You can get there from here, but how? Part 2

    Today's post is prompted by the sudden surge in gas prices. In You can get here, but how? Part 1, I gave my insights and shared some of my misadventures of flying into the Central Florida area. Flying is my preference because it is quicker to get there and generally easier. I didn't start flying to Florida though, until I was out of high school.

I am an Eagle Scout and proud even if  I don't have the bumper sticker.
This was my Scout Troops bus

    My first visits to Florida came via the open road and was within my parent’s vehicle pulling a pop up camper. I was too young to remember that trip, but have been told it  happened not  long after Disney World opened and it was cold, causing the trip to be cut short because everyone got sick. Since then the chariots that ushered me to Florida were a Boy Scout Bus and conversion vans.

   After discovering the joys and general ease of flying, I tried the option of  driving to Florida only once since then and probably won’t do it again unless I get a plush RV to make the trip in. Traveling by car, bus, or van tends to a much more affordable mode of transportation for large families or groups, even with high gas prices. The Problem is, depending on where you live, it could be pretty time consuming and burn valuable vacation time. I can’t recall a trip that we took by automobile that didn’t come with some delay or hassle.

1,217 miles  In perfect world 21 hours....in a perfect world.

   The trip from my hometown of Portage, Michigan to Patrick’s Air Force base near Cocoa beach Florida(generally our first destination on the road to Disney World) was supposed to take roughly 21 hours. The route looks easy enough on paper and of the several times we traveled the route, closest we got to our destination was about 36 hours. Fortunately those planning the trip, built in wiggle room so we wouldn't lose days at Disney and would be able to make our pilgrimage to Ron Jon's Surf Shop.(If you have never been to Ron Jon's Surf Shop in Cocoa Beach you haven't lived!!) Unfortunately, the trip down would leave everyone grouchy and exhausted.  We would always run across several delays ranging from a private plane making an emergency landing on the highway, mechanical problems with the bus leaving us stranded at  garage in Atlanta with 40 some scouts for over 10 hours, or when you stop to food or potty break, rounding up 40 some scouts that have been cooped on a bus could be a chore, especially when the food joints freak out when the bus rolls up.

One of the Runaway Truck Ramps on Mount Eagle

   There was always a few things to look forward to on the bus ride. One happened to be to try to be awake when the bus took on Mount Eagle. We would watch in anticipation to see if any trucks burned their brakes up and ended up out of control or on the runaway truck ramps. Never had the luck of seeing it happen, but you could always smell the burning brakes.

  Another highlight of the trip down was when we crossed a state line.The driver would blow the airhorn and say "Welcome to fill in the state name!" over the P.A. The closer to Florida we got, the more anxious people would get and want to be off the bus. It may not seem like much to get excited about,  but then again we were young and it made us happy. That is after the other form of enjoyment  that got taken away. That  being  me putting a Honk if you're ____ sign in the bus window. Once the scout leaders finally figuring out why people were honking when they went by, I got several lectures from several of the scout leaders and even a few snickers from them while they were chewing out. Of course, I got  a major lecture and threat to be sent home by the Troop Leader ,who happened to be my dad. That wasn't embarrassing for him at all.

This was the last time we drove to Florida circa 1997 The munchkin and I look much different now.

   Like I said in the first post, I hate being cooped up and  I am a sucker for roadside attractions, so when the bus stopped, I tried to be the first one off and the last one back on. Doing so, I would collect just about any brochure at a rest stop to try and keep my mind occupied. I just loved state welcoming centers, especially Florida's, that one even gave you free orange juice! Those brochures I gathered, would be littering the bus by the time we got to Disney World leading to me "volunteer" to clean the bus while everyone else was setting up camp and beginning their assault on the theme parks and arcades.( Yes, some people I traveled with would spend more times in the arcades than the theme parks, especially when The Contemporary Resort had the massive arcade on the bottom floor.)

  Once the bus was cleaned and camp was set up in Creekside Meadow at Fort Wilderness, we were turned loose for a week of fun at Disney World and the bus would sit dormant awaiting our trip back north, unless of course we had a side trip planned to Universal.  The scout bus truly favored the trip back north. Unlike the trip south, there was never mechanical problems or delays on the way home. It was as if the bus was mocking us because the vacation was over.

  Occasionally, there would be a chase van that followed us down with family members or for scouts that had no seats on the bus. That was the coveted ride because you could stretch out in the van more than you could in the bus.  The van though, was just as problematic as the bus. So much so, that within mere miles of making it to Cocoa Beach one trip, a call came over the CB radio that, " The van has blown up were pulling over NOW!" Silence hovered in the bus with everyone thinking the worse had happened, especially since the was no return calls on the radio when the leaders on the bus were trying to locate were the van was to know the extent of the problem. It turned out to just be a radiator that blew, but still ended up being hours in a garage, delaying our fun.

I told you to stop and ask for directions.

   Driving to Florida is not for me, but it is for a lot people. It can be the most affordable transportation for large groups or families. If you do plan on driving, plan for mishaps, traffic delays, and tired cranky people.  Make sure you stay alert and take shifts driving, navigating, and PLEASE DON'T TEXT AND DRIVE. It would be a bad thing if you were headed through Atlanta in the middle of the night with everyone fast asleep except the driver, then hear several hours later, "Welcome to Alabama", but that is a whole different story.