Gasparilla Distance Weekend 2026

It's my favorite race weekend of the year! Time to go down to Tampa for Gasparilla! 

On Friday, I originally planned to get an early start (around 10am) so that we could stop for lunch at Long John Silver's in Ocala, but of course, that didn't happen, so instead we picked up Arby's on the way out of town, stuffing ourselves silly with too much roast beef and mozzarella sticks. 

The drive was uneventful, and the VRBO was easy to find. The neighborhood was a little sketchy with really narrow roads, but there was off-street parking so I didn't have to worry about getting sideswiped. The house itself looked like a 20-something with a small budget decorated it. Like, it was cute, and you could tell that they tried but there were far too many "Live, Laugh, Love" type stickers on the walls, and not enough usable furniture. They went for Instagram-able (and missed) instead of Livable. The bed was comfy, though, and the couch was a definite butt-sucker, so even though it was a little tacky, the house was perfectly fine. 

While Hubby settled in and put stuff away, I made my way to the expo for Packet Pickup. I had zero issues getting the correct shirts that I requested (and never had to pay extra for) as well as my hoodie (new swag!). I'm happy that the hoodie fits well, though I wish it was a tad bigger/sloppier. Maybe with a few washes, it'll soften up a bit. 

Back at the VRBO, I'm sure we ate dinner, but I can't remember what it was, lol. I set out all my gear for the next morning, then took a hot bath. With some snacks, we curled up in bed to snuggle and play on our phones.

Saturday morning came far too quickly, and I woke up early to gear up, tape up, and eat up, before waking him up to head to the start line. Coming toward the race area via Channelside was beautiful! All the trees had little twinkle lights in them, and the cruise ships were lined up, ready for another day. Unfortunately, coming from this direction made it a little more difficult to get to the parking garage, and we were cutting time super close as we headed toward the start line! I think I got to the corrals while they were playing the National Anthem, yipes! 

Tired but ready to go!

There were some people handing out free samples of Celsius so I grabbed a Fizz-Free Blueberry Lemonade - I figured the caffeine would be helpful, and if it was gross, I could leave it right there. It was actually pretty good... no funky "energy drink" aftertaste, and I think I drank pretty much the whole thing. 

Am I an "Energy Drink Girlie" now?

I met Hubby after the start line and we walked to the Publix, then he peeled off and I was alone with 15,000 of my best friends. I settled into my pace, just walking today, and trying something new, I pulled up a podcast instead of music. (Spoiler alert, I liked the podcast idea!) I enjoyed the beautiful sunrise, and nibbled on the (stale) donut from The Rough Riders. 

They must get them the night before... they're stale

I made it to the Halfway Split (about 4.55 miles) under 90 minutes. My estimated finish time was 2:45. And yes, I know that's slow. 

Thumbs Up for Being Slow

My biggest fear for this race every year is being shunned to the sidewalk on the way back. There's a certain point where they'll put you on the sidewalk so that they can open the roads, and you have to stay there until you get to the 5k Turn-Around point. I've been shunned before, but this time, I made it! I got to stay on the road the entire time, which felt like such a huge win for me for some reason. 

5k Turn Around

The first 5k runner didn't even get to the Turn-Around point until after I passed it, which was rare. Either he was slow or I was faster than usual... who knows? But soon, the hoards of bodies were coming my way, and I had to hug the curb to ensure that I didn't get run over. Thankfully, none of them were really rude this time around...there've been some years where speedy folks (usually young men) will practically run me over because I'm in their way, I guess? Like, do you not see me up here? I'm huge! You can't miss me! 

Here they come!

I crossed the finish line, feeling good, with an official time of 2:50:31 (18:18 pace). 3,717th overall finisher, out of 3,755 total finishers (I beat 38 people!) 255th in my age group (out of 259). 

I got my medal and my finisher towel, then I got a kiss from my hot husband, and then grabbed some snacks on the way off the bridge (Froot Loops in a bag, Gatorade, etc). 

After a hot bath and some quality time with the massage gun back at the house, we headed over to Long John Silver's for lunch, then went to a place called Mr. Putter's Miniature Golf, which was the coolest putt-putt place we've been to so far! It's an inside course, but not one of those over-hyped blacklight course. They have 3 courses with good obstacles, not just humps and dips. One hole is Twister-themed, where you have to spin the wheel and do what it says. One hole is chess-themed, and one player can set up large chess pieces as obstacles for the other player. One hole is Skee-Ball-themed. And so many others. But my absolute favorite was this cool Wall Hole Puzzle Thing (does this have a name?) You put your ball in the wooden diamond, and drag it up a wall full of holes. If you get it to the top of the wall, it will roll it over to a Plinko-style board where your ball will bounce down. If you lose your ball into one of the lower holes, it will come down onto the green (black?). I went first, and damn if I didn't just LOCK IN to this thing like solving it was the only thing that mattered. It was like discovering a superpower I didn't know I had! And yes, I got it all the way to the top. Because I'm awesome. 

I am LOCKED IN (and I think I'm supposed to stay on the white dot)

Hubby went next, and while he enjoyed the task as well, I don't think he was as INTO IT as I was. I mean, even after we cleared the hole, I went back and did the wall again! It was fun!

He loved it as well

We did all three courses then headed back to the VRBO - I was exhausted! And I still have a second race to go. 

My Sunday race starts later than Saturday, so I was able to sleep in a little bit before heading to the race. As we walked by Hattrick's, we saw a HUGE crowd outside, watching the United States Men's Ice Hockey Team play the Canadian Men's Ice Hockey Team (and subsequently kicking their asses in OT). 

USA! USA!! USA!!!

Skies were grey as I made my way to the start corral (I left hubby at Publix), and I was hopeful that we might get a little drizzle to cool us down. 

Race 2, I got this

Within 2 minutes of starting, the drizzle started. So refreshing, cutting the heat we were dealing with. Then the wind started kicking up, too, and I knew that we'd be getting more than just that drizzle. 

Oh lawd, it's comin'

Since it was wet, I didn't take a lot of photos this time around, but I'd estimate that the heavy rain started by Mile 1 or 2. It was pouring here in the Halfway There photo. 

Everyone is soaked at this point

It came and went over the next mile, then came back with a vengeance near Mile 4. My halfway split (about 2.45 miles) was under 44 minutes, and my estimated finish time was 1:27. I saw this one guy using his entire brain, covering himself with a large piece of cardboard (leftover from a water stop). 

