travel

Kicking off the summer at Busch Gardens

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Other than our usual Memorial Day weekend preparations for the upcoming hurricane season we had no plans or obligations so we decided to go to Busch Gardens for the day. Even with Tropical Storm Beryl approaching north Florida, we had gorgeous weather for our outing.

We had purchased vouchers for our Fun Cards (pay for one day, come back all year) online the night before, hoping to avoid any long holiday weekend lines at the ticket windows. An early start got us to the park before the parking lot even opened so we got a great parking spot (once it opened) and were on the tram and across the street at the entrance with plenty of time to spare. We redeemed our vouchers at the automatic machines to get our Fun Cards and still had a few minutes to wait before the official park opening.

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Dayton: Day 3 (homeward bound)

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We got to “sleep in” a bit this morning, compared to the last two days. By 8:15am, we were checked out of our hotel, picking up breakfast at Starbucks, and back on the road to the Cincinnati airport (in Kentucky).

The travel gods were looking out for us again (plus it was early Sunday morning) so we encountered no traffic or issues on our way. By 10:30am we were checked in, through security, and at our gate. One two-hour, uneventful flight later and we were back in sunny (warm!) Florida.

By 2pm we were back home and ready to relax. My daughter and I had a great time on our trip but tomorrow it’s back to work and school.

Dayton: Day 2 (Go Flyers!)

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The day started early again as we got up at 7am, grabbed a quick breakfast at the hotel, and the headed out into the chilly, windy morning over to the University of Dayton Arena for rehearsal with the alumni band. Practice ended a few hours later after we rehearsed the pre-game and halftime shows with the student band on the football field Welcome Stadium.

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Home from Universal; a Disney comparison

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Normally we spend the morning of Labor Day in the hotel pool but since we already had some pool time yesterday, we checked out early and bid farewell to Universal Studios. We had breakfast at First Watch (I tried the new bacon/cheddar pancakes, which were different, but surprisingly good) and then killed some time at Downtown Disney (to keep the Labor Day weekend/Disney tradition alive).

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Road Trip 2011: Day 10 – home!

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Not a lot of excitement today, just driving and the anticipation of finally getting back home.

We grabbed a quick breakfast, checked out of our last hotel, and were on the road by 8:30am. At 10:15 we crossed the border back into Florida. After going around Jacksonville to I-10, we took the back routes, cutting south and west to meet up with I-75 around Ocala just after 12:30pm. Two hours later (after a quick stop to pick up grocerie), we were pulling into the driveway. Whew, we made it!

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Road Trip 2011: Day 9 – driving to GA

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We saw our first rain of the trip this morning when we woke up. All of us were looking forward to breakfast at The Old Chikahominy House in Williamsburg, and it can get crowded quickly on a Sunday morning, so by 7:30am we were on the road, driving east on I-64 through the light rain. By the time we got to Williamsburg an hour later, the rain had stopped and it was shaping up to be a decent day weather-wise. Adding to our delight, the restaurant was almost completely empty and we were seated immediately.

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Road Trip 2011: Day 8 – driving to VA

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Our hotel in Norwich wasn’t the greatest, but that’s what we get for making a last-minute change to our itinerary. The new plan was to stop at my aunt and uncle’s house in Stamford, CT for brunch so we skipped breakfast at the hotel this time and were on the road by 8am. Two hours later we were sitting in their dining room having a wonderful, relaxing meal and catching up on family news.

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