How I Spent a week in Florida w/o getting a tan!!!

[ShhhQ]

Ok... that is stretching it a bit.... The whole trip was a week, WDW was 3 days, but I still came home without a tan....

We decided to drive to Florida vs flying (if we return we will fly)
For those who may not have read my pre-trip report, here is a list of the cast and characters of this trip....
ME (Michelle, celebrating 36th BDay at Disney)
Mom (Sharon, 61, w/ heart and mobility problems)
and the uninvited guest....
(won't name names and how she ended up riding with us is a long story not even worth this trip report)

Fortunately she was only riding with us and was not heading to WDW!

DAY 1....
Sun. Aug. 26th
I work 3rd shift - so at 7am I am released from the prison I call work, unfortunately on a down note, because someone I thought was a work-friend .. instead of saying something like everyone else did "Have a great trip", "I'm Jealous!", "Have Fun"or even the popular "Drive Carefully"... in response to my telling her I was gonna be gone for week said.... "Should I CARE?"..... boy was she in a pissy mood or what? She has been down-graded in my mind now from a work-friend to a co-worker... which apparently was all I was to her anyway! But I decided I had more important things to do than dwell on that!!!!!
I still had to print out my travel map... print out my itenerary... double check to make sure didn't forget to pack anything... fill up the car... go to Church... eat lunch... and get some sleep.... oh and check in on the DIS!!!!
I woke up at around 10:00pm... we decided to begin the trip at midnight. I have a nervous stomach and the excitement of the trip (and the stress) got it to start acting up... so I asked my Mom for some of her stomach medicine. I usually only take 1, but didn't want to have problems so I took 2.
We started loading the car (Mom was under a 5lb weight restraint so I did all the lifting, while she did the organizing)... I had a borrowed electric cooler that I was having difficulty trying to get to work... so I was getting frustrated. My brother (who was house-sitting and not going, so not helping load) came out and got it working.... making me look foolish in the process of course. So by now, I am frustrated, embarrassed and about ready to call the whole thing off!!! This was my dream trip, and nothing seemed to go right and we hadn't even pulled out of the drive! To top that off... I was loading one of the last suitcases and pulled my hand back and immediately felt a sting on the knuckle of my middle finger of my left hand... I ran inside and ran cold water on it. No cut.. no stinger hole... just a red mark! I still don't know how it really happened, but my guess is that I must have hit a hot light and burned it! Somehow, that calmed me down from the earlier problems...
Of course, we still had to deal with our tag-along... I told her we would call when we were ready to leave the house, but she still had to call anyway, cause she thought we forgot her! OH HOW I WISH WE HAD!!

END OF DAY 1

Next up.. day 2 and the begining of the drive!

 

[ShhhQ]

DAY 2
Monday August 27th

12:30am... we are fully loaded, including our obnoxious ride along..... and heading south! I am the sole driver on the trip (Mom is unable to drive long distances and we told the other lady that the insurance wouldn't cover her driving.... we have no idea if that is true or not, but I have seen how she drives in town and am not gonna trust her on the highway!!!!) Fortunately, I am the only one that got sleep that afternoon so everyone else was pretty quiet and sleeping for some time. Unfortunately, an hour or so into the trip, my eyes start getting heavy and its getting hard to focus. I stop at a gas station and we all use the potty and I buy a frozen coke to help me stay awake. It helps.... for about 20 minutes!!! I am getting so sleepy, that I have to pull off! I spot our first rest area and pull over and sleep for another 20 min. We are making HORRIBLE TIME HERE!!! We aren't even 200 miles from home and I can't stay awake! That little nap helped but not much, yet again. The road started to blur and I was seeing double!!! At least there weren't many cars on the road, I probably looked drunk! I so desperately wanted to get through Nashville before the morning rush started, but I knew I wan't gonna make it at all if I didn't get more sleep.... so the next exit I pull up to a hotel and park by a wall (our doors were constantly locked) and slept for an hour or so.... when I woke up was much better!
BUT!!! We were still in INDIANA at 4am!
To make up time, don't stop for anything until we have to.... but we have 3 ladies... 2 of which are on water pills and the other one has been drinking a lot of pop to stay alert while driving... so it doesn't take long till a potty break becomes necessary. When we do stop, we realize that somehow we now are in Kentucky... never saw the state line!
Now everyone is awake... the sun is starting to come up... and Mom wants coffee! We keep an eye out for McDonald's... the first one we spot I pull off and make my way to the golden arches.. the drive-thru is boarded up!!!!! AND in the window is a sign that says opening soon! Sheeeesh!!!! Why did they advertise on the interstate when they weren't open yet!!!!! But at the next exit.... McD's was up and running and we got our breakfast to go!
Of course, with our delays we hit Nashville right at rush hour! AND we needed to make our first gas stop!

