Lake Life

I moved to Syracuse with my parents when I was ten years old.  Even though we didn't live on the lake, I did enjoy swimming in it at Hoy's Beach and taking bike rides along the water.  By the time we moved to my parents' current home on Harkless Drive in 1982, my swimming days were over.  In fact I have only swam once in my parents channel.  That was in 1988 when the Midwest had a heat wave that lasted for weeks with record high temperatures.  

I did enjoy the lake in other ways through my sophomore year in high school.  I had friends that would invite me our on boat rides.  It was a lot of fun and gave us a lot of freedom as none of us were old enough to drive.  Once we did get our driver's licenses, however, I noticed that my time on the lake diminished and in all honesty I only spent a handful of times on the water during my adult life after that.

My children followed the same pattern.  They loved swimming and fishing at their grandparents until they were in high school.  Meg and Cameron had floats shaped like all different items including a flamingo and a popsicle.  Brett and Cal used the lake more for social activities, hanging out with Big Brandon and Little Brandon in the sandpile near their homes.  Cal was the only one who carried on the lake life into high school and college.  It made sense as Hannah Marie loved the water and all activities on it - paddle boarding, slalom skiing, and time on the jet ski.  We even spent the day with the Lamles out on the lake one summer ending with a boat ride to dinner at Oakwood.  I could totally see why the loved living on the lake, but it just wasn't for us.  It may seem strange to grow up in a town that houses the largest lake in Indiana and not live on the water, but it definitely worked for our family.

Fireworks

Our family has never much been interested in watching fireworks shows.  I am not 100% sure why this is the case, but I noticed that no one ever mentions watching the firework shows over the 4th.  It can't be because they are lame as the ones on Syracuse Lake and Lake Wawasee are usually fantastic complete with synchronized music from one of the local radio stations.  Even when we visit Walt DisneyWorld, none of the Heinisch children are make it a priority to watch the firework show.  The only exception to that is when the display is brand new or a return of a beloved show.  

There was a time when fireworks were a priority over the 4th, but that was years ago.  I used to make sure that I caught the show every year, usually outside of motel before we moved to Harkless Drive.  My cousin Krystal would stay with us for the weekend, and we had fun setting off our own fireworks while watching the town's.  In the Heinisch family we also set off our own and on some years we would try to watch those over Syracuse Lake.  Not all of the family was interested, but usually Meg, Cameron, Brett and I would drive up to the Pamida parking lot to watch them.  We gave up on those when the trees grew tall enough to block the fireworks.  

Sometimes I wonder if we weren't that interest in fireworks because we usually out of town on the 4th vacationing as a family.  For several years we watched St. Louis' display under the arch.  They were absolutely gorgeous and I knew when we first watched them, that we could never top those.  I also thought that maybe we gave up on fireworks when we used that time at the end of the night at Disney World to catch all of our favorite rides.  Everyone else had their eyes on the skies while we headed to Seven Dwarf Mine Ride.  No matter the reason, fireworks have never been a priority for our family.  This year was no exception as none of us made plans to watch them over Syracuse Lake or at any other celebration.  Who knows, maybe that will change, but for now, I won't worry about looking for local ones for our family when we move.

One Swollen Ankle

I noticed that my ankle had swollen during the ride home yesterday.  By the time I got out of the car, I could barely walk.  I wasn't surprised as it had hurt quite a bit after our trip to Epcot on Monday and never really felt much better.  Last night, however, it was at its worst and reminded me of when I had to go to physical therapy six years ago for the same issue.  Today's pain went from my left ankle, up my calf, through my thigh and to my hip.

I decided that the best thing that I could do today was stay off it as much as I could, ice the areas that hurt the worst and take my medication for swelling.  All of that did help a little bit, but I realized by the end of the day that this is going to take some time resolve.  I was bummed by that as we have a lot going on these next seven weeks and an injured ankle is really going to slow me down. Standing hurts the worst, but I can't clean and pack lying down or sitting.  I guess I will take a break from my daily walking routine and just try to make it through the best that I can.  

Sad to Leave, But Enjoyed the Drive

Leaving Florida has gotten harder and harder for me.  Being in Ocala feels like the future.  Returning to Indiana feels stagnant.  I hate to think of Meg and Cameron leaving at the end of the summer, but they are ready to start their life anew.  Knowing that Doug and I also have a big change in front of us makes their departure a lot easier.  

