[RobDVC]

Frolicking with Fay –

Welcome aboard the trip report of our 2-week Florida vacation.
Who:
Me, 40, Rob
DW, 41, Margaret (soccermomof2)
DS, 11, Joseph
DS, 8, Nicholas

What: 2 week end-of-summer vacation
When: August 15 – August 30, 2008
Where: Orlando, Florida, specifically Nick Suites Hotel and Disney’s Boardwalk Villas
Why: Everyone needs a vacation, right?

The Beginning:

August 15, 2008 – Departure Day
Margaret dropped the boys off at camp in the morning while I wrapped up a few things for work. We then charged batteries, cleaned memory cards and packed blank tapes for the camcorder while we packed the car.
We left our house just before 3 and picked the boys up from camp and then stopped to get gas before hitting the highway.

We were on the highway by 3:30, and ran into some early-rush-hour congestion between Philadelphia and Wilmington, then endured some heavy traffic at the bottleneck at the southern end of the Capitol Beltway. We pulled off I-95 at exit 143B in Virginia at 7:30. 4 Hours to get past DC….NOT a good start. We stopped at the huge shopping center there and ate dinner at Five Guys Burgers and Fries. By 8:30, we were back on the road after fueling up at the Wawa gas station right next to the I95 on-ramp.
The rest of the evening’s travels were without issue, though we had a bit of a hard time finding a place with vacancy for the evening… Margaret must have called about a dozen places before we found one in Wilson, NC that had rooms available.
We got to the hotel, a Best Western, about 6 miles east on 42 from exit 116 in North Carolina, about 11:30 and were in bed with the lights out by midnight.

August 16, 2008 – Travel Day
I woke at 6:30 on Saturday (who can sleep when they’re heading to WDW, anyway?!?) and showered and packed the car back up while the boys and Margaret got ready.
We took advantage of the free continental breakfast that the hotel offered before hitting the road. After topping off the gas tank, we were back on I95 by 8:30. Since we had passed most of the traffic trouble spots, Margaret was behind the wheel for this leg of the trip.
I pulled the camera out to take pictures of some of the billboards along the way, but, the boys were pretty antsy and asked if they could take the pictures. Here are some of the shots they got….
Joseph’s handiwork:







Nicholas’ handiwork:




By 10:30, we had passed South of the Border and were in the Palmetto State, South Carolina.

At 1:00, we stopped at exit 8 and had lunch at Wendy’s and fueled the car up. We were back on the road at 1:40, with me behind the wheel and Margaret behind the viewfinder….

See ya, South Carolina!


Georgia’s on our mind!


Are we there yet?!?


C’mon people, get a move on it! I’m on vacation!


Siesta!


Welcome to FLORIDA!!!!




Next Up – Nick Hotel.