Florida Vacation (Part 1 - The Drive)

The two-week family vacation that included a five day/night cruise to the Bahamas and Key West, a day at Daytona Beach, and a week in Disney World had began on Sunday, November 7th.  That night we packed our car and headed south towards the sunny Florida.  900 miles or 1400 km to be exact. This was not the first time we were driving to Florida, so we had a game plan.  To make sure I would be able to drive all night I took an afternoon nap and told kids to be quiet or they would not be going on vacation.  They believed me.  :)

The night driving was not too difficult.  There was not much traffic.  Though New York - Washington D.C. corridor was somewhat busy.  When we left the D.C. city limits the highway became almost empty.  Just for the record, we cleared those city limits at midnight.  As I was driving, I could not help but think about having a breakfast at one of my favorite breakfast restaurants called "Waffle House".   This restaurant specializes on Belgian waffles and other breakfast dishes.  It is also the number one seller of t-bone beef stakes in the USA.  There are no branches of the Waffle House in New York/New Jersey area therefore I only get to enjoy having breakfast there when I am on vacation.  

Waffle House at night

The night went fast as I drove through Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina.  When we entered South Carolina at approximately 5:30 in the morning I started to look for an exit with the Waffle House and quickly found one - in the souther part of USA there is one at every exit :).  We were the only customers in the restaurant and it looked like the waitresses  were half asleep when we walked in.  One of the waitresses took our order while the other one decided to start mopping the floor with what felt like the pure Clorox bleach.  For a while I felt like a World War I Allies soldier in the middle of a gas attack.  My simple five year old daughter started making loud comments about the stench but the waitress did not seem to get the message.

Finally, the waffles were ready, but to my surprise they seemed to be undercooked.    This was such a bummer - did I mention that I was looking forward to this moment most of the night -  but I was not going to let this spoil my vacation mood.  We finished with the breakfast and my wife took over the steering wheel while I passed out in the passenger seat.  While I was sleeping, she drove past South Carolina and most of Georgia.  Ahead was Florida.  But before we would get to Jacksonville port we had to pay a visit to the Florida Welcome Center where we always stop to get a cup of fresh orange or grapefruit juice.

At the Florida Welcome Center

 Jacksonville is the most northern city in Florida, therefore it did not take too long to get to the port from  the Welcome Center.  The beautiful Carnival Fascination ship was awaiting its passengers and we were anxious  to get on board of the ship!

Carnival Fascination - November 08, 2010