I love credit cards so much! v3.0 (see first page for add'l details)

[happ]

Wait, what's this?

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/bank...credit-to-offset-grocery-or-dining-purchases/

 

[Haley R]

Just catching up after a fun weekend...

@brownhaired_girl - hope all is going ok. Sorry to hear about the recent issues with your mom.

@Haley R - thanks for sharing those amazing pics of that little guy! I hope you guys are enjoying your summer (somehow).

@Alexle2007 - enjoy the MK. Hopefully you have a great weather day since it sounds like you only have tomorrow

As for me... this week is bible school week coming up. We are actually holding an in person VBS. Perhaps that's the luck of having a super small church. We didn't advertise or invite friends so we'll have less than 12 kids in a church that can hold 150+ in the sanctuary and 70+ in the fellowship hall so we know we can pull it off safely. I gotta write all the skits and such since I've been procrastinating lol! Nothing like doing things at the last second to bring out my best work!!

Your bible school sounds like it’ll be fun! I always loved going to that in the summer when I was little. We’re trying to have as much fun as we can being home all the time. Lots of amazon spending for toys and books! We also go on walks (short ones because it’s so hot) and car rides. That’s as exciting as our lives get haha. I don’t really mind it much because he’s so little and doesn’t really need to go anywhere. I do wish he could be around more people though

 

[havaneselover]

Door dash has $15 off this week (no code needed) if you have dash pass. Ordered us Thai shrimp fried rice for dinner.

 

[disfanforlife]

No vacations for me in the summer. But I am lucky to live in an area that is beautiful. Here are a couple photos of where I spend most of my time.

 

[magickingdomprincess]

We've been at Wdw since Thurs and we're having a great trip so far! The masks are somewhat hot/bothersome at times, but aren't too horrible. We've been to DHS, MK, AK, and DS so far, heading to EPCOT today (hoping to enjoy some food booths at WS and my kiddos are excited for TT, one of their favs). We've been able to ride a ton of rides, without waiting much. We were able to ride RotR on our 3rd and last possible try for a BG so that was stressful but very impressive! MMRR was new to us too and it was cute. MK was the busiest/longest wait times, but we went there on Sat so maybe that made it a little busier? We're heading back there tomorrow before we head to the beach for a few nights. It will be nice to just relax for a couple days before heading to Universal and our first stay at the HRH. I'm excited I now have a buddy to ride EE with! My DD7 loved it!

Oh, and forgot to mention this is our first stay at AKV, and we're enjoying it but it probably won't be my first choice to stay at. It's fun to see the animals and the pool is nice, but there aren't many food options right now, and Ivthink I just prefer the DVC hotels that are closer to the parks.

We've enjoyed some new restaurants too, I had ADR's scheduled for lunch at the parks most days to give us a nice AC break. We've eaten at HBD (pretty good), Yak n Yeti (I liked this a lot, my DH thought it was ok, DS9 and I loved the cream cheese pineapple dessert skewers!), and The Plaza (we all enjoyed this, simple but really good food). We also ate at TRex cafe last night. That place is busy, even with every other table empy! It was a little chaotic at first, but we actually enjoyed the food. We shared the huge appetizer for 4 as our meal, and got DS a kids pizza and some fries for DD and were stuffed and had leftovers.

The weather's been hot but not unbearable, and not much different than our usual early June trips. So far (knock on wood) we've avoided the rain although we had close call yesterday!

If anyone is thinking about coming and is comfortable doing so, I would say go for it! It's definitely a little different, but it's nice to get away and enjoy a unique but familiar experience together.

 

[mhartman09]

So glad you are enjoying your trip! We've been at Wdw since Thurs and we're having a great trip so far! The masks are somewhat hot/bothersome at times, but aren't too horrible. We've been to DHS, MK, AK, and DS so far, heading to EPCOT today (hoping to enjoy some food booths at WS and my kiddos are excited for TT, one of their favs). We've been able to ride a ton of rides, without waiting much. We were able to ride RotR on our 3rd and last possible try for a BG so that was stressful but very impressive! MMRR was new to us too and it was cute. MK was the busiest/longest wait times, but we went there on Sat so maybe that made it a little busier? We're heading back there tomorrow before we head to the beach for a few nights. It will be nice to just relax for a couple days before heading to Universal and our first stay at the HRH. I'm excited I now have a buddy to ride EE with! My DD7 loved it!

