Bouncing on Bounce Backs (Update Pg 20 post 299)

[KatMark]

I wondered where you've been. Can't wait to hear all about the trip.

 

[blessedmom4]

I hope the storms aren't too bad. You sure get hit hard in Charlotte! Hope you keep electricity this time and that the AC guy brings a reasonable price your way!

The storms this spring have been wild! We lost power Friday night and half the city got NOTHING! We had wind, hail, rain...weird weather! HOW have I not subscribed to this thread until today???I feel like the past few months have been a fog...hoping it is starting to slow down a bit. Remember when we first started talking about your trip I had NOTHING on that Tuesday and wound up with four things...simply nuts somedays....I am looking forward to a little quiet...OKay, I can hope...always the eternal Pollyanna... Loved seeing the pics of your journey and family, hope to see some on "the big screen" soon! How is your Dad feeling? for a BEAUTIFUL SUNDAY!!!

 

[lovethattink]

I wondered where you've been. Can't wait to hear all about the trip.

I am back from vacation! We had a wonderful time. And I even did great when we were without internet! I was expecting major withdrawal, but we were so busy and I had my phone for texting and facebook. Until my facebook account got locked because someone attempted to log in from Atlanta, GA while I was in Charlotte, NC. Go figure. I was just blocked from the phone logging in. I can log in from my desk top. Guess I need to change password and figure out how to get myself unlocked from the phone. Good to know the security features I enabled are working there!

 

[lovethattink]

The storms this spring have been wild! We lost power Friday night and half the city got NOTHING! We had wind, hail, rain...weird weather! HOW have I not subscribed to this thread until today???I feel like the past few months have been a fog...hoping it is starting to slow down a bit. Remember when we first started talking about your trip I had NOTHING on that Tuesday and wound up with four things...simply nuts somedays....I am looking forward to a little quiet...OKay, I can hope...always the eternal Pollyanna... Loved seeing the pics of your journey and family, hope to see some on "the big screen" soon! How is your Dad feeling? for a BEAUTIFUL SUNDAY!!!

I'm so sorry you got hit so badly by the storms! I am so glad you were able to squeeze us into your day and visit for a bit. You did a great job at picking out a motel for us!

I will start posting pics soon. Hopefully, perhaps the pics will help someone planning the drive down south along I-95 or I-77 to find nice places to stay.

My dad is feeling great! My mom, not so much. Caring for him is a huge challenge some days. He is bored. He tries to do more than he can handle. And that stresses out my mom. They could sure use some prayer.

 

[lovethattink]

We are back home after a 2 week road trip first to PA to visit my family and then to OH to visit DH's family. We stayed at 5 different motels. 3 along I-95 and 2 along I-77.

On I-95 we stayed at:

Best Western Plus in Santee, SC.

Best Western Plus in Hopewell, VA.

Ocean Sands Inn in Vilano Beach near St. Augustine, Florida.


On I-77 we stayed at:

Hyatt Place in Indepence, OH

SpringHill Suites University Park in Charlotte, NC

 

[lovethattink]

We really enjoyed our stay at the Best Western in Santee, SC. The motel was very clean and the rooms were nice and large. 2 Queen size beds were a plus too! Our requirements for a room make it a bit difficult to find a motel. With all our allergies it is important to us to find a room that is smoke free and pet free. I prefer to find a place where the whole premise is smoke-free and pet free, just to be safe. (Too many times we've had to leave during the middle of the night due to severe allergic reactions, so I just don't take chances anymore!) This property was both smoke free and pet free.

The parking was right at your door, which was very convenient!

The pool was nice and large. When we arrived the pool was packed with people. By the time we ate supper, then went swimming, the pool was empty and we had it to ourselves!

There was a restaurant on the Hotel property called the Captain's Quarters. We did not eat there. But my aunt who recently vacationed in Santee told us the food is great!

There is a laundry room at the motel.

Their listing of amenities in the AAA guide book said continental breakfast. This was the best continental breakfast we ever encountered!!

There was fresh fruit, pop tarts, assorted pastries, assorted cold cereals, hot cereal, waffles, eggs, sausage, biscuits and gravy, toast, bagels, juices, coffee, tea, and I am probably missing something. I didn't take pics sorry.

