Family Vacation Fall Break 2012

RECAP OF OUR TRIP.....STILL WORKING ON DOWNLOADING THE PHOTOS....

Wednesday, September 19th-getting ready to go...
Today Jordan still was not feeling the greatest so we found ourselves at the Dr.s office once again just to make sure it was just a virus. It was. Then we got home from that and noticed Jake was itching again and I thought ~oh great! Fleas again! So we carried him up to the vet just to make sure and then from there, after getting a clean flea free check up, we took him to the kennel. That was a little emotional as we have never left Jake anywhere prior to this trip. The boys were very concerned about Jake and I even got a little teary eyed.  Cooper said, "It's going to be weird to go home and Jake's not there." They were really worried about the other dogs that they were going to be mean to Jake. It was a great kennel that was referred to me buy a friend. It is in Pittsboro and Jake only gets crated at night to sleep. So he will be a happy dog at this place. He may not want to come home after being at this "doggie hotel". He gets better food at this place than at home and he has friends to play with! Later that afternoon, my neighbor stopped by to see if I wanted to go running or for a walk before we head out of town which was very nice of her to do. I needed a little stress relief. Getting ready to go on a trip is stressful. Of course, I took her up on it and she watched the boys while I did a short quick run.
As the night went on the boys were so excited, it was hard to get them to go to sleep so I just gave up on that idea! Charlie got home from work very late at 9. He was planning on coming home early to rest but I knew that wouldn't happen. We finally got everyone to sleep about 10 on the couch and rested until 2:30 am and pulled out of the driveway about 3 am. They stayed up for about an hour and the boys and I fell asleep. Poor Charlie had to drive! I cannot drive that Hummer.

Thursday, September 20-in route
I woke up to daylight just before the Georgia-South Carolina border. So we slept until about 1/2 way. We had about 5 hours to go. Had a quick rest stop to the potty, gas up, and grab a breakfast that I had packed for the kids. We also had to get everyone situated with their electronics. They each had their own movies, which were Mighty Ducks, 1, 2 and 3! I had to make sure their things were in reach and off we were in the Hummer once again. Florida Bound!
We were cruising along almost to the Georgia line and these police cars were sitting in a tree-lined median. We passed them and we were going the speed limit as others were passing us. So we thought nothing of it as one of them pulled out. They caught up to us and Charlie noticed him closing in and said, "I can't believe this, he is pulling me over"! This is the first time daddy has been pulled over with the boys in the car, so I can't imagine what they were thinking. Charlie NEVER goes over the speed limit. He walked up to the vehicle on my side and said, "Sir, I pulled you over because you were speeding back there, I clocked you at 76." Charlie responded and said, "I had the cruise set at 70 sir and my GPS also has it." Then the officer very sternly spoke in a very southern accent and said, "Sir, don't argue with me, please step out of the vehicle." I was shaking and Charlie may have been too...I thought, oh no ~now what is he going to do. I was also praying that Charlie would humbly speak to the officer and his argumentative attorney voice wouldn't come across to the officer. So he took him back to the back of the hummer and I could hear the conversation going somewhat like, "if I had a nickel for every time someone used their GPS to tell me how fast they were going...." then I started getting concerned questions coming from the backseat! Then I also heard the officer nicely ask, "Charlie, what is it that you do for a living?" Charlie answered, "I am an attorney."
"What kind of attorney?"
"Intellectual Property."
"What's that-break it down"
"Patents, copyrights, and trademarks."
That's why if someone asks I just say, Patent Attorney. Then you eliminate a step:)
The officer and Charlie came back to the hummer and we chatted and he now was very friendly. Except for the fact he was a Southern Carolina Gamecocks fan so he wasn't a big Gator fan:)! So he gave Charlie a hard time about that. Then he gave him a warning and said slow down...Geez could they have profiled a little more! I can guarantee he did not have us going that fas,t he just wanted to pull that flashy hummer over. After we got going, Charlie looked at our GPS and it showed he never went over 74 so he never even hit 76! He cleared it because now if it happened again he can show them. So be careful when driving in South Carolina! We laughed about it for awhile as the boys were writing in their journals that daddy got pulled over.
The rest of the trip was uneventful. When we crossed the Georgia-Florida border, Braedyn got out the map and was following along as we were driving thru the small little dumpy towns driving from Jacksonville to Gainesville. I was thinking those roads were very similar to those you see in murder mysteries! Kind of scary places! They were so excited when we pulled into Gainesville! We got to campus and I was amazed at how big and busy it was. I thought we lived in a college town. Chapel Hill doesn't even compare!  I would say we live in a quaint little country college town and Gainesville is a college city! We were at a stoplight in the heart of campus and Braedyn was very quiet just taking in all the sights. I asked him, "Braedyn, you think you could go to school here, do you like it?" He then said, "Yes, this is cool, and dad~there sure are a lot of pretty ladies around here!" Oh no, it starts! Daddy was proud of that comment! We got to the hotel at the University Hilton on UF campus. It was a neat, nice hotel with all the decor in orange and blue! Everything is orange and blue! We relaxed for awhile in the pool and headed over to the stadium because we were told it will be closed Friday to start the festivities. We got there and were disappointed as this is the first time they have decided to close it Thursday too. But what a site! We then walked across the street to the McConnell Center were they play volleyball, basketball and there is also an indoor pool. Then we wanted to walk over to the baseball stadium which was behind the McConnell Center. The neat part about that walk was the football practice field is by the baseball stadium and they were having practice. It was a closed practice but we could still see thru the fence. So the boys thought that was pretty cool. Man, those guys are HUGE! The baseball stadium was nice and bigger than it was when Charlie was there. They have added on. There was someone practicing, so of course Braedyn wanted to watch for awhile but there was a storm coming in. So we just stayed for a little while. I do have to say, and Braedyn agreed, Boshamer Stadium was nicer and seemed bigger. University of North Carolina's Boshamer Stadium is probably one of the nicest stadiums in college baseball! We quickly made our way to University Drive to find something to eat and of course had to go to "The Swamp". We also had to have gator tail. They boys tried it and loved it to. It tastes like chicken....We also quickly realized, we have our own driver~the van shuttle, so we had few cocktails and called our driver and headed back. We had a great first day in Gainesville to start the trip!

