How Early is Too Early to Plan??? - TR Link Added - 12/29

[Leshaface]

Beach Trip - Tennessee Aquarium

Wow, seriously?! A little crazy.

I"m hoping that DS will really enjoy The Seas at Epcot in October. I wanted to take him to the Monterey Bay Aquarium up in Northern California, but figured I may as well wait for WDW. Your kids looked like they enjoyed it though!

Reds fan huh? Well, any team is better than our team right now. I think we're the 5th worst team. How do you win a World Series one year, and then drop down to last the next?

 

[amandaw]

Joining in! And, of course it's never too early to start planning!

I like your idea of going in 2014 given the ages your kids will be then.

Speaking of IoA/US, we are going to spend a day at those in February before our cruise. I wanted a day at MK but both Ed & Reid voted for the dark side. They want to ride Transformers & Despicable Me. I do have to admit that I love the minions so I am excited about that ride.

 

[SAT887]

Beach Trip - Tennessee Aquarium

We did have some entertainment along the way in the form of “unorthodox ways to load things onto a vehicle.” I was really hoping this would set the tone of things we’d see over the course of the trip, but sadly, once we got through Kentucky and Tennessee, we didn’t see any more redneck ingenuity.

We were feeling the Disney effect by this point and thought we were in the Seas, but it was disappointing to find that their version of Turtle Talk sucks. He just ignores you and does his own thing. What’s up with that???

DW borrowed her sister’s smaller stroller to take so that we didn’t have to pack our City Mini Double. We love it for Disney World, but we only planned to use a stroller at the aquarium and thought this might save a lot of space. DS never wants to sit anyway, so it only made sense that he’d walk and DD would ride in the stroller. About halfway through, DS wanted to ride and DD wanted to walk. As it turns out, you can actually move quicker with the 1 year old walking and the 3 year old strapped in the stroller.

Really? People are so.... Errr... Interesting But I guess if they know how to tie it down right..... My favorite is going through states that have lenient inspection processes (or none at all) and seeing some of the interesting "add ons" so to speak....

Your crush comment made me "LOL"

It works the same when they are 4 and 2 as well... It's somewhat baffling - I truly will never understand the laws of children. We rarely take our double anywhere now, both of my girls like to walk so usually our small umbrella style one is more than enough. I actually think it's time to Craigslist my double. I look forward to the days of not hauling around so much stuff!

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

That is a great picture on many levels.

These two…
Not so much

We were feeling the Disney effect by this point and thought we were in the Seas, but it was disappointing to find that their version of Turtle Talk sucks. He just ignores you and does his own thing. What’s up with that???

You have been spoiled.

As it turns out, you can actually move quicker with the 1 year old walking and the 3 year old strapped in the stroller.

Much of what we’ve learned about raising young’ens has been counter intuitive.
This doesn’t surprise me at all.

The Aquarium was nice. We’ve been to Ripley’s Aquarium in Gatlinburg before and part of what sold us on going here was that we like that aquarium and we were told how much better this one was. Well, it did have a few more types of displays and some fresh water fish, but I’m not sure it really lived up to the hype to me.

Duly noted.
Having seen The Ripley’s in MB, the SC Aquarium in Charleston and the National Aquarium in Baltimore (not to mention that little effort down at WDW) I suspect I’d end up with a similar conclusion.

…but if I had it to do over I think I would have fought harder to do Lookout Mountain or the train museum there.

That’s my plan for when I get a chance to head out that way.

But you made a good trade to be able to add a bit of MLB into the trip as well.
Baseball is a wonderful thing.
Harmony in the household is even better.

 

[Disney9.9.10]

Wow, what um... creative ways to move small vehicles lol It looks like the kids enjoyed their time at the aquarium and it is always nice to see a few familiar Disney faces

 

[afwdwfan]

Wow, seriously?! A little crazy.

I think DW might have been asleep when I saw the 4 wheeler. I woke her up and made her take a picture of it.

I"m hoping that DS will really enjoy The Seas at Epcot in October. I wanted to take him to the Monterey Bay Aquarium up in Northern California, but figured I may as well wait for WDW. Your kids looked like they enjoyed it though!

I'm sure he will. If he's anything like our kids, you won't be able to pry him away from watching the fish. Unless a big one comes right over to the glass and causes a freak out incident.

And yes, I speak from experience.

Reds fan huh? Well, any team is better than our team right now. I think we're the 5th worst team. How do you win a World Series one year, and then drop down to last the next?

