Chapter 1: Brooke's "Harrowing" Adventure to Florida!
December 26th - 28th, 2012
December 26th, 2012
The day after Christmas was our first travel day of Brooke's grand adventure to Florida! Brooke is my car. Yes, I am a frump and I named my car. Are we surprised? No.
(Actually, let me edit this. KRISTEN named my car. Sorry for the inaccurate information.
)
From where we live, the drive to Disney was about 20 hours, and we were about to embark on quite a journey!
I woke up at 8:30 am, showered, finished packing, and had some Special K for breakfast. Dad and Jonathan loaded up the car while we made sure everything was set.
We left the house at 11:05 am. It was about an hour later than we hoped, but we were ready to set off on the road. When we left our house, it was just cold outside and there was no rain or snow.
I posted on twitter:
Good thing Brooke has a big trunk! Let's hope she makes it to Florida! LET THE ROAD TRIP BEGIN!
So Mom drove for the first hour. During that time, it was completely clear and the ride went smoothly. I was just sleeping and listening to Disney music. It was a great place to be.
I was doing quite a lot of tweeting during this time:
so much excitement. oh my God. I'm not gonna be in Disney for 2 days but STILL!!!!!!
"Believe and all you wish will come to you - Celebrate a dream come true!" #disneybound #disneylife
"Celebrate with all your heart, and your tummy too, of course." #poohunderstandsme
I was listening to Celebrate a Dream Come True and SpectroMagic. Disney parades/entertainment just make me SO HAPPY.
We got gas around 12:20 and Dad started driving. We got to Pennsylvania and a blizzard just HIT. There were white-out conditions and the roads were super slippery. Thankfully we are from a very snowy area so my Dad is good at driving in the snow. But it was still REALLY terrifying.
I posted on twitter:
oh crap, snow. #roadtripproblems
It's doesn't snow all year and then the day we drive to Disney, there's a freaking blizzard. #prayerswouldbeappreciated #cursethenorth
There were so many people who were getting out of their cars to brush off the snow. On the I-79 (the MAIN highway in Pennsylvania) there was this lady IN THE MIDDLE OF THE TWO LANE HIGHWAY just wiping off her car!!! RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE. Everyone had to slide around her and I couldnt believe there wasnt an accident already! It was incredible. I just hope she made it out of there alive. That was the most dangerous thing I have ever seen.
I posted on twitter:
IF I SEE ONE MORE PERSON GET OUT OF THEIR CAR ON THIS THRUWAY I THINK I'M GONNA HAVE A HEART ATTACK. #omg
There were about 15-20 cars that we saw in the ditches on our way through Pennsylvania. It was so scary! I am SO thankful that my Dad was able to get us through that drive. I didn't know if we were going to make it out of there alive! It was SUCH a stressful and terrifying situation.
I tweeted:
Desperate times call for Beatles music.
I mean I already knew this, but this road trip solidifies that I'm moving to Florida. #ihatesnow
We got stuck at a standstill for a while, the snow got lighter, and then it was just very icy. After getting through the worst of it, we stopped at a gas station and Jon and I got peanut butter crackers to tide us over. We hadnt eaten since we left the house that morning!
It was a VERY long day.
We kept driving and ended up in Morgantown, West Virginia around 5 pm. We couldnt drive any longer. We had to take a break for the night. The only way that Mom could explain the whole day was that it was a "harrowing" drive. HARROWING, HARROWING, HARROWING! What a frumpy word choice.
We ate at Red Lobster for dinner because we all deserved some sustenance! The biscuits at Red Lobster are my FAVORITE. They were so fresh and delicious.
I got grilled salmon, broccoli, and a baked potato for dinner. It was wonderful and warm and just what I needed after that harrowing drive!
Our waiter was really awesome. He had this radio announcer type of voice.
I posted on twitter:
My waiter at Red Lobster could have legitimately been a monorail voice guy. #talented
We went to Target after and got me some Advil Sinus & Cold for my headache/stuffed up sinuses. Being in the car all day made my cold worse.
Then we checked in at the Fairfield Marriott.
Jon and I had a room all to ourselves and Mom and Dad did too! Jon and I watched the lifeguard episode of Spongebob, and then I fell asleep from 8-10 pm. I was so tired! The whole car ride I was paying attention to the road from the back seat and making sure that we werent gonna die so I was just EXHAUSTED at this point!
I woke up and watched Big Bang Theory and 4 episodes of Friends. They were the ones where Ross had his London wedding and where Chandler and Monica were getting together.
I posted on twitter:
I LOVE CHANDLER AND MONICA'S RELATIONSHIP
We kept seeing this commercial for some nerd show called... King of the Nerds? And this is
THE STRANGEST COMMERCIAL I HAVE EVER SEEN. We both tried watching it all the way through without laughing but halfway through I LOST IT. I just don't even know.
