We had a perfect start to our Christmas break here at home that we kinda didn’t want to leave for our trip to Melbourne. But we went anyway. I got up at 3AM and we all left at 4AM to head to Lambert Airport.

I charged the car up to 99% battery and we ended with 48% when I parked. I thought that I would have to charge somewhere before we parked but I figured 48% was enough to last for 7 days.

We flew down in stormy weather. It was really the worst turbulence I’ve had in a long time. I still managed to take a nap and watch one of the YouTube videos I downloaded; the History of Europe. I was curious to see what my ears would do with the change in air pressure. I let my ears get full and pop on their own. It didn’t do anything to change the noise in them. Oh well.

When we landed we got our luggage and made way to the Turo. It was nice this time because we didn’t have to meet up with the van owner. He had a keybox on the window that I opened with the code.

We had some time before our house was ready so we made way to Disney Springs. We ate at The Edison, which was a good restaurant with great cheeseburgers. I wanted to go into the Lego store but the line to get in wrapped all the way around the building, so we moved on. I think I’m spoiled by our trips during the COVID years of 2020-2021. During these two years there weren’t as many people out and about. But now it seems that wherever we go, everyone else has the same idea. So most every placed is packed.

After leaving Disney Springs we made our way to Melbourne. I was right tired at this point and it was a arduous task just to stay awake for the last 30 minutes. But we made it to the house and was truly pleased with it. The beds were big enough, the kitchen was big, the pool and spa were warm.

It was overcast when we arrived, so basically it was the same weather as home only about 20 degrees warmer. I was hoping for some sun, which we did have for a couple days during our stay.

During one of our past Christmas trips to Cocoa Beach we had driven down to Melbourne to see their comically bad light display. It was hard to discern what the two-dimensional shapes and lights were supposed to be. On the way out we were greeted with the “Happy Christmas” sign. But even way further back, in 1996, my friends and I made our way to Melbourne after driving to Orlando. We went there to visit my friends father. Then we went to the beach, which was exciting for me because I’d never seen the ocean before. There was also a hurricane during this time, and I think the beach was closed, but when you’re young and stupid then life is full of wacky adventures.

The day after Christmas it was raining, which meant it was a good time to go to the Kennedy Space Center. Once again, everyone else had the same idea. The parking lot was packed but we eventually made our way in.

I was stoked about seeing space shuttle Atlantis. There’s only 4 or 5 space shuttles left so seeing one in person was a big deal to me. We got to see the Saturn V rocket and a couple of modules. But all in all it was a boring experience. I mean, if you really like the 1960’s then this place is for you. But it was annoying to have to watch not one but two videos before you could go into the exhibit areas. It’s like they wanted to impress upon you the magnificence of what you were about to see, but there was no cohesion amongst the display areas. Like, is this supposed to be in chronological order? Why are the videos so different from each other, theme-wise? What’s the deal with the room that only had seating in the back, so that everyone else felt compelled to sit on the floor? And then at the end Emma wanted to ride the launch simulator only to discover that it was booked solid for the day. You know, KSC really needs the Disney Business Service crew to come in and school them on integration, queue maintenance and user experience.

I kind of was taken aback when I got to see Atlantis. It looks like it’s made out of paper mache. I was expecting a smoother exterior. But it was definitely worth the admission price to see it. Seeing it (and other rockets) in person, I developed a new respect for astronauts that actually went up in the vehicles. There so many hoses and nozzles and wiring and everything. It looks like anything could go wrong with it.

My ear was bothering me this whole day, doing the constant beeping thing. I know that sometimes we have good days and sometimes there’s bad days, but it was driving me nuts to have “good minutes” followed by “bad minutes”. I actually took a Dramamine when we got home because I was ready to try anything. I haven’t had one of those in two months.

Tuesday the 27th we went to the beach. It was about 65 degrees out but sunny. And the water was about 65 degrees as well. I went out up to my waist but didn’t want to get in fully. My father-in-law got knocked down by a couple of waves and lost his glasses. Luckily there was a one-hour lens place that got him in and made him new glasses on the spot. That night we got a couple of huge pizzas. They were ok but not great. My ears were doing great, which kind of pissed me off in a weird way. I didn’t want to the Dramamine to work because it’s not something I want to depend on for the rest of my life. It’s makes me jittery and sleepy. And also I’m not convinced that it really helps. I think my ears just going through phases.

