Home Again!

After a fabulous five-day getaway to Daytona Beach, David and I are back home once again. God sure smiled on our travel plans as a major winter storm was moving in just as we returned to South Dakota last night.
The weather was quite chilly--when you hear the locals pulling out the "I should move to Florida" joke, you KNOW it is chilly--but still sunny and a perfectly relaxing vacation.
I apologize to all of the orange growers who must cringe by now when they hear the Melius couple (a.k.a. Jack Frost's helpers) are coming to visit. Last year we experienced record lows in the Keys. This year we not only shattered record lows, but were also there for part of the longest cold snap in history!
I now present some of the "cool" highlights:

Daytona Beach
They advertise it as "The World's Most Famous Beach," but our Italian breakfast companions questioned the validity of that. After they showed us pictures of beaches on the Mediterranean Sea, we did as well. :o)

Even though neither David nor I follow NASCAR closely, we just couldn't go to Daytona and not to the Speedway. We both thought it was really interesting and learned a lot, such as the fact that the speedway is much, much bigger than we thought and the cars travel at a 30 degree angle on the track. If they didn't travel as fast as they do, they would all be pulled to the bottom.

The Ponce de Leon lighthouse at sunset.

Our Bed & Breakfast--"The Coquina Inn" in Daytona Beach. Oh, how I already miss the Hunts' warm hospitality, the claw foot bathtub, and five course breakfasts featuring Egg Nog Waffles, Herb Baked Eggs, Frittata, and Chocolate Orange French Toast as featured main courses each day. We stayed in the room on the top left and hope to return again, perhaps for an anniversary trip someday.

We couldn't leave without driving on the beach--something drivers are still allowed to do on Daytona Beach along miles and miles of coastline.
Ah, so long sunny Florida days and hello South Dakota blizzard! It is strange, but I could not think of a better day to return than one that was spent with our whole family together watching the snow blow around outside.
Even though sometimes I wish my ancestors had settled farther south in this country, Dorothy was right all those years ago. There really is no place like home. I wonder if Teresa will let me borrow her sparkly red shoes next time we go on vacation. Then I can bypass airport security and get home to hug my babies that much sooner.