We left an hour and a half past what I had planned. I knew my leaving time was aspirational at best, but I’d still hoped we would leave close to that time. But we made it out of our nearly clean house and survived our first travel day.
Keith is a champion at driving. I drove to Ocala and he drove the rest of the way to Walterboro, SC. The kids ate the dinner of their dreams at McDonald’s (I know, we’re so fancy). They rarely eat it, and I always tell them it’s vacation food. Since we’re on vacation, they get to live their best fast food life.
We stopped in North Jacksonville at Oceanway Park (12215 Sago Dr, Jacksonville, FL 32218) to run off some steam. Located less than a mile from I-95, it was an easy stop. The playground had a tent over it, keeping it cool. Slides, tunnels, and ladders galore; the kids loved it. We didn’t love the lack of bathrooms or the ants surrounding the picnic table like our food was the Last Supper. Keith took a short walk around a natural area and saw a snake!
The kids predictably had a million of the same questions, asked over the course of our 6+ hour drive:
- How much longer?
- Where’s the hotel?
- Are we out of Florida yet?
- How long are we driving?
- How many miles?
- Can I use the iPad?
- How long to hotel?
They fell asleep before we made it to the hotel, and easily continued sleeping once we carried them inside.
Miles driven today = 416.
