Thanksgiving Weekend

One could not be more happy than to have his beloved, somewhat strange, and quite quirky family visit for Thanksgiving weekend.

I had to come up to St. Auggie to take care of some car issues and we decided to celebrate Thanksgiving on Wednesday at my parents house.  It was just me, the folks and the dog.  The next morning we were going to drive down to Tampa and my parents were going to stay till Saturday.

It ended up being a great drive.  We decided to make a stop in Orlando to have lunch and go to Dad's favorite store on the planet:  Bass Pro Shops.  Now, this store is THE ONE store that my dad could literally spend all day, and never get bored.  It is his sanctuary; his home away from home.

So, dad went on his way, speeding around every person potentially in his way on his shopping spree.

Although, there was one thing that stopped him dead in his tracks: the bass pro fishing T.V.

Now, of course, Mom and I had to keep ourselves entertained and busy while Dad whisked himself away on his motorized cart through his own "heaven on earth."  So, I went shopping for Mom.  And, boy, did I find her the PERFECT gift!

But, of course, I wasn't REALLY going to get that for her.  We both agreed we'd pass on the gift opportunity and followed our fearless leader to the check-out line so we could continue our journey to Tampa.

We arrived in Tampa safely, took a couple naps, then it was off to Best Buy for my Black Friday graveyard shift.

After searching for a parking place in my mom's Forrester, I finally started my ten hour shift- 11:30 Thanksgiving night to 9:30 the next morning.

After getting off, we went to the best breakfast Tampa Bay has to offer at Pach's Restaurant.  Afterward we strolled down Bayshore Blvd. to check out the amazing view of the bay.

....Ooops!  Well, after a couple tries, we had it figured out....

There we go!  It was a beautiful day!  Afterwards, we went back to the apartment for an afternoon nap. Then it was off to Saint Petersburg!  Dad had never seen the Gulf before and wanted to see the sun set. We got a little later start than what I had planned.  After listening to a faulty GPS, which needed to be updated, we finally found Treasure Island.  What a site!  It was gorgeous!  Just what dad needed to see!

After that, we found a neat restaurant with great food.  Mom got a fried chicken salad (Yes, she ate fried chicken.  It's amazing, I know).  Dad and I had some pulled pork sandwiches.  Delicious!

It was a fantastic trip!  I loved having my family down here.  And, it was so good to see Dad out of the house and enjoying the sites and sounds that he loves so much.  It was a weekend to be truly thankful for.  God has blessed us indeed.