When we last encountered llama, she was somewhere outside of St. Louis.....
SO - I shall pick up from there with a little recap for those who don't know the story behind this trip to WDW.
On Feb. 5 my younger dd Emily started her job at the Canadian Pavillion at Epcot for a year. Feeling she "absolutely had to have her car", we arranged to have her fly down with just 2 weeks worth of stuff and for dh (Neil) and I to drive her car down.....and now our story continues.
So - our second night on the road was spent in Mount Vernon, Illinois (thank you DT for confirming which state I was in). Our third full day on the road was much like the other two - except we didn't have to deal with snow. By noon we crossed the border into Georgia which is always good, because it means the last leg of the trip, but is also annoying cause you have to change to Eastern Time and lose a whole darn hour.
We actually stopped to eat in Dalton, Georgia. ("Stopping" to eat is totally foreign to Neil, whilst on roadtrips - usually the most I can hope for is that he doesn't drive away while I'm still using a washroom off the interstate.
)
Waffle Houses - now Waffle Houses tell me I'm in the States. (well, a few other things tell me too - where else but in the States do you find three billboards in a row,(1) inviting you to the 8 churches of the town -are you suppose to visit all 8 or just choose
(2)telling you where to turn for THE GREATEST SELECTION OF FIREWORKS IN THE STATE and (3) "Be sure not to miss "Miss Monica's Love Connection Adult Toys" (Couples Welcome)". You've just got to love it. Waffle Houses tell me I'm in the southern States, especially when our entry is greeted with a cherry - "Hi y'all, how y'all doin'?" I love it. And I also love Waffle House Pecan Waffles and warm syrup. And their bacon is so crispy. Waffle House makes me very happy.
So y'all was doin' just fine when y'all left.
I'm sure Atlanta is a vital, exciting, beautiful city. However, all I ever get to see of Atlanta is the insane, six-lane, maniac-drivered freeway heading into Atlanta (of course making it worse is the insane, six-lane, maniac-drivered freeway SKIRTING Atlanta, totalling confusing you, which you have to find whilst travelling approximately 100 miles an hour (ok - that's 100 kils an hour, but you get my drift). Sorry to all Atlanta dwellers - but you people are NUTS! For heaven's sake - don't give my husband SIX lanes - because he'll change them - constantly - BECAUSE HE CAN. Which resulted in my actually getting car sick for the first time in my life since I was maybe six. By the time we were comin' up to Jonesboro - thank you Georgia for completely destroying my vision of Jonesboro (a la Gone With the Wind)
In fact, I've had this bone to pick with Georgia for a while....my entire idea of the South is based on Gone With the Wind, but not an Ashley or a Twelve Oaks to be seen - (much like my vision of "The Shore" has been cruelly dashed by Dana - somewhat restored by Wish - but I digress...) I popped a couple of Gravol (Cdn. Dramamine) and promptly fell asleep - which was good - because I didn't wake up until we crossed the border into Florida. Ahh, Florida. I love Florida. Florida fulfills all my dreams. Almost instantly, there they are, offering you fresh squeezed orange juice at the Welcome Center, almost instantly my poor dried, chapped hands and dried out lips no longer need cream nor chapstick. When you open the door you are carressed by warm, soft breezes....(ok, so the breezes weren't so warm or soft this time) we were still in Florida.
I don't know why my affinity for Florida - it puzzles me sometimes - yet so much does - puzzle me, that is. I just fell in love with it the first time my feet touched it ground. And I've never changed that feeling. Half my life is spent trying to figure out how the heck I can move to Florida, short of winning a lottery. Just for the winter, you understand....
Anyway - we still had quite a drive ahead of us, and we finally reached Orlando (well, not Orlando, per se, but WDW by about 9 that evening.).
Purple and Red
Now one would think that purple and red should definitely NOT go together. I'm sure in kindergarten, gentle teachers guided our grubby little fingers over to the pink or white to match the purple....certainly NOT RED!
Ahh, but every good Mousebuzzer knows that Purple and Red DO go together - that Purple and Red can cause total euphoria to one, when that Purple and Red is YOUR FIRST DISNEY SIGN.
With tears just about welling in my eyes, I was gathered into the Mouse's Gentle Bosom - almost hearing him whisper "Welcome Home". Neil on the other hand says he never feels the gentle arms of the Mouse, but he does feel a large white glove gently lifting his charge card out of his wallet.
Alas, I am married to a Philistine....
(to be continued)