And we're off

Up at dark thirty, quick ride to La Guardia, clear check in, hike to our gste (Drew joking that we have yo walk all the way to Kennedy). . . And before you know it we are in the air and Florida bound.  Small plane, the E175, no music on this flight, but I have my iPod.  Jimmy Buffett is my traveling companion.

There's a family across the aisle, mom and dad and a baby and a toddler.  The little one had a bad flight -- she cried.  A lot.

Reminds me of when Drew and I took Jen and Becca to Florida to visit his parents in Florida, summer 1993.  Becca was a year old and Jen was a few months shy of 3.    And we brought our dog Molly.  Coming home we had a direct flight from Ft. Myers to NYC.   But going down, we had to change planes.  You should have seen us walking  from one gate to the other, with two kids, a car seat, stroller, baggage . . .and all the while Drew is looking out the window at the baggage cart to make sure Molly tranferred planes too.

Arrived in Florida, grabbed our luggage and took a taxi to the truck rental place.  Our ride/home base for the next few days is a ten foot truck.    Not my favorite.

Headed over to Punta Gorda.  Loaded up the truck and got ready to hit the road.  Stopped at a convenience store at a strip mall for drinks. . . And had a good laugh when we realized that the brand new restaurant thete shares its name with Drew's father.  Of course Drew had to take a picture.

And adios to Punta Gorda . . .and the beginning of a journey of 1100 miles.  North to Tampa, then east.  Stopped at the Cracker Barrel in Lakeland --it's one of Becca's favorite chains.  Given the country atmosphere of the place, I felt it was only fitting to do my best Willie Nelson "On the Road Again".

Saw a beautiful rainbow over the highway as we drove towards Orlando. And we drove past Disney World and didn't stop!  One of the hardest things I've ever done.  ;-)

We're headed towards Daytona now.  Not sure if we will stop there for the night.