The long road down...

Vacation, vacation. What to say...

Friday was a blur- laundry, sorting, packing, loading, and last minute cleaning. Getting four people ready for a 6 day trip is not an easy feat. Cut to 5 suitcases, 1 cooler, 1 pack and play, and two diaper bags later, and we're ready to hit the road. Martin needed to go by a building in Columbia, so we headed out at 3pm, 1 hour later than our planned departure of 2 pm. Maybe one day we'll get it down to an art, and will get out at our planned time, or else learn to plan the right time.

Anyway, we made a mad-dash to Columbia to get down in time so that Martin could see his customers by 4:15. Coen was not a happy camper, and wasn't co-operative. Part of that, we discovered was due to some miscomfort from his seat, and part of that due to a smell that slowly crept up front. Fortunately, we eventually made it to Columbia, but Martin's customers were eager to continue their work on a project and finish up for the weekend, and didn't seem to interested in talking to him. So, we were able to hit the road. Finally. For real....

Coen cried 75% of the drive, largely due, I think to that whole row of teeth that's coming in on the top. Shoney's for dinner, which wasn't bad, but it was one of the only stops for those looking for a hot meal.

Finally, we finished the first leg of our trip, and stopped in Brunswick, Ga for the night. We stayed at the Embassy Suites. They offered a pretty good hot breakfast the next morning, and Mason is in heaven when offered a breakfast buffet.

The drive Saturday went a little better. We stopped at the Georgia/Florida Welcome Center for our Florida OJ and fill up of brochures. I think Mason had more fun "shopping" the brochures, than anything else. Then, we stopped at Wendy's and ate lunch. All in all, not a bad drive, due to the stops.


Once checking in, we decided that Mason had a great idea, and hit the mini-golf course. Mason won for the "most points", me for the "middle points", and Martin for the "fewest points", if you get my drift. We followed dinner with our annual visit to Giordano's Pizza. This place would not be worth it if judged by service alone, but the pizza, MORE than makes up for it. It's about a pound of cheese per slice, though, so if you're watching calories, this is not the way to go.... It became a tradition the first time Martin and I came down together, and has stuck ever since. Deep dish, cheese and pepperoni-stuffed with a pie like crust. YUMMMM. Ask Beka, she knows, now too.

Yesterday, we went to visit Martin's grandparents in Tampa, and Uncle Jerry, Aunt Bev, Elise and Gabby, Leslie and Tucker and Kenzie. So much fun, and Mason had a blast at the pool. I think he's officially ready for swim lessons. Once we left, we planned to stop for fast food for dinner, but once we saw the Outback sign, we decided it was worth cutting accross 5 lanes of traffic for.... It was worth it... we haven't done that in a while.

It's been fun so far... I have more to post about today, but this is getting long, so I'll say, "To be Continued, and Good night".