I, I, I! Summer Fun on the I-35 Corridor!

Life it seems, is about chapters.  Some chapters, such as our high school days, are easily defined.  Others can be a bit more ambiguous.  While most of us share a common interest in Walt Disney World, and no doubt dream frequently of vacationing there, often times the stories of our lives take us in different directions.  Whether due to work schedules, family emergencies, financial constraints or obstinate spouses, knowing that there is not a Disney trip in your immediate future can be downright depressing.  If one spends a considerable quantity of time reading trip reports, as I am prone to do, those feelings can be multiplied.  While we are stuck in a world of traffic jams and the daily grind, the trip report boards are filled with scores of folks who are all heading to Disney.  Before long, one tends to wind up with a bit of Disney tunnel vision.


When Zzub first raised the idea of a non-Disney TR, I was intrigued, but wondered how in the world to pull such a thing off.  What would be the common thread?  The tie that binds if you will?  It’s easy to ramble on and on about arriving at MCO and taking the ME to the POR and hopping the bus to the MK to take the resort monorail the CR for an ADR at CM’s.  We’re all Disney nerds in one sense or another and I’m guessing virtually everyone on this Blog knows exactly what I just said.  But what about life outside of The World? It then occurred to me that even those who do an annual trip to see Mickey and friends still live the bulk of their lives in other places.


The initial concept for this segment of the blog was to remind folks that there is still fun to be had and life to be lived outside of Disney.   It was to serve as an encouragement to not become so focused on getting to Walt Disney World, that it becomes impossible to enjoy a trip to any other place.   To stop, look around and cherish the moments with friends and family and to realize that memories and magic are not exclusive to a Disney vacation.  Seeing all my fellow posters regale their trips to Disney, perhaps this series, more than
anything is being authored to remind myself of these things.



I am venturing into uncharted territory and am not really sure where this road will lead.   After all, as I sit and write this first installment in Mother In Law’s basement, our journey is still ongoing.  One thing this summer has already shown me is that no matter how we plan and organize for things, we can never fully predict how life is going to fill in the details.


Speaking of details, perhaps it would behoove me to provide a few.  Rather than one big trip to Disney this year, we are actually taking three trips and as the title implies, each destination is along I-35.  My family moved from Alabama to Texas when I was in the third grade. Over the years, we have driven I-35 countless times.  Heck, I take the thing to work every single day.  All told, I have managed to travel from one end of I-35 in Laredo, Texas to within a hundred miles of the other end in Duluth, Minnesota. During our college and early ministry years, my wife and I lived in four of the six states that I-35 intersects. And since we’ve had friends and relatives in the other two, we have spent vacation and holidays in the them as well. It’s a great road to travel and there are a ton of things to do along the way.   Each stop brings with it a mixture of tradition and new experiences.   Two of our destinations are to places that my wife and I each lived as children, while a third recreates some childhood activities.


Our travels this summer begin in San Antonio, continue in Minneapolis, and conclude in Dallas.  There will be good times, strange times, good meals, strange meals and a rather large cast of characters.  There will also be stories of penguin poo, Scooby Doo, flying laptops, family mayhem and thunderous flatulence.   In other words, it’s been a normal summer in the Biscuit household.  Since we are on the subject, let me introduce the clan.


I am Biscuit.


Hear me roar.

(I'm the one on the right BTW)

I’m a tech support guy for a telecom company and an associate pastor at our church.    I’ve had eight trips to Disney over my thirty six year lifetime, but last summer’s was my first time back in twelve years.  Our next trip to the House of Mouse is tentatively planned for 2012.  I love football, BBQ, fishing and flash drives.  But most of all, I love the Lord and spending time with my wife and two daughters.   First Lady Biscuit is a school teacher, my oldest whom I call “Princess” is going into the third grade, and my youngest who goes by “Bug” is going into first grade.   If you read my TR from last summer, you no doubt remember Nana and Papa Biscuit.   They will be along in this tale fairly soon, as well as host of other family members. 



And so it begins.  I hope you will come along on this ride as we seek to explore some of the other places in this Big Blue World.  (NoZzub’sFavoriteShow.)