mickeystoontown
DIS Legend
- Joined
- Oct 2, 2006
- Messages
- 29,324
Hello and Welcome! I look forward to the day when I'm taking my grandkids to Disney!
1 crazy family+2 resorts+5 parks+1 snake+1 surprise=A Mickeystoontown report 4/3x2
- Thread starter mickeystoontown
- Start date
Hello and Welcome! I look forward to the day when I'm taking my grandkids to Disney!
mickeystoontown
DIS Legend
- Joined
- Oct 2, 2006
- Messages
- 29,324
Running down the road, trying to loosen my load!
Before I actually get to the running down the road portion of this trip report, lets talk about the fact that our little boy....change that....young man was turning 16! My how time has flown! Seems just like yesterday that we were bringing the little black haired boy home from the hospital. My baby! My baby! My baby! Where are you? Wait a minute...I know! Hes now a 6 foot tall, fun lovin Sophomore!
Call me crazy, okay, so you didnt have to really shout it out like that
, but I scheduled a semi-impromptu 16th birthday party for Hunter at our house on Sunday afternoon. Just my immediate family was invited and we had pizza, cake and ice cream. Nothing big but, still, a birthday party nevertheless. Everybodys gotta have a birthday party! 
So, the family came over Sunday afternoon and we noshed on pizza and Hunter opened his presents...one of which was a sandbucket full of silly things which was a big hit. And, some of which was money and we all know that thats always a bit hit with the teens.
After the party, we had leftover pizza which is just what I wanted to happen. Hunter could eat it for lunch the next day and wed eat some before we hit the road to Disney too. Those of you who read last years report may remember that John had a no eating in the car policy and its still intact. Well snack in it but no real eating in the car and Im good with that because even a year and a half later, the SCAR (nickname for our SUV) still has that new car smell.
Of course, as is always the case, work was a madhouse the last day of work. As I posted in my pre-trip report, my temp backed out two days before we were to leave and I was hysterically running around like a chicken with its head cut off trying to find somebody to fill in for me.
Thankfully, we found someone on the Friday before I left but I still felt like I was leaving without having all of my Is dotted and my Ts crossed.
I spent the better part of Monday getting things finished up and then, in the final hours that he was here, convincing my boss that all would be right with the world while I was away. He left around 4:00 or so and I used that time to change outmy purse from my everyday purse to my travel purse. Ladies, you know what Im talking about. I also called the house to make sure that Hunter and John were getting the last little things together so that they could be loaded into the SCAR when I got home. They were just about finished. Way to go boys!
5:00 finally rolled around and I tried to get a jump start on the Parish Courthouse, State Office Building, Federal Courthouse, Child Support Office and Probation and Parole office traffic but didnt quite make it. I took this picture as I was sitting in line at the traffic light about halfway home.
Fortunately for me, once I got out of the office traffic, the roads were pretty clear. Well, the backroads were. I know better than try and hit the interstate or main roads when I am in a hurry. I pulled into our house about 10 minutes later and grabbed up a couple of slices of pizza to eat while changing into my comfy travel clothes. Mama came over with her overnight bag and ate a piece or two of pizza. We were going through our last check of the house...you know the drill....Did you turn off? Is the thermostat turned up? Is the note for the pet/housesitter (Johns brother and my sister taking turns) where they can find it? , etc. ...when Mama said that she was going to her house for a minute (remember, she lives right next door). We waited and waited and finally she came back. She was checking to make sure that she had everything that she needed.
We all hopped in the SCAR and I took these pictures to document the mileage and the time that we left:
Ehhh, a little later than we wanted but, still, just an hour after I got off work. Our house is located a ways from the interstate that we would take for several hours but soon, we were truly, running down the road, trying to loosen my load and loosen the load we did. The troubles of the almost-having-no-temp and a grumpy boss were gone in no time. We were on the open road!
I hate to tell ya but theres not a whole lot to see between our house and the time we get close to Disney. Seriously.....lots of crops....lots of pavement....lots of nothingness. Its pretty boring to say the least. Oh wait a minute! We did have some excitement. A crop duster plane came zooming right over the top of our SCAR and I swear I thought it was going to take off the luggage carrier. That perked us up for a while and kept us on the lookout for another dive bomb which, by the way, never happened.
Wanna see what we saw the first few hours?
As is always the case, we made a pit stop when we came to Vicksburg, Mississippi. My bladder always plays tricks on my mind and makes me have to stop since theres really not a whole lot of other places to pull over after that. Despite John telling me just leave the camera in the car, I managed to grab it up and took a few of the bridge which spans the Mississippi River and connects Louisiana to Mississippi.
