Gramma jinxed disney on spring break! PARTING THOUGHTS 06/15/09

[podsnel]

I have a sneaker problem, too!! I can NEVER wear them when I "tour"- because of the heel issue (I actually cringe everytime I read some one reccommending wearing sneakers for a day in the parks- I would be in agony by the end of that!).

That cougar is a beautiful animal, but OMG!

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Welcome back Tammie! Can't wait to read about your trip. Although I must admit - I'm a little scared of the next installment - the words "crab" and "shack" do not sound like a good combo, IMO!

Ah, yes, because of Akron being the rubber capital, and the Zeppelin (i.e. Goodyear Blimp), that makes sense....



I HATE it when that happens!!!

Great update - that zoo looks like a good one!

Thanks! I wasn't sure if anyone wanted to hear about our non-disney days, but it WAS part of our trip.

I have a sneaker problem, too!! I can NEVER wear them when I "tour"- because of the heel issue (I actually cringe everytime I read some one reccommending wearing sneakers for a day in the parks- I would be in agony by the end of that!).

That cougar is a beautiful animal, but OMG!

I know - shoes have always been an issue for me. I did have some little Keds that worked for parks, but they changed them and now they're horrible for walking. I find that my crocs are really the best for parks, but I have to switch off alot, because the little brads for the straps can cause blisters for me. Glad you're reading!

 

[punkin413]

i love how he's sitting on that branch! i would hate to think of them watching me from the trees above or killing my dogs but i do understand we are infringing on their home. it's a tough situation!

as far as sneakers, i find that if i switch back and forth between sneackers and my alice crocs, i get no blisters. the sneakers are better for the bottom of my feet and the crocs are better for the heel. that's just me though.

 

[MAGICFOR2]

i love how he's sitting on that branch! i would hate to think of them watching me from the trees above or killing my dogs but i do understand we are infringing on their home. it's a tough situation!

as far as sneakers, i find that if i switch back and forth between sneackers and my alice crocs, i get no blisters. the sneakers are better for the bottom of my feet and the crocs are better for the heel. that's just me though.

Dawn! You were posting while I was! Thanks for being here- I know you're really busy right now. I do the same with my shoes. As for the cougar and other animals, I get upset because people say we have to leave them alone and let the ecosystem take care of itself - Newsflash - we already messed up their ecosystem when we moved in - we have to now try to control population, control tree and plant growth in the forest to protect their habitat and protect our families. It is tough. There's my political rant for the day!

 

[FauntleroyFAN07]

do you wear thick enough and big enough socks when youwere tenny hoppers...just asking, cause my wife never has problems wearing them just wondering

zoos are good, nice and fun...i like the penguins...they smell but are cute.

 

[CRdisMom]

I have eaten at the Crab Shack. I won't ever again--bad tummy issues afterwards. I hope it wasn't too bad.

 

[anewmac]

Zoo looked fun, and I love Rock Bottom, funny everytime we go they dont have root beer for the boys either LOL it must be a conspirosy LOL.

And Joes Crab shack got ya sick oh no i love that place wish they had one closer to us.

 

[MagicShell]

The zoo looks like fun. My family loves the zoo. You do look rather cold however. I can not stand the cold. Your grandson is so cute riding the hippo.

 

[nenner1]

Hey Tammie!

I didn't realize you had another TR going... (lol, that's me...fashionably late!)

Anyway I am going to have to go back and catch up, but I can't wait to read about what you guys have been up to!

 

[MAGICFOR2]

do you wear thick enough and big enough socks when youwere tenny hoppers...just asking, cause my wife never has problems wearing them just wondering

zoos are good, nice and fun...i like the penguins...they smell but are cute.

You know, I have wide feet in the front, and narrow heels, so I can't really wear thick socks. I have tried the ones with padded bottoms, but I had flat feet as a child, then corrective shoes, then fallen arches later, so the arches in shoes always seem wrong to me. Thanks, though.

Yah, good thing they didn't have "scratch and sniff" penquins!

I have eaten at the Crab Shack. I won't ever again--bad tummy issues afterwards. I hope it wasn't too bad.

We really love Joe's - the dancing is fun!

Zoo looked fun, and I love Rock Bottom, funny everytime we go they dont have root beer for the boys either LOL it must be a conspirosy LOL.

And Joes Crab shack got ya sick oh no i love that place wish they had one closer to us.

Maybe Rock Bottom just says they make root beer

The zoo looks like fun. My family loves the zoo. You do look rather cold however. I can not stand the cold. Your grandson is so cute riding the hippo.

We were a little cold, but we're used to it, so it wasn't too bad. It was actually warmer than alot of days we've had lately!

Hey Tammie!

I didn't realize you had another TR going... (lol, that's me...fashionably late!)

Anyway I am going to have to go back and catch up, but I can't wait to read about what you guys have been up to!

Jen! So glad you've joined us!

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Sorry to be MIA everyone - I had to go out of town for a quick business trip. I came back this afternoon to do a basketball/birthday for our youngest DS, 24 today

So we had been planning for months that on this family trip, we would all go to Joe's Crab Shack! Jim had started complaining of stomach pain after our lunch - remember we had battled tummy troubles that week before leaving - he actually has never been quite the same since our Mexico trip and "Montezumah's revenge" in Sept.

