1 year, 10 months and 16 days from today - A May 2016 PTR FINAL UPDATE 5/6/16

[ddstratton]

County Fair 2014

This past week was our County Fair. We went three nights out of the six. We saw the Truck Pull, the Rodeo and the Aaron Tippin concert. DD and a friend also spent seven hours there on Friday, riding the rides.

Wednesday evening, DD, DH and I went to the fair. We grabbed some supper first, at the Masonic Lodge'’s building.

After some dinner, we went to sit in the grandstands. We enjoyed the truck pull, even though none of the trucks managed a Full Pull this night.

DD enjoyed her fried dough just a little too much.

Quick view of the fair midway from the grandstand.

She loved seeing this truck pull. She was drooling over it.

On Thursday night, we went back to the fair for supper again. Tonight'’s supper was at the Grange Hall –-- no pictures of this,though. DH and I had a chicken and biscuit dinner, and DD only wanted a hot dog.

After dinner, we went back to the grandstands to watch the Rodeo.

There was a rider on a bucking bronc.

We had a few bull riders.

Some cowboys.

Some barrel racers.

And some cattle ropers.

On Friday, DD and a friend talked DH into taking them to the fair for the day. They got there at 10:30 in the morning and didn'’t leave until 5:30 in the evening. They got some ride-all-day bracelets, and that’'s what they did!

On Saturday, we went back to the fair, accompanied by DH’s mom. We had supper again at the Masonic Lodge.

After eating, we went up into the grandstands once again. Tonight, we were here to see Aaron Tippin. DH and I had seen him in concert years ago, at another local festival. Like over 20 years ago…...

During the concert, he put together a bike then gave it to a couple of Marines for the Toys For Tots drive. Apparently, he does this at every concert.

I must say, he puts on a very energetic concert --– even 20 years later! We all really enjoyed it. Especially DH’s 82-year-old mother!! After the concert, DD wanted to stand in line for a picture. So we joined the mob. We actually didn'’t have to wait very long, and we ended up with a pretty nice picture. No, I’'m not in it. I took it.

So that was our experience at the County Fair this year. We had a good time, overall. Up next --– more Disney trip planning.

 

[mickeystoontown]

It looks like ya'll had a great time at the County Fair! Or should I said times not time. Our fair doesn't have all that cool stuff like the truck/tractor pulls or rodeo. Just a lot of rides and eats. Well, there are some arts and crafts competitions but those aren't that exciting.

I have to say that Mr. Tippin is looking quite good now-a-days. Not that he was bad looking back in his heyday. I love that he put together the bike and gave it to the Marines. That's awesome!

 

[KatMark]

It looks as if everyone had fun at the family reunion.

First day travel plans sound great. I've never been to Baltimore so I can't offer any advice there.

We've only been to one Hard Rock and that was the casino in Vegas...we didn't eat there. I don't know if you are passing Tampa at all on your drive either way, but I know they have one too.

That's a lot of time at the County Fair! We've not been to a Fair of any kind in over 25 years.

I LOVE Aaron Tippin...so glad you got to see him again.

 

[MEK]

The Aquarium is probably the most popular attraction in Baltimore. I haven't been there for years. It was on my bucket list for this summer, but I never got around to it. The inner harbor is really nice. Once you park, there are plenty of places to eat and tons of shopping.

Not far from Baltimore is Annapolis. There are free tours of the naval academy everyday. I have read they are fabulous. Another thing on my bucket list.

After you leave Baltimore you might want to consider taking 301 to Richmond. 95 around Washington DC is a nightmare pretty much all day and night. Whenever I travel south I use 301 which rejoins 95 in Richmond. There are a lot of traffic lights in the DC suburbs, but then the road opens up and becomes very rural and a lovely drive.

Looks like a fun concert!

 

[ddstratton]

Just a note -- this officially marks my 1,500th post on the DIS!!!

It looks like ya'll had a great time at the County Fair! Or should I said times not time. Our fair doesn't have all that cool stuff like the truck/tractor pulls or rodeo. Just a lot of rides and eats. Well, there are some arts and crafts competitions but those aren't that exciting.

I have to say that Mr. Tippin is looking quite good now-a-days. Not that he was bad looking back in his heyday. I love that he put together the bike and gave it to the Marines. That's awesome!

Our county fair usually has something good like these shows, along with three nights of demolition derby's. We skipped those this year.

Mr Tippin certainly is looking good now-a-days. Even my 15-year-old DD agrees with that....

It looks as if everyone had fun at the family reunion.

First day travel plans sound great. I've never been to Baltimore so I can't offer any advice there.

We've only been to one Hard Rock and that was the casino in Vegas...we didn't eat there. I don't know if you are passing Tampa at all on your drive either way, but I know they have one too.