Think smart, not fast

All I had was my hat, so I enjoyed the bounty that God provided for us, and danced in the rain instead. 

Florida rain comes and goes

Thankfully, the rain ended before I got to the finish line, but by then I was absolutely soaked to the bone! My official finish time was 1:31:22 (18:23 pace). I was 3,038th out of 3,181 total runners, and 234th in my age group out of 244 runners. Because of all the rain and wind, I was not mad at that finish time. 

I got my medals and towels, then headed toward the snack tables. I ended up sweet-talking one of the volunteers in giving me an entire case of individual bags of Frosted Flakes! (Future Lazy here from July - I'm still eating Frosted Flakes, lol). 

Why do I always lean?

Over the course of the weekend, I came in 230th for the Michelob Infuse Challenge (15k + 8k together), out of 235 total participants. 

Official Results

Back at the VRBO I peeled of my soaking wet clothes, indulged in another hot bath, had some snacks, and relaxed on the couch for a few hours. As expected, I was getting blisters on my heels, but I noticed that one of my toes was hurting and I assumed it was because my toe - with a longer than needed toenail - was being squished against the front of the toe box when I walked. 

We went over to Yard House for an early dinner around 5pm. I was hoping that eating early would mean that it wasn't busy, but no luck there... it was full and loud and busy. I ate too much chicken, hubby ate too much cheeseburger, and we rolled ourselves back to the VRBO to enjoy some extended snuggling. 

Monday morning meant it was finally time for one of my favorite parts of coming to Tampa... a trip (or two) to La Segunda Bakery. We stopped first at the flagship store in Ybor for treats to bring home. We didn't go as insane as we have in the past, but I still brought home three loaves of Cuban bread, some cookies, a pound cake, and 2-3 other pastries. Then we went over to a different La Segunda on Kennedy Boulevard, to have our sit-down lunch - I got a Cuban (of course!) and he got the 1915 Club again. Both were delicious, both were too big, and both became our dinner when we got home. 

We made a pit stop at Russell Stover, and, well... the shit went off the rails. I've talked about the Russell Stover Outlet before, but in case you're new here, the RSO is a store in Wildwood that is part "Real Store" and part "Clearance Rack" in the back. We go for the clearance stuff. It's typically leftover candy from whatever the last season was (so for this trip, it was mostly Christmas candy and some really leftover Halloween candy). Each season usually has some specific flavors that we like - Christmas has peppermint, for example. Halloween has pumpkin (ew). Easter might have marshmallow or coconut (ew). Christmas and Easter are my two favorite holidays, because of the candy offered, so we try to stop for at least one season, if not two. 

Anyway, we always think we're going to behave and get a little handbasket, but within 10 minutes, we swap out for a cart! To be fair, it's easier to see what I'm getting and what he's getting if we can split it up in the cart.

Photo: Courtesy of Anonymous Yelp Reviewer

We each picked up a little bit here and a little bit there as we walked around the big room until... there it was... a full case of their gooey (not chewy) Milk Chocolate Caramels. 

$37.99 for a 24oz Package (75pcs per package)

These are the individually wrapped caramels that they offer in bags or in their Pick-a-Mix products. It's similar to what a Caramello used to be (before Hershey ruined it). Judging by how hard it was to find a photo of these, it looks like it's a "Christmas Only" special candy. Now, when I say a case, I don't mean, a small flat, or even a small box you might get from Amazon. I mean... A CASE. Full to the brim with these luscious, golden-wrapped treats. I kind of drooled over it for a few minutes, touching the box lovingly, joking about how I should get it. But it was a case... I can't do that! That would be insane. Plus, it's $75!!! 

So we kept walking around the room until we got to the other side where there used to be a set of Fire Doors, but now had a sign that read "Come See Our New Room!" Uh... more candy?? Yes, please!! When we talked to an employee, they said that they'd only recently converted a back room into another "clearance rack" room, so when we got there it was still pretty empty. 

Photo: Courtesy of Anonymous Yelp Reviewer

They had a fun Easter Bunny cutout for us to take photos with, and of course we did! 

It's funny that our go-to pose...

...is exactly the same!

In the first "clearance room" prices were generally 50% off of retail price, but back here, prices were 75% off, like a Final Markdown kind of thing. I picked up a handful of their Milk Chocolate candy bars for a quarter each; a few bags of their foil-wrapped santas for a buck a bag. I found out when I got home, though, that all of these were already past their Best By date (everything I've eaten so far is perfectly fine, and it all went into the freezer when we got home.)

But I kept thinking about that damn case of caramels. I didn't need it, I didn't need it! My freezer is overflowing, where would I put them? I'm fat dammit, and I can't lose weight if I'm surrounded by delicious chocolate (she says as she buys candy bars and foil-wrapped santas). 

I looked at hubby and he just knew... without saying a word, he pushed the cart and led me all the way back to the first room and I heaved a case of caramels into - onto - the cart and we rolled ourselves to the check-out counter. And, of course, I'm a Russell Stover Rewards customer! With all the money we spent on chocolate, I had enough points to get a prize! A 3lb Assorted Chocolate box (that retails for $75). We carted our treats to the car, shoved them in wherever there was room (we had to work around the leftover lunch and loaves of Cuban bread, lol) and headed home. 

Who can't smile when they have THIS.MUCH.CHOCOLATE??
Yes, that's a case plus three full bags.

We haven't even opened this one yet!

So for now, the Frosted Flakes and the caramels just live in my dining room (ETA: since I took this photo, all that caramels have been put in the freezer, and we're slowly eating all the boxes of Frosted Flakes). 

Frosted Flakes on top / Caramels on bottom

Yes, you read that right... It's just under TWENTY POUNDS of caramels!

Oh and because I was curious, I pulled up the Russell Stover website to compare prices and do the math. A 24oz bag of these caramels retails for $37.99. That's a unit cost of $1.58 per ounce, or $25.28 per pound. Compare that to the case of caramels for $74.99 - unit cost of only 24¢ per ounce, or $3.79 per pound. Huge difference!

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Now, for something gross (but no photos, you're welcome)... 

Remember how I mentioned that my toe was hurting after the first race? It never really got better, just stayed painful for a few days. Well, when I finally got around to clipping my toenails, I discovered a blister under my second toenail (the This little piggy stayed home toe). I clipped it and all this... liquid... got all over my fingers! Now I have a hole in my toe, and it hurts again, dammit!

