Adventures with Daddy - Day 1

Day 1 was the DRIVE.


Dad, Sophie, and Jacqueline left home at 4:30 AM on Wednesday. Our goal was to arrive at Grandpa and Grandma's place in Sarasota 12 hours later. Ambitious plans for our first extended time together, Mom's first time away from the kids, and Mom's long-weekend break from.....everything.


Our first planned stop was a McDonald's in Florence, SC. A good choice. The restaurant was clean with friendly staff. My only complaint is the playgrouind was outdoors, not indoors. No matter, we still spent more than an hour outside playing. We arrived 15 minutes ahead of schedule, but spent too long playing. Overall, we left 30 minutes late.


Note to self: the kids like McDonald's pancakes. Note to self #2: McDonald's coffee is still not very good.

Next stop was Savannah, GA. After about 2 1/2 hours of driving with 2 silly girls playing with their animals and blankets in the back seats, we arrived at Forsyth Park. One word describes Forsyth Park...WOW! Excellent playground with a Starbucks/Cafe/Restrooms immediately adjacent. The park had nice paths, the fountain was nice (but blocked as they set-up for a wedding), and the trees with Spanish moss were impressive. We will stop again on our way home and probably stop at this park every time we pass through.


After a picnic lunch, we were back in the car and on the road again by 12:30 PM. This final stretch would be the longest. It also turned out to be the toughest. Crazy drivers, bad drivers, heavy traffic, and some rain made the drive tough on Dad. The kids napped until 3:00 PM. Then played the rest of the way. When I realized we would not arrive in Sarasota by 5:30 PM, we stopped to get the girls some milk to drink with a snack around 4 PM as they started to get fussy. We stopped in Ocala at a gas station next to a Cracker Barrel. The line to eat at the restaurant was already out the door. Lots of gray hair in that line.

Finally back in the car for the final push, we arrived at Grandma & Grandpa's RV resort at 6:30 PM.

We drove 800 miles over 14 hours. Subtract out 3 hours of playtime and an extra hour because we could only go 65 mph down I-75, it was about 11 hours of driving. A long day, no matter how you cut it. I was glad to relax with a beer at the end of the day.