Day 1: Life is a Highway and Overnight in Florence

  Florence, South Carolina, United States
Sunday, July 10, 2005

001 - Putting on the Roof Rack Part I

The day had finally arrived! After getting only 45 minutes of sleep, I was up at 3:45, before my alarm even went off since I had it set for 4:15. I woke up with the part of "Prince Ali" from Aladdin stuck in my head where they say, "He's got 75 golden camels, he's generous... so generous!" I know those parts don't even go together, but I just kept singing it over and over, and it was driving me crazy! It was all in the spirit of the trip, though, so it wasn't too bad. I turned on the TV and watched two episodes of Street Smarts on the WB from 4:00 to 5:00, and I heard mom get up at 4:25 and go in the bathroom to take a shower.

002 - Putting on the Roof Rack Part II

My throat still hurt pretty bad and I was a nervous wreck. All I could think about was how I should have just gone to the doctor the day before to have it checked. A sore throat wasn't going to stop me from going on this vacation, so I could have just gotten medicine and felt better about everything. My ears were also really itchy and hurting a bit so I just prayed it was only my allergies. I went down to the kitchen and took some Benadryl and Tylenol and wished for the best. I got a flashlight and looked in my throat and saw a tiny little white spot and REALLY started freaking out, thinking it was the beginning of strep. There was no point worrying about it, though. I figured if, God forbid, I was getting sick, I could always go over to a clinic or hospital in Orlando and just get medicine, since a soar throat isn't the most serious thing.

003 - Oreo's Ready to Go

I heard dad get up at 5:00, and I watched an infomercial for the Magic Bullet, a really little blender and food processor which I had already seen a million times when I stayed up all night on school vacations and in previous summers. I got up and dressed at 5:15, putting on my Blink 182 shirt and black shorts. I wanted to just be comfortable on the long drive! I finished packing up my overnight and toiletry bags with the things I had used that morning, and mom woke Michael up at 5:45.

006 - Mike and Oreo in the Living Room

At 6:00 we started packing up the car with our overnight and toiletry bags, as well as the bags with Oreo's stuff and our snacks for the car. Most of it fit in the trunk with the suitcases that we had packed the day before. We had a few left over bags, though, so we put them in the roof bag and attached it to the hood of the car. We secured the four straps as tightly as possible (each one had a metal piece that was attached near the window, and then had a long strap that you doubled over and pulled tightly), and were glad to see that there was a clip on each strap so the two pieces would be held together and wouldn't flap against each other in the wind, making an annoying noise. It was so humid out, and mixed with my throat, I just wasn't in a good mood, and was surprised at the fact that I wasn't as excited as I thought I would be. I figured it was due to my lack of sleep, the heat, and being nervous about my throat. We finished getting our stuff together, took some last minute bathroom breaks, and were on the road by 6:30.

007 - Dad Tightening the Straps of the Roof Bag

It was so nice driving off the block knowing that we were finally on our way! When we were a few blocks from our house my Uncle Marc called and asked if we were pumped, and mom said, "Melissa is!" I was excited, but I just really wasn't as psyched as I thought I would be. I didn't say anything, though, because I knew I'd never hear the end of not being ridiculously, over-the-top excited about the vacation I had begged my parents to take us on for so long.

008 - Breakfast on the Jersey Turnpike I

We were really glad that there was no traffic on the Staten Island Expressway, but we didn't really expect there to be since it was so early in the morning. But those of you not from New York don't understand... there's ALWAYS traffic on the Staten Island Expressway, so it was definitely nice to fly through there! We drove right through and reached the NJ Turnpike at 7:05... about a half hour to get to Jersey, definitely not bad. My Uncle Marc called back right as we were reaching the Goethal's Bridge and he asked if dad was psyched that we were saving $.75 by not taking the Outer Bridge. My Uncle Marc's pretty cheap so we cracked up at his ridiculous question!

