July and October reports...and in December, the end of this era

[bumbershoot]

Ugh. Robert has been taken down by the bug. Either he encountered it while on his trip or we were still contagious way later than we thought. Either way,he apologizes for breathing his soon to be sick germs on people in the Nemo sub, etc.

Poor guy. Just as e I and think we are done with it. Sigh.

 

[kaoden39]

Molly, I hope Robert has recovered and that you all are having a ball!

 

[bumbershoot]

He had a very different experience with the cold, and not as easily able to just stay in bed all day as we were. I urged him to, knowing how contagious it was (if *we* gave it to him nearly 2 weeks after the start of symptoms, it's seriously contagious!), but someone didn't want to listen.

Got back home and had to jump right back in to MIL-care, so it's been hard to focus on something like a trip report (I'm sure y'all are used to this by now). Right now I have to focus on finding the cord to connect camera to computer, while I organize the MIL Notebook (all info, contacts, and care notes given to us). Oh and I should have Eamon do some reading, too. So unfocused!

 

[Sherry E]

Molly -

I am eager to read about your Halloween Time adventure (especially since it's looking more and more like I won't be doing my own trip this year and I need to fill the void!), but I am the last one to talk about not being able to focus on a TR!! Take your time. We'll all be here.

I saw your comments about the MHP and whether or not it's worth it to go alone in another thread (although there are so many darn Halloween and MHP-related threads going on right now that I can't even remember which thread it was). Even though I feel like I want to be there because the regular daytime Halloween festivities keep getting scaled back, I agree with all of the points you made about the MHP for a solo person. I am constantly on the fence about whether I think the MHP is ultimately worth it or not. Sometimes it seems more worth it than other times. It would seem a lot more worth it to me if it were not a crowded event, but it is a crowded event, so...

I also noticed that you made some comments about crowds and encountering some heat - both of those things would annoy me.

I suspect that overall you had a great time, but that there were some things that you could have done without!?

 

[bumbershoot]

Sherry, I should pull back just a bit from my position on solo-at-Halloween, because obviously there ARE people who would enjoy it immensely even alone. But, you know, is the average person going there for a convention that sort of person?

The heat was SO hard. You know that we normally *go go go*, and we were literally saying "enough!" and going back to the hotel.

R&E especially enjoyed it, because the "go go go" is *mainly* because of my urging and their inability to stop having a good time once they are having a good time, LOL. So when I am the one saying "I can't do it", they jump on the opportunity to slow it down.

The non-Monday crowds maybe weren't as bad to MY eyes as they were to other eyes, but that Monday, yikes. And there were other things going on with that exchange that made me just peeved. I had also been cut directly in front of at bag check, and the CM didn't care when I said "that woman just completely cut the HUGE line"...and that doesn't make a person chipper, LOL. And, as I said in the other thread, "I wasn't even supposed to BE there that day!"


I sure wish we had enjoyed the Party more! And I wish I'd gotten back behind BTMRR again to take pictures of the cool lights coming out of the abandoned mines....so so so cool.


I'm sorry you might not be able to take a trip this season.

 

[bumbershoot]

While looking for something else, I found this, which relates to a recent discussion on the boards:

Attire that is not appropriate for the theme parks (and which may result in refusal of admittance) includes but is not limited to:
....
Tattoos that could be considered objectionable, such as with obscene language or graphics

Interesting.

 

[Sherry E]

Sherry, I should pull back just a bit from my position on solo-at-Halloween, because obviously there ARE people who would enjoy it immensely even alone. But, you know, is the average person going there for a convention that sort of person?

The heat was SO hard. You know that we normally *go go go*, and we were literally saying "enough!" and going back to the hotel.

R&E especially enjoyed it, because the "go go go" is *mainly* because of my urging and their inability to stop having a good time once they are having a good time, LOL. So when I am the one saying "I can't do it", they jump on the opportunity to slow it down.

The non-Monday crowds maybe weren't as bad to MY eyes as they were to other eyes, but that Monday, yikes. And there were other things going on with that exchange that made me just peeved. I had also been cut directly in front of at bag check, and the CM didn't care when I said "that woman just completely cut the HUGE line"...and that doesn't make a person chipper, LOL. And, as I said in the other thread, "I wasn't even supposed to BE there that day!"


I sure wish we had enjoyed the Party more! And I wish I'd gotten back behind BTMRR again to take pictures of the cool lights coming out of the abandoned mines....so so so cool.


I'm sorry you might not be able to take a trip this season.

I love the cool lights in that BMTRR location (like the eerie purple light emanating from a cave-like area and the creepy red-lit train or whatever it is). Plus, there's a bit of fog back there too. That may be my favorite spot at the MHP.

