I LOVE Comedians with Guitars......You didn't tell me that part...

[Flossbolna]

Great start to your TR! I just hope you are still friends with your friend after the trip... There are some danger signs on the horizon it seems. I once traveled with a friend who suddenly had become extremely religious and then during the trip ended up sitting on her bed in our hotel room every afternoon for hours reading a few lines in her religious book, staring in the air for a long times, taking a few notes and then begin with reading a few lines again...

 

[Sparrow78]

great photo's! Can't wait to read more about your trip!

 

[Timon]

That is so great that Claire has two grandmas that are willing to take care of her! Moms really do need some "me" time

I also have RLS and thankfully it has only acted up once on a plane and it was soooooo horrible!!! I make sure I have some Lorazepam or Flexeril just in case now when I fly

I hear you about being a DCL addict!!! It only took one cruise for us to become full fledged Disney Cruise addicts

 

[nenner1]

I'm here! I can't wait to see if we had any parallels while we were on two different Disney ships (not) passing in the night! LOL!

Love the frames on your pics- wish I had time to post-produce mine but I just have way too many! Do you have a program that does that or do you do each one individually?

Pics from the airplane are awesome...love those views. It's been a while since we've flown but I don't remember seeing anything that good!

 

[jenseib]

Great TR so far! Looking forward to more.

Thanks for joining in!!!

Southwest is actually my airline of choice, they don't 'fee' you death and they are almost always on time or ahead of schedule. I can put up with the crazy boarding system for that. I actually find it quite amusing to watch people get all bent out of shape while lining up

Not a fan of Houston however, I HATE driving there, the interstate system is a mess and people drive crazy!

Yep...Spirit fee's you to death...and Allegiant did some what, but they just added the pay for carry on thing...I am so mad about that. I enjoyed SW...and will be flying them again in Nov.

We will be on this cruise November 10th so I will be along for the ride.

Corinna

Welcome. I'll try to get up as much as I can before I set sail again. I almost had a panic attack today thinking about what I still have to get ready for the next trip.

Great start to your TR! I just hope you are still friends with your friend after the trip... There are some danger signs on the horizon it seems. I once traveled with a friend who suddenly had become extremely religious and then during the trip ended up sitting on her bed in our hotel room every afternoon for hours reading a few lines in her religious book, staring in the air for a long times, taking a few notes and then begin with reading a few lines again...

Things went fine. She's not religious, per se, but more trying to live a good life and she did not push anything on me at all...if anything...I might've been the BAD influence. She is a former smoker and I still do smoke..yep, I know it's bad and I have cut down...just haven't done that quiting thing again yet. I actually told her to hold a cigarette at one time so I could get something and I could see the want in her eyes. I quickly took it right back out of her hands. I sure don't need to get her started back on that. I quit for 3 years and am so mad at myself for restarting.

great photo's! Can't wait to read more about your trip!

Thanks!! Welcome

That is so great that Claire has two grandmas that are willing to take care of her! Moms really do need some "me" time

I also have RLS and thankfully it has only acted up once on a plane and it was soooooo horrible!!! I make sure I have some Lorazepam or Flexeril just in case now when I fly

I hear you about being a DCL addict!!! It only took one cruise for us to become full fledged Disney Cruise addicts

My Mom was happy to help..MIL was too, but she can be iffy at times and I almost think she was hoping I would cancel...I guess a jealousy thing.

I had RSL when I was a kid...my Mom told me it was growing pains...I'm sure I have stopped growing. Well in height at least.
It's very annoying..and then I feel anxiety. UGH...

I'm here! I can't wait to see if we had any parallels while we were on two different Disney ships (not) passing in the night! LOL!

Love the frames on your pics- wish I had time to post-produce mine but I just have way too many! Do you have a program that does that or do you do each one individually?

Pics from the airplane are awesome...love those views. It's been a while since we've flown but I don't remember seeing anything that good!

I was hoping (not knowing where the Fantasy was that week then) that we would see her out at sea at one point in time, but we didn't. I would've loved a horn battle.

i do each picture separately. I have tried programs and it just doesn't work with me well. Thats one of the reasons it takes me forever to finish up my TRs.

 

[Wicket's Mom]

I love the color in your hair, wish I could do that. My color fades out so fast, I didn't think of the well water doing anything.

Your aunt has such a beautiful home, I guess when one marries a rich man there are lots of perks! I would rather have a house in Florida instead of Canada!

