Hot Dog, Hot Dog, Hot Diggity Dog! LINK TO TRIP REPORT!!!

[tinacaplan]

Then you want 8A.

Thanks, Kathy!

 

[KatMark]

Tina, will look forward to the new PTR when you have the time.

I am, unfortunately, cooking today. I hope you, Mark and Max and the rest of your family have a great Thanksgiving.

 

[tinacaplan]

After neglecting my PTR for far too long, I decided that one of the things I wanted to do over the Thanksgiving weekend was do some serious updating around here. I promise to all of my loyal readers that I will do chapter links next time, no matter what, as I know this can get kind of confusing to go through. After all, I think I started this thing back in May!

Its a funny thing, in some ways I feel like our trip is SO MUCH CLOSER, and in other ways, I feel like its as far away as ever.

I have a bunch of photographs I'd love to share with all of you, including a mini report of our overnight in NYC, complete with trip to the new Disney store!

I teach in a public charter school in New Haven and it consumes what can often feel like nearly all of my time. Twelve to fourteen hour days, spent in our building, are not uncommon. It can be overwhelming sometimes, but its so much better than when I taught in a "regular" public school in New Haven. It has been super gratifying to work with an entire staff of people who are in it for the right reasons: the kids, of course!

Just a few snaps from my classroom:

This picture is from the evening of Tent City, which is a benefit our school participates in every year to raise money for homeless shelters in New Haven. Max joined my students this year and everyone had Subway before we went to the New Haven green for the event:

For the past three years, my husband and I had done Thanksgiving dinner at our house for about twelve people. How we pulled this off, I'll never know. Its one of those things, I think, that you just get up and do and you almost don't even think about it. This year, due to the constant stress that is our living situation, we decided to move the feast make to my mom's, which was nice and certainly a lot less work for me.

This me (and Max) all ready to go:

The holiday was lovely; we had a very nice, relaxing kind of day. I wish I liked turkey more, but, hey...what can you do? It is one of my goals for the next year that Thanksgiving will be back at our house next year! I hope so.

 

[tinacaplan]

Sorry...don't know what's going on with Photobucket, but I'm going to hold my NYC TR, complete with Disneystore review, until I get this figured out.

 

[KatMark]

Thanks for the photos of your classroom and students, Tina. You do a wonderful thing (I just wish it didn't take so much of your time). Max is just a sweetie pie. I'm glad you had a nice Thanksgiving at your mom's house.

 

[tinacaplan]

Thanks, Kathy.

 

[wildernesslodgefan]

 

[tinacaplan]

Scary things can sometimes happen when you get me near a computer. This past week I decided to just look and see how much it would be to book a room for this past Saturday in Manhattan, imagining that anywhere I'd want to stay would be waaay out of my price range. Then I looked on Priceline and though, hmmm...what if I try out their name your own price feature? We had been planning on going down to the city to check out the new Disney store and Times Square, so I figured, why not see about spending the night?

So I did. And I got very lucky and we got a beautiful room here for only $100 dollars!

Pictures of Max and the lobby:

Max often enjoys pushing his own carriage.

The lobby was very contemporary looking, but small, which is somewhat typical for New York. Our room was also pretty tiny, but beautiful and very clean with super comfy beds.

We dropped our things and headed to Times Square. Max was thrilled to have his first taxi ride. He also rode the train for the first time and was very well behaved. This certainly gives me hope for our plane ride to Florida which, believe it or not, is only about an hour longer!

Times Square was absolutely packed. Not surprising, it being a holiday weekend and all, but still...you could barely move. It was insane. I know that Times Square is super tourist-y, but all the lights are kind of neat. I think Max was pretty overwhelmed by the whole thing, as he didn't say a whole lot.

Our first stop was at Toys 'R Us. I wanted to save the Disney Store until after our dinner reservation so I wouldn't feel rushed in anyway. The Toys R Us is HUGE. There is a ferris wheel in the center, too.

Max was mostly interested in the Disney toys. Shouldn't have been too surprised!

I really wanted out of there pretty quickly, as the place was just mobbed with people and no crowd control to speak of.

On our way to dinner we ran into fake Minnie Mouse.

