Three weeks ago today, on January 25th, we left home at around 4:30 in the afternoon --- heading out on our Disney vacation. Our on-property reservation wasn’t to start until Friday, but we had a stop to make on the way and wanted to allow for plenty of time.
We spent that first night in a Sleep Inn in Stoney Creek, VA. Man, I wish I would have thought to take pictures of it – the hotel was very nice and our room was great! We had a suite, with two queen beds and a pull-out sofa (which Ashley claimed). The front desk clerk – Gwen – was awesome! I only had one complaint about that hotel (and it’s very minor) – the hairdryer didn’t have much power.
We were up and back on the road by 8am. At around 11, we passed South of the Border. There’s something wonderful about passing that place – once you’re past it, you no longer have to read all the signs! LOL This year, I actually looked AWAY from South of the Border, only to realize that South Carolina has a LOVELY welcome sign – on brick – that probably 95% of the people passing through that way never see because they are distracted by the chaos on the left-hand side of the road.
For lunch, we stopped to meet up with my dear friend, Christi, and her family. (Christi and I have worked together in various capacities over the years, but we don’t get to see each other often because distance separates us.) Anyway, they took us to this “authentic” Carolina Barbeque place. The food was good, but the company was great! We had a wonderful visit together – and it was a great way to break up our travel hours! (Good friends are hard to come by, so it’s worth the extra effort to visit when you can!)
We made it to the Florida Welcome Center by 6:15. Unfortunately, the main building – where they serve the orange juice – closes at 5. Needless to say, we were a bit put off by that! We did manage to get the required photo by the “Welcome to Florida” sign though. So, I guess all is not lost! (And just to show my hubby’s sweet side --- he offered to turn around and go back up to GA to find a hotel for the night so we could stop for O.J. in the morning --- but I declined.)
We spent the night at the Comfort Inn off the St. Augustine exit. We had another suite, but this one wasn’t quite as nice as the one from the night before. The continental breakfast was nicer, though; so I guess that makes up for it.
By 10am, we were 45 minutes from Disney – and couldn’t check in at our resort until 3pm. We needed a few things from Wal-mart, so we headed there first. Check in next time to find out how we spent our day. . .
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