The Final Week of 2022's Great Winter Escape

Monday, afternoon the Arkansas kids & grandkids flew in.  Once they settled into their cabin, we headed out to Delmonico's Italian Steakhouse: located at 6115 Westwood Blvd, Orlando.  Again, they did not disappoint.  However, upon returning to our RV – the wind caught the corner of our awning and did a number on it.  There always seems to be something with our home on wheels.  Also, ours was the only RV in the park to have any damage and ours wasn’t the only one with an extended awning.

Tuesday, I waited with the Emergency RV repair tech as he worked some magic on the damaged awning.  His work was appreciated and will get us back home.  While I waited, the others headed off to Cocoa Beach for a trip to Ron Jon’s and some beach time.  To say that the grandkids enjoyed the time on the beach would be an understatement.  Libby wouldn’t leave the ocean and constantly let the waves hit her to her amazement and joy.  Isaiah & LaRee spent equal amounts of time playing in the sand, hunting shells and in the ocean.  Adults spent most of their time watching and walking with the three young ones.  

Without going into all of the details – Cocoa Beach was not a perfect experience and let’s just say the beach sand gained another valuable.  We left – in a bit of a funk to head north.  Took some time driving past 3116 Parker St in Mims – my dad’s home growing up and the place where we spent many summers – my granny Parker’s home.  After that bit of nostalgia, we made our way to the Max Brewer Bridge in Titusville for another rocket launch.  As the magic hour of 4:40 p.m. arrived – off it went and the kids and grandkids saw their first launch from Kennedy Space Center.  It was then a trip to Cocoa Beach for dinner at one of our favorites, Florida Seafood before our return trip to the KOA.

Wednesday was a Universal Studios – Harry Potter day.  For all Harry Potter fans, it does not disappoint and our daughter and grandkids were absolutely thrilled with the experience.  It was a long day with much to see and do – with much left over for future visits.

Thursday – WDW Magic Kingdom was the long-awaited adventure.  We got there as the park opened and they made their way towards the back as I waited in line to get an ECV for the day. Shortly after the park opened Disney ran out of ECVs and I was put on a waiting list.   I then made my way to the back to catch up with the family and was then notified that they had an ECV for me.  Went back to the front of the park to pick up my ECV and they continued the rides.  All in all, some were able to experience 9 attractions (Space Mountain, Tea Cups, Go Carts, Hall of Presidents, It’s a Small World, the Haunted Mansion, Princesses, Buzz Lightyear and the Minions) based on height and desires.  It was another long day when we headed back.  We stopped at Smokey Bones BBQ for dinner.  Staffing is an issued as they restricted all parties to be of 6 people or less.  We had 7, but since 3 were children, they let us in – making sure that there was not more than 7 in our party.

Friday – was a trip to Disney Springs, a long-remembered promise for the grandkids as they had brought their money and had anxiously awaited this chance.  Though once at the Disney Store and the Lego Store choosing became difficult and more challenging than they imagined.  Lunch was at T-Rex and then back to the KOA for an afternoon of swimming with the grandkids.  Their parents headed to EPCOT for the afternoon and evening meeting up with some friends and business partners.

Saturday, we headed for Atlanta and the Arkansas kids & grandkids spent the day getting ready for a late-afternoon flight.  That evening Nancy & I had a great meal and conversation with Bret Pilney a friend @ Atlanta’s Power District.  The Atlanta Braves have their ballpark in the midst of their Power District – with food and entertainment at every turn.  It was an evening well spent with an amazing dinner at C. Ellet’s Steakhouse and it did not disappoint.

Sunday, we missed church as it was a road trip from Atlanta to Canal Winchester, OH to meet up with my brother and sister-in-law.  We went through Chattanooga and Knoxville, TN; Lexington, KY and Cincinnati, OH as we made our way up I-75 and I-71 to the suburb of Columbus, OH for a 3-night stay.  The wind & rain caught up with us and then left us as we entered and left Kentucky.  Go figure.  Maps did route us around the northern stretch of I-75 as we came to Cincinnati due to some major road issue.  Our journey was on KY 62 and Ky 27 – two lane roads that were easily managed and lacked the truck traffic of the interstate.  However, because of the weather and re-routing what was supposed to have been an 8-9 hours journey became a 13 hours trip.  

All-in-all it was a good decision as Monday in Ohio was rainy and windy and turned cold.  We spent Monday & Tuesday with my brother and sister-in-law, putting together some projects and made a road-trip to Zanesville.  We also had dinner with sister-in-law’s son & girl-friend.  

Checking the weather, we determined that there was a very narrow window to get back to Kansas and miss Thursday’s snow.  We’d originally planned on a 2-day trip with an overnight in Effingham.  With the snow forecast, that window narrowed to a 1-day trip.  At first, we were going to leave the RV in Ohio for a later pick-up and Nancy & I would drive back together on Wednesday.  However, my brother volunteered to co-drive the RV back to Kansas with me to beat the Thursday snow.  And Nancy would bring the car back.  This got me back in Kansas for a Friday pre-surgery doctor’s appointment that I couldn’t miss. 

With an uneventful road-trip from Ohio to Kansas on Wednesday the 2022 Great Winter Escape came to an end.  My brother is here for a week.  We are able to do some things around the house that I needed help with as well as do some short road-trips.  His help has been a blessing on some of my to-do list projects.