Day Two – Arrival At Disney

Well, what an adventuresome day! After checking out of the La Quinta Inn at around 11:00 am, we headed south, leaving Savannah behind.

Things went well, stopped a couple times to pick up milk, sunglasses for Ben, and water shoes for Alex. The boys asked when we’d get there about 50 times, but, otherwise uneventful…until we passed St. Augustine.

Mile Marker 286, I-95 South, south of St. Augustine. BOOM!! RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE….the back right tire blew out while traveling 75 mph in the far left lane. After getting the truck stopped on the inside shoulder, we found the back right tire completely shredded.

No problem, a truck weigh station ½ a mile away, and RoadSide Assistance through Alltel. We’ll call Alltel, get it fixed, botta-bing botta-boom, on our way. Except we apparently canceled that part of our service some time ago. Also, no one at the weigh station who could help. The biggest frustration was Tom’s inability to change a tire due to his still-recovering right shoulder.

Sometimes you need to look at things differently to be able to appreciate the positives.

1.We had just rotated the tires a week earlier, so the blow COULD have been a front blow out: very bad;

2.It happened right down from a highway assistance phone, so help could be summoned;

3.For a not-too-high price, and roll back wrecker came out and replaced the tire for us, and blocked traffic so we could safely get back on the highway;

The rest of the drive into and through Orlando was uneventful. In fact, the boys still didn’t have a clue because there were NO billboards for Disney until we were nearly at it.

Now for the fun part: We pulled into Disney World, driving under the entry arch and say, “ Boys, what does the sign say? This is where we’re going!”

Ben’s response, “I thought we were going to the beach!” He said this through tears. What an egg we laid. Alex was fine, “Oh, OK, we’re going to Disney. But what about the beach?”

After getting to the registration house and on to what we decided to call our “bungalow,” both boys started warming up to the idea. Especially when they had a chance to unwind on the little beach that’s part of the resort.

EPCOT’s fireworks were visible at 9 pm, and we then set out for supper at the Caribbean Resort food court. Excellent dining. The boys picked out souvenir pirate guns, and we called it a night. Well, we got to bed at by midnight.

Oh, yeah, we got free wireless internet at the La Quinta Inn along the interstate, but it’s $10 a day to connect be Ethernet cable at Disney. Go figure.

Tomorrow, Magic Kingdom.