To Grandfather's House We Go! Part 3

As you may recall, in Part 2 of our Christmastime story, Chris and I celebrated Christmas Day with the whole "fam damily" (as we like to say) and had eaten way too much food.

The 26th (Boxing Day!) started with the two of us rolling out of bed at a decent hour, cleaning and packing up, and checking out of the Sheraton.  Seriously, if you need a hotel in Northern Orlando, check it out; it was a great place.  We weren't quite sure what everyone was doing for breakfast, but given all of the heavy (but delicious!) food we'd been eating the past few days, we felt something lighter and healthier was in order.  We hopped onto Yelp to find a local spot on the way to Granddad's house and located a cafe called First Watch that seemed to fit the bill.  As it turns out, it is an eastern chain, but at least it started in Florida, so I suppose there's that.  We were seated right away, and had fun looking out the window while waiting for our food to arrive:

Just a lizard climbing a sprinkler

to celebrate Boxing Day.

Everyone has their own traditions.

Now that's commitment.

Breakfast was fresh, healthy, and delicious, and if you're in the area of a First Watch, I highly recommend checking them out.  After we finished, it was back into the car and over to Granddad's house, where the rest of the crew was just sitting down to a breakfast of their own.  We helped clean things up and started sorting out leftover food while they ate, and after they finished, we all pitched in to handle the job.

Brothers and sisters, ya'll.

 Always bothering each other,

no matter how old we all get.

We divided up the turkey and ham from Christmas dinner, the leftover sides, and even the huge pile of desserts (note to everyone - next time, make 1/2 of what you brought this year - we barely made a dent in that cornucopia of sugar).  As we were almost done, Uncle Jim rooted around in the tupperware drawer and brought out a round, clear tub previously used to hold gelato.  When we asked what that was for, he handed it to Uncle Doug, and said, "fill her up, please!"

That's a "Pappy To Go" cup.

I know a few folks who would be

horrified by this picture,

but hey, if someone is willing to share

their 15 year Pappy with you,

you put it in whatever container you can find.

After the cars were packed, it was time to take one last picture in front of all the decorations...

...and then it was time to head out.  We told Granddad goodbye and let him know how much we enjoyed visiting with him on this trip.  The rest of us (in case you're keeping track, we were down not only Jim and Leigh by this point, but also Aunt Kim, as she had to go to work on the 26th) headed to a nearby Cajun restaurant, Tibby's New Orleans Kitchen for lunch.  We planned to hit up World of Beer to continue making merry, but as it turns out, they were closed until later in the day.  As it turned out, Tibby's was fantastic; the Tibby's chain was started by the same guy that founded Tijuana Flats, a fast casual TexMex-ish restaurant, and also happened to buy Grandmom and Granddad's house when it went up for sale a few years back (who then tore it down and then didn't really do anything else to the land.  Boo).  Although most of the crew had finished eating a big breakfast just a few hours earlier, they were able to order smaller lunch options (and even split things in a few cases), and everyone left happy.  The food was great, and the drinks (for those that had them - I was happy to stick with iced tea by this point) were good, too.

We stole the check!

Things in Florida seem so cheap now

after living in California for nine months!

After lunch, we hugged everyone goodbye in the parking lot, as this was the last we'd see of the extended family on this trip.  Chris, Mom, and I hopped in her car and started heading toward the west coast, back to her house in Pinellas Park.  The trip was pretty calm, although we did hit a traffic snag getting out of Orlando proper (freaking Disney), but the rest of the journey was uneventful.  I napped for a little bit in the back seat, and when I awoke, we were heading across the Tampa Bay bridge closest to Mom's house.

Upon arriving at Mom's house, we helped her unload the car and then were stolen away by Jim, who put us in the Prius (felt like home!) and took us to his house in Safety Harbor for a "brothers and sisters and spouses" night.  He and Leigh showed us all around their cute house; while I've visited before, this was Chris' first time, and I really enjoyed seeing all of the work they've done in the past few years since I'd been there last.  As mentioned above, they live in the city of Safety Harbor, which is a really cute city that has a great walkable downtown; they're close enough to stroll around and eat at a new place for dinner every night for at least a week or two, and we availed ourselves of this opportunity.

