No Good Deed Goes Unpunished- 6 days w/o motorcycles...but at least there's a pool!

[rottiemom]

especially for LisaMWDW here are more pictures of my goofy girl Amber:

I was attempting to take a picture of my son passed out in my husband's lap & this happened:

I swear, my husband really does smile for pictures...I must have interrupted Pink Slip Showdown or something .

And here's my girl in all of her folded front leg glory. I don't see how that can be comfortable but it must be because she does it all of the time. Notice the cocked eyebrow spots, as if she's actually paying attention! OMG, also notice the tumbleweed of shed hair .

That sweet, grey muzzle just breaks my heart because rotties lives are SO short but she did start going grey early. I keep teasing her that we'll have to get her Grecian Formula for dogs.

One last shot of her in her favorite position: Flat -n- folded, right in front of the stove:

I swear, she puts herself there not only so that I won't forget about her while I'm cooking if I happen to have a yummy scrap in need of a slavering mouth but probably so that I'll trip over her & end up dropping the roast. And as we all know, once it hits the floor it belongs to the dog.

More tomorrow...in the actual trip report...if nothing else goes horribly wrong tonight (shhhhh).

 

[rottiemom]

at this time 3 planets have to align in order for us to make another WDW trip:

School vacation
Free dining
MNSSHP

That's a change from the earlier "if we ever go back". Not quite a "when" though. We missed a lot. And now that we're home & talking about it we're starting to realize the extent of the fun that we had & how for the most part we did enjoy ourselves (lack of motorcycles & all). It would still be a relatively short trip but if we could manage it without our little guy missing more than a day or two of school IF they offer free dining again next year and IF that managed to coincide with one of the MNSSHPs...well...

Free dining saved us a TON and enabled/forced us to try some interesting restaurants that we probably would have passed on as too expensive.

And my son just loves Halloween, and I love letting him enjoy it while he's still child enough to do so thoroughly & unashamedly.

Plus we'd fly out in the afternoon & home in the morning so that Amber would be boarded for 2 fewer days!

Anyway, there you go. Something for me to think about & to start saving for so that IF those 3 planets align we can see what happens.

 

[Dr_Finkelstein]

You're back!!!!
I thought maybe I'd killed yet another thread
Though, about the leak!!! I always worry about things like happening whilst we're away, not enough to ever not go though Random photo of cat eating own tail accepted as apology!
But good that no divorce I'm always relieved that DH and myself make it through another 14 day trip being together 24/7, and return marriage intact. Miraculous at times!
And didn't I tell you Disney is addictive! They put something in the water....Disney crack!
DDP is fab - free DDP is even better.
Love the cat and dog photos, and the one of your DH - I'll take your word for it that he smiles... Spotted the Thomas tent, my DS was obsessed with Thomas when he was younger - what is it about boys and trains?
Can't wait to hear all the details! Especially the MNSSHP details - DH is pretty bummed we've missed it as he was really looking forward to the Headless Horsemen and he keeps talking about men with sparking shovels . We thought about going to MVMCP whilst we're there, but this new holiday is costing more - oh yeah, and we upgraded to POFQ! , so we need to rein back a bit on spending....credit crunch and global economic meltdown and all that....
We may change our mind when we get there though!

Di x

 

[LISAMWDW]

Thanks Rottiemom! The photos of Amber are adorable. She is precious! What a personalty!

She does lay in some funny positions! Aren't dogs hilarous! She loves her some attention from her mommy! I can tell that! Thanks for sharing!

 

[rottiemom]

You're back!!!!
I thought maybe I'd killed yet another thread

I'm usually the heartless thread murderer so no worries.

Though, about the leak!!! I always worry about things like happening whilst we're away, not enough to ever not go though

It wasn't bad, thankfully. My brother always shuts his water off when he goes away, which is pretty smart (I found that out the hard way when I attempted to do laundry over at his house while he was on vacation ).

I went to start our 3 suitcases worth of "welcome back from vacation!" landry & noticed a puddle on the floor by the washer. I thought that it was just the cat letting us know that she missed us in her own special way. Then I noticed the puddle on top of the washing machine...and the drips on the pipes over the washing machine and ...well...I wish that it HAD just been the cat welcoming us home!

I'm always relieved that DH and myself make it through another 14 day trip being together 24/7, and return marriage intact.