There was coffee in the lobby 24 hours a day

All rooms had free wireless internet, but there was a business center there as well.

I'd stay here again, in a heart beat!

 

[lovethattink]

It's no secret that Grumpy loves to fish! Loves, I meant lives to fish. We stopped at a rest stop on the way and I picked up a SC travel booklet about Lake Marion in Santee. Since we arrived early, we decided to check it out. Our motel was located off Exit 98. Check in was 1pm. So we had lots of time to explore the area! We found a public park just a couple miles down the road from the motel.

There was a boat ramp, fishing, play ground, grills, picnic areas, and swimming.

Goofy and Grumpy would like to spend a weekend fishing on this lake! The booklet I picked up said there are monster catfish in there, record catfish was 104 pounds!!

 

[mommy2mrb]

what a great find on the hotel! the lake looks very pretty and fun stuff all around for the whole family!!!

 

[MyPeanut&Bug]

Sounds like you guys have been having a fun summer!

 

[lovethattink]

what a great find on the hotel! the lake looks very pretty and fun stuff all around for the whole family!!!

It was a great place to stop! Unfortunately, Grumpy wasn't with us. He had flown out 2 weeks prior to our departure, to my parents house. We quickly became envious of his 2 hour flight, every time we passed another 2 hour mark, lol. He was sad he missed this, but glad he didn't have to do the drive to PA.

This motel is at about the 6 hour point from Disney depending on traffic.

 

[lovethattink]

Sounds like you guys have been having a fun summer!

The drive was a pain, but once we got to our destinations, we had an awesome time.

I thought of you when we were in Cleveland!

 

[momabaarjo]

The lake looks awesome...somewhere my 3 boys (yep my grumpy is included in the boy count) would love to spend some time at!

 

[lovethattink]

The lake looks awesome...somewhere my 3 boys (yep my grumpy is included in the boy count) would love to spend some time at!

There was one place that advertised cabins for $700 a month!! That would make a very affordable vacation! But fishing is NOT my idea of a vacation!!!! Once I unpack all our stuff, and boy do I over pack, I'll write the details of those cabins. If my boys went, they would just do a weekend. All of dh's vacation time is taken on our annual visit the family trip. He would like to spend a week somewhere of his choice sometime instead. I'd pick a Disney Cruise, he would pick St. Augustine!

 

[lovethattink]

We stopped at a rest stop and info center in NC. I loved these trees there,

The next motel on I-95 was Best Western Plus in Hopewell, VA. This motel, the room was much smaller and their breakfast was nothing spectacular. I had yogurt and apple juice.

They first gave us a room on the 3rd floor. We got off the elevator and Anakin started coughing and feeling light headed from the smoke. One side of the hallway was non-smoking the other side was smoking. We opened the room and could smell smoke in it. So we went straight down to the desk clerk and got our room changed to a non-smoking floor. We no sooner got to the desk and Anakin fell over! The smoke really bothered him. Grumpy sat with him on a chair in the lobby til he wasn't dizzy anymore.

We were given room 101, the first room beside the office. It was smaller than the room on the 3rd floor, but it was fine for one night. Again, queen size beds were a nice touch.

We stayed here for my niece's wedding. I'd stay here again, but make sure to ask if 1st floor can be garunteed. It's very easy to find off of I-95! We did not use their pool, not enough time. The pool was much smaller than the one in Santee.

Dh was exhausted as soon as we got to the motel. He took a nap until my niece arrived to take us to her house, and from there we followed her to her mom's house for a cookout they were hosting in our honor!

Team effort to drive. Anakin did the gas pedal and Christian (not quite 2 years old) steered. It was so cute to watch.

Swimming with cousins!

 

[lovethattink]

Our next stop was my parents house. The evening we arrived we stopped over at my cousin's house for Anakin to play with more cousins and check out the chickens!

The first full day we went to Shady Maple smorgasbord where we had an amazing lunch. Shady Maple is great for accomodating large groups without prior notice. We needed a table for 13, and had no problems getting one!

Grumpy and his girlfriend

Anakin

Taking in our old area of residence, Lancaster County. We miss the rolling hills and the lush farms. The cows there look so healthy compared to the cows in FL.

