We finally got our act together and went on our first official family vacation. You know -- before the oldest is in college. The one where money is spent with abandon, like we pluck it off the money tree growing in our backyard.
That one.
We went to Disney World!
Day One And We're Off! - We decided to drive because it was cheaper than flying; it would create great family memories; and we could bring a bunch of stuff we wouldn't be able to bring if we flew.
Besides, a great road trip would be fun, right?
Oh, it was. We headed out about 8:30am Saturday morning. CB and I manning the front, MawMaw and the younger two in the back, and the big guy in the Way Back with the Igloo cooler.
We were all perky and excited about our destination. Until about 9pm Saturday night. More on that later.
Driving was tiring. 1000 miles, each way. The trip there was full of excited anticipation. The kids watched DVDs and listened to books on tape most of the way. I did Sudoku. CeanBounter drove. MawMaw entertained her backseat buddies.
About 2-1/2 hours into the trip we had to stop due to, "I think I'm going to throw up," coming from the back seat courtesy of FM#2. He was watching a movie and resting the DVD player on his lap. We think the motion of the screen made him car sick.
We exited the interstate and pulled into a gas station. He put his feet on terra firma, had a few sips of Sprite, and he was good to go. Bathroom breaks for everyone!
I will call this throw-up event our Magic Moment #1 because it was a blessing the Lord sprinkled into our vacation that we were very thankful for and will remember as something really neat or exceptional that happened to us along the way.
I remember how my legs felt after being in the car for so long and trying to get around to FM#2's side of the car as quickly as possible with noodle legs.
I remember the expression on everyone's face as they stretched their legs in the parking lot of the convenience store, how we were relieved by the not-so-great bathrooms, and that excited feeling of getting back in the car to get closer and closer to Disney World!
The kids settled back into their movies; we had cold beverages in hand, empty bladders, and no one threw up! See...Magic Moment!
The weather was good the whole way and we were accompanied by those black love bugs. Everytime we stopped for gas, CB would clean the windshield. It was covered in lovebug juice and smooshed carcasses.
Sometimes we had to stop for the sole purpose of cleaning the windshield because it would be hard for CB to see! And whenever we opened the car door we had to do it quickly so the love bugs wouldn't get in which they sometimes did anyway.
We would SPLAT! them or crack the window so they'd get sucked out at 80 mph.
Magic Moment #2. MawMaw cooked a roast before she left home and brought it down. We made roast beef sandwiches the night before we left and packed them in the cooler along with other goodies for on-the-road munching.
Instead of eating while driving, we needed to stretch our legs so we stopped at a little tourist center in Mississippi, or were we still in Louisiana? I think it was the west side of Mississippi.
This little tourist center was a modular building with a wood facade that made it look like a cabin. It had a porch around it. It must have been fairly new because you could still smell the stain. Apparently, they had left for lunch because even though the sign on the door said they were open, they were not.
I thought we'd have to hit the road again and look for another rest stop, but CB pulled around back where we discovered a picnic table under the covered porch. We enjoyed our roast beef sandwiches, chips, drinks, cookies, and lovebugs.
Yes, lovebugs. Only a few bothered us during our meal because the majority swirled around our car like a black cloud. We surmised they were attracted to the heat the car was giving off.
We cleaned up our picnic area, used the bathrooms which were quite clean, and somehow managed to get back in the car amid the swarm. We hit the road once more.
And now for the awards:
Worst Roads & Nastiest Bathrooms - Louisiana, a place we will be glad never to have to return to again.
What a Relief/Smoother Roads - Mississippi! We loved their visitors center. A beautiful southern plantation with FREE soda and a lunar module out front.
(From this picture can you tell who's doing the driving?)
Best Roads Overall - Florida, well-maintained roads and lots of trees! Besides, where else can you go through towns with weird names like Okahumpka?
