May the Fourth

 

We made the trip without any incident at all, three scheduled stops along the way:  you can see the first above.  That's right, it's Buc-ee, and along our route there are three different Buc-ee's locations.  All we needed to stop at were two for gas, and some drinks... and maybe a few other items like hot tea, a plush Buc-ee with a patriotic hat, a Buc-ee's t-shirt celebrating the semiquincentennial, some pineapple, some spicy pickle flavored potato chips... okay, so over two visits we got a bit more.  But the bathrooms are legendary, and it was in fact a place to get fuel.  And pose for pictures.

This is the Buc-ee's in middle Georgia there, maybe Warner Robins, I think.  Because it's Buc-ee's, Maddie took some photos.  I snapped a few pictures too!

Henry County was a slog again, the only place we encountered traffic.  But today wasn't the worst traffic we had there.  It's just that this is the worst patch of road along the route, even if you include downtown Atlanta.  Anyway, we were moving along just fine, listening to Perry Stone messages and some older Prairie Home Companion material that Mom ordered for me.  Before we knew it, we were right there at the Florida Visitor Center!

If you can get there before 4:30, it's great to get inside and get some free orange juice.  No Captain Citrus material here, but Mom did meet an astronaut!  And then it was down to I-10, and then over to Jacksonville, where there's another Buc-ee's:

Really easy drive today, eventually we made it to our destination in Port Canaveral:  

We're right there on the sixth floor and soon we'll be able to see all the cruise ships in port, including the Disney Fantasy.  But tonight, we were celebrating MAY THE FOURTH BE WITH YOU, because it's Star Wars Day.  We watched the hugely epic season finale of that Darth Maul series, and it was amazing.  Not so amazing:  the Braves loss to the Mariners.  We had the game wrapped up, even getting four home runs along the way.  They were solo home runs, and that was it.  Our pitchers at many points in the game just couldn't find the strike zone, and all those walks really killed us.  Oh well - if they don't win it's a shame!

Today was a big day. We had all kinds of snacks with us and we just drove the speed limit down, no hurry.  And we got there with plenty of daylight left.  No cruise ships visible now, but they'll appear soon enough!  Tonight, Maddie and I read from "Thud!" a few more pages, and then we all said our prayers.  Time for us to get some sleep.

There's No Place Like Home

It was time to say goodbye to the Magic today, and we were ready to come home.  It was a longer cruise, the longest one we've been on, but it's been so full of fun too.  These two servers were a part of that too - Dharma and Air.  Maddie loved them, and she loved seeing Antonio, our room host too.

Ah, here's Maddie at the door one more time.  We're looking out at Port Canaveral and the Disney Terminal there, which you can see in the reflection.  Mom had everything packed, and of course at 10pm the previous night we had the three suitcases packed and in the hallway.  

This morning, we had just a few limited items to carry away, thanks to all of Mom's hard work.  I got a shower using that amazing shampoo and soap, fresh and ready for breakfast at Lumiere's one more time.

We had a really nice breakfast of course.  My tradition is salmon on a bagel, and Mom got some tasty gluten free offerings - doughnuts and pastries too.  Maddie went with the Denver omelette, and we left the boat once again quite full!  Here's one more picture onboard, where we sat in the Soul Kat Lounge one last time, relaxing and waiting to disembark.

It was again a lovely cruise.  We got off very quickly, walking down the gang plank and then back through the bottom of the terminal where we found our luggage and did a facial scan recognition for a much quicker exit.  We got to the car, and yes, that was that.  Or not quite:  we weren't ready to go home right away.  Last time we heard about a museum nearby that sounded intriguing!

Just down the road is the Wizard of Oz Museum, a small museum just packed with a lot of things related to the series of books and movies, a place where we stayed a lot longer than we expected.  We actually really enjoyed the visit there!

Toto stood in the poppies outside - not sleepy though!

To my delight, there was a big "Return to Oz" section.

Time is running out!

Yes, that's something to celebrate!

The kids section was packed with colorful tables and animated movies.

Oh dear...

There was a room with projected screens that you could sit and rest in.

 

Plenty, plenty of themed dolls on shelf after shelf.

"Oz, The Great and Powerful" was represented with several shelves too.

Authentic Winkie spear from the original movie.

We all know Buddy Ebson was originally the Tin Man.

Here the girls are in front of the original Dorothy dress from the original movie.  Very cool.

Also an Emerald City costume from the original movie.

With "Wicked" here in theaters, this museum might see an increase of visits.

Look at all these plates...

Yeah, nightmare fuel for some!

Don't forget "The Wiz"!

There were so many shelves with so many books, many original first-run copies.

Ah, the ruby slippers from the Disney MGM ride.

Signed by original author Frank Baum.

Signed by Frank Baum himself - and Shirley Temple!

Here it is, the original book with original cover.

Fun with Professor Marvel's illusions!

So after that, we were ready to head north.  We stopped at the grocery store there for flowers though, because we had one more stop nearby to make, an important visit.  

We spent a few minutes with Ba-Ba and Nana here.  The rain held off for us, and the cemetery was quiet and peaceful as always.  It was a good visit, and of course emotional.  We hadn't been here since Nana's name was engraved in stone, and it was good to see.  We snapped pictures to send to Uncle George.

And then we were off.  We did about three stops today on the way home after this, and you can probably guess where two of those stops were:

They've got this figured out.  We filled up in Jacksonville, got some food and drinks - and were on our way quickly after that.  And then we were off to drive across I-10, and to the state line where we stopped for a moment and a stretch at the Georgia Visitor Center.  Next stop:  Buc-ee's.  We stopped at the one in Georgia there, a quick stop to fill up and visit their vast bathrooms, and then it was time to head home.

Of course we spent a huge amount of time in Henry County because the traffic there is always horrible.  I mean, when is the traffic in Henry County ever good?  Maybe 2am, possibly?  I doubt it.  Driving through that county is the worst.

Anyway, we did get home, and I was so exhausted.  We all were.  We were listening to a book in the car, but also the usual bit of music for traveling.  We got home and quickly unpacked - and that was about it for the day. We were all rather tired, but quite happy from our trip.  And very grateful.  We still read from our Kingdom Keepers book, and we said our prayers after that.  And then we were glad to sleep again in our own beds, although the equilibrium is still a bit off - we were staggering about the house as if still on the ocean waves, somewhat like Jack Sparrow.  

 

Goodnight mates!