Tag Archives: florida

March 2011 Trip to Florida – Day 14 (Saturday)

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It was a sad day as we packed the van and left Florida, but it was a good day as we had a nice drive to North Carolina and got to see Jeff, Evy, Ryan, Lillie, Lauren, and their house.

The boys and I got up this morning at around 7 am and went swimming for the last time. The air was cooler than it has been, but the pool was as warm as always, so there was quite a bit of steam coming off the pool. We swam for half an hour and then got out to get ready to go.

We left the house at around 8:30 and headed to Ponderosa for their breakfast buffet. It was similar to the one we had at the Sizzlin Grill last week, but the quality of the food was a bit better. But hey, for $3.99, you can’t complain too much 🙂

After having breakfast and filling up the van, we were on the road by 10:06. Here is the timeline…

  • 8:29 left the house (odometer at 141,118). Graham drove.
  • 9:36 left Ponderosa
  • 10:06 left gas station. Arrival time is estimated at 7:41
  • 10:10 on the highway I-4
  • 11:38 arrival time estimated at 7:30
  • 11:39 – 11:47 at a rest stop. Arrival time at 7:34. NOTE: just before the rest stop we saw some burned out areas along the highway from the forest fires from a month or so ago
  • 12:51 arrival time estimated at 7:20
  • 12:54 crossed Florida/Georgia border (odometer at 141,429)
  • 1:32-1:43 bathroom break and filled up van. Arrival time estimated at 7:25. Lisa started to drive
  • 1:49 things don’t look quite as green as Florida

At some point along the way, I took this picture…

  • 2:36 crossed Georgia/South Carolina border
  • 3:17-3:25 bathroom break. Arrival time estimated at 7:25. Graham back to driving.
  • 4:37-4:44 bathroom break. Arrival time estimated at 7:25
  • 5:30 crossed South Carolina/North Carolina border
  • 7:16 arrived at Jeff and Evy’s house

We had some pizza with everyone when we got there and some ice cream for dessert. The kids played around until around 10 pm and then went to bed.

As you can see, it didn’t take Christine long to dress up in Lillie’s and Lauren’s princess dresses (first Cinderella, then Aurora). She was in her glory.

After the rest of us crashed, Lisa and Evy stayed up until after 1 am. I’m sure they were talking about how great their husbands and kids are 🙂

We noticed lots of Ontario plates along the way. It was strange to see so many. We don’t know if it was because everyone else was like us going home, or if something else was going on.

The only license plate that we saw that we hadn’t seen the whole trip yet was South Dakota.

On Sunday we are going to Sacrament Meeting with Jeff & Evy, and then coming home to visit for a bit. We hope to be on the road by 1 pm.

Driving to Florida and Day 0

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The trip down could have been disastrous (the kids have never driven for more than 3 hours), but it wasn’t too bad. The first night we drove to Jeffersonville, OH, then the second day we drove to Macon, GA, and then on the 3rd day (Day 0) we arrived at the house in Kissimmee, FL. We arrived a little early, and so we went and got some groceries first. We then went to the house and swam.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

  • 3:35 Lisa, her parents, and the kids left home to pick me up at work
  • 3:56 picked me up and drove away
  • 4:03 got through customs at the Rainbow Bridge
  • 5:44 crossed the PA state line
  • 5:47-6:04 stopped at a McDonald’s for dinner
  • 8:09 left a rest area
  • 10:28 arrived at the hotel in Jeffersonville, OH

Lisa drove to pick me up, and then I drove the rest of the way

Christine had gotten sick the day we left, so she was pretty grumpy and groggy during the trip. At night I gave her a blessing. I laid my hands on her head, and started by saying “Christine Lisa Wing” and she opened her eyes a bit and said, “Yes?” 🙂

Christine stayed in our room and the boys shared the second bed in Grandma and Grandpa’s room.

Friday, March 4, 2011

The continental breakfast at the hotel was quite good. We had bagels, cereal, juice, oatmeal, and waffles.

  • 8:00 on the road
  • 9?29 crossed the Kentucky border
  • 9:40 stopped at a rest stop
  • 12:40 got lunch at Wendy’s
  • 1:00 crossed the Tennessee border. We’ve noticed quite a few trees with blossoms, as well as some daffodils growing.
  • 1:09-2:00 hit a lane closure in the Tennessee mountains which delayed us almost an hour
  • 4:24 crossed the Georgia border
  • 7:30 arrived at the Macon hotel

Grandpa drove for a couple of hours in the morning, and a couple of hours in the evening. Lisa drive for a few hours in the morning. I drove the rest of the way.

Christine was feeling better (not 100%, but better), but Andrew was miserable. He just didn’t get enough sleep last night.

We had hoped to swim at the Macon hotel, but it was an outdoor pool and was closed for the season. It wasn’t opening until Monday. It was too cold to swim anyway.

The hotel was much, much nicer than the previous hotel.

Saturday, March 5, 2011 – Day 0

The continental breakfast in Macon was excellent. Along with the standard muffins, toast, cereal, etc, there were also biscuits, eggs, and sausage rounds. We ate well, and then got on our way.

  • 8:16 left hotel
  • 11:24 crossed the Florida border and stopped at a welcome centre. We each got an orange juice and grabbed lots of pamphlets of things to do
  • 1:04 stopped at a rest stop
  • 3:15 arrived in Kissimmee

We can’t believe the number of anti-abortion billboards around. There must have been one every couple of minutes along the Florida Turnpike. Strangely enough, during the whole trip there were also billboards for strip joints or “adult” stores at almost every major rest stop.

Of course we were looking for license plates. Here is what we have seen so far:

  • Alabama
  • Arkansas
  • California
  • Florida
  • Georgia
  • Illinois
  • Indiana
  • Iowa
  • Kansas
  • Kentucky
  • Louisiana
  • Maine
  • Massachusetts
  • Minnesota
  • Mississippi
  • Missouri
  • New Hampshire
  • New Jersey
  • New Mexico
  • New York
  • North Carolina
  • Nova Scotia
  • Ontario
  • Pennsylvania
  • South Carolina
  • Tennessee
  • Texas
  • Virginia
  • West Virginia
  • Wisconsin
  • Wyoming
  • Oklahoma

Mike’s (Lisa’s Dad’s) birthday in Florida!

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I’m sure most of you have heard by now that we are going down to Florida in February. Lisa’s parents have rented a house for a while, and we are flying down to spend 8 days with them. We happen to be going when it is Mike’s birthday, and we will be going to Disney World that day. Well, the park heard about it, and this video was released. Wow, when the Rowland’s celebrate, they sure do it big!