Most Rest Areas - Florida received yet another award because it had more rest areas than I've ever seen and they were exceptionally nice. Many had a State Patrolman on duty. Saturday evening right before sunset, we stopped at one rest stop that had palm date trees. The fruit was ripe and had fallen off the trees. You could smell the sweetness in the air.
Coolest Bathroom and Magic Moment #3 goes to -- Whataburger in Somewhere, Florida. It was already dark when we stopped here and we were starting to get tired. CB wanted to keep truckin' so we decided to eat in the car, but we went inside to order so we could use their facilities. And what facilities they were! There was a flat screen TV in the men's bathroom!
This Whataburger also had one of the nicest girls working there. She was very patient with us (we were very road weary). She gave FM#3 crayons and a coloring page, made menu suggestions that would save us money - some of us weren't very hungry so a couple of meals were split. She was a delight! I wish I would've gotten her name and written a letter.
And last, but not least...
The Thank You for Sticking Out Just a Little 'Cause We're Almost to Florida Award goes to --Alabama where we crossed over a couple of bays, saw the USS Alabama, birds diving into the water, and we got to drive through a tunnel.
Are We There Yet? - And this came from the adults! I'd like to state for the record that Tallahassee is a loooong way from here! And let me just say that there are NO towns of significant size in Florida's panhandle.
After 12 hours on the road we were ready for the first leg of the trip to be over, yet we still had 3 hours to go! Because it was dark, I couldn't do Sudoku to keep myself awake and we were in the middle of nowhere so we couldn't get anything on the radio to hold our interest (or our eyes open).
Nothing but black night whizzed by as we raced toward our destination which at this point was a comfy bed and soft pillow. Brutal. Occasionally, I'd say something to CB to make sure he was awake, but mostly we quietly fought off sleep while our backseat passengers snoozed.
After 12 hours on the road we were ready for the first leg of the trip to be over, yet we still had 3 hours to go! Because it was dark, I couldn't do Sudoku to keep myself awake and we were in the middle of nowhere so we couldn't get anything on the radio to hold our interest (or our eyes open).
Nothing but black night whizzed by as we raced toward our destination which at this point was a comfy bed and soft pillow. Brutal. Occasionally, I'd say something to CB to make sure he was awake, but mostly we quietly fought off sleep while our backseat passengers snoozed.
When we arrived in Tallahassee, we (and by "we", I mean, CB) had to unload all of the luggage from the roof of the car because we had a soft-sided luggage carrier and they don't lock like the hard-sided ones. He loaded it all, including the Igloo cooler, onto one of those bellhop carts. We were able to pile everything on it and make it up to the room in one trip.
While CB parked the car, me, MawMaw, and the FM's lugged our belongings up to our room.
Now, to make my point here, I must say that this luggage cart was seriously weighted down and very hard to push, pull, and steer. But FM#1 and I managed -- in and out of the elevator, around the corner, down the hall. There was just enough room in the elevator ("alligator" according to FM#3) for five people and a bellhop cart.
We got to our room and just as I was about to put the cardkey in, I heard voices coming from the other side of the door.
Laughing, talking, people having a good time.
In our room!
So back downstairs all five of us go - down the hall, around the corner, in and out of the alligator. I marched up to the clerk and announced that someone was in that particular room. He was unphased, gave us an obligatory "sorry about that", and reassigned us an empty room.
And so...
In and out of the elevator, around the corner, down the hall. Push, pull, push, pull. They don't call it LUGgage for nuttin'.
Day Two - Since we decided to forego the alarm clock, we got a late start the next morning. I was the first one up. Hey, don't laugh! I almost rolled over and went back to sleep, but I checked the clock. 10:00am. The hotel's breakfast ended at 10:30am so I threw on some clothes and went downstairs to gather sustenance for my weary traveling companions.
By the time I got back to the room, everyone was awake. We ate, dressed, and CB began the arduous task of putting all of the luggage back on the roof of the car.
When he paid the bill, they gave us a discount for our room snafu. That, coupled with MawMaw's AARP discount, was a nice little bonus.
