Kickin Cancer's Butt Trip report in progress

[overthemoon4mickey]

Following along... Looks like you have a lot of fun planned. Good for you on kicking Cancer's butt! You are a strong fearless woman! Keep it up!

 

[sk8jdgca]

Following along... Looks like you have a lot of fun planned. Good for you on kicking Cancer's butt! You are a strong fearless woman! Keep it up!

Thanks so much. My mantra is "just keep on swimming"

 

[sk8jdgca]

Ok I think I have have a loose itinerary

Aug 26 travel to airport in Flint Mi
I like the flint airport, it is a bit longer of a drive but only has 10 gates and parking is quite cheap. I think we will leave early, drive past Flint and spend a nice afternoon in Frankenmuth. Of course we will have a chicken dinner at the Bavarian Restaurant. If you haven't eaten there, it is amazing. There is an outlet mall close by which we might hit or just poke around Frankenmuth. There is a lot to look at there.
We are staying at the Holiday Inn Express in Flint. I had orbitz bucks from the Shereaton Visatana Resort purchase, so it took about 30 off the price of the room. I had trouble trying to find a room in Flint, most of the hotels had bad reviews on Trip Advisor but this one didn't look too bad.

Aug 27 fly out 7:15. Well that will be fun! We land at 10 am in Orlando. I have a car rental booked with Alamo . I normally use National but this one was significantly cheaper and I figure it will be ok. I also looked at not renting a car until we were ready to leave Univesal but it was the same price, so I'm sticking with the car. I am going to keep watching the rental rates as they sometimes do go down. well actually I can't find that car rental so I need to go figure that out now.......more to follow

 

[sk8jdgca]

Ok found my car reservation. Alamo, just under 300 for the 11 days. Not great but I've never used dollar or any of the real cheap places. Does anyone have any good sites for getting cheaper car rentals. I used the Costco and visa code.

After we land, we are going to go to Showcase of Citrus for the Eco tour I got on living social. There are coupons on their site for buy one get one free Orange slushie too. We will probably pick up some jelly or salsa there.

For lunch we will head to Sweet Tomatoes after.....we love this place and it is the first place my kids always want to go to. I get coupons all the time form here. Sometimes however it is cheaper to not use the coupon. We usually just drink water, so this makes a difference.

Then we are off to Portofino Bay resort at Universal. we visited this resort when we stayed at Roayl Pacific last time. My kids loved it! I upgraded to club level as we really use the club amenities. We will only eat lunch out and the rest of the time will eat at the club.

I figure we will pop over to one of the parks, not sure which one, go through the gate using our Undercovr tourist buy 2 get one free ticket then go to Guest services to upgrade to power passes for the kids and I might do the next level up for me ( for parking and discounts ) still have to do the math on that one. It will depend how many times we want to come back to Universal once we go off site later in the week. I have CAA so I can get some discounts that way too.

Does anyone have any thought on this?

We will get our photo connect set up too. I'm kicking myself for now purchasing this earlier but oh well. I figure I will get the annual pass too as it is the same price as the 14 day one. we got this last time and really enjoyed getting the ride pictures.

For the rest of the day I figure we will hit a few rides, maybe a dip in the pool no go back to the park for the last hour and a half to see if HP area is emptier (this worked for us the last time we went)

 

[sk8jdgca]

I'm having a couple annoying side effects from the chemo which I hope will go away before my trip. The first is that I am losing my taste buds, nothing tastes quite right which is kind of sad especially now that local corn is out. I'm going to try aggressively rinsing with a mixture of salt and baking soda in water. I know I had this happen with my first chemo round but I was so sick from the radiation that I didn't eat for 2 weeks after I was done so I don't remember how long this lasts.

The other issue is that my feet hurt. Kind of feels like I'm always walking across gravel. I remember this still hurting the week after I was done but can't remember how long the sensation kept up. It is not too bad in my sketcher memory foam shoes. It is an irritant but I guess it won't keep me from having fun. If I have to resort to a scooter I will.