 

[lovethattink]

Next day was Hershey Park. Mom got us reduced priced tickets from a relative who works at the Reese's Plant. Mom and Dad have seasonal passes. We arrived inside the park around 1:30. We had a great time. Grumpy and his gf went off on their own. It was a hot day and after about 45 minutes in the park, Anakin was too hot. We headed to airconditioning. He did get on a few rides.

One of the ride attendants told us he should have a wrist band to alert employees that he is on the spectrum. So we decided to head to first aid. Little did we know, but within seconds of heading towards first aid, my dad became ill and ended up going by ambulance to the Hershey Medical Center. Mom went in the ambulance and I drove their car to the hospital.

 

[lovethattink]

We were only at the park a few hours when all this went down. Today he is back home and doing well.

I spent that day and evening at the hospital with he and mom. We stayed til he was transferred to his own room. Then I drove us home. Spent the next day at the hospital too. I brought my trip planning stuff with me, touring plans crowd calendar print out and another sites free crowd calendar advice. Planning to compare the 2 while visiting Dad when he fell asleep. I also brought pics from my mom's house to go through. We ended up going through those old pictures, and Dad didn't sleep. I left to give him a break and went to Zoo America and Chocolate World with my family. He rested after I left.

When my family brought me back to the hospital, they all said their goodbyes to my dad. I stayed with mom until she was ready to leave the hospital and we drove home together. Saying goodbye to my dad was tough. It was hard to leave there knowing that we were to head out in the morning to Ohio. I offered to find a flight to Ohio and stay a bit longer, but we all decided together I should stay with my family.

 

[lovethattink]

Our next stop was Cleveland, Oh. Here is where we hit I-77 and stayed at the Hyatt Place in Independence. The room was HUGE!! Plenty of room for Anakin to play. The pool was nice, indoor.

I'd gladly stay at this motel again! Everything was very clean. The staff was extemely friendly. The continental breakfast was good. There was one hot food each day. Most mornings it was biscuits and gravy, but one morning it was oatmeal with fixings. There was mixed fruit, also fresh fruit, bagels, english muffins, donuts, toast, cold cereal.

They also had a grill where you could order food. Every night we ordered a chicken quesadilla and split it. It was so good!!! Best quesadilla I ever had.

In Cleveland, we visited family, went to the Cleveland Zoo, a fish fry, and saw Mr. Poppin's Penguins on a rainy day.

 

[lovethattink]

By this point we had already had over 20 hours of driving time. I still hadn't pulled out any of my trip planning stuff. I was beginning to wonder why I bothered to bring it with me. Actually I didn't do any of the stuff for the car I had brought to do. Even when Anakin slept, I didn't pull anything out.

On the drive to Charlotte, NC I finally pulled out the 2 different crowd level calendars and read them and the comments about which makes one park better over the other for our September stay.

I decided for September 23 we would go to the MK, take a nap, then either do MNSSHP or Epcot's evening EMH. This past year, MNSSHP mornings and early afternoons were amazingly empty until around 4pm when the party people started to fill the park.

Assuming that Yeehaw Bob still does shows on a Saturday night, Sept 24 would be our best fit for that. I am thinking we will either go to AK or Epcot, but haven't given much thought to which.

Sunday, I read through the comments and the only thing I noted was that MK has evening EMH from 10pm-1am.

So overall, I guess I didn't really make any real plans, just tentative.

 

[lovethattink]

It took 8 hours of driving time to get to Charlotte. Blessedmom had helped me pick the motel, a SpringHill Suites. We checked in, and the only restaurant near the motel was a Macaroni Grill. I called Judy to see where the restaurants were that she told me about and to let her know we had arrived. She gave me directions, and we were off. And ended up next door at the Macaroni Grill! After dinner, Anakin wanted to swim. So we swam until 15 minutes before Judy and family were due to arrive.

We should have gotten out of the pool sooner. 15 minutes wasn't enough time for me to get Anakin dressed and myself dressed. So I greeted them as a drowned rat, no make up, hair wet and pulled back in a ponytail.

Eating at Macaroni Grill. Yes, Anakin is wearing a Burger King crown.

Now this next one, is just plain strange. We aren't sure what they were trying to do with this wad of toilet paper. A rose maybe?