That's a lot of time at the County Fair! We've not been to a Fair of any kind in over 25 years.

I LOVE Aaron Tippin...so glad you got to see him again.

As far as I know, Tampa's not on our itinerary. Yet.

I do computer work for the fair office, so I got my tickets to the shows free. Can't argue with that!

The Aquarium is probably the most popular attraction in Baltimore. I haven't been there for years. It was on my bucket list for this summer, but I never got around to it. The inner harbor is really nice. Once you park, there are plenty of places to eat and tons of shopping.

Not far from Baltimore is Annapolis. There are free tours of the naval academy everyday. I have read they are fabulous. Another thing on my bucket list.

After you leave Baltimore you might want to consider taking 301 to Richmond. 95 around Washington DC is a nightmare pretty much all day and night. Whenever I travel south I use 301 which rejoins 95 in Richmond. There are a lot of traffic lights in the DC suburbs, but then the road opens up and becomes very rural and a lovely drive.

Looks like a fun concert!

Thanks for the tip on avoiding 95 around DC! The Aquarium is on my radar...

 

[ddstratton]

Back-tracking to Day 1 for a moment -- currently, I'’m thinking we'll stop in Baltimore and visit the Ripley'’s, have lunch at Hard Rock and just walk around the Inner Harbor area a bit and see what we can see. There is just SO MUCH we could do -– if we try to do too much, we'’ll get burnt out before the vacation even starts!! So, after spending a few hours in Baltimore, we should head on South and make it to Emporia, VA for the night. We’'ve stopped here in the past, staying at a Holiday Inn Express. Not sure if we’ll stay here again, or try one of the other hotels in the area. It'’ll depend on what type of deal I can find.

Supper will be at one of the nearby restaurants. We’'ve done the Cracker Barrel and the Shoney'’s in the past. The Shoney’'s was in walking distance, which was a plus. By this time, we’'re tired of sitting in the car, and if we can walk to dinner --– so much the better!

I'’m pretty sure this picture of the Holiday Inn was taken from Shoney’'s parking lot…...

-----
Day 2 Plans

Not a whole lot planned for Day 2, other than driving. I’'m going on the assumption that we’'ll make it to Emporia on Day 1. We'’ll have breakfast at our hotel, then try to hit the road by 8:00.

As you can see, just a day of straight-though driving, with a couple of pit stops.

If we feel like it, we may just stop at South of the Border this time around. We’'ve passed it a few times, and it sounds like it'’ll make an interesting pit stop. If we choose, we may have lunch here. Otherwise, we'’ll just hit up a fast food place off the highway.

I love this sign. Don’'t know if it’s still there or not, but I love this one.

South of the Border (borrowed from the internet)

After our pit stop, we'’ll just keep driving South, with a stop or two for potty breaks and gas. I am planning to stop for the night in Kingsland, GA. We’'ll spend the night at a Comfort Suites here.

(picture borrowed from the internet)

We’'ll grab some supper at one of the nearby restaurants, then just relax at the hotel. They have an indoor pool, so that will help us burn off the pent-up energy from sitting in the car all day.

That’s about it for our Day 2 plans.

 

[Lesprivate]

Good plans so far but beware South of the Boarder , we stopped there in 2012 it was not the nicest place at all, it looked deserted.

 

[ddstratton]

Good plans so far but beware South of the Boarder , we stopped there in 2012 it was not the nicest place at all, it looked deserted.

This is why this is a tentative stop. I've heard good and bad... I don't plan on making it a long stop. I'd love to go up in the tower, but I'd probably be going alone if I do. DH doesn't like heights and DD doesn't like elevators. Mom might go up with me, though.

I'm just looking for a little something to break up such a long drive. If anyone has suggestions of something different along the stretch of !-95 between Emporia, VA and Kingsland, GA - I'd love to hear them!! Looking for just a little diversion, not an all-day excursion.

I have a back-up plan for lunch! If we decide this just isn't for us, there's a KFC not too far down the road.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Good call on not doing too much in Baltimore. Like you said, you don't want to have burnout before you even reach your vacation destination.

I've heard some good and some bad comments about South of the Border. I am almost positive that Lacey and her mission group stopped there while on a trip. Just before I posted this, I saw your reply that said you have an alternate option for lunch. KFC may win out if South of the Border is icky.

 

[ddstratton]

Good call on not doing too much in Baltimore. Like you said, you don't want to have burnout before you even reach your vacation destination.

I've heard some good and some bad comments about South of the Border. I am almost positive that Lacey and her mission group stopped there while on a trip. Just before I posted this, I saw your reply that said you have an alternate option for lunch. KFC may win out if South of the Border is icky.

