Welcome to Florida!!!
Yes, to all those interested; I arrived safely in Florida in one piece. The drive down to Florida was quite a long and tiring one. It started out with us packing la-da-da and getting the U-Haul loaded lo-lo-lo.. By the way did anyone ever get a U-Haul or a rent-a-car where the license plate had the numbers "666" on it? Yeah disturbing premise but I didn't think to much of it other then making a snark comment upon how doomed I was.. Well I probably shouldn't of made such a comment.. We started out and at first I was going to videotape the whole thing like a small documentary of the large move for fun, but looking back the most places we ever stopped at were gas stations and Rest Stops at the borders which i don't really believe would make a good documentary film... Unless it's about Bathrooms of the world lol. Remember what I said about the "666" license plate? Well, turns out this particular U-haul had an issue with fuel consumption so if I really wanted to do a " Rest Stops of the World" I probably could! -.- We had to stop constantly to refill the tank which wasn't cheap... Around $100 a shot... After a while I gave up the idea to make a video about the whole trip and just set to driving which became a pain in my back after a while. There was so much stuff packed away that boxes were literally placed in the cabin as well on the passenger's side; so needless to say the drive down wasn't at all comfortable.
As we reached the Carolinas I started seeing signs for South of the Border and smiled remembering the trip we made there back when i was just a little one. The signs didn't seem to have changed much which was nice. I was keeping an eye out for them as we drove down the highway. As we got closer I wondered if the lace was just the same as it was last when I seen a Sombrero water tower and then South of the Border itself. HOLY CRAP that place has seriously underdone some improvements Instead of a small little area it has an entire several blocks of restaurants and themed places including a Reptile House which peaked my interest. Another downside to driving a near 27' U-haul is the turning radius is wide; which doesn't come in handy doing a U-Turn when on the rural streets. This caused some stress with everyone cause I was really inexperienced with driving such a long truck. After getting settled and registered in South of the Border's hotel I began to walk around a bit to stretch my legs again which I had done plenty of times before but after the long drive and the sun setting down I really needed to stop driving. I rested on the bed and turned on the tv flipped through the channels while my brother looked about for a take out place to get something to eat. After finding nothing really of interest besides a Batman Marathon I walked outside and looked around noticing how much has changed since the last time i was there. I was only a little kid in the backseat of the car when i was last there but there was hardly anything there then. Now they have several restaurants, exhibits like a Reptile house which cost like $4 per adult... Honestly not really worth spending the cash for something i eventually was going to see in Florida anyways. So after diner I rested a while grabbed a soda and watched the Batman marathon until I went to bed.
The next morning we set out for the final stretch of the journey..The rest of the journey wasn't much to talk about; more stops for gas, more stretching legs until we finally reached Florida. I have to admit I never been through Florida despite my late mother telling me we used to live in Florida but it was quite a difference. I turned off the AC and rolled down the window letting the natural breeze and warmth brush past my hand as we passed Fort Lauderdale and continued on. Seeing the palm trees and feeling the warm weather was a big change for me. I was so used to Maryland's cold and wet weather so feeling something different was quite nice. There was something about the last stretch of the drive that made it feel like forever.. It felt like I would never get off the road. It wasn't till late that we finally reached our location of Davey Florida where we finally turned off I90 Highway. Honestly was so tired I didn't care about the long drive there or all the stress it caused. I just wanted to get out of the U-Haul for good and finally get on solid ground again. Believe me the drive there while in a convoy styled pace was pretty stressful and tiring. But it was all worth it... We were in Florida... or so I thought.
We parked in the community parking lot and after sitting in the car for a while I finally got out and took a walk around leaving the U-Haul by the office area while the rest met up at my other brother's Darry's house where I completely crashed upon the floor and fell asleep. I find out the next day that my brother Hugo's place where i was going to be temporarily staying at wasn't ready yet so they had to be in a hotel. I mentioned that my sister Daphene lived near and after a call to her letting her know what was up she agreed to come down and pick me up. when she arrived i given her a hug and she welcomed me to Florida in open arms and was glad I got here safely. She told me she was going to put me to work though which I didn't mind too much. I honestly wanted to get out in the Florida sunshine which later I kinda regretted. Daphenes house was quite nice with tiled floors, a nice kitchen, pool table as well as a screened outdoor pool. I have to admit I was impressed with how well she was doing for herself. THe stay there was great, i felt more relaxed then I ever was with the whole trip nursing on Pina Colada's while relaxing by the pool. As far as work was concerned I helped her finish up a painting job she had for a house that was up for sale. I had fun painting and I admit got more upon my arms and clothes then anything lol. I also had a horible sunburn along my exposed arms.. I have a feeling I'm going to end up getting quite dark while I'm here. When everything was set up at my brother Hugo's House he picked me up and I helped him unpack which wasn't as hard as I first thought it would be. So there we are, One long trip and I'm here in sunny Florida. Hopefully once thing's settle I'll look around for work programs and a job so I can get into an apartment and start living independently for once! wish me luck everyone... :3