It really wasnt a million hours.
It actually wasnt too bad.
I drove while my mom, Tammy and Jeanie snoozed.
And listened to Harry Potter.
And drank lots of my morning spark caffeine drink mixes.
Somewhere around the middle of Georgia I started feeling crazy (crazier than usual, anyway) so I woke Tammy up and asked her to drive. We swapped places. And I let her drive.
for about 30 minutes.
Til Id had enough.
And made her pull over.
See, Im a bit of a control freak. Not a lot. Really. Just a little.
And Tammys not the best driver.
Shes not the worst or anything, just not the best. She likes to ride peoples bumpers on the interstate.
But when shes driving around town, she keeps about 4 car lengths between her and the vehicle in front of her.
It drives me CRAZY!
I cant remember what she did that night that drove me mad
But I was all hopped up on caffeine and little sleep and Im sure she whined about how she was tired, so I drove again.
Around 5:30 AM, Jeanie woke up and started crying.
We were bad. (Ala Utah, FLAMESUIT ON!)
We took her out of her carseat! Just for about 10 minutes.
She sat in Aunt Tammys lap and they read a story.
She calmed down some and we promised her wed stop at the next McDonalds.
So we found one attached to a gas station. I wouldve preferred one with a playground, but you take what you can get when a two year old is having a Ive been in the car for eight hours! meltdown!
I changed Jeanie from her jammies into her Mickey outfit so shed match me and Tammy.
Tammy, Jeanie and I shared a deluxe big breakfast.
Jeanie and I ate just a little bit
Oh and she got to have chocolate milk. One of her favorites.
And soon to be the bane of my existence.
Well, not really. It just got on my nerves.
So anyway, after our breakfast break, we kept on truckin.
By this point, I was soooo tired.
Remember, Id only had about 4 hours of sleep.
Tammy had none except for what she snoozed on the drive.
But we had to get there!
One thing that kept me going was seeing the (I SWEAR IM NOT MAKING THIS UP, PEOPLE! Look it up!) Withlacoochee river near Valdosta. And my mom was in the car, so I couldnt wake Tammy up and laugh about it.
But heres what I was thinking.
A bit before we left, Tink-ing posted on Mels trip report And I've always wondered about the name of the kid's area at TL. 'Catchakiddiecreek'. Like, as a childless Disney-goer, do I just go over there and catch a kiddie to take home? Like, say, picking your own strawberries?
So it got me thinking.
(A very bad habit, I know)
If Ketchakiddee Creek is for picking up unwanted kids, what in the world is the Withlacoochee river for!?!?!?!
I would say this was funny at the time because I was sleep deprived and had been staring at the road for too long, but its still funny now.
At least to me.
As we got close to the Florida state line, we started seeing a bunch of signs for free orange juice.
I REALLY wanted that free orange juice. Even if it was just a sip. Cuz Im not supposed to drink juice anymore. Well, unless I want to get sick.
So we see all these signs.
And I ask my mom which one is the REAL one.
Ya know, the one we used to stop at when I was little.
She doesnt remember us doing that.
Grr.
Most of them (I think) are timeshare sucking you in places.
I finally took a chance on one (look for the blue signs on the interstate that look official it should be the right one).
This would be reliving my childhood!
This would be a new memory for me and Tammy!
Right?
Well, she didnt even want to go in!
So I got an OJ for me and one for Jeanie.
Jeanie took one sip, dribbled it down her chin and didnt want anymore.
I took one sip.
Now what?
They only give you like 3 ounces anyway, but wed had about an ounce of our 6 ounce allotment. I did NOT want to toss it in the trash especially with the free juice lady looking at me.
I grabbed Tammy and asked her to drink the juice.
But I dont want the juice.
And here, I think I channeled Utahs hisper (hisper = whisper + hiss).
DRINK THE JUICE! NOW!
I dont even remember if she drank it. Were just going to say she did. Cuz she loves to make me happy, right?
Ahhh. What a great family memory.