And the driving continues!
Leaving Jacksonville, we weren't planning on going straight home. We were taking a 'detour' and adding an extra day to our trip home. And our 'detour' wasn't so much a detour as it was an extension of the trip because it was hardly 'on the way' home for us. But that was the plan all along.
We left from our hotel and heading SOUTH on I-95. (Told you it wasn't on the way) First stop was to see Eric's parents and his sister and the kids, who were visiting their condo on the west coast of FL. We were just planning on stopping by and having lunch there... but we had to get there, which meant a relatively early rise (for a vacation day) and a drive on I-4 through Orlando (always fun). We stayed relatively close to our schedule, despite my desperate need to find a Starbucks and some traffic (surprise!) between I-Drive and Disney. We got there around 12:30pm, and there was plenty of time to visit and grad some lunch.
But our trip south wasn't done! We then jumped on I-75 SOUTH to go down to Naples to visit some more friends. We planned a little more poorly for this segment of the trip and didn't get to see as many people as we would've liked, but we still had a nice dinner with some friends and were reminded of how much the Doubletree at Naples still loves (and remembers) Eric from all his stays there when he worked at Kite. Kind of funny, actually. 
We also saw a pretty beautiful sunset, which I always love to catch if I can when I'm near the ocean.
The next morning, we woke up and had a tasty breakfast at the hotel before finally starting our journey home. Eric suddenly had this lofty goal to do the entire trip to Indy in one day - just push on until we were home. I told him, "we'll see" and asked him to keep an open mind about staying overnight somewhere along the way. I had in my mid we'd make it to Atlanta, maybe a little further. Florida is a LONG state, and seems even longer when you start where we did. But we got on the road and started north. It was mostly uneventful until we got closer to GA. Then, as I started checking traffic on my phone, I saw trouble ahead. And sure enough, around Valdosta, we came to a standstill. A guy decided to steal a semi in northern GA, only to crash it into a bridge pier in south GA. We eventually detoured through Valdosta and got back onto I-75 just north of town, but not before losing at least an hour sitting in traffic.
During that hour of down time, though, I convince Eric we weren't making it all the way back to Indiana and we needed to book a hotel room. We figured we could make it to Chattanooga, so we booked a hotel just west of downtown. Shortly after getting past Valdosta, we came into a lot of rain. Did this rain just sit here for a week?? I know it didn't, but still found it interesting that it started close to where it ended for us on the drive down. We got into Atlanta and decided to stop at The Varsity for dinner. So horrible for you, but so yummy! And from there, we got back on the road to get to Chattanooga for the night. Which we finally did a little after 10pm. And it was a good thing we made a reservation, because they were booked solid for the night, likely due to crappy weather.
The next morning was an easy drive to Indy. Only about six hours, or so. I-24 was pretty empty until we got into Nashville, and then I-65 all the way to Indy was a pretty typical drive pattern for that road. The rain ended shortly after we started our drive in the morning, and we were left with some foggy patches through the mountains. But all in all, not bad. We were home around 2pm-ish. Had the evening left to unwind from the drive and relax.
So will we drive again. Yes - we will. We had some of the worst possible driving conditions (rain for at least 75% of our travels), but in the Armada, it wasn't so bad. We lucked out with gas prices, for the most part - we were thinking prices would be closer to $4/gallon when we started planning all of this. But the biggy was that it wasn't nearly as stressful as trying to fly. We could take whatever we wanted, both in our suitcases and just in general, plus, there was no shipping of any gifts, down or back. No security to deal with, and we weren't on anyone's schedule but our own. It was a win-win! At least this trip felt that way for both of us.
Besides, I so rarely get to play the license plate game anymore. I almost got all the States (and DC)!! I was only missing Hawaii, Vermont, and Wyoming (still not sure how I never saw Wyoming - I almost always see it!). Maybe next year...
I will honestly say, I thought this Christmas was going to end up all botched up. Going into it, there were so many last minute changes of schedules, that I just kind of assumed it was all going to go bust.
Nan wasn't able to make it down because of some last minute bad weather that kept Andy and Jan from driving to PA... Kristin and the fam were understandably worried about leaving her MIL home alone for Christmas, since this was the first without her husband, so they were looking at coming up EARLIER now and having Christmas on Christmas Eve and leaving first thing on Christmas Day. This meant all the usual post - Christmas traditions we had with her and the kids were kaput. Which really bummed me out. About the only thing that didn't change was Eric's and my schedule for heading to Florida. Granted, some of those weren't finalized until two weeks before... but they didn't change at the last minute.