ETA May 28 - The toenail never got black or funky, but it finally fell off at work today, with a tiny little baby nail underneath it. So if anyone's curious how long it takes for a toenail to fall off, the answer is about 3 months. 

Race Notes                                                          
Location: Bayshore Blvd, Tampa, FL
Host: Gasparilla Distance Classic Association
Race Fee: $136.10 ($120 Challenge {15k/8k} + Processing Fee and Tax)
Packet Pickup: Easy to find within the Tampa Convention Center; bib pickup first, then shirt/challenge swag/swag bag. Contained within the expo
Parking: Hectic but well-controlled via Tampa Police downtown; we park in Fort Brooke Parking Garage every year ($15 each day, so $30 total, well worth it).
Support: Water and Gatorade on course, very abundant. No fuel for 15k or smaller distances. Community holds up fun signs. No booze (like Gate). Rough Riders hands out {day-old} donuts from Krispy Kreme.
After Party: I don’t go to the party, but the food option afterward is amazing… Bottled water, cups of Gatorade, bananas, bagged snacks from sponsors (this year was Frosted Flakes, Froot Loops, fruit cups, Cheez-Its, Gatorade Protein Bars). There’s obviously tons of beer, since Michelob is the big sponsor.
Results:   https://results2.xacte.com/#/e/2622/searchable 

DONNA Marathon Weekend: FIS 5k Race Report 2026

What a roller coaster ride it was to even get to the start line for this race! I signed up for it months ago because I’d heard from a lot of other people that running the Donna was a big deal. When I signed up, I {of course} had to pay an extra $7 to get a shirt in my size. But more specifically, there was no mention of packet picket not being available on race day. There was nowhere to pay extra (like with Gate River Run). So, silly me, I assumed that I’d be able to pick up my swag on Saturday morning.

Fast forward to about a month before the race, and I get some pre-race emails from The Donna Foundation, and they specifically said that there would be NO race day pickup, and that all racers MUST pick up their packets on Friday.

Yah, that won’t work… I live about 90 minutes away from the race location, and it makes no sense to drive there and back, or drive there and stay the night, for a simple 5k race. So I replied to that email on January 13^th, asking if there would be any concessions for out of town people, or if I could swap to the Virtual Option (they were the same cost). I got no reply. About a week later, I reached out via The Donna Foundation’s website contact form, with the same questions. Still no response.

At this point, I was so frustrated with the lack of communication, and the supposed “bait & switch” with having to do pickup on Friday that I began to entertain the idea of saying fuck it all and just not going… I can afford to lose $50, but I didn’t really WANT to, ya know? So in a last ditch effort, I messaged them via their website one more time, and I finally got a response (apparently they had disabled the contact form because it was glitching). The person who responded (let’s call them MM) offered to swap me to the Virtual Option or race day pick up for $10. I told her that I would be fine with race-day pick up (though I was still ticked off about all this), and requested specifically that a W3XL shirt was set aside for me (since I seem to keep getting screwed on receiving shirts that I pay extra for!). She told me that she would personally pack my bag and bring it with her to packet pickup, and not even charge me the extra $10, since I’d had such a frustrating experience… that was very nice of her!

Now that we got that all sorted out, it was time to look forward to race day, and oh yeah… now there’s a crazy cold front on the way. I’m talking temps IN FLORIDA under freezing for race day. Oh, and some rain. I jut had to laugh… I fought so hard to get packet pickup, only to be rewarded with a cold as fuck rainy race? But at this point, I couldn’t not go!

When I went to bed Friday night, it was supposed to be about 55º when I took off, but unfortunately, when I woke up on race day, I was looking at low 40s. Hubby took the day off, so I drove up extra early, to ensure that I could get a good parking spot (so I wouldn’t get lost) – parking was at a hotel 10 miles away. When I got there, I assumed that the shuttle bus would pick up near the hotel, so I parked there. I went inside to use their potties, then asked the front desk clerk where the bus picked up – turned out that the bus picked up at an outer lot about a quarter-mile away, so I moved my car over there and got a good spot right by the bus stop (easy to find when I get back!).

I stayed in the car (toasty and warm) for about 15 minutes, but once I saw the line begin to grow, I decided I should probably get in line. I dressed in a base layer and shirt when I left the house, then tossed on a beanie and running jacket and got in line. Within five minutes, though, I realized that I needed another layer, so hopped back over to my car to get my puffer jacket and a pair of gloves, then got on the shuttle. I’d rather be too warm than too cold.

So many people still behind me (waiting for the bus)

Bus ride took about 10 minutes and it dropped us off a few blocks from the start line. The start area was quite hectic and not well organized. There were some tents on the left side of the road, some tents on the right side of the road, with the ‘corrals’ in the middle of the road – but no way to get to either tent area without having to swim upstream through the corrals. A walkway or sidewalk would have been extremely helpful!

I found the tent to get my packet, and shocker, I ran into my Race Shirt Nemesis – Blue Hair Carol. I gave her my bib number and said that she couldn’t find it. I told her that MM told me that she’d set it aside, and someone pointed to a bag on the chair behind them, which ended up being my bag. Without missing a beat, Blue Hair Carol told me that they didn’t have a shirt in my size, blah blah blah, but I could come back later and hopefully they’d have one in my size (remember, I paid $7 extra for this shirt that she says they don’t have). I opened my bag, and MM came through for me – my W3XL shirt was nicely folded inside. I may or may not have given Blue Hair Carol a smirk as I walked away. I found an empty table, folded up my bag and shirt as small as possible, and tucked them into my waist pack, just minutes before the race began.

The energy as we took off was amazing, such girl power! Lots of survivors and supporters… I almost felt like an imposter. I have no skin in this game, why was I here? But off I went at a fast walk, gaining energy from so many spectators waving and cheering all of us on.

Start Corrals on the left, Tents on the right, and past the corrals on the left

I didn’t warm up very much at all during the entire race, maybe unzipped my exterior jacket by the end of the race. Coming in to the finish line, everyone was so energetic and amped, but then the race announcer Fitz turned off the music so she could relay something she was just told – a finisher told her that she did this race every year, but she’d just gotten terrible news and expected that she wouldn’t be here next year. Or any year after that. Fitz was in tears, repeating fuck cancer, man. FUCK cancer. Someone next to me said “There’s no quit ‘til you’re cold.” I took this to mean that you don’t quit ‘til you’re dead. And I completely agree. You absolutely never know when something can change or improve.

