Rust Belt Road Trip (2 UPDATES--1/18)

[Captain_Oblivious]

Well, I've been off the DIS for too long. Time to get to responses and then get this TR to the finish line.

Great update. I especially liked the "deathtrap" saga.

Thanks CJ! I think you liked it more than Julie did.

1 apiece????????? Now that's even more ridiculous than taking a whole tray.

I am hanging my head in shame.

Sh... I mean peanut butter.

I'm pretty sure bears love peanut butter. Then again, I've never asked one.

WOOOHOOO!!! This trip report is finally getting to the explosions!!!


Oh, it was just a geocache...

Sorry to disappoint you. I would normally vote for explosions as well, but in this case I was happy it was a geocache.

Julie could always use a snowmobile to get up the mountain.

In July?

So when are you going to get to the explosions?

We didn't have the budget for them. Maybe next time. Do you want to talk to the Budget Committee?

In other words, she was thinking the first comment, but the filter between the brain and mouth actually worked.

Exactly.

If she didn't get any pictures then I guess she saw the tooth fairy, not butterflies.

It's possible. Unless she is the tooth fairy.

I'm eagerly awaiting this one.

Words cannot describe it...

Hilarious!

The geogaching excursion looked like a great way to enjoy the outdoors. In addition to what bears do in the woods, I heard that the Pope is cache-olic.

Barry? Did you hijack Glenn's account?

:Sorry that Julie didn't enjoy the chair lift, it can be a little unnerving.

Yeah, it takes a little getting used-to. Or a lot, as the case may be.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Sorry Julie did not like the Chair lift. Glad she was able to walk down.

Yeah, I would have hated to leave her up there.

Great job on the Geo -caching. So glad you didn't blow up.

Me too!

You can, but only if you spell it right. camouflage

cam·ou·flage/ˈkaməˌfläZH/

Noun:The disguising of military personnel, equipment, and installations by painting or covering them to make them blend in with their...
Verb:Hide or disguise the presence of (a person, animal, or object) by means of camouflage.
Synonyms:noun. disguise
verb. mask - disguise

Uh oh. The grammar police are here!

Looks like another great meet up -- do you hold the record now for confirmed number of DISmeets on a NON Disney vacation?

I don't know what the record is, but I have to believe we're in the top 10.

The photo of the two boys walking together is just so cute.

Looks like they had a great time on the train! Have you ever taken the kids to Lancaster to ride the steam train there?

The Strasburg Railroad? Absolutely! We love it.

sigh, how is it that no one has mentioned that these must be Good n Fruity's? Good n Plentys are little heavenly bits of black licorice coated in thick pink and white sugary goodness. THough really they look like Mike & Ikes

I dunno. We'll just call it sugary crap that decent parents probably wouldn't give their kids.

Also, your capitalization is off in the above paragraph.

wow, i am worried. I think I agreed with just about everything Glenn said. must be a PA thing

Careful, it'll go to his head.

I thought crap chapter was at the beginning of the TR?

You can remember back that far? I can't even remember what was in the previous update.

(I truly enjoy reading your Crap.)

Aw, thanks! Kinder words have never been spoken.

that is a lovely gray picture! I love the mountain scenes like that.

Thanks! All credit goes to Julie.

Was there camping at that state park? it looks lovely.

I believe they do have camping. The resort also has some cabins available to rent.

I have been trying to entice my family into Geocaching but they are not biting yet. It looks like a lot of fun, and I bet the kids LOVE to find that little "treasure" box!

It is a lot of fun! The only caution I have is to limit searches to "bigger" treasures. Some of them are labeled "micro" and are just that--no bigger than a dot. Those lead to lots of frustration, especially for kids.

It's true, that Julie is one smart lady. Hmm hours in the van with the family, death defying ride up a ski lift with said family, and a quiet peaceful walk down hill by her self listening to birds and watching butterflies? Julie I need to take lessons from you!

Still not sure how she ended up with me.

Have a GREAT Christmas!!!

We did! Hope yours was special too!

What bothered me more than anything was not having anything to put my feet on. I think if there had been a footrest - even in the open seat - I would have handled it a lot better.

So you'd be ok with the Tower of Terror, then?

I still get nauseous looking at this one....

Nice smiley!

There were TONS of butterflies. It was a truly beautiful, peaceful experience.

Our ride down was nice, too, you know.

You're right! Come to think of it, they were Mike & Ikes! +1 to you for noticing a TR error!

I KNEW there was a method to my madness!!

Really? Can you explain it to me?

