We spent Christmas and the New Year, plus Dad's 70th birthday, before leaving for Orlando on January 3. We drove in my parents' faithful and very comfortable Volkswagen van, which was stuffed with not only six people, but also our clothes for the week and some food and other supplies. Because Dad is on a restricted diet due to his heart condition, and because we were on a budget, we decided to take snacks Dad could eat and cold breakfast foods for all of us. We took cold cereal, instant oatmeal, packaged oatmeal bars, small bottles of orange juice, bananas, and instant coffee. We also took an old percolator to heat water, plus plastic bowls, cups, and spoons, and some diswashing liquid in a small bottle, a dishrag, and a dishtowel. We had arranged in advance to rent a refrigerator from our hotel. The trip down through Pennsylvania, Maryland, D.C., Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and finally Florida was uneventful. To be blunt, it got real boring. So boring that the kids talked me into taking this picture:
Because "el cheapo" is funny, see.
We also started watching for South of the Border signs. They're not hard to find, you might say.
In fact, we got just past South of the Border when we decided to call it a day. We found a Super 8 Motel, and decided to head for another place we'd been seeing signs for all day: Huddle House. The kids loved Huddle House. Sitting in booths, waitresses calling them "honey", unlimited carbonated sugar water: what's not to like? It was a very American experience for the boys, unlike anything they'd ever seen in Norway and almost straight out of a TV show. Unfortunately, for us adults, the menu was less than stimulating (would you like a side of grease with your grease?), but at least it was filling. Back at the motel, the beds sagged in the middle and the toilets flushed more slooooooowwwwwwwwwwwly than I thought it was possible for toilets to flush. But ah well. From a Norwegian point of view both the food and the motel were almost unbelievably cheap. And they had a decent free breakfast at the motel, with fresh donuts. And we were on our way to Disney World, fercryin'outloud! What's a saggy bed when you're off to six days of fun?
More driving the next day, until we arrived at our hotel around 4 o'clock.
flodnak.com
Created 28 March 2005 * Last Updated 14 July 2005