And, then, one of John and Hunter as Mama and I came out of the bathroom:
Potty break complete, we were back on the Interstate and officially welcomed to the State of Mississippi:
As we approached Jackson, Mississippi, I spotted the half Epcot ball building and snapped a quick pic as its a tradition for me to take one:
Not soon after, we made it to Hattiesburg, Mississippi and saw the destruction of the tornado which ripped through the town a while back. It was sad to see how badly it hit the town. The sun had started to set and we continued to drive, chatting about this and about that. We made it to Mobile, Alabama, went through the tunnel and, yes, I had to honk my horn. But, this time, it was just a little short honk. It was now about 11:00 at night and traffic was almost nil which is what I like.
We crossed the Florida State line and decided to keep on going and see how far we could make it before calling it a night. If it had been just John, Hunter and I, we would have kept going until we reached the haunted hotel in Crestview. But, we could tell that Mama was starting to get really tired so we stopped around Milton, Florida. John and Mama went in because Mama insisted that she pay a portion of the room despite the fact that we would have had to have a room with two queens even if she were not with us. Between Mama and John, they finagled with the front desk until they had the room down from $100 to $70. Mama said that they probably looked at her and took pity because she was old and tired.
I thought that I took pictures of the hotel room but if I did, they arent showing up on Photobucket and Im not going to fuss with them this late in the afternoon. Picture a typical mid-scale hotel which is clean and has a good staff. It didnt take us long to fall asleep and, due to our excitement, we were up fairly early as well.
The hotel had a small continental breakfast and John, Mama and I went down while Hunter was in the shower. Even though it was small, they had waffles, assorted pastries, yogurt, eggs, bacon and cereal. It was pretty good and hit the spot. I took Hunter some toast and cereal to the room and then packed up our dirty clothes and overnight bags. John and I took them to the SCAR and loaded them into the luggage carrier.
I cant remember the exact time that we were back on the road but it wasnt too early and it wasnt too late. I do remember that we calculated the time in our heads and we were thankful that we wouldnt be passing through the Tallahassee, Florida area during lunch time. Been there...done that...aint going back!
Somewhere along Interstate 10, we came upon beautiful wildflowers growing everywhere! There were pinks, purples, reds, yellows and whites and were gorgeous! All of us tried to get pictures but, it aint exactly easy when youre traveling at 70 miles per hour. This is the best that we could get and they dont show, in any way, how vivid the flowers were or how many there were:
Ill stop here for now. I have an errand to run for the office and Im certainly not doing it on my personal time so Im leaving early.
**Up next: Are we there yet? You better believe it! Don't even say it Mamaw!
Before I actually get to the running down the road portion of this trip report, lets talk about the fact that our little boy....change that....young man was turning 16! My how time has flown! Seems just like yesterday that we were bringing the little black haired boy home from the hospital. My baby! My baby! My baby! Where are you? Wait a minute...I know! Hes now a 6 foot tall, fun lovin Sophomore!
Call me crazy, okay, so you didnt have to really shout it out like that
, but I scheduled a semi-impromptu 16th birthday party for Hunter at our house on Sunday afternoon. Just my immediate family was invited and we had pizza, cake and ice cream. Nothing big but, still, a birthday party nevertheless. Everybodys gotta have a birthday party! So, the family came over Sunday afternoon and we noshed on pizza and Hunter opened his presents...one of which was a sandbucket full of silly things which was a big hit. And, some of which was money and we all know that thats always a bit hit with the teens.
After the party, we had leftover pizza which is just what I wanted to happen. Hunter could eat it for lunch the next day and wed eat some before we hit the road to Disney too. Those of you who read last years report may remember that John had a no eating in the car policy and its still intact. Well snack in it but no real eating in the car and Im good with that because even a year and a half later, the SCAR (nickname for our SUV) still has that new car smell.
Of course, as is always the case, work was a madhouse the last day of work. As I posted in my pre-trip report, my temp backed out two days before we were to leave and I was hysterically running around like a chicken with its head cut off trying to find somebody to fill in for me.
Thankfully, we found someone on the Friday before I left but I still felt like I was leaving without having all of my Is dotted and my Ts crossed. I spent the better part of Monday getting things finished up and then, in the final hours that he was here, convincing my boss that all would be right with the world while I was away. He left around 4:00 or so and I used that time to change outmy purse from my everyday purse to my travel purse. Ladies, you know what Im talking about. I also called the house to make sure that Hunter and John were getting the last little things together so that they could be loaded into the SCAR when I got home. They were just about finished. Way to go boys!