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Great update. And don't worry, Julie, I was on a ski lift once and did NOT care for it at all.

I really want to wish all of you -- Mark, Julie, Sarah, Dave and Scotty a very Merry Christmas.

Thanks Kathy! I hope your family had a wonderful Christmas as well.

Mark, a very Merry Christmas to you and your family!!!

You too Marv! Hope it was great!

I seem to be following Marv around tonight....


Mark I wish your entire family a
Merry Christmas

Thanks Pat! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas as well.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

I’m late to this party… but I did make over here.

We're not exactly running at warp speed on this TR anyway.

I’ve never been over to that part of the state. It looks a lot like the rest of the spots in the state that I have been to, but still, there are some right nice views in your pictures.

Thanks...I guess. Being that Delaware is dead flat, WV seems more exotic to me.

By the way… I have now sunk to the low depths of mini-van ownership (having just acquired a decade old specimen to be used as a third vehicle). I may need to do something like this to brighten up the driving experience.

Low depths? But so many fellow class acts own minivans, such as Barry, me....Oh.

Hi ho… Hi ho… it’s off to work we go…
(I’ll let everyone else decide which of you is playing the part of which dwarf here)

We're all pretty dopey.

And… another great oblivious family shot. That is some very pretty countryside.

BTW… who snapped the picture?

Thanks! The camera was actually on a self-timer, sitting on a rock.

*** insert wolf whistle here ***


*** whamp***
“Ouch!!”

Don’t worry, that was just my DW whacking me with a frying pan.
(I’ve got to stop letting her read Barry’s TR… She’s learning things from Bambi that are not in my best interest.)

We've all got those bruises.

Is it like the ones y’all saw back in Ohio?

Depends on which one you are referring to.

This should be interesting…

To say the least!

Well today I learned what geocaching is (actually I think I spelled that wrong, but I am not going to correct it ). What a unique and fun adventure.

Oh good, somebody learned something from this chapter. My work is done here.

That ski resort looks lovely and I'm glad the kids enjoyed their hike and their trip up and down the mountain. Julie - not so much.... I have been on all kinds of ski lifts in my younger years so they don't freak me out too much. It looks like a lovely resort and so old school.

One person's "old school" is another's "needs renovation".

Beautiful pictures.

Thanks!

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Great update Mark! Since your off for the rest of 2011, we should see it all wrapped up soon, just like Barry's report right

Quiet, you.

Excellent. Every vacation needs a good mix of Yuppies and Rednecks.

Yee-haw!

It's a shame the license plate didn't read "D.E. INC"

Now THAT would have been awesome.

Hey Mark - what'd geocaching?

I'm glad you asked.

Oh, thanks. That sounds like fun.

Wouldn't you be surprised if you found a CTA bus stop out there? Yeah, I don't think I would either.

I should have expected it, actually.

Differential Calculus?

So THAT's what all those worksheets scattered on the ground were doing there.

Julie - you did a heck of a job just getting on and riding up.

Oh, come on. And you rip me about ToT?

You think that's a deathtrap? You should take a ride in my rolling rust bucket of doom mini van. The ski lift at least gets regular inspections by trained maintenance personnel. My van gets looked at by a semi-trained chimpanzee with a monkey wrench. Which is ironic, because chimpanzees are apes, not monkeys. What was I talking about again?

Heh, heh. Monkeys are funny. I'm sorry, what was that?

What did she do with the little pale? Did it come with a little shovel? Was she going to make sandcastles up on the mountain?

Not using Glenn's account anymore?

Did she jump from side to side and make a "woosh, woosh, woosh" sound as she went. Because I probably wouldn't.

Nah, she wasted the trip looking at butterflies.

Did you have the kids tie you to the van so you could listen to her enchanting song without running into a pile of rocks and killing yourself? Wait a second, that's Rob's Trip Report. My bad.

I believe here. Sirens have never steered anyone wrong before. Except for that whole Odyssey thing from my last response.above. Which we've already determined belongs in Rob's TR. So I'm not sure why we're even talking about this.

And we were driving an Odyssey....

I'm not sure what those dancing smilies are doing in there.

 

[FreezinRafiki]

Low depths? But so many fellow class acts own minivans, such as Barry, me....Oh.

Oh, come on. And you rip me about ToT?

Why would I rip on Julie. Doesn't she suffer enough at home?

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Yes… but Mark’s TR is certainly more interesting then mine
(at least the post & read counts and the number of folks commenting would lead one to believe so).

