Same Time Last Year

When I hear people making vacation plans months (or sometimes a year) in advance, I can't help but think, "But what if you don't feel like going to San Francisco (or Des Moines, or Sydney) on October 19th, 2006?" For better or worse, I'm more of a spur-of-the-moment kinda chick.

Last February, we were in the middle of a particularly miserable New York winter. I was sick of the snow and bitter cold and decided to board the dogs, pack up my son and drive to my mother's condo outside of Orlando. Now, spending a week with my mother isn't something I'd do without SOME careful consideration, but since she lives really close to The Worlds (Disney and Sea), it seemed likely we'd survive.

We left at 5 AM on Saturday morning, and the plan was to stop somewhere around Dillon, South Carolina to spend the night. But when we got to Washington DC Lucas said, "I want to get to Grandma's TODAY." Never one to turn down a challenge, I said "I'll see what I can do." We listened to the Lemony Snicket books on CD (read by Tim Curry or Lemony himself, they are absolutely hilarious), we sang, we played silly games (like yelling "Padiddle" when we saw a car with only one working headlight), and kept watching the outside thermometer, hoping to see it rise as we drove further and further south.

Lucas fell asleep around 9PM, but I was still alert and enjoying the drive. At midnight the tripometer hit exactly 1000 miles as we crossed the Florida border. By then, it was raining and I was beginning to fade. There were construction barrels on both sides of I-95, leaving only two narrow lanes. Tractor trailers were flying past me at what had to be 110mph. I white-knuckled it for the next two hours, struggling to keep my eyes open until we arrived at Chez Marge. ("Make the first left after Hooter's.")

It was 42 degrees. For the entire week. We froze our asses off at Universal Studios and Lucas was too afraid to go on most of the rides. But every time he excitedly tells someone that "my mom drove to Florida in ONE DAY", I know I created a memory that he'll carry forever. What could be better than that?