Never give up; you never know what is in front of you

This sounds selfish, I know that, but… this announcement sucked all of the energy out of my own finish, but this woman (the one with the cancer) got SO MUCH SUPPORT from everyone around here that I didn’t even care. I wish I knew who she was, so I could check to see if she comes back in 2027.

I finished under an hour, at 56:29, and was 1761/2262 total runners, and 118/149 in my age group. Anyway, I got my medal, and well… It kind of looks like a vagina with dick arms. It’s a pretty medal, like a suncatcher, all glistening and pink (but, um, aren’t all vaginas glistening and pink?)

It's cold and getting colder!

I wandered around the after party, but there wasn’t much there – there were some places selling food or coffee, but not a lot of fun swag. I picked up a bottle of Electrolit (tasty) and a few Strawberry Watermelon Bloom drinks (also tasty). I headed back to the bus, riding in the cool kid single seat in the back, back to the nearly empty parking lot (being slow makes it easy to find my car!).

Same seat I sat in when I was in high school

I took the car over to the hotel again so I could change clothes and visit the expo (there’s a half and full marathon tomorrow). Then I went to Shake Shack for lunch (not impressed), hit up Trader Joe’s and Dollar Tree, then grabbed a soda and headed home.

Shake Shack Bacon Cheeseburger, Fries, Coke Zero, Vanilla Milkshake - $25!

ETA – A few days later, I found out some cool stuff:

• There were participants from all 50 states, and 11 countries
• They raised a quarter-million dollars for The Donna Foundation
• Fitz (the race announcer) is from Gainesville (possibly still lives there?). Also, she beat cancer herself, which explains why she is so powerfully emotional about this race. Who doesn’t love a confident, healthy, hilarious, kick-ass, conservative woman? Instant follow on X! 

Race Notes                                                          

Location: Jacksonville Beach

Host: The DONNA Foundation

Race Fee: $30 (Plus extra $7 for Women’s 3X Shirt)

Packet Pickup: Near start line; chaotic

Parking: Miles away, at Host Hotel

Support: One water stop (accessible twice), lots of cheers near start/finish line
After Party: Big, but mostly food trucks and concession tents ($$)

Results: https://my.raceresult.com/380156/results#1_979DAD

Give Me What I Paid For! - IQ Fiber Winter Beach Run 5k Race Report 2026

I’ve done the summer version of this race a few times, back in the mid 2010s, and the last time I did it (in 2016), I got heat exhaustion! So I’d decided to not do this race anymore, at least until I was in better shape (i.e. not fat). I haven’t done it since… But there’s also a winter version that I’ve wanted to try but never remembered to sign up for… until this year!

I left home around 6am and had an easy drive to Jacksonville Beach. I got there around 7:45am (for a 9am race), scoring a great parking spot in the lot right by the park. I went up to get my packet, and I was told that they didn’t have any Women’s XXL shirts, and that I could check back afterward to “see if any showed up.” I asked to get a different size, and the volunteer kept telling me that they couldn’t swap or substitute before the race. BUT… I wasn’t trying to swap or substitute – I was just trying to get a shirt that was owed to me for signing up for the race. I was getting pissed off, because I specifically paid $5 EXTRA for a shirt in my size, and somehow ended up with NO SHIRT?!?

After a few minutes of trying to be rational with this woman, I gave up and went back to the car. Where I decided to tweet about it. Like, I didn’t expect any sort of outcome, but I was just so damn ticked off, that I needed to name and shame the company at this point.

I headed back to the park around 8:40 and as I was walking I heard my bib number being called over the speaker, telling me to come to the Info Tent. When I got there, I was told that they just randomly had someone turn in an WXXL shirt (yeah, sure) so I was able to get the shirt that I paid extra for. Was it the twitter bitching? Did they find an extra one in a box? Did someone actually turn one in? Who knows, got mine. I wasn’t happy, per se, but satisfied. Like, I don’t take pleasure in having to shame someone publicly to get what I deserve. I took it back to the car, then back to the park to finally line up and walk this race.

A tiny bit of the race was along the Seawalk sidewalks, but the majority of it was on the beach. Trudging through the soft sand always sucks, but then you get to the harder-packed sand at the water’s edge and it’s easier to walk. I didn’t do any running, but I did want to run, so that’s a win, I suppose (I feel like my body is fighting back from a year or so of not training).

I finished under an hour – 58:54 – and was 445^th out of 486 total participants. I was last in my age group, and ironically, I could have beat the 22^nd lady if I was just 20 seconds faster!    

I wandered around the ‘after party’ which was sad as hell. A perk of this race is hot cocoa after the race, and even though it was already in the high 60s, I got some anyway, and y’all… I kid you not, there were cases of individually packaged cocoa mix under the table, with the cocoa being kept in those large Igloo cooler dispensers. Someone had to sit there and open thousands of Swiss Miss packets and mix them all together! As you can imagine, the cocoa wasn’t all that hot, and not super-tasty. The only other thing there was some rando handing out almond granola. Not an almond fan, so I didn’t get any. The after party was very sad!

I walked around the adjacent Jax Beach Arts Market, which was as sad as you’d imagine, then headed back to the car. I changed at a local gas station then headed north to treat myself to a platter of fried deliciousness at Safe Harbor Seafood. There were about 30 Navy men in their fatigues, waiting in line. As I stood there looking at them, they all looked so YOUNG! I’ve reached an age where I can look at new soldiers and realize that they could all be young enough to be my child. Bless you all, my dudes, and stay safe as you make your way through the world.

Anyway, I got the Fried Shrimp and Scallop basket, and took it outside to the patio. I forgot how much I hated these stupid, hipster, aluminum seats (they aren’t meant for big butts). Sadly, the scallops weren’t cooked all the way through (I guess?) because they felt kind of mushy inside. The shrimp was delicious, nice and plump. I need to remember to skip the scallops and just get shrimp! Although I’m beginning to wonder if the product is worth the hype anymore? This meal cost me about $25, and I only ate about half of it.

With a full belly, I decided to check out the St. Vincent de Paul thrift shop. Everyone raves about St. Vinnies, but this one wasn’t impressive. It was very small, and felt bougie. Good for them for marketing their wares in a great way, though! I felt like I was shopping at a boutique that caters to 60-year old women who like to lunch. I ended up getting a small fleece blanket for a buck, that I use at work (our building is 200 years old and not well insulated).

