We are back home. I've unpacked most things except for the gifts.
Lots of things went right. Lots of things went wrong. I am trying to put it all into perspective.
Dinner at XDSiL's was very nice, steaks on the grill and he cooked and did most of the hostessing with DD helping. His apartment is nice, modern, in a big complex one could easily get lost in (I did). We stayed over there because the ride to other DD's in the dark would have been hard and maybe dangerous. DD told me 408 toll road is all construction and even she doesn't go on it at night.
Next noon, got over to older DD's townhouse. No trouble finding it. Lots of quarters in the toll booths. She wasn't mad at us for not coming the night before. We were wall to wall people at both places. Card tables lined up made a table in the middle of the living room. ALL the Christmas food was eaten up. We decided that with all the teenage boys now adult size the portions need to be much bigger! It was funny but we all had plenty. Just no leftovers.
Day after Christmas instead of coming home we stayed; went to WM which is 2 blocks away from her; got C.Cards and wrapping paper 50% off. Went out to dinner and other DD and 2 sons came too. Nice.
Trip today after breakfast was absolutely awful.
Dee should appreciate this: from Oviedo on 417, it splits - the left Y goes to east coast (wrong direction to us) the right Y goes either West or South (dont remember) but BOTH ways are marked 408. No clue where 417 goes or disappears to. We followed Garmen which directed us to the right and we ended up downtown Orlando. Couldn't find 417 again. We ended up on 408 for a while into that bad construction area. Got off, not wanting to go to Turnpike
and some awful awful roads ended up into Kissimmee. One place I will never drive in again: Kissimmee.
All over the place from there until we found 17 and of course lost it several times; got lost in Winterhaven finding it a 3rd time; was on 27 for a while; IT WAS 5 HOURS GETTING HOME. I was sick at my stomach by the time we got here. We had maps. Printed from computer. Brand new FLorida map from bookstore. Our GPS. We don't know what to do differently. GPS just kept trying to get us to go onto any Toll road which we kept rejecting and resetting to NO TOLLS... it's lucky we made it at all actually.
So in the middle of all that, we got the message that our first cousin's husband has passed away in the hospital.
He'd been sick a long while.
Going to try getting caught up on sleep. I've discovered I can't sleep while I'm away any more. I think I've had about 4 hours this whole trip away.
DGS is with his girlfriend in Omaha Nebraska at her grandparents' place, probably into all this weather. I hope he can get back in time to get back to school. They flew there.