I like Southwest because of the bags being included. We usually fly Airtran, but they will soon be Southwest. I've never experienced the line cutters when we flew on Southwest, all seemed to honor their boarding assignment.

I hate when airlines charge for carryons, I mean who takes a trip & doesn't need any sort of luggage. Do they think we're going to wash our clothes every night?

I need to get my photos on Photobucket & I've been so busy lately. I need ot get my TR started very soon!

 

[jenseib]

I love the color in your hair, wish I could do that. My color fades out so fast, I didn't think of the well water doing anything.

Your aunt has such a beautiful home, I guess when one marries a rich man there are lots of perks! I would rather have a house in Florida instead of Canada!

I like Southwest because of the bags being included. We usually fly Airtran, but they will soon be Southwest. I've never experienced the line cutters when we flew on Southwest, all seemed to honor their boarding assignment.

I hate when airlines charge for carryons, I mean who takes a trip & doesn't need any sort of luggage. Do they think we're going to wash our clothes every night?

I need to get my photos on Photobucket & I've been so busy lately. I need ot get my TR started very soon!

I know about being busy....I didn't do as much as I should've today...but i got a lot of extras thrown in the mix...so I did do alot, just not all I had planned to do.
And I am ready for bed now. It feels like 11, but it's only almost 9.

 

[Nermel9]

I'm here! I didn't know you started this or I would have been here earlier! Great start! Your aunt's house is really pretty, love the pictures!

That's weird that people didn't line up according to number for SW...it seems like whenever we fly, most people are lined up in order! I would be really annoyed if I saw someone in front of me who was supposed to be behind me. I always get Early Bird check in, so yeah, I'd be aggravated!

Can't wait to read more!

 

[jenseib]

I'm here! I didn't know you started this or I would have been here earlier! Great start! Your aunt's house is really pretty, love the pictures!

That's weird that people didn't line up according to number for SW...it seems like whenever we fly, most people are lined up in order! I would be really annoyed if I saw someone in front of me who was supposed to be behind me. I always get Early Bird check in, so yeah, I'd be aggravated!

Can't wait to read more!

Welcome. I am so behind on subscribed threads...I haven't made it over to yours yet since I've been back. Slowly but surely working my way through them.

I went with the flow, but I wish it had more organization and people were more honest.

 

[jenseib]

Originally we had made reservations to take the Disney transportation to the port the next day. The only down side was we were to shuttle back and forth to the Marriott. It’s not the worst thing, but we would be schlepping suitcases all over then.
Carolyn pointed me to Enterprise one evening and told me there was a very cheap rate and I should jump on it, so I did. It was slightly less than our Disney transfers, but not much. But the freedom of a car is really nice. Then we found out that we could park at the port for free. If you are driving there , check out their website. They had a list of ways to get parking free, which included things like different jobs and I think Military too. This made the car really worth it then, as we didn’t have the added expense of port parking.

Once I left Lisa on a bench with the luggage, I made my way to the Enterprise counter, which was basically about 15 steps from the baggage claim carousel. I only had 1 person in front of me.
At my turn, I handed my paperwork with the reservation number. The guy typed away and then tried my name as well. He didn’t say much, but I could tell he couldn’t find it. So I asked, and he finally said it appears this reservation has been used already…..What? Not sure what happened…and still don’t, but I do know we JUST got there.
He said he would try to price match it and came up with a price $4 more…and my reply is, why can’t I have it for the price I booked it at….so he typed some more and actually got it 10 cents less than what I booked it at. OK, I can live with that.
He told me to head over on the shuttle to the car claim area and they had my paper work printed out there.
So we hauled the bags out and a shuttle had just pulled up. The lady helped us load them and she was really nice. She loved my hair and kept asking about it. In the mean time I heard the “beep”. Those who have Nextel know the beep and you frantically look for your phone when you hear it. It becomes part of your nature to do so. It’s a direct connect beep. I pulled my phone out thinking Skip was calling once again…he had beeped me several times that day already at each airport…and nope, he hadn’t called in several hours now. I hear it again and realized the shuttle drivers used Nextel as well and it was her phone beeping. If you have Nextel…you know what I mean…it’s just so weird hearing the beep and not having it for you. LOL.
We only had one other lady on the shuttle and she talked with us as we drove along. She asked where we were going and told us to leave early as traffic could be bad, etc. She had no bags, which we found odd.
Once we got to Enterprise …a very short drive…we got in line, while Lisa sat with the suitcases once again. The lady then told me that she always rents a car when she goes to football games. I have no clue what that meant, but I smiled in response and figured she was local and rented a car for far away games…or something…who knows. LOL.