I'm quite happy to say, my worst fears were superfluous. While it happened earlier and was a much shorter visit with 'my' kids, it was one of great quality and full of good memories. The time shift ended up not being too big of a deal. In the past, we have celebrated Christmas after Christmas Day, if not the morning of, so I was really worried the 'magic' of Christmas would be lacking by opening gifts on Christmas Eve. That was probably my biggest worry. But since we waited until after it was dark, and went to an earlier mass, the magic was still there. Plus, Santa still didn't come until Christmas morning to fill the stockings... so we still had them on Christmas morning.
We still really missed Nan, though. She's been part of our Christmas for as long as I can remember. Last time she didn't want to fly down, I was the one that picked her up and drove her down to Jacksonville. Wasn't a bad trip, really... just wasn't in the cards this year, I guess. I still did her annual photobook and managed to get that sent to her before Christmas. She said she cried a little when she opened it. I also sent her a photo calendar... she have loved ones to look at all year, that way.
The best gift of all, though, had to be my t-shirt quilt my Mom made me from all of my old Auburn UPC t-shirts. Best. Gift. Ever! I had given her the shirts years ago, but with work and other projects, she never had time to work on it. And while I didn't forget about it, I quit bugging her about it. So it was a big surprise to open that for Christmas. And they even played a little trickery by telling me the gift was for Dad, at first. That's why I love my family...
So all in all, it was a great Christmas. Even though I was afraid it was going to be botched up. Hopefully, this will be the only one that gets all crazy close to being botched up... guess we'll see next year and in the years to come!
So this year, Eric and I decided to travel to FL via my Armada. That right... we drove. I figured the travel was worth a separate blog from the actual Christmas blog...
It wasn't out of necessity. We actually wanted to. In fact, Eric brought it up after our drive back from Atlanta back over Labor Day weekend. He enjoyed that drive and thought he might actually like a full trip driving, even all the way to FL. I had no problem with that - I had done the drive numerous times before. And besides the fact that my Armada slams down the gas, it's actually a nice ride!
Since we already did a big holiday celebration with his sister and her family before her husband was deployed (and they didn't want to do a big family thing without him), we knew we were 'free' to do this drive when we wanted. It was the perfect year to try this option out. We left on Saturday (the 21st). We planned to make it a two day trip down, with our overnight spot being at the State Park in GA we found over Labor Day (Amicalola Falls). It was a lofty goal to get to that point, since it was off the road a bit and up a mountain... but we had faith in ourselves.
Of course, you can plan for everything but weather and other people's car accidents. It was raining when we woke up Saturday morning. We didn't let it dampen our spirits, though. We loaded up and we still on the road before the sun rose. Well... from what we could tell... the sun never did come out for us that day. This was no little rain, mid you... it was a torrential downpour that was slated to leave behind a lot of flooding in central Indiana. We saw about three slide-offs along I-65 before we were even a hour away. And this was JUST rain - not ice or snow! But we trudged on.
Despite the rain, things really weren't all that bad. We were making pretty good time, even with an extended Starbucks/bathroom stop just north of Louisville and a stop around Nashville for lunch. Even I-24 was an easy drive... until we approached the I-59 interchange. Near stopped traffic. It sucked! We were crawling for about three miles... but at least it finally stopped raining! And once we started moving, we saw the accident pulled off in the next rest area, with a State Cop assessing the damage.
Needless to say, this killed our goal of getting up the mountain in GA before sunset. Not that it mattered... probably wouldn't of seen much since as soon as we go into GA, we had rain again. And then as we climbed up into the mountains, it got really foggy. I truly learned the benefit of fog lights during this trip.
We got up to the lodge in time for dinner, though, and we didn't want to do much more than eat and crash for the night. Even if it was nice out, I'm not sure how much hiking I could've done. Traveling just wears a person out! We had a nice big room in the lodge, at least, so we were able to relax and get some good sleep for the next leg of our trip.
The next morning, it was still raining. And foggy. We decided to just get on the road and we'd figure out if we really needed breakfast once we got going. So we loaded up, again in the rain. At least it was just suitcases, this time. And we were off. Down the mountain we drove, into and through Atlanta. Once we got on I-75, it got crazy, though. I think everyone decided to start travelling at this point. It was stop and go all the way to Macon! I think the rain was the main culprit, though we did see an accident or two. But I think they were because of the rain.
