Another full day of driving planned for today. The KOAs we’ve been staying in have been fifty-fifty. Some are really nice and some haven’t been so nice. This last one we stayed at had their restroom cleaning at 8:00am. Who cleans restrooms at eight o’clock in the morning. Thats the prime time useage time for campers. We were’nt impressed. Anyway, we’re going by the campbook for our next night. Time to take a break from KOAs.

With Chris driving, we drove across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel. This is one hell of a bridge that spans 16 miles long. It also has two sections where it dips below the water and you go through a tunnel. These spaces are to allow ships and boats to pass that may be too large to pass under the bridge. It was really cool because we went through one of the tunnels at the exact time a large freighter was passing over. We went directly under a very large ship, which was very cool. We soon grabbed a couple of Gatorades (which have become our drink of choice) and entered into Maryland. We had lunch in Ocean City around 12:30pm and by 2:00pm we arrived at the Cape May-Lewis Ferry.

The ferry was really cool. It took around an hour and twenty minutes to get to the other side and we saw very large jelly fish in the waters below as we stood along the rail taking in the sun and the warm Pacific air. Tonight, we camped in New Gretna, New Jersey. Just as we got the tent up and a fire started, a nice 15 minute downpour hit. Luckily, I manged to keep the fire going while standing over it in my bathing suit. We had dinner and then spent some time in the tent mapping out our route for New York City, our destination for tomorrow.

Another day of driving with Kelly leading off. Our sights are set on yet another beach today, Virginia Beach. After waking up to Chris and Kelly going at the pinching, again, we had our routine morning and headed out.

At 10:36am we saw a chain gain working on the side of the highway. There was a large man with a rifle watching over them, just like in the movies. At 12:10pm, we entered into Virginia. At 2:30pm, we entered into Virginia Beach. We grab a campsite at the KOA and then head off to the beach, of course. This is potentially our last beach, so we made the best of it.

Virginia Beach is a very long, very busy beach. It was the busiest beach of the trip (with Nokomis Beach close behind) and the constant whistles of the lifeguards was a tad annoying. We didn’t stick around in the water long because it was littered with jellyfish. Not large ones, but enough to keep us from wanting to spend too much time in the water. Some people were picking them up in their hands. We certainly were not. After the beach, we went for a walk to check out some of the shops that line the main street. They were all pretty much the same, selling t-shirts, towels, boogie boards, and many other touristy-type souvenires.

Back at camp, we had to roast our hotdogs because there was no grill. Kelly and I cooked ours on sticks while Chris opted for the aluminum foil method. In Yahtzee tonight, Chris rolled two. Yes two.

A full day of driving today. Kelly started off and before we knew it, we were through Jacksonville and leaving Florida. We went through Georige and South Carolina and before we knew it, we were grabbing a campsite in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Not much to inform you on today, besides the fact that we had some awesome burgers for dinner, swam in a clean pool, and I ended up burning my hand on some hot greese that was dripping from the burgers as they cooked. We had some quick internet time and then headed off to bed where I got to listen to Chris and Kelly go at their pinching, something they’ve been doing a lot of lately.

Something I’m sure you’ve all been wondering so far is, how much have we spent? Well, while sitting in the back seat, I took the time to add up some numbers so far. They are approximates, but will give you a general idea of how much we have spent up to this point. Also, all of the Vegas buffets and a few other things we forgot to add have not been added to these totals.

• Gas = appx. $1,200.00
• Food = appx. $400.00
• Camping = appx. $800.00
• Total Spent = appx. $2,400.00(US)

Congratulations to Italy, the 2006 World Cup Champions of soccer.

As I had predicted, Italy took the World Cup. I never saw the match, but I found out the news on the front page of the paper this morning. Today, it’s off to Daytona Beach. We got up at 8:30am and headed out after breakfast.

All there is to say is, all that you have heard about Daytona Beach being a party beach is 100% true. A really long beach, Daytona Beach is cool in that you can drive on it, so everyone drives onto the beach and finds their own little space. But be careful. We parked next to a Jeep with two attractive girls hanging out and before we knew it, guys were flocking, creating a much louder spot on the beach. I can’t even imagine what this place is like during Spring Break. Pure mayhem I would imagine. No shell hunting here either. The waves were much too large mixing up the water with the sand.

We spent a couple of hours at Daytona Beach, but soon we had to head out to find a new campground to spend the night at. Today, we ended up at St. Augustine and grabbed a campsite at the local KOA situated at St. Augustine Beach. We were flabbergasted at the $8 they charged us for a third person, but we were happy to be able to rest after the driving. We had our dinner, swam in a very dirty pool (we found more than one band-aid), and played our usual Yahtzee. A special night tonight. I got my first Yahtzee since we started playing… and still lost to Chris.

After an excellent night of sleep, for me anyway, we had an early rise and headed off to Universal Studios. We arrived at the gate right at opening, 9:00am. By 9:30am we were in line for our first ride, The Hulk. By 10:00am, we had all ridden on the best rollercoaster ride we had all been on. Wow. What a way to start the morning. I seriously almost blacked out because my body wasn’t ready for such a mind-blowing experience so early. Still, I survived and it was fun.

We spent the entire day (9:00am - 10:00pm) walking around, seeing the attractions and shows, and sampling some of the food. Mainly, funnel cake. Chris and I both got the large funnel sundae. Chris managed to put his away, however, I couldn’t do it. It was too much. We made sure to put off the rollercoasters for a bit after. Universal Studios has changed slightly since I was last there around eleven years ago, but much of it has remained the same. The main difference was that it is now twice the size with the inclusion of Island Of Adventure.

The final show at 9:45pm was excellent and the fireworks were definitely the highlight. After the show, it was a quick ride back to the campground in which we lost a map right out the window on the highway. When we returned, it was straight to bed for our tired feet.