Yeah, you know, the Reds. That team that only had to win 1 out of 3 games at home to eliminate the Giants in the first round last year.

Joining in! And, of course it's never too early to start planning!

I'm glad to see you back around the boards!

I like your idea of going in 2014 given the ages your kids will be then.

It seems like about the ideal time to us. Hopefully it works out as well as it looks on paper.

Speaking of IoA/US, we are going to spend a day at those in February before our cruise. I wanted a day at MK but both Ed & Reid voted for the dark side. They want to ride Transformers & Despicable Me. I do have to admit that I love the minions so I am excited about that ride.

I can understand that. It would be hard not to go to MK, but the Transformers ride sounds pretty awesome, so I think it is well worth it. Besides, if you only have a day, going to MK would almost be torture. If I spend one day there, I'd just want a few more days to visit the other parks too.

Really? People are so.... Errr... Interesting But I guess if they know how to tie it down right..... My favorite is going through states that have lenient inspection processes (or none at all) and seeing some of the interesting "add ons" so to speak....

Well, those straps on that 4 wheeler are probably rated at around 400 - 600 lbs. I'd say that one probably weighs somewhere around 500 - 600. It would be close...

And I get nervous about loading mine inside the bed of my truck since I can't put the tailgate up with it in there.

Your crush comment made me "LOL"

It just really felt like they were trying to piggyback Disney. We kept seeing clown fish in a lot of their smaller displays, but the big sea turtle in the big tank was the icing on the cake. I wish we could have gotten a shot of the turtle in the same picture as the sharks, because that thing was huge.

It works the same when they are 4 and 2 as well... It's somewhat baffling - I truly will never understand the laws of children. We rarely take our double anywhere now, both of my girls like to walk so usually our small umbrella style one is more than enough. I actually think it's time to Craigslist my double. I look forward to the days of not hauling around so much stuff!

DS doesn't ride too much anymore. We still haul the double around a lot though because DW will take it places with her sister and our nephew and DD will ride in it. I don't see us using it too much when the 4 of us are out anywhere until we go back to Disney World.

That is a great picture on many levels.

I can agree since I didn't take it.

These two…
Not so much

Oh, they're great. Just on a very different level.

You have been spoiled.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Much of what we’ve learned about raising young’ens has been counter intuitive.
This doesn’t surprise me at all.

Everyday is another surprise.

Duly noted.
Having seen The Ripley’s in MB, the SC Aquarium in Charleston and the National Aquarium in Baltimore (not to mention that little effort down at WDW) I suspect I’d end up with a similar conclusion.

I'd definitely say it was overall a bigger aquarium than Ripley's in Gatlingburg, but I have to say that I really like Ripley's shark tank better. It is more wide open and has more glass surface so it is easier to see them. At the Tennessee Aquarium, it is probably closer to a natural habitat setting, but there are all kinds of rocks and places for the fish to hide. Crush kept to the back corner behind some rocks and that picture we got was the best look we ever got at him.

That’s my plan for when I get a chance to head out that way.

But you made a good trade to be able to add a bit of MLB into the trip as well.
Baseball is a wonderful thing.
Harmony in the household is even better.

You actually sound kind of wise right here.

Wow, what um... creative ways to move small vehicles lol It looks like the kids enjoyed their time at the aquarium and it is always nice to see a few familiar Disney faces

Road trips wouldn't be nearly as much fun if it weren't for the opportunity to see sights like that.

The kids really did have a good time there. From that point of view I am glad we went. And yes, we definitely enjoyed finding Nemo and after we saw him in a few different tanks, DS kept looking for him as we went.

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

You actually sound kind of wise right here.

Yah… I’ll have to work on that.
We don’t want that kind of nonsense happening too often.

 

[wiigirl]

Following along.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Wait a minute.... you mean the December that this PTR is for??? Come on Cletus let them go!!!

Yup, that's the time frame. Originally we wanted to go just by ourselves, no kids. But with a baby who will still be nursing, that's not possible. I mentioned that we could still go with the baby, but Julie pointed out that we wouldn't be able to go on the big rides together. Unless I knew someone down there who could watch the baby...

At first glance, all the weeks looked ok to me, but I’m a big baseball fan and I always look for a chance to catch a game at an MLB park.

I do too, but I never seem to be able to work it out.

I’m not much of a beach person anyway (a couple of days and I’m over it)

My brother from another mother!

