Discovering DVC timandlesley style-A PTR, 19 days TRIP REPORT LINK PG.119!!!!!

Have fun away Tim, Lesley and the kids :) I can't wait to go on little family trip (esp. to disney), DH & I are thinking April 2010 when little one is about 7 months (I am pregnant now!! :cool1: )
 
:scared1: Those crowds! Remind me never to go down there for Spring Break :scared1: We go every summer (we've been there in July and August) and have never seen anything like that! The big rides usually have long waits, but there were times when we walked right onto everything. Fingers crossed that the summer isn't like the Spring Break crowds!

Have a GREAT time at the beach this week! I can't wait to see all the pictures, it looks like a gorgeous area :goodvibes
 
Have fun on your trip!

Sorry, but I have to laugh at that picture of the crowds on Main Street and everyone's comments about it. We've gone several times during Spring Break and right after Christmas and yeah, it's crowded but it's not like you can't do anything. I could be wrong but I bet that picture was taken right in the middle of the day when of course it's going to be packed.
 
Happy Easter gang!!! Enjoy your trip to Kiawah!!!!
 

I have been a long time lurker. I have read all of your TR and enjoyed them.

Just so that you don't hurt yourself with all that luggage, from one DVC member to another, you can do laundry for FREE at all DVC resorts (you might need to buy extra laundry det). If you are staying in a studio, you can use the facilities at the pools (swimming & laundry at the same time). Just something to think about.

You will also love the Food & Wine Festival. That is my favorite time to go to Disney!! Sorry that you will miss MNSSHP. That is the best after hours party. But, waiting for the kids to go will be worth it!

Enjoy your long Disney vacation!!
 
Hi guys! Thanks for all of the Happy Easter, safe travel and lurkers coming out or lurkdom ; ) while we were away!!! I hope that each of you had an awesome Easter and for those of you who were on Spring Break that you had a good one. We had an awesome time in Kiawah, had a day of rain out of the 5 and temps were chilly on one other day but overall GREAT time, beautiful beaches and fun time had by all. Tim and I are now official "addicts" of the Dis podcasts and downloaded a TON that we listened to on our 12 + hour trip there and back - just love them and had me thinking Disney the whole trip and can't wait for them to come out with this weeks addition. Sure did make the trip go faster! I'll be uploading pics soon and get a little mini TR up for you.
Guess What!?!?! 65 days until Disney!!!!:cool1::banana::yay::woohoo::dance3:
I can't believe it!!!! So much to do!!!!
After listening to a Podcast though with them talking about Narcosse's, Tim and I made a ressie for June 26th for the two of us, we'll put the kids in Simba's clubhouse that night for a nice night out for us, CAN'T WAIT!
Well, gotta run, lots of unpacking and uploading of photo's to do but I'll be back soon. We're almost there baby, Disney is so close I can TASTE it!!!!:banana:
Lesley
 
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Made it through all the links to subscribe. Your plans look amazing.
 
We've always wanted to try Narcoosee's, too! We figured when the kids are old enough for the clubs we'll be able to do stuff like that.
Glad you had a nice trip and Easter. :)

I enjoy the podcasts, too. I usually listen to them first thing in the morning as I'm starting my day! Nothing like starting the work day Disney-style!
 
The podcast is always fun to listen to, I love how un-bias they are and tell the blunt truth
 
Welcome back guys! Glad to hear you had a great time and had safe travels! Can't wait to see all the pictures and read your mini TR!! GUESS WHAT!!! 9 WEEKS for both of us!:cool1::cool1:;)
 
I'm hooked on the podcasts as well. I enjoy listening to them while going to and from school. DS10 is a "poddie" too!:goodvibes
Can't wait to see the pics from your spring break!
 
Hi Lesley! I have not posted yet on this PTR...it has taken me awhile to read through all the good stuff.:goodvibes I love, love, LOVE your plans! 16 days! That is a dream come true!

I am looking forward to more!popcorn::
 
Welcome back!!! I'm glad you had a great trip. Can't wait to see pictures. I've never listened to any DIS podcasts...maybe I'll give them a try.
 
I like the WDW Today podcasts which are done by, among others, Len Testa from the Unofficial Guide, Mike Newell, and Mike Scopa. I listen to them when I am doing my outside walking.
 
I have been a long time lurker. I have read all of your TR and enjoyed them.

Just so that you don't hurt yourself with all that luggage, from one DVC member to another, you can do laundry for FREE at all DVC resorts (you might need to buy extra laundry det). If you are staying in a studio, you can use the facilities at the pools (swimming & laundry at the same time). Just something to think about.

You will also love the Food & Wine Festival. That is my favorite time to go to Disney!! Sorry that you will miss MNSSHP. That is the best after hours party. But, waiting for the kids to go will be worth it!