My sinuses were AWFUL on this night and I couldnt breathe out of my nose. On top of that, I was overheated. Needless to say, I had a lot of trouble falling asleep that night. I was going INSANE.
I posted on twitter:
Jon: "How many of those drugs did you take?!?" Me: "I DIDN'T TAKE ANY YET!!!" #crazyperson
I WANT IT TO BE FRIDAY OMG #anxious
I haven't had this much energy in so long and I just feel like bouncing off the walls BUT I CAN'T BECAUSE IT'S THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT
No like really, I can't sleep. And I can't breathe out of my nose. And it just needs to be Friday already. #merp #derp
Finally at 3:30 am I was out. I had another whole day and a half of driving ahead of me!
December 27th, 2012
I posted on twitter:
Road trippin' day 2!
This morning I got up at 8:40 am and we left the hotel. We went to Target and I stocked up on medicine. I NEEDED to get better for Disney! I got Nyquill, Vicks tissues, etc.
We drove for a while and then stopped for breakfast at IHOP! I got strawberry banana pancakes and they were DELICIOUS! I need to make those at home.
The roads were SO much better this day. We drove for a while and I worked on the frump movie from May! Im still not done with it!!
We stopped at a nice rest stop and there was a QUIZNOS! I wasnt even super hungry yet but Jonathan and I had to get subs!! It is the fast food restaurant of our childhood and they all closed down near us!
We got back in the car, I called Preston and talked to him for a bit. Then I wrote his letter and worked on his Christmas present!
After more driving, we went to diner at Chick-Fil-A! YUM! IT WAS SO GOOD! I got a chicken sandwich, waffle fries, and a strawberry milkshake! Everything just tasted so wonderful. THE NORTHERNERS HIT CHICK-FIL-A. YEEE-HAW.
We drove 40 more minutes and got to our hotel in Orangeburg, SC. It was another Fairfield Marriott. I really liked those hotels! They were nice, clean, and the staff was hospitable.
We watched Big Bang Theory, Full House, and Friends. We only had about 6 more hours of driving to do until we got to DISNEY WORLD!
December 28th, 2012
This morning I was up at 7:15 am! I showered, got ready, and Mom and I went downstairs to get our complementary breakfast! I had some Raisin Bran.
The staff was so friendly and kind to us. They must have learned from the Disney ways!
We were on the road by 8:30 am! GO US!
I posted on twitter:
6 1/2 HOURS UNTIL DISNEY WORLD!!!!!!!!!!
I looked at my DCP countdown and realized I only had 25 DAYS TO GO. Holy cow!!!
I fell asleep once we started driving and didnt wake up until 12 pm. By that time, we were already in Savanna, Georgia. We were at this really sketchy gas station and they didnt even have any gas!! There were also stray cats everywhere and they had weird ceramic glass statues for sale. Plus the bathrooms were gross. It was an unpleasant experience.
So we drove and got gas somewhere else. I worked more on the May movie and we drove some more.
I posted on twitter:
WE HAVE REACHED FLORIDA! 3 hours till Disney world!!!
Then we got more gas and we were only about an hour away!! I called Preston because I could not sit still and I needed something to help pass the time. I woke him up and it was 2 in the afternoon! What a sleepy frump. He was also sick, though, so that could contribute to the excessive sleeping.
I saw New Fantasyland on the billboards in the hick town farms and I was SO EXCITED!!! ONLY ONE MORE HOUR!!!
We hit terrible traffic on the I-4. So I ate Raisinettes and waited patiently for my beloved DISNEY!!!!
I posted on twitter:
Listening to the Magical Express loop because I mean, I can't drive into Disney without it. #3oclockcomefaster
I JUST WANNA GET THERE, YEAH YEAH YEAH!
HALF AN HOUR. AND WHEN I GET THERE THAT MEANS DISNEY FOOD. #OMG
MY EXCITEMENT LEVEL NEVER DIES FOR THIS PLACE. EVER. @WaltDisneyWorld
Finally we got there and went through the BEATUIFUL PERFECT PURPLE GATES. It was definitely a harrowing adventure but we finally made it!
I posted on twitter:
OH MY FREAKING GOD IM IN DISNEY WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Continued in Next Post
"To all that come to this happy place, welcome!" 
#twothumbsup!! #happytobehome 
I can't wait to figure out where I'm going so I can look into their policy about it. I'm going to do everything I can!!! But for now I'm going to live vicariously through you! And most likely your amazing story is going to convince me that I have to do a DCP no matter what!!!!
