Topic: travel
Our journey south to Florida began in winter, late March 2007. We had a few inches of snow on the ground in Slatington when we left. Our first stop was the Elkton, MD Cracker Barrel for dinner. Next stop was Alexandria, VA to change drivers. The overnight drive was grueling, but worth it. When Heather and Alicia woke up in the morning we were in South Carolina. We stopped at another Cracker Barrel. By the time you get to central Virginia they have one every other exit. For me it was nice just to see South Carolina during the day. All my other trips through the state were by train and at night.
By breakfast, it had changed from winter to spring. And the entire night the temperature stayed pretty much the same because we were headed south into warmer air as it was cooling and we kept pace with the temperature change. In Georgia there were several wide rivers that very much looked like the back bays along the Jersey shore. We crossed the St. Mary's River and finally we were in Florida. We had our picture taken at the Sunshine State sign at the rest stop.
We passed through Jacksonville just as the daily rain shower hit. Then it was gone. In Orange City we stopped at Blue Springs State Park. Magnificent. Entry was $5 and worth it. There were manatees swimming in the lake. Alicia was afraid to go to the lake because she thought it would be full of aligators. Then we had lunch with GGPop at a Chinese restaurant. Alicia mastered chopsticks.
Finally, after 26 hours we made it to our hotel in Bradenton. Alicia spent the night at Jamie's place. Jamie was just about to move back to Washington when we visited Florida. Debbie was marrying Mark there, and that's why we went south. The next day, Heather and I went to Jamie's and had breakfast. Jayden was a brand new 10 day old baby. Alicia was in love. Also, she was excited about the little lizzards everywhere.
While in Florida, we went to DeSoto National Memorial and learned about Spanish exploration in the southeast in the 1500's. Alicia is crack shot with a crossbow. On the nature trail which leads through a mangrove swamp we saw an ibis and an egret. Alicia earned her third Junior Ranger badge there. We also spent some time at the beach and went to a Tampa Bay Rays spring training game.
The wedding got off without a hitch, other than Debbie and Mark getting hitched. Alicia was a flower girl and her job was to release the butterflies. She took off the lid, screamed, and dropped the butterflies.
On the way back we walked around Savannah and spent the night in South Carolina. The next day we stopped at Cowpens battlefield, where the Americans under Dan Morgan beat Bloody Ban Tarleton's British cavalry in the Revolution. We had lunch at the battlefield and Alicia got another Junior Ranger badge. We had dinner with Becca and her family in North Carolina and spent the night with them. We left early the next morning. In Virginia we did a little food shopping and picked up a lemon for Stonewall Jackson's grave in Lexington. We parked down the road from his house and walked to the cemetery. When we got back to Pennsylvania after lunch it was in the 80's. We stopped in Allentown before heading home because Heather had a seminar to do. All our snow was gone when we got home. It was a very exhausting drive home. We left at 6 AM and drove almost non-stop, only to do a seminar before going home. But despite all the work we did to get from Point A to Point B and back, it was a great trip.