Next, I headed to Hope’s Closet Thrift Shop  and HOLY MOLY, what a store! I didn’t know what to expect, only that the store looked like it would be big, but wow. It was probably 75% clothing, so at first I wasn’t all that thrilled – it’s hard to find Plus Size clothing at thrift stores. This store was weird, though. They had some items that looked brand new with tags, like they got it from a warehouse or outlet, but then they also had racks of typical thrift clothing. Racks were very well organized, by type, then size – including Plus Size! This made me so happy, because it meant that I wouldn’t have to dig through racks and racks of clothing just hoping to find my size! I could simply go to the Shirt rack, and look at the small selection of Plus Size, and then move on if I don’t find anything. I ended up wandering this store for three hours, immersed in the hunt! I scored a few pair of nice (like really nice) work pants and some little tchotchkes for Valentine’s day décor.

I thought about hitting up another thrift store, but it was late in the day, so I grabbed a soda and just headed home, exhausted! 

Race Notes                                                          
Location: Jacksonville Beach, FL
Host: 1^st Place Sports
Race Fee: $25 at time of registration (Plus extra $5 for Women’s 2X shirt)
Packet Pickup: Easy to find, unsatisfactory interaction
Parking: Across the street, but I got there early
Support: One water table (accessible up and back), beach was not closed to tourists
After Party: Pretty much nothing! Some rando with granola, an Igloo cooler with Hot Cocoa
Results: https://my.raceresult.com/378077/results#2_EB48B6

I'm So Tired, Y'all - Branson Christmas Vacation (Saturday and the Aftermath)

I woke up early on Saturday to ensure that everything was ready to go, and mom was up as well. I asked how she was feeling and she said that a day to relax was just what she needed. Since I’d anticipated that it would take much longer for Hubby & The Kiddo to get ready, we were all standing around staring at each other by 7am, so what did we do? We vegged out on our phones for a while until I got The Antsies strong enough to make me get everyone moving. I’d rather veg out at the airport, than risk the chance of missing a flight due to running out of gas, or a car accident, or long TSA lines, or whatever. So, an hour later, we were at the Springfield airport. It was freezing outside (almost, it was 33ºF) as we unpacked the SUV and went inside. Returning the SUV was super easy, so there’s extra time there, too. We found a nice place to sit at the gate to watch airplanes come and go (what few there were). I got up and got a soda (dammit, no bottled Pepsi to be found) and we all just chit-chatted for an hour or so.

We gate-checked our carry-ons and headed on to the small plane. Since it was a 2-seat row, Mom and the Kiddo got a row to themselves, and Hubby and I had a row to ourselves, and he finally got a window seat, and let me tell ya… him watching takeoff was like watching a little boy see a pony for the first time. His whole body was full of excitement and he kept looking at me with a big ol’ grin on his face, totally worth giving up the seat for him.

We landed in Chicago, where it was a balmy 11ºF, but no snow on the ground. The airport was really pretty, but very large. We had more than an hour to kill, so we started looking for food. We found a McDonald’s and backtracked to a terminal walkway where we could sit on deep window ledges and not be in the way. I scarfed down too many chicken McNuggets and just let some of the stress and airplane seat uncomfortableness melt out of my body. Once we were all full of chemicals, we pulled up the AA app to make sure our gates hadn’t changed, and SHOCKER! The Kiddo’s gate had changed, again. Thankfully, it stayed in the same terminal, but just a different gate.

Sadly, once we got to the gate, we had to leave her. We all said our goodbyes and got lots of hugs… and then a few more… and turned around and headed three terminals over to our own gate for our final flight back to warm & sunny Tampa Bay.

Before we took off, I checked text messages one more time, and saw that the Kiddo had yet ANOTHER delay, this time due to “Aircraft Failure.” I don’t have other texts from her to confirm, since she was also texting with Hubby, but I think she finally landed in Milwaukee around 7pm, and she ended up staying over at her friend’s house for the night (rather than driving all the way home). We landed in Tampa around 6pm to the most gorgeous sunset I’d seen in years, and after getting our luggage and finding our car, we dropped mom off at home by 7:30pm. After we dropped her off and got our hugs, we got back in the car and just… exhaled. It was like, fuck yeah, we made it. This massive undertaking of a family vacation, so many moving pieces, and it worked pretty much flawlessly (except for a few hiccups). I felt like I was taking off a 100-pound backpack and could just breathe again.

We hit up Long John Silver’s for dinner, because I didn’t want to have to stop halfway through the trip home. I was already getting dangerously depleted, I felt like a bathtub that was almost completely drained. I don’t remember what I ordered, but I asked for a cup for ice water, then proceeded to fill it up with soda at the machine and waited for my food. Hubby just sat there and looked at me until I realized what I did, then he went back up to the front and paid for another soda and filled it up with ice water for me. I kind of mumbled thank you as he smiled at me with this weird, affectionate smile that he has, that only comes out at certain times. He told me something next, that actually kind of threw me a little bit… He said “I like it when you’re vulnerable; I can take care you when you’re like this.” I wasn’t offended or put out, but it did make me realize that perhaps I take the “Strong, independent woman who don’t need no man” persona a bit far sometimes, and that there’s nothing wrong with allowing the man I love to help me when I need it.

Once we finished dinner, we hit up a Circle K for mass quantities of Pepsi (yes, even on top of what we got at LJS) and made the two-hour drive home. Thankfully, it was quiet and peaceful and totally uneventful (I use this word a lot…). My driveway looked amazing. My home looked inviting. My bed was fucking magical. I think I was asleep before I even rolled over.

The next morning was Recovery Day. You know the drill, unpack, put everything away. Put all the stuff you ended up not bringing with you away. Catch up on emails. All that jazz. I think we stayed in bed until 10, just snuggled up and enjoying being alone. I could have stayed there all day, but real life was kicking back in… I had to do laundry and get ready for the upcoming work week.

So, would I do this again? Yeah, I think so! Mom even joked on the way home about where we gonna go next? I think we need a bit of time to pay off this vacation though… Mom paid $1,000 for the VRBO. I paid $1.700 for the flights and rental car. When I add that in to everything else we paid for (like meals and experiences), it came out to $2,900. Honestly? For 5 days in a touristy area like Branson, flying from two different locations? Not bad. When you add in the cost of the VRBO, that totals $3900, which is still  $1000 total per person, under $200 total per person, per day (I have a full cost breakdown below, if you're curious). I know you can’t put a price on priceless memories, but damn, we did pretty good! (Okay, I’m not humble, I’ll say it… I did

pretty good. I found all the deals. I booked the VRBO. I booked the flights. I rock.)

