60 Candles, 30 Million Lights, Best Friends&Family at Disney--Priceless (New 5/23)

[MHTeacher]

Looking forward to the pictures from the zoo.

 

[emmysmommy]

Looks like a great start to your trip. I fully support early arrivals at the destination airport.

I have no idea about this Waffle House place but it looks like from your breakfast photos that neither of you are waffle fans! Actually, if there was a Waffle House within 200 miles of where I live I may try it.... nope, closest one looks to be in Arizona.

Looking forward to hearing more about your trip and getting to the part where you meet up with Todd and Nicki!

 

[ronnmel]

Welcome back (did i say it already? I can't remember, I'm so behind!) and looking forward to reading about the zoo.

 

[Pluto0809]

I didn't miss too much over the last week! I had company two weekends in a row so my DIS time was limited.

Yea for being in Florida even if it wasn't Disney yet.

That airport is gorgeous. I don't know any reason I'll ever fly into there but if I do I'll be sure to check it out.

I'm not a big fan of Waffle House but my Dad was. We used to go there every time he came to visit.

 

[KatMark]

I am so sorry I've not been here.

Work hasn't been this busy in years, and it has just been nuts since we got back from Florida.

Then this past weekend was super hectic and I was thoroughly exhausted and had no time or energy to DIS.

Last Friday, we finally closed on the refinance of our house. Saturday I was up at 5:30 a.m., at Dunkin Donuts to pick up 8 dozen donuts and 4 dozen bagels by 6:20 a.m., at Starbucks at 6:40 a.m. and at the high school at 6:50 a.m. I worked Concessions from 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m....it did NOT stop (we had over 400 wrestlers and their parents and coaches). After that, Mark brought some of his boys over to the house with their folks for a pizza party (he brought about eight kids from Dubuque to wrestle at the tournament). Sunday, Alisha, her sister and I did some more honeymoon shopping and, after they left, we went to Des' dance performance.

So my apologies for not being around. Now, let's get to some responses.

What a neat looking airport! Our's is so little and dull looking.

It really is a neat airport...one of my favorites.

That is a nice airport, very pretty for sure!

Thanks...I agree.

yay for an early arrival! airport is pretty!

wow that's a lot of grits!

That husband of mine loves his grits. Me...NO THANK YOU!

I haven't eaten at Waffle House for years. Hopefully that one was cleaner than the ones I used to eat at. Yay for summer clothes! I'm waiting to be able to wear mine in 16 more days...this snow is killing me!

I think we ate there three or four times (it was definitely three, but could have been four) that trip.

Jill in CO

I'm with you, Jill. SICK OF THIS WEATHER. I want my flip flops and summer clothese too. Did I read you had mroe snow?

Breakfast looks yummy!!

That is a cute airport.

It was a very nice airport and very clean too.

I LOVE Waffle House!

Another Waffle House lover.

Oh you make me want to go there, yum!

I made polish sausage and hash browns for dinner last night and those hash browns did NOT compare to Waffle House.

Neat looking airport, I've never been to Jacksonville.

This is my third time to Jacksonville...it's a very nice airport and they have a great zoo.

JAX is such a cool airport. I had no idea!

Yes it is.

TGFWH - Thank goodness for Waffle House! It's nice that you can literally find one just about everywhere.

All except in the midwest. We don't have one anywhere near us.

Glad you had an uneventful arrival. Anxious to hear about your trip!

Thanks, MaryEllen.

Welcome Back! How funny that your first stop was Waffle House! to me, it's such a southern place - almost like a cliché - but I do love those pecan waffles!

Waffle House is always something we look forward to on our Florida trips because we don't have one anywhere near us. I'll have to suggest those pecan waffles to Mark when we are there in August.

I am not sure why I so often get Starbucks at the airport only to end up being famished by the time we stop at the next airport (assuming a layover). I can understand why you stopped for breakfast!!

Ann, I haven't figured it out either. Their pastries are huge, but we always end up hungry.

The Waffle House... You are a brave soul. Around here the natives call them the "Aweful House."

I guess we've been lucky...we've never been in a dirty one and the food has always been good.

