How different can two trips be? Let me count the ways! COMPLETE!

[HSMndLKfan92]

So, we had a good night's sleep, a good breakfast at the Holiday Inn Express continental breakfast (featuring a machine that makes pancakes and rolls them out, after you just push a button!). We quickly packed up and left, without even doing my usual complete room sweep since we hadn't brought in much. (cue the music of doom...)

The plot thickens! I'm hoping this foreshadow resolves soon oh my gosh.

 

[irene_dsc]

The plot thickens! I'm hoping this foreshadow resolves soon oh my gosh.

Lol, don't worry, I'll try not to keep you in *too* much suspense.

 

[irene_dsc]

There will be more report, but in the meantime, I moved some photos around.


I believe this was the Kentucky rest stop! (I now have access to dh's photos)


Dd took a photo of the rest of us at the Florida rest stop...

But I'm sure you want to see our lovely room at the Blue Heron resort!

Here are the hallway bunk beds for the kids, plus the washer/dryer. Dd practiced going up and down about 5 times before going to sleep that night, to be sure she would be ok. Ds would've gone up top, but we were concerned it might not be built for an adult-size kid!


Here is the first view out of our balcony window. I believe that is Lake Bryan? So, even though you enter the resort through basically a strip mall area of suburbia, all you can see out the window is the lake and woods around the lake, as if you are in the middle of nowhere.

And here is the rest of the main living area!

Look at all of that space! We had a living room area with couch, loveseat, and a chair, a small dining table, and a full kitchen with bar stools!

Ds is already enjoying hanging out...

 

[irene_dsc]

There's also a regular bedroom (with attached bathroom):


And here are a few shots of the pool and surrounding trails:


Pretty nice, huh? I know not many DisBoarders stay here, so I figured I should post a bunch of photos.

 

[KathyM2]

I'm still in suspense here....what did you forget??? The room looks great though...

 

[irene_dsc]

I'm still in suspense here....what did you forget??? The room looks great though...

Patience, grasshopper. All shall be revealed in time...

 

[HSMndLKfan92]

I'm still in suspense here....what did you forget??? The room looks great though...

Right? With a room like that, I can see why you "forgot" something!

 

[irene_dsc]

So, anyhow, we didn't have anything big planned for our arrival day. Everyone was all excited to be staying somewhere for a whole week where they could actually unpack their stuff! So, after a bit, the kids put their clothes in the drawers under the bunk beds, and dh and I unpacked in our room.

At this point, everyone was ready to *not* be in a car. Especially dh, who drove the whole way. He is kinda a control freak that way - he would just prefer to be the one driving. I'm fine with that, since then I don't have to do the long distance driving, or worry about him backseat driving. So, we decided to get pizza delivery. Amazingly, they have a Giordano's Pizza nearby, for Chicago deep dish! That seemed like an easy decision.

I also had to put together a grocery list, and head to the store. Dd and I finally found the Publix - not very far away, but the signage was confusing and I kept thinking I needed to turn before I was there. When I saw the prices, I was glad I'd brought as many munchies as I had, since the prices were at least 20-30% more than where I usually shop at home. After getting groceries, we made the long loop to get back, to avoid the nasty left turn. Strangely enough, there was a *lot* of empty land on the back road, not far from where everything was totally congested!

Unfortunately, our pizza delivery took over an hour and a half, and was cold by the time it got to us. Still good, but annoying. We did have plenty of leftovers, which we ate for breakfast.

At bedtime, we finally discovered the missing item. Alas, dd's stuffed kitty that she had brought to sleep with had been left in the rollaway bed in Atlanta. I called, and they promised to look for it, but unfortunately, it never did turn up. Thankfully, this was not dd's absolute favorite stuffed animal (Reindeer stays home, to keep him safe!), but I promised we would get a replacement. In the meantime, she snuggled with her Pillow Pet, although she did say it was just not the same.

 

[irene_dsc]

Right? With a room like that, I can see why you "forgot" something!

Believe me, when we checked out, I spent a long time going through every drawer, etc, to make sure not to repeat the forgetting!

 

[HSMndLKfan92]

At bedtime, we finally discovered the missing item. Alas, dd's stuffed kitty that she had brought to sleep with had been left in the rollaway bed in Atlanta. I called, and they promised to look for it, but unfortunately, it never did turn up. Thankfully, this was not dd's absolute favorite stuffed animal (Reindeer stays home, to keep him safe!), but I promised we would get a replacement. In the meantime, she snuggled with her Pillow Pet, although she did say it was just not the same.

That's awful, although I'm glad Reindeer was safe. I have two stuffed animals like Reindeer, except they've always gone everywhere. Including London when I studied abroad & my mom insisted that they wouldn't fit in my carry on. But I had half an ounce to spare once I packed them in.

 

[irene_dsc]

That's awful, although I'm glad Reindeer was safe. I have two stuffed animals like Reindeer, except they've always gone everywhere. Including London when I studied abroad & my mom insisted that they wouldn't fit in my carry on. But I had half an ounce to spare once I packed them in.