Friday, October 21st-Tourists not a college student anymore!
This is the first time in 13 years Charlie has been back, so things have changed quite a bit and this place has gotten bigger! There is around 65,000 students compared to 30,000 at UNC...so that's probably why I thought it was so big! Charlie didn't remember it being so busy with traffic. Traffic was horrible. Being here brought back many college memories he shared with us but now he was here with a wife and three little boys. He is enjoying UF in a different stage of life. We decided to do the touristy thing today and he had a camera strapped over his shoulders instead of a backpack. He was driving a Hummer instead of a Cannondale!
We had the hotel shuttle (which was the best part of staying on campus in a hotel!) take us to the engineering building where Charlie spent many days and nights becoming Dr. Charlie Jacobson!
We met some of his old professors and his advisor, Dr. Park. He was a very nice Korean man. He and his wife also invited us to their house that evening for dinner. It was fun to see where he spent most of his time and was showing the boys the labs. They were having a board meeting and he chatted for awhile as the boys patience was wearing thin. From there we went for lunch at the Copper Monkey and it was a neat little bar/restuarant. We decided to walk back to the stadium and check out the Univ. of Florida Football Hall of Fame at the Stadium where they have all the National Championship trophies, SEC conference trophies, Heismans, and other trophies. They also had some neat interactive things the boys enjoyed. We had the hotel shuttle pick us up because we were a little tired from walking around campus and so we went back to the hotel and went swimming and just relaxed at the pool for the rest of the day. The boys were playing by the pool and we met some guys that were having a guys football weekend, 3 of them. They were from DC and one of them was from Vero Beach area. Charlie and one of them played with boys in the pool and before leaving to go to dinner at Dr. Parks, Charlie had invited them to go tailgate with him in the morning since I wasn't planning on tailgating at the crack of dawn.
We went to Dr. Parks for dinner. He had a beautiful home and his wife Youngsun were so gracious. They made a wonderful dinner filled with  Miso soup, shrimp tempura, sushi, sashimi, Mongolian beef and rice. You are probably thinking, what did the boys eat. We had a conversation on the way over to his house that it was very important that they try new things. They did and they liked it! I was quite impressed and they were using their manners and they politely sat while everyone finished. They knew it was important to dad that they behaved and they did! It was fun visiting with them and they told us next time we come we have to stay with them. They have two grown children so they are emptynesters with a quiet big house. We just might have to take them up on that!