Next installment.... the drive part 2

 

[ShhhQ]

Beginning to wonder if this is too boring for anyone else.... but I will continue writing even if I am the only one reading it!!!!

The rest of the day wasn't as eventful, just a lot of talk from the annoying person in the backseat.... who seemed to think my Mother was her MAMA... even though she was the oldest person in the vehicle, but one important thing did happen!

We got Georgia around lunch time and we stopped at the Welcome Center.. we asked if there were any Cracker Barrels coming up and she gave us a list of exits with them... that was very nice of her... but she did give us a word of warning that we wanted to be through Atlanta before 3pm... it was about 1:45 from that point and if we stopped to eat we would be getting to Atlanta at exactly the wrong time... so we waited till after to stop and eat.

My Mom also has a nervous stomach and after she ate she ended up needing to stop for the bathroom... she took her stomach meds... went back to the bathroom and when she returned she took some more... I questioned her about this... well..... Apparently she had grabbed the wrong bottle of pills and had accidently took her tranquilizers instead of stomach meds.... I asked to see her bottle... and that is when I finally understood! I had been soooooooo sleepy that morning and the road started to double up on me because she had made the same mistake earlier when she gave me the bottle of pills! Instead of stomach meds, I too had taken tranquilizers.... and not just one, I doubled up on em! No wonder I couldn't see straight!

After that it was just a few more hours till we reached the hotel (aka dump) that we had made reservations for online to stop at. We stopped at a local sub place and got some sandwiches for supper... after finishing mine I promptly passed out!


END DAY 2

 

[Simba22]

I'm reading!! don't worry, I never get a tan in Florida either! The sun just reflects off of my pasty whiteness! lol!!

I can't believe you took tranquilizers! It is hard enough to drive a long way at night by yourself when everyone else is sleeping...adding sleeping aids to that just makes it worse! At least you figured it out though so it didn't happen again!

Can't wait for more!

 

[carrie1626]

please continue.......................

 

[ShhhQ]

Thanks for joining me.... now I don't feel like I am talking to myself!

 

[ShhhQ]

DAY 3
Arrival Day

Not gonna talk to much more about the drive there.... We left in the hotel in the morning (when we finally got our "Guest" to quit telling the hotel owner all of our business... from where we are going to the fact that I am unmarried!) No real events, just nuisances from her.... at one point I did get so flustered at her yelling at me cause I slammed my brakes on that I yelled back "DON'T YELL AT ME!".... As we neared LakeLand, Fl... she pulls out her cell phone and asks her sister for directions to get there (which I already had sitting in front of me) of course her sister tells her the exact same thing that I was already going to do! She did however get me so upset that I turned one street too soon, but figured it out on my own. We were never soooo happy as when we pulled out of her Sister's driveway with only US in the car!

Less than an hour later, we were pulling off the highway at our exit! My map showed me exactly which way to go... but ummm I got sooo excited, I messed up! Ya see, I am left-handed and have made this mistake a couple of times before because of it..... Yeah... we saw the sign that said POP CENTURY next Right.... well I hurriedly crossed from one side of the road to the other so as not to miss our turn.... well umm as soon as I turned, Mom said why did you turn LEFT? I had been prepared to turn right was in the proper lane to do so and when I saw that sign, my mind just told me I was in the wrong lane..... but we got turned around and headed in the right direction. I loved the sign that read "ARE WE THERE YET!?"

