Let the Florida Adventure Begin

Our trip started with a big hiccup. The van was packed, we were ready to pull it out of the garage so we could park Derek's car. Then...... it didn't start. It clicked, the radio played, the air blew but the engine wouldn't start.


Grrrrrrrr.  Well, everyone out of the van and go play in the back yard. Derek went and chatted with our neighbor. They figured out it was the battery. So out came the van battery and off to get a new one. Amazingly it was only 45 mins later and we were on the road, leaving the Grove about 12:15.


Driving went wonderful. Derek drove two 4 hour stretches. Then, I drove a 5 hour stretch. After that they got shorter but we had breakfast on the south side of Atlanta, GA. The boys did great in the car. They read books, drew pictures, played bingo, played with their pencil box of toys and watched one move. All three slept decently through the night. We stopped to swim and get a good nights sleep in Lake City, FL.  

With about 3 hours to go to get to Orlando, we want to find something simple but fun to do. So, I tried to find some place we could go see alligators and the natural habitat of Florida. The boys were impressed when we stopped for the night that the Palm trees were real. Superhero Matthew gave me some flying lessons around the Palm trees of our hotel. 

 I found a hiking trail in Gainesville, FL that was about a mile long and is home to alligators - well when Florida is not in the middle of a drought. We still had fun hiking the trail and seeing where the alligators would be if there had been water in the creek. The boys though the moss from the trees was great and the leaves from one of the trees felt like thick construction paper.  

Overall, the drive to Florida went great. I was thankful for an easy second day and two good nights of sleep before we hit the parks.