We did have some entertainment along the way in the form of “unorthodox ways to load things onto a vehicle.” I was really hoping this would set the tone of things we’d see over the course of the trip, but sadly, once we got through Kentucky and Tennessee, we didn’t see any more redneck ingenuity.

This could only have been improved if duct tape were involved somehow.

And Bruce… and another Bruce?

Fish are friends...not food.

And Crush!

Dude!

We were feeling the Disney effect by this point and thought we were in the Seas, but it was disappointing to find that their version of Turtle Talk sucks. He just ignores you and does his own thing. What’s up with that???

The Aquarium was nice. We’ve been to Ripley’s Aquarium in Gatlinburg before and part of what sold us on going here was that we like that aquarium and we were told how much better this one was. Well, it did have a few more types of displays and some fresh water fish, but I’m not sure it really lived up to the hype to me. Worth seeing if you’re in the area and looking for something to do, but if I had it to do over I think I would have fought harder to do Lookout Mountain or the train museum there.

I think we get spoiled with the Baltimore aquarium nearby. I hear Atlanta has a good one too. But yeah, I'd have pushed for Lookout Mountain. And guys like anything involving trains.

 

[KatMark]

Isn't it always the way with kids...the older one wants the stroller and the younger wants to walk.

The acquarium looks nice. It reminds me that we've not been to our own acquairum here in Chicago (the Shedd) in more years than I can count. We are planning on visiting the Miami Seaquarium in a couple of weeks though.

Your daughter's smile is just infectious...she is just darling (okay, your son is cute too, but she's just a doll).

I'm waiting for one of those John Deere things to appear in my son's backyard or on his front porch since he works for a subsdiary of John Deere.

 

[afwdwfan]

Following along.

Glad you stopped by!

Yup, that's the time frame. Originally we wanted to go just by ourselves, no kids. But with a baby who will still be nursing, that's not possible. I mentioned that we could still go with the baby, but Julie pointed out that we wouldn't be able to go on the big rides together. Unless I knew someone down there who could watch the baby...

Well, let's see... Cletus would be about 7 or 8 months. That's how old DD was last time and it worked well. Just sayin'

Oh and there's this thing called baby swap. So even if you don't get to ride together, the older kids would get some extra rides with short waits.

And I'd be more than happy to wait with Cletus so you and Julie can ride ToT. I'd even let you attempt to break Barry and Bambi's record.

I do too, but I never seem to be able to work it out.

It rarely does work. Believe me, I'm definitely not on track to see a game in all the MLB parks in my lifetime, but I'll always catch one when I can.

My brother from another mother!

Well, except for that whole ToT thing.

This could only have been improved if duct tape were involved somehow.

Never even thought of that, but you're right!!

Fish are friends...not food.

Let's just hope Bruce isn't watching Shark Week.

Dude!

That's what I said!!! I got some weird looks.

I think we get spoiled with the Baltimore aquarium nearby. I hear Atlanta has a good one too. But yeah, I'd have pushed for Lookout Mountain. And guys like anything involving trains.

Isn't it always the way with kids...the older one wants the stroller and the younger wants to walk.

I think they just like being difficult.

The acquarium looks nice. It reminds me that we've not been to our own acquairum here in Chicago (the Shedd) in more years than I can count. We are planning on visiting the Miami Seaquarium in a couple of weeks though.

I've never been to that one or the Newport Aquarium down by Cincinnati. It's kind of sad how you just never take the time to do some of the things that are closer to home.

Your daughter's smile is just infectious...she is just darling (okay, your son is cute too, but she's just a doll).

Thanks. Like I said, she's the princess and she pretty much runs the show. For obvious reasons.

I'm waiting for one of those John Deere things to appear in my son's backyard or on his front porch since he works for a subsdiary of John Deere.

Does he have a mini van to haul it home on??????

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

We did have some entertainment along the way in the form of “unorthodox ways to load things onto a vehicle.” I was really hoping this would set the tone of things we’d see over the course of the trip, but sadly, once we got through Kentucky and Tennessee, we didn’t see any more redneck ingenuity.

Reminds me of that Hyundai car commercial during the last Superbowl (http://youtu.be/SohqIBOb03k). Hope you had turbo on your car!

We were feeling the Disney effect by this point and thought we were in the Seas, but it was disappointing to find that their version of Turtle Talk sucks. He just ignores you and does his own thing. What’s up with that???

Hmmmm. It could be that this Tennessean turtle didn't understand the surfer dialect that Crush adheres to. Too many "dudes" and "totally"s.