009 - Breakfast on the Jersey Turnpike II

As we were driving Mike asked me if I had the Frommer's guidebook like the one they used in EuroTrip. We talked about EuroTrip the whole time we were on this vacation, comparing things we did to things that happened in the movie. I was cracking up because I DO have the Frommer's Disney guide! We passed the time joking around and quoting stupid lines from different movies.

010 - Breakfast on the Jersey Turnpike III

At 7:45 we stopped at the Richard Stockton rest area on the Jersey Turnpike. Mike waited outside with the dog while mom, dad and I went in to go to the bathroom and get breakfast. We got Michael a bagel with cream cheese and a chocolate milk from Starbucks, and mom, dad, and I all got a bacon, egg and cheese croissant sandwich from Burger King. I also got an orange juice, and Mom and Dad got coffee. We don't like to eat Burger King because of all the crap in it, but we had no other choice. And, because of all the crap in it, it was SO good! We ate at a table outside and when we were done we wanted to walk Oreo before getting back on the road. We walked across the parking lot to some grass opposite the rest area but it was all wet so we decided to just wait until we got to the next rest stop. We took one last bathroom break, and dad bought sunglasses from one of the outdoor vendors for $10, before we were back on the road at 8:15.

011 - Breakfast on the Jersey Turnpike IV

A few days before we left I had made two CDs to listen to in the car - one with all vacation music (Vacation by the Go-Gos, Escape by Rupert Holmes, Kokomo by the Beach Boys, etc) and a CD with all rock music that my brother and I like (The Killers, My Chemical Romance, The White Stripes, Coheed and Cambria, The Used, Fall Out Boy, etc) and we tried to play them on the car CD player, but they wouldn't play. I had a really funny comedy skit about going to Disney in the summer that I wanted everyone to hear so I was bummed. Our CD player is in the trunk of the car so we couldn't even get back there to fix the CDs and see what was going on. Oh well.

016 - Delaware II

We entered Delaware at 9:08 and crossed the Delaware Memorial Bridge right away. We were making really good time considering it took us only two and a half hours to get to Delaware, including a stop for breakfast. The scenery in Delaware was really nice and consisted of a lot of farmlands. It was around this time that I actually started getting really excited! We're always in Jersey so that part of the drive was nothing special. Now we were finally out of the tri-state area and it felt great! Disney here we come!

020 - Delaware VII

We reached Maryland at 9:26 after only having been in Delaware for eighteen minutes! It really felt as if we were making great time. As soon as we entered Maryland there was tons of traffic leading up to a toll, due to the fact that the lanes were really narrow and hardly anyone had EZ Pass so there was no way to drive around the traffic to get to the empty EZ Pass lanes. We finally got through the mess in about fifteen minutes and were shocked to see that the traffic was backed up literally for miles on the other side, heading into Delaware. What a pain!

024 - Delaware XI

We were ready for another stop so we turned off into what we thought was the road to get to the next rest area. It wasn't, though, and we wound up in some small little town. We were still able to see the rest area from where we were, but we were stuck at a red light and Dad didn't realize that you could make a left on red in Maryland, since I think you can make a left on red everywhere but in New York City! So we turned into the parking lot of a small, abandoned store to make a U-Turn. Just as we did, though, the light we were originally at turned green and the light we were now at turned red. We couldn't turn left now because the rest stop was straight ahead. This light turned out being five minutes long, which is really long for a light... it was ridiculous, just sitting there with absolutely NO other cars around for a full five minutes!

029 - Maryland V

We finally made it to the rest stop and it was a pretty nice one. Mom and I went in first while dad and Mike walked Oreo around the area. They had a nice restaurant that was pretty crowded with locals having breakfast, and a big store that sold souvenirs from Maryland, Delaware, NY, and Washington DC, as well as a convenience store that sold food and drinks. We didn't buy anything, though, and just headed to the bathroom which had really nice, big and clean private stalls that were completely closed. It was like having your own private bathroom! When we were done, we got Oreo strapped back into her seatbelt while Mike and dad ran into the bathroom, and we were back on the road by 9:50.

