The Turkey Trot

Doug and I love to take walks at Sholom Park, especially on Sunday afternoons.  It has been hot lately, but we can still walk there because one side stays shady all day long.  The shade isn't the only reason that I pick that side of the park to walk.  The biggest reason is because of all of the animals that we see on our walks.  There are always squirrels and lizards throughout the trees with woodpeckers and cardinals being the most commonly spotted birds.  Doug has even seen a few snakes along the paths.

Typically, the pond is my favorite place to see animals.  There are Koi fish to feed and turtles sunning themselves along the shore.  We usually spot a heron and egret standing on the small islands inside of the pond as well.  On our most recent walk, Doug and I were both delighted to see that a family of turkeys had returned to the park. We noticed that the individual turkeys were a lot bigger than last year's group, and that there were quite a few more.  It was funny watching them walk through the grounds together, pecking for food and running as a group when someone new walked on the path.  Sholom Park is by far my favorite place to explore in Ocala.  Spotting the turkeys definitely added to my enjoyment today.

A Familiar Face in the Crowd

Last week, IU football started its season with a victory over Old Dominion 27-14.  It wasn't quite the blowout that everyone predicted, which left room for a lot of criticism this week with talks of the Hoosiers being overrated.  I was annoyed by all of it as it wasn't too long ago that I wasn't even sure that we would win these "easy" games.  I decided that the best thing that I could do this week was to avoid all sports media.  

Since Doug and I missed last weekend's game to spend time with Cal and Maggie at Epcot, we were very interested in watching the game this Saturday.  With all of the negatively, we wanted to see the team for ourselves.  Doug and I made a menu for the noon game and made sure that we were completely focused on the television screen for kickoff.  Besides, watching the game, we also knew that there was a chance that we would get to see Cameron on national television since he was sitting with the "red coats" (SAB directors) for IU vs. Kennesaw State.

The game was definitely a lot different than the first one of the season.  The Hoosiers looked fantastic and their new quarterback played well.  IU won easily 56-9 with most of the second string coming in for the fourth quarter.  I was very happy with how the football game went, but the best part was seeing Cameron on the big screen twice.  The first time was a lot of fun as he was playing the air guitar during a timeout segment, but the second one was the one that I made sure to videotape.  He and the other directors were waving goodbye to the screen as the football game came to an end.  What a great moment to capture on film and the perfect way to celebrate another IU victory.

Raglan Road

Doug and I had taken Meg out for dinner several times since she had moved to Florida.  We really liked going out to eat with her and it was a nice way to repay her for letting Doug stay at her place during the week.  The last time we went, Nick asked Meg why we always went when he was out of town.  She told him it was because we didn't like him.  Although that was funny, it wasn't the actual reason.  It was because I was the one that planned the dinners, and I didn't usually stay when Nick was in town as I hated intruding on their time together.  After Nick's question, I decided that I had to change that, so I asked them if they would like to go to Raglan Road at Disney Springs.  We had been to the Irish restaurant, but they hadn't, and I knew that they had been wanting to try it.  Once I got the go ahead from them, I booked a reservation for last night, and we all had a wonderful time.  Raglan Road not only served us delicious Irish dishes but entertained us with traditional Irish music featuring clog dancers from Ireland as well.

Since it was still early when the four of us finished dinner, we decided to go to the piano bar at Port Orleans Riverside for a drink.  Meg and Nick offered to pick up beignets for dessert, so we dropped them at Riverside's sister resort, French Quarter, before heading to the bar.  I parked the car while Doug walked in to get us a table, and I happened to run into Piano Bob in the parking lot.  It was so much fun to meet him in person, and we all enjoyed a fantastic night of music, comedy and revelry.  

Big Ten+

Last week, Doug and I signed up for Big Ten+ once again.  We had had it through April of last year and really enjoyed watching a lot of the IU athletic events including volleyball, field hockey, and more.  I almost didn't sign up for it last September because it was one of the more expensive streaming apps, but in the end, it was well worth it as it helped me miss weekends in Bloomington less and as an added bonus captured Cameron in the crowd quite often.  

