This is the first day of our R2K Trip. Naomi had to work, so we didn't leave Celebration, Florida until around 5pm. Heather and I spent the day mowing the grass, cleaning the house, taking care of last minute details, mailing cards and packing, packing, packing:)  When Naomi got home; we made one last visit with our neighbor who is babysitting for our fuzzy little person, Oreo and we were off.  After a stop at Chick-fil-A for a quick dinner and the gas station to top off the tank we were off around 6pm. The drive was easy, no real traffic and we arrived in Birmingham, Alabama around 1:30am Saturday. This first day was just about getting down the road and no sightseeing. Our vacation in earnest starts on Saturday. We only stopped 3 times, first for pictures at the mile marker on I-10 where the accident occurred on Christmas, 1999 which I lost Katie and Blue Eyes. The call-box pole is actually what crushed the top of the car and killer Katie :(   I left a miniature Bright Blue New Beetle and a Hello Kitty locket. Our second stop was at the Alabama border for a picture, unfortunately our camera doesn't take great pictures in the complete darkness but we did get a couple that turned out ok. Our final stop for Day 1 was in Dothan, Alabama for gas. Our first Wal-Mart but they didn't honor their own Wal-Mart 3 cent discount :( I was tired the first night, I got up at 6:30 when Naomi went to work, so it was a long day. Heather did really good in the car, she is studying her atlas of each state we are visiting. She has yet to utter those famous words "Are we there yet?" :)