Oh, and forgot to mention this is our first stay at AKV, and we're enjoying it but it probably won't be my first choice to stay at. It's fun to see the animals and the pool is nice, but there aren't many food options right now, and Ivthink I just prefer the DVC hotels that are closer to the parks.

We've enjoyed some new restaurants too, I had ADR's scheduled for lunch at the parks most days to give us a nice AC break. We've eaten at HBD (pretty good), Yak n Yeti (I liked this a lot, my DH thought it was ok, DS9 and I loved the cream cheese pineapple dessert skewers!), and The Plaza (we all enjoyed this, simple but really good food). We also ate at TRex cafe last night. That place is busy, even with every other table empy! It was a little chaotic at first, but we actually enjoyed the food. We shared the huge appetizer for 4 as our meal, and got DS a kids pizza and some fries for DD and were stuffed and had leftovers.

The weather's been hot but not unbearable, and not much different than our usual early June trips. So far (knock on wood) we've avoided the rain although we had close call yesterday!

If anyone is thinking about coming and is comfortable doing so, I would say go for it! It's definitely a little different, but it's nice to get away and enjoy a unique but familiar experience together.

We just returned from our 7 night stay at WDW and thoroughly enjoyed our trip! We stayed at SSR for the first time. It was really nice being so close to DS, although I did feel like that was the area with the least enforcement of social distancing and masks. We felt the parks did an amazing job with everything. I went into this fully expecting my DS 8 to complain about the masks, but to my surprise he did great with them. He didnt complain at all! This makes me feel much better about school starting here in 2 weeks as he is going into 3rd grade and students in 3 through 12 must wear masks. Now I feel certain he will do just fine with that.

 

[ski_mom]

Just catching up after a fun weekend...

As for me... this week is bible school week coming up. We are actually holding an in person VBS. Perhaps that's the luck of having a super small church. We didn't advertise or invite friends so we'll have less than 12 kids in a church that can hold 150+ in the sanctuary and 70+ in the fellowship hall so we know we can pull it off safely. I gotta write all the skits and such since I've been procrastinating lol! Nothing like doing things at the last second to bring out my best work!!

That’s great you get to do vbs in person. We did ours this week virtually but the videos are available for a week. Sad we couldn’t do it in person as the kids and adults look forward to it each year.

Your bible school sounds like it’ll be fun! I always loved going to that in the summer when I was little. We’re trying to have as much fun as we can being home all the time. Lots of amazon spending for toys and books! We also go on walks (short ones because it’s so hot) and car rides. That’s as exciting as our lives get haha. I don’t really mind it much because he’s so little and doesn’t really need to go anywhere. I do wish he could be around more people though

We are doing in person VBS this week too. We have 18 kids signed up and we have plenty of place for everyone to spread out. DS is helping with games, so I was glad we all brainstormed last week for games kids could play with no physical contact, etc. Looking forward to a week of fun evenings!

 

[becauseimnew]

Loving everyone's staycations.

 

[becauseimnew]

I didn't realized that Amex did this, but we can get 5% cash back at UO with the Everyday cash card
https://www262.americanexpress.com/dapply/partner/preacq/uni/or-002/carddetails/#/cshop

 

[Limes96]

I gotta write all the skits and such since I've been procrastinating lol! Nothing like doing things at the last second to bring out my best work!!

Sounds like that will be nice for the kids.

And your procrastination reminds me of when I was in school....always last minute getting assignments done - like 4am in the morning. Doing stuff early didn't work for me - could never think of what to write. Put the pressure on and it spilled right out.

This was me in college but not as an adult. And this is so DS. He’s like mom it’s not due for another. No, just get it done, I keep telling him.

This is me too. Drove my mom crazy when I was in high school. I told her I did my best work under pressure. Waited until the last minute, but got A’s all the way. If it’s not broke, don’t “fix” it!

 

[havaneselover]

Any data points on how long ticketmaster refunds are taking? I think it's been 35 days since I got the email saying I'd be refunded as soon as 30 days.