Now, this non-Disney sanctioned Minnie was just a little scary. Max took his picture with her and she then became quite aggressive about getting a tip from us. Why I thought she was just out there for fun, I have no idea. This is NYC, after all. I had my husband hand me his wallet, which he did, only to have all of his cards fall out!
Thankfully, we noticed it immediately and there was Minnie to help us pick everything up. Kind of funny and a little frightening, all at the same time.
We left and met one of my dear friends at a fun restaurant down the street called Ruby Foo's. It reminded both my husband and I of P.F.Chang's, which is fine. We like P.F. Chang's. Here are some interior shots, including a rare picture of my husband. No food porn, though. I still feel a little weird doing that outside of Disneyworld!

Max attempting chopsticks.

After dinner, it was time to hit the Disney store! There was a well organized, quick moving line to get into the store, which was fine, because it meant that the place wasn't jammed full of people. You could actually move pretty comfortably. I would love to say that I was blown away. Sadly, I wasn't. Its really just a more dressed-up version of the Disney stores we have at the mall. Oh, well. There was a definite lack of adult merchandise, which was a shame, but there was a lot for the kids on the second floor. I will let my very badly taken pictures speak for themselves:

The trail of pixie dust:

We still spent a fair amount of money. Max wanted Lotso for some reason, which he got, since he was on sale for ten bucks! I also bought him a Cars jogging suit and two more die-cast Cars from...what else...Cars. Amazing how a five year old movie still draws kids in like that, huh? One might think Disney would take a hint and do more with that at Disneyworld... Just a suggestion.

All told, it was a very nice trip and a great practice run for our big trip in February. Max handled the transportation and the insane crowds very well. By comparison, the crowds at Disney will be a breeze! He also went right to sleep in his crib with lights on in the room at about nine and did not wake up until the morning, so no worries about him sleeping at Disney.

A picture of Max coming home on the train with his new "friend."

 

[KatMark]

Tina, I love the pictures (and Mark....great to see one of you too!). I'm sorry the Disney store wasn't as you had hoped it would be, but nice to know they are adding stores again (they added one a block from my work in Downtown Chicago).

Max is going to do GREAT at Disney.

 

[dizneeat]

Hi Tina!

Great trip report and photos! It's wonderful Max took travelling like a pro!

It was nice to see a photo of Mark too, but where is one of yourself? I am sorry the Disney Store wasn't what you hoped for, but at least they are being run by Disney again.
All the ones we went to during our trips to the US lately looked really run down and non Disney - so I was pleased to see that this one DID look like a Disney Store!
The hotel you stayed at looked really nice! And only $100!!! Well done, girl!

We're getting into the 70s soon, Tina! Only 11 and a half weeks to go!

 

[tinacaplan]

Hi Tina!

Great trip report and photos! It's wonderful Max took travelling like a pro!

It was nice to see a photo of Mark too, but where is one of yourself? I am sorry the Disney Store wasn't what you hoped for, but at least they are being run by Disney again.
All the ones we went to during our trips to the US lately looked really run down and non Disney - so I was pleased to see that this one DID look like a Disney Store!
The hotel you stayed at looked really nice! And only $100!!! Well done, girl!

We're getting into the 70s soon, Tina! Only 11 and a half weeks to go!

Thanks, Karin. We were planning some things at school today and we are already planning well into February! As much as I am trying to enjoy each and every precious day...I can't wait for Disney! I also think its at the point where its just close enough that it seems like its really happening, so I'm even more excited!

 

[chunkymonkey]

I have yet to go to the new Disney store!! I know I know, I live in the city and I never go anywhere in the city. I think it's because when you live here, you don't normally tend to go to Times Square since it's just a big headache! But I definitely want to check out the store as it looks like loads of fun!! It looks like you had a fantastic weekend! The weather was great!

 

[tinacaplan]

I have yet to go to the new Disney store!! I know I know, I live in the city and I never go anywhere in the city. I think it's because when you live here, you don't normally tend to go to Times Square since it's just a big headache! But I definitely want to check out the store as it looks like loads of fun!! It looks like you had a fantastic weekend! The weather was great!

I can't blame you for not wanting to deal with Times Square. It is pretty awful in many ways and when I'm in the city (and when you live in CT, there is only one...) its not where I normally would go. But Disney was calling me... We had a great weekend and I have always wanted to stay in a hotel overnight in NYC but never have before, so I can cross that off the list. I still have a fantasy about staying at the Plaza or the Waldorf or something...ah...someday.

