Well, it finally happened. April 23rd arrived and it was time to hit the road.Mom and Me Trips start at the Zaxby’s parking lot at Exit 104 on I-95 near the Savannah, GA airport. Mom lives in Augusta, GA and I live on Hilton Head Island, SC so we meet and drive one car to Florida.
Getting me to Zaxby’s is always a chore. In my head I am very organized but in reality I am not so organized. I am always up until the wee hours of the night before any trip - doing laundry, trying to pack, cleaning the house, getting Brody ready for puppy camp. Every trip starts with me sleepless but hyped up on adrenaline. It is a good combination for the first day or so but can be a problem a few days into any trip. Especially combined with the fact that I rarely sleep the first night or two I am in a hotel room.
This trip Mom decides that we are to meet at Zaxby’s at 2 p.m. And she tells me to be on time. In her head she has it that I am always late for our meet ups. Sure I was late a few times but synchronizing our rendezvous is an effort needing military precision.
I ask you - how are two people coming from different directions supposed to meet at one place without one of the people having to wait a little bit.
And besides, the last Mom and Me Trip I was at the Wal-Mart getting muffins and sunscreen for the trip!!!!
So, I was determined to be early for our Zaxby’s meet up. This of course meant that I needed to leave the Island by 1 p.m. which meant I needed to drop Brody off at puppy camp by 12:30 p.m. which meant I needed to leave the house by 12:15 p.m. which meant I needed to have everything packed and ready to go by 12 p.m.
Phooooof, I am tired already. But I did it!!!! I was at the Zaxby’s parking lot at 2 p.m.!!! A full minute and a half before my Mom!!!! WooooHoooooo!!!! General MacArthur would have been proud.
Of course I hadn’t eaten lunch since I was rushing to leave the house and get there by 2 p.m. so I needed to get a yummy chicken finger snack meal to go and we both needed to take a potty break.
We put all of my stuff in Mom’s car and we were off to the long-term airport parking by 2:15 p.m. and back on I-95 South by 2:22 p.m. It was a new Mom and Me Trip record.
Look out Mickey here we come!!!
Mom generally starts out driving and this trip was no exception. She set the cruise control and I set up the radar detector. Mom isn’t a speed demon really. The radar detector is more for my benefit during my time behind the wheel. Of course it is nice for Mom to know if a cop is ahead in case you get a Barney Fife type and wants to give tickets for speeding 7 miles over the speed limit.
It was at this time that I brought out Flat Brody and showed Mom. She thought it was a little silly but she is all about fun on our Mom and Me Trips so she thought it was cute.
Here is Flat Brody traveling down the highway enjoying the scenery of Georgia.
"Be careful Meme there is a truck coming our way!"
We are making good time and didn’t need gas so we decided not to take a break until the Florida Welcome Center.
Flat Brody needed a break from the car also.
Flat Brody needed a break from the car also.
Flat Brody likes to thumb his nose at authority. (He is a rebel at heart.)
After out little bathroom/stretch break we switched drivers for the last part of the trip and I settled into the driver’s seat. One of the first things I do when I drive on Mom and Me Trips is to change the XM satellite station to the Disney Channel to get us in the mood. When it comes to the Jonas Brothers and Hannah Montana I am like a tween girl - don’t judge me.
Mom always gets mad at me though because I will seat dance and take my hands off the wheel. It isn't the safest thing in the world but sometimes I just have to "pumpin' up the party!!"
After a brief traffic delay just before the 95/10 split in Jacksonville, the drive was uneventful. But the longest part of the trip is between Jacksonville and Daytona. It just seems to take forever!!!!
Whenever we get close to I-4 I always get excited and start the "we’re almost theres!!!" I am like a little kid when it comes to my Disney trips. I was after all the child who never slept the night before we were going to the Magic Kingdom and would wake up everybody at 5:30 a.m. saying "GET UP!! It is time to GO!!!"
But as we approach Orlando I also think of my grandmother so it also makes me sad. We used to get off I-4 at the Altamonte Springs exit to get to her house and it is hard for the car not to automatically get into the right hand lane when we get close. I will always associate Disney World and Orlando with my grandmother. It’s just the way it will always be for me. Everyone always asks if we have gone back to see her house but we haven’t. I think I just want to remember the house as it was when Grandma lived there and not think that time has moved on without her.
Anyways, we get through Orlando with almost no traffic and arrive to the WDW area at 6:35 p.m. This is a new record for us!!! 4 Hours 13 minutes!! And we even stopped to go to the bathroom!! And I didn’t even speed that much!!!! I promise.
But where should be go first? All Star Sports to check in? Shades of Green to buy my new Annual Pass? Get gas at the Hess Station since the light on the gas gauge just turned on? These are indeed the eternal questions of life.
Mom always gets mad at me though because I will seat dance and take my hands off the wheel. It isn't the safest thing in the world but sometimes I just have to "pumpin' up the party!!"
After a brief traffic delay just before the 95/10 split in Jacksonville, the drive was uneventful. But the longest part of the trip is between Jacksonville and Daytona. It just seems to take forever!!!!
Whenever we get close to I-4 I always get excited and start the "we’re almost theres!!!" I am like a little kid when it comes to my Disney trips. I was after all the child who never slept the night before we were going to the Magic Kingdom and would wake up everybody at 5:30 a.m. saying "GET UP!! It is time to GO!!!"
But as we approach Orlando I also think of my grandmother so it also makes me sad. We used to get off I-4 at the Altamonte Springs exit to get to her house and it is hard for the car not to automatically get into the right hand lane when we get close. I will always associate Disney World and Orlando with my grandmother. It’s just the way it will always be for me. Everyone always asks if we have gone back to see her house but we haven’t. I think I just want to remember the house as it was when Grandma lived there and not think that time has moved on without her.
Anyways, we get through Orlando with almost no traffic and arrive to the WDW area at 6:35 p.m. This is a new record for us!!! 4 Hours 13 minutes!! And we even stopped to go to the bathroom!! And I didn’t even speed that much!!!! I promise.
But where should be go first? All Star Sports to check in? Shades of Green to buy my new Annual Pass? Get gas at the Hess Station since the light on the gas gauge just turned on? These are indeed the eternal questions of life.
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