I tend to get carried away when vacation planning. I know - hard to believe, huh? There is just so much that we COULD do in Baltimore. I think we're best off just stopping at the Ripley's museum and then seeing what is in the area. The Ripley's is right in the Inner Harbor area, so we'll be able to see the ships in the Harbor and such just by doing a little bit of sight-seeing walking.

I'm not counting on South of the Border for lunch, honestly. I'm just hoping it's an amusing little stop to break up the monotony of interstate driving.

 

[KatMark]

I these plans are better; like you said you don't want to wear yourself out before you get to Florida.

 

[ddstratton]

I these plans are better; like you said you don't want to wear yourself out before you get to Florida.

I'm kinda liking these plans for Day 1 - and the non-plans. Just do what catches our eye when we're in the area. There is just SO MUCH we could do, in any of the places we'll be stopping or driving through. We're just gonna enjoy what we see and do, and not worry about what we may miss. Ya can't do it all!

 

[ddstratton]

Day 3 Plans

Day 3 is another mostly driving day. We'’ll get up and around in the morning, and enjoy a free breakfast at our hotel. We are planning to leave the hotel around 8:00 am.

We plan on just driving down the east coast of Florida today. According to my map program, it’s 487 miles from our hotel to the resort where we'’ll be staying. So not much is happening today, other than driving down through Florida, and stopping for a fast-food lunch somewhere. Possibly here, if all goes according to plans/map.

picture courtesy of Google Maps

Never been to a Steak and Shake –-- don’t have ‘'em around these parts. If this doesn'’t appeal to us, there is a Long John Silvers/KFC right across the street.

picture courtesy of Google Maps

After lunch, we’ll continue on South. In Homestead, FL, we’ll make a pit stop at KFC to pick up some supper to go. Because of this, we probably shouldn'’t choose KFC as our lunch stop, huh? It will most likely be the Steak and Shake, simply because we'’ve never been to one.

picture courtesy of Google Maps

We are heading to the Cocoplum Resort, in Marathon, FL.

pictures from the internet

This will be our home for the next five nights. We plan on going to a nearby grocery store to load up on some supplies for meals. Not sure if this will happen tonight, or if we’ll do it the next morning. We’'ve got tonight’'s supper covered by KFC takeout. These condos have full kitchens, so we’ll be able to make some nice meals while staying here.

Our plans for the evening are just settling in and enjoying the resort – whether that be the beach, the pool, the hot tub, or just the condo!

 

[mickeystoontown]

Holy moley Darla, those condos look amazing! Oops, that slipped out before I talked about your other plans for the day. Couldn't help myself. 487 miles? I'm betting that ya'll can handle that with ease. I've never eaten at Steak N Shake because we don't have them around our house either. If it were me, I'd probably go with eating there because, like you said, you'll be eating KFC for dinner in that AMAZING condo.

 

[Lesprivate]

Cocoplum looks like a beautiful resort, we usually stay in Islamorada, I might have to try that one.

 

[KatMark]

Darla, we absolutely LOVE Steak & Shake...much better than McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy's, etc. Your daughter will love the numerous options for shakes!

Wow...that condo looks amazing. I think I am jealous.

 

[ddstratton]

Holy moley Darla, those condos look amazing! Oops, that slipped out before I talked about your other plans for the day. Couldn't help myself. 487 miles? I'm betting that ya'll can handle that with ease. I've never eaten at Steak N Shake because we don't have them around our house either. If it were me, I'd probably go with eating there because, like you said, you'll be eating KFC for dinner in that AMAZING condo.

It looks AMAZING!! I can't wait to stay there. You can't beat the location, and the price isn't bad -- I'll go into this in my next update. I'm pretty sure we'll end up doing the Steak and Shake for lunch, then grab a bucket and sides for supper, just to be easy.

Cocoplum looks like a beautiful resort, we usually stay in Islamorada, I might have to try that one.

This one looks wonderful. Most reviews are pretty good for it, also. I think this is the part of the trip I'm most looking forward to. Not a lot planned to do, but it sounds wonderful!

 

[ddstratton]

Darla, we absolutely LOVE Steak & Shake...much better than McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy's, etc. Your daughter will love the numerous options for shakes!

Wow...that condo looks amazing. I think I am jealous.

We've never been to a Steak and Shake. I swear, we have nothing fun around here!

 

[MEK]

Never been to a steak n shake, but I have heard only good things.

That resort looks really cool. I feel like I have seen pictures of it somewhere else on the boards. Looks like fun!

 

[ddstratton]

Never been to a steak n shake, but I have heard only good things.

That resort looks really cool. I feel like I have seen pictures of it somewhere else on the boards. Looks like fun!

Same here -- everyone I know who's been to one has enjoyed. I found the resort by reading a trip report here -- DizneyDawn's report, Personally, I think I would make a great stripper. The section on the resort starts around page 56.