Embarking on The Friendtastic Fifth Anniversary Adventure

Need some laughs today? A whole episode of vacation outtakes for you! Hope you enjoy! Some of our funniest stories from the road are right here in this half hour!

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Well, it's high time I get around to telling you about our trip! I think, in the interest of completing my recap of this trip prior to, oh, February, I am going to wait until January to bring back the Walk a Mile in My Shoes Wednesdays. People are probably too busy to help me with those at the holidays anyway!

SO! Our trip! We decided we wanted to do something a little extra special this year, since it was our fifth anniversary. Five years is a big deal to us, so we wanted to celebrate it well! We decided to take extra time off and go back to our beloved Siesta Key Beach, where we were married five years ago! However, in true Shafferland fashion, we did not just go to Florida and come back. Lots of stops and fun all along the way! Wanna see some of what we did?

Our pre-trip photo. The dates are now wrong, thanks to the snow and ice that kept us out for an extra day. LOL!! Also: it was 5:30 a.m. and pre-coffee.  So just excuse everything about our looks, thankyouverymuch. (This was Thursday, November 30th...five years to the day after we left for our wedding, actually!) Also note the chalkboards. This will be important later.

First stop? The brand spankin' new Starbucks that opened THAT VERY MORNING for the first time since the tornado knocked it over almost a year and a half ago. It opened at 5:30 and we got there just before 6. Sweet!! (It is a very nice Starbucks. Glad to see it back in its rightful home.)

Our goal this day was to make it to Hiram, Georgia by around dinner time. Hiram is a suburb of Atlanta, and we have a friend who lives there! The drive was...interesting. The weather alternated between rainy and foggy, depending on where we were. And the TRAFFIC! Kentucky and Tennessee, I don't know what was happening, but we were just grateful to make it through both of you alive! So many near-accidents for us and so many ACTUAL accidents that we went around on our way. Slow down!!!

Standstill:

 Still standing still:

 And then there was THIS! I have no idea what it was about, but we went through a stretch where police were blocking the interstate (you know...the one we were driving on) from any other cars who wanted to get on. And almost a dozen troopers sped past us. I have NO idea what was going on, but I was one nervous puppy. I didn't know if someone down the way was driving the wrong way or if there was a dangerous person being pursued. No clue. I tried searching online but couldn't find anything. And we never happened upon a resolution of any kind.

Some of the scenery:

And after our drive, I see why we saw versions of this sign throughout Kentucky and Tennessee:

Also: Waffle House was at EVERY exit. One time we found one on both sides of the same exit.

We finally made it to Hiram, where we stayed with our new friend Joan! I met her in May when I spoke at IWU's staff retreat. She was the other speaker. She told us if we were ever in the Atlanta area and needed a place to stay, just to let her know. It just so happens Atlanta is the halfway point between home and Siesta Key. I hoped she meant what she said, because we looked her right up!

Hiram is actually a lovely little place, and Joan's home is charming. We arrived at dinner time, and she took us out to this little Italian restaurant for dinner. Our food was delicious. (Didn't hate the ambience of the exposed brick walls and such, either.) So if you're ever around Hiram, I recommend the Olive Tree!

After dinner, we went back to Joan's house, where she asked to see one of my scrapbooks. (Yes, I travel with scrapbooks, and yes, it made my day to have her ask!) We talked with her until bedtime, and then we went into our little suite for an extremely restful sleep.

I think it may have been a good thing we were there on November 30th and not one week later. Georgia fell prey to about 10 inches of snow. :)

Friday morning, Joan asked us if we wanted to join her at IHOP before getting on the road. Though we were eager to get to Florida, we were also eager to spend more time with Joan and we had discovered the night before that our chalkboards did not appear to have made it to Georgia with us. After we took that pre-trip photo, Ryan put them on the counter, and when I asked him about them at Joan's house, his eyes grew very wide. He did not remember taking them off the counter and putting them in the car. What?!!?? Our beloved five year old chalkboards didn't come with us? Somebody bring me a brown paper bag!

So we had breakfast with Joan and then scurried right over to the Hobby Lobby to purchase all new chalkboards and supplies. Whew! Back in business!!

We spent most of Friday driving, and we noticed two things as we went south: WARMTH and SUN. We'll take both!

I addressed all our Christmas cards while we drove, we sang some car karaoke, and of course, there was a little of this:

Best sign in the world:

We didn't quite make it to our destination by sunset, but we were close enough to enjoy it from the road!!

And at long last...our beloved resort where we were married.

It was so good to be back!!

The gazebo where we had our first look on our wedding day:

We checked into our room, said hello to the beach, and then went in search of food. We went to Captain Curt's, which is the same place we had dinner on December 1 five years ago. We went there with our wedding party that night, and I was so sick from the 24 hours of travel in a car with basically no sleep. I didn't enjoy the food because of feeling so nasty. This time I could actually enjoy!

Unfortunately I also had to fit into a dress the next day, so I went the salad route. LOL! (This was also the place I blogged about last week where the hostess didn't like us so much because we asked to sit at a different table! Good food though. Don't let that one experience ruin my review of it.)

Oh Florida! It was so good to see you again! :)

Tomorrow I'll tell you about our anniversary!