No11's Mom
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 26, 2000
- Messages
- 568
Cast:
Me Donna, 40, obsessive vacation planner
Husband Rick, 45, promises to be Mr. Easy Going this trip
Son Travis, 15, lovers coasters and girls
Sister Darla, 39, happy to leave the planning to me
Nephew James, 9, wants to do the big rides, but a little nervous
Dates: 5/28/04-6/5/04
Background: The plan for this vacation was to share expenses and save some money while still doing what we wanted to do. BIL was not able to get off this trip, so that allowed us to share hotel rooms and we decided to drive and save the airfare. We were all a little apprehensive about how we would all feel about each other after 9 days together in a car and the same hotel rooms
, but everything was fine and we would all do it again.
Part One Houston to Orlando in 3 days
Note: This part of the trip report will be about our trip down and our time at the beach. I will get to Universal in part two, so if you are only interested in US/IOA you can wait for that installment. I hope these reports aren't too long.
We were going to try and get on the road by 3pm on Friday, but I wasnt able to get the entire day off work and we didnt get to leave until almost six. Then we got stuck in traffic leaving town for the Memorial Day weekend. We had reserved a room at the Comfort Inn in Slidell, LA and we finally got there about 12:30am. The hotel was nice enough. Beds were queen size, which is MUCH better than doubles. DH and I have a king size and we cant hardly sleep on a double bed. Got up early Saturday morning. The hotel had continental breakfast, but we went to McDonalds for breakfast. We met another family in the hotel parking lot from Houston on their way to FL.
Today we were headed to Fort Walton Beach, FL to spend the afternoon at the beach.
We had hoped to reach Okaloosa Island by noon, but once again we were thwarted by traffic problems. We wanted to take Hwy 98 along the coast all the way from Pensacola Beach to Okaloosa Island, but several miles down the highway there was a wreck and we were stuck in traffic for a long time. The police finally started turning cars around and sending them back to the mainland. So we didnt get to the hotel until about 2:45pm. We had reservations at the Leeside Inn. I had trouble finding a room along the coast because most places required a 3 night minimum stay over the Memorial Day weekend. I ran across the Leeside Inn on a Florida Emerald Coast website and called them. At first they said they had a 3 night minimum also. I explained that we were driving to Orlando and only needed a room for one night and asked if they had any suggestions for a place I might call. The woman put me on hold and came back and said she would go ahead and let me have the room for 1 night. Then my sister got nervous wondering what was wrong with the hotel that they would let us have a room for one night, and why it was so much cheaper than any other place we called. I hadnt thought of that, but once she brought it up I was a little worried too. But I figured we can sleep anywhere for just one night. But we were worried for nothing. It was actually a nice little hotel and the staff was super friendly. The hotel is located on the bay side of the island and has a marina, a bar with live bands at night and a restaurant that serves breakfast. You can also get a steak at night, but you have to cook it yourself. Our room was on the second floor. It was a pretty good size room. There was plenty of room for the air mattress. And the hotel was extremely clean. I couldnt believe how clean it was for a beach hotel. Our room had a little balcony and we could look across the highway and over the dunes to the gulf. We were right across the street from a state park. And the gulf was beautiful along the FL coast. We said that the Florida beaches have done the same thing to us that the Florida theme parks did made it impossible to enjoy our local beaches again. The water was a beautiful blue-green. Nothing like the brown/gray waters of Galveston. We went down the street to the boardwalk and out to the water. Dolphins were swimming and jumping just beyond where the swimmers were. One thing happened that we will always remember Darla and I were setting on the beach and the boys were in the water. Rick was videotaping. The lifeguards started blowing their whistles at someone and motioning him to come in closer because he was getting too far out. When the whistles started blowing of course Darla and I both looked to make sure we knew where our boys were. James was right there at the edge of the sand, but we didnt see Travis anywhere. Surely that couldnt be him out there trying to swim to Cuba. But that person is the right size, and hes ignoring my gestures to come back. If hes ignoring me, then it must be my son. Everyone around us starts to realize that that is our son out there. By this time the guy is getting WAY out there. Hes past where the dolphins are. One of the lifeguards has gotten on his board and paddled out to whistle him back in, but he wont even paddle all the way out to where he is. Occasionally the swimmer turns around and waves, but he doesnt come back. By now Im really starting to lose it the kind of losing it that only a mother whos child is in danger can achieve. What if a current catches him and takes him under? What if he just gets too tired and cant make it back? What if a shark bites him and he bleeds to death? What if a dolphin accidentally jumps on his head and knocks him out? It could happen. Im threatening to beat him to death if he makes it back alive. And Rick, Mr. Easy Going, is just videotaping the entire thing. By now everyone is standing around us, watching this incident unfold. And who should coming walking up the beach but Travis - Whats going on? OMG! Where have you been?! We thought you were swimming to Cuba!! Dont you ever swim out that far!! He basically got a lecture because some other guy was an idiot. And the lifeguard was finally able to convince the that guy to swim back in. It took an hour for my blood pressure to come back to normal. After that scare, I figure the rest of the vacation would have to be great.
