Stepping Out and Starting Over

In the middle of the 2020 Covid Pandemic our family packed up the family cars on July 3rd, and got the heck out of MO. We drove all night to get to our favorite vacation destination in the Florida panhandle to soak up some sun, sand, ocean waves, and a little extra dose of freedom. At that time FL was opening up all their beaches and restaurants, while our land-locked Midwest prison was shutting down all of our favorite restaurants, refusing to allow gas station fountain drinks, and closing the local Wal-Mart at 8 pm. We decided to rent a large home on the beach and let our oldest daughter who had just been robbed of the second half of her Senior year bring 4 friends with her. Just for some extra fun, and a fuzzy layer of happy chaos, we invited my sister and her two kids to join us as well! The more the merrier, right? It was clear that all 13 people on this trip desperately needed a break from the tyranny back home when happy tears flowed at the site of an open IHOP, and ...