Oh well could be worse. I'm still napping during the day and my back hurts when I walk too long. The back pain is from the nupragen injections I'm taking but I will be done those in 4 more days. I might just get a massage or chirp appointment booked before I leave though.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Ok I think I have have a loose itinerary

Aug 26 travel to airport in Flint Mi
I like the flint airport, it is a bit longer of a drive but only has 10 gates and parking is quite cheap. I think we will leave early, drive past Flint and spend a nice afternoon in Frankenmuth. Of course we will have a chicken dinner at the Bavarian Restaurant. If you haven't eaten there, it is amazing. There is an outlet mall close by which we might hit or just poke around Frankenmuth. There is a lot to look at there.
We are staying at the Holiday Inn Express in Flint. I had orbitz bucks from the Shereaton Visatana Resort purchase, so it took about 30 off the price of the room. I had trouble trying to find a room in Flint, most of the hotels had bad reviews on Trip Advisor but this one didn't look too bad.

Aug 27 fly out 7:15. Well that will be fun! We land at 10 am in Orlando. I have a car rental booked with Alamo . I normally use National but this one was significantly cheaper and I figure it will be ok. I also looked at not renting a car until we were ready to leave Univesal but it was the same price, so I'm sticking with the car. I am going to keep watching the rental rates as they sometimes do go down. well actually I can't find that car rental so I need to go figure that out now.......more to follow

Despite the pains of a freakishly early start, we're always glad (in hindsight) to have that early morning flight.....getting to Orlando early enough to enjoy almost a full day of fun on arrival day is well worth the bleary morning eyes.

For your rental car, check carrentalsavers.com on a daily basis. They will give you the best rates from all companies, with codes that are open to everyone. You might find a great rate there that helps the budget a little .

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

I'm having a couple annoying side effects from the chemo which I hope will go away before my trip. The first is that I am losing my taste buds, nothing tastes quite right which is kind of sad especially now that local corn is out. I'm going to try aggressively rinsing with a mixture of salt and baking soda in water. I know I had this happen with my first chemo round but I was so sick from the radiation that I didn't eat for 2 weeks after I was done so I don't remember how long this lasts.

The other issue is that my feet hurt. Kind of feels like I'm always walking across gravel. I remember this still hurting the week after I was done but can't remember how long the sensation kept up. It is not too bad in my sketcher memory foam shoes. It is an irritant but I guess it won't keep me from having fun. If I have to resort to a scooter I will.

Oh well could be worse. I'm still napping during the day and my back hurts when I walk too long. The back pain is from the nupragen injections I'm taking but I will be done those in 4 more days. I might just get a massage or chirp appointment booked before I leave though.

Oh, that stinks with the loss of taste!! My dad had that, too, when he was taking his chemo. Very frustrating when they are trying to get you to eat and keep your strength up and your taster is off.

I agree with your idea to rent a scooter.....you need to be good to your body as it recovers . Especially in the heat.

Hopefully every day from now to departure will have you feeling better and better!

 

[sk8jdgca]

There's a great big beautiful tomorrow
Shinin' at the end of ev'ry day
There's a great big beautiful tomorrow
And tomorrow's just a dream away

Tomorrow I get my PICC line out. It had been in Feb so I will be happy to have it out...the bad news it is only temporary. Even though my oncologist said I would be done at the beginning of Aug, she has decided I need an additional 3 more months of this, which just delay getting back to real life and work, ugg!

Also on a happy note my boy cat who has been missing since the first week of June showed up at out house, real skinny, couple cuts but loving as ever, he is sitting on my lap right now, so happy to have him home! His sister is keep close by him too. He was originally called "Charlie" by my youngest. He would sit on a chair with all his sisters surrounding him. My son said he is just like Charlie Sheen and his goddesses ( this was during the Charlie Sheen breakdown period)

Before and after shots

 

[Lynne G]

Awww, nice to see the cat return. I had a cat of that coloring, he was huge at least 20 pounds though. Nice too.

Sorry to hear of an additional 3 months. Hang in there.

Following.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Aw, I didn't know your cat was missing. So happy to hear he found his way home!!

I hope the removal of your PICC line went well. Its a little victory for you, even if its only temporary. So sorry to hear that you have another three months of treatment on the horizon.....I can appreciate that's not the news you were hoping for. Yet, its better to be safe than sorry. Some additional short term discomfort for hopefully a long lifetime of health!

How many days until you travel now? It's getting closer, closer!

