In the Beginning!
Monday, September 23, 2013
And, so, as the alarm intrudes in to the land of dreams, the adventure begins.
The sleep-deprived travelers awake with a jolt and jump into gear, grabbing the backpacks that were just re-packed a dozen times only three hours earlier. Quickly, we think, what can we leave behind that will significantly decrease the weight of the packs? Twenty pounds, twenty pounds. That is the upper limit. But, what if we need those flip flops, that extra pair of shorts, or that insect repellent and, is it going to be cold? After all, are travelling in the changing seasons. OK, let’s go and we’ll discard things along the way (no pun intended) if necessary.
Quickly, we scramble to the truck as Josh impatiently waits for us to go. After all, he is up two hours early to ensure we arrive in time to depart but we aren’t doing our part. Thankfully, the traffic gods are with us and we arrive just in time.
So, “how is Europe”, you might ask? “We know you are headed to Spain to hike the Camino de Santiago”, says another. “Will you be on the trail tomorrow?”
We did all learn in math class that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. Right? Well, we decided that the shortest distance between Atlanta and Spain just wasn’t the right path for us. Hence, we didn’t arrive at the busiest airport in the world, Atlanta’s Hartsfield International Airport. Instead, we were dropped off at the corner of West Peachtree and Pine where we awaited the arrival of the Megabus! Yep, it arrived at 7:00am sharp, just as promised.
Rey and Shelly secured us some seats on the upper deck in the very front row. It was like having the best seat on an 8 hour city tour of London except instead of seeing the castles, bridges, and palaces, we saw pecan trees, peaches, lots of flat, straight roads, rain, and bugs splattering on our front window which lacked windshield wipers. It was still pretty cool to be looking down on the tops of the vehicles and even sitting above the 18 wheeler drivers.
Interestingly, Megabus drivers must be required to drive in the middle lane as we never moved right or left unless it was required to change routes. Drivers always wear long sleeves and warm clothing. A more astute traveler might have deduced that winter clothing should be worn during all seasons. Polar bears would have been quite comfortable there but other than that the bus was quite nice and even provided free wi-fi connections intermittently throughout the ride.
The Crowne Plaza on Universal Blvd in Orlando proved to be quite a steal and we thank Expedia for that. Our rental car is a rather cool Charger! The rain and limited sleep kept us in for the night. We ate in the hotel restaurant, discussed several hiking options in Spain, and think we reserved an apt for our next stay but are awaiting a confirmation. I guess last-minute planning is better than no planning at all!
