Jacksonville Trip - Monday, September 5, 2016 - Atlanta

With 14 hours of driving ahead of us and a goal to be at the Atlanta Zoo early afternoon, we didn’t bother going to sleep Sunday night. We watched the Nascar race and then got in the car and were pulling out of the driveway at 9:47 p.m. central time. Breakfast was at a Waffle House in Indiana around 6:00 a.m. eastern time, lunch at a Wendy’s in Georgia and after driving through Chicago, Indianapolis, Nashville, and Atlanta, all in one day, we were walking into the Atlanta Zoo by 1:45 p.m. eastern time.

A few random observations, people who stop at rest stops in Indiana must be very short. The sinks are about knee high. Tennessee rest stops, on the other hand, are beautiful. There are even rocking chairs in front of a fire place at one of them. For construction in Indiana, it is not uncommon for the lanes to split so that you may be separated by a bridge from the other lane going the same direction as you.

The Zoo was well worth it! The female Giant Panda gave birth to twins the night before. We saw Mom with one of the babies on a video screen. Three year old twins (they are adults at age 5) were content eating right next to the glass.




The gorilla and ape exhibits were amazing and the animals looked so happy and were active. I am always depressed walking through the primate building at the Milwaukee Zoo because the exhibits are so dark and cramped and just don’t look like a nice place to live. Probably because of the climate, the Atlanta Zoo exhibits are all outside with lots of space to roam, climb, explore, etc. These exhibits were the highlight for me.







They had an impressive reptile and amphibian building with huge, nature enclosures.











The giraffes, zebras, and (giant) ostriches all lived together in an amazing enclosure as well.






Here are some of the other animals:















On the way to the Sheraton Hotel, I picked up some KFC to eat at the hotel and we made 5 or 6 rounds of the Atlanta airport as our GPS misguided us to the hotel. We only got out of there because we stopped listening to her.
At the hotel, we swam in the outdoor and indoor pools before retiring to the room for the night. We went to bed about 8:30 p.m. eastern time and were asleep before our heads hit the pillow.

We drove 817 miles today and were in the car for 14 hours and 19 minutes. We took the Hyundai Veloster and my husband was very impressed with the quality of the seats, as he didn’t even need a seat cushion to stay comfortable for that many hours!

My back had been giving me some problems Saturday and Sunday but improved as the trip progressed. My only complaint is my right hip which has been giving me problems lately but it was nothing lasting as a walk through the Atlantic Zoo took away the pain. I am typing this as we drive to Atlantic Beach the next morning. We have been in the car for two hours and my hip pain is very minimal. Now, if only the allergy medicine I took yesterday evening would kick in.

Jacksonville Trip - Tuesday, September 6, 2016 - Jacksonville, FL

We left the hotel at 7:50 a.m. this morning and decided to take the route past Savannah to get to Atlantic Beach, FL. We figured it might be more scenic as it follows the coast for a while and it didn’t add more than a few minutes to our trip.  Once we hit Savannah, the mountains disappeared, palm trees appeared, and although we didn't get more than a glimpse or two of the ocean until Atlantic Beach, we enjoyed crossing the coastal waterways.  It really was a beautiful drive.

After eating at a KFC/Taco Bell (did you know the coleslaw at KFC has no dairy in it?), we made it to Atlantic Beach at about 2:45 p.m.  We parked along 10th Street and walked the block and a half to the beach.  I thought I had read something about there being restrooms at several of the beach access points, but never found one, so I changed into my suit while Paul held a towel around me.

The beach was quiet.  The weather was perfect (upper 80s but absolutely no humidity).  The water was warm.  The sound of the waves were music to my ears and I loved the way the waves rushed over me.  My husband decided not to swim.  Instead he carried the camera and all my junk.  ;)  I went swimming in the waves twice but spent most of the time walking along the beach with my husband.  

The sanderlings were fun to watch darting along the wave line, their legs in a blur.  We also saw a horseshoe crab and just a shell of a horseshoe crab that had washed up with the waves.  Seagulls were also prevalent, particularly the laughing gull.

On our walk back to the car, we discovered these little lizards.

We stopped at Sakura Buffet which wasn't bad for supper and headed into the hotel.  We drove 384 miles today for a total of 6 hours and 48 minutes.

Our hotel for the next three nights is the Omni Jacksonville Hotel in downtown Jacksonville.