Not true at all. I get to learn about poop decks in your TR. And...

However… mine does come equipped with explosions.

Hey Mark...

I'm all caught up! I love your report! I think I need to save this link for when I take a road trip, which according to my DW, will never happen.

I skipped the banter and it still took me 3 separate times to read through all your updates!

I'll be reading all the useless jargon from here on out!

Thanks for reading through Tim! I appreciate it. Now let's get on with the useless banter! That's the best part!

Why would I rip on Julie. Doesn't she suffer enough at home?

Sadly, I must agree.

 

[Poolrat]

All caught up.

Thanks for waiting.

 

[KatMark]

All caught up.

Thanks for waiting.

It seems that ALL of the male TR storytellers have long lapses in their updates.

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

It seems that ALL of the male TR storytellers have long lapses in their updates.

Hay, hay!!

I resemble that remark…
(but I am trying to do two of them at once).

 

[KatMark]

Hay, hay!!

I resemble that remark…
(but I am trying to do two of them at once).

Well, heck, now you made me feel bad--NOT! But perhaps I'll come over and see what another one of these "odd" DISDads does on their TR's.

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

Well, heck, now you made me feel bad--NOT! But perhaps I'll come over and see what another one of these "odd" DISDads does on their TR's.

Normally my lawyers would warn me to advise you against it…

But I could use the additional traffic
(and I’m a glutton for punishment, so take your best shot)


Oh, and by the way…
“odd” is considered a mighty fine compliment around where I’m from.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

All caught up.

Thanks for waiting.

Anytime.

It seems that ALL of the male TR storytellers have long lapses in their updates.

As Barry mentioned in his TR, we're just building up the awesomeness.

Hay, hay!!

I resemble that remark…
(but I am trying to do two of them at once).

Show-off!

Well, heck, now you made me feel bad--NOT! But perhaps I'll come over and see what another one of these "odd" DISDads does on their TR's.

Rob's are well worth reading!

Normally my lawyers would warn me to advise you against it…

But I could use the additional traffic
(and I’m a glutton for punishment, so take your best shot)


Oh, and by the way…
“odd” is considered a mighty fine compliment around where I’m from.

Eh, I've been called worse.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Having survived the Ski Lift of Doom, it was time to move on to the next destination. About 10 minutes away from Canaan Valley is yet another WV state park:

I'd also visited this spot when I was a kid, and knew it was worth the trip. We entered the park and saw this sign:

I'm assuming that means you're supposed to look through binoculars from that point on. Let me tell you, that makes it tough to drive. Still, we managed to park at the visitor center without incident. There wasn't a whole lot to see there--just the usual facilities and gift shop with crappy t-shirts and lacquered pieces of wood featuring pithy sayings. The real attraction was at the bottom of a trail and wooden staircase:

Behold the majesty of Blackwater Falls. The dark color of the water is due to tannic acid, which comes from the trees in the area and gets absorbed into the water. It's really more of a brownish color, but I'm guessing a state park called Brown Water Falls wouldn't appeal to tourists as much. In any case, the falls were impressive and gorgeous. This meant it was family picture time.

After our falls-gazing and picture-taking was finished, it was time to head out. We were driving to our final hotel stay on the trip, the Country Inn of Winchester, Virginia. This would be a fairly lengthy drive...with no major highways for 90% of it.

Sure, the map says it's only 2 hours, but on windy, mountainous, back-country roads, it feels like 4. Every mile featured numerous switchbacks, steep grades and sharp curves. You'd crawl uphill at 30 mph and speed downhill at...let's say 60.

When we finally crossed the VA border, we found a multi-lane highway. Sarah was relieved, and announced that she had been feeling carsick for the last 2 hours. Luckily, her cheese balls had not made a return appearance.

After checking into the hotel, we looked for a place for dinner. We hadn't found any local places in our research that jumped out at us, and after that drive, the kids probably would have mutinied if we'd made them get back in the car. So we walked across the parking lot to the Outback Steakhouse. The hostess politely informed us that dinner would be a 45-60 minute wait.

After the fiasco at Lou's in Chicago, we didn't have any interest in another long wait. But there weren't any other places to eat...



We noticed a take-out window on the side of the restaurant. I figured Outback food would taste just as good in the hotel breakfast room as it did in the restaurant. And we wouldn't need to tip the server! We asked at the window and the wait time was 15 minutes. So we placed our order there. Worked out just fine.

We turned in for the evening. Now, I have a question: how many of you have ever had trouble falling asleep on a hotel bed?

