So we really didn’t update the blog over vacation – it is hard to blog when you are so busy 
I’ll be posting a few things later this week. With pictures! Yay!
Travel day one is coming to a close…
The internet coverage was very sketchy the entire way, so writing while on the road was pretty much a lost cause. The trip to Las Cruces was uneventful, which is a good thing. We arrived in Las Cruces at 4 pm mountain time.
There was a small misunderstanding with the time change… we set the clock forward an hour, instead of backward. When we were driving through El Paso at “5ish”, we were very confused as to why all of the school zone signs were still flashing – but being the compliant, rule follwers that we are (HA!), we drove 20 mph through each of them.
It wasn’t until we were arriving in Las Cruces that I looked down at my phone and thought… hmmm… why didn’t the time zone auto update on my phone. And why does our clock in the car say it is six and the clock on my phone say it is four?! WAIT A MINUTE! The phone did auto update. We are idiots!
So we thought we were making good time, when in fact, we were making REALLY good time.
Hopefully the trip tomorrow goes as smooth as today. But tomorrow there are mountains. Ick!
For now, it is bed time! 5 am will come very quickly
So.
It’s early.
But we are well on our way to California. Today we are making an almost 11 hour trek to Las Cruces, NM.
I really enjoy this part of the drive. Everyone always complains about driving through west Texas, but I kind of love it. We go from Urban Austin to the rolling Tecas hill country to the rocky desert like western end of Texas.
The whole drive is pretty impressive, really, with so many different types of terrain. I love it! Except for the mountains. I still hate those – but I don’t have to deal with them until tomorrow…
For now, it’s onward bound…
Well, it is officially 12 days before we head west to California. We have debated for the past couple of weeks about which route is the best to take and have finally agreed to take the 8 again. If you were following this blog during our last California trip – you’ll remember we took the train, which was quite an adventure! The year before that (the un-blogged year!) we made a road trip out of it, which is what we will be doing again this year.
I’ll be the first to admit I am a bit terrified of mountains… and by a bit I mean a lot. There was a portion of our first trip along the 8 (cause I feel I should speak like a Californian and refer to freeways as “the”) where I hid under a blanket. There were mountain roads with no guard rails. There were tears. There were prayers. Ultimately, there was La Jolla – which made it all worth while.
I’m not sure what made me decide that traveling the 8 again is a good idea… perhaps the fact that it cuts three hours from our already 20+ hour trip… perhaps the fact that we will get to spend three days in La Jolla instead of two… perhaps the fact that I really don’t remember how horrible the mountains were… I don’t know, but I am afraid the last assumption is the most accurate. We will see!
For now, I am not going to think about the mountains. Or plummeting from the side of one to our ultimate demise in the little blue station wagon. I am just going to dream of the weather… and the beach… Mmmmm.
In just 3 weeks we will be California bound! Stay tuned for exciting California roadtrip updates…
Never stay at a Holiday Inn Express in a small town. Ever.
Florida has a large number of “country folk”. Who knew?
Alabama IS on the way from Florida to Texas. Silly Lexi.
Sometimes Delores, our GPS, finds it amusing to drive us 12 miles out of the way just to tell us to turn around in a neighborhood and go back the way we came.
I’d maybe like to live on a farm with cows, goats and chickens. Random, I know.
I love travelling with Adam, even when he’s grumpy. I also love to turn up the radio and dance like an idiot in the car because it makes him smile.
Adam is suddenly obsessed with alligators. We saw two in the lake at Disney (seriously!). I just saw 13 of them in a ditch on the side of the road in Louisiana. Okay. Maybe not…
Never trust a Louisiana roadside sign that says live tiger exhibit.
We are on the road, yet again. Heading down (although, technically, we are heading up) highway 75 in Florida. Highway 75 is dotted with tourist attractions and cheesy museums – it is very obvious this is a road for families traveling back and forth to Disney. I am proud to say that we haven’t fallen victim to any of the heavily advertised (You’re getting close! Two more exits! Straight ahead! You just passed us, turn around now!) tourist traps… Yet. 