 

[hsmamato2]

Some random thoughts:

While I am happy to return to some of my favorite staycation spots (thankyouHiltonAspirecardthankyouHiltonAspirecard) this year, I gotta say I was surprised to find so many interesting places to visit in Florida that I have never been to. For those who have DVC points to burn, can travel but may not be comfortable with going to the parks, there is something to be said for resort only stays. We stayed at VGF for 4th of July weekend, the weekend before the parks opened. It was such a nice and relaxing trip. There's also the Concierge Collection to consider. We've used points for what is listed there too and the Concierge Collection can provide some who live near those places a nice getaway with their DVC points if visiting Florida is totally off the idea list.

Normally, we do F&W every weekend during the fall and stay at BCV. Well, I'm not exactly comfortable with the idea of F&W at this time. So, we are still keeping all of our reservation dates but have modified the resort part and will be checking out other resorts we rarely or have never stayed at. Riviera, Poly, Boulder Ridge and BLT are all on list now. Also looking forward to some AKV savanna view stays. I could happily not leave the room and watch animals from the balcony.

Anyhow, our current plans are a far cry away from the excitement of staying in a castle in Ireland, falconry walks, an all inclusive in Dubai with my own private pool, safaris in Africa and having breakfast with giraffes eating from my hand. Yes, I'm disappointed that these things aren't on the table any longer. However, rather than wallow in disappointment over things completely out of my control, I am choosing to make some lemonade out the lemons this year.

Love it. And you're lucky you live in FL,so a staycation for you is a vacation for the rest of us! Enjoy! I'm doing the same thing here in my state this year...while it's not tropical fun like FL,it is quite nice,and I'm learning a lot about local activities and great things to do!

 

[Judique]

We've been at Wdw since Thurs and we're having a great trip so far! The masks are somewhat hot/bothersome at times, but aren't too horrible. We've been to DHS, MK, AK, and DS so far, heading to EPCOT today (hoping to enjoy some food booths at WS and my kiddos are excited for TT, one of their favs). We've been able to ride a ton of rides, without waiting much. We were able to ride RotR on our 3rd and last possible try for a BG so that was stressful but very impressive! MMRR was new to us too and it was cute. MK was the busiest/longest wait times, but we went there on Sat so maybe that made it a little busier? We're heading back there tomorrow before we head to the beach for a few nights. It will be nice to just relax for a couple days before heading to Universal and our first stay at the HRH. I'm excited I now have a buddy to ride EE with! My DD7 loved it!

Oh, and forgot to mention this is our first stay at AKV, and we're enjoying it but it probably won't be my first choice to stay at. It's fun to see the animals and the pool is nice, but there aren't many food options right now, and Ivthink I just prefer the DVC hotels that are closer to the parks.

We've enjoyed some new restaurants too, I had ADR's scheduled for lunch at the parks most days to give us a nice AC break. We've eaten at HBD (pretty good), Yak n Yeti (I liked this a lot, my DH thought it was ok, DS9 and I loved the cream cheese pineapple dessert skewers!), and The Plaza (we all enjoyed this, simple but really good food). We also ate at TRex cafe last night. That place is busy, even with every other table empy! It was a little chaotic at first, but we actually enjoyed the food. We shared the huge appetizer for 4 as our meal, and got DS a kids pizza and some fries for DD and were stuffed and had leftovers.

The weather's been hot but not unbearable, and not much different than our usual early June trips. So far (knock on wood) we've avoided the rain although we had close call yesterday!

If anyone is thinking about coming and is comfortable doing so, I would say go for it! It's definitely a little different, but it's nice to get away and enjoy a unique but familiar experience together.

Thanks so much for sharing and the great pictures!!

 

[Judique]

No vacations for me in the summer. But I am lucky to live in an area that is beautiful. Here are a couple photos of where I spend most of my time.

So absolutely beautiful!

 

[hsmamato2]

Decided to do some site seeing around town today. Started off early with a bike trip to Lake Ontario. Missed a critical turn and ended up taking a nice detour for an extra 5 miles along a really pretty stretch of the lake. I ended up cycling for a little while with some people I met along the trail so didn't stop to take pictures. Took a few on my way back home; I left the house pretty early, so the beach wasn't busy, but I would think on a hot, sunny day like today there will be a lot of people there.

