DAY 1 - Escape From FLA

So sorry for the delay you all, its been a busy 3 days. So sit back.. This might get lengthy.
We left from Bob & Gails at about 9:40 and our route took us to Jax where we caught I-95 thru GA and then SC. Stopped for gas in GA where Merdie could get a DC (diet you know what) and Gail a SO (sunkist orange). We got on I-26 to Columbia and then caught I-77 north. We talked about what better subjects that our children and yes our precious grandchildren too. Jean and Gail reminisced about their younger years, what they wore to prom and who they went with, and got stumped what the Ocoee HS prom theme was. Bob and I kept trying to find a station on the XM that would satisfy everyone (no bluegrass, no hard metal), so we settled on "love song" or soft rock/pop. I guess Jean and Kellie had a wager as to how long it would take for me to get stopped for speeding.. well it was in NC and almost 10 hrs into the trip (I did pretty good huh?) Jean says I was going 90 but Bob and I swear it wasn't anything over 85 and I was being distracted by the lively conversation when Jean asked how fast I was going, and then it turned to "David, you know if you get stopped you will be in trouble" Of course, my comeback to aggravate her is "I never get stopped" Well.... as fate would have it, I was gaining pretty quickly on an unmarked NC trooper car in the outside lane, he flipped on his lights and I just pulled over (shhhh don't tell anyone my heart was racing, plus I was thinking of the crow I would have to eat if this roadside conversation didn't go well) I had my ID case out and was pulling out my DL from its strategic location behind my OCSO ID card. This trooper was amazing; his "keen investigative mind" led him to deduce that I was a police officer somewhere and his first question to me was to just ask where I worked. I told him and offered my DL to him, and he said he didn't need to see it. I told him about the ribbing I was already getting from the "backseat" and promised to be more careful . I thanked him and whew.... off we went. Of course, Jean just HAD to call Kellie IMMEDIATELY and inform her of what a criminal she has for a father :)
We all munched on a bag of trail mix until we were tired of it and we decided to ditch the crumbs somewhere in VA when we stopped to grab a Subway sub. We finally rolled into our Embassy Suites in Charleston WV at 11:30pm. Bob and Gail got the bedroom, Jean and I the couch which I was dreading, but it actually slept quite well (maybe I was just to wiped out to care)