the LONG drive!

our view for the long drive!

we headed off early tuesday morning and started our 3 day journey through the beautiful Appalachian mountains! day #1 was probably the longest since it was mostly mountains and the truck couldn't go very fast up and down them. but we made it all the way to north carolina. it was fun because leaving columbus the flowers were just starting to pop out and the trees had little buds ready to bloom. but as we drove south, we saw springtime advance right before our eyes! the flowers and colors became brighter as we went south and it was fun to see! it's especially nice cause we're in florida now, where there are no seasons so i'm glad we had a nice one to enjoy!

outside one hotel, jonny loves all the low growing trees- perfect for climbing!

the first palm trees! this was just was as we entered florida, or still in georgia, i can't remember...

day #2 was a little better. we were able to cruise faster since it was now mostly flat. we made it all the way to orlando and decided to stop for the night. it was about a 3 hour drive to finish it up, and we wanted to relax a bit. we stayed in a hotel not too far from universal studios, so we headed over there before bed. it was fun! they have an outdoor shops area with few attractions and restaurants and stuff. we explored a bit, then took a little water taxi that they had in the canals that connect the hotels to the theme park and stuff. it was free, so we took our little ride! the kids loved running around the misting universal globe. simple pleasures, or maybe it was just extra energy built from 2 whole days in the car!

my crazy animals, no the big one is not joe ;)...

the misting globe. they went around like 20 times!

our romantic boat ride!

now, the driving situation thus far had been: joe, jonny and buster in the 'big truck' and jess and i in the car. but joe left in the truck early the next morning to head into work for a few hours, so i had both kids and buster in the car for the last few hours. it wouldn't have been so bad, except that the kids were finally starting to break, the dog was afraid of all overpasses and semi's, and it was like 90 degrees! oh yea, and the tolls for the last stretch were about $15!!!

the backseat for the final day

we made it! no, this was not taken while i was driving! all passengers were safely buckled for the entire trip!

we decided to put buster in a kennel while we searched and were staying in a hotel, which turned out to be a good choice! so, the kids and i set right out for an appointment. long story short, we had trouble finding the right place for our family and decided on an extended stay at the residence inn! it's been great so far, we really like it here! we may never move, huge breakfast every morning, dinner a few nights a week, clean sheets, towels, and cleaning, great pool and hot tub, exercise room, 1 bedroom suite, and the people are all really nice! so, we're here, our stuff's in a storage unit, jonny's in school!

we did have to make one unfortunate decision...

with our plans to stay at the hotel, we had to give buster to a coworker of joe's. it was great that he could take him, he already had a dog and a fenced yard, so we were happy that it worked out. we visit him, and take him to the park. the kids miss him, jonny had a dream about him, and when jessy's in the right mood, she says she misses him a lot. but i'm glad taht we don't have to contain him in the hotel, that would not have been fun!

in the end, we made it, we're safe, we're happy, hot, and having fun exploring! and we did it all without a dvd player! we went old school and survived!