032 - Maryland VIII

As we were driving we passed a huge truck and all of a sudden we smelled the most HIDEOUS smell! It smelled like burning, rotten cabbage! It was SO gross, and when we looked into the cars around us it was so funny to see the faces other people were making in reaction to the smell. Once it cleared away I listened to my MP3 player and took pictures of the scenery, although there really wasn't too much to look at along I95 besides trees and the signs for upcoming exits.

039 - Maryland XV

We drove through Baltimore and it looked exactly like Jersey, you really wouldn't know the difference of whether you were actually in Baltimore or just going to Giant Stadium. It was cool being in Baltimore, though, because Mike Mussina, my FAVORITE Yankee, is from Baltimore and used to be on the Orioles. Yes, I get excited over little things! After twenty minutes in Baltimore we passed through the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel and left the city behind.

040 - Maryland XVI

One of my Aunt Stacy's best friends, also named Stacy, moved to Maryland a few years ago. My mom grew up with Stacy being around the house and whenever Aunt Stacy would baby-sit, a lot of times Stacy would come over too. We didn't know what part of Maryland she was in, but we thought it would have been nice to go visit! After another hour in Maryland it seemed as if Maryland would never end! We were still making good time, but after only two hours in Jersey and eighteen minutes in Delaware, the three hours in Maryland was the longest we had been driving through a state yet. I got sick of listening to my MP3 player so I decided to watch Finding Nemo on our portable DVD player. I had started watching it a few weeks before we left but stopped when I got too tired, so I fast-forwarded it to the part I was up to. The lack of sleep from the night before mixed with the swaying and bumping of the car was catching up with me, though, so after only ten minutes I shut it off and closed my eyes for a little while, but I couldn't fall asleep.

044 - Washington DC IV

At 11:05 we reached Washington, DC. My 7th grade class had gone on a 3-day trip to Washington, DC but I didn't go, and the only other time we were in the area was when we drove through on our way to Williamsburg, VA in 1994. I was really young, though, and don't remember anything, so it was cool getting to see what we did. Needless to say it wasn't much, but we did see the Capitol Building and signs for Pennsylvania Avenue. I listened to my MP3 player (rockin' out to My Chemical Romance, the White Stripes and The Killers) and took in the sites.

048 - Washington DC VIII

We went over a drawbridge at the end of DC and there was some traffic due to a new part of the drawbridge being built. It was so weird seeing people hanging off the side of a half-built bridge, hammering and sawing away. The traffic wasn't too bad and we were over the bridge within ten minutes.

We entered Virginia at 10:45 and stopped for gas at a Mobil station at 11:45.

052 - Virginia IV

With a full tank of gas, we headed across the street to a KFC which was located on Devil's Beach Road. I just thought the name of the street was interesting, I know when I think of trying to pull in customers to a tourist-heavy rest stop I think of a road named after the Devil, haha! Mike and dad ran in to go to the bathroom, while mom walked Oreo and I waited by the car. There were three guys standing around the KFC and just staring at me and smiling, and I was scared! They looked like they just stepped right out of Deliverance (yes, the movie) and I was more than glad when dad and Mike came back out really quickly. My mom and I then went in to use the bathroom, and wow... that KFC was gross! The door to the bathroom was being held open by a garbage can so we closed it and ran in really fast. The floor was sticky and it smelled gross, so we were in and out pretty quickly and back on the road by 12:00.

057 - Virginia VIX

As soon as we got back on I95 the traffic was HORRENDOUS! We somehow got stuck on the local I95 which has more exits along the beginning of Virginia than the express I95. The traffic was just backed up for miles and miles and miles. We were right next to the express I95, though, which had no traffic at all. A few people who had made the same mistake as us just cut through a patch of grass and dirt and made it right onto the express area, but dad didn't want to do that so I just passed the time by listening to my MP3 player and thinking of where this drive would eventually get us!