 

[tinacaplan]

Just looked at my ticker, did some math, and realized...

only 80 days 'till we leave!!!! ​

How did that happen?

Its crazy...Christmas is going to be here so soon, which will be wonderful and then January (which is going to be a long month) and then it will be February and time to start packing and really going crazy!!

So, Happy December 1st, everybody!

I really need to sit down and get cracking on some more detailed daily plans, as I realize that my old ones are, in some cases, just wrong, and in other cases, just not nearly detailed as much. Reading other TRs has made me realize just how much we missed at DHS and AK. I mean...a lot. As in, we went to AK and did NOT do the safari. Um..yeah. Silly, I know, but we were not in a great mood the first time we went to AK, which was in the eveing for EMHs, decided we didn't love it and then, the day we were supposed to go back, we completely ditched that plan for something else that I'm fairly certain probably wasn't as fun. But, we were contending with some pretty bad news from home, as well as feeling super guilty about leaving Max for the week, so we weren't the fun couple we usually are. There is a lot I am looking forward to making up for on this trip!

 

[pinkxray]

I love your Disneystore pictures. Max did such a great job on your short trip. Disneyworld will be a blast.

I wish they would start adding more stores in CT. I really miss having one close by.

 

[tinacaplan]

I love your Disneystore pictures. Max did such a great job on your short trip. Disneyworld will be a blast.

I wish they would start adding more stores in CT. I really miss having one close by.

Thanks! I think Max is going to do just fine on our trip! The Disneystore was cool. Luckily, there is one at Westfarms, which isn't too far from us and the mall I go to when I need to get my serious shopping on!

 

[KatMark]

Just looked at my ticker, did some math, and realized...

only 80 days 'till we leave!!!! ​

How did that happen?

Its crazy...Christmas is going to be here so soon, which will be wonderful and then January (which is going to be a long month) and then it will be February and time to start packing and really going crazy!!

So, Happy December 1st, everybody!

I really need to sit down and get cracking on some more detailed daily plans, as I realize that my old ones are, in some cases, just wrong, and in other cases, just not nearly detailed as much. Reading other TRs has made me realize just how much we missed at DHS and AK. I mean...a lot. As in, we went to AK and did NOT do the safari. Um..yeah. Silly, I know, but we were not in a great mood the first time we went to AK, which was in the eveing for EMHs, decided we didn't love it and then, the day we were supposed to go back, we completely ditched that plan for something else that I'm fairly certain probably wasn't as fun. But, we were contending with some pretty bad news from home, as well as feeling super guilty about leaving Max for the week, so we weren't the fun couple we usually are. There is a lot I am looking forward to making up for on this trip!

It will be here before you know. The way the days fly by during the holidays, December will be over and you'll already be at January.

 

[tinacaplan]

It will be here before you know. The way the days fly by during the holidays, December will be over and you'll already be at January.

Hi, Kathy! How was your weekend? Did it snow out there this weekend?

I know how quickly this next month is going to go. I can't believe it! Its true that once the first of the year rolls around, well...then...our trip will be really close!

 

[KatMark]

It is freezing here. It's probably about 12 degrees right now WITHOUT the windchill. We got about three inches yesterday.

The weekend was busy. Mark worked all weekend and I baked cookies yesterday and today, cleaned house and wrapped the gifts that I have so far.

 

[tinacaplan]

It is freezing here. It's probably about 12 degrees right now WITHOUT the windchill. We got about three inches yesterday.

The weekend was busy. Mark worked all weekend and I baked cookies yesterday and today, cleaned house and wrapped the gifts that I have so far.

...and its winter in Chicago! Luckily, it hasn't gotten that cold here...YET. Admittedly, I would love to see some snow, but only a school day and only enough that it means cancelling school...which here in CT they do rather often because people are scared of driving on the snow!

We had a crazy, busy weekend. My students had a benefit pancake breakfast at Applebee's yesterday, we had a birthday party in the afternoon, visited with our closest friends last night and then went to a Hannukah get together this evening. Fun, but busy. Max got even more Cars-related "stuff," including a rug that's really Radiator Springs! He's very excited and I'm afraid its just the beginning. He's actually understanding the concept of Santa for the first time this year so its going to be fun to watch him.

Unfortunately, I haven't gotten anything Christmas-related done yet! I'll catch up eventually, I'm sure.