We had made reservations for the boys to go parasailing and by now it was time for that. If you are ever in Fort Walton Beach and want to parasail, go to SeaDogs Parasailing. They are on the bay side and they are the nicest, funniest guys. They asked where we were staying and when we told them, they knew all the people that work at the hotel and said it is a place where local people hang out. I was glad to hear that. We had never been parasailing before, so I hadnt planned on doing it, but the boys loved it and when we go back, I will definitely do it. We asked one of the guys where we should eat dinner and he recommended the Old Bay Steamer. We went there for dinner and it was really good, steamed seafood. Good drinks too. After dinner we wanted to do some shopping for souvenirs. Travis and I got temporary tattoos. His is a Texas Longhorn on his bicep and mine is palm trees on my ankle. Rick says that until the tattoo fades, he is legally entitled to call me his old lady.
After shopping we went back to the hotel and turned in. I think we all must have fallen asleep the minute our heads hit the pillows. The next morning Rick and I got up early and walked across the highway to the beach and went for a walk. It was really beautiful. The sand is like sugar, but it will really give your calves a workout. We went back and got everyone else and went back to the beach to let the boys swim a while before we left. By 9:30am we were all cleaned up and checked out and headed to Destin. There is a restaurant in Destin called Fudpuckers (be careful saying that!) that Rick had found on the web that we wanted to eat at. They didnt open until 10:30 so we went and did some more shopping and drove around a bit. There is a lot to do in the Destin/Fort Walton area and I think I will start planning a beach vacation soon. We were back at the restaurant when they opened. If you are in the area you should try it. The food and service was great. They have an area called Alligator Beach where you can feed gators, have your picture taken with one and watch an alligator show. We did all three.
By 12:30 we were finally on the road to Orlando. We pulled into the Holiday Inn Family Suites about 8:30pm. I had booked one night here with an entertainment rate of $89. It was a nice suite one room with a queen, one room with 2 twins and living area with a foldout sofa. Bathroom was nice size and there was also an additional makeup mirror, dressing area in the queen bedroom. If we could go to Orlando in the off season, when FOTL is not a priority, I would definitely consider staying here. We got settled in and went down to eat that the Club Car restaurant. Big mistake it was awful. Really awful. We should have gone offsite to one of the places on 192. Rick and I left to go to Orange World, a souviner shop on 192 that we always have to visit. Darla stayed with the boys at the pool. Later Darla and I did laundry until 1am. They do have a nice laundry area. Besides the food there were other problems at the hotel they were out of guest towels at both pool areas, the pool staff couldnt locate the equipment for the ping pong tables, and in the morning there was only enough hot water for Rick to have a hot shower. My shower was lukewarm and Travis and Darla had to take cold showers. It didnt matter though, because now were on our way to the HARD ROCK!