After we were married for 4 years my husband & I put up a shed together. It took us a week. We still joke about the fact that one of our bodies didn't end up buried underneath that shed .

Spotted the Thomas tent, my DS was obsessed with Thomas when he was younger - what is it about boys and trains?

I just don't get it! The scary thing is that my son's interest in trains resurrected the warm childhood memories that my husband had about trains and before knew it there were model trains coming into the house, a massive train layout and I'm getting dragged to train shows (a lot like motorcycle swapmeets, but much, much duller). These days I find the cat inside the Thomas tent more than I do our son, though. Unfortunately my husband's obsession with trains is still going strong.

Especially the MNSSHP details - DH is pretty bummed we've missed it as he was really looking forward to the Headless Horsemen and he keeps talking about men with sparking shovels .

Oh I really wish that you guys could have made it! Halloween is such a big deal in the US and it's such a fun holiday, no pressure & all about being a kid (even if you've been forced to be an adult for awhile). Our next door neighbor does an actual haunted house with animatronics, fog, skeletons rattling at the windows, etc. We just do lots of spooky lights, skulls and candelabras (actually I can't believe parents actually allow their children to accept candy from us !). Last year when I returned from the first half of trick or treating with my son I spotted what looked like a stuffed scarecrown on our front steps- it was my husband, completely covered in his jeans, boots, leather jacket, hat, skeleton gloves & skeleton face mask. he was holding the candy bowl in his lap & basically scaring the daylights out of delighted children as he would sit very still & only speak when they took some candy.

You will just have to make a quick trip back next year for MNSSHP. It's only fair since you missed it this time .

Thanks Rottiemom! The photos of Amber are adorable. She is precious! What a personalty!
She does lay in some funny positions! Aren't dogs hilarous!

Thank you for the compliments. I do love my girl. She is by far the goofiest dog that I've ever met and she constantly cracks me up. My last Rottie, Smidge, would make it a point to "talk" to you and charm you but Amber is an out & out clown & completely oblivious to it.

Right before we left I was talking to someone & mentioned having to board the dog & she started saying what an expense they were & on & on until "when this one dies you'd better think long & hard about getting another one". Hello?! Nice!! Anyway, what I said in response was that my dog is a luxury and I'd gladly do without things like manicures & dining out (and waterproof mascara) because having a dog brought us so much happiness.

Plus, seriously, I can paint my own nails & still keep my dog in squeak toys .

 

[rottiemom]

If the title alone has you burning with curiosity and you're already yearning for more you can check out my pre-trippie linked below. If you're just stopping by & taking a peek then come on in & grab a drink! There's some Harp in the cooler and a pitcher of manhattans on the counter. The dog ate all of the maraschinos.

who we are:
Me- Nina, 42, dusty old punk rocker with a burning love for psychobilly, Fiestaware, Vintage British motorcycles and rottweilers.

My better half- Bill, 41. Looks like James Hetfield circa 1991. We met over the phone (seriously)and talked for about a year before finally deciding to meet face to face. Neither was what the other one expected.

Our son- William. 4/12 & the reason for this trip. Loves motorcycles, hot rods, superheroes and the stand up bass.

what you've got to understand: My husband and I are motorcycle obsessed. We both ride & both have several bikes of our own. We have never, ever taken a vacation that wasn't motorcycle related in some way whether it was travelling by motorcycle, travelling to go ride motorcycles even driving from NY to CO with a 50+ year old obscure British bike in the bed of the pickup in order to attend a rally. We were married for 10 years before our son was born and we covered a LOT of ground on two wheels during that time. While our riding has been seriously curtailed since William's arrival all vacations since then have STILL been motorcycle related. I wanted to do something that was all about William & to do it while he was still at an age to get caught up in the magic.

Oh yeah, none of us have ever been to WDW before .

I want to start out by saying that the DISboards have been invaluable. The people here, the advice given, the suggestions offered and the questions answered...our trip would not have been nearly the success that it was if it wasn't for the people on these boards. By the third day of the trip even my husband was awed by the collective wisdom of the DIS and how much easier it made things. The whole WDW thing is very daunting & overwhelming & while I still got turned around, plans got changed on the fly & we ended up missing a lot there is NO WAY that we would have even seen and done as much as we did if it hadn't been for the people here .