We got our vehicle and it was small, but manageable. I believe it was a Dodge Caliber. It had a hatch back and the guy had no clue how to load luggage in it. Seriously…he should be a pro at this; I had to rearrange it to make it fit. He slammed the hatchback down and it seemed like it just barely shut.
He had me sign paperwork and of course tried to sell me insurance, etc. I am always so leery on what they will charge me, and I doubled checked when I got home to be sure I wasn’t charged more than I signed for.
I go in, adjust controls and took off. Lisa said this was a car she had looked at and it would be nice to see if she liked it. The car was fine, but not much room in the trunk, and by the end of the trip she was glad she went with the car she had gotten.

As we take off I hear a little beep. About a mile down the road I realize the dash says gate. I tell Lisa that I think the hatch isn’t latched properly., but I think we should be fine. She on the other hand didn’t. Her bag was the one that would fall out if the hatch opened….Like I said…..”I” am fine…just not her. LOL! We were on a very bumpy road too, so we pulled off in the 1st parking lot we found and rearranged the luggage and got it shut properly.

The Marriott was easy to find and not far at all. But it was on a one way street, not a major problem, and I had maps, but it’s something to remember if you ever go there.
WE pulled in and I ran in to check us in. The lobby was beautiful, check in was easy and we had a room key in just mere minutes.

One thing to keep in mind is that this area is not nice. Nothing was pretty on the outside as we drove. I was told ahead of time that this area was not good and to not hang outside at night for the most part.
I guess in years past this hotel had experienced crime, but they now had a security gate to go through that took a picture of each coming and going car and the crime has gone way down since then.
We parked near a lamp post and made 2 trips to carry our bags up. The room was nice as well.

I believe on the 2nd trip down, I stopped outside the doors and beeped Skip…and I had to be a bit sarcastic and greeted him by saying “Houston, we have a problem”…..I mean how could I resist. I love being corny that way. And if Skip had thought of it first, he would’ve said it.

I took pictures of the room before we messed it up too much.

We kind of lazed around and decided that we really needed a snack. We were going to pick Brook up from the airport later and go eat, but that was several hours away yet. So we headed down to the lobby and of course I took pictures there as well.

And we headed into this bar and grill to see if we could find an appetizer to share.

We each ordered a soft drink and chicken Quesadillas to share. The bar tender guy was very nice and we talked to him a bit and then chatted between us some more.

It did seem to take a long time for the food to come and at one point someone came out and asked us what we ordered. Not sure if it was forgotten or what, but minutes after that the food came.

It wasn’t very big, but good and filling. It hit the spot that needed filled. After we ate and paid, we headed out to take some more pictures.

This is where they serve breakfast, but it’s not free. I think I read it was $15 a person, which I thought was kind of high. We did not eat here the next day. We wanted something lighter.

We didn’t get too far and 2 guys walked by us and stopped to talk…I know it’s because we are two hot and sexy women…why else would it be….right?....OK, it was my camera. The guy asked about my camera, etc. and then offered to take our picture. He said he was really into photography. But the pictures were blurry, so he needs some work. LOL

We chatted some more and he asked if we were there for the Chess tournament. I almost laughed in his face. Not that there is anything wrong with chess, but I do associate it more with geeky, techy type people, and I am pretty sure we don’t look like chess players. We finally said goodbye, though I think he wanted us to go in the bar and have a drink with him and his buddy, and off to take more pictures.

 

[Ajojo]

Loving the trip report so far....

One question. The Marriott. Were you staying in the area around Hobby airport? This is not a good area of Houston.

 

[jenseib]

Loving the trip report so far....

One question. The Marriott. Were you staying in the area around Hobby airport? This is not a good area of Houston.

Yes, just a few minutes from the airport. It's called the Marriott Hobby south. There are tons of hotels in this area, but the area itself is not the best part of town. I was told this prior to booking by several people, but this hotel was highly recommended to me, so I booked it and price wise, it was on par with every other one I looked up.

 

[jenseib]

I thought I would share a video I found online. It shows the Magic coming into port the morning I sailed her. I think she came in just after 8 AM.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTuDWg85Opw

Look how she turns around. It's amazing. She did that when we came into port as well, but we did it right next to the dock. I was amazed this could be down with so little space. I watched a Carnival ship do it as well, and though there is plenty of space to turn, it still is not that much for a ship that size. AMAZING!!!

