I was awaken by the familiar feeling of a warm little body crawling into my bed and snuggling between DH and myself.
For as long as I can remember, since DS realized his mobility in the morning, he has hopped out of his own bed and come into our bed for Cuddle Time. I LOVE this time. At 8 years old, I don't know how much longer cuddle time will last, but I cherish every minute of it while it does.
Even as I sincerely wished that DS would snuggle in and go back to sleep.
It was sometime between 6:00 and 6:30 AM. I was really wanting more sleep than I had had.
Many times, especially if DS has gone to bed late, he will actually sleep in. He's a bit like a teenager that way. I know some kids that wake up at the crack of dawn no matter WHEN they went to bed. I'm grateful that DS sleeps as needed.
But DS hadn't been driving the night before. Nor was he trying to keep the driver awake. He had been sleeping. Had fallen asleep at a decent time in fact. So he was raring to go.
DS is quite the chatter box. There's no doubt where it came from. It was destined to be. He got a double dose of the talkative gene!
I can't quite recall the topic of the morning. I was ignoring it with all my might. As if I could WILL the men back to sleep. The giggles were increasing. The excitement was building. We were gonna be at Disney today!!!
I came wide awake when DH said, "There's a whole lot of bad breath goin' on."
Who could sleep past that?
Time to get up. Actually brush our teeth. Get dressed. Load the car back up. And hit the road.
In the light of day, we could see that we were surrounded by trees in Chipley. Very nice. There was another family with Texas plates loading their car. I almost asked if they were headed to Disney, too, but with kids in the family, I didn't want to cause any undo upset in case they weren't.
The Super 8 is supposed to have a complimentary continental breakfast. We had recently stayed at one and were totally unimpressed with the offerings. We didn't plan on eating from the hotel.
I had packed some breakfast foods in a separate cooler. We would eat from that this morning.
Yeah. Right.
I thought we could avoid the fast food lure.
There was a Burger King connected to the Exxon station. We filled the tank. And avoided the food. We hit the road.
It was a nice attempt at eating food from home.
"Do these strawberries taste FIZZY to you?" I asked DH.
"Yeah. Probably not good."
DS announced that he needed a bathroom.
Didn't we JUST hit the road?
Oh look. Another Burger King! I tell you what. I've never seen so many Burger Kings as driving along I-10.
This is ANOTHER Burger King attached to a gas station. There is little else at this exit. The restrooms are located in a separate building at the back of the parking lot/fuel pumps. Not too bad.
We used the facilities and rounded the building to get into the drive thru line.
Here's how I know that the croissant breakfast sandwich at Roaring Fork is bigger than the one's at Burger King.
Happy tummies.
We were cruising right along.
DH and DS were playing soccer on the Nintendos. FIFA 2006. We are HUGE soccer fans. Futbol in much of the world. DS has played on six different teams now. Fall and spring seasons. DH has coached him three times. The Dynamo is our hometown team. The best team in the West this year. We've attended two games already this season. We LOVE soccer in our house.
DS is a bit more talented than DH at the Nintendo version. There was quite a bit of good natured bantering going on.
And before we knew it, we were taking the exit in Tallahassee for our morning Starbucks. Exit 203. Thomasville Rd. Aka 61.
Many of the Starbucks locations were indicated on the highway FOOD signs. A few weren't. If memory serves, this was one that wasn't. This is a great location though.
If we stop, we go in and use the facilities. Might as well try to go if you are stopped already. Therefore, I don't recall if this location had a drive thru.
If you stop here, don't try to go back the way you came. It's best to drive in a U-shape. You'll avoid a mess of traffic if you exit toward the east from Starbucks and then head south again toward the freeway. Use 319 to get back to I-10.
DH is one of those that can't read in a moving car. Makes him ill. He needed a break from the Nintendo.
TIme for some audio entertainment. We had been listening to some tunes. Time to listen to a book.
DS and I really like the Series of Unfortunate Events books. DH, however, doesn't. Yes, they are well written. Entertaining. Humorous. But he doesn't like that so many UNFORTUNATE things happen. Very negative. He doesn't care to listen to it, but he doesn't stop us.
But for the enjoyment of all, we started listening to Nim's Island. We all saw the movie. It was a good movie. We liked it. DS and I thought that it would be fun to listen to it when we saw it at the library. We were right.
It was a beautiful sun shiny day. Time for another rest stop.
I was so glad that DS announced the need, because this was a stop that I really wanted to make. The last rest area on I-10 before turning southbound on I-75. Exit 294.