Earlier, we had debated about going to Savannah, since Eric had never been there and it was the type of thing he liked checking out. With the rain, we debated more. But after looking at the radar, we figured why not. We should becoming out of the rain around Macon and, sure enough. a lunch stop in Macon and then we were actually out of the rain for the rest of the trip! The sun even peeked through the clouds a few times!
Savannah turned out to be the right option for us. We got on I-16 and there was NO ONE on it! Traffic was so sparse the entire length of it and between that and the lack of rain, our faith in driving was restored. Not that we had really lost it, I guess. And Savannah, itself, turned out to be the perfect stopping point. We go there a little after 3pm, and since it was Sunday, most places closed around 5pm, which gave us a definite end time to get back on the road. And from there, it was a straight shot down I-95 to Jacksonville. Traffic on I-95 moves so much better than I-75... I think it's a direct result of where the traffic is from. How else do you explain the difference?
We go to the hotel, checked in, and went over to my parents for dinner. We were weary travelers, but we made it in once piece and were quite happy with the overall driving experience. So far, no souring to driving.
I'm not sure why... and it really seems to be for no reason... but before I travel, I get very anxious. Doesn't matter how big or small the trip is, though the bigger it is, the worse it is... but I feel like I'm forgetting something, or I'm racking my brain about any problems, or I just get plain excited. And except for foreign country visits (or cruises), I shouldn't care about any of that!! I can buy something once I'm to my destination!
But I do. It doesn't matter if I make a list, lay things out a week beforehand, plan every detail myself... it just lingers there the day/night before a trip. it doesn't matter if I'm driving or flying... makes no difference. Here I am today, leaving for FL tomorrow, and I even have the day off work. But I feel like I'll never get what I need to do done, and that I'll forget some vital piece that needs to go with me.
And then there's the weather forecast. It's supposed to rain. How big of a damper will that put on things. Will Eric get anxious if it's raining. How much time will it add to our trip?
Kind of sad really. Eric laughs at me. He thinks it's hilarious that I get so worked up over trips. I even admit it's a little crazy. I got over this briefly, when I was traveling a lot for Kite. But that was so long ago and I've travelled minimally since then.
Oh, well. What can I do, right? As long as I realize that's all it is, I'm fine. And once I'm into my travels, I'm fine. Just something in my mind won't click before that point to tell me , "Everything is going to be all right..."
I found myself complaining earlier this week... I had more PTO time that I had planned for at the end of the year, and I was being told I had to take an extra day off.
And this was bad, how?? And this was a problem, why???
It wasn't. I just hadn't planned for it, and fully anticipated being at work the entire week (since I was off all last week). I had things to do at the office!
But all of my 'first world thoughts' got me thinking about how much people really do complain about these first world problems of ours. It's kind of sad, actually. If you're ever heard any of Louis CK's comedy bits, you'd understand even more of what I'm talking about. But we, as the American society, and become so spoiled with instant gratification of EVERYTHING, that if we don't get it, we complain. Loudly, quite often. I'm just as guilty as the next guy and am in no way trying to single anyone else I know out. Sadly, it's just a fact of life.
If you live in the United Stated of America.
Even other first world nations don't complain and expect things the was we do. So when the economy crashed and a lot of luxuries for a lot of people we taken away, did anyone take responsibility? No. And more often than not, they only had themselves to blame for the 'loss' that they felt obligated to. The whole living outside of your means, thing...
I don't know. I just found it interesting to hear myself complaining about something so many other people in the world don't even have. Being spoiled has it disadvantages, obviously.
I just gotta say... I'm already so done with snow this year! And it's barely the middle of December!
I'm sure part of it was the fact that I was in the Caribbean last week. We left here, it was freezing and snow was still on the ground. We came back to Indy, snow was still on the ground. And then today... yuck!
Not a lot of it (relatively), but it hit at the wrong times and just seemed to keep coming! The roads completely sucked this morning, and even though I have a large 4WD vehicle, there are still those who don't, and you have to watch for them. And the rockstars who feel invincible in their 4WD's... no... I am not one of them.
And no amount of coffee or warm food can warm you up on a day like this. Believe me - I try! Again...maybe a side effect from last week... but it still sucks! Maybe because I didn't grow up with it? Maybe because I still don't have a garage?
Nah... I just don't like the cold. I am, and will always be, a FL girl at heart. Snow's a novelty and great for skiing... but I could do without seeing it every year. I think I'd be just fine with that.
