mickeystoontown
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 2, 2006
Picnicking like pros!
Our stop for the evening was about an hour from the Florida Welcome Center. I had made a reservation for a stay at the Country Inn in Crestview, Florida. Crestview is approximately half way from our house to Walt Disney World so it makes it a good place to stop. Had I known that we would leave a couple of hours early, we would have gone a little further but it was okay because we both needed a good night's sleep. I always pack an overnight suitcase so that I don't have to take in a lot of stuff. We grabbed the overnight bag, the toiletry bag and went to check in. Despite the fact that we were checking in semi-late, (11ish), the staff was super nice and attentive. The room was clean and the bed was nice in comfy. Just what we needed and the price of just at $100 made it even better.
We slept in a bit and took turns taking a shower and getting ready for the next leg of the drive.
I found this note from John as I was gathering our things to leave. John is so sweet even if he spelled finally wrong.
Checkout went smoothly and the morning staff was just as pleasant as the nighttime staff. John had some nose congestion and there was a Dollar General right beside the hotel. I had some meds in one of the bags but it would be easier to just stop at Dollar General. I pulled in thinking we would need to wait until 9 a.m. before they opened but was pleasantly surprised that they were already open. I, along with a police officer, were the only two customers so the stop was a quick one.
No matter how much gas we have at the time, I'm pretty much always going to get gas before getting back on the interstate. Typically there's a gas station close to our hotel and it's easy to fill up and get going and that's what we did. I snapped this picture while sitting at the red light waiting to get back on Interstate 10. Not too bad. Our usual goal is to leave the hotel by 9 a.m. and we met that goal and got gas. Look at us go!
We moved along on Interstate 10 at a smooth 70 mph with nothing unusual happening. I'll take nothing unusual any day. The sun was shining, the temps were good and we were on our way to Walt Disney World. Woo hoo!
Not long after, I received a text from Disney World saying our room was ready! Say what? We were still hours and hours away but at least we knew that we could go straight to our room when we arrived.
I believe (and I am probably correct) that John napped on and off while I drove. We snacked on the various cookies, crackers and chips while we rode. A little after Noon, I saw a sign for a rest area and needed to take a restroom break. It would also be good to stop for a minute and take in some fresh air. The day was still beautiful and sunshiny.
We walked around a bit, got a couple of soft drinks from the ice chest and were back on the open road. I don't mind driving along Interstate 10 but hate I 75 and it was coming up soon. John, again, napped on an off which was fine by me because I was now on I 75 and needed to pay attention to all the lanes of traffic. People never go the speed limit (neither was I because I was trying to keep my butt from being run down) and they were passing me on the left and right.
Around 2:15 p.m. or so, I saw a sign for one of the larger rest areas. I woke John and told him that I needed to stop and asked if he were hungry. We had only snacked up until now and our stomachs were starting to grumble a bit. I pulled in and we parked pretty far down and near the picnic tables. A few years ago, (pre-Covid) we started packing a small cooler with sandwich fixin's. We used to do this all the time when we were younger because there weren't many fast food restaurants around. We started doing it again because it brought back childhood memories.
We made our way down to the bathrooms and then pulled out the cooler and snack bag which is actually a laundry bag thingamajig that I found in TJ Maxx. It is the perfect size but is soft sided so John cut a thin piece of plywood and made a bottom for it.
Umm, umm, umm, nothing like cold chicken salad sandwiches on a beautiful day while headed to Walt Disney World!
Even though we knew that Disney was calling our name, we also didn't feel the need to rush rush rush. We still had about 3 1/2 hours to go and had no plans other than to check into the resort and feel all the Disney vibes around us.
**Up next: Take the picture now. No now! Okay now!
Our stop for the evening was about an hour from the Florida Welcome Center. I had made a reservation for a stay at the Country Inn in Crestview, Florida. Crestview is approximately half way from our house to Walt Disney World so it makes it a good place to stop. Had I known that we would leave a couple of hours early, we would have gone a little further but it was okay because we both needed a good night's sleep. I always pack an overnight suitcase so that I don't have to take in a lot of stuff. We grabbed the overnight bag, the toiletry bag and went to check in. Despite the fact that we were checking in semi-late, (11ish), the staff was super nice and attentive. The room was clean and the bed was nice in comfy. Just what we needed and the price of just at $100 made it even better.
We slept in a bit and took turns taking a shower and getting ready for the next leg of the drive.
I found this note from John as I was gathering our things to leave. John is so sweet even if he spelled finally wrong.
Checkout went smoothly and the morning staff was just as pleasant as the nighttime staff. John had some nose congestion and there was a Dollar General right beside the hotel. I had some meds in one of the bags but it would be easier to just stop at Dollar General. I pulled in thinking we would need to wait until 9 a.m. before they opened but was pleasantly surprised that they were already open. I, along with a police officer, were the only two customers so the stop was a quick one.
No matter how much gas we have at the time, I'm pretty much always going to get gas before getting back on the interstate. Typically there's a gas station close to our hotel and it's easy to fill up and get going and that's what we did. I snapped this picture while sitting at the red light waiting to get back on Interstate 10. Not too bad. Our usual goal is to leave the hotel by 9 a.m. and we met that goal and got gas. Look at us go!
We moved along on Interstate 10 at a smooth 70 mph with nothing unusual happening. I'll take nothing unusual any day. The sun was shining, the temps were good and we were on our way to Walt Disney World. Woo hoo!
Not long after, I received a text from Disney World saying our room was ready! Say what? We were still hours and hours away but at least we knew that we could go straight to our room when we arrived.
I believe (and I am probably correct) that John napped on and off while I drove. We snacked on the various cookies, crackers and chips while we rode. A little after Noon, I saw a sign for a rest area and needed to take a restroom break. It would also be good to stop for a minute and take in some fresh air. The day was still beautiful and sunshiny.
We walked around a bit, got a couple of soft drinks from the ice chest and were back on the open road. I don't mind driving along Interstate 10 but hate I 75 and it was coming up soon. John, again, napped on an off which was fine by me because I was now on I 75 and needed to pay attention to all the lanes of traffic. People never go the speed limit (neither was I because I was trying to keep my butt from being run down) and they were passing me on the left and right.
Around 2:15 p.m. or so, I saw a sign for one of the larger rest areas. I woke John and told him that I needed to stop and asked if he were hungry. We had only snacked up until now and our stomachs were starting to grumble a bit. I pulled in and we parked pretty far down and near the picnic tables. A few years ago, (pre-Covid) we started packing a small cooler with sandwich fixin's. We used to do this all the time when we were younger because there weren't many fast food restaurants around. We started doing it again because it brought back childhood memories.
We made our way down to the bathrooms and then pulled out the cooler and snack bag which is actually a laundry bag thingamajig that I found in TJ Maxx. It is the perfect size but is soft sided so John cut a thin piece of plywood and made a bottom for it.
Umm, umm, umm, nothing like cold chicken salad sandwiches on a beautiful day while headed to Walt Disney World!
Even though we knew that Disney was calling our name, we also didn't feel the need to rush rush rush. We still had about 3 1/2 hours to go and had no plans other than to check into the resort and feel all the Disney vibes around us.
**Up next: Take the picture now. No now! Okay now!
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I went over to YouTube to watch your video and give you a thumbs up. You two sure are crazy! I doubt another WDW will be in my future so now I just enjoy folks' trip reports. DD and her extended in-law side of the family (16 total) were down there earlier this month and some of them brought home the dreaded souvenir, covid.