Well, my son David has a foolproof method for you. Here's how it works.

Step 1: Turn perpendicular to the bed. Use your sister as an extra pillow if need be.

Step 2: Finish your full 180-degree turn. Cover your head, leave your feet at the head of the bead.

Step 3: Keep that turn going. Go ahead and prop those stinky feet right up on top of your sister. She probably has cooties anyway.

Step 4: Find a more comfortable spot. Like, say, the floor. Don't forget to take that pillow with you.

Step 5: Check for any signs of danger. Use your feet as a periscope.

Step 6: All clear? Great. Now brace yourself against the wall and do a headstand.

Step 7: No, really. I mean stand on your head.

Step 8: That should be enough to knock you out.

Julie and I just sat back and watched this unfold in a surprised/amused state that was basically half this: and half this: I have no idea what was going on in that boy's head. But it sure was entertaining. And hey, he fell asleep.

If you're wondering, yes, I did put him back in the bed. Eventually.

Coming Up Next: Final day of the trip! We'll check out some impressive aviation. And you knew it was coming...one more DIS-meet!

 

[scott2997]

If you're wondering, yes, I did put him back in the bed. Eventually.

OMG Mark - that sequence of pictures of Dave was hilarious. My co-workers couldn't understand why I was belly laughing so hard!

You should be proud of him!

 

[cj9200]

What is with kids and their sleeping positions? Doing Jedi Knight moves in his sleep perhaps? That was a hilarious montage.

 

[MEK]

Whatever happens on your last day, you have no chance of toping this update. Freakin' awesome. The whole time you were taking those pictures did you chuckle to yourself and say, "I can't wait to put these on the DIS boards".

I know what you mean about those WVA roads. I skied once at Snowshoe. Holy crap. Those were the craziest roads I have EVER seen. And people lived right at the top of the those hills. Must really put the 911 system to the test every now and again.

 

[Poolrat]

I'm assuming that means you're supposed to look through binoculars from that point on. Let me tell you, that makes it tough to drive. Still, we managed to park at the visitor center without incident. There wasn't a whole lot to see there--just the usual facilities and gift shop with crappy t-shirts and lacquered pieces of wood featuring pithy sayings. The real attraction was at the bottom of a trail and wooden staircase:

Behold the majesty of Blackwater Falls. The dark color of the water is due to tannic acid, which comes from the trees in the area and gets absorbed into the water. It's really more of a brownish color, but I'm guessing a state park called Brown Water Falls wouldn't appeal to tourists as much. In any case, the falls were impressive and gorgeous. This meant it was family picture time.

And a beautiful one at that. The family picture I mean, the falls are cool too and educational.

So we walked across the parking lot to the Outback Steakhouse. The hostess politely informed us that dinner would be a 45-60 minute wait.

Right about here I said to myself - self why doesn't he put in a to-go order?

We noticed a take-out window on the side of the restaurant. I figured Outback food would taste just as good in the hotel breakfast room as it did in the restaurant. And we wouldn't need to tip the server! We asked at the window and the wait time was 15 minutes. So we placed our order there. Worked out just fine.

So glad you listened to me!

Step 7: No, really. I mean stand on your head.

Holy Cow - that is hilarious.

 

[middlepat]

Great update Mark.

I was worried initially that the Black Water Falls was going to reference something else, but this was much better.

Also good call on the take away. I'm guessing the tables in the breakfast room held the food just as well as the tables in the restaurant across the street. (We should have thought about that at Lou's)

Oh and Dave is a master sleeper. That was just amazing.

 

[glennbo123]

I'm assuming that means you're supposed to look through binoculars from that point on. Let me tell you, that makes it tough to drive.

Maybe you were looking through them the wrong way?

It's really more of a brownish color, but I'm guessing a state park called Brown Water Falls wouldn't appeal to tourists as much.

Yeah, Brown Water Falls brings to mind something completely different.

In any case, the falls were impressive and gorgeous. This meant it was family picture time.

I don't know how you could ever pick out a favorite family picture from this trip....there are so many that are great.

We noticed a take-out window on the side of the restaurant. I figured Outback food would taste just as good in the hotel breakfast room as it did in the restaurant. And we wouldn't need to tip the server! We asked at the window and the wait time was 15 minutes. So we placed our order there. Worked out just fine.

One question: did you actually drive up to the window or just walk up?

Well, my son David has a foolproof method for you. Here's how it works.

Hilarious! I'll have to remember this for the next time I'm on a business trip. Hopefully it'll still work even if my sister's not with me.