Yeah, dd has always been very protective of Reindeer. Whenever she is sick, she switches out stuffed animals, so she doesn't get germs on Reindeer and re-infect herself later. There were still plenty of tears when we realized Kitty was missing, but I was sooo grateful it wasn't Reindeer!

Of course, I *had* asked her if she had had all her stuff when we left that morning, but I guess she had enough things that Kitty slipped both of our minds.

 

[irene_dsc]

So, how do I make my permalinks work for chapters??? I've tried a few different things, and it doesn't seem to be working for me!

 

[HSMndLKfan92]

I just figured it out! Kind of.
Each post has its own URL that's embedded at the top of the page, in the browser. Once you get the post that you want, copy the link.
Head to whatever post you want to make the link for.

Type out the words you want and highlight them. There is an icon that looks like a paperclip. It's next to the font styles. Select it. Paste your URL.

The Perma/Hyperlink will look like this. I'm using the post I linked to as an example lol.

 

[KathyM2]

Wow you are really getting DIS-savvy lol...I need to work on that. I thought I was all that when I figured out how to post pictures lol...Your arrival day sounds awesome...relaxing and getting organized...just the way I like it! My hubby's fave thing is Giordanno's...he even ordered a frozen one to South Florida last time we went because there isn't one there! Too bad it arrived cold.

 

[irene_dsc]

I just figured it out! Kind of.
Each post has its own URL that's embedded at the top of the page, in the browser. Once you get the post that you want, copy the link.
Head to whatever post you want to make the link for.

Type out the words you want and highlight them. There is an icon that looks like a paperclip. It's next to the font styles. Select it. Paste your URL.

The Perma/Hyperlink will look like this. I'm using the post I linked to as an example lol.

Thank you, thank you, thank you! I vaguely remember doing something like that before, but couldn't remember quite the right steps, and wasn't sure if it was still true with the current version of the boards.

Wow you are really getting DIS-savvy lol...I need to work on that. I thought I was all that when I figured out how to post pictures lol...Your arrival day sounds awesome...relaxing and getting organized...just the way I like it! My hubby's fave thing is Giordanno's...he even ordered a frozen one to South Florida last time we went because there isn't one there! Too bad it arrived cold.

I was realizing this TR is getting long enough that maybe, just maybe, someone would appreciate chapter links. I don't think I bothered to do it the first time around. It was also kinda fun to try and think up chapter titles. But will I be crazy enough to go back and put the chapter titles back in????

Yeah, we love Giordano's, too. Dh would've been more relaxed about it being late if he could've waited in the room instead of the lobby. I'm not sure how well my family would survive in a land without deep dish pizza/stuffed pizza available! (We have both nearby, but are much more likely to order deep dish lately).

Alas, I need to slow down on the TR a teensy bit. Tomorrow, I have a Girl Scout meeting right after school that I need to prep a little for, and this weekend, dd is having a couple friends over for a belated birthday sleepover. However, we still need to clean up a *lot*. Plus, de-cluttering. We just packed up the big Barbie doll house that's been in her room for the past 8 or 9 years, but need to find space in the storage room for it! Yes, I need to de-clutter my storage room...

 

[ArwenMarie]

Enjoying your report so far!

My heart sunk when I heard that you left a stuffed animal at the previous hotel. So glad to hear it wasn't the absolute favorite! Whew. That is smart to keep those home. I might have to try that next time.

 

[irene_dsc]

Enjoying your report so far!

My heart sunk when I heard that you left a stuffed animal at the previous hotel. So glad to hear it wasn't the absolute favorite! Whew. That is smart to keep those home. I might have to try that next time.

Welcome, ArwenMarie! I gotta know, is Arwen your real name, or a LOTR reference (or both?) I only know one Arwen IRL - her dad is a big fan. My dd might've been Galadriel, but I couldn't get up the nerve to do it.

And yes, I'm a big believer in not traveling with stuff that I'd be heartbroken if something happened to it. I'm not quite sure why, but it just seems like stuff is more likely to get damaged or lost when we are traveling. Although my son's bear (Bearie - we are very creative with the stuffed animal names in this family, can't you see) went on a few trips when he was young, since he was not willing to accept any substitutes.

 

[irene_dsc]

Have I mentioned how loud 3 11 year old girls can be? Very loud, in case you were wondering! At least it sounds like they are having fun.

They are in fact being roughly 10x louder than at our Girl Scout meeting yesterday, when 4 girls were doing embroidery. Note that 2 of the girls are the same girls.

 

[BellaBaby]

Joining! I grew up in the Chicago area, but have lived in CO for many years. Wish we could drive from here…you guys are lucky!! It would be nice to save that money.

We love to stay offsite at Windsor Hills or do split stays like we are doing next month. A few onsite, then to a nice house for the remainder. I don't think DH would go as much if we had to stay in a small room each time. Blue Heron looks nice. Glad you enjoyed it.

We have left stuffies in hotels as well! Never fun!

 

[heaven2dc]

Right? With a room like that, I can see why you "forgot" something!

Did I miss a pic of your Holiday Inn Express room? I was so curious as to what you forgot when you left the hotel room back in Georgia that I missed the part where you said it was your DD's stuffed kitty. So sad they didn't find it but happy it wasn't one of her favs