Florida Journal

We arrived in Orlando about 4PM this afternoon. It was not a long trip, only two and a half days, but it was eventful.

We left Long Island on Monday, February 8. Strangely, the snow piles kept getting higher and higher as  we went farther south. Around Washington DC, I-95 is normally 3 lanes, but only two lanes were open in most places because the road crews were still working on cleaning up after the February 6th and 7th storm. South of Richmond, VA the snow was mostly gone and by the time we reached Emporia, VA, where we spent the night, the ground was bare.

That night, when we got back to the motel from dinner, we were just in time to see a lady slip and fall on a patch of muddy grass. We tried to help her up but, because the ground was slippery, she could not get a firm footing and she could not kneel well either because she had had knee surgery. So, I went over to the motel lobby and brought back one of the sturdy breakfast room chairs. We planted this in the soggy ground and I held on to it to make it as steady as possibly. The lady was able to use it to get better leverage and between that and Paul's assisting her, we were able to get her up off the ground and sitting on the chair. After she caught her breath and stopped shaking, we helped her to her room. I should add that after I took the chair, the motel clerk came out to see what she could do to help and she stayed to turn on the heat for the lady and make sure she didn't need any other assistance.

The morning of the 9th dawned clear and sunny and we thought that it would be a great day for driving. Unfortunately, the sun didn't last long and the overcast sky was the least of it. We drove though torrential rains all through most of North Carolina and the northern part of South Carolina. At one point we had to pull off the road because we couldn't see here we were driving. Meanwhile, Paul had developed a low grade fever and, while not too unwell, spend quite a bit of time sleeping. The fever broke about noon and he started to feel better right away. We have no idea what he had.

We spent the second night on the road in Darien, GA. We stayed at a Hampton Inn where the clerk kept baking chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin cookies. This was a true hardship because I am trying to be good about what I eat. On top of that, right across the street was a place called Smokey Joe's Bar-B-Q. You know we had to eat there. If you are in Darien, you have to eat there too. The food is excellent.

Well, we are here, staying at our nephew's. The three of us had dinner at a great little Irish Pub in Winter Park where we won third place in a trivia contest while eating some more good food, and wonder of wonders - they had Murphy's Stout. Tweet