Enjoy your long Disney vacation!!
So glad you decided to post, thanks for following us, glad you enjoy the TR's. Thanks for the reminder, I will probably end up doing a load or two for sure, just hate to do it on vacation, but for 2 1/2 weeks it will be inevitable. Love your idea of swimming and laundry though, that is tolerable. Can't wait for food and wine, we may not miss MNSSHP after all;)
Lesley

Made it through all the links to subscribe. Your plans look amazing.
So glad you were able to make it through, welcome!

We've always wanted to try Narcoosee's, too! We figured when the kids are old enough for the clubs we'll be able to do stuff like that.
Glad you had a nice trip and Easter. :)

I enjoy the podcasts, too. I usually listen to them first thing in the morning as I'm starting my day! Nothing like starting the work day Disney-style!
Can't wait to give it a try, I'll do a full review for ya ; ) Just lovin' the podcasts, can't believe I didn't listen to them sooner!

The podcast is always fun to listen to, I love how un-bias they are and tell the blunt truth
I know, love that part of it! They had tim and I cracking up, especially with their D23 rants, couldn't agree more!
Welcome back guys! Glad to hear you had a great time and had safe travels! Can't wait to see all the pictures and read your mini TR!! GUESS WHAT!!! 9 WEEKS for both of us!:cool1::cool1:;)
Thanks, I'll work on the mini TR tonight. Glad you guys had a good trip too, wasn't it great to get away! I know, the countdown is ON!!!

Aren't the podcasts great? Hurrah for 65 days 'til Disney! :woohoo: Glad you enjoyed your trip! :)
Yes, they are great!!! 64 days today, WOOHOO!

I'm hooked on the podcasts as well. I enjoy listening to them while going to and from school. DS10 is a "poddie" too!:goodvibes
Can't wait to see the pics from your spring break!
I know, such fun, Luke was into a few of them as we listened too, I could see him getting hooked in a year or so. Uploading pics as we speak ; )

Welcome back

Glad you had a great time :goodvibes
Thanks, we sure did, working on uploading pics right now!
Hi Lesley! I have not posted yet on this PTR...it has taken me awhile to read through all the good stuff. I love, love, LOVE your plans! 16 days! That is a dream come true!

I am looking forward to more!popcorn::
Glad you made it through, actually it's 18 days but whose counting : ) I can't wait!!!!
Lesley

Welcome back!!! I'm glad you had a great trip. Can't wait to see pictures. I've never listened to any DIS podcasts...maybe I'll give them a try.
Thanks! You definitely should give them a try, but watch out, they are ADDICTING!!!
Lesley

I like the WDW Today podcasts which are done by, among others, Len Testa from the Unofficial Guide, Mike Newell, and Mike Scopa. I listen to them when I am doing my outside walking.
I've never listened to those, have you tried the Dis podcasts?
Lesley
 
So, for those of you who haven't been to Kiawah, it truly is heaven here on earth, just LOVE this place. It's a beautiful gated community about 30 miles from Charleston.
Just so you know, we found a house on the island, my parents pay for this house every year. They found one on VRBO.com and we've stayed there a few times before, great place within walking distance to the beach!:thumbsup2 This year my brother and his wife were able to join us as well which was nice.
We broke up the drive on the way down and stayed in a hotel. My dad had to work a half day so they didn't leave until around 1:00 on Friday, Tim the kids and I were on the road by around 10:00, glad we were too because although it was a dreary and overcast day there was barely any rain. My poor parents and brother had to drive through monsoon like rains the WHOLE WAY THERE. Needless to say we shared some alcoholic beverages when they arrived;).
The next morning we only had about 4 1/2 hours to Kiawah. We got there and it was a beautiful day. We went to the towne square so my parents and brother and his wife could grab lunch. They had a live band playing, booths set up and the Easter bunny was there, it was great. After they were done eating we put our stuff in the house and headed STRAIGHT to the beach!
Here is my brother and his wife:
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My beautiful Lauren:
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Lauren enjoying snacks on the beach (her FAVORITE thing to do!)
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we lounged on the beach for a while that day and then had to head back so we could get to the grocery and fix dinner. We had a great dinner.
We had heard it was Kiawah carnival that night but were SO pooped and it only went until 8 o'clock and by the time dinner was over it was around 7. But I figured WHAT THE HECK, let's go. SO GLAD WE DID! It was AMAZING! They have had this every year we have gone, it's a FREE event and every year it gets better and better.
Here is Lauren on the inflatables:
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They even had a guy juggling fire!
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Luke headed for the rock wall (again, ALL free!)
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Go Luke go!!!
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While Luke was rock climbing Lauren enjoyed face painting and making necklaces:
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They had a live band playing, it was just a good time. As it was getting dark Tim and the kids starting enjoying the hula hoops:
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He cracks me up:
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We headed back to the place, we were tired.
It was a 3 bedroom place but in our room it was a double bed but no room for an air mattress so we put the kids in our room to fall asleep and then when the adults went to sleep we moved the kids out to the pull out couch (this worked out well). My dilema was it was Easter the next day and I didn't know where to hide the eggs and baskets so if the kids awoke before us they wouldn't see them............ THE SCREENED IN PORCH! I put everything there and it worked out GREAT.
Luke came into our room on Easter in a panic saying "It's 7:30 and the Easter bunny STILL HASN'T COME!!!!" I assured him he must have and they began to search and then Lauren shouted "THE PORCH, THE PORCH" as she spotted baskets through the window.

