Miami or Bust - Road Tripping
We've been in Miami for nearly a week now. I mentioned that I would be blogging about our road trip down while I was visiting, but I haven't had the time. We've been pulled in every direction by a family wanting to see us, and we haven't really been able to have much "fun." I've said a million times that we've stopped taking our vacations in Miami because they never really are vacations. Our road trip down was LONG. Twenty-two hours long, to be exact. We knew it would be longer with the baby this time, but nearly twenty-four hours on the road was something we weren't expecting. Prince Charming surprised me with another Christmas gift, a Garmin GPS; it made the trip stress-free as far as directions were concerned. (I've wanted one of those for nearly an eon, as I am the type of person who spends her life getting lost.)
We also spent much of the trip hungry. We left Christmas Eve and should have realized that most restaurants would be closed on Christmas. I'd planned on stopping at Walmart to get some snacks, but we have yet to do. I encountered this water tower thing during our failed McDonald's runs.
Mo loves to point them out, and this one was like one I've never seen before. Luckily, Mo and Copper slept through much of the trip (a blessing I wasn't expecting from our little guy). However, sometime around 11pm on Christmas Eve, we had to stop to get a snack - Somewhere in North Carolina, a gas station provided sunflower seeds, chips, and Gatorade; by eight o'clock the following day, Mo was hungry, and so were the Prince and I. We stopped at seven different Mcdonalds', but we found them all closed.
Finally, somewhere in Georgia, we found a Waffle House open. I ordered us huge breakfasts to go, and we ate the heart attacks waiting to happen in less than 10 minutes. The Waffle House was an adventure unto itself.
Jam-packed with locals and travelers alike, the staff was swamped with orders on the warm and humid Christmas morning. I can't say I will ever spend another Christmas morning like that, but I will say I don't want to ever again! It took 15 minutes to place my order and another 25 to deliver. While waiting, Mo fidgeted, jumped, and couldn't sit still; can you blame him? I played with one of his Hot Wheels cars, and people watched. At the counter sat an older couple who wore Christmas shirts and socks. I thought this was so cute that I had to snap their socks. I did it covertly so as not to draw attention to my photography.
We felt at home when we finally made it across the Florida border. We started talking about how much we missed things like palm trees and the ocean. We stopped at the first rest stop we came across on I-95, and I kid you not, as I was entering the lady's room, I held the door for 6 women, and not one of them had the courtesy to say thank you. Yes, I was in Florida. Welcome Home. We still had another seven hours to Miami. Once in Miami, we booked it to my husband's BFF's house for a Christmas BBQ. His Mom and brother were the only ones besides my sister who knew we were making the trek down. Once we got there, we called his Mom, and she came out, took Copper, and handed him over to his grandfather. Needless to say, he was surprised, so much so that he started to weep (a bit of alcohol was involved), and his reaction made the trip worth it.