061 - Virginia XII

When we first got into Virginia we had only been driving for about five hours and I wondered how it could have taken us eight hours to get to Williamsburg back in 1994. Whenever we talked about long drives Williamsburg was always the first thing that came to mind. We didn't realize just how big Virginia is! At 2:15 we were still endlessly driving through Virginia with nothing to look at but trees and other cars. It did get pretty frustrating! What kept us laughing, though, was all the Ramada Inn signs that were spelled wrong. I can't tell you how many Ramada Inns there were along I95 that were spelled as "Ramaad" or "Armada." Is it really the best idea to misspell your billboard when you're trying to bring in travelers? I don't think so... and that should have been a sign of what was in store for us at the Ramada Inn in Florence, but more on that later!

070 - Virginia XXI

At 2:30 we stopped at a McDonald's in Richmond for some lunch. We walked Oreo and ran into the bathroom before dad and Mike went to get our food. They each got a burger, and mom and I got an order of fries to share. Mike and Dad's burgers came with both ketchup and mustard which was funny because here in the North you only get burgers with ketchup. A few months before we left, though, we were listening to Z100's morning show, the Z Morning Zoo, and Elvis, the head DJ, talked about rest stops along I95 on the way to Florida. He goes down to Disney every year and he said that no matter where you go in the south, they put both ketchup AND mustard on burgers in restaurants, and I thought it was funny to find that he was right! We ate quickly and were back on the road by 2:40.

Right as we got back on I95 we saw a sign that made us laugh...

074 - North Carolina II

As soon as we saw that dad screamed, "Yea!" really loud and we all cracked up! We were on our way but we still had a LONG way to go! There was absolutely nothing to look at towards the end of Virginia besides trees, trees, and more trees. As one point we saw a bunch of trucks on their way to cut and collect trees, but that was about it. Finally (FINALLY!) at 3:00 we left Virginia. It took us four hours and forty-five minutes to drive through Virginia, and it was the plainest state yet. Mike and I kept joking that "Virginia isn't for lovers... Virginia's hell!" We were joking because the state's just so big and it takes sooo long to drive through! Don't worry, we still like you Virgina, but it was nice to finally get out, and even Oreo celebrated by stretching out and somehow getting both of her paws through one part of her harness.

078 - North Carolina VI

At 3:10 we finally reached North Carolina and it's officially the "Hustler State" of I95! All we saw were countless signs and billboards advertising "Free Disney Tickets and Hotels!" and "The Country's Biggest Cigarettes!" But that was nothing compared to the endless "Topless!", "We Bare All", and "Couples Welcome!" signs. It was hysterical!

081 - North Carolina IX

At 4:00 we stopped at a rest area in North Carolina. As we pulled in we were surprised to see a lot of NY license plates. There was also a big group of kids and their parents all wearing Yankees and Mets hats so we knew we were in good company! There wasn't a restaurant or anything at this rest area so we just walked Oreo and went in to use the bathroom. Dad also took our first few minutes of video here, of everyone hanging out by the car. When I watched it the other day it was so sad, seeing the very beginning of our vacation and knowing it was over. We spent twenty minutes in the area, stretching our legs and getting ready for the final leg of our trip for the day.

When we got back in the car Mike and I were hungry so we broke out the pretzels, crackers and candy we brought along and kept in the backseat. No, it wasn't a gourmet meal, but isn't it nice being on vacation and having chips for lunch?!

083 - North Carolina XI

As we got farther into North Carolina we saw dozens of people skydiving all a the same time. We laughed as we thought of what it would have been like if my little cousin Alison had come with us... whenever she asked where babies come from my aunt would always say the stork, so we would have told her that the stork just made a delivery and she would have been amazed at all of the new "babies" falling from the sky!

