As we start our new live monthly Travel Meetings here in Mint Hill, we will also start a series of articles about recent trips we have taken and share all the great experiences Barbara and I had on each trip. Some will be adventurous, some romantic, some with a group of our fellow travelers from the Mint Hill area, and some just a quiet getaway for Barbara and me.  I hope you enjoy this series and I hope you start coming to our monthly Travel Meetings. Just contact Barbara or me at phil.angelo@leisuretravelexpert.com for dates and times. They are FREE and FUN.

In January, Barbara and I escorted a group of 38 folks from the Mint Hill area on an ocean cruise out of Port Canaveral Florida. Whether you have cruised before, or never cruised before, stay with me as we recall one of the best adventures of our career. Some of the folks decided to fly on the day of the cruise. Most of us made reservations at a hotel in Cape Canaveral area for the night before. Barbara and I drove 3 other members of our group the day before. Come along with us.

Early Saturday morning we left Charlotte for our drive to Port Canaveral, Cocoa Beach Florida. It was a simple task to plot our road trip on Google maps so we would know about how many miles and how many hours it would take. Google said it was 540 miles and 9 hours. Once loaded up, we put our destination into “Waze” in our car so we had up to the minute information about traffic and weather delays all the way to Florida. Our trip was uneventful, which is always good for a road trip. Traffic was moderate and our progress was right on the money. Being over retirement age, we planned rest stops plus fuel stops generously. We enjoyed the changing scenery and the warming temperatures all the way to Port Canaveral.

We arrived at our home for the night at 6 p.m, just as our mapping programs had predicted. I must admit I did make one misstep during the ride. I tried to find a gas station on my own without using Waze.

We will continue next week on “Where in the World is Phil”