See, I would have absolutely no problem doing a Halloween Time trip solo - that way I can get a lot of photos and be able to concentrate. But doing the actual party solo seems to be a different issue for me - the idea of solo trick-or-treating at my age seems silly, but with companions it doesn't seem as silly!

There are things I like about the party and things I don't particularly care about, which is why I'm always on the fence about whether I think it is ultimately worth it. If the daytime Halloween festivities keep getting scaled back and/or moved to the party, then the party becomes more valuable.

The heat at DLR would have killed me. It was a nice 68-ish out here yesterday (yay!), and will be about 72 degrees today...but in several days it will be back up to 92 degrees! That is just not right.

The people who just blatantly cut in line anywhere - without a thought to anyone around them - drive me nuts. I can forgive them if they do it and somehow don't realize they cut in front of someone until it's too late (that can happen), but the ones who just go sashaying by (as if their time and their schedules and their lives are soooooo much more important than anyone else's) to cut in front are just obnoxious.

 

[bumbershoot]

I love Seatac.

 

[kaoden39]

Hi Molly!!

It stinks that Robert got so sick. And the heat! Yuck! I cannot stand the parks in the heat. But, I have learned to enjoy the slow pace in the parks. Sometimes it is nice to stop and smell the flowers.


That window in Seatac is beautiful!!

 

[bumbershoot]

Here's a blurrier picture as the sun was setting.

That huge window is through the "middle" security line, and is only for the enjoyment of traveling passengers. Sigh; those meeting or dropping off people are robbed!


We got in the evening of the 28th and stayed at Hilton Anaheim. No shower the next morning as the hot water was out. Waited on hold for AGES only to find out there was no ETA for it being fixed, and to stop by the front desk to be reimbursed. Well, we didn't plan our morning to give us extra time to do that (especially with the AGES being on hold), and the line was like a mile long. Harumph. Still need to write to them or contact hotels.com or something.

We had a rental car, and that morning headed out FIRST to our Weight Watchers meeting on Lincoln Ave not that far from Trader Joes , a mall, a Starbucks, a Target, a Best Buy, and (though we didn't go to this place this trip) Panera. Excellent weigh in, excellent leader, excellent meeting. Then we went to Starbucks (our post-weigh in tradition), Target (I forgot my tights for my costume and we needed UNexpired sunscreen), and Trader Joes. And then on to the hotel!


This was R&E's first time at DLH after the remodel, and the first time I really noticed this map.

It was really neat to look at.


First thing I did when we got to our room was unpack and make E's stuffies at home, then take a bad picture of them.

We were in Frontier tower, floor 12, something like 5773. Once you got past the parking lot in our view, you could see all the neighborhoods "out there" and all the trees people have around their houses, and it sort of looked like a little forest. If you could ignore the big hotels off to the side. We could see the convention center's Hilton's sign. Wasn't an awful view. If you looked way to the left, you could see the Grand, even.

And I REALLY liked the decor. I was NOT a fan of the old decor, that's for sure! I liked the sparkly headboard a surprising amount, and although the pillows were so big they were painful for me, the actual bed was comfy and I liked the sheets.



There will be vast swaths of report here that's just pictures, b/c I lost track of things quickly. I tried to take notes, I did! But I failed.

I'm a sucker for drapey amaranthus, as we had it in many arrangements at our wedding and it's just pretty.

I have grown to appreciate the Haunted Mansion overlay. I'm the last to expect that from me, but there, I've said it. And it's not just because it makes Eamon feel safe enough to ride the ride, but I now find the tunes catchy. Doesn't mean I'm a Burton fan, let me be clear, but that movie isn't as bad to me as I once found it.

Even if they crossed out my name.

We actually stood in the whole line, if you can't tell. Even though it was rather warm, I liked that we had that chance b/c we could see so many things you don't see on off seasons when you go right in. Or during Halloweentime when they are running FPs for it. Which they weren't. Harumph.

 

[bumbershoot]

I took some slightly jittery, no-flash, pictures of the pictures in the hallway.

(oh drat, that's so blurry and it could have been so pretty!)

I can't get enough of the lights in this room.

Although this is a particularly creepy shot of the medium's face....

Went to French Market, only to find out the menu had changed. UGH.

1. It's so fishy it's hard for me to breathe. Even when I was eating fish (over 20 years ago at this point) I couldn't stand the smell of fish...lots of mahi mahi and PERFECTLY cooked trout was cooked by my mom. Never ever ever any salmon (I know trout and salmon are related but the smells are vastly different). And their new menu makes the whole place just reek, in the opinions of me and Eamon.