Check back for my reports on the Hard Rock, US, IOA, AK and MGM.
Me Donna, 40, obsessive vacation planner
Husband Rick, 45, promises to be Mr. Easy Going this trip
Son Travis, 15, lovers coasters and girls
Sister Darla, 39, happy to leave the planning to me
Nephew James, 9, wants to do the big rides, but a little nervous
Dates: 5/28/04-6/5/04
Background: The plan for this vacation was to share expenses and save some money while still doing what we wanted to do. BIL was not able to get off this trip, so that allowed us to share hotel rooms and we decided to drive and save the airfare. We were all a little apprehensive about how we would all feel about each other after 9 days together in a car and the same hotel rooms
, but everything was fine and we would all do it again.Part One Houston to Orlando in 3 days
Note: This part of the trip report will be about our trip down and our time at the beach. I will get to Universal in part two, so if you are only interested in US/IOA you can wait for that installment. I hope these reports aren't too long.
We were going to try and get on the road by 3pm on Friday, but I wasnt able to get the entire day off work and we didnt get to leave until almost six. Then we got stuck in traffic leaving town for the Memorial Day weekend. We had reserved a room at the Comfort Inn in Slidell, LA and we finally got there about 12:30am. The hotel was nice enough. Beds were queen size, which is MUCH better than doubles. DH and I have a king size and we cant hardly sleep on a double bed. Got up early Saturday morning. The hotel had continental breakfast, but we went to McDonalds for breakfast. We met another family in the hotel parking lot from Houston on their way to FL.
Today we were headed to Fort Walton Beach, FL to spend the afternoon at the beach.
We had hoped to reach Okaloosa Island by noon, but once again we were thwarted by traffic problems. We wanted to take Hwy 98 along the coast all the way from Pensacola Beach to Okaloosa Island, but several miles down the highway there was a wreck and we were stuck in traffic for a long time. The police finally started turning cars around and sending them back to the mainland. So we didnt get to the hotel until about 2:45pm. We had reservations at the Leeside Inn. I had trouble finding a room along the coast because most places required a 3 night minimum stay over the Memorial Day weekend. I ran across the Leeside Inn on a Florida Emerald Coast website and called them. At first they said they had a 3 night minimum also. I explained that we were driving to Orlando and only needed a room for one night and asked if they had any suggestions for a place I might call. The woman put me on hold and came back and said she would go ahead and let me have the room for 1 night. Then my sister got nervous wondering what was wrong with the hotel that they would let us have a room for one night, and why it was so much cheaper than any other place we called. I hadnt thought of that, but once she brought it up I was a little worried too. But I figured we can sleep anywhere for just one night. But we were worried for nothing. It was actually a nice little hotel and the staff was super friendly. The hotel is located on the bay side of the island and has a marina, a bar with live bands at night and a restaurant that serves breakfast. You can also get a steak at night, but you have to cook it yourself. Our room was on the second floor. It was a pretty good size room. There was plenty of room for the air mattress. And the hotel was extremely clean. I couldnt believe how clean it was for a beach hotel. Our room had a little balcony and we could look across the highway and over the dunes to the gulf. We were right across the street from a state park. And the gulf was beautiful along the FL coast. We said that the Florida beaches have done the same thing to us that the Florida theme parks did made it impossible to enjoy our local beaches again. The water was a beautiful blue-green. Nothing like the brown/gray waters of Galveston. We went down the street to the boardwalk and out to the water. Dolphins were swimming and jumping just beyond where the swimmers were. One thing happened that we will always remember Darla and I were setting on the beach and the boys were in the water. Rick was videotaping. The lifeguards started blowing their whistles at someone and motioning him to come in closer because he was getting too far out. When the whistles started blowing of course Darla and I both looked to make sure we knew where our boys were. James was right there at the edge of the sand, but we didnt see Travis anywhere. Surely that couldnt be him out there trying to swim to Cuba. But that person is the right size, and hes ignoring my gestures to come back. If hes ignoring me, then it must