088 - North Carolina XXI

As we got farther into North Carolina we also started seeing tons and tons of South of the Border signs! We were told by the travel agents at AAA and by family members that we shouldn't bother stopping at South of the Border because it was just a big, run-down tourist trap. It was still fun to see all the signs, though... some of them were really funny, and some of them made absolutely no sense.

099 - South Carolina I

We reached South Carolina at 6:00 and were at South of the Border by 6:10. I know it's weird, but I have to admit I teared up a bit when we finally saw it, just because it was our first big tourist attraction of the trip . We drove into the area and decided to get gas but the gas was WAY overpriced. The area was also pretty run down so my dad hopped back in the car and we continued driving.

104 - South Carolina VI

We stopped five minutes later at the end of Dillon, South Carolina at Jeb's Gas Station, which apparently is famous for "South Carolina's Cleanest Bathrooms." We didn't feel the need to challenge their claim for fame so we didn't bother getting out. Dad got out and got gas, and as he was doing so we were all entertained by some guy who was sitting on his car with a few friends at the gas pump in front of us. He felt the need to very slowly and seductively raise his shirt every time we looked at him, and as we turned away he would put it back down. Then when we looked he would raise it again, with that very sexy twinkle in his eye. Wow, very nice, very nice. Thanks for the show! Being from New York we've seen some pretty crazy things, but this guy was too much. We seriously felt like we had stepped right into the Twilight Zone. But it definitely made for a good laugh and it's something we still joke about to this day!

105 - South Carolina VII

Needless to say, we got out of there pretty quick. Well, after we spent a extra five minutes in the gas station with dad looking for his Speedpass for the gas. He thought he had lost it, but nope... it was right there in his pocket. So, after a very interesting time in Dillon, South Carolina, we continued on our drive to Florence. As we drove I was just SO excited. Yes, we were still seven hours away from Orlando, but we had finally reached our first hurtle on our way there and it seemed like we were right around the corner from one of my favorite places in the world. I told Mike that I might cry when I see the first Disney billboard in Orlando, and his reply was, "Yea, and I might smack you." Thanks, Mike, I'm glad you understand my love for the place.

106 - Florence, South Carolina I

As we were driving we saw a sign for the Country Hearth Inn, which was the hotel we originally had booked for our overnight stop. What did the sign say, you may ask? "The Country Hearth Inn, Now With Indoor Plumbing." Yes, we were very glad we changed our reservations! And we also hoped that indoor plumbing wasn't a new luxury in Florence because after twelve hours of driving the last thing we needed was an outhouse.

108 - Florence, South Carolina III

We finally reached Florence at 6:45 and drove to the last exit of the city. At 7:00 we were driving up to the Ramada Inn and we were NOT happy with what we saw. The outside of the building was being renovated and was literally being held together with duct tape. Yes, we saw actual tape hanging off the front of the building. There were also a bunch of dirt bags hanging out on their cars in the parking lot. What had we gotten ourselves into?! We hoped it was just the outside of the building that wasn't appealing, and mom and dad went in to check in while Mike and I waited in the car with Oreo.

109 - Florence, South Carolina IV

When mom and dad came out we drove around to where our room was and hoped for the best. Before taking anything out of the car we put the key in the door, waited for the little green light to blink and pushed the door open... and pushed... and pushed. Wow, the door was stuck pretty good. Anyway, we finally got it open, and... the TV was on the floor, one of the mattresses was also on the floor, the other bed was unmade and the place STUNK. Back in the car we went, and mom and dad ran back into the lobby to tell them that they had given us the wrong room.

110 - Florence, South Carolina V

With our new key in hand, we drove to our room. I was afraid to open the door! We walked in and the heat and musty smell hit us right away. Oh boy, I could already tell this was going to be a fun night! This room wasn't as bad as the last one, though, so we unhooked the roof bag and brought it in, along with the rest of the bags we had in the car. We got our stuff organized and tried to fix the air-conditioner before we realized that there was no use and we just sat back and wondered what we should do. The smell in the room was hideous, the carpet was damp, there were stains on the curtains, and the room was 500 degrees. So yes, back in the car we went with the roof bag jammed into the backseat with Mike, Oreo, and I, and we went back to the front of the hotel. Mom and Dad ran in to tell the girl at the front desk that the room was unacceptable and we wanted our money back. Her reply? "Oh". I'm glad they care about customer service as much as they care about cleanliness.

