The Move

First of all, thank you so much for all of the congratulatory messages! I loved reading all of them on my way down I-95!

My move to Orlando came really early Saturday morning. My alarm went off at 3:30am! The cars and truck were already packed, so all I needed to do was shower and pack my snacks. We were on the road by 4:15.

We made it to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge just as the sun was rising. So pretty!

And then through Virginia

But we got stuck in traffic for little over an hour near Quantico where my Behavior Analysis Unit friends live (Criminal Minds, duh).

Honk if you love Jesus!

Next was North Carolina

where I made it my mission to find a Starbucks because my energy was quickly fading, and I still had to make it to Jacksonsville, Florida. Thanks to my Starbucks iPhone app, I found one!

I got an iced Skinny Vanilla Latte and a turkey bacon and egg sandwich, and I nibbled on some strawberries I already had in the car.

This is also where the temperature reared its ugly head!

I didn’t take a picture of the South Carolina state line sign because I was too busy staring at South of the Border! This place is fabulously gaudy! Gotta love it.

We made it to Georgia

and then decided to cut our first day short and stay in Savannah. We had spent 12.5 hours on the road, and this normally would have put us in Jacksonville, but the traffic in Virginia really slowed us down. Unfortunately, due to the holiday weekend and no reservations, we were stuck with a Howard Johnson where I felt like I was on the set of a thriller movie. My phone would ring, and no one would be there. The lights flickered. It was just weird and scary, but it was just one night. My fabulosity took a hit that night

We were up and on the road on Sunday around 7:15. The road was almost empty!

But I still looked like a haggard mess.

“Mom, are we there yet?”

It was sometime around 9 when I finally saw the sign for Florida!

I always love riding through Jacksonville. It’s so pretty!

About an hour and a half after that, I finally saw signs for I-4 and Orlando!

By noon, we were checking in to our hotel and heading over to Celebration for some lunch!

(this is the town sign. I didn’t get close enough)

We parked near the downtown area and walked over to the Market Street Cafe.

I ordered the tuna salad in a pita. Very delicious, but I think I would have added slices of cucumber.

We walked around the Farmers Market for a little while. I simply cannot even wait to walk down to the Farmers Market every Sunday!

My keys were being held at Remax, which was a short walk from the Farmers Market. I love how they set up their front porch area!

I was holding keys to my own place in Celebration, Florida! Oh, the excitement! I almost cried, but I held back. It was then time to go check it out. I was very apprehensive because it was a filthy mess the last time I saw it. Luckily, it shined up like a brand new penny!

Would you like a tour?

The kitchen, dining room, and living area is all one big space. Love it!

The master is right off of the living room.

With a big walk-in closet

And master bathroom

The laundry area, guest bath, and second bedroom (my office) is off of the kitchen.

I was going to paint it a light blue, but after driving for so long, unpacking my Jeep and mom’s Jeep, and thinking about unpacking everything else, the thought of painting exhausted me. It might be painted later. We’ll see.

After checking out the apartment and unpacking the Jeeps, we thoroughly enjoyed a relaxing dip in the pool. It’s circular and has zero-entry. Me gusta.

It was 7:45 before we decided to head over to Disney’s Yacht and Beach Club Resorts for dinner and dessert! It only took us 5 minutes before we saw the Disney entrance. My dad was amazed that I would be living so close!

We checked out Beaches and Cream for dinner, but the wait was too long, so we decided on the Beach Club’s Marketplace to pick up a few sandwiches, and I had a BBQ Chicken Flatbread. Pretty tasty! Since Epcot’s fireworks were scheduled to start 15 minutes later, we grabbed some chairs by the water and waited for them to start. The view from our chairs was just so pretty! While sitting there, we were able to watch Epcot’s Illimunations and Hollywood Studios’ Fantasmic. Perfect!

(I need a tripod to take nighttime pictures. I know this)

After the shows were over, we decided to go back to Beaches and Cream for take-out. We all got one scoop of ice cream each.

Waffle cone tables.. hehehe

So far, this morning (Fourth of July) has included laying around and eating breakfast.

The continental breakfast is a basket of pastries

so we each added extra. I got one egg, toast, and a side of sausage.

Today’s plan includes more laying around poolside and an evening in Celebration for a “Flashback 4th of July” complete with an 80s prom and live music.

Have a happy Fourth!