So hop in the sidecar & come along on our trip, revisited.

Coming up next: The day before- how 10 years of practice fitting a week's worth of clothing into a tank bag comes as perfect training for the new luggage restrictions! And did I mention that I haven't flown in 7 years?

 

[rottiemom]

I've started the trip report, but you guys already know the stuff in the first post since we're old friends .

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=27934909

 

[rottiemom]

So here we are the day before. Of course I'm going in to work & of course I got up at 5AM like I do every other day (good practice for our 7:50AM flight the next day). Packing is mostly done. The main reason I'm heading in to work is to clear my desk, set my phone to voicemail & check the DIS .

I decide to hit the ATM on my way to work for 7AM (one less thing to do this evening). As I pull out my wallet I notice an Amex card on the ground. No, it isn't mine. This could be bad for whoever it belongs to.

So since I was rasied catholic & as a result have a finely tuned sense of guilt & obligation I promptly brought the card with me to work where I then called Amex and proceeded to be aggravated by Amex's automated phone system for a half hour until I finally was able to get hold of a warm body to report the found card & ask them to notify the owner. Yes, now I can go off on vacation floating on a cloud of my own self satisfaction .

sigh...if only it had been an unmarked pile of cash I could have kept it in good conscience.

Work was work, last minute scrambling & of course I didn't leave on time. We got home after 6, where we were greeted by our wiggle butted dog.

The dog...my Amber is a (maybe) 7 1/2 year old rescue Rottie with a steamer trunk full of issues. She has come a LONG way and has turned into an AWESOME dog but it took a lot of work. Miss Wiggle Butt will have to be boarded while we're on vacation...which I hate almost as much as she does...and I need to drop her off tonight.

She gets boarded at the vet where they all know her & love her, plus it's a familiar place so that hopefully makes it easy on her. She bolts her dinner & rockets into the car.

When we get to the vet I walk her back & get her all set up in her run with squeak toys, a blankie and a tennis ball (the uber toy) but she's not having it. Amber does pathetic really, really well and managed to make herself look like the poster dog for neglect. I return home to a much emptier house.

And a pile of last minute packing! Double checking my list, etc, etc. If you ever had to fit a week's worth of clothing, essentials, rain & cold weather riding gear into a tank bag & tail pack you'd laugh at the complaints about the airline's baggage restrictions.

By 10PM my son was bathed & passed out on the couch, the bags are packed & waiting by the door and I'm hoping that I'll be able to actually sleep for awhile.

Things are going too smoothly...

 

[tinkermamaof2]

Sometimes it's nice to take a trip that isn't all about you, we always travelled without our children until about 5 years ago, now I can't imagine not travelling with them. The DIS has been great for us as well, whenever my husband said "How did you know that?" I always replied "My DisBoards told me so" He now has faith in the Dis even though he doesn't want to admit it. Can't wait to hear about your trip!

Patti

 

[the4princesses]

hurry hurry post more................ just can't wait to read more, and pictures???? Please!!

I'm in !!

 

[rottiemom]

Sometimes it's nice to take a trip that isn't all about you, we always travelled without our children until about 5 years ago, now I can't imagine not travelling with them.

Hi Tinkermama! Since our son's triumphant arrival we haven't taken a trip without him and he tends to love going to the races & seeing the bikes. Don't get me wrong, we do lots of fun, kid related day trips with him but anything that involves "going away" tends to include bikes. But this year, at Vintage Motorcycle Days in Ohio he was saying "it's just a lot of walkin' around" (and I secretly agreed...shhhh). Thankfully I had discovered the DIS months before & our trip was already in the works.

The funny thing was that, much as it killed me, I kept this trip a secret from him. About two weeks before we left I thought that we should watch the vacation planning DVD together, just waiting to hear him start saying "oooh, can we go there?" So what does he say? "It's just a lot of walkin' around" .

The DIS has been great for us as well, whenever my husband said "How did you know that?" I always replied "My DisBoards told me so" He now has faith in the Dis even though he doesn't want to admit it.

These boards are about as overwhelming to a newbie as WDW itself is but the wealth of information to be found here is truly incredible. Bodyglide, blister bandaids, index cards, Passporter maps, earplugs, glowsticks, Keens...all things that I never would have known about and/or thought of bringing.

hurry hurry post more................ just can't wait to read more, and pictures????

