(Cara's writing)
7:30 am - As usual we left late. The van is packed to the gills, much to Darcy's disappointment as she likes to ride in the very back. Tom did not make mention of all the stuff I brought so he earned points for that. The dog was very unhappy as he watched us pack and load. We all felt bad about leaving him, but Auntie Kelly will be moving into the house and she will take great care of him.
Before we even left the driveway, Darcy reminded me that she needed to stop at the credit union to deposit a check into her account. This then had to be explained to Tom who argued how that should have been done the day prior.
Tom: "Or last night. I did all of that stuff last night. You should have done that with me."
Me: "That would have been great, but once again you disappeared without telling anyone and thus no one was able to tag along "
He drove to the credit union.
The next stop was at Frida's bakery. I only made the comment that we should stop there as a joke, this being the place of the great coffee lid debacle. Tom took the turn on two wheels and had I had a cup of java in my hands it definitely would have spilled. We got coffee, but he said we would stop further down the road for breakfast, which I thought made no sense since that required another stop, but I wanted him happy so....
We made our third stop at Panera Bread, bagged some bagels and an egg sandwich for me, and finally headed north.
9:00 - We had several funny moments in that first hour of travel, but by the time I got to writing in this journal too much had happened for any of us to remember the funny things Tom said and did.
Me: "Oh, man I forgot the travel journal! I thought about it last night, but didn't get it out."
Madison: "Oh, that's a shame."
Me: "That didn't sound sincere."
Madison: "It wasn't."
So I began the first electronic journal! I'm not sure anyone else will write in here, but we shall see.
Things that have occurred thus far:
* I whined about not having wifi for my IPad so that I could journal and Tom admitted he had a wifi gadget. Unfortunately, it was in his bag in the trunk so Darcy had to climb over the seats to retrieve the gadget. The gadget was great, but Tom had forgotten the USB charging cable so our wifi would be limited. Then Tom didn't believe it wasn't in the little gadget case so I had to take each piece out and show it to him and then turn the case upside down. That led to him saying it must be in his bag and Darcy had to climb back over the seats to the trunk for his bag. It wasn't in there either so we just enjoyed what little wifi we would have.
*Tom's complaining about the volume of traffic led me to check the I75 website for issues. By the time I got on it we had passed the poor soul who had hit the median guard rail causing a slow down in traffic. I questioned whether I should report the incident seeing that they had a place for doing so on the website. Tom said sure so I reported it and within seconds ambulances and fire trucks came screaming down the south bound lanes. We attributed it to the fast work of cmkerwin, the name I reported it under.
*As we approached Ocala, Tom suggested finding a Target to get a USB cable. Since we needed a potty break I agreed. I got the directions and we all trooped in. Darcy bought underwear and bobby pins. Maddy bought personal items. Tom bought the USB cord and I bought nothing because they did not have the new Toby Keith CD.
*Having wifi has made me have to look up various random things that pop into Tom's head. This in turn has led to other searches. For example, a search of UF's football schedule led to the Target stop; a question regarding blueberry bushes led to my blog where I had photos of our blueberry picking escapades, which led to an article on porta-pottys; a billboard of Black Cat led to a competition of who was right regarding the company (we both were correct, but Tom's company was the one being referred to).
Funny things Tom has said:
* "Do you want to stop at the Burrito Barn for breakfast? It is right up here." (he meant Taco Bell)
*"Does anyone know where Waldo is?" Said as we entered Waldo, FL
*"This is horse country. Look at that farm." It was a golf course.
*"At the post office?" In response to my declaration "Oh, I need to post my photo."
*After finding out by researc that a donkey and an ass were the same animal, I stated that there was no difference between them. "They are spelled differently. Oh, sorry, are you being an ass?"
(Tom's writing)
Cara: "Who wants to write in the journal now? Tom how about you? You write and I'll tell you what to say." I was driving. Enough said.
(Cara's writing)
3:33 - We are closing in on our destination. We have been through Georgia and are now in South Carolina on a little four lane road that requires a safe speed limit because the police are everywhere. Tom keeps drifting off on to the shoulder and the painted line with ridges makes farting noises when he does so. Madison has made a remark that his driving ability is questionable. He has now offered to pull over to allow her a nature potty break.
We had lunch at a MCDonald's (Tom's pick) that had trouble with our order or I should say Tom's order. He got his drink but no fries. We carried on without those salty things. The weather has been cloudy, sometimes drizzling, and warm. At our GA McDonald's stop the air was much cooler than Florida and Darcy and I were dressed properly having worn long pants. I spied some fall changes as we drove and took photos of course.
Our flying family texted us that they arrived in Charleston about the same time we crossed into SC. We should all arrive around the same time, although they are stopping at a grocery store and the honey baked ham store. We are still looking for a rest stop. Our four lane road is now a two lane road and it seems like the middle of nowhere. Marshy areas with lots of swampy Spanish oak trees and minimal traffic. We have spied a small post office building that looked ready to fall down with a gust of wind and a corral with a lone donkey/ass (which started the whole discussion on that).
4:30 - We have arrived at our destination, a southern, woodsy retreat nestled in the far corner of an island. It reminds me of being stranded on a desert island and wandering off to discover an uninhabited forest with abandoned spooky cabins. Our flying family is a minute behind us, but I am headed up the wooden staircase to registration to check us in. Ah, let the fun begin.
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