But for now, it’s important to notice that it’s about 2 weeks until Christmas, and there’s a buttload of things that need to be done! Decorating, cleaning, shopping, cooking… And that’s just at home! I have two meetings to set up, a Christmas Party to decorate for, and an entire week’s worth of work to catch up on before we close for Christmas.

Maybe next time we do this it won’t be so close to a major holiday!

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For you weirdos (like me) who like to see real numbers, 

here's how much we spent for this entire trip:

She Put Up a Good Fight - Branson Christmas Vacation (Thursday & Friday)

On Thursday, we woke up to the same cold temps we had when we went to bed, only about 40º at 9am. But it was sunny, so that made a difference. Also, much less wind! Again, we enjoyed a quiet morning in the living room, mom and I were on our phones scrolling social media, while Hubby & The Kiddo were rapid-fire talking about video games.

Around noon, we were ready for lunch, so we tried another Downtown Branson place, called Branson Café (so original), and wow… I think we were the youngest people there! Apparently a lot of tour buses stop in Downtown Branson, and many of the tour participants came here for lunch. We had to wait for about 10 minutes or so until we got a booth (a very small booth). Hubby got a hot ham & cheese with fries. Kiddo got French toast. I, for the first time ever in my life, ordered a single order of biscuits & gravy and a side of bacon. And I hate to say it… I wasn’t impressed. I don’t know if they were using a prepared gravy (like from Sysco), or if it was scratch-made, but it was just boring! The biscuit was just okay and not up to the same quality as Billy Gail’s or Farmhouse. The bacon was fine. Everyone else enjoyed their meals as well.

Biscuits & Gravy (no sausage)

Hot Ham & Cheese with Fries

I don’t know what possessed us, but after brunch, we actually went over to Mr. B’s Ice Cream, thinking we could get a little treat to tide us over until we ate dinner, but holy moly, look at the size of these scoops! Hubby got double chocolate dish, Kiddo got a chocolate waffle cone, and I got a bubble gum dish.

Single Scoop of Bubble Gum

Double Scoop of Chocolate in a Waffle Cone

Stuffed to the gills with biscuits and ice cream, we rolled back to the car and headed to our next stop, Silver Dollar City! I had been looking forward to this so much; one, because it’s a theme park with rides and tasty food (though I’m too stuffed to jump at this point), and two, because it’s consistently voted as the country’s best holiday event. They decorate pretty much every single square inch of the park with over 6.5 million lights and I was ready to immerse myself in some Christmas twinkle.

8 Time Winner of America's Best Holiday Event 

We parked quite far away and at first, I thought that we were going to have to walk all the way up to the front (about 15 minute walk), but we saw that there was a Shuttle Stop nearby, so we hopped on to a janky old school bus that took us all the way up to the front gate. At the front, I’d estimate that the lines to get through security had maybe 10 people, and it was hilarious to hear people mumble about how busy it was, like, y’all… Crowd levels at Disney World this week would have been through the roof… this ain’t that bad. Once inside we just started walking, honestly. I had no plan. I just wanted to enjoy the day, enjoy the scenery, and how beautiful the park was. The first place we ended up was the roller coaster Thunderation and all three of us immediately got in line. Mom stayed behind as our Bag Holder. It took a few minutes to make it through the line, and then we were off. 

I originally thought this ride was going to be similar to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and it was, but a lot faster and a little bit rougher. All roller coasters have one of those low, flat circles, and those always make me feel icky, and it was about that time that I realized…

I NEVER TOOK DRAMAMINE! 

SON OF A BITCH!!!!

All three of us loved the ride, though, and it was a good start to the afternoon. Next, we wanted to ride Time Traveler, but I wanted to let the Dramamine I just took kick in, so we wandered some more. I told everyone that I wanted to do the Marvel Cave Tour, so we had a little bit of time to kill before we headed up there to check in. I also wanted to ride the Magnificent Wave Carousel (chain swings) but no one else wanted to ride with me, so I skipped it. We watched ElectroSpin which made me want to vomit, and then, we had the silliest idea ever… Let’s go ride some of the kid’s rides. First up, Happy Frogs!

Oh, it seems like such a simple ride....

Hubby stayed with Mom, while me and The Kiddo got in line, fully expecting the ride operator to tell us that we couldn’t do it because we didn’t have children with us, or that we were too big to ride (we’re both over 200lbs). But to my surprise, she let us ride! She balanced us, like on a clock, with me on one side and Kiddo on the other. 

She's ready to go!

I waved at Hubby as the ride began, fully assuming that it was going to be a simple spin-in-a-circle ride like Dumbo, but oh no! This bitch BOUNCED! (Obviously, in hindsight… it’s a frog ride). And every time the ride made a revolution, it sped up a little bit, and every time the frog bounced, it bounced HIGHER. After the first two or three bounces, I got the giggles. I came around again, and I could hear some people in the crowd start to notice that I had the giggles. Then they started laughing (along, not at), watching me on this ride. Then I really got into it, and every time it bounced, I kind of smooshed myself downward to get the most BOUNCE out of the bounce, if that makes sense. All the while, laughing so hard I can’t breathe, which made the crowd laugh harder. It was without a doubt the funniest 5 minutes I’ve had in quite a while. 

We got off the ride, both of us just laughing like hell as we met up with Hubby and Mom. Hubby said that, for them, it was the funniest they’ve seen in quite a while, too. A few people in the crowd came over and clapped me on the back, and I told them it was their turn, go get on that frog! I found out that Hubby used Kiddo’s cell phone to take photos and video, so if I ever get that from her, I HAVE TO put it here!

Mom and Hubby waiting for us to ride

Anyway, next up, the three of us did the Racing Regatta, which reminded us of that old-school carnival ride The Himalaya. Again, because we’re big adults, we each got our own boat, balanced across the circle. I didn’t like this one nearly as much as the frog… it was too much up-and-down. This ride had 6+ hills, so it was a constant up-and-down, making my stomach feel queasy. And it felt like it went on for much longer than the frog… I was glad when it was over!

With the light dropping, we made our way back to the front of the park to check in for the Marvel Cave Tour. As we stood there, Hubby noticed a very important sign that said participants would need to walk in a bent-over fashion for a certain amount of time, since the cave walkway was short. Everyone kind of balked at that, so we all decided to skip it, sadly… I was bummed, because I really wanted to do it, but if I’d known there was some size/posture restrictions, I would have written it off and not planned on doing it. 

