Pedro says...you never "sausage" a place!

About two and half weeks ago the girls and I drove to Washington DC (poor Daddy had to stay home and work, again). Anyone that has driven to Washington DC from Georgia probably makes their way to interstate I-95 and heads north. Last year when I made this trip I avoided I-95 and went an alternate route which added about an hour to an already long drive. This is year I decided to listen to "TOM" (our GPS) and go the traditional I-95 route. Which means I had the pleasure of introducing Maddy and Kate to South of the Border!

For those of you that aren't familiar....South of the Border is a ridiculous tourist trap located on I-95 between the border of North Carolina and South Carolina. I believe it originated as a truck stop/restaurant in the 1960's and over the years the owner ran with the "Mexico" theme and added shops and attractions, such as mini-golf and a huge Sombrero you ride an elevator to the top of and look out onto I-95. Sounds like a fabulous place doesn't?!?!

The best part of South of the Border are the billboards starting 100 miles out on both the North and South bound lanes of the interstate. They are super tacky yet captivating at the same time. Most start with the tag line "Pedro says..." If I hadn't been driving I would have taken a picture of my favorite one but you'll just have to try and visualize based on my description... Try to picutre a big sausage with the following written on it: "Pedro says...you never "sausage" a place! Visit South of the Border."

See... tacky and captivating at the same time. Or maybe I was just really bored and needed something to distract me from the sounds of Maddy singing various songs from the The Little Mermaid and Veggie Tales.

At this point you may be asking yourself "why did Jessica stop here, take lots of pictures, and then blog about it?"

Well...between growing up in Washington DC with grandparents that lived in Georgia and then living in Georgia after my parents divorce and my Dad stayed in DC, my family has been driving by or stopping at South of the Border most of my life. I can remember stopping there on our way to see my Mimi and Papa as a little girl and I certainly have memories of using South of the Border as the "half way" meeting point once my parents divorced. I have a lot of good and a few not so good memories of that silly sombrero.

And now that my little family is settled in Georgia with parents/grandparents that live in DC, South of the Border will be a part of Maddy and Kate's childhood too. This was just the first of many pit stops they will make. But next time, Pedro says...we should leave Macon at 5am in order to fit in a round of mini golf.