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Day 11, The Long Ride Home

Cast:

Bill, 38, Police firearms instructor, husband, father, and arthritic long distance driver.

Susan, 40-something, Diplomatic Historian, wife, mum, and "in-flight" entertainment for Olivia.

Olivia, not quite 3, fully restored to sweetness and light personified

Date: September 23, 2001


As we were still on vacation, we didn't want to get up any earlier than we had to. Susan and I got up at 6, and I packed the last bits of stuff into the van. I then took another whack at assembling the portable VCR. For some reason, the bloody thing wouldn't work! It was very frustrating, but I didn't have time to analyze… miles to make, you know! I went back to the room, and retrieved the still-sleeping Olivia. I put her in her car seat, and by 7:00, we were on the road. First thing we did was to drive over to Crossroads, so Susan could grab some breakfast munchies for us. Once our munchies were secured, we headed straight for I-4, and home.

As we zipped down I-4 (east) we passed the Embassy Suites, we all waved good-bye. We waved again as we passed Sand Lake Hospital then I got down to some serious driving. As it was Sunday morning, the traffic was very light and there were few Troopers in evidence, so I took the opportunity to um, well… shave some time off of our trip (there, that was delicately said).

We got to I-95 in no time at all, and before you know it, we were passing into Georgia. Upon entering Georgia, we stooped for gas in a town called Woodbine. I don't wish to be rude, but Woodbine, Georgia is "just north of nowhere." Anyway, we had a longish stop because my knee and back were giving me grief. I walked around and stretched a bit and spent a fair amount of time telling Olivia not to touch anything! After about 20 minutes, we were on our way again. Once again noticing a lack of Georgia State Troopers, and once again, taking care to shave some time off of our drive.

Olivia was a gem, as usual, but kept asking us if we were on our way to Epcot! We told her that we would be going back, but not for a little while yet. She readily grasps the concept of "Not Yet" so she was patient (and is still being patient, as of this writing). Even without her Disney videos, she was quiet and patient and enjoyed listening to the 4 or 5 Disney CD's that we brought along with us. Susan talked to her and played with her a lot, and I sang to her. It was all going just fine.

We stopped around midday in Florence, South Carolina. We had plenty of gas in the tank at that point, but I had to get out of the van. I was feeling a wee bit sleepy, and my knee and back were killing me again. We decided that since broken down ol' dad (me) could use a break, we went to the "Cracker Barrel" for a sit down lunch.

The young lady that waited on us is not likely to win any awards for being very bright… I am guessing that she must be new. I don't want to go on too much about this, so suffice it to say that her tip reflected out displeasure in the service we received.

Anyway… back on the road. I suppose it was kind of stupid for me to eat a heavy lunch, since a heavy meal always makes me sleepy, but I did. Of course I got sleepy, as usual, so, we stopped again just after we entered North Carolina. That was just what I needed! That last stop gave me enough energy to finish the drive. We blew through Lumberton, NC like nobody's business (obeying the law, of course!). As I passed the exit for Selma, NC, I thought about my younger days in the Marine Corps. Camp Lejeune, the home of the 2nd Marine Division, is a little over an hour away. I didn't dwell on my Marine Corps days for long, be cause they, like my youth are far behind me.

Susan was getting tired at this point, and so was Olivia, but we had to keep going… we were at Richmond as the sun was going down (I was determined to make Richmond by nightfall). The traffic was rather heavy, but there isn't much I could do about that, so on we drove. Olivia was starting to get really vocal about being hungry, so we stopped in Fredricksburg, Va. (which is just 30 miles short of home) to get her a bite to eat. We took a brief stroll around Target, then finished our drive.

For our British friends, "Target" is a one-stop department/discount store. They sell practically everything. Think Wal-Mart, only a bit more upscale.

We got home at 8:30 PM. The thing that struck me as we walked through the front door of our house was THE SIZE! After a week and a half in a hotel, as nice as it was, it was so nice to be back in our home. We had done some major cleaning before we left so all was nice, neat, and orderly… until we brought in all of our stuff and promptly sat it all in the living room floor.

Olivia got a bath and was sent off to bed, and mercifully, she stayed there. Susan and I just sort of moved about like Zombies for a bit. I did a little note-taking about our ride home, but I was beat... we went to bed.

A lovely, if challenging, vacation had come to a happy, successful, and safe conclusion.


Next: Final thoughts