We pull in show ID and the guard points us to the main building.... Not really knowing what to expect, we park and head inside.... unfortunately it was too much of a walk for Mom so she just stopped and sat on a bench while I checked in (I knew we should have sprung to get her a scooter for the day we arrived, as you will see shortly)... I get up to the desk and my worst fear has been realized... no my reservation was good, but because we had asked for an accessible bathroom.... Mom and I would have to ummmm share a bed!!!
That goes smoothly, we are in the 50s building #1... so really close to the main building... I ask about a complementary wheelchair and they call to find out if one is available at the luggage assistance counter (a place I will visit MANNNY MANY times during our stay) sure enough they point me to the correct place and I go out and pick it up (they forgot to make me sign for it). I bring it back to Mom and take her to the car, then pull the car up to our building. I wheeled her up to our room.... 1370. We had a poolside view even though when you opened our door all ya saw was the back of what appeared from our vantage point was the waist of a naked lady (from the front you can see she is just pink, but from the back she looks naked). I then go to try and unload the car.... first I pull the car up to luggage unloading area and after seeing everything to go in I decided I needed assitence so I went back to luggage assistance and got a hand cart to push... On my way, I wish I had my camera on me cause I would have gotten some great shots... mainly some wildlife! On the path that leads from the 50s parklot to the luggage area a rabbit hopped across the path and just sat there, like it wasn't afraid or anything... as I was returning with the cart on the same path, I saw a little tiny black snake.... at first I thought it was a worm but it opened its mouth and appeared to be hissing at me as it wriggled away..... then just a little further down the path I spotted a small lizard (which I would see several times during this process).... I load up the cart with almost everything I need and take it up to the room, since there are only a couple items left in the car I figured I would park and then grab them before going back up... however when I get upstairs, Mom is wondering where in the world her oxygen is... it was supposed to be delivered to our room... I tell her I will check when I return the hand cart... and so I did! no time to rest for me! I put a cool rag on the back of my neck, but I still had work to do! They did get a delivery of her o2 but I had to take it up! Consisting of this big pump machine, 3 small tanks and 2 large tanks! All loaded up on yet another hand cart, with a large piece of cardboard under them to keep em from falling out. So, I had another cart to push up, a couple of items from the car to take up, and a car to park.... I combined it all into one trip... I took the o2 cart to the curb and added everything from the car that needed to go... while carefully keeping an eye on my stuff I parked the car. Then I took it all upstairs.... then took the cart back downstairs....Thank God for working elevators! I get back to the room and collapse on the bed! I would have liked to stay and rest, or take a shower, or even go for a swim...... but we had reservations at Cap'n Jacks and I WANTED MY LOBSTER!!! So we got cleaned up, got a few things gathered together and went for our very first BUS RIDE!!!

Next up.... Our Night at DownTown Disney!

 

[dismom9761]

I made it over!! Glad you arrived at POP safely after the mix up with the meds.Looking forward to reading more!

 

[pamouselover]

Hi,
I tried to click on your link the other day from the dismeet thread, and it was not working. I thought I sent you a PM about it, maybe I meant too.
I will be reading!
Wondering what dump you stayed in?

 

[ShhhQ]

Hi,
I tried to click on your link the other day from the dismeet thread, and it was not working. I thought I sent you a PM about it, maybe I meant too.
I will be reading!
Wondering what dump you stayed in?

We stayed at the Knight's Inn at Lenox, GA.... It wasn't like horrible or anything and served the purpose of a place to lay our weary heads for the night... but I refused to take a shower there, it looked nasty and Mom said she saw a bug in the tub. Also there idea of a "continental breakfast" was free coffee and powdered dougnettes (that I never even got to see)....
Also I realized last night that the link wasn't working so I got it fixed!

Gotta get a nap in before work tonight, but will tell more tommorrow..

 

[Simba22]

Yay for First Disney Bus Rides! I SOOOO know what it is like to go on a long trip with someone you don't want along in the first place, and then insists on making the whole trip crummy! Glad you booted her out and got on with the fun part of your trip!

PS - You should have asked for a CM to help you bring some stuff up! They would have wanted a tip but maybe it would have been worth it?? And then also if you called the front desk from your room to check for your moms oxygen, they may have brought it up for you rather than making you lug it up there all by your onesie! Glad everything arrived on time though!

And we are bunny owners and LOVE watching the wild Disney bunnies! There was a pair of them that hung around outside our room for the whole week when we were there in December...it was the cutest thing...like they knew we were "bunny people"

 

[ShhhQ]

Downtown Disney!

Before we headed out to catch the bus we decided to stow Mom's valuables in the room safe.... not much just her checkbook and stuff she wouldn't need.... I hid the key.... so good that I forgot where I put it. I grabbed the camera, room keys, lanyards and wheeled her down to the bus stop.

