Floridays 1990

Our second trip from Springfield Friends Meeting to Walt Disney World occurred June 9-15, 1990.  Over 60 youth and adults caravaned together in five vehicles.  Included in this adventure was our friend Jeff Byrd (that's Jeff in the glasses, with Rich Hughes at The Florida Mall ), the youth dude at Archdale Friends Meeting, and around 10 of his group.  The trip had tripled in size since our first WDW outing only three years before, and there was great excitement.  We were staying at the Gold Key Inn, once again out on Orange Blossom Trail (OBT) in Orlando.  We would have four days at the Disney parks, including the brand new Disney/MGM Studios.  We couldn't wait to get there.

Getting there turned out to be a bit of an issue, however.  One of the Suburbans we were using for transportation, owned by Judy Rees and driven for most of the trip by Robin Thomas, took the wrong exit at one point.  This was before the days of cell phones, but we did have some walkie-talkie type radios, and we were able to correct the mistake with minor damage to our trip time.  We discovered later those radios didn't have much range. 

We made it into the Orlando area and were cruising down I-4 looking for the OBT exit, all of our vehicles together in single file formation.  I was driving the lead vehicle and keeping us in the center lane of traffic when I came to the exit and realized a bit too late that we would be exiting to the left, not the right as one would suppose.  I signaled and pulled over, and Butch Moran and my wife Marilyn did the same, blocking the lane and allowing our other vehicles to move over as well.  We took the left exit and headed for the motel, thinking all was well.  We were wrong!  Somehow (and to this day I don't know how) the Archdale van driven by Jeff Byrd did not take the exit with us.  They had been in the middle of the caravan, but somehow had continued on down I-4!  We tried the radios, but could not reach them.  We continued on to the Gold Key Inn, confident that Jeff had the address of the motel and would find it.  We should have been more worried.  In the years that have followed I have lived in central Florida and spent much time in Orlando, and I have NEVER been able to figure out exactly where Jeff went after we lost him.  Apparently he exited on to a toll road (the Florida  Turnpike or the East-West?) and then could not get anyplace he wanted to go.  He travelled up and down the highway until finally figuring something out and making his way to the motel, a good hour after the rest of us had checked in.  It was a joyful reunion.

Once we were all checked in we were ready to head over to The Florida Mall and visit the food court for supper.  But on this day nothing would be that easy.  The excitement was only beginning...

Because of Jesus,