December 27th, 2012

Well the journey south has begun as we head to Florida for the winter.  We actually had a prompt start this morning meeting our goal of pulling out of the driveway at 7 a.m., the green lights of the digital car clock read exactly 7a.m..  The drive went quickly with only the occasional stop for gas and a washroom.  I had no problem activating our USA cell phones and adding the minutes with the help of the lovely lady Barbara from Verizon tech support.

We stopped for soup and salad at a small town diner right off the interstate and then forged on towards Sioux Falls.  It became evident that the weather was taking a turn about an hour and a half out of Sioux Falls at Watertown. We asked around at the gas station and everyone thought the roads would be fine. Not!  About 15 miles out the road turned slick and traffic had to slow down and we started to see cars and trucks in the ditch. With nowhere to turn around, we continued on until Sioux Falls. Our plan was to stay on the south side of the city, but we saw a sign for a Best Western and took the exit; so here we are safe and sound.

We had a good laugh at supper as the restaurant in the hotel must think they are feeding lumberjacks. I chose the "home-style meatloaf" and the plate was heaping. A family sized portion sat upon my plate. The baked potato was the size of a softball, add in 3 huge slabs of meat and a pile of vegetables the size of a small serving bowl. Roger was laughing until he saw his food. He thought he ordered pork medallions, which he did, only these medallions were the size of saucers and he had two, each about an inch thick. To top it off the salad was a wedge about a quarter of a whole large lettuce topped up with all sorts of veggies and bacon. I was tempted to offer the people at the next table one of our meals as I think even one full meal was too much for 2 people.  I had forgotten the size of portions served in the mid-south.  A sin to waste so much food as I noticed most people left food behind on their plates. 

Roger spent the rest of the evening checking on our driving route and the weather system moving through the area. I was very tired so checked email and sent a couple and then watched a half hour of TV and then lights out.  

The first day on the road is done and after a good sleep we will do it all over again tomorrow!

Cheers!