From here, we walked back to the Main Street area, and we caught one of the Christmas Tree lighting/shows. It was cute and quick, with a definite religious slant to it (which I loved). 

My two favorite ladies

Merry Christmas to You

We walked through the park some more, enjoying the gorgeous Christmas lights, but I do have to say… maybe too many lights? Especially once it got dark, the lights lent to a lack of depth perception, and that lent to a difficulty in differentiating between the buildings. I ended using Google Maps to take us over to The Fire District so that we could ride TheFlooded Mine. I didn’t really know what to expect, but it turned out to be a cross between a water boat ride (like Pirates of the Caribbean) and a shooter game (like Toy Story Midway Mania). We sat in a rickety boat with some very realistic six-shooters (but actually lasers) and shot at targets as we passed by. Out of all of us, it was MOM who got the high score! Though, I will say this… at the very end of the ride, when you think that there’s nothing else to shoot at, look up and to the left; there’s a single bullseye up there that you can shoot repeatedly to gain more points. 

Since we were nearby, the three of us went over to ride SDC’s newest coaster, Fire in the Hole. It’s an indoor coaster with three drops, onboard audio, and a water splashdown. This had the second-longest wait at maybe 10 minutes. Again, Mom stayed behind to hold our bags. The ride was really fun and not a “scary” coaster, which is exactly what I wanted.

Finally though, all of us were running out of steam. Part of that could be the massive hills we had to walk up and down (I mean, one of the main walkways is known as Cardiac Hill), but also because we hadn’t had anything to eat since Mr. B’s. But I refused to leave without the best thing you could possibly get at this park… Cinnamon Bread! Here we found the longest wait. For bread? Hubby & The Kiddo found a bench outside and sat waiting for us, while Mom and I got in line for bread. We chatted with a couple behind us about the area, the crowd levels, until it was our turn to get some bread. I knew that we would be getting a full loaf, but somehow was still surprised when we got… a full loaf of bread! Warm, cinnamon-y, light as a feather, bread. I watched as an employee took this pan of bread and ran it under a condiment dispenser, full of warm, gooey, icing before she handed it to me. I didn’t realize that there was some seating inside, so we went outside to get Hubby & The Kiddo, then came back inside. 

Unfortunately, Hubby was in a snit, saying that he didn’t want to go inside, he was done and wanted to leave. I told him to just suck it up for 10 minutes so we could try this bread. So he sulked and refused to even try the bread, while we ladies dug in to this pillowy, fragrant, heavenly goodness. I can’t really even begin to explain how good this was. It wasn’t a typical loaf of bread, or a donut, or a quick bread. It was voluminous, ballooning out of the pan, and once you stabbed it with a knife in an unsuccessful attempt to cut it into slices, it started to deflate, but in a good way. Each of us took a quarter of the loaf and devoured it. I saved the final quarter for Hubby, in case he wanted it later (he never did, so that was a waste of bread that I could have inhaled!)

$9.99 per Loaf

Now with a black cloud over us (because of his mood), we made our way out of the park and back to the trams. When we got dropped off, I suggested to Hubby that he go ahead of us, since he walks faster than we do, and he could warm up the car for us. It gave him a purpose (to override the gloomy mood), and it allowed the three of us to walk at a slower pace (we didn’t have to keep up with him), and enjoy the night. When we met up with him at the car, though, bless his heart... He’d started the car to warm it up, and as we got close, he opened all the doors for us, like a chivalrous man should always do… but by doing so, let all the warm out of the cabin, lol!

We all piled in and waited for the warmth to return to our fingers and toes, and I asked Hubby if he was doing okay. He apologized for his mood – he said that when he got back to the car to start it, he saw a bottle of water and sucked it down in one gulp. He realized that he was probably in a funk and feeling crappy because he hadn’t had anything to eat or drink since ice cream, and he was probably dehydrated. As I’ve been fighting with him about drinking more water in “real life,” this was massive for him… He’s learning, good for him!

Despite the delicious bread, we were all starving, so we drove over to Hollister to go to Hook & Ladder Pizza. Unfortunately, this is when the night kind of went off the rails. Hubby is a person who doesn’t always acknowledge when someone is talking to him. Mom is a person who will continue to talk to a person until they acknowledge her. So, as hubby and I were talking about him drinking the bottle of water, Mom, in her infinitely loving way, told him that if he needed a bottle of water, she had one in her purse. He never said anything to her, so she assumed that he didn’t hear her, and said it again. He continued to talk with me, she continued to talk. After a few minutes of this, he finally barked back at her, “If I wanted more water I would have asked,” and went back to talking to me. Not the best way of communicating with a 70+ year old woman, but I was just too tired to play peacemaker. So the ride to dinner was much quieter after that, as was dinner itself.

Pepperoni Pizza (Top), Sausage Pizza, Breadsticks

The inside of the restaurant was absolutely plastered with fireman or first responder patches and other firefighter paraphernalia. The cashier was busy as hell, taking orders and running dishes to the dining room, so it took 10 minutes or so to actually order. Both me and the kiddo got a pepperoni personal pizza; Hubby got a sausage personal pizza. We ordered a plate of garlic breadsticks for the table. The breadsticks were delicious, as was my pizza. Hubby didn’t like his – the sausage was cooked under the cheese, instead of on top of the cheese, so it gave it all a weird, slimy-ish mouthfeel, and he opted to steal some of my pizza instead. Basically, he just had a crappy few hours.

When we woke up on Friday, mom pulled me aside and said that she planned to tap out today. She was tired and headache-y, and thought that she’d just curl up on the couch for a quiet day. We could do dinner later. I told Hubby this, and he said that mom was being "butthurt" because he yelled at her last night. Which option was the right one, who knows. But I felt bad either way, because I really wanted mom to do all the fun stuff with us. But I had to respect her boundaries (though I felt like a terrible daughter). Plus, looking back now, it was good that she didn’t go… It never got much warmer than 50º and being outside for much of the day in that weather, she would have been uncomfortable, and possibly would have wanted to tap out after the first place anyway, so for her comfort, staying at the VRBO was definitely the better choice.

