Fire in the Sky...

Vacation.  It is an absolute blessing and a curse.  Going away from the mediocre day to day life of going to work and going home and doing absolutely nothing in between is refreshing. However, coming back to that mediocre life is quite depressing.

I had a marvelous time with my Aunt Penny.  It was blissful staying in her house out in the boondocks, with no lights, no traffic, just blessed silence!  I was so grateful to be away from the city FINALLY!  I got to meet her two pushy but lovable pitbull dogs, Zoey and Lily.  Also finally met her god-daughter, Aubrey who is extremely smart for just being two-in-a-half years old! Spent Friday shopping with her and then went to dinner at a oyster bar.  No, I didn't have any seafood I ate chicken lol, yes I know I'm lame! :) Then had a little bonfire at Aunt Penny's with some cousins that I haven't seen in quite a few years!

Saturday we went to a small little festival at Dreamcatcher Horse Ranch and Rescue. We met over a dozen horses that were rescued by this ranch.  It was really amazing to see this ranch bring in so many unwanted and mistreated horses to nourish back to health and to have a loving home again. Then, we made our way to Grandma and Grandpa's house for the Rowles Easter Dinner.  (We had it early because my Uncle was going  back to CA Sunday morning.) It was great to see all my cousins and family from the south that I don't get to see very often.

Now the highlight of this vacation had to be Sunday and Monday.  We woke up early Sunday morning and drove to Cocoa Beach. We sat on the soft white sand of the beach, and watched the glorious rising of the sun on Easter morning.
 What a perfect way to spend Easter morning, where we celebrate the Resurrection of the Savior, Jesus Christ! It truly was a beautiful and breathtaking morning. :) After spending sometime on the beach we went back home and got ready for church and found a chapel close to us and went to Sacrament meeting.  Following that we browsed through Ron John's Surf Shop and oh boy it is very easy to lose yourself in that ginormous store!

Then onto the other highlight of the vacation.  Aunt Penny drove back out to the Dreamcatcher Horse Ranch and Rescue center.  (She did a lot of driving for me - Thank you!) She found this place online and thought if we were going to go riding lets go somewhere where our money will help the animals.  It was a nice peaceful ride.  Nothing fancy, not really all that fancy of scenery but definitely relaxing and quiet.  I couldn't believe I was in Florida because we were in the "hilly, country" part which isn't what most "tourist" go see.  What I loved most about the ride was that it was just Aunt Penny and I with our guide.  So no annoying other riders there chatting away as well.  I could tell Aunt Penny really enjoyed it too, she absolutely loves horses but hasn't ridden in many many years but is so comfortable around them.

After the ride we were going to head to the other side of Florida near Tampa Bay area and watch the sunset but the sky was getting quite cloudy so instead we went back to Grandma's and Grandpa's for dinner of Hamburgers and then played two games of Push Rummy! It's a tradition for me to play that game every time I go to Florida or the Islands in NY.  I never play it other than when I'm with the "Rowles" family! :D

We then made it home and stayed up way too late watching TV and not wanting to move.  Then decided to get up Monday morning to watch the sunrise again.  When Monday morning rolled around it was mighty hard for me to get out of bed.  I almost said no I'm not going to go, I just want to sleep before I fly out.  I'm glad I didn't though!  We went this time to Melbourne Beach just a little more south from Cocoa. Aunt  Penny had a job site there so it worked out great.  It was over an hour drive so I fell asleep in the car on the way.  We were running late for the sunrise but it was also very overcast so we weren't sure what it would be like.  It was amazing still!  Beautiful, breathtaking and so relaxing!  I didn't want to leave.  This beach was quieter (no spring breakers hanging out here) and so peaceful.  I could have sat down and brought out a book to read or written in my journal for the next few hours!

What a wonderful way to spend my last in Florida.  Even though on the drive there I was questioning my sanity I'm so glad I decided to go.  It was well worth it.  We stayed longer at this beach than in Cocoa and walked up and down the shore for quite awhile! Finally went back home and I took a much needed quick nap and I said good-bye to Florida.  

I have gone to Florida many, many times before since I have family that lives there, however this was the first time I actually really spent a lot of time on the beach. I LOVED IT! I would go again in a heartbeat.  As a result from this trip all I wanted to do was hop in my car and go on one long roadtrip around the country and see all the beautiful creations that Heavenly Father has created for us.  I could live on the beach and watch the sunrise every morning and never grow tired of it.  Someday maybe I'll have that wish! :D