J/K... Actually from the pictures the breakfast does look pretty good. I could go for some of that raisin toast.

It was yummy each time we stopped this trip.

I didn’t realize that you still had this TR going. Looking forward to hearing about the J’ville Zoo. We’ve yet to take in that little bit of Florida culture.

It's a nice area...very pretty; and we love the zoo.

I’ll be the one to defend “The Waffle”. It’s not a bad breakfast house if you don’t know of a local joint doin’ a better job. Their grits leave a bit to be desired (but we’re connoisseurs of that particular bit of South’rn tradition in my house). The waffles, flapjacks and omelets, however, are pretty good and the hash browns rock. The coffee there has gotten better over the years but it’s still just so-so. It is however certainly better then the dreck at “Charbucks”. One could float an iron wedge on a caldron of that stuff (and it costs about the same per oz as Kobe-Beef). Reminds me of the retched ooze that my grandparents use to perk for hours on end.

I have NEVER had an omelet that I like better than Waffle Houses!

 

[KatMark]

Seriously craving Waffle House now.

Sorry.

Nobody even questioned whether or not this happened.

Stop it right now!

Looks cool based on the pictures.

It really is.

You went inside the restroom at the Awful Waffle???

It was a perfectly clean restroom. In fact, it was cleaner than some of the ones I was at disney in December.

the next one has started.

A mini one...but enough to keep us going until the girls trip in June.

Nice car.

It was a "sweet" car as my husband said.

Never had Waffle House. Do you find them dirty? I read so many reports that do?

I think it depends on where you stop at one...type of neighborhood, etc. We've never had a problem...but we've gone so often that we tend to stick with ones we've been to before.

Looking forward to the zoo.

Hopefully, I can get that up this afternoon or tonight.

Looks like you got right into it, Starbucks and Waffle house.

A perfect pair for us, Pat.

Look forward to seeing the zoo.

Soon...I promise!

Looking forward to the pictures from the zoo.

Thanks, Michelle. Hopefully today or tonight.

Looks like a great start to your trip. I fully support early arrivals at the destination airport.

Aren't early arrivals the best?

I have no idea about this Waffle House place but it looks like from your breakfast photos that neither of you are waffle fans! Actually, if there was a Waffle House within 200 miles of where I live I may try it.... nope, closest one looks to be in Arizona.

Mark actually had a waffle on anothe rvisit. He loves his cheesy eggs and always has to have those the first visit.

Looking forward to hearing more about your trip and getting to the part where you meet up with Todd and Nicki!

I won't be going into a lot of detail on our days except for the Zoo and our one day at Disney. So hopefully it won't take too long to get to Todd and Nicki.

Welcome back (did i say it already? I can't remember, I'm so behind!) and looking forward to reading about the zoo.

I don't remember either? Can you tell it's been a rough two weeks? I have to get over to your TR...I'm sure I'm behind on yours as well.

I didn't miss too much over the last week! I had company two weekends in a row so my DIS time was limited.

Hope you had fun with your company. I know about limited DIS time since I've been home.

Yea for being in Florida even if it wasn't Disney yet.

Any type of Florida is a winner in my book!

That airport is gorgeous. I don't know any reason I'll ever fly into there but if I do I'll be sure to check it out.

It's only a 2 hour drive to Valdosta, Georgia from there so it works for Mark's business trip. He hates flying into Atlanta.

I'm not a big fan of Waffle House but my Dad was. We used to go there every time he came to visit.

We love our Waffle House.

 

[KatMark]

We left off having just finished our yummy breakfast at Waffle House and arrived at the Jacksonville Zoo. My one major complaint about this Zoo is that it takes FOREVER to pay and get in.

With that said, how about some pictures of the animals we saw?













Then we spent the next three hours here:



We didn't really spend three hours there, but if Mark had his way we might have.







Moving on....







And then it was time to spend three hours here:



Okay...we didn't spend three hours there either, but I would if I could.

Mark got me some food and I was able to feed the giraffe. Let's just say that Mark is not THE best photographer on the planet and got the giraffe, but not me feeding it.