As I pull up in the 2nd car with DS24, I see some poor guy bent over in thee bushes puking his guts out - oh! That poor guy is my husband! We all got parked and he joined us at the door - went in to clean up and joined us at the table - white as a sheet! He sipped some pop, decided he didn't want dinner, and went out to the car to lay down. I checked on him a couple of times, and he just needed to rest. We all felt so bad for him. But, that didn't stop us from enjoying our coconut shrimp and crab legs!

Here is our view - we were in Washington State - this is looking across the Columbia River, toward the bridge taking us back to Oregon,

DGD, 1 enjoying her dinner

Oops, Jim in the top right corner - looking pale

More family

All bibbed up and ready to eat:

Our server dancing

Local "hang-out" for sharks

We got back to the hotel, and Jim went straight to bed - I stayed with the kids for awhile, then turned in too. They stayed up and played cards. Jim was fine the next day - when we visited the Children's Museum -

We meet Bob the Builder! NEXT POST!

 

[saratogadreamin09]

great TR

 

[MAGICFOR2]

great TR

Thanks for reading!

 

[MAGICFOR2]

I just wanted to relay a funny little story. I was standing in our hotel parking lot with DS24 and DDIL24. They had 3 colleges representing on their persons - Southern Oregon University, Oregon Institute of Technology on their sweatshirts, and DS had a Texas Longhorns hat on. A guy drove by and yelled out the window, "Go Longhorns!!! Class of 77!!!!" DS, without missing a beat yelled, "Hey! Class of 78!" We all looked at each other and busted up

 

[anewmac]

Awww poor Jim, he missed out on Joe's LOL.

E walked by and saw DS's hat and said "GO HORNS" and kept walking.. it must be some unwritten rule LOL

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Awww poor Jim, he missed out on Joe's LOL.

E walked by and saw DS's hat and said "GO HORNS" and kept walking.. it must be some unwritten rule LOL

Some secret society

 

[winkers]

reporting for duty.....

 

[MAGICFOR2]

reporting for duty.....

Thanks Cherie! Another "Dis celebrity" on my TR!

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Oops! Double post.

 

[MAGICFOR2]

I want to get through this part of our trip and get to the Disney part this week, or you'll start to think we really didn't get to the World! We are going to Vegas next week, which I'll share some of, but this IS a Disney trip - really.

So Saturday morning was a day for games, but they were later in the day, so we headed out to the Children's Museum. The kiddies really had fun. We just let them roam from activity to activity and followed them around - they had a great time exploring!

A little gardening:

A little plumbing:

A little theatre - there were costumes to try on and parents could watch - cameras were set up and they could see themselves on "TV"

We rounded everyone up and headed out to Pizza Schmizza for lunch - a pizza by the slice and salad place - kind of fun, old collectibles to look at - a little "hippyish." DS25 couldn't get a signal on his TomTom, so we took the lead in DS24's van with our Garmin. Well, it took us downtown Portland, where we expected to go, then turned through a neighborhood and up a steep hill - reminded me of San Francisco - out around a cemetary and through another old neighborhood -

My cell phone rings - it's Jim "Do you know where you're going?"
"Yes. The Garmin is sending us this way."
"Okay, but this is really wierd."
Ring. Ring.
"Where are you GOING?"
"To Pizza Schmizza!"
"I know, but where are you going?"
"We're just following the Garmin!"
Ring. Ring.
"NOW WE ARE IN GRESHAM!!!! Where are we going?"
"It says we are a mile away."
"Okay."

Soon we pulled in to a little shopping area and there it was! Pizza Schmizza of Gresham! Don't know why we went there, but we had a great lunch - then it took us back the same way we came and back to our hotel!

The Jim took the boys and DGS4 to the games, and the babies went down for naps. I walked across the street to the mall and got a pedi, then the girls showed up with the babies and we went shopping for awhile

We saw a huge pirate meeting at a pirate store:

The girls were trying on clothes at one point, and I took the stroller out to walk around the mall. You should have seen the funny looks I got! They are cousins and 2 months apart - you can see their eyes look alike. I could see this thought go through people's minds,

"Oh! Twins! Wow - hard work - Oh! Old mom! Fertility drugs? Wow! Sorry." We had the same thing happening when DDIL was pushing the stroller and we were all together:

"Wow! Which one is the mom?"

The boys came back about 8:00 and we headed out to The Old Spaghetti Factory, which turned out to be the first original of this chain! It was in a beautiful old hotel with lots of rooms and floors. Antique chairs and tables and waiting area furniture with beautiful stained glass everywhere - some booths were old church pews, and some were made from old bed headboards. They have really great food at a good price

Wierd story: As we were sitting in the waiting area, an aging hippy was sitting across the room from us - right next to the podium. He kept looking over at us and smiling - pretty soon I made eye contact with him just as he lit a cigarette up! We have NO SMOKING in any building in Oregon!!! When he saw me looking at him, he pulled the cigarette into his mouth and smiled at me. Pretty soon he was puffing away - right in front of the check in

Then throughout our dinner, he was wandering around, sometimes stopping to look at people; one time he headed to the kitchen - someone said, "what are you doing?" to which he replied "what are YOU doing?" - Who was he????

Well, there were placemats with pictures of the original crew - all hippies from 1973 - we decided that the poor gentleman was one of the original owners - brain dead from smoking too much pot - now thinking he needed to wander around supervising and they didn't have the heart to tell him to leave. Was he?....The answer in my next post