This year, Doug's main focus in getting the app was to watch Big Ten soccer since IU was ranked as were several of the other conference teams.  Doug even knew who one of the fullbacks was as his dad worked at Champion in Elkhart when Doug first joined the company.  Last night's soccer game was an exciting one with IU beating a highly competitive ranked St. Louis team 1-0.  We really enjoyed it, and it was nice to see Cameron was at the game as well.  Overall, Big Ten+ has allowed us to stay connected to a world that we thought we had given up when we moved to Florida and for that, I am incredibly thankful.

Cincinnati and the Powerball

While we were all enjoying Central Florida this weekend, Cameron was in Cincinnati with his friends.  It was his third trip since July, and he really enjoyed it.  They went to King's Island, stayed overnight and watched a Reds game before heading back to Bloomington.  

The one difference this weekend from the past two trips was what Cameron came home with - a Powerball ticket.  When I called him this afternoon, he was positive that he was going to be the big winner.  He talked about he would do first, drop out of school, buy a new car, pay off our mortgage, give some money as gifts, and then invest the rest.  His roommate, Tyler, asked him if he would pay the rest of the rent for their townhome for this year and next.  At first, Cameron said no as the cost would be over $100,000.  Then he realized that after taxes and paying for everything else on his list that he would still have $499,500,00.  I told him that I thought that he could afford it.  The funniest thing that Cameron said while talking about "his winnings" was when he told me his reaction to Cora's plan.  She said that it would be great as they could both drop out of school.  Cameron looked at her and said, "We? You didn't win anything."  I didn't have the heart to point out to him that he hadn't won anything yet either.  Even so, it was fun listening to his dream because "you know, someone has to win."

Pow, Wow & Chow

When Cal and Maggie last visited for a weekend in April of 2024, they told us that on Doyle family trips, they share their "Pow, Wow, and Chow" moments of the day.  Doug and I thought that was a great idea and enjoyed hearing everyone's Pow (worst part of the day), Wow (best part of the day) and Chow (best food of the day.) After sharing my moments, I told Cal and Maggie that they ought to add a "Zow", biggest surprise of the day. 

I don't really know why I said it.  It just popped into my head and sounded kind of fun to me.  I didn't think much about it until this trip when Cal asked everyone on the way home from Epcot for their "Pow, Wow, Chow and Zow" moments of the day explaining that the Doyle family had liked my idea and had now added it to their trips as well.  I laughed when I heard it and was glad not only to share my moments, but to know that a little bit of me was now part of a Doyle family tradition.  That was the biggest "Zow" moment of the weekend.  

Thankful for a Late Night Flight

I was very happy that Cal and Maggie had chosen an evening flight for their return to Chicago.  It gave us all day to spend together, and we made the most of our time with them before dropping them off at Orlando International.  First thing this morning, we all went to Port Orleans French Quarter for beignets.  Scat Cat's Cafe had already come out with their Haunted Mansion themed ones which were just as delicious as last year with everyone agreeing that they were even better than the originals.  

After breakfast, the five of us went to Fantasia mini golf but quickly left as the wait was an hour.  None of us were disappointed as we all enjoyed Blizzard Beach's Summer Course as a back-up especially since we had free rounds for each of us. It did rain while we were there but thankfully stopped just before we teed off.  It was an extremely close match with me coming out on top by one once again.

 

 

Next on our agenda was Disney Springs where we did some shopping at the specialty stores and ate lunch at Splitsville.  Maggie had never been and really enjoyed the atmosphere.  She talked about our family meeting hers for dinner at the bowling alley restaurant when they were in Orlando for Thanksgiving this fall.  Doug and I were definitely onboard for that.  

Our last stop of the day was Baldwin Park.  Cal and Maggie wanted to see Meg's apartment and check out the area when she now lived.  They were very impressed with it all and loved how close they were to the downtown square.  Doug and I dropped the two of them off at the airport two hours before their flight.  For the first time ever, I didn't cry when Cal left.  We had enjoyed our weekend with he and Maggie very much, and we had plans to see him again soon in Bloomington.  I decided that crying would only ruin the fun that we had had.  Instead, I decided to look forward to seeing him again soon.