5:00 finally rolled around and I tried to get a jump start on the Parish Courthouse, State Office Building, Federal Courthouse, Child Support Office and Probation and Parole office traffic but didnt quite make it. I took this picture as I was sitting in line at the traffic light about halfway home.
Fortunately for me, once I got out of the office traffic, the roads were pretty clear. Well, the backroads were. I know better than try and hit the interstate or main roads when I am in a hurry. I pulled into our house about 10 minutes later and grabbed up a couple of slices of pizza to eat while changing into my comfy travel clothes. Mama came over with her overnight bag and ate a piece or two of pizza. We were going through our last check of the house...you know the drill....Did you turn off? Is the thermostat turned up? Is the note for the pet/housesitter (Johns brother and my sister taking turns) where they can find it? , etc. ...when Mama said that she was going to her house for a minute (remember, she lives right next door). We waited and waited and finally she came back. She was checking to make sure that she had everything that she needed.
We all hopped in the SCAR and I took these pictures to document the mileage and the time that we left:
Ehhh, a little later than we wanted but, still, just an hour after I got off work. Our house is located a ways from the interstate that we would take for several hours but soon, we were truly, running down the road, trying to loosen my load and loosen the load we did. The troubles of the almost-having-no-temp and a grumpy boss were gone in no time. We were on the open road!
I hate to tell ya but theres not a whole lot to see between our house and the time we get close to Disney. Seriously.....lots of crops....lots of pavement....lots of nothingness. Its pretty boring to say the least. Oh wait a minute! We did have some excitement. A crop duster plane came zooming right over the top of our SCAR and I swear I thought it was going to take off the luggage carrier. That perked us up for a while and kept us on the lookout for another dive bomb which, by the way, never happened.
Wanna see what we saw the first few hours?
As is always the case, we made a pit stop when we came to Vicksburg, Mississippi. My bladder always plays tricks on my mind and makes me have to stop since theres really not a whole lot of other places to pull over after that. Despite John telling me just leave the camera in the car, I managed to grab it up and took a few of the bridge which spans the Mississippi River and connects Louisiana to Mississippi.
And, then, one of John and Hunter as Mama and I came out of the bathroom:
Potty break complete, we were back on the Interstate and officially welcomed to the State of Mississippi:
As we approached Jackson, Mississippi, I spotted the half Epcot ball building and snapped a quick pic as its a tradition for me to take one:
Not soon after, we made it to Hattiesburg, Mississippi and saw the destruction of the tornado which ripped through the town a while back. It was sad to see how badly it hit the town. The sun had started to set and we continued to drive, chatting about this and about that. We made it to Mobile, Alabama, went through the tunnel and, yes, I had to honk my horn. But, this time, it was just a little short honk. It was now about 11:00 at night and traffic was almost nil which is what I like.
We crossed the Florida State line and decided to keep on going and see how far we could make it before calling it a night. If it had been just John, Hunter and I, we would have kept going until we reached the haunted hotel in Crestview. But, we could tell that Mama was starting to get really tired so we stopped around Milton, Florida. John and Mama went in because Mama insisted that she pay a portion of the room despite the fact that we would have had to have a room with two queens even if she were not with us. Between Mama and John, they finagled with the front desk until they had the room down from $100 to $70. Mama said that they probably looked at her and took pity because she was old and tired.
I thought that I took pictures of the hotel room but if I did, they arent showing up on Photobucket and Im not going to fuss with them this late in the afternoon. Picture a typical mid-scale hotel which is clean and has a good staff. It didnt take us long to fall asleep and, due to our excitement, we were up fairly early as well.
The hotel had a small continental breakfast and John, Mama and I went down while Hunter was in the shower. Even though it was small, they had waffles, assorted pastries, yogurt, eggs, bacon and cereal. It was pretty good and hit the spot. I took Hunter some toast and cereal to the room and then packed up our dirty clothes and overnight bags. John and I took them to the SCAR and loaded them into the luggage carrier.
I cant remember the exact time that we were back on the road but it wasnt too early and it wasnt too late. I do remember that we calculated the time in our heads and we were thankful that we wouldnt be passing through the Tallahassee, Florida area during lunch time. Been there...done that...aint going back!
Somewhere along Interstate 10, we came upon beautiful wildflowers growing everywhere! There were pinks, purples, reds, yellows and whites and were gorgeous! All of us tried to get pictures but, it aint exactly easy when youre traveling at 70 miles per hour. This is the best that we could get and they dont show, in any way, how vivid the flowers were or how many there were:
Ill stop here for now. I have an errand to run for the office and Im certainly not doing it on my personal time so Im leaving early.