On Thursday the 28th it was raining so I thought it would be a good time to drive to Orlando to do some shopping. I’ve been trying to make it to a Nike outlet store for about two months to get some new shoes. After the 1.5 hour drive we discovered that, yes, everyone and their dog had the same idea – to go shopping. There was no where to park at the first mall location. People were parking on the grass blocks away from the shopping area. And by this time I knew that my in-laws were not up to walking great distances. So we finally got out of that mess to try another mall. We made it to a Best Buy where everyone used the restroom, then we went back home. Total fail on my part to not see that Orlando malls would be packed during the Christmas break during a rainy day.

That night we went out to eat at a seafood place. It was pretty good.

On Friday the 28th my wife again made an outstanding breakfast. In fact every day was a great meal. I wasn’t watching my Points during this trip so I let myself eat whatever I wanted. I was happily shocked when I found out I’d only gained 3 pounds the whole trip. Like, I ate what I thought was a lot of food, but I didn’t drink sugary soda or have any candy. I think that’s the secret to staying around the 172 lbs range.

Then we got ready for our big fishing expedition. We got to the docks and met the captain, who was an affable young guy. Then we went out and trolled with three poles set in the back of the boat. Then we looped back around, then went back out about two miles offshore. Then looped back, then went out. For four hours we did this. I’d thought we would have went about four miles out, stopped the boat, and then cast for four hours. But it was a good experience anyway. We caught 7 mackerel. Everyone had a turn in reeling one in. Then when the trip was over the captain filleted the fish for us and we went back home. My FIL breaded the fillets and fried them up and it was the best tasting fish I’d ever had. Even better than the crappie my dad used to fry.

After this day the wife and I had realized that we had booked the trip for too long. We were ready to go home. Like, five days is a good time to spend on vacation. But we still had two whole days in Melbourne.

Saturday we drove into Cocoa Beach and went to Ron Jon’s Surf Shop. This place is a staple of our Space Coast trips. I was looking for a good ball cap but didn’t see anything I liked. We ate lunch at Long Doggers, which had pretty good cheeseburgers. All in all it wasn’t too expensive eating out. I know that inflation had gotten out of control in the past couple of years (and all the shopping money being spent in Orlando malls is probably a sign that inflationary pressures haven’t worked 100%), but the prices weren’t unreasonable.

Then we went to Golf N Gator for put-putt golf and go-kart action. Everyone had fun with the golf but I felt like we were being rushed. We were a party of 8 and the party behind us was only 2 people. It was okay. I’ve been to fancier mini golf courses before. Then Elsa, Jack and I hit the go-karts. It was pretty fun. It had screens embedded in the track that you could run over and get coins or prizes, like Mario Kart. Those things could move out! I thought I got whiplash when I ran into the wall.

I did enjoy having my long beard I was growing out, plus wearing my long sleeve Norrona shirt I’d bought in Colorado. It was nice to have self-confidence from being thinner and not carrying around my fat gut at the beach.

Then we went to our other staple, getting ice cream at Fat Donkey. I had my lactaid this time lol. I had just about the best chocolate ice cream I’d ever tasted.

That night we shot pool at the little pool table in the house. FIL and Jack played chess. We swam and sat in the hot tub. It was some great downtime. I read more of my book, The Evolving Self. It got really good when the author was explaining how we don’t have to be slaves to our genetic urges. There is a human consciousness/self that, even though we’ve only had for 5,000-10,000 years, is still very powerful. This book is not economics or philosophy like I usually read. It was more straight-up psychology and social science. I could see myself reading more books on these subjects.

Sunday was our last full day in Melbourne. We went to a different beach that was full of shells. This made all of us shell-collectors happy. Elsa and I went out in the water and had some quality time together. Jack continued to dig.

After the beach we went to Bass Pro Shop and then saw Wonka in the theatre. This was an awful movie with awful special effects. Totally predictable with characters I didn’t care about. After the movie we went to Longhorn Steakhouse and I had a very delicious filet mignon. It was a good meal for everyone.

We went back to the house and I fell asleep before New Year’s day. But I got up in time for the countdown and the wife and I and kids were happy.

The next morning we had our last big breakfast and packed up the car to head to the airport. We had like four hours to kill before the flight. The flight back was bumpy, I didn’t sleep at all. I did watch the rest of the Barbie movie, which was surprisingly good. It had deep philosophical journey’s that I didn’t expect to see. 

We got to the car and it was still magically on 48%. The kids and I went to supercharge, got some snacks, and headed home. It’s always nice to get home and see the dogs and cat. It’s great to be in my own bed and my own toilet.