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Checking out their loot:
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Then they realized there were eggs all over the room, suddenly/quickly baskets were emptied and they went after the eggs:
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Lots of fun! After our Easter fun was over we headed to the beach for another day of fun.
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It was a sunny day but very breezy. I decided it would be great if we packed our lunches and ate on the beach. Now, I've seen aggressive seagulls before, but these were RIDICULOUS. I've never seen a look of panic in Luke's eyes like I did when he got out his sandwich and was surrounded by a bunch of hovering and aggressive seagulls, he was in total panic. At one point I went to shew them away and came back and my brother said that one of them had gotten into the cooler and stolen one of our sandwich halves, I couldn't believe it!
Here are the kids chasing the seagulls away:
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The wind picked up and it got chilly so we headed for the pool instead, that was pretty nice.
Had a nice dinner and then later that night it was the "Kazoobie" guy. Sounds strange but the kids love him! He does a live show there (again for free) where kids get to come on stage, and it's just fun, also all kids get a free kazoo.
Before the show he let the kids juggle sticks, it was fun:
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Then it was Luke's turn on stage (see if you can find him):
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Then came Lauren's turn:
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It was sooooooo cold that night and we weren't dressed for it so the kids packed it in before the free kazoo's were handed out : (
Great night though.

(CONTINUED IN NEXT POST!)
 
The next day was another breezy beach day. Here are my parents on the beach:
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Luke on the beach:
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Me and Lauren on the beach ready to make a sandcastle:
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We hung out for awhile, but as the breeze picked up we were ready to head into town for warmer weather. We hit the park to play some ball, here is my sexy husband at the park ; )
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Lauren laying down and enjoying the sun without the breeze:
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We had fun playing ball, volley ball and letting the kids play at the park there. Then we decided to drive around the island for a bit. The mansions on the back of the island by the pro golf course are INSANE. I started snapping pictures towards the end but these don't do it justice, they were literally the largest houses I've ever seen, but these are some I took as we were driving away, wish I could have got the larger ones:
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Then we saw several alligators, here is a pic of one by a golf course:
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The next day it rained and we headed to the outlet malls in Charleston, it was a great shopping day, got tons of great deals and a whole summer wardrobe for Lauren at Gymboree at a great sale and tons of clothes for me at Gap, it was fun. Then we went to the new Hannah Montanna movie, that was a great film, kids loved it and Tim and I thought it was good too!
Next day was still a little overcast but we still got some pool and beach time in, had fun searching the shore for treasures. This beach was covered in awesome shells, starfish, jelly fish, horse shoe crabs, etc. etc. every day, such fun to explore.
Lauren and I explored the island by bike, check out the awesome bike trails they have there:
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Here she is by one of the ponds by the house we rented, WATCH OUT LAUREN!
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There were tons of crocs all over the island, fun to see.
Here's another pic. of Lauren on our morning adventure:
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Here is a pic of the house we rented, wish I would have gotten more. It was a nice 3 bedroom/2 bath place with a nice wrap around deck and screened in porch, fireplace, pull out couch, cable tv., full kitchen and laundry room.
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The next day was THE PERFECT BEACH DAY. Check out the view from my chair that day!
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Here are the kids coming to dump water on my feet:
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we had an awesome bike ride out to the beach that night and had fun running around on an abandoned beach, looking at shells and just being together, great memories!
Next day was an awesome beach day too.
That night we headed into town to do some shopping but were bummed all the shops were closed in Kiawah. Luckily the ice cream store and kids candy store was opened, so we enjoyed an ice cream and bought the kids a candy and a coke (in bottles which they thought was cool) at the store:
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CHEERS!
Lauren took this one of me:
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As you can tell, I got some sun.
I took this of Tim and I:
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The next day was our last day, we were originally going to leave on Friday early and drive the WHOLE way but we decided to leave thursday after dinner to split the trip up. We had a great last day at the beach and pool, grilled steaks out with the family and hit the road thursday night after dinner. We drove half way home, stopping around the Gatlinburg area at 12:30 am at a Sleep Inn then got up and headed home the rest of the way on Friday. Tim entertained himself on the LONG drive home:
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We had SUCH a great trip. Time flew by in the car listening to the Dis podcasts, I even called and left a message on their line during the drive home, hoping I make it on the show : )
Hope you enjoyed this mini TR, GREAT news is that now we are only 64 days until Disney, the countdown is O-N!!!!
Hope all of you had an incredible Easter!
Lesley

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