We did have a nice drive back today.  It was one of our best times ever.  We listened to the Beach Boys during the last two hours with Meg playing some of her favorite songs and filling us in on the details of their recording history.  I am very glad that she decided to get her certification in Rock History.  The information that she has shared has been extremely interesting.  It hasn't always been about the Beach Boys; we've learned all kinds of history about early Rock n' Roll and the musicians that influenced its start.  Her knowledge definitely came in handy today as we not only learned a lot, but it also helped the drive time pass more quickly. It will be strange when Doug and I start making that trip by ourselves, but at least we will have some fun places to visit in Chicago and Bloomington.  

Some Awesome News for Brett

Brett received some awesome news this week that resolved an issue that had begun in April.  Dealing with it had been very stressful at times as we weren't sure how the situation would end.  It took patience and a lot of perseverance, but the result ended as exactly as he had hoped.  I was proud of Brett for his fortitude.  He had been dealt a bad hand, but he didn't let it kill his spirit.  He worked through the problem with a positive attitude, and never panicked.  Although I wished that he had never had to deal with the issue in the first place, Brett said that he learned that he had a great support system when he needed it most.  I was very glad to hear that. Hopefully, the rest of the summer goes smoothly for him and allows him to focus on what he's most interested in - his friends, politics and writing his newest story.  

Harry's, Hats and Home

Last night, Cameron, Meg and I arrived back to Ocala in time to pick up Doug from work.  We had made plans to go to dinner at Harry's on the downtown square.  The restaurant had been highly recommended to us when we first visited Ocala.  Meg, Doug and I had already tried it, but Cameron had never been.  We all enjoyed our meals very much and made a stop at Grandpa Joe's candy shop afterward before heading home.  Phil met us once we got back so that he could try out Cameron's new chess set and to see him off before he left in the morning.

All of us were all up early today so that we could drop Doug off at work before heading to the airport.  Cameron had a mid-morning flight back to Indiana.  His experience was unlike the one in January when he flew home by himself for the first time.  There was hardly anyone in line at security today and he made it through almost immediately.  His flight was an easy one as well and he was home in time to meet Alina for dinner.

While Cameron was flying home, Meg and I first stopped at Port Orleans French Quarter for Mickey beignets.  They were delicious as always.  We then went to Disney Springs to do a little shopping.  I had had no luck earlier in the week finding a hat that Doug liked and was hoping that I might come across one today.  We tried several stores before Tommy Bahama saved the day.  The hat was exactly what Doug was looking for and at a better price than we thought it would be.  

While we were at Disney Springs, I was finally able to use the Disney gift card that I received from Cal for Mother's Day.  I found the cutest Toy Story pitcher set.  It will be perfect for making lemonade once we move to Florida.  We then enjoyed a late lunch at Splitsville before heading back to Ocala.  Doug was happy with the hat and liked the new pitcher set more than I thought he would.  Meg was happy with a day of shopping and a break from studying for the CPA as well.  Overall, it was great day for everyone.  

Disney Time

A priority for Cameron while we were in Florida was Epcot's Flower and Garden Show.  Doug and I had raved about all of the food booths that were at this year's event when we visited in March and Cameron really wanted to try several of them.  Meg had already been there in May, but was ready for another trip.  None of us were disappointed yesterday when we spent the day enjoying all that Epcot had to offer.  There was so much to eat that we couldn't try it all.  Nick had highly recommended the Moroccan booth from his vacation in May and we all like the three choices from there.  I also had everyone try the chocolate cake from Canada which almost matched the one from Ireland during the Food & Wine Festival.  The drinks including a Grey Goose slushy from France and Welsh Dragon were high on the list as well.  

Eating wasn't our only activity at Epcot yesterday.  We rode Remy, Soarin', Test Track and the Gran Fiesta Tour as well.  We also visited all of the character Topiaries and walked through the butterfly garden.  The four of us picked up our Figment Passholder magnets and did some shopping before we left the park.  June was annual Passholder month, so we got some great deals on a few items.  I especially loved my new hat.

Doug had to work today.  Once I dropped him off at Winco, Meg, Cameron and I headed to Animal Kingdom.  It was more crowded than we expected, but we didn't mind.  We rode the Navi' River ride, tried cheeseburger pods, walked through Gorilla Falls, watched Birds in Flight and saw a performance of It's Tough to Be a Bug.  We took advantage of the Passholder discount again before heading back to Ocala.  Cameron bought a lighted Haunted Mansion chess set for 65% off the original price, and Meg found a shirt that she had been looking at earlier.  Overall, it was a wonderful two days at Disney which sparked some great conversations during dinner about our favorite trips to the parks over the years.