So, we got up on time and left only 30 minutes later than I wanted to! We made great time through Atlanta, Macon, Warner Robins, Valdosta and into Florida! We made it almost to Lake City in only 4 hours. (That's really good time!) And SO, we were comingup on lake city at just before 8:00 AM. I wanted to stop for breakfast, but Mark and the girls were all asleep so I thought I'd might keep driving just to keep the momentum going while everyone was quiet. Great idea
right?
Well, not quite. I was driving along with cruise set at 79 mph when all of the sudden, BAM!!!! I felt a tire pop, heard a horrible noise, and quickly guided the van over to the side while yelling, "Mark, wake up, wake up, I need you, hello. . ." So he woke up to having to change a tire, on the street side, with trucks blowing by us. Fire ants were everywhere, and seemed to think my feet were a good breakfast. We needed gas (we were about to stop for it) so I didn't want to just leave the car running. The girls woke up and were yelling and fighting because they were so hungry!
OK, so the good news is, Mark can change a flat, and did. We drove about 10 minutes down the road, got off at the Lake City exit and got gas and asked for a tire shop recommendation so we could fix our spare (we were, after all, only 4 hours into our vacation)! Then we dropped the tire off and headed to cracker barrel. YUMMY!!!!!! There is nothing as nice as a big breakfast to break up a drive, let you stretch and freshen up, and to give a clean place to get the kiddos dressed!
So, the tire shop calls, the cut is too deep, tire has to be replaced at the tune of about $100. We made a few calls, found out they probably weren't ripping us off, so we said go ahead!
SO, three hours after the tire popped, and $101.64 spent on our first suvineer (a new spare tire) we headed out to the inlaws again!
What a bizarre drive, we passed a truck on fire, with paremedics and firemen, and a horrifying accident where a tractor trailer jack-knifed into the median, landed on a mini-van and had 75 north bound completely closed for hours. I sure hope all those involved are OK. Pretty scary. ..
All in all, we made it here in 12 hours (same as last year)! We did think the wake up earlier plan worked, and if we hadn't lost the 3 hours, we would have gotten her a lot faster.
Mimi and Pap were so excited to see us! The girls have given and gotten presents, we ate fried chicken, the girls rode with pap on his golf cart, and we've made plans to go out on the boat tomorrow where Pap will teach the girls to fish!
We are so excited to be here! Every trip needs a fun story, and we're laughing about the tire already!
So, here's to a smoother day tomorrow! I'll update with pictures tomorrow, But I haven't had a chance to get to them yet, and since I've been awake since 2:15, I'm off to sleep soon!
Goodnight all! (oh, and so far, the girls haven't talked too much about WDW to the inlaws)!!!!
Have a wonderful evening and a Very Disney Day tomorrow!
Oh well I'll just have to wait to see what I get later on in the trip.. 
