2012: Race To The Finish Line

I woke with a single purpose (leave early) derailed by only one thing (free hotel breakfast). I am normally not allowed to eat Sausage Gravy. And while I am not admitting that I did eat it, if I had I would report that it was simply incredible.

Just as you cross into South Carolina on i-95 you will find South of border. This was established 70 years ago when a county to the north had outlawed alcohol and people crossed the border to get their fix. The exit was also the main exit for Myrtle Beach, so their business grew to include a restaurant, camp ground, and hotel. When fireworks were illegal in North Carolina, they started a giant fireworks business and eventually grew to create an amusement park and other attractions.

When I was growing up, South of the Border was legendary. Then.. They allowed alcohol to the north, fireworks became common, and they opened a highway that goes most of the way to Myrtle Beach. South of the Border became a ghost town dump. But we still stop there and hit the souvenir stand every trip we make.

The race was back on. We sailed through North Carolina and into Georgia. The first family closing the gap and our stop at South Of The border only helped them. The further south we went, the less snow on the ground, the bluer the sky, and the warmer the temperature . Near the Georgia border we saw the first palm tree of our trip! We pulled off in Georgia for lunch: Linda ran into McDonalds to get lunch, I left her to go get gas. We didn't synchronize it very well and she was left standing at the curb for five minutes waiting for me, but we hurried!

I am proud to announce that we crossed the Florida first! Race results: The first family, who had started three hours back and in last place, had cut 140 minutes out of the gap to cross in second. The second family, who pulled off the road early last night but left their hotel early this morning? Was three hours behind us and crossed into Florida third.

To celebrate our victory we ate dinner at a Waffle House (we don't have these up north). Afterwards we decided the loser family should have ate Waffle House - it was horrible.

From Daytona, everyone was heading in different directions: Second family were going to Disney, First family to Cape Canaveral, and we were going to Boca Raton to meet up with a long time friend. The plan was to have all three families come back together and meet on Sunday at a resort in Ft Lauderdale. After a few days at the beach we would all head to Orlando. It sounds like a perfect plan, what could go wrong?