Ever, Ever After: The TR Formerly Known as Wishing You Were Here- May 2011

[afwdwfan]

That's great that they were able to entertain each other in the vehicle... at least until movie time. I don't know why they'd sing in Greek, although we've never watched the Wiggles in our house. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse works for us and that's fine with me! So have you watched that video yet to see if the Greek singing makes sense?

 

[Shannon84]

Glad to hear that the trip started off so well What cuties, the watching tv face is great

 

[CandleontheWater]

dual screen DVD player- sounds like a great investment! What brand did you buy, if you don't mind me asking.

Also it looks like Landon is still rear facing and Carter is front facing- so how did you set up the screens?

I am thinking about getting a DVD for our car for Everett, but he is still rear facing, and I'm planning on keeping him that way for a while, so I wasn't sure how a car DVD player would work. It looks like maybe you got it all figured out!

 

[tinacaplan]

Nice DVD player...I think we solved all that and are just going to bring our laptop in July; this way Max can watch movies on the way down and I can type out notes (I hate writing things out by hand) while we're there. Yay! But a dual screen model...that is a big surprise.

 

[PirateKate]

Sounds like you were off to a pretty good start! We have never driven to WDW...it would be a 24 hour drive for us...a little much, I think!

Good luck in the move! We moved into my grandparent's old house last year around this time. The backyard is SOO nice for Colby to play in!!

I agree, 24 hours is way too long! The 10 hours for us isn't too bad, most of the time. I think driving can be more fun than flying.

Thanks! I can't wait until the boys have a nice backyard, especially now that it's summer. Most of the neighborhoods we're looking at have community pools, with kiddie pools, which would be so much fun for them.

Your boys are precious! The DVD player is always a life saver on long trips. I couldn't help but notice the pirate pillowcase. I have been considering buying that set for my son when we move into our new house in a few weeks. Thought it might get him excited for a new room. Did you buy it from Target? Have you been happy with the quality, etc? I really loved it when I found it online.

Thanks! We're already big fans of the portable DVD player. I got Carter's pirate bedding at Sears. I had actually been planning on doing a Cars room for him, but I saw the pirate set on sale really cheap and I thought it was cute, so I got it. I've been very happy with it. It's held up pretty well, despite frequently needing to be washed. Carter likes his pirate pillows a lot.

My kids recieved a set of screens for the car for Christmas of 2006. Best gift I ever got that wasn't given to me. We still use them today. The nice thing about them are they can each watch their own DVD which is a good thing when on is 6 and the other is 15. Head phones are a blessing. Looks like the boys are having alot of fun watching the Wiggles. Sounds like mom and dad are enjoying them too...

Our DVD players were birthday presents for the boys. It did make the drive a lot easier. I bet we'll still be using them for a long time. They can't watch separate shows with our system, but with their ages so close, they should be able to take turns picking. I think we were all enjoying the Wiggles. If we didn't sort of like the Wiggles' songs, then we'd go crazy hearing it all the time.

That's great that they were able to entertain each other in the vehicle... at least until movie time. I don't know why they'd sing in Greek, although we've never watched the Wiggles in our house. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse works for us and that's fine with me! So have you watched that video yet to see if the Greek singing makes sense?

I love it when Carter and Landon entertain each other. I hope they can do more and more of that as we get older. We haven't checked yet to see if the Greek makes sense in the video. For some reason, when we're at home, we play a different set of Wiggles songs. Carter likes Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, but Landon loses interest in shows that don't have a lot of music. I'll just be glad when they like to watch Toy Story and Cars.

Glad to hear that the trip started off so well What cuties, the watching tv face is great

Thanks! It was a really good start so far. I was glad to see the boys enjoyed watching their shows in the car.

dual screen DVD player- sounds like a great investment! What brand did you buy, if you don't mind me asking.

Also it looks like Landon is still rear facing and Carter is front facing- so how did you set up the screens?

I am thinking about getting a DVD for our car for Everett, but he is still rear facing, and I'm planning on keeping him that way for a while, so I wasn't sure how a car DVD player would work. It looks like maybe you got it all figured out!

We figured since we drive on vacations so often, it would be a good thing to have. We have the Philips 7'' Dual Screen. We're very happy with it so far.

Landon is actually forward facing in all the pictures. He does sort of look like he is rear facing, but that's the backseat headrest and the stroller behind him in the pictures.

I suppose if he was still rear facing, it wouldn't be any big deal to strap his screen on the the back seat headrest. Of course, our CR-V may be built differently that other cars.

 

[PirateKate]

We had been driving for many hours. Jeremy had switched the boys to an Elmo DVD and I was getting tired. For some reason, listening to Elmo gibbering about numbers just wasn't as engaging as the Wiggles.

Jeremy yawned.

"Don't yawn! You'll make me sleepier."

"Sorry. So how far are we going to drive tonight?"

"The room I booked is at exit 87, south of Savannah. I hope it's okay. I saw some reviews before we left that sounded really bad."

"Well, if we get there and it's horrible, we can stay somewhere else."

"All right. I guess that's fine, then."

"Will we have to stop for gas again or do we have enough to make it there?"

"We should make it. It will be a little low, but we can fill up in the morning."

I had expected the boys to doze off once it got dark, but it was nearly eleven and they were both still watching Elmo.

Landon was still watching intensely, although it was clear from his thumb that he was getting very tired.

Carter actually didn't look too tired, yet. Maybe he sits up late in his room and reads at night.

An hour later, we finally made it to exit 87. I pulled off and we began looking for the Quality Inn. I made a left turn, as indicated by the directions from Google Maps.

"There it is!"

"But where do I turn in?"

I completely missed the driveway. I still hadn't even seen it. I planned to do a u-turn at the next intersection, but was foiled by a no u-turns sign.

