We got up earlier than expected on Friday morning, and left the campground for Florida at about 7:00AM. As we left the campground, we slowed down at the “Katrina” park on HWY 90, where we took some pictures where someone sculpted dead trees from the hurricane, and turned them into art. Here are some pictures…..
The first thing that we did was to fuel up at the Murphy Express station that I found on their website. Here’s the sign out front of the station……
Plus, we got another 4 cents off with the use of our Murphy credit card!
Before we left, I ordered some Children’s Atlas books for the grandkids to teach them about maps and highway signs. They have really took an interest, and found a listing of state license plates, in which they are trying to check each state off. They have been sitting together in the passenger seat, and checking plates. Here are a couple of pictures….
In the last picture, you can see the surprised look on Aubrey’s face when she looked up and saw that we were in the George Wallace tunnel under the Mobile River on I-10 in Mobile, AL. The tiled walls of the tunnel can be seen through the side window!
When we got to Florida, we stopped at the welcome center to pick up some maps and brochures and also ended up with a free cup of orange juice, Again, Matthew came out with swamp tours and gator brochures!! I took a couple of pictures of the kids at the center.
In the first picture, while taking a picture of the kids with the Blue Angel’s plane in the background, Matthew’s head accidentally lined up almost perfectly with the palm tree behind him, and made it look like he was having a bad hair day!!!
About 1:30PM, we pulled over at a rest stop along I-10 in Florida, and I turned on my laptop to check some maps and to look at some forums. About 4 minutes into using the PC, the screen turned black!! I plugged it back in, and played with it, but could not get a screen. I purchased it last August, and I did not know if I had any warranty, but I wanted to get it fixed….. also knowing it was Friday afternoon, and I did not want to go the weekend without an internet connection.
I used my iPhone “white pages” app to find a phone number for Dell, and ended up with a sales office. However, they transferred me to the technical service, who transferred my to another service department. Eventually, I ended up with a lady (I think in India!!), who had me take it apart. After two hours of troubleshooting, we found that I had either a bad memory card or slot……….. or both!
We got it working, but with half the memory! Next week, a technician is supposed to meet me at Fort Wilderness (Disneyworld campground) and install a new memory slot, card, and a motherboard! And yes, it is all on Dell’s nickel because it did have a 1 year warranty. I got lucky!!!!
The loss of travel time put us in an Ocala campground at about 8:00PM. Our plan was to meet my Son and DIL there on Saturday morning to transfer the kids and luggage for the week. They are staying in a Disney hotel, and Patsy and I are at the campground. We plan to meet up from time to time, but we are letting them do the “heavy lifting” of keeping up with the kids in this heat!
Here is a picture of a $30 a night campground site in Florida….
It gave us a 50amp full hookup, and we got some laundry done. Besides, when you close the curtains, you don’t know if you are in a truck stop or a luxury resort!
Rick and Laura had left Victoria at 5:45AM on Friday morning, and go to a hotel in Ocala, FL at 10:30PM. On Saturday morning, they met us at the campground and picked up the kids. We then traveled together for a while, and headed to Disneyworld.
Patsy and I went to Fort Wilderness. Here is a picture of the entrance as we approached the campground….
And here is a picture of our site after we parked……
After we got set up, Patsy and I decided to go into the “Magic Kingdom”. Here is a picture of Patsy in front of the castle that I took with my cell phone camera….
That’s it for Friday and Saturday. We are here until next Saturday. Look here for more updates…….
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