Well, we did it. Rebekah and I got up early, packed her trusty SUV, and headed off for the first day of our very necessary week of vacation.

Phase One was to make the long drive to Orlando, then spend the night with our daughter Naomi and family before taking the grandchildren to Pensacola Saturday.

Every time we hit the road and head south we say, with great confidence, “This time we’re going to get to Ocoee in nine hours.” It’s a great idea, but we never do.

Because of course there is road work in North Carolina, road decay (and mostly only two lanes) in South Carolina, fairly clear sailing in Georgia, and torrential rains in Florida. Add to that the unremitting congestion – and always a couple of accidents – around Jacksonville and it’s going to be a twelve hour drive.

So this time, facing the inevitable, we decided to drive into Florence and have a relaxed lunch. We can highly recommend The Birds Nest downtown. The restaurant has a nice patio, really good food, and – best of all – they made Max welcome too.

I’m writing this late Friday evening, and the room is still moving like I’m bouncing along Interstate 95 at 75-mph in our very reliable but not exactly comfortable Toyota Rav-4.

But I am so very happy to be absolutely anywhere with Rebekah (and Max), heading off together for somewhere, with Wake Forest in the rear-view mirror for a few days.

Stay tuned to see what we get up to next. Pensacola is going to be a great adventure. Peace to all – DEREK