That meant that today was just the three of us, like old times, and I won’t lie, I missed my kiddo! She’s been on her own since 2021, it was wonderful to all be together again. She wanted to go back to Billy Gail’s for breakfast (she loved their French toast), so that’s where we went! She got another plate of French toast, Hubby got a delicious cheeseburger, and my fat ass opted for Chicken Fried Chicken, with fries, mashed potatoes, and cornbread, and holy crap! It was TWO full-size chicken breasts, absolutely smothered in white gravy (not sausage gravy). I didn’t even realize at first that there was two, since the top one was so big. I kept chipping away at the first one, and barely made a dent in it; when I moved it to get more space on my plate – that’s when I discovered the second one! Oh no… I left so much food on that plate, I felt really badly, but I had no room!

French Toast, Scrambled Egg, Sausage Patty

Cheeseburger & Fries

Chicken Fried Chicken, Fries, Mashed Potatoes, Cornbread

Holy god... there's a whole 'nother piece!

We let our food settle as we drove back to Shepherd of the Hills, because it was zipline time, baby!!!!  The second thing I was looking forward to this trip was to throw myself off a building a few times. We asked the kiddo if she wanted to do this (super-scared of heights), and she seemed willing to try. Hubby kept trying to tell her it’d be okay (he’s also scared of heights). The cashier was quick to tell us that if someone chickened out, there were no refunds; I said that if she didn’t go, I’d go again. So all three of us went up to the 14^th floor and her panic set in. And it got so much worse when the staff member came to take us to the platform. She was so scared she was crying and said she felt bad for letting us down, but she couldn’t do it. We e consoled her and told her that it was fine, she wasn’t letting us down. Though she did have the option to stay and watch from the platform, she opted to go back up the stairs and right back down the elevator to the ground instead. I felt so bad that she was so upset, but she really did feel like she could do it… when she was still safely on the ground.

So, it was just hubby and me. He’d already done Parakeet Pete, but that was at night when you couldn’t see anything below; I wondered how he’d handle this version. Well, let me tell ya… he handled it like a champ. He was very chatty with the employee who was strapping him in, and asked for a 3-2-1 countdown. And then, we were ziplining! For some reason, my line was much faster than his, so I couldn’t watch him at all, but I did look back near the beginning and he was smiling like a fool. When we landed and got out of the slings, he gave me a huge hug and said it was the coolest thing he’d ever done! He was like a little boy the entire ride back up to the front of the park, I was so happy he enjoyed it.

We found our daughter and asked how she was doing now that she’d had time to chill out and relax and she said she felt much better. Not enough to do it, of course, but her panic attack had abated. We went inside to pay for another ride for one of us (the other was using the kiddo’s unused ride), then gave her the keys for the car so she could sit inside until we were done.

On the second ride, we were paired with an adorable middle-age couple from the Chicago area, and the wife was very anxious about the ride. We chatted with them about the ride and what to expect. We let them go first (to get strapped in), and then we got strapped in, this time with Hubby on the outside seat (that’s a big deal that he felt safe enough to do that; he’s big on “middle seat” options). This time, my line was the slowest, but that worked in my favor because I was able to see (and record with my GoPro) everyone. At one point, hubby even let go of the straps and stuck his arms out! 

On the tram ride back to the front we all talked about the ride, about the freezing weather, and just general chitchat. The wife was bummed that she didn’t take any photos to prove that she did it, and I told her I’d be glad to share my GoPro footage with her (which I did when I got home, though I don’t know if she got it because she never replied back…).

We caught up with the kiddo at the car and headed back inside a third time, this time to get tickets for the Copperhead Mountain Coaster. https://theshepherdofthehills.com/coaster/ We also got hubby a souvenir tee-shirt so he could brag to all his friends that he ziplined. TWICE. There weren’t any shirts available in 2x or 3x, so both of us ladies were out of luck… ah, the curse of the chesticles.

This was the kiddo’s first time doing a mountain coaster and she loved it! Which is a good thing, because we’re doing all the coasters in Branson! Next up was the Runaway Mountain Coaster at Branson Mountain Adventure Park. https://www.bransonalpinemountaincoaster.com/coaster This one was a little bit out of town in a pretty, secluded area, in Fall Creek, between Branson and Table Rock. This one, said to be the longest mountain coaster in the Midwest {over 4900 feet}, had a 1900ft uphill track to begin, and then 3000ft of downhill thrills. Though, to be fair, Copperhead is 4800 feet, so it’s not that much longer. But the uphill at the beginning was interesting, because they put some fake animals in the brush and piped in corresponding noises while giving us some nature lessons. This ride was my favorite, but I can’t put into words why. It was just a little more thrilling, a little more scenic, and just a little more… everything.

Our final coaster was situated right on the 76 strip, The Branson Coaster, https://www.thebransoncoaster.com/  and this one gave me “Tourist Trap” vibes from the get-go. Staff were there to move bodies, not provide an experience. The coaster cars were a little beat up and uncomfortable. The cashier who sold us our tickets spent more time mumbling and trying to make jokes (that we couldn’t hear) than to speak clearly and make sure we knew what we were doing. The ride started with a downhill (like Copperhead) and after only 30 seconds or so, it felt like it was over… what the hell? Oh, no, that was a fake out! There’s still another half of the ride to go! That’s fun, I suppose. But you took away all of my momentum. Maybe that was the point? This was also the only one that gave me a business card after and begged me to leave reviews on TripAdvisor and Google.

Thoroughly adrenalined-out, we sat in the car and decided what we wanted to do next. The Kiddo wanted to go back to Dick’s 5 & 10 because she had some souvenir money to burn and she wanted one of the cool dragon things she saw last time we were there. So downtown we went! We stood in front of a shelf for about an hour, trying to decide which one she wanted. She thought about her budget. She thought about where she’d put it. She thought about which one would look best in the place she wanted to put it. And with all that, when she finally found the one, she was like a proud mama. We also found some souvenir tee-shirts (mine was on clearance!) and picked those up, along with a few Christmas ornaments and a magnet (of course!). While we shopped, I texted mom to see if she was up for dinner with us, and she declined, stating that she was comfy-cozy in bed with her bowl of leftover Dairyland chili for dinner. Okay… either she still feels icky, or still feels slighted.

We ended up at Culver’s for dinner; sometimes you just need fast food. More burgers and chicken tenders. After that, we treated ourselves to Mint Chip milkshakes at Chick-fil-A down the road and brought them back to the VRBO with us. We all talked about our day, but eventually had to do the sad thing, and pack. We were leaving early in the morning, and I didn’t want to have to do much packing in the morning.