Forget Thanksgiving, we're here for the Christmas lights!

[fairytalesfireflies]

So, I guess I'm a little late in starting this! We visited the World in early November but time just got away from us with the holiday hustle and bustle and then getting back into a routine but were ready to share our fabulous time!

We traveled November 10-22 and despite traveling to WDW a couple of times it was still a trip of firsts!



The Cast:
Aaron, my DH of 9 years and the biggest pain in my butt EVER! I mean that in the most fun and loving way possible, but this man tests my patience as a hobby! Still, hes incredibly fun to be around and he was really looking forward to this vacation as he had been working a LOT last year and the year before that we lived apart due to his job. This was our much needed family time. He was most looking forward to eating at Teppan Edo.

Me, I am a work at home mom and like most of us on this board, the resident planner for this vacation. I was most excited to see the christmas lights!

YayYay, my mom- She recently lost her husband of 25 years causing us to move in with her so she wouldnt be alone so of COURSE we couldnt leave her at home. She's such a good sport, but I cant say that she was really excited about anything. She doesnt have the travel bug like the rest of our family.

Finally, the center of our universe, Mary. She is seven and so full of life and energy. We battle ADHD and Sensory Processing Disorder with her and our last trip with her was kind of horrible so I was a little nervous on how she would handle everything this time. She was most excited about meeting the Frozen characters.

Chapter Links

 

[fairytalesfireflies]

I'll start off this report with our trip down since it was part of vacation but it probably wont be very interesting. I promise, the story and pictures will get better!

When we first started discussing this trip my mom was adamant about the fact that she absolutely refused to fly. I was fine with the idea of driving and Aaron reluctantly agreed after some coaxing. The plan was to drive straight through the 15 hour drive and then spend the night in Orlando so that we could arrive at WDW bright and early.

Unfortunately in September I had a bad injury that made it impossible to sit or stand. The trip hung in the balance as we had no idea if I would be able to go or not. After a few months of therapy and pain management I was able to go but there was no way I would be able to sit in a car for 15 hours straight so we had to break the trip up a bit.

They day before our trip was full of the typical last minute things. Cleaning, packing, dropping the dog off at the vet... all of the stuff that you cant wait to get over so that you can finally be on your way!

I told Mary that she could stay up as late as she wanted in hope of tiring her out for the long ride. She hung out in her bed watching Disney Channel until she finally passed at out who knows when and the adults went to sleep at about midnight. I'm not sure about everyone else but I had a very restless sleep. I was way too excited.

Our goal was to be on the road at 5 but we took our time gathering our last few items and piling into the car. We were pretty close to being on schedule and were pulling out of the driveway at 5:22am.



Aaron was the first behind the wheel. Mom was still tired and I dont see that well in the dark. Being a Sunday morning the roads were clear and it was pretty easy driving and eventually we were treated to a beautiful sunrise.



Before too long Mom and Mary were awake and we were starting to get hungry. There wasnt much around but we were able to find a Bob Evans in West Virginia.

Mary was extremely happy to be having her pancakes! She was just a bit excited. (Photo from Instagram)


I thought the scenery through West Virginia and Virginia was extremely pretty. Again, there was light traffic all day and the sun was shining. Of course M thought it was shining a little TOO much and made herself a fort in the back.



I will say that our car was CRAMPED and she was being a total trooper. We cheered as we entered every new state and Mar really loved the tunnels through the mountains. Still, that entertained her for only so long. By the time we hit South Carolina it was pretty clear that she was DONE.


We really enjoy watching the Food Network so I started checking my phone for something close that was featured on Diners, Drive Ins and Dives. We Settled on Pawley's in Columbia, SC.



We were seated outside. It was really windy so we had all the smoke from the bar blowing in our face and it was a little cold. They were known for their burgers so we all ordered one. They were just ok. No one was really impressed at all and we all wished we would have stopped somewhere else instead. I didnt even bother taking a picture of the food.


We headed back out on to the road and continued south. It was getting dark but we wanted to make it just a bit farther.


Another hour or so down the road and Mom and Aaron started to get antsy. It was a Sunday and for them that meant Walking Dead. We stopped at a hotel outside of Orangeburg and lets just say that I would never, EVER return. It smelled horrible, there was lots of mold and broken items and it was just gross. The beds we comfortable though so we made it work. We went to bed fairly early for us so that we could be back on the road first thing in the morning.