For fans of the television show Schitt's Creek, dd and I decided to drive to Goodwood, where the show was filmed (approx. 35 minutes north of our house). I researched the area last night and learned that there is a nice bakery / delicatassen opposite Rose Apothecary, so we had lunch there before taking a few pictures! Food was delicious (which we figured by the line to order and steady stream of customers) and they had picnic tables outside. It was a nice way to while away some time on a Sunday afternoon! There were several other visitors to Goodwood (population 600) doing the same thing we were.


View attachment 513550

Schitt House
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Cafe Tropical (apologies to the owners of the house for taking the photo -- sign in the window says No Pictures!)
View attachment 513552

Bob's Garage
View attachment 513553

Rose Apothecary
View attachment 513554


Town Hall (formerly a church, then a Lion's Club, now a private residence)
View attachment 513555

Love it!!!

 

[wisconsinmom]

We've been at Wdw since Thurs and we're having a great trip so far! The masks are somewhat hot/bothersome at times, but aren't too horrible. We've been to DHS, MK, AK, and DS so far, heading to EPCOT today (hoping to enjoy some food booths at WS and my kiddos are excited for TT, one of their favs). We've been able to ride a ton of rides, without waiting much. We were able to ride RotR on our 3rd and last possible try for a BG so that was stressful but very impressive! MMRR was new to us too and it was cute. MK was the busiest/longest wait times, but we went there on Sat so maybe that made it a little busier? We're heading back there tomorrow before we head to the beach for a few nights. It will be nice to just relax for a couple days before heading to Universal and our first stay at the HRH. I'm excited I now have a buddy to ride EE with! My DD7 loved it!

Oh, and forgot to mention this is our first stay at AKV, and we're enjoying it but it probably won't be my first choice to stay at. It's fun to see the animals and the pool is nice, but there aren't many food options right now, and Ivthink I just prefer the DVC hotels that are closer to the parks.

We've enjoyed some new restaurants too, I had ADR's scheduled for lunch at the parks most days to give us a nice AC break. We've eaten at HBD (pretty good), Yak n Yeti (I liked this a lot, my DH thought it was ok, DS9 and I loved the cream cheese pineapple dessert skewers!), and The Plaza (we all enjoyed this, simple but really good food). We also ate at TRex cafe last night. That place is busy, even with every other table empy! It was a little chaotic at first, but we actually enjoyed the food. We shared the huge appetizer for 4 as our meal, and got DS a kids pizza and some fries for DD and were stuffed and had leftovers.

The weather's been hot but not unbearable, and not much different than our usual early June trips. So far (knock on wood) we've avoided the rain although we had close call yesterday!

If anyone is thinking about coming and is comfortable doing so, I would say go for it! It's definitely a little different, but it's nice to get away and enjoy a unique but familiar experience together.

Thanks for posting this update! I've been on the fence about booking for mid August but I think I'm going to go for it! I'm thinking we'll do BCV even with Stormalong closed. I'd like to try Wilderness Lodge but my daughter is not interested.

 

[Psychodisney]

Just returned from SW FL. Mask compliance on SW improves with each trip. Our coach home is set to close on Aug 3! We sold it furnished but still had plenty to move. Selling the coach home means retirement for me 10/1! I can't wait to give my notice!

I randomly used the Amex small business credit. I looked on the map both at home and in Naples and didn't find much. So, I figured we were at a couple of small businesses picking up food, why not use the Amex and see what happens. $5 off our pizza and $5 off our ice cream treat. Neither business was on the map!

 

[hsmamato2]

well, as for masks.... I don't know how you can enjoy the FL heat while wearing one.... yesterday I went shopping at a local nursery, it was about 98 degrees,extremely high humidity. I shopped for about 1/2 hour or so.... I was literally drained when I got out to my car. I couldn't believe how sweaty and uncomfortable it was under the mask.... I guess I'm def. one of those that will have to wait quite a while to visit WDW again... Ah well. I live in an area with cute little beaches,and lots of great hiking trails in the woods. I'll miss traveling to FL,but I am loving all the cute little places I'm discovering here too.

 

[papaof3]

I proudly present to you the Presidential Suite (2870 sq ft) at the Hilton Bonnet Creek- nice upgrade for being Diamond.

Dang. Did you ask for an upgrade or have to pay extra. How many nights?

 

[disfanforlife]

So absolutely beautiful!

Thank you!