We waited probably 10 min before the bus came... and I was beginning to wonder if we would make it on time to our Ressie. When lo and behold the bus arrives.. because of the wheelchair we are the first to get on and as he is straping her in we tell him that it is our first bus trip.. He asks where we are going, when I tell him we have dinner res. at Cap'n Jacks, he says that would be the second stop. Well not really knowing ourselves, we trusted what the driver had to say... well he drives the bus he should know where he was going! However, when we get off the bus... 5 min before our res. time, I looked at the map and it appeared to be way off to the other side to the right. We started to head that way complaining that we were let off on the wrong side.... Next thing we know, the bus driver is chasing us down (on foot) and insisting we are going the wrong way! He insists that Cap'n Jacks is to the left and around the corner.... even though I am now sure he is wrong and very frustrated, I follow his instructions.... and to what do my wandering eyes should appear? Not Cap'n Jacks thats for sure! I did however see Planet Hollywood (I think the driver was confused with that). We stop at the information desk (now is when we were supposed to be there for the ADR), and get instructions... we need to go through Pleasure Island and all the way to the other end!!!!! If we had got off at the first stop, we would have been close to our destination..... however I ended up pushing her wheelchair uphill, keeping if from rolling downhill too fast...and generally panting to get to the restaurant as soon as possible before they gave our table away!!!! The crowds were terrible, everyone seemed to walk out in front of us and stop!!! I couldn't help myself, I got upset..... I wanted to have a pleasant non-complaining time but couldn't do that! We finally got there about a half-hour late and fortunately still got our table!
We both had the twin lobster tails, substituting the rice for potatoes.... I had a shrimp cocktail, while Mom ate a salad! It was my first time eating lobster, and I LIKED IT!!!! The potatoes were ok, but couldn't eat much of em or the green beans... for the dessert, I got brave and decided to try Key Lime Pie and Mom went with the chocolate cake. I took one bite of the pie and my eyes crossed!!! Live and learn... now I know, I don't like Key Lime Pie! I took a bite of her cake but found it too rich for my taste.... but it was a good meal anyway.
I didn't even think to get my camera out yet so no pics until we were done eating and exploring DD....

Next up pics of Downtown Disney!

 

[cherylp3]

What was that driver thinking??

Sorry you had to push the wheelchair that far.

 

[dismom9761]

Yikes uphill wheelchair pushing! Glad you enjoyed trying new things,even if you didn't like them all.

 

[pamouselover]

Hi,
I am glad you made it. It really is a plan in it self to use the buses to get around,we learned that the first time staying on site.
Glad you liked Capt. Jacks, we did too. I like Key Lime pie, but want with something else. That was our last dinner in WDW on the ddp.
Been one week since we left!

 

[ShhhQ]

That was just our first bus ride and I began dreading them! We didn't have many good bus rides.... but that is getting ahead of myself.
This was all new for us.... we went to MK years 30 years ago, but it wasn't the same as now and the rest wasn't there yet. So onsite hotels, buses and the like were something we had never had experience with! So we were naive about calling the front desk for help or trusting bus drivers.... that sort of thing.

 

[mousescrapper]

Hi ShhQ,

Just found your TR from another thread and wanted to drop in and take a read. DH needs to use the computer so I'm being bumped for the night, I'll come back tomorow!

till then
Mousescrapper

 

[ShhhQ]

After we ate, we looked around Downtown Disney for a little bit....
here is some of the things we saw...

We saw this outside the RainForest Cafe

We went in a shop and I snapped a few pictures of some merchandise that I thought was great (but way out of budget )

At the end of the store, there was a large Mickey holding a giant pair of scissors I had Mom pose in front of it and she looked at it and was saying... "It looks like he's gonna cut my head off" when I snapped this picture and it shows on her face!!!

We basically left after this, I was exhausted and we were ready to get back to the room. We found the RIGHT bus stop and thanks to some friendly folks that were boarding the bus, that told the bus driver that there was a wheelchair wanting to board, we didn't have to wait for the next bus. Fortunately, it wasn't the same driver as earlier, cause I might have said something I didn't want to say....lol.... as a matter of fact I don't think we had the same bus driver twice during our entire stay.

After we got back to our room, I finished up decorating our window and door.

Next up... Day 4 Vacation... but Day 1 in parks!

 

[mkluvsmickey]

We stayed at the Knight's Inn at Lenox, GA.... It wasn't like horrible or anything and served the purpose of a place to lay our weary heads for the night... but I refused to take a shower there, it looked nasty and Mom said she saw a bug in the tub. Also there idea of a "continental breakfast" was free coffee and powdered dougnettes (that I never even got to see)....
Also I realized last night that the link wasn't working so I got it fixed!

Gotta get a nap in before work tonight, but will tell more tommorrow..

I had to laugh at this. My DH, DD and I stayed at this exact hotel/motel in 2001 on a trip from Florida to Georgia. Not by choice! We were planning to stop in Valdosta but there wasn't a room to be found. We tried every stop in between Valdosta and Lenox and ended up here at 2 a.m. We were happy to have a room but this place was so disgusting! Our room had spots allover the floor and everthing in the bathroom was sticky. We laugh now every time we go by the exit.

Enjoying your trip report and looking forward to more!

 

[pamouselover]

I saw them items too. My DD and I loved the art work, but not the prices. I did get a post card!