 

[MEK]

Score on the redneck ingenuity. The last time I drove through Tennessee I had my camera ready and waiting for the same stuff. I didn't see anything nearly as creative as you did.

Nemo, Bruce, and Crush. How nice that you bumped into them in the aquarium.

Love a good road trip and the kids are adorable.

 

[SAT887]

Well, those straps on that 4 wheeler are probably rated at around 400 - 600 lbs. I'd say that one probably weighs somewhere around 500 - 600. It would be close...

And I get nervous about loading mine inside the bed of my truck since I can't put the tailgate up with it in there.

Those look like the straps we bought at HD for $15-$20.... I would have maybe gone a step or two up!!

 

[PhoenixStrength]

Those are some crazy people, strapping stuff like that on their vehicles!

 

[afwdwfan]

Reminds me of that Hyundai car commercial during the last Superbowl (http://youtu.be/SohqIBOb03k). Hope you had turbo on your car!

I certainly made sure I didn't pass him going around a right hand curve!

Hmmmm. It could be that this Tennessean turtle didn't understand the surfer dialect that Crush adheres to. Too many "dudes" and "totally"s.

Good point. I should have used a few more y'alls instead.

Score on the redneck ingenuity. The last time I drove through Tennessee I had my camera ready and waiting for the same stuff. I didn't see anything nearly as creative as you did.

Moments like that are what make a road trip fun.

Nemo, Bruce, and Crush. How nice that you bumped into them in the aquarium.

You can find a little bit of Disney anywhere you go. You know, if you're as obsessed as most Dis'ers are.

Love a good road trip and the kids are adorable.

Thank you!

Those look like the straps we bought at HD for $15-$20.... I would have maybe gone a step or two up!!

As long as the weight rating was enough, it should be fine. But yeah, for something like that I'd definitely want to make sure I had a strap about twice as big as I needed.

And I certainly hope they had it tightened down as tight as it could possibly go.

Those are some crazy people, strapping stuff like that on their vehicles!

I'm still trying to figure out how they got the 4 wheeler up there without scratching the crap out of the side of the bed with the ramps.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Well, let's see... Cletus would be about 7 or 8 months. That's how old DD was last time and it worked well. Just sayin'

Good to know!

Oh and there's this thing called baby swap. So even if you don't get to ride together, the older kids would get some extra rides with short waits.

Well, we weren't planning on bringing any kids originally. It was supposed to be just the two of us. So even if we use the baby swap, we'd ride by ourselves.

And I'd be more than happy to wait with Cletus so you and Julie can ride ToT. I'd even let you attempt to break Barry and Bambi's record.

Sounds great and everything, but we're really not maximizing the value of our tickets that way. There's so much more to see, and it would be a waste just to spend our time on one ride...

It rarely does work. Believe me, I'm definitely not on track to see a game in all the MLB parks in my lifetime, but I'll always catch one when I can.

The teams always seem to be out of town whenever we travel. And we're usually trying to incorporate certain dates (like our anniversary, etc.) so it makes for a less flexible schedule.

 

[khertz]

Fun stop in Chattanooga! That was one of the things we thought about doing, until we found the train museum to ride a real train and said forget about it, we HAVE to do that! Plus, the aquarium in New Orleans is pretty awesome, so we generally don't go out of our way for them when we are traveling. But I'm glad you had a good time there, even if Crush wasn't very conversational.

 

[afwdwfan]

Well, we weren't planning on bringing any kids originally. It was supposed to be just the two of us. So even if we use the baby swap, we'd ride by ourselves.

Yeah, that is a little less fun. I had to ride solo though when DW was pregnant and it does beat not riding at least.

Sounds great and everything, but we're really not maximizing the value of our tickets that way. There's so much more to see, and it would be a waste just to spend our time on one ride...

Whatever makes you happy, I guess.

Fun stop in Chattanooga! That was one of the things we thought about doing, until we found the train museum to ride a real train and said forget about it, we HAVE to do that! Plus, the aquarium in New Orleans is pretty awesome, so we generally don't go out of our way for them when we are traveling. But I'm glad you had a good time there, even if Crush wasn't very conversational.

I really thought the train thing looked like a lot of fun when I saw it in your TR, but it just didn't win out. I'd been considering Lookout Mountain. I've been there, but it has been a long time ago. When I saw your review of the train museum, I really wanted to do that, but once DW's cousin told her about the aquarium the decision was made.

