Suzanne Calling

Vacation is over. It was a nice week, mostly spent relaxing, but it's back to the grind tomorrow. We spent today vegging and recovering from yesterday's jaunt through Epcot. I'd planned on writing about the trip, but I'm fading, so I'll leave you with a segment from my favorite WDW event:

Yep, I'm at it again. This time, Daytona's neon. I could probably spend a week taking pictures and not hit it all, but here are a few:

Well, something like that, anyway. When we ventured out to California five years ago, Ed and I made a deal that we'd only dine at places we couldn't find on the East Coast. We got the In and Out Burger, Marie Callender's and a bunch of local mom and pop places that were, without fail, good eats. Ever since, we've subscribed to that philosophy. Yes, we do eat at chain places when we're back on LI, but other vacations, we've unwittingly followed the same rule: avoid the chains, eat at the independent restaurants and get recommendations from locals. In Daytona, there are places we know. For instance, every trip, since Ed's first stay in this town twenty-some years ago, we *will* at at the Ocean Deck . We enjoyed a meal here on our honeymoon, the open air bar and reggae band hooked me on this favorite, too. We've been with the kids a few times, too. There are no overnight stays in this town without a meal here. A couple of months ago, Ed and Chef spent...

This is the first birthday that I've been on vacation. I could get used to the idea. We relaxed near the ocean and waded in the surf, got hotdogs from a truck on the beach (breakfast!), spent another hour or so by the hotel pool. Ventured out for lunch and a skim board for Chef, then free drinks from the hotel bar and dinner at the world famous Ocean Deck. Along the way, Ed managed to get me a pound of gourmet chocolates and a HUGE drink at the Ocean Deck. It was nice, quiet and low pressure. Perfect, even. The cherry on top was the dozens of birthday wishes on Facebook. Sometimes, the quirks of FB tick me off, but today, it brought many, many smiles from friends I've had forever or just a short time, nearby and half a world away. I may not be Rockefeller or Warren Buffett, but I'm definitely rich when it comes to the people in my life and today reminded me of that.

My boss asked everyone to take their vacations before August began. When I broached the subject to Ed, he said he'd rather wait until fall. Then, a couple of weeks ago, he changed his mind and wanted to go. After running around and handling other people's things for so long, he wanted a week to relax and not do very much. So here we are: Before he and I were a couple, he'd vacationed here several times. We stayed here on our honeymoon and after our first Disney vacation after a sleepless night with a not-quite two year old with a double ear infection. It's probably one of the few towns he's never lived in that he knows very, very, well. Relaxation is very easy for him to accomplish here. And the rest of us are only too happy to comply. Good thing I'm loaded up with sunscreen!