Saturday, October 22nd-GAME DAY!
Charlie met up with the guys from the pool and they rode with Charlie down to tailgate at 8:30 in the morning. I told him I would just have the hotel shuttle drive me to as close as they could get me and the boys to where they were tailgating. They got to the engineering building and they were the first ones there so they had prime spot! Only 2 blocks from the stadium! The boys and I slept and in and got ready to go. We headed down there about 10:30 and the wonderful driver from the hotel took me directly to the engineering building and student union. We met up with the guys and the boys got to tailgate for a little bit and brought their football and played catch. Charlie had befriended some people that had a grill and food. Since all Charlie and the other guys brought was a cooler of beer! So we ate with them and they had two kids, a little girl Cooper's age and a little boy about Jordan's age. So they all played while the adults visited. It was a VERY hot day and projected to be close to 100! I had bought a cute little Gator strappy sundress for the game and thank goodness because even that was sticking to me! The tailgating at UF is on a different level. It is like something I have never experienced. I thought tailgating at the Vikings game in below zero weather in that old parking lot by the stadium was craziness. This is craziness on a whole different level. These people know how to tailgate!! From the huge lots full of RVs, big spreads of food to the pimped-out pull-behind trailers with flat screen TVs and stereos. We passed it all on the walk to the stadium. No wonder Charlie loved it here! It was fun and I wasn't even in the throws of it all!
We got to our seats after the rush of thousands going into the stadium. The boys did catch a picture and met the dance team. I was surprised Charlie didn't get in that picture:)! They were great seats. I was amazed at how big the place was! It was very cool. It was much more spectacular in person in than on TV. It was so incredibly hot. Jordan fell asleep in daddy's arms just after the game had started and slept until the beginning of the 3rd quarter. Charlie was hot and had a sleeping, sweaty child on him, I took him after halftime. The boys loved the game and really got into it and never complained how hot they were. They did great. The score was 38-0 at the end of the 3rd quarter so we figured we had enough and the sun was getting to us all. My back was fried. The only thing I forgot to pack was sunscreen! We went back and hopped in the pool to cool off! We had dinner at the Outback that night since it was close to the hotel. Our vacation in Florida was coming to an end. After we got our meal and said grace, Charlie said, "it sure was nice spending time with my family this week" and Jordan the comedian bursted out with, "you said it sista!" We were all laughing. I don't know where he came up or learned that one! But that summed it up!
We woke up and it was time to head north. First stop, Savannah, Georgia!

Sunday, October 23rd- Savannah
Before leaving Florida we had to see some Alligators! Charlie promised the boys we would go and see some this morning. We went over to Lake Alice on campus where there are a lot of alligators. It is also by the bat houses on campus but we did not see the bats. They come out at dusk...thousands of them pepper the sky. We walked around Lake Alice for just a few minutes before spotting a gator. At first it was a little frightening as it was coming towards us in the water but it just stopped shy of the shore. It just hung out-staring at us. The boys snapped several pictures and Charlie got some really neat ones too that I will get posted. We walked a little further and found a couple more and also some huge turtles. They were very happy that they got to see some alligators!
We got to Savannah about 3:30. What a beautiful city! We stayed on the riverfront at the Hilton Doubletree. It was a very neat, beautiful, historic building. After unwinding in the pool in the afternoon, we headed out to the riverfront. We found a quaint little bar/restaurant on the bay called "Tubbies". There was music coming from the front of the place and it was just a single guy playing acoustic guitar but was VERY good! After eating a very delicious seafoody dinner, we went up to watch him sing. The boys, especially Braedyn, were very into it. Braedyn walked up and requested a few country songs and he did one of them. He seemed like a nice country boy. He is a singer/songwriter/artist from Nashville but a local Savannah boy that was back visiting and he does little shows at this place when he is back. So that was cool. The other cool part about Savannah is when you get the tab the waitress asks, "Do you need a to go cup for your cocktail?" You can walk around with open container! That is nice when you have the kids, they are done eating and don't like waiting for daddy to finish his beer:)

Monday, October 24th-Tourists again
We thought it would be cool to see the city in the trolley and get the full history tour. The architecture in the city is like being in Europe, the buildings are so old with details and the artistry is so different than anything I had ever seen. this makes me want to visit Europe sometime! If you ever go to Savannah I highly recommend this tour. We did the on/off tour. You can ride and stop, get off and walk and hop back on at various stops throughout the city. The city is mapped out on a grid and every area has a square with different monuments. One of those squares is where they filmed Forrest Gump sitting on the bench. The city has various movie locations and the book "Goodnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" is based here. We saw the house where the murder took place. The Catholic Church was beautiful as well as all the other old churches. The cemetery was very cool but I think that creeped Charlie out. I wanted to go and walk around that old cemetery but that was not popular with everyone else. It was a cemetery that looked like it belonged in a movie. It was like nothing I had ever seen before. The history in that place dates way back to the early 1800s. Braedyn was getting into the history lessons and took several pictures of his own. Jordan fell asleep. Forsythe Park had the prettiest fountain I have ever seen! That place was huge. They had a nice play area for the kids so we stopped there and let them get their sillies out for awhile. We ended the last day of vacation playing in the pool and eating at another place on the river called the "Cotton Exchange".

Tuesday, October 25th-Heading home
Today we headed home. It was a great vacation and we all survived in tiny hotel rooms for five days! Our first family road trip and vacation with all five of us! We made lots of memories and it is always sad to have vacation come to an end! We started our trek back home and arrived at the kennel just in time to pick Jake up at before 5. He was so excited to see us and come back home, it was hard to get him to sit on the way home. 

Now we know the boys can do the trip to Gainesville, we will do it again. After being there again, I think Charlie decided it had been way too long! We could do this once a year and make it a tradition to go to a Florida football game at least once a year. Eventually, maybe it will turn into a daddy and son weekend! We need to start making traditions and memories. This is one the boys will remember! They still talk about it and can't wait to go back again...

GO GATORS!~