Day 98, Year 8: Family Gathering
Date: Saturday, February 9, 2013
Weather: Mostly Sunny but Cooler, High Temp in the 60’s F
Location: Reitz Union Hotel, University of Florida, Gainsville, Florida
We’ve just had a fantastic day here in Gainsville visiting with Mark’s family. Gainsville was the chosen meeting place as it was a central location for those coming from the Florida panhandle, from the St. Augustine area, and those of us coming from the Fort Myers area. Mark’s sister Mary Ellen has four children and all of them graduated from the University of Florida in Gainsville, so it is also a place that all feel comfortable visiting. Mary Ellen’s oldest son Danny and his two elementary aged boys are here. Her youngest son, Brian, is here with his wife Winnie and thirteen year-old Josh. The oldest daughter, Michelle, is here with her husband Jim and two teenage-age sons, Sam and Tristen. The youngest daughter, Teresa, came from Lakeland to be here. And then there are adults in the older generation-Mark and I, Steve, and Mary Ellen and Lee. We arrived in time to have lunch with the gang at Burrito Brothers, a hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant. Then we split up with Mark and Steve going with the younger generation to get haircuts. Mary Ellen, Lee, and I went back to the hotel that is in the huge student union complex right in the center of the campus. We visited the Green Pond that is full of turtles and a resident alligator and watched as the younger generation tossed a football on the green. The original purpose of the gathering was a delayed Christmas for Mary Ellen and Lee’s family, so our next activity was a Yankee swap gift exchange. Then everyone but Mark, Steve, Mary Ellen, and me went to a Gator basketball game. We went to see the Baughman Center, a student designed chapel on campus, and then on the Bat House where we watched thousands of bats come out at dusk. We all got back together for dinner at the Genghis Grill to enjoy Asian stir-fry and came back to the hotel and talked until mid-night. It was a full day and so special for Mark and I as we got to see Mary Ellen and Lee’s children and grandchildren that we haven’t seen for years. Their belated Christmas gathering became a whole family gathering and it was great. And the choice of staying in a hotel right in the student center on campus was also a great choice. I don’t know if it is common for universities to have this kind of facility, but this student center seems to have everything a student could possibly want, including the hotel for family stays.
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| 130209 Day 98 Florida Visit 2013–Family Reunion in Gainsville |