2. Nothing *obviously* vegetarian apart from the mac and cheese. SO annoying. You have to ask.

3. Thankfully, the person I asked is vegan. And knows. And brought out the big folder of foods and whether or not they are vegetarian, gluten free, etc. Their corn chowder is vegetarian, and the jambalaya can be made vegetarian. So we got those (along with E's ubiquitous mac and cheese).

4. They chose the very wrong word to describe their fancy bread. Surely the fancy bread is ARTISAN. And not *artesian*. Unless, of course, they use artesian WATER in their bread. But I doubt it.

5. Their bread isn't that fancy, LOL.

6. They got rid of the normal cornbread. This is a travesty! They have some nonsense potato roll now and their cornbread is made with jalapeno! The cornbread WAS the kidlet's favorite snack, and we would go through the line and pay for it and it alone. But not with jalapenos! I do NOT know what they are thinking.


Corn chowder.

Vegetarian jambalaya.

Both were annoyingly spicy, especially the jambalaya. Made it hard to actually taste the flavors, in my opinion. I did like the jalapeno cornbread, but it was spicy too, of course.

The kid's mac and cheese was given in very large portions, was creamy and delicious, and I'm pretty sure E gained a pound during the trip because of it. He also grew taller over the trip. Which was pretty cool, to get home, see him standing up next to the coffee table, and realize that he has to bend more to reach the Legos on the table. And he lost the pound I assume (his belly is smaller) without daily doses of mac and cheese. : )




Where is this?

Big moon.

That's the last of the pictures of the day. We decided to have coffee sent up the next morning, so we filled out the paper form and put it on our door handle before midnight, just like the room service card said to do! Tucked E into bed, turned on the "dream is a wish your heart makes" sparkle-light headboard, and he was OUT.

 

[kaoden39]

Molly, before I comment I want to ask how your MIL is? I meant to ask the last time I commented but I was taken with the window and thinking how I would love to have a window with a view.


I believe that you stayed in the same tower I did in 2011. The parking lot view was actually kind of fun. I loved watching it fill up in the morning.


I love the holiday layover on the Haunted Mansion. It makes it much more fun. My oh so grown up daughter doesn't like the regular Haunted Mansion but she loves the NBC layover.


What a hassle at the Hilton. That would have totally ticked me off.

 

[DizNee Luver]

Hi Molly!!!

Wow, I missed 2 trips!! Guess that's what I get for ignoring the DL trip report thread for so long.......

So sorry to hear about your MIL, hopefully she is feeling better and doing good!!

Loved your pics from CarsLand!!! E looked like he really was enjoying himself.....made me smile!!

Now a Halloween time trip.....oh boy!!!! Looking forward to seeing more pics!!

 

[bumbershoot]

Molly, before I comment I want to ask how your MIL is?

She seems to be doing better physically. We're finding holes in her memory, most definitely. And some of the holes are more recent than others, but I know that being hospitalized and then homebound (she has to be homebound in order for Medicare to pay for the Home Health nurse visits, and they still feel she needs those) can cause problems in memory. And of course we remember things, like the long-awaited neurologist visit, that were set up while she was in the hospital, that she has forgotten. So we're not sure if we just didn't explain the neurologist appt to her, didn't remind her, or if she's having short-term memory problems as well.

I need a class in Medicare, because I truly do not understand it, and the bills are starting to come in now. And it's enrollment time, so I want to see what she has, how much she is paying for it (the supplemental insurance), and if we can do better.

So it's more the day to day stuff now. Not so much the crisis stuff. This is going to sound weird, but I liked the crisis stuff better. I'm MUCH better at dealing with it.

(which probably could be psychoanalyzed as to why I created so much chaos in my single life, and how odd it is to get used to boring married life, LOL)

Hi Molly!!!

Wow, I missed 2 trips!! Guess that's what I get for ignoring the DL trip report thread for so long.......

Hey, I know the feeling! I go ages without looking at trip report sections. I keep forgetting to check into your pretrip, and to Tracey's post-trip.

 

[kaoden39]

I know what you mean. My mom has Kaiser as well as the Medicare. Her Kaiser is paid for by my dads retirement from the government. Thankfully I don't have to worry about all that. Is the cruise going to affect her home health nurse status? My mom forgets things sometimes and then will argue with me about it.


I see you have lost over 50 lbs. CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!

 

[DizNee Luver]

Hey, I know the feeling! I go ages without looking at trip report sections. I keep forgetting to check into your pretrip, and to Tracey's post-trip.

