So we headed off on our big trip to Florida on Thursday, Christmas Eve. We were going to Florida for one main purpose, my Dad's funeral and memorial service. I had decided that since my parents never made plans for their final resting place, that Florida was a good choice since most of my mother's family is buried there. I had contacted the cemetery and made arrangements for the burial and had decided on cremation for traveling purposes.  After speaking to the Deacon who would perform the service at the cemetery, I found out that we could schedule a funeral mass at the nearby cathedral. What a special opportunity! I thought since we weren't parishioners that we could not use their church. Instead, I was directed to a wonderful volunteer who helped me through the entire process of setting up the service over the phone. We could even have the mass said in polish if we wished! We just would not be able to understand a word of it! And unfortunately the coordinator had never heard of  a polish mass with accordion music(aka polka mass).   I also wanted to set up a place to meet afterwards for lunch since the whole family was getting together and the ceremony was scheduled for the morning. I did not want to worry about the hot Florida sun or afternoon showers, so I scheduled the service for the morning.  Turns out we had the most gorgeous weather during our whole trip there. I also figured we could find a restaurant easier for lunchtime than dinner.

Our family decided to travel the fastest way down to Florida that Mom B would approve of-the Amtrak Auto Train! We talked about trying it for many years. This seemed like a good opportunity. You pick up the train in Virginia, south of DC and it takes you to Orlando! They drive your vehicle right on the train. We left at 4pm, slept overnight and arrived in Orlando at 8am! Before the train station was even open. We made great time. And we had a wonderful dinner in the dining car-fish, beef, rice and broccoli and cheesecake for dessert. Although the train is a bit bumpy and not easy to walk back and forth from your car to the dining car. They also have a lounge car with a bar and tv screens to watch movies. We bunked down in our own sleeping quarters. Mom and I shared a compartment, Scott and Allison next door on the lower level and Tom had his own space up top. The train has two levels. We were closer to the bathrooms which looked just like airplane toilets. Each compartment has two seats that fold down into a bed along with a small table. The conductor in our car made up the beds complete with pillows, sheets and blankets. I slept in the overhead bunk. It was a real pain climbing up and down to go to the bathroom. They had showers, but Tom said they were not very exciting.  And it is not a terribly restful sleep. The train starts and stops along the way to let freight trains pass, and it is a bit noisy and shaky, but it was fun to look out the window at small towns along the way all decorated with Christmas lights.  Mom and I even spent some time finishing up our Christmas cards before dinner. Allison and I had traveled by train in Europe on an overnight trip and thought this was much more comfortable. When we arrived, all the passengers sit outside the train station waiting for their cars to be driven off. We were on our way by 9am!

Our funeral service was scheduled for Tuesday which gave everyone a chance to travel to Florida. Dan and Sheila and their twins, Caroline and Clayton, arrived Sunday afternoon in Venice as did Dave and Sandra and their two boys, Nicholas and Christopher, all driving in from Texas. Their daughter Sarah drove in with her boyfriend Monday night from Louisiana, and Mike B flew into Tampa on Monday night as well. Unfortunately my Uncle Joe and Aunt Kathy had car trouble along the way and were not able to make the ceremony. But Tom's parents and his sister Susan and husband John were invited and joined us for the ceremony and lunch afterwards. I spent Monday getting ready for the busy day-calling the cemetery and the church as well as the restaurant to verify our schedule. I also treated Mom B to her first manicure/pedicure along with the rest of us girls-Allison and myself, Sandra and Mom Seitz. We all took a quick lunch break at the restaurant next door with Tom and his parents and then dropped Mom B off to get her hair done. Then it was time to get the extended family together to see the new "Star Wars" movie. Since we had such a huge group we decided to split up and enjoy dinner with the Bozyk clan back at our hotel. I had Tom reserve a suite in the Hampton Inn for mom and I and a room for the kids. That way we could visit with family members without crowding out the Seitz families in their Florida homes. We all enjoyed an evening of take out from  Pizza Hut and catching up.

We all arrived at the church on Tuesday morning early for a quick review of the service. Tom, Allison, Sandra and Sarah all graciously volunteered for the readings, and Scott, Clayton and Christopher helped out with bringing up the gifts for communion. Dan and Dave led our procession into and out of the church with Dad's urn. The priest offered a prayer prior to the mass over the urn as we all walked in together. I brought along some mementos per recommendation of the mass coordinator to display on a small table in front of the altar. I placed a photo of Dad, some Christmas lillies, a small Ford truck and emblem, his John Deere hat and some Florida shells as well as Michigan Petoskey stones. The church was beautifully decorated with poinsettias and a huge manger scene. They even had a banner on the altar with Dad's name and an even bigger surprise, the Christmas mass was said in his honor! We had the whole church to ourselves as well as our own organist and choir. The music and the service was wonderful. Afterwards we headed to the cemetery. We had a short prayer service and had a quick opportunity to visit the gravesite and the memorial headstone. Both my parents now have a joined plot among family members, primarily on my mom's side. After the burial, we headed to Sarasota for lunch.  I thought the luncheon went well-lots of food and drinks to choose from, but I was disappointed that they did not have a projector on hand to show off our slide show of Dad. Allison, Tom and I worked very hard organizing and scanning photos of Dad from childhood to present day. Allison even added beautiful piano music. They had a screen, but no projector available. Instead we played it on the laptop, but it is so much nicer on a large screen. Later we showed Tom's parents on their tv and brother Mike had an opportunity to see it. I thought it was very sweet.

So that was the most important part of our trip. After lunch we all took a family photo and then split up. I dropped into Nokomis Beach and watched a beautiful sunset with Mike. We then headed into Venice for ice cream at Kilwins!(just like Michigan). Allison needed to get her fill of  Superman ice cream. It was a very special day.