Disney was pretty amazing. The resort itself was impressive. Lots to do on site and anything else you might be interested in seeing was just a short mouse bus ride away. We visited “Downtown Disney” on our first night in Orlando. It’s a huge shopping district with restaurants, shops and clubs… that smells like funnel cakes and tequila, which is interesting, being that it’s Disney… LOL. Apparently Disney has lots of free flowing liquer to keep the parents spending money?
Our second evening we went to a party sponsored by the CAD company that ATCEMS uses. It was in the typhoon lagoon water park. Lots of food, a DJ and dancing, plus an awesome (and I mean, AWESOME) wave pool.
The best evening by far was the VIP party, which was after hours in EPCOT. We were right on the water and had front row seats to the illuminations fireworks and laser show (completely spectacular!). We sat with a couple from Calgary, (in the Alberta Provence), Canada and shared funny stories all evening long.
We were really impressed with Disney. It is definitely about as touristy as things get, but everything was so nice and VERY well organized. You’d never know there were 2000 rooms on site. We never felt crowded even though the resort was obviously rather full.
The rooms themselves were nothing spectacular, they were nice, but not 5 star for sure. The resort grounds and amenities, on the other hand, were completely fabulous!
The resort surrounded a lake complete with beachfront, cabanas and two alligators… Yikes!! When Adam was attending classes I relaxed by the lake.
We really enjoyed our entire stay at the Disney resort and are already planning on returning with Lexi – she would love it!
Now we are heading to Chipley, Florida (ie. the middle of flippin’ nowhere). We originally planned to stay in Tallahassee but it is apparently graduation weekend (who knew? Ha!) and there are no rooms available.
So, Holiday Inn in Chipley, Florida here we come! Oh boy!
Yesterday was absolutely amazing… The weather finally started cooperating, so Aimee and I spent the whole day on the beach at Siesta Key. The beach was rated in the top 3 beaches in the world… We agree… The quartz sand was so soft and the water was crystal clear.
It’s crazy to think that such a beautiful beach can be on the Gulf of Mexico… Growing up in Galveston County, I’ve always enjoyed the coast… but the beaches in Texas are really sad.
We haven’t taken many pictures at all since we arrived in Sarasota… I plan on remedying that this morning. Later today we’ll leave for Orlando, where we will be through Friday for the Navigator Conference. The good news there is that we only have to drive two hours to get to Orlando… That’s nothing compared to the marathon driving we did to get here from Austin.
Favorite Part of the Day:
Walking on Turtle Beach with Aimee, collecting seashells.
Least Favorite Part of the Day:
Getting sunburned on the top of my feet (ouch!)…
Shower time… “Peace out! =)” [as Lexi says at the end of EVERY text message...]
Apparently, according to multiple sources, it had not rained in Pensacola for three weeks prior to our arrival. The day we drove into we brought the rain from Texas along with us.
I believe I’ve mentioned that it has rained everyday since. If not, please know that it certainly has. Typically I am ok with a little rain. It’s great to play in, after all. But this isn’t just a LITTLE rain…
You may wonder why on earth I’m posting a blog at 1:37am… Well, you see… I am in Siesta Key in our 7th floor hotel room, laying in bed next to a floor to ceiling wall of windows, feeling a lot like Chicken Little.
The sky is falling! The sky is falling!
Quite literally, I do believe.
And, Adam is sound asleep. Figures!
(please note that the poor grammar (“And,” incase you didn’t notice) was intentional and rather hysterical, if I do say so myself)
The photo below is a view from our room as the storms started to roll in off the coast.
We spent 2 very stormy days in Pensacola… There was a break in the rain for about 30 minutes that allowed us to go to the beach. It’s good to be on the road again, actually. I was certainly ready to get out of Pensacola and start making our way to Siesta Key. It looks like the rain is supposed to be gone by tomorrow afternoon, which is great news!
We are about 220 miles north of Siesta Key right now. It looks like we will be arriving around 6:30 – just in time for dinner! Our hotel is on the marina and I’m really looking forward to it!
For now I’m about to take over driving…