Well I'll save you the trip.....My WDW PTR is no more (well it's still there, but the trip isn't) I did start a new PTR for Disneyland though........ Basically we're at 36 wks on waiting on the IRS to send us our adoption credit with no end in sight yet. The WDW trip would have had to been paid by next week.....didn't see that happening so since we were so close to the 45 day mark.....I cancelled everything. The plan is to go to DL as long as we get that money by mid-November (or at least have a date when to expect it).

 

[bumbershoot]

Thanks for the congrats! I remain astonished at how well WW is working for me this time.


They almost released her from HH last week, but then she said she had almost forgotten her morning medication, and that she still wakes up confused sometimes, and that got her right back into the program for at least two more weeks. I was both irked AND impressed that she mentioned it; she knew it would keep her in the program. Since she usually wants to be so independent it was interesting that she mentioned it; I mean, the paperwork had almost been all filled out!

But she can't drive yet anyway, and is still reliant on people to do her grocery shopping for her, so there's really not much of a difference.

By Feb, assuming everything is the same or better, she will be long off HH.

Also, the neurologist (who had a horrible staff and an awful bedside manner) is going to have her do a heart monitor for a month to see if all of this is because of previously-undiagnosed atrial fibrillation. If they do find it, then that can be treated differently, and the coumadin can go away. This would be good, but wowza did I hate the way he came about that decision. One does not need to trash every single other doctor, while acting like the nice and kind daughter in law was the one diagnosing it all and really had a vested interest in keeping her on coumadin (and also hinting that I have no clue how dangerous a drug it can be), in order to swerve the possible treatment course to another possibility. One can simply say "hey, let's try this". I mean, gosh, are there people out there who WANT to be on coumadin when there's any other possibility out there?

 

[bumbershoot]

Off topic!


OK, now wait. I just read this: "Most people with atrial fibrillation take a blood-thinning drug called warfarin (Coumadin) to lower this risk of stroke and heart failure."

So what on earth is the difference? Must call her cardiologist on Monday....


While looking things up, I found that it takes 3-7 days for Plavix to start working. This alleviates any feelings that maybe there should be some guilt (as a doctor or two tried to put on us/her) that she didn't start taking Plavix on Labor Day Monday after being released from the first ER visit. They didn't know what other drugs she was taking, even though Robert spent quite a bit of time TELLING THEM in response to them asking him what drugs she took, so there was NO way for us to know if it would be OK with those drugs. And since half of her drugs were in sample form, with no written prescription for them on file at the pharmacy, even the pharmacy wouldn't have been able to alert us/her. It was a prudent decision she/we made to not start, and since she could have had it filled on Monday but already had a second set of ministrokes on Wednesday, the Plavix couldn't have prevented it as it wouldn't have had a chance to take full effect.

Good.

(Plavix comes to mind as it's a secondary treatment along with aspirin, for those who can't tolerate coumadin)

 

[bumbershoot]

Well I'll save you the trip.....My WDW PTR is no more (well it's still there, but the trip isn't) I did start a new PTR for Disneyland though........ Basically we're at 36 wks on waiting on the IRS to send us our adoption credit with no end in sight yet. The WDW trip would have had to been paid by next week.....didn't see that happening so since we were so close to the 45 day mark.....I cancelled everything. The plan is to go to DL as long as we get that money by mid-November (or at least have a date when to expect it).

 

[bumbershoot]

Oh, and Michele...the reason I'm involved with the Medicare stuff is that she doesn't really have a clue. It was taken care of by her husband, and when he died all we did was whatever was necessary. We didn't change anything as far as I know.

But one of the things I found out the other day is that her supplemental insurance didn't have her current address. Instead, they had her address from five years ago. Which means she has not received anything from them in that time. She told me that the price was OK, then it jumped way up and she didn't know why, but it's too much. Well yeah, she didn't get anything from them! And says she doesn't understand anything so doesn't talk to them about it all. In 5 years, SO much has changed with all those plans, and at the very least she needs to know what hospitals are in her network; this was an issue that popped up the other day from her echocardiogram done at a hospital that, it turns out, is not in her supplemental insurance's network. The damage was "only" $85, but if we had known, it could have been no money out of pocket if we could have scheduled it at another hospital.

And now we have bills on the way from THREE different hospitals.... It would have been good to know this 2 months ago. Know what I'm saying?

5 years of not having the correct address....

Sidenote of incredible frustration....she feels so so so guilty for having "forced" her old MD into giving her the samples, but feels NO guilt for not having made sure the insurance company had her correct address. The drugs she was getting for free were cheap cheap CHEAP drugs, maybe $4 every 3 months OOP... Maybe paying higher than needed premiums, and not knowing her in-network info, I'm SURE has cost her far more.