Can you tell I have a THING for rest stops? My Great Grandma lived in Lake Elsinore, California, which was a small little southern California town a ways from San Bernadino. I remember one road trip I took with her from her home to mine in the Bay Area. We drove up I-5 and stopped at EVERY single rest stop along the way. My Grandma, she didn't believe in pushing it. I was just young enough to think that rest stops were the coolest thing EVER. Little parks all along the highway!!
This rest stop indeed, was like a little park. Lots of grass. Lots of trees. And the sweet little picnic table covers that remind me of the Jetsons.
I couldn't resist taking this picture. Mmm. Mmm. Today, DH was sportin' HIS Apollo shirt.
DH's father served in the Army. I have multiple Grandpas that served in the armed forces. That, and in general, we are great supporters of the men and women that fight to preserve or initiate the cause of freedom. I liked seeing this plaque at this rest area. This is DS's impressed face.
We paused. But we didn't linger. Time to get a move on.
The next exit was, finally, a change in the roadway! I-75!
If you have driven this highway, then you MUST have noticed the billboards. If you don't know about them, I'm not going to enlighten you. I just have to make mention that I was absolutely SHOCKED at how MANY of the billboards were dealing with the topic in Florida. It must be a serious issue in the state to receive such frequent and bold advertising.
We stopped to gas up before we got onto the Florida Turnpike. We totally overpaid for fuel, but I wanted to arrive with my tank more full than empty.
Traffic was pretty good.
We were flowing right along.
Nim was overcoming some serious dangers.
In preparation for our tour on the toll road (and for pressed pennies), I had raided every coin stash in the house. The toll booth was a bit of a wait. I didn't pick a good lane. We watched as, to all appearances, every other lane moved forward, EXCEPT the one we were sitting in.
I don't understand why they don't have an exact change only lane. Texans know. We got this toll road business down. There should be a lane where you just throw your change in the bucket. Like an FP for the toll booth. For those of us that don't have the sweet FLORIDA toll sticker. DH and I were wondering WHAT would happen if we went through the Sunpass lane with our EZ-TAG. The states should have some sort of agreement.
We handed the attendant $2.50 in quarters.
Traffic on the tollroad rocked!
The next thing we knew, it was time to exit.
Really, here?
It's what it says.
Ok.
There was NO SIGN of Disney. And yet. We were exiting.
$0.50 to exit.
Exit 267A.
We were following the directions given by Google Maps.
We TOTALLY went to Disney the back way!
We were driving through the residental areas. Then there was a turn. Cast member parking? Where in the world?
Where was the big arch that everyone drives through?
They don't have it on the north side of the property.
We came in past the cast member parking for the Magic Kingdom. Past the Contemporary Resort. And then, a left hand turn into the entrance of Disney's Wilderness Lodge.
All these trip reports that I have seen and read. All these pictures that I have seen. I STILL don't know where that Welcome arch is!
There is an arch to drive under at the Wilderness Lodge. I always intended to get a picture of it, but I was always DRIVING! The feet of the arch look like they are constructed from lincoln logs.
The tall trees. The greenery around. You really do feel like you are driving into the entrance of a state park. And just like a state park, there is a security gate.
We pulled up. We were checking in today.
The guard verified our name on the list. He gave us a parking pass that had already been prepared. He gave us direction for check-in and self park. And with a wave of his hand, he said, "Welcome home."
And I agree, it is always better for the second day driving to be shorter! I made sure of that when I was trekking back and forth between TX and DC!
I love that the computer was think mileage and not presentation!!! FUH-knee. Well I hope you did see it after all!
: I think too often we get in a hurry to just get there and forget that we are are somewhere! I love to people-watch at rest areas and wonder where everybody's going. 
Oh yes, I DID finally see that arch. From the backside, while we were LEAVING!
I tell you what. After dealing with the coffee in WDW, I would! We did an RCI exchange for Pagosa Springs in December. We're gonna have a white Christmas!!
I don't know what it is about my review threads, but they don't seem to inspire a lot of chatter.
. We have always had a minivan. They are great for traveling. So much room and yet we are always filled to capacity. We usually leave at 4 or 5 in the morning and drive until about 8 at nite and stop about 3 hours from Disney. We also like to only have a short drive on our arrival day. We have stayed at WL and have loved it. We will be back at the VWL in December in a 2 bedroom. Can't wait.
It not that I'm cheap...I just didn't HAVE any...and the thought of all the fees that it would have taken to get some cash, IF they had an ATM in the lobby even. It just seemed as much of a hassle as it would be to just get the job done ourselves. But let's just say that it wasn't the HIGLIGHT of our vacation.