The 'Girls Cruise' has become an annual thing. And I'm okay with that. In fact, I'm great with that! I look forward to it every year now (I know... this is only the third year...) and it seems to get better every year! Not sure if it's because I'm just becoming a frequent cruiser, or if we're honestly just having a better time!
This year was a five night cruise out of Fort Lauderdale on the Liberty of the Seas (Royal Caribbean). This was our longest one yet. Well... for us girls, anyway. Jen, Karla, and I waiting to book until about 2 months out this year, hoping to get the best deal. Turns out the deal DID get better before we left, but we just got an upgrade cabin since they did that to us! So it all turned out good. We ended up with one of the forward most cabins with a balcony... they don't have balconies if you face the forward... but we had glass that we could see it, so it was pretty cool. 
The only downer was the sofa bed instead of the drop-down pullman bed. That kind of got in the way... but now we know for next time.
The entire first full day was at sea, which for us, meant a day out on the pool deck doing a whole lot of nothing. And I think we perfected that... We did a little ship exploration, too, since none of us had been on this class of ship before. It was the biggest I've been on, to date. Oh, and I got my full body massage in - I really needed that!
Day two was in Belize. This was a new port for all of us. We decided to take advantage of some of the Mayan Ruins here... there have quite a few site. 
The site we went to, Lamanai, is still an active archaeological site. In other words, they're still uncovering stuff. Granted, we didn't see any of that... but we got to climb to the top of the High Temple, which was quite a feat! Those were some steep steps, but the view was so worth it!
Day three we were back at our familiar spot in Cozumel, Nachi Cocum. This is just the perfect 'chill beach' since it's so far from the port and they limit the amount of people that can come to it. So much like the day at seas, we just mastered the art of relaxing in the sun. It was about as perfect of a day you could ever ask for!
Day four was another sea day. Believe it or not, by this point, we were almost tires of relaxing. And more so, we were beat from the previous days hiking and just being in the sun. So while we started up on the pool deck, we didn't last as long... though we still quite enjoyed the relaxing time. But then it started to get a little overcast, so we ended up back at the room a little earlier and just took our time getting ready for our last dinner on the ship. But we were just fine moving at that speed.
Just as we did last year, we took full advantage of the ship photographers. We ended up with nearly 200 shots this round! It's always the most fun the last night - by that time, you kind of know some of the photogs and they start really having fun with you. But then, we always have fun with them, if they let us.
But, just like that, we woke up the next morning back in Fort Lauderdale. These cruises seem to go by so fast... but this one did give us the length of time I think we all needed to unwind fully. I think the hardest part was having to come back to all the snow in Indy. However, I think all three of us were glad to come home and, hopefully, just ride that relaxation spell through the holidays. Guess we'll see!
It happens every year. That first big winter storm 'freak out' that causes everyone to panic and do the standard run to the store to get stuff to make French Toast. Because that's the best way to survive a storm, after all...
This one comes right on schedule... early December after an even more freakishly warm spell. They've been talking about 'Winter Storm Cleon' since the weekend. Forecasters watch as it pounds Colorado and other states known for high amounts of snowfall, and always predict we'll get much of the same.
But we usually don't.
In fact, I've watched as the predictions of snowfall amount go down since the early rumors of this great storm. At one point, I heard we might get up to 12". Now we're don't to half of that. And we'll likely get half of that prediction. They always over hype snowfall amounts, especially for the first 'big one' of the season.
In the meantime, everyone's panicking. I don't even want to go near any store that sells 'the big three' items that you must have for a snowstorm. Why must we get milk, bread, and eggs? What do those items really do for us? And can we really not survive without them? And do we really think we won't be able to get to the store for another week??
Oh, well. Maybe I'm wrong. It just better not impact my plans for getting on a plane Saturday morning, or I will be very upset!
We also saw a pretty beautiful sunset, which I always love to catch if I can when I'm near the ocean.
So will we drive again. Yes - we will. We had some of the worst possible driving conditions (rain for at least 75% of our travels), but in the Armada, it wasn't so bad. We lucked out with gas prices, for the most part - we were thinking prices would be closer to $4/gallon when we started planning all of this. But the biggy was that it wasn't nearly as stressful as trying to fly. We could take whatever we wanted, both in our suitcases and just in general, plus, there was no shipping of any gifts, down or back. No security to deal with, and we weren't on anyone's schedule but our own. It was a win-win! At least this trip felt that way for both of us.