Oooh, royalty! Hi 4princesses! I neglected to mention that we were staying at POP. How did you like it? We just loved it, my son especially. I'm so glad that we stayed there.

I had chosen POP with my son in mind, knowing that he'd delight in the colors, the giant icons & the pools. The weekend before we were leaving I sat him down & told him that we would be going on vacation in 4 days. I told him that we'd have to take an airplane to get there & we would be staying in a hotel for 6 days. His first question? "Will there be a pool?" .

More to follow, with pics .

 

[LISAMWDW]

 

[OhioDisneyLover]

Yeah, me too, me too..............

 

[Dr_Finkelstein]

Hi Nina,
Thought I'd better pop over - thicko me here was still looking at your PTR!
Waiting - impatiently - for the updates! And the photos! Did you and your DH dress up for MNSSHP? I'm keen to know if Bill went with the previous halloween costume you described on the PTR.....?
Di x

 

[rottiemom]

Hi Lisa! This ones for you:

That's my Amber, impatiently waiting for me to start getting to the good parts .

Yeah, me too, me too..............

Helloooo, OhioDisneyLover! Are you anywhere near Lexington? We head to the midOhio sports car course every year for Vintage Motorcycle Days. I can't believe how nice the people in that area are to a bunch of sweaty, bug splattered bikers .

Hi Nina,
Thought I'd better pop over - thicko me here was still looking at your PTR!

See, and I even tried to link up the reports, for the thick .

Waiting - impatiently - for the updates! And the photos! Did you and your DH dress up for MNSSHP? I'm keen to know if Bill went with the previous halloween costume you described on the PTR.....?

Neither one of us dressed up but I did have to explain my "strangers have the best candy" T shirt to not one but two people . Bill was sporting his Gashleycrumb Tinies shirt and, oddly, nobody asked him about his . William wore his blue Power Ranger costume...in that heat...all night long. He couldn't wait to put his costume on!

 

[rottiemom]

and the4princesses asked for pics I thought that I'd leave you with these so that you could meet the main characters.

This is me, at the International Motorcycle Show in NYC:

That's about a week before my son was born & I'm illustrating exactly why I stopped riding during the last trimester- because the baby is on the tank & you can't reach the handgrips ! The picture is about 5 years old but I look basically the same, only now I'm much less round and much more frazzled.

Here is the light of my life:

And that's my son & husband in the background . No, seriously, that's my better half, my oh so happy husband. I promise I do have pictures of him smiling and they were taken ON THE ACTUAL TRIP! Is there a fainting smiley?

And lastly, my little guy:

yes, he is actually attempting to slap the guitar strings as if it was a stand up bass .

So now you know who you're dealing with...or at least if you avoided sitting next to us on the bus!

More to come...with WDW pics, I promise.

 

[OhioDisneyLover]

Helloooo, OhioDisneyLover! Are you anywhere near Lexington? We head to the midOhio sports car course every year for Vintage Motorcycle Days. I can't believe how nice the people in that area are to a bunch of sweaty, bug splattered bikers .

We are in the northern part of Ohio on Lake Erie. I was laughing to myself when I read bug splattered bikers. Friends of ours do the DC ride every year and I remember asking her about the bugs. Apparently from what I learned, you get use to them.

I have another friend that went from here to Texas on a bike. Just how the heck do you get 2 weeks worth of stuff packed? Always a mystery to me.

 

[Dr_Finkelstein]

See, and I even tried to link up the reports, for the thick

What can I say? I am blonde.....
At least I did manage to figure it out....I could still be there, thinking I'd killed another thread stone dead.

And that's my son & husband in the background . No, seriously, that's my better half, my oh so happy husband. I promise I do have pictures of him smiling and they were taken ON THE ACTUAL TRIP! Is there a fainting smiley?

There you go!

Di x

 

[the4princesses]

Hi great report!! Thank's for the pictures!!
We stayed in rooms 7220 and 7221. What room were you in?
We were at POP Aug. 29-Sept. 10!! with free dining !
What dates were you all there?
Can't wait to read more!!

 

[LISAMWDW]

Thanks for the pic of Amber! That must be her favorite spot!
So cute!

Oh, yeah, the rest of your family is cute too!