**Up next: Are we there yet? You better believe it! Don't even say it Mamaw!
francis6306
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 18, 2010
- Messages
- 1,871
Hattiesburg just broke my heart! All those beautiful trees at the campus were just ripped up like they were weeds
But they are bringing in new trees and it looks so much better. All those homes destroyed- but thankfully not a single death. If that's not the hand of God, I just don't know what is!!! 
Glad you are into the travel part!!!! YAY!!! Let's get to Disney! Drive Lisa, DRIVE!
Glad you are into the travel part!!!! YAY!!! Let's get to Disney! Drive Lisa, DRIVE!
MissLiz
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 21, 2006
- Messages
- 1,534
Great start to the trip, even with last minute temp issues.
We have those wildflowers here in Georgia and the pink ones are my favorites. I would love to have some in my yard.
Can't wait to hear more!
(I just want to apologize for the dancing banana. My DH was sitting with me last night while I was posting and he would not give me the mouse back until I let him add the dancing banana. Seriously, it was a 5 minute fight. lol)
We have those wildflowers here in Georgia and the pink ones are my favorites. I would love to have some in my yard.
Can't wait to hear more!
(I just want to apologize for the dancing banana. My DH was sitting with me last night while I was posting and he would not give me the mouse back until I let him add the dancing banana. Seriously, it was a 5 minute fight. lol)
Kathy Jetson
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Nov 2, 2009
- Messages
- 6,029
Yeah! Your on the way! I can just feel that excitement where your running around trying to get out of the house and on the road!
momof2TNboys
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 17, 2009
- Messages
- 597
Joining in! Can't wait to hear more. I love your reports. I am still having nightmares about your snake story. I now carefully scan in Mousegears.
Not sure I want to hear another one.
Not sure I want to hear another one.
It is so cool seeing all the photo's way back then and the ones now taken at CBR and Disney of how he has grown.
teekathepony
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 2, 2009
- Messages
- 4,777
Glad to hear that after the stress before you left, so far your journey there sounds pretty good!
Sent from my iPad using DISBoards
Sent from my iPad using DISBoards
FancyNancy
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 29, 2012
- Messages
- 1,233
Great update! I just love reading your trip reports. Mostly because I live in the North but my father and bonus mom live in the South and quite often reading your updates makes me think of stuff that they would say and the way they say it which is really so sweet!
Mndisneygirl
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2008
- Messages
- 7,388
I remember taking pictures from the car of the wildflowers on our last trip!
Hunter looks pretty happy with his birthday loot!
Hunter looks pretty happy with his birthday loot!
Angies1274
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 7, 2007
- Messages
- 2,375
Not yet. Next Friday is their last day. They can't wait!
We were considering (actually still are...
) staying at POR next year. The bug situation makes me nervous though....yuck!Yay! You are on your way! I can't wait to read more!
The trip has started! We just got back from Orlando - just a Seaworld and Busch Gardens trip ---We did drive to Downtown Disney to eat at T-rex (our first time, very good food - I thought of you while we were there) I missed Disney terribly though. Especially seeing Tower of Terror from the road and not being able to ride it
! We will be back either next year or the next though! Looking forward to more of your trip report!
! We will be back either next year or the next though! Looking forward to more of your trip report!
mickeystoontown
DIS Legend
- Joined
- Oct 2, 2006
- Messages
- 29,324
Hattiesburg just broke my heart! All those beautiful trees at the campus were just ripped up like they were weeds But they are bringing in new trees and it looks so much better. All those homes destroyed- but thankfully not a single death. If that's not the hand of God, I just don't know what is!!!
Glad you are into the travel part!!!! YAY!!! Let's get to Disney! Drive Lisa, DRIVE!
Amen sister! It's amazing that no one was killed.
Great start to the trip, even with last minute temp issues.
We have those wildflowers here in Georgia and the pink ones are my favorites. I would love to have some in my yard.
Can't wait to hear more!
(I just want to apologize for the dancing banana. My DH was sitting with me last night while I was posting and he would not give me the mouse back until I let him add the dancing banana. Seriously, it was a 5 minute fight. lol)
I remember seeing those wildflowers on the way to Georgia and they were just as beautiful!
Oh gosh, your hubby sounds just like John.
I was so ready to get on the road and outta that house!
Joining in! Can't wait to hear more. I love your reports. I am still having nightmares about your snake story. I now carefully scan in Mousegears.
Not sure I want to hear another one.
Welcome! Good to have you! I was looking all around Mousegears this trip too even though it wasn't even raining.
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