Mini Molly and Ginny's Road Trip

 Mini Molly was all set to head out on a great adventure.  She needed to look around to find somewhere safe to ride.

Hitty Ginny claimed the cup holder for her seat!

We were heading for Florida, but went around DC and into Virginia to take a route through the Shenandoah Valley and Mountains.  Almost as soon as we reached the mountains, it began to rain.  Sometimes it was just a drizzle, and sometimes it poured.  Sometimes it felt like we were in the clouds!

After spending the first night in Charlotte, North Carolina, we visited the Carowinds Amusement Park.  It was hot, so after riding a few rides we stopped to have a cold water and plot the rest of the day.

We loved the Peanuts theme!

 Good Grief!  It was hot and we were really worn out after riding just a few rides.  We were lucky to be there mid-week - not much of a crowd at all.

 

That afternoon, we drove to Alpharetta.  We ran into rain before we reached our hotel. The next day we went to the mall to meet one of Jen's web pen pal friends.  They had such a great time seeing each other in person, shopping at the American Girl store, and eating lunch together.  Even their husbands had a nice visit. It was hard to say good-bye.  We wished that we could be neighbors so that we could get together all the time. Here's a picture of us with our new friends:  Moon and Elizabeth at the California Pizza Kitchen.

That afternoon, we drove through Atlanta and headed for Florida.  We got to see the Olympic Torch!

The next day, we had to go to an appointment, but we were lucky to not have to do any other tests or procedures, so we went exploring.  And it rained some more.  Check out Molly's neat tee shirt and shorts from Jen's friend!

We discovered a new place to visit:  Paynes Prairie Preserve - it is a Florida State Park.  Right after we paid the entrance fee and started to drive back to the visitor's center, it began to rain - AGAIN!  We waited in the car for the rain to stop for a long time, but eventually Jen and her husband decided to use the golf umbrella and make the hike to the visitor's center.  It was probably 1/4 mile.  When we got about half way there, the thunderstorm came right over us!  The park ranger was really surprised to see us come in!  We had a nice visit with him, but we (Mini-Molly and Ginny) stayed in Jen's purse.  We weren't sure how a retired Marine would feel about us posing for photos with the artifacts.  We did learn a lot about alligators, sink holes and other Florida animals and nature.

Before heading home, we spent a day at the Magic Kingdom.  It was so hot and crowded that we didn't get any pictures though, which was a bit disappointing.  We all agreed that the next time we make a trip to Florida, we are going to try a cooler part of the year when there are fewer tourists there!

This was the rainiest adventure we've ever had!