 

[afwdwfan]

Beach Trip – Baseball Game

We took our time waking up and getting ready since we were only a couple of hours from Atlanta and didn’t need to leave until about 9 or 10. We stayed at a Holiday Inn Express so we took full advantage of the breakfast offerings. They didn’t have a full tray of cinnamon rolls out, so I couldn’t sneak one out of there, but I certainly did eat more than one.

We made it to Atlanta in plenty of time to park and walk to Turner Field. Once inside, I had a hard time finding my way around. It took me a little bit to figure out the orientation of the field (we entered at centerfield side and I assumed it was home plate side). In addition to that, they basically split even numbered sections on one side of the park and odd numbered sections on the other side.

Once I finally walked through an opening and could see the field, I figured out where we needed to go and headed that way. When I ordered tickets, I knew that we’d only need 3 since DD wouldn’t need one to get in. I have to say that I like the new online ticket system that MLB has now where you can look at individual sections see which seats are available and choose your specific seats. I found a small triangle shaped section along an angled wall right next to the Reds bullpen. The second row in that section was probably technically about 20 rows from the field, but it only had 3 seats. Perfect for corralling kids.

We had a great time. DS enjoyed the game and loved watching the pitchers when they warmed up in the bullpen. As for DD… well, she just wanted to climb up and down the stairs, which was actually ok where we were. It was only us and one other family in our section and they had probably about an 8 year old daughter who was having fun playing with DD. The usher in our section never said anything to us, but after a while, security came over and told us she couldn’t walk up and down the steps. Um… well, ok, maybe it is fire marshal rules, so whatever.

A few innings later there is action in the bullpen. DS was kneeling on my lap so he could see over the wall to watch. Not hanging over the railing at all, completely in my lap with his chin and hands on the railing above the wall. Same security guard came back. Told us he couldn’t sit like that. Now I’m ticked. I had a few words for him that time. But we sat like this the rest of the time.

JJ Hoover was the man in the bullpen and the next inning he was called into the game. As he left, he tossed the ball in our direction. I started to stand up and catch it, but I noticed it was just a little bit to my left and there was a boy from the other family standing there right on line with it. I just sat down and let him catch it because I didn’t want to be “that guy” that makes the highlights on Sports Center or something.

The kid immediately turned and handed the ball to DS. This kid was maybe 10 years old. When I was that age, if I caught a ball, there is no way I’m giving it up. DW had already been chatting with his mom and sister, but after he gave us the ball, we learned a little more about their family.

I thanked him and told him that was very nice of him. I offered to buy him a souvenir ball, but he said it was ok, he has a bunch at home and got one from JJ Hoover the night before too. Turns out, his mom was Jonathan Broxton’s aunt. She told us that they live in Savannah, but always come to Atlanta whenever the Reds are in town so that they can see him. She said otherwise, they don’t get to see him any from the time Spring Training starts until after the season ends. I didn’t ask for proof or anything, but Broxton was on the DL at the time and he did come out to sit in the bullpen after about the 7th inning and he waved at them when he sat down. So I’ll believe it.

Around the 8th inning, we got to see a Cincinnati fan favorite start getting loose.

He started off getting loose by tossing a softball against the bullpen wall.

Then it was time to bring the heat.

​

On a side-note, DS and I went to watch Chapman pitch in his MLB debut back in 2010. DS was about 8 months old at the time. The announcement was made that day that he’d be making his debut and the next thing I knew, I had plans to pick DS up and meet a few friends and my BiL (to be at the time) and go to the game. For that reason and many others, he’s one of our favorite Reds and part of why we wanted to be near the bullpen.

We weren’t sure we’d see him pitch though because the Reds bats came alive in the 9th to take away the potential save situation. They got another pitcher up and loose, but I guess since it was the last game before the All-Star break, Dusty wanted to give Chapman some work. The end result was an 8-4 win for the Reds and a split in the 4 game series. It was a great afternoon at the ballpark.

The way parking is set up in Atlanta, it looked like it would be a nightmare to get out. We took our time getting to the car, and it did take a while to get out and on the highway, but not quite as bad as I expected. We had a couple of hours driving to get us to Columbus, GA where we were staying for the night. We exited there and started discussing where we wanted to eat. DS spotted a Burger King with a huge play area, so we decided it would be a great idea to let the kids burn off some energy.

Afterwards, we headed across the street to our hotel, swam for a while and went to bed. Tomorrow, we’d be swimming in the Gulf of Mexico.