Road Trip

Remember last month when I drove to Florida to pick up my daughter and drove back home the next day?  Well, I thought I'd document the trip.

I'd worked all weekend, got home around 6 a.m., slept a few hours, got up, washed a load of laundry (so I'd have a clean uniform when I got back,) packed my bag and hit the road around 3 p.m.  I only drove for about three hours before the combination of rain, dusk and sleep deprivation hit me.  Good grief!  I didn't even make it a full state a way.

I pulled into a Super 8 hotel, and let me tell you - there was Nothing super about the place.  By 7 p.m., I was asleep.  Around 8:30 a massive thunderstorm woke me up and I couldn't go back to sleep.  Admittedly, besides the storm thundering outside, I was also a little hungry.  I ate a giant bag of chips and tried to read myself back to sleep.  I wasn't helping that my book of choice was about a serial killer who was snatching girls off the side of the road.

Around 11 p.m., I was finally sleepy enough again to shut the Kindle off.  Around 1 a.m., there was loud banging on my door and someone shouting "It's me, Alejandros" over and over again.   Needless to say, the banging startled me awake.  Of course I didn't open the door but after a few minutes of the banging and shouting, I got up and yelled back at the guy.  I might not have yelled politely.  

The guy went away but came back two more times before 3:30 a.m.
I was definitely not polite the second and third time.  I had no luck calling the front desk because he'd go away before I could get them on the phone.  By 3:30 a.m., after being woken up by the thunderstorm (not the motel's fault, I know) and the jerk (to put it nicely) three times, I finally gave up trying to sleep and decided to get up and get an early start.  I could always sleep in a rest area if necessary.

I got out of bed to discover that the sink was so stopped up that my teeth brushing water from the night before was still in the sink.  Great.  I went to take a shower and while the water turned on, it didn't get hot and then the handle that turned the shower on fell off in my hand.  Let me just say, I will never, ever stay in a Super 8 ever, ever again.

I got back on the road, still sleep deprived, still hungry and it was still raining and near white-out foggy.  Nothing to do but stick the nose of my car to the tail end of a large truck and crank the music.

I made it to the Florida line and had a mini celebration - until I remembered, I was at the Florida state line.  I was only half way there.  Egads!

Beach closed due to riptides

I finally made it to my destination and still had time to walk on the beach. (The sun had come out.)

The Atlantic

The Atlantic Coastline

 Lifeguard surfing, despite the Red Flag warnings

And see some local wild life.

Sand flea crabs

A surf fisherman was very proud to show us his 'sand fleas' he'd caught to use as bait.  I've always called them sand crabs.  What do you call them?

Is it a lizard?

Or a baby gator??

Okay, so this is just a squirrel, but it's a Floridian squirrel.  Apparently, Florida squirrels are Much friendlier than Virginia squirrels.  Or at least this one was.  He was happy to eat out of my hand and I thought he was going to try to get in the car with us.

We drove on my all time favorite road.  And I may have sung Jimmy Buffet songs to Sarah, much to her dismay.

ocean front dining

And we watched the sun set while eating dinner on the deck at Mulligans, a wonderful ocean front restaurant.  

The next morning, we got up and started the drive back north.  Of course, we saw more sights.

Besides friendly squirrels, Florida also has strange vehicles.

You know you're in the south when every bridge and culvert pipe warrants an ice warning sign.

I thought I wanted to move to Frog Level, Virginia but Coosawhatchie sounds like it might be an even more fun place to live.

And of course, there's always the South of the Border signs to see and be entertained by.

And in case you've been on the road so long you forget you're in America...

Lumberton, NC water tower

We made it back home safely, just in time to sleep a few hours before going back to work for the last weekend of the season.

Despite the rough start and long hours spent in the car, all in all, it was a fun trip.