Jaime Walden - September 2005

DAY 1: Friday, September 2, 2005 – LEAVING CHICAGO, KEEP THAT GAS TANK FULL!!!
CAST: Jaime (me): 37, Disney freak
Rhonda (sister): 55, Disney freak
Ruth: works with Rhonda
Sandy: used to work with Rhonda & Ruth

Left my apartment at 4:00 this morning to walk the 6 houses to Rhonda’s house. At 4:30, we left to go pick up Ruth in Chicago, then Monee (about an hour south of Chicago) to get Sandy. The trip was nice, gas was not an issue, thank heavens! As you can see by the date, Hurricane Katrina hit a few days before we left. Rumors of $6.00 gas and sold out gas stations in the south had us questioning whether to go or not.

We spent the night in Perry, GA. Sandy and I had both made up goodie bags for everyone – mine was a homemade bookmark, a Toy Story pen from Wal-Mart, a Disney plush, a Ghiradelli’s coupon, and the Mouse for Less pocket brochures from their website. Sandy’s was a Disney Princess stencil, a small bottle of water, and a TON of snacks – Skittles, M&Ms, pretzels, Fritos, Cheetos, granola bars, etc. And Rhonda had a couple of travel games with Disney prizes.

Breakfast was Dunkin Donuts – bagel & cream cheese and an orange juice for me, coffee and a donut for Rhonda – my treat = $5.55 (Forgoing today’s coffee – yikes! – so as not to make 11 rest stops.) Lunch was a Wendy’s in Oak Grove, KY (yeah, I have no idea where that is either) – Monterey Ranch chicken sandwich and a small coke – (still avoiding liquids) = $4.84. $1.25 for a Coke at a rest stop in the afternoon (needed to take pills for headache – gee, wonder why???). Dinner was at The Green Derby attached to the Holiday Inn in Perry, GA, where we spent the night. I had ribs and sweet potatoes – potatoes cold, ribs really spicy – can’t wait to eat in Disney! $16.17 with tip. We get a free breakfast in the morning.

Because of the gas crisis, we decided we’d never let the car get too empty. As soon as we hit ½ a tank, we start looking for a gas station "cluster". Mt. Vernon, IL, a BP with no wait – regular gas for $3.29. Oak Grove, KY, a Pilot gas station with no wait – regular gas for $3.29. Dalton, GA, a BP with 1 car wait – regular gas gone, Silver for $3.09.

HIGHLIGHTS= Finding gas at a price we didn’t choke on. Finally being on our way.
LOWLIGHTS= $3.29 is still a lot for gas. Of course, the alternative was "don’t go" and we all know THAT wasn’t going to happen!
TOMORROW= Finish the drive, Pop Century, Magic Kingdom!

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