And away we went. Clear blue skies. Crisp morning air.
After showering at the hotel we realized that the teeny weeny bars of hotel soap were not going to cut it for a group of six for a week. On our way out of town we stopped at Walgreen's to buy full-size bottles of body wash, thinking Disney would have the same miniature offerings as Comfort Suites.
As MawMaw and I jumped out of the car, FM#1 requested a bottle of Axe body wash. Snake Skin to be exact. I said he could share the body wash I would get because he had a brand new bottle of Axe back home. Once inside, MawMaw asked if she could get the Axe for him and I said yes. When he found out, he was very happy.
Florida was the prettiest of the states we went through. The morning light revealed trees that lined both sides of the interstate. I wondered if there was some huge state-sponsored tree planting because they were in neat rows.
We enjoyed the smooth ride on Florida's roads and commented on their call boxes that were placed at one mile intervals.
After putting several miles between us and Tallahassee, the skies grew gray and dreary. We stopped for lunch at Subway, gassed up, and got back on the road. Just a couple more hours til we're there!
However, a few miles down the road we slowed to a crawl due to an overturned RV. In the bumper to bumper traffic FM#1 spied this:
At some point along the Florida Turnpike, the skies cleared. With that worry aside, I decided to call Mickey Mouse and ask the following:
Question: Can we check into our hotel and receive the Annual Pass discount on our hotel without showing the Annual Pass?
Answer: No. You'll have to get the Annual Pass first which can be picked up at any of the parks' Guest Relations window.
Question: Will we have to pay for parking at the park?
Answer: Yes, ma'am. That will be $11.
Yuck. The rub here is that parking fees are waived for resort guests, but since we wouldn't be checked in yet, we wouldn't be resort guests yet.
What to do? We decided to go to the hotel first and see if they can work something out.
We zoomed over the exit ramp onto the Daniel Webster Toll Road.
Skies - clear.
Roads - new.
Sights - scenic with an occasional orange orchard.
Can You Hear Me Now? - An intermittent humming noise was coming from the luggage rack since Tallyhassy. CB determined that the load on top of the car was not as aerodynamic after he repacked it that morning. At top speed, the air rushing over our soft-sided luggage carrier made a gosh-awful hum that turned into a roar after we went through the last toll plaza. It was so loud we could feel the vibration on our seats which was nice for the first few miles, but after a while that just gets annoying.
We had to talk really loudly to hear each other. We even had to cover our ears it got so loud at one point! I couldn't concentrate on my Sudoku. The numbers were jumping around in front of my eyes because of the vibration! The roof of the car was vibrating so hard we were hoping the luggage rack didn't unscrew itself and fly off the top of the car.
Looking off to the east, we could see Disney World in the distance. We could also see dark, ominous clouds. No worries. Get the rain out now.
We exited the toll road and rounded the cloverloop. Due to our slower speed, that humming from the roof faded. Aaaaaaah, relief!
Can You Hear Me Now? - An intermittent humming noise was coming from the luggage rack since Tallyhassy. CB determined that the load on top of the car was not as aerodynamic after he repacked it that morning. At top speed, the air rushing over our soft-sided luggage carrier made a gosh-awful hum that turned into a roar after we went through the last toll plaza. It was so loud we could feel the vibration on our seats which was nice for the first few miles, but after a while that just gets annoying.
We had to talk really loudly to hear each other. We even had to cover our ears it got so loud at one point! I couldn't concentrate on my Sudoku. The numbers were jumping around in front of my eyes because of the vibration! The roof of the car was vibrating so hard we were hoping the luggage rack didn't unscrew itself and fly off the top of the car.
Looking off to the east, we could see Disney World in the distance. We could also see dark, ominous clouds. No worries. Get the rain out now.
We exited the toll road and rounded the cloverloop. Due to our slower speed, that humming from the roof faded. Aaaaaaah, relief!
As we approached the welcome sign at Disney's Western Way entrance, the skies emptied.