111 - Florence, South Carolina VI

We looked in our AAA "Vacationing With Your Pet" book and found that the Holiday Inn across the street also accepted pets. Holiday Inn's are usually pretty nice so we decided to try our luck. We pulled into the parking lot and the exterior of the hotel definitely looked better than it did at the Ramada. There were also nicely dressed people in nice cars driving around the parking lot due to the fact that the hotel also had a convention center. Dad and Mike ran in to see if they had any availability while mom and I waited in the car with Oreo.

112 - Florence, South Carolina VII

Luckily they had a room for us and we drove around to our entrance. The place was pretty crowded and there were a bunch of families in the parking lot so we had high hopes. We held our breath and crossed our fingers as we opened the door, and were happy to see that the room wasn't that bad. It still smelled of mildew which worked wonder on my soar throat, but it was a lot better than the room at the Ramada. We brought all of our stuff in and noticed a few stains on the carpet, curtains and comforter, but we were out of options. We figured we would just get a few hours of sleep and leave early the next morning. I was very surprised with the upkeep of the hotels in Florence. We have stayed at Ramada and Holiday Inn's before in Upstate New York and in parts of Pennsylvania and they were all comfortable and clean. It just wasn't what we were used to.

It was around 8:00 by then and we were all hungry so we drove around to find a restaurant on the strip. I had heard good things about Shoney's so we drove over there and the place was empty. They were having their weekend Seafood buffet and Mike and dad don't like Seafood. The place was also really dirty so we left. The Ruby Tuesday's and Cracker Barrel next door were packed so we figured that those were the only good places in the area. We didn't feel like waiting around for an hour to eat, though, so we went to Quincy's Family Steakhouse which we had never heard of but it was right next door. The place was pretty crowded so we figured it must not be too bad.

The restaurant had a buffet and menu service so we decided to take a look at the buffet first. We saw a little girl take food with her hands, a woman drop the tongs for the salad on the floor and then put it back in the salad, and a mom push her six-year old daughter into the buffet table and scream at her to get her more mashed potatoes. People amaze me, they really do. So yes, we went for the table service. Mike and I got Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches, dad got steak and mom got chicken fingers. Despite the fact that the place wasn't very clean, there was nowhere else to go and the food turned out to be pretty good. I was getting nervous, though, because I kept getting really dizzy whenever I turned my head. I remembered that I had gotten the same thing about eight years ago. I had been looking forward to seeing Hanson in concert for months, and when my first concert ever finally arrived I was dizzy throughout the whole thing and had to just sit there. I chalked it up to exhaustion, though, and tried not to worry about it too much.

When we were done eating we went over to the Travel Mart next door to get some bottled water for overnight and the next day's drive. At the counter was a sign that said, "We sale lotto, but no scratch-offs." Nope, not a typo on my part... it said, "We SALE" and yes, the sign was stuck onto a box full of scratch-offs. Florence was definitely shaping into a very interesting city!

113 - Florence, South Carolina VIII

We were back at the room at 9:00 and Mike took a shower while mom, dad and I watched the top five of the 101 Worst Breakup Songs on VH1. Number 1 was some Milli Vanilli song that I can't remember the name of. I took a shower at around 9:30 and braided my hair so I wouldn't have to deal with in the morning and we were all asleep by 10:30. I was getting dizzy again, and the beds were SO bouncy and uncomfortable that every time Mike or I moved I would really feel the room spinning. I was exhausted, though, so I fell right asleep and when I woke up at 2:00 that morning I felt better. Mike and mom were also up so I guess all of us had a hard time sleeping that night.