 

[sk8jdgca]

6 days and 19 hours until we leave!!!!
I got a good deals on living social yesterday.
A SAMs club membership for $45. It gives you a $20 gift card plus free ham, buns,and hummus.Sames club seems to be fairly close by so we will get some groceries there and I figure I will go a couple times in the Detroit area after.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

6 days and 19 hours until we leave!!!!
I got a good deals on living social yesterday.
A SAMs club membership for $45. It gives you a $20 gift card plus free ham, buns,and hummus.Sames club seems to be fairly close by so we will get some groceries there and I figure I will go a couple times in the Detroit area after.

6 days!! Super jealous here . How are you feeling?

Awesome price on the Sams Club membership . I have had to opt out of the Groupon and Livingsocial emails because it was killing me to see all those great offers but have no time on the itinerary to fit them in. I'll re-start 'em after our Christmas trip and see what fabulous deals they have for our April trip.

What's left on your to-do list? Have you started packing yet?

 

[sk8jdgca]

I have our "stuff suitcase" packed. It has all the junk I bought plus some individual cereal bowls in it. I've got swim shoes, dollar store rain ponchos,Inflatable pool noodles ( dollar store too) camping salt, peppper, mustard and mayo., pop tarts, crispers chip clips, peanut butter to go, Epsom salt, deep rub, towels, aluminum foil, baggies, water proof phone cases,bug spray, bathroom freshener. That kind of stuff. I started doing clothes but being summer ( and my lack of wardrobe, I'm waiting until Monday for that.

Not feeling too bad, still having side defects from chemo and I amazing tired. Going overload on Potassium and magnesium before we leave.

Kids don't know on Wednesday on the way to airport, we are going to Frankenmuth for dinner. They love it there and will be so excited.

 

[sk8jdgca]

Oh yes and none of my son's school uniform pants fit. I quickly ordered 2 and hope we will find some at the used uniform sale. He will have to get them hemmed at school somehow

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

I have our "stuff suitcase" packed. It has all the junk I bought plus some individual cereal bowls in it. I've got swim shoes, dollar store rain ponchos,Inflatable pool noodles ( dollar store too) camping salt, peppper, mustard and mayo., pop tarts, crispers chip clips, peanut butter to go, Epsom salt, deep rub, towels, aluminum foil, baggies, water proof phone cases,bug spray, bathroom freshener. That kind of stuff. I started doing clothes but being summer ( and my lack of wardrobe, I'm waiting until Monday for that.

Not feeling too bad, still having side defects from chemo and I amazing tired. Going overload on Potassium and magnesium before we leave.

Kids don't know on Wednesday on the way to airport, we are going to Frankenmuth for dinner. They love it there and will be so excited.

Glad to hear you are feeling a little bit better. Fingers crossed you'll get some of your energy back as a result of the potassium and magnesium influx.

I have looked into Frankenmuth before (my parents went there several times years ago on seniors' bus trips) and always wanted to visit! I must make that happen sooner than later .

Love it when the packing gets started....it makes the trip feel so close.....

 

[sk8jdgca]

TWO DAYS

Yep I'm pretty excited and a big thanks to Gina, I looked at my RBC rewards and had over 100,000 points. My 11 day car rental was down to 213 USD which at 30% would be 270 CAD. I got a car of $266 CAD in points from RBC rewards through Thrifty ( of course Thriftynhas had some bad reviews but I signed up for the blue chip so I could just go right to the car and skip the line)

Today I'm going to call Bell to see if I can get them to refund us for the two months our internet didn't work. That is lots more Orlando money!

On the bad side, I think I am really dehydrated. I've been trying to fix with water but I think I need to be hooked up to an IV, so I'm going to go to the Cancer clinic today to see if they can hook me up and recharge me. I'm starting to feel like a battery that is running out of juice. Not good, I need my energy for this vacation, prioroities you know!

Tomorrow is packing day, today is washing day. Got most of the house all cleaned up, just have to empty the fridge.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Aw, sorry to hear you are dehydrated. Glad to know that you are going to see the doc before you go .

Two days!! Ah, the last 48 hours or so are so much fun....the anticipation is a real delight!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Oh....and a big YAY on the car rental price!!

Mine for October is still going up, up, up.....glad I locked in at $161 back in June. Its a full $100 USD more than that right now.

 

[sk8jdgca]

Waiting for the plane!

 

[schumigirl]

Waiting for the plane!

Have a safe journey and a wonderful trip.....look forward to reading your trip report.........