters that say "Gateway to the Universe." And this drink may well be just that if I make it large enough.

This is another wonderful regional park we have found. Bob put aside his martini to walk with me before the afternoon thunderstorm hits. It is close now. Ominous, black clouds hovering overheard streaking with lightening bolts. Why did we leave Santa Cruz? I have to keep asking myself this.

It certainly can't be because of the restaurants. The guy at the campground recommended the one we went to. Beer, wine (in three different colors), and seafood. All we could see at every table were mounds and mounds of fried fish products. It's very difficult to see the difference in a fried scallop, shrimp, gator nugget (very popular here, I kid you not.), oyster, catfish nuggets, okra, grouper nuggets, and hushpuppies. They're all kind of roundish when fried. You may think I'm making this up. I'm not. Great piles of fried food being eaten by large round Georgians. We may stay here for a while. Alongside these folks, we look absolutely svelte. The vegetables are mostly white - grits and potatoes. I have not yet determined whether or not hushpuppies - fried globs of cornmeal - are considered a vegetable here. We were not offered a salad with our dinners, which we requested be broiled, not fried. Deb further invoked the consternation of the waitress by not wanting "sweet tea" which is a mixture of two cups of sugar dissolved into ten ounces of water which is then used to make iced tea. Just plain iced tea, thank you.

July 11 - Brunswick, Georgia

Start Mileage - 45034

We were both up until about 2:00AM. It was hot and muggy, and neither of us could sleep. In addition to that, Deb was scared to death of this tiny brown spider she saw crawling around and kept wanting me to sleep on the side of the bed whe