 

[MEK]

Sounds like a long travel day with a long drive and two flights, but you guys still look so happy in the last pic taken by the amateur photographer.

That's funny that SWA was such chaos. I have actually found it pretty well controlled in Philadelphia and Baltimore and thought the new numbering system helped to keep the chaos under control.

Your room looks lovely. Free parking for TA's. That's awesome!

Great pictures, as always.

 

[BellaBaby]

We always fly Southwest from Denver since its more affordable with 5 people. Usually to MCO or TPA, sometimes Midway Chicago. I always pay the extra for EBCI since we have 3 kids and we've lucked out with being near the front, so maybe that's why, but we've never had a problem with people not being in their correct boarding position near us at those airports.

Looking forward to hearing more about your trip. Great start so far!!

 

[jenseib]

Sounds like a long travel day with a long drive and two flights, but you guys still look so happy in the last pic taken by the amateur photographer.

That's funny that SWA was such chaos. I have actually found it pretty well controlled in Philadelphia and Baltimore and thought the new numbering system helped to keep the chaos under control.

Your room looks lovely. Free parking for TA's. That's awesome!

Great pictures, as always.

It was a long day...but we were on a high too. It's always fun going...coming home...not so much.

We always fly Southwest from Denver since its more affordable with 5 people. Usually to MCO or TPA, sometimes Midway Chicago. I always pay the extra for EBCI since we have 3 kids and we've lucked out with being near the front, so maybe that's why, but we've never had a problem with people not being in their correct boarding position near us at those airports.

Looking forward to hearing more about your trip. Great start so far!!

I do think for the most part people were somewhat in their sections, but not all. I do know at least that it was all A boarders and not B's trying to get in. As long as we got seats together, I was OK.

 

[jenseib]

After leaving our 2 new friends, we walked around the hotel lobby and I shot some pictures.

This was the little hallway that was on the side of the hotel and led to where we had parked.

We decided to take an outdoor tour.

I then realized that Texas has Palm trees. I guess I never realized that they would and I was excited.

It was very pretty around the sides and front of the Marriott .........but then we came to the backside. It was a little bit scary. This alley didnt look so pretty or inviting. We debated turning around ........but we had seen video monitor cameras ALL over the parking lot and could spot them in the alley, so we proceeded on.

As soon as we started walking we saw a guy fishing through a dumpster. I have no clue if he worked there or what, but I did see him a couple more times that night. We walked quickly by him and he never looked up, and I just stayed clear of him when I saw him other times.
As we came to the end of the spooky alley .....and I will NEVER do that again ......we saw a police car right around the corner. We laughed to ourselves about worrying about being safe, and then there was a police car right at the end.
WELL .... ....there was a reason he was there. There was a car parked in the last spot against the building and in fact it had a special parking place with a plaque that said employee of the year on it. 2 employees were talking to the police man, one being our bartender friend. We kept walking, but I came back later and took a picture of what we saw.

And this is it.

Yep, its a car with no tires on it at ALL! ........And was sitting on 2 bricks. Oh my word. We did talk to our bartender friend as he started walking to the building as we were. We asked what happened, and he wasnt sure, but it had to happen sometime today. I told him we were shocked that someone could get away with this with all the video cameras around and the security gate. He told us yes, they had several cameras and it was likely the person would be caught and he too was amazed.

We headed back inside. The gym and pool door was right near where we entered in the side parking lot so we slipped in there for pictures..........you didnt actually think I was gonna work out did you?

While in there I got that childhood memory feeling of being on vacation. You probably know what I mean .......you enter a hotel with a pool and it has that small hint of chlorine in the air. Every time I smell that I feel like a kid again and that excitement of being at a hotel with a pool. That was major excitement as a kid. As an adult, I dont swim much, and when I do, its more of a stand and talk in the pool thing. But still I love that feeling of knowing we are on vacation.

I got a couple of shots of the pool.

It had a little enclosed outdoor area off of it too. It was nice looking. There were a few people out there and they had 2 boys at the pool. I really tried to avoid getting the boys in my pictures, because one had major plumbers butt going. LOL. I swear he kept moving into my frame as I took the picture each time.

After our little tour we headed back towards the room.

 

[jenseib]

I just read through my post and for some reason Dis is adding &'s into the post randomly. I tried to get them out...but if you see any I missed or if it decides to add them in again, I am sorry. I am not doing it. Dis is.

 

[jenseib]

We found out that 1 elevator of the 2 was not working so we ventured up the stairs. Well that totally sucks. We were on the 5th floor. I think we went up the first 2 floors and took the elevator up the rest of the way.

