October 19, 2002
We Make it to Florida

Yesterday was scheduled to be one of the shorter drives on our itinerary, so we noodled around a lot and took scenic routes when they were offered. Unfortunately, this made for a longer drive than we were really up for, and we didn't make it as far as Tallahassee (though we are beyond Pensacola). The good news is that because we're about halfway between the two cities (and not on the outskirts of either), we were able to get a great hotel room for fairly cheap. This is the second Hampton Inn we've stayed in, and though neither had Internet access, they were both very clean and very comfortable.

As soon as I'm done writing this, we're going to load up the car and head for Lakeland, where Al's cousin Marcus lives. Hopefully we'll get a chance to have dinner with him and his mother tonight; tomorrow we're planning on playing a round of golf together. On Monday morning we'll get up early and drive the 45 minutes to the Magic Kingdom, and Monday night we'll stay at Disney's All Star Sports Resort. It's Disney's version of a budget hotel, but I stayed there in 1999 and really liked it. Lots of whimsy.

We've also booked a "priority seating" (Disney's version of a reservation) for the Clambake Buffet at the Cape May Cafe in Disney's Beach Club Resort for Monday night. We stayed at the adjacent Yacht Club Resort last September and ate the Clambake Buffet twice; the food is good, if not spectacular, but they have an amazing ambrosia on the salad bar, and the atmosphere is really fun. We thought about going to Artist Point, the Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired, Northwest-cuisine-serving restaurant at the Wilderness Lodge that was by far the best eating experience we had last September, but I didn't want to ruin the memory I have of that meal by having a second that didn't live up to the first. Maybe next time we stay at Disney for more than one day.

Photos from Day 11

Posted by Lori at October 19, 2002 07:52 AM