be my son. Everyone around us starts to realize that that is our son out there. By this time the guy is getting WAY out there. Hes past where the dolphins are. One of the lifeguards has gotten on his board and paddled out to whistle him back in, but he wont even paddle all the way out to where he is. Occasionally the swimmer turns around and waves, but he doesnt come back. By now Im really starting to lose it the kind of losing it that only a mother whos child is in danger can achieve. What if a current catches him and takes him under? What if he just gets too tired and cant make it back? What if a shark bites him and he bleeds to death? What if a dolphin accidentally jumps on his head and knocks him out? It could happen. Im threatening to beat him to death if he makes it back alive. And Rick, Mr. Easy Going, is just videotaping the entire thing. By now everyone is standing around us, watching this incident unfold. And who should coming walking up the beach but Travis - Whats going on? OMG! Where have you been?! We thought you were swimming to Cuba!! Dont you ever swim out that far!! He basically got a lecture because some other guy was an idiot. And the lifeguard was finally able to convince the that guy to swim back in. It took an hour for my blood pressure to come back to normal. After that scare, I figure the rest of the vacation would have to be great.We had made reservations for the boys to go parasailing and by now it was time for that. If you are ever in Fort Walton Beach and want to parasail, go to SeaDogs Parasailing. They are on the bay side and they are the nicest, funniest guys. They asked where we were staying and when we told them, they knew all the people that work at the hotel and said it is a place where local people hang out. I was glad to hear that. We had never been parasailing before, so I hadnt planned on doing it, but the boys loved it and when we go back, I will definitely do it. We asked one of the guys where we should eat dinner and he recommended the Old Bay Steamer. We went there for dinner and it was really good, steamed seafood. Good drinks too. After dinner we wanted to do some shopping for souvenirs. Travis and I got temporary tattoos. His is a Texas Longhorn on his bicep and mine is palm trees on my ankle. Rick says that until the tattoo fades, he is legally entitled to call me his old lady.
After shopping we went back to the hotel and turned in. I think we all must have fallen asleep the minute our heads hit the pillows. The next morning Rick and I got up early and walked across the highway to the beach and went for a walk. It was really beautiful. The sand is like sugar, but it will really give your calves a workout. We went back and got everyone else and went back to the beach to let the boys swim a while before we left. By 9:30am we were all cleaned up and checked out and headed to Destin. There is a restaurant in Destin called Fudpuckers (be careful saying that!) that Rick had found on the web that we wanted to eat at. They didnt open until 10:30 so we went and did some more shopping and drove around a bit. There is a lot to do in the Destin/Fort Walton area and I think I will start planning a beach vacation soon. We were back at the restaurant when they opened. If you are in the area you should try it. The food and service was great. They have an area called Alligator Beach where you can feed gators, have your picture taken with one and watch an alligator show. We did all three.
By 12:30 we were finally on the road to Orlando. We pulled into the Holiday Inn Family Suites about 8:30pm. I had booked one night here with an entertainment rate of $89. It was a nice suite one room with a queen, one room with 2 twins and living area with a foldout sofa. Bathroom was nice size and there was also an additional makeup mirror, dressing area in the queen bedroom. If we could go to Orlando in the off season, when FOTL is not a priority, I would definitely consider staying here. We got settled in and went down to eat that the Club Car restaurant. Big mistake it was awful. Really awful. We should have gone offsite to one of the places on 192. Rick and I left to go to Orange World, a souviner shop on 192 that we always have to visit. Darla stayed with the boys at the pool. Later Darla and I did laundry until 1am. They do have a nice laundry area. Besides the food there were other problems at the hotel they were out of guest towels at both pool areas, the pool staff couldnt locate the equipment for the ping pong tables, and in the morning there was only enough hot water for Rick to have a hot shower. My shower was lukewarm and Travis and Darla had to take cold showers. It didnt matter though, because now were on our way to the HARD ROCK!
Check back for my reports on the Hard Rock, US, IOA, AK and MGM.