This ballroom is where was saw the chess players going to.

We headed back to the room and I took a few shots out our window. It was not a very pretty area at all.

I noticed this black box.

What the heck could that be?

OOOOOH! It had the coffee fixings in it. Neither of us drink coffee, so it was left intact.

We just laid around from there on. I got on my kindle and checked emails, Lisa surfed the TV stations. I debated on a short nap, but Lisa said we shouldn’t because we may then have issues sleeping later tonight, so it was probably better to be exhausted when we went to bed. Good call.

After a while I got a text from Brook. She had just landed and they were taxing to the gate. I told her we would get ready and head out. We went slowly, as I didn’t want to get there early and then be made to circle around again.

I realized that I must’ve not printed out the directions to the airport from the Marriott. I swore I did, I know I looked at the route, but maybe because it was so easy, I figured I would remember….but I didn’t. So I asked at the desk, and it was very simple and off we went.

As soon as we got close to the airport pick up area we came to a complete stop in traffic. I guess this must be a popular time to get picked up. Brook texted us a few times and I had Lisa text her back that we were on our way and stuck in traffic.
We inched our way there and I just hate traffic like this. I hate when people pass and then try to get in up at the front of the line too and this was happening.
As we got closer though I was able to pull into another lane and got through faster and parked along the furthest curb for pick up. I think I spotted Brook as we drove up and I told Lisa, I think that’s her, so she rolled down the window and yelled Brook. Brook and Lisa have never met, nor seen a picture of each other, and it was kind of funny having Lisa yell for her while Brook took it on blind faith that it was Lisa and headed to our car.
We said our hellos and I introduced them both and we quickly threw her bags in the car.

Brook was starving so we headed off blindly to find something to eat. I went straight out of the airport and as we kept driving I was worried we were getting out of familiar territory. It was mostly residential. I went to turn around and as I did we spotted a lighted area down the road and then a Mexican restaurant, so we turned around once again and pulled in there.
I was a bad trip report writer here. I only took 2 pictures…and those were of food.
I can’t remember the name of the place, but the parking lot was pretty full.
We walked in and it looked like the bar area was having a party…with a bunch of kids….and it was LOUD. Lots of music and they were all doing some sort of dance.
We were seated right away and soon realized this was an authentic Mexican restaurant…we were the only non-Mexican people in there.
Lisa and I were looking for something lighter since we had eaten earlier, but I ended up with my old faithful…chimichonga. Brook got some HUGE meal that looked wonderful. Lisa got some sort of cheese dip with nachos. We also learned we weren’t in Ohio anymore. Lisa asked what kind of pop they had and the girl had no clue what she meant. Finally she said soda, and the girl rattled off some. We did find out from some Texas friends later that usually all pop/soda is referred to as Coke in Texas…so you ask what kind of Coke do you have?

Here are the 2 pictures I took.

The food was very good and filling. I only ate the Chimi and not the sides. Brook just kept having plate after plate brought out and she did some damage to them, but there was no way she could eat it all.

After we paid, we found our way back towards our hotel. Brook was staying with Carolyn and her friends for the night at a hotel just down the road from us, but since the roads are one-way, we had to go by our hotel first.
Just as we pulled into Springhill Suites, we saw Carolyn walking out the doors. They were off to find some food as well. We all said hellos and made introductions. Carolyn had her friends Shelly and Susan with her.
Carolyn and friends are from Canada, though Susan is still a US citizen, and Carolyn said she had only brought her passport and realized it when they went to rent a car. So the car was put in Shelly’s name since she had her license with her. We all laughed about that.
They handed Brook a room key and we all went our separate ways then.
We planned to meet back at their hotel around 7:15 AM. Lisa and I were going to sneak in and eat their “free” breakfast before we took off towards the port. We wanted to head out early and to drive together if possible. Brook was going to ride with us as well so that we could distribute luggage between the 2 cars.

Lisa and I made the circle back to the Marriott and got ready for bed. I think Lisa showered at night, and I was going to in the morning.
We set the alarm on my phone for butt crack of dawn. I had a feeling I would be up by then, but I sure didn’t want to chance being late.

The bed was comfy and soon I was drifted off to dreamland…and believe it or not, I slept halfway decent. It was a very long day…and it even had an extra hour since we gained one with the time difference.

 

[dolphingirl47]

The hotel looks really nice even though the area around it was not. I could not believe that somebody would steal car tires with all the cameras around. Your dinner sounded lovely.

Corinna