We first headed to Crooked Thumb brewery, a newer brewery in the area that's only a quarter mile from their house.  It's a great place; industrial inside with a backyard area with picnic tables and outside games where dogs and kids can romp around to their hearts' content.  We tried almost everything they had on tap, including this lambic, brewed to raise money to fight breast cancer:

It is so very pink.

It's also just okay,

but the rest of the beer was delicious.

The cute little outdoor area.

Not my picture -

thanks, internets!

When we finished our libations, it was time for food, so we made our way back to the house to say hi to Pavlov and get Leigh some applesauce (she has a very restrictive diet right now due to health concerns, so she's never sure what she might find in any given location - thus, she prepares ahead of time).  We saw the train go by (like, almost in their front yard - if trains ever become sentient and decide to destroy houses, both of ours are in trouble, yo), and we headed into downtown SH proper.  We strolled for awhile and decided on dinner at Bar Fly, a local seafood place.  All of our food was delicious, and if I recall correctly, I had a Cuban sandwich (ah, Tampa, the area where all Cuban sandwiches are PROPER Cubans, regardless of where you go), of which Chris ate half (it was gigantic).  When the waitress asked Leigh for what she'd like as her side, she asked for a salad, but ones of the items she needed to leave off was the bacon; I kidded that I'd take her extra bacon on my side salad, and our waitress delivered. Needless to say, it may not have been the healthiest salad I've ever eaten, but it was pretty freaking good.  

After dinner, we headed back to Jim and Leigh's to hang out a bit longer and visit with them and our neph-dog, Pavlov.

Can you handle the cute?

No, no you can't.

Don't even try.

One of the highlights of the evening was completely unexpected by Chris and I, but it turned out to be quite entertaining.  While helping Mom clean out boxes, Jim and Leigh happened across our wedding DVD.  Since she wasn't yet in the family at that time (we didn't have our claws in her then), Leigh didn't come to our wedding and thus, hadn't witnessed it.  She decided that viewing the DVD would be part of our evening, and we all settled in for a show.  It was really fun to revisit that day, mainly to enjoy remarking on how much younger everyone looked, particularly Ethan, Aren, and Emma, all of whom are now serving our country in the Armed Forces; since our wedding took place 13 years ago, they were much, much smaller then, as you might imagine.

After having a great time hanging out, Jim graciously drove us back to Mom's house, where we bid her goodnight and turned in.  So, fun story time - as some of you many know, Chris is super allergic to cats, and since I can remember, Mom's always had one (or more, despite being allergic herself).  When we visit, Chris prepares for this by taking allergy medication leading up to and through the trip, and as long as he doesn't rub his face on the cat, he's generally okay.  As we were getting ready for bed, Chris washed his face and brushed his teeth in the bathroom, and then it was my turn.  I must have not completely latched the door to the spare bedroom, because when I went back in to get toothpaste, Chris was on top of the bed in battle pose in his boxers, ready to fight or flee as needed.

I asked him what was going on, as this isn't our normal bedtime ritual, and he explained that while I was gone, the door slowly creaked open.  Thinking it was me, he started to get out of bed when Mom's cat Lily ran into the room and disappeared under the bed.  I arrived for toothpaste right at the moment this was happening, hence the karate pose and general air of terror I witnessed.  I let him know that he could lay back in bed and just leave the door open; the cat might leave on her own, and if not, I'd flush her out when I came back.  After finishing up my bathroom business, I came back to find the door firmly shut, and Chris back in bed.

According to him, he tried moving Lily out from under the bed with his hand, at which point she (knowing she was the more fierce creature here) hissed and swatted at him.  Chris' next step was to take one of the plastic storage bins under the bed and slowly push it toward Lily, gently crowding her out of the space.  Although she wasn't happy about this (more hissing and thumping on the bin itself), she decided enough was enough and let him win the battle. With that excitement over, it was time for bed for everyone.

Check out this shady mo fo.

She's waiting for you, honey!

Later!

Amy