They are such beautiful creatures.

Continued in next post

 

[Chicago Mo]

awesome pictures!!!!!!!

 

[KatMark]

After feeding the giraffes, we headed off to see what else we could find.









Sunbathing anyone?











Always have to get a back end photo:











We finished at the zoo and made the drive to Valdosta, Georgia...I think it took us about 2-1/2 hours after a restroom stop. We checked into a very lovely Hampton Inn & Suites:







After checking in and getting out tomorrow's clothes (one thing I hate about living out of a suitcase...but no point in unpacking for one night), we were starving. We had heard about Cheddar's and, as it turns out, it was right behind our hotel and we could walk there.



Our food:



This was Mark's chicken waffles and he LOVED it.



Mine was the chicken tenders and there were very good too. They had a little "kick" to them, but I really enjoyed them.

Unfortunately, their french fries were absolutely awful.

Dinner done, we went back to the hotel to watch a little television before hitting the sack. We had to meet with the first customer of the trip around 8:30 a.m. and we had to stop at Starbucks first. And after we were done with the customer, we were heading to Disney.

Next up: We're going to Flower & Garden

 

[KatMark]

awesome pictures!!!!!!!

Thanks, Mo.

 

[jedijill]

Love the zoo pics.

Cheddars looks so good! I could go for that chicken and waffle. You should've gone with the chicken pot pie.

Jill in CO

 

[KatMark]

Love the zoo pics.

Cheddars looks so good! I could go for that chicken and waffle. You should've gone with the chicken pot pie.

Jill in CO

After Mark ordered, he said to me...and I kid you not: "where am I supposed to order the chicken pot pie?" Seriously, I sometimes wonder about that man of mine.

I have since discovered we have one 45 mintues away from us, and Mark said he will definitely try the chicken pot pie next time just for you.

 

[jedijill]

After Mark ordered, he said to me...and I kid you not: "where am I supposed to order the chicken pot pie?" Seriously, I sometimes wonder about that man of mine.

I have since discovered we have one 45 mintues away from us, and Mark said he will definitely try the chicken pot pie next time just for you.

I hope it lives up to my hype.

Jill in CO

 

[MEK]

What a cool zoo. I love the cat with the spots. Is that a leopard? I don't even know. And the giraffes are always such a treat. Thanks for posting all those pics.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Who needs the AK Safari? You can just head to Jacksonville from now on.

I've never heard of Cheddar's before but they're building a new one near me so I might have to try it out. The chicken & waffles looked really good.

 

[mommy2mrb]

great photos of the zoo!

awwwww baby giraffes you know I love them too! sweet you got to feed one!

hotel looks nice! dinner, wow that's a lot of chicken on that waffle looks yummy!

 

[mickeystoontown]

Silly old Mark not taking a picture of you actually feeding the giraffe. At least he got a close up of the giraffe though. Coulda been worse...no picture at all.

We have a Cheddars here in town but have only been a couple of times. We're kind of stuck on O'Charley's lately.

 

[afwdwfan]

We left off having just finished our yummy breakfast at Waffle House and arrived at the Jacksonville Zoo. My one major complaint about this Zoo is that it takes FOREVER to pay and get in.

My major compliant would be that some of those fences look a little too flimsy.

Mark got me some food and I was able to feed the giraffe. Let's just say that Mark is not THE best photographer on the planet and got the giraffe, but not me feeding it.

I think he did a great job of getting a nice artistic looking close up of the giraffe grabbing a bite to eat.

We finished at the zoo and made the drive to Valdosta, Georgia...I think it took us about 2-1/2 hours after a restroom stop. We checked into a very lovely Hampton Inn & Suites:

That's where we stayed on our way home in December.

 

[FauntleroyFAN07]

thats really cool that you can feed the giraffes like that, sounds like a really neat experience.

even if we have no "real" proof that was you feeding them.

 

[OneTreeHillAddict]

I love the zoo pictures. They have a lot of different animals there. The kids always ask to stop in Jacksonville so maybe this would be a good reason to. I agree with you...giraffes are some of the most beautiful creatures on the planet.