I finally found a place to turn around and was unsettled to see a couple of people out walking. Why was anyone out this time of night? They were wearing hoodies with the hoods up and had that sort of walk that indicates they were up to no good.

I pulled back onto the road and drove past the Quality Inn again, searching for the driveway. Once again, I couldn't see the place to turn in.

Time to turn around again...and another group of people out walking. Why?

This time, I actually found the entrance to the Quality Inn and pulled in. It didn't look good.

The only car parked in front of the Quality Inn was an old beater Cadillac with extra high, shiny wheels and a stuffed gorilla wearing boxing gloves hanging from the rear view mirror.

Maybe all the nice cars were in the back. I peered through the glass doors into the lobby as I slowly drove by.

It was empty. Or abandoned. Or deserted. The only motion was the flickering lanterns outside the building. For some reason, Hotel California popped into my head.

I circled around to the back of the motel, where we saw plenty of life. There were some people standing around smoking. A few were unloading luggage. And there were some more people just out for a walk.

No one looked terribly nice. The building itself looked unkempt and dirty.

"So do you think it's okay?"

"I'm sure it's fine, but we can keep driving if you like."

I thought about hauling my little baby boys out of the car and into that horrible looking place. I just didn't want to.

"I really don't want to stay here."

"Okay, let's go find somewhere else. In fact, let's leave this exit altogether. Too many people walking around so late at night."

Feeling slightly stupid for having booked such a lousy motel, but mostly relieved that we weren't going to stay there, I pulled back onto the interstate.

"Hey, Kate, how much gas do we have left?"

I hadn't even considered how low we were on gas. "17 miles."

"I hope the next exit is soon."

"Me, too."

 

[cadek]

As always, you tell a great story, very entertaining, and with a cliffhanger!

I need to figure out a better way to take notes on vacation, or need more discipline in doing it. I take my laptop, and end up only getting it out once. It is faster for me to type than write, or I could use an app in my phone, but talk about slow pecking that out... I'm horrible, if a day or passes, I can't keep it straight anymore!

 

[teachermommy78]

Uh oh...is trouble a brewin'? The boys look so happy! I have to remember to take pictures in the van on the way down. My pictures, however, may look slightly different. Mostly you'll see sneers and tears.

We had a portable DVD player in our car when Sophie was a baby and she was rear facing. As long a you have the headrest attached, the screen just attached to that. At least for our model.

 

[amazingact21]

Oh no...I hate trying to book unknown hotels for that very reason. It sounds like, if you guys had stayed, it would have been very stess-inducing (trying to unload in the dark and while trying to keep both eyes attentive at all times). And if you were that hestitant before you even pulled in, I doubt you would've slept very restfully.

I hope there was an exit in less than 17 miles!

 

[All7OfUs]

Oh my! Not the "How much gas do we have?" ending... EEK!!

Good call, my friend, to leave the exit entirely!! Well done!!

 

[brookelizabeth]

Hey Kate! I completely lost track on your PTR with real life taking over the months of March AND April, so I don't know ANY of your plans - this will be a total surprise. Loving it so far - I so enjoy your writing and those adorable pictures of your boys.

GOOD CALL on leaving the hotel. Your Momma Gut is usually correct! I hope you make it to the next exit...

 

[*Seanaci*]

What a great surprise for drives down to the House of Mouse. Too bad they aren't quite old enough for headphones.

And I'm glad you guys decided NOT to stay at that motel. I would have been creeped out by all the people walking around that late as well. Especially with toddlers. >_<

Boy oh boy...I do hope you guys made it to the next exit before you ran out of gas.

 

[cadek]

My car has the dvd player in it with wireless headphones. When the boys were younger they didn't like wearing the headphones, and I didn't like giving up my music so they could hear the movie through the car speakers... so I bought a small set of speakers (about 4" tall) that do not require another power source, simply plug into a headphone jack, and now we are all happy. Now that they are older, if they can't hear, they don't mind using the headphones. I have the headreast in the middle of the back seat up a little, enough to hold the speakers in place so they both can hear.

 

[TeresaG]

Uh-oh!

I also hate booking hotels unknowingly. I'm glad you didn't stay. Sounded shady.

 

[Shannon84]

I hate how every hotel looks ok on the internet, but you really don't know what you will get until you arrive! I hope you guys found somewhere close by that worked out

 

[afwdwfan]

Thanks, Hotel California is now stuck in my head.

I used to travel A LOT for work. Some of the more questionable places I've ever stayed have been Quality Inns. They tend to be second hand hotels located in what is typically not the best part of town. I usually try to book Comfort Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Hampton Inn, Fairfield Inn, etc. Maybe a little more pricey, but you can pretty much count on consistent hotels.

I hope you were able to find a truck to tuck in behind and draft to the next exit! I probably wouldn't have wanted to stop for gas anywhere at that exit anyway.

 

[Luvmepluto]

Joining in! Your boys are adorable!

We always stop in Savannah on the way down and we always stay at the same hotel. It hasn't failed us yet!

 

[emma212010]

Oh wow your boys are too cute!!! Sounds like you're off to a great start! Good for you about not staying there...toooo spooky especially with two little ones!! Hopefully you find a nice place! Looking forward to more!

 

[KatMark]

Great updates, Kate. Love the photos of the boys watching their Wiggles and Elmo.

Good instincts on the hotel. We almost booked a spot in Naples that looked good on the internet, and then Nicki told us it was in the middle of "drug city". If it doesn't look right, then it isn't going to be right. Smart idea to move on; I just hope you make it with the gas.

 

[lbuzz52]

i would have left that hotel too! walkers scare me. i feel hypocritical, because when i was i teen we walked everywhere. now when i see anyone walking i assume they are looking for trouble. sure hope that you made it to the gas station.