On the Road Again (but just barely)…

***You can click on the photo to shop my dress.***

My gals and I recently traveled to St. Augustine, Florida for a few days of fun. (notice that I didn’t say R&R, because it was anything but rest and relaxation!). They coaxed me into this getaway by telling me that it would be our last trip together before my oldest leaves home…leading me to believe our days of family vacations would be over! (Have I mentioned how smart my girls are?! Their plan worked perfectly! They got the beach trip AND yes, are already planning our next one! LOL). Sophie had never been to the beach, so we decided to take her as well.

Our little ocean front cottage didn’t disappoint! We had panoramic views of the beach. It didn’t feel “motel-y”. It felt like home! We were given a breakfast menu upon arrival, to make our selections for the entirety of our stay. Each morning at 7:30, we could venture down and pick up our boxed breakfast. The property even had a fenced in pet playground!

Our first night, Sophie was a little confused (ok, a LOT confused). I volunteered to stay in the room with her so that the girls could go out to dinner. Being the sweeties that they are, they brought me back cheesecake!

Beach day #1…Whereas, most places we have stayed, have had a rental fee for chairs and umbrellas, they were provided here, for free! All four of us, packed up our beach wagon and headed to the beach for a day of sun! Sophie. Hated. It. We parked her wagon, under the umbrella for shade, next to me, so that I could touch her. We placed her blanket in the bottom of the wagon, with a bowl of fresh water. She cried. She would not lay down. She cried more. I decided to take her to the room so the girls could enjoy the sunshine. (are you seeing a pattern here?).

We decided Sophie wasn’t going to be ok, staying in the room alone, so we researched pet friendly restaurants. That night we had the best meal of our trip, with live music and even a water bowl served to Soph.

***Click on photo to shop my ginger jar earrings that I wore throughout the trip***

Everyone was a little crispy from day 1, so we decided to shop the outlets on day 2. The selection of stores was great, but the prices were not! From there we chose to do a late lunch/early supper, as that is usually a less expensive time to eat. NOT the case, as this meal was even more expensive than the night before, despite both the quality and quantity being less!

For our final night, reservations were made for a ghost tour. We have done these in several cities, even riding in a hearse in Savannah, Georgia! We got to town early, so we could visit the boutiques. A little fun fact about Sophie, she is very private about her “business”, even when at home. She is pad trained; has “tinkled” outside, but never “the other”. Well, here we are, walking amongst many others, as we eat our ice cream cones. Sophie suddenly stops and for the first time in her life, does “the other” right there on the street, with people walking by! We were MORTIFIED!!!!

Our final morning, I was able to meet an Insta-friend for breakfast! We dined at Casa Monica Resort and Spa, a beautiful hotel in the historic district of St. Augustine. President Clinton had signed the wall on a visit. It’s memorialized with a beautiful frame and a photo of him signing it. I love the friendships that blogging has provided me.

***Click on the photo to meet my friend!***

I drove back to the hotel to get the girls and check out. I was in the room less than ten minutes, acquiring everyone and our luggge. We load up and ….the car won’t start! Just a few moments ago, it had been running absolutely fine! Thankfully, two kind men working there, boosted us off. They instructed us to leave the car running for thirty minutes. That got us to Jacksonville, where we had planned to lunch. My youngest wanted crab legs one more time, before heading home, so Joe’s Crab Shack was the only thing that was open for lunch, served crab legs AND was pet friendly! The waitress wasn’t very kind to Sophie (does she not know I’m a MAMA BEAR when it cones to my babies), so after eating my mediocre lunch quickly, I took Sophie to the car, while allowing the girls to finish up. We get to the car and….it wouldn’t start AGAIN! I ask some construction workers if they had booster cables…nope. I try texting the girls. It wouldn’t go thru. The parking attendant boosted us off. We were on the road again, but just barely! It was then I decided we would run the car until we got home, leaving it running, even when stopping to get gas.

About an hour later, we ran upon stopped interstate traffic. We could see lots of flashing lights ahead, on both the north bound and south bound lanes. Shortly after a helicopter landed on the road. We sat for almost an hour before we were able to creep along. We then saw what was the WORST accident I had ever seen. Vehicles were so damaged that we couldn’t even tell how many were there. We later found out it involved 6 cars, 15 injured and 1 fatality. Maybe the car trouble, earlier in the day, had saved us from being in the wrong place, at the wrong time.

We were motoring along, already way behind schedule, when with four hours until home, we made a gas stop. I make a point to only stop at “populated” exits…exits with more than one restaurant or gas station. As I come off the exit and stop at the red light, the exterior lights go out and every interior light starts flashing. I try to give it gas and it won’t go. I push the gas pedal all the way down and still nothing! A car load of girls, in an unfamiliar town at dark, with a car that won’t go, at an intersection! I immeidately tell the girls to call 911, as I put on my hazard lights and begin waving the traffic around me. The officer shows up quickly, and calls in back up to help her push our vehicle into the gas station. A wrecker would be on the way to get us, according to AAA, but only one person would be allowed to ride in the wrecker. There were three of us and a fur baby! They call their dad to come get us. We were still able to laugh as I told the girls, you know it’s a bad night when you have to call your ex-husband to come get you. (It was only a joke as I know I am very fortunate to have had him to come get us. I’m sure there are very few ex-spouses, who would be willing to do the same).

An hour later, still no wrecker, we call AAA again and there is no record of our previous call! They send someone out immediately to get the vehicle. We remove our personal belongings and walk across the street (in the dark, in an unfamiliar town) to the Days Inn. Here we are, a mom, two daughters, our lap dog and our arms full of bags. I explain what happened and ask if we can sit in their lobby until our ride arrives, which should be about two hours at this point. A curt NO was my answer. No I’m sorry. No explanation. No suggestion for an alternative plan. Just a NO. The girls and I go outside and sit on the block wall, knowing this wasn’t safe, and also fearful of the rude motel clerk reporting us for loitering, I called our kind officer from earlier and told her the situation. She immediately came to us. We loaded into the back of her cruiser (picture it…mom, daughters and dog in the back of a police car) and she took us to the police station. She said we would be safe there, waiting on their dad.

A special thanks to the Days Inn in Hendersonville, NC for not allowing three females and a fur baby, to sit in your lobby, while waiting in the dark, in an unfamiliar town, for their ride to arrive. ***You can click on the photo, to be directed to their website.***

Thank you to the Hendersonville, NC Police Department for going above and beyond! You can click on the photo to visit their website and #backtheblue

We waited. We waited. We waited some more. Apparently their dad missed an exit, or the oldest gave him bad directions (they each blamed the other), but at 2 a.m., he finally arrived! Four hours later, it never felt so good to be home! Long story short, our vehicle arrived later that day and the battery was replaced. Never did I know the problems a bad battery could cause!

You are probably thinking what a miserable trip! Wrong! It’s one of the most memorable trips we have ever taken. Making memories, after all, is what traveling is all about! We were blessed to be able to take this trip together; blessed to be able to take Sophie and find pet friendly accomodations. It was a blessing for me to share a town from my childhood, with my gals and to meet an Insta-friend, while there! We were blessed with good weather, good health and safe travels. So until the next time…

Marada

P.S. I forgot to mention the hour we waited in a Chick-fil-a drive thru, on the way home. Unheard of! Chick-fil-a is the most well laid out drive thru in the land of fast food! I guess the story just needed one more element of surprise! LOL