It went by fast, didn't it?
Really, it was the beginning of October when I was telling you about Smidgy having to put her ear next to the tire valve to let me know if it's still "hissing". That was almost 5 months ago!
40 chapters.
Geesh!
I'm sure you can also believe that I changed my mind about ten times on whether or not to even do a report, with Diane's daddy passing away, the whole idea seemed insensitive to me.
But it gave us then a chance or opportunity to talk about him as well.
And of course, their were just too many strange and odd things that happened that ,,even though they made for a crappy trip, when it came to writing about them they were
Trip Report Gold!
At the end of a report, I usually give a call out to some of the trip's characters that made contributions to the report,, like Turtle lady, pompous New Jersey guy or pool cleaner guy,,, so, hmm, ok, I want to thank the Splash Monster, Crabby Hall Lady and of course, the Yellow Jackets.
And naturally, metaphorically speaking, the Beast.
As for the tire:
I took it back to Goodyear where I got it still with the hunk of pottery imbedded in it, and the guy actually thought he could save it, all it would need is a plug and be good as new, cost me 20 bucks.
Of course as I'm waiting for them to fix it, he comes back out in the emergency room waiting area, "Mr. Nebo, can you come back in here please?"
Once he had gotten it off the rim, he found out that the inside lining had all shifted, and now there are "bubbles" that cannot be fixed or made to go away, bottom line is the tire is shot.
But I can order a new one and give you an even better deal than originally.
I refrained from saying how come he didn't give me the best deal in the first place, but I know they need to make a profit too, and now he's just being nice after what we wen't through.
He got and replaced the tire the next day.
I then got curious;
I dug out the receipt from the Car Care Center from Disney and handed it to him to look over, "Tell me, does this seem like the price for what I got was in your ballpark?"
He said it was, "Pretty close", but he then said "Didn't they tell you that the catalytic converter is probably still under warranty?"
Turns out there was a law passed quite a while ago, that all cars equipped with a converter sold in the states have to last 8 years or 100,000 miles.
I was off the next morning to my Hyundai dealer to yell at them and get more info.
Right before we left for vacation, this is where I brought the car for the re-call work to be done. They also did a 29 point inspection and replaced my power steering line that was leaking, and a differential that was going bad.
All that was fine, but I took issue with the fact that no where in the "inspection" was it noticed that the exhaust system was about to go and fall off.
The service dept. manager saw my point, but said really, if the mechanic was to start pushing and pulling on the exhaust and it went bad, he would have been blamed for it.
"I can show you the undersides of any car in the lot out here, and they will all look the same,,, dirty, rusty, and with exhausts that look the same,,,,meaninig that an exhaust that is going to fall apart next week looks just like one that will last another 5 years.
I couldn't really argue with him.
I then asked about the warranty on the converter and he said, oh yeah, you need to call the Hyundai central office and they will more than likely re-imburse you on the price for that at least, that warranty is good for 8 years.
"Um, 8 years , starting from when?" I asked him, already with that sinking feeling in my stomach I am getting so familiar with.
"The day it was titled, the day you drove it home since you bought it new."
Pretty sure of my answer, I asked him to punch my name into his computer and see what that day was when I pulled it out of their parking lot.
'February 26, 2003."
"So, your telling me that the catalytic converter with the 8 year warranty expired 7 months ago?"
He nodded and looked down at his shoes, "Sorry, central office won't be able to do a thing for you."
So, in summary, NO money back for the converter, No cheap way to fix the tire, once again I had that carrot dangled in front of my face only to be whisked away again.
Ok, now let's do a quick summary:
Smidgy really saved the day when she took over driving on the state road , I don't know why at first the idea seemed just too ridiculous, I have to remember to be more open to things that don't immediately sound like a good idea.
Concerning where we stayed, which did I like better?
Animal Kingdom Lodge or Bay Lake Towers, my choice would definately be,,,
The Caribbean Beach Resort.
That's right, even if the prices were equal, I'd rather stay there than the other two.
I suppose I like AKL better than BLT, but I don't get any great pleasure looking at a horse with stripes, the entire wild animals in your backyard thing last about two hours for me, then it gets boring.
Honestly, for me? I'd rather be overlooking the Boardwalk watching people walk by and do the things people are known to do: laugh, trip, fall down, argue, fight, throw up, all that to me is much more entertaining.
And BLT really does seem to much like a Miami Beach beach hotel, decor is numbingly plain, I didn't care for ANY of the pool associated with BLT or the Contemporary, with 15 story buildings next to them, how exotic can they feel?
Yes, the walk to Magic Kingdom was convenient, notice I didn't say, "nice". Boardwalk or Beach Club to Epcot is "nice".
What I/we, really regret, is that our friends with the DVC points , well, the points really arent' good for the mods or values,they aren't available for the values, and they cost a TON of points to stay in any of the mods, not sure why, you can stay in Beach Club Villas cheaper than French Quarter.
Yep, when i'm at Disney, I still want exterior corridors and a staircase, I hate to constantly be dependent on elevators.
One thing I sure hope you all realize,
is just how appreciative I am, and have been, on all of your help and contributions to this thread. I really
considered it to be a joing effort on all our parts, and that's
what made it a success in the long run.
No, this time I am not going to name names, I always end up leaving somebody out accidentally and I don't want anybody to leave here feeling left out or sad they weren't included.
But you all know who you are and I'm hoping you will just eaccept my love and appreciation for your time, both reading and posting.
By the way, if any lurkers have considered popping out to say hi, please do, you really won't have more chances, here and I love to hear from people that were just too shy to post anything. Go ahead, make my day!
Please.
But boy, am I going to miss this too, that smiley Thump's wife just posted is me to a tee, I just get such a thrill, yes, thrill,
when I come up with a dumb line or joke, or a pun bad enough that I just know Ponzi is gonna cringe for sure.
This all brings us now to that famous phrase, "Ok, now what, what else is on?"
Like when the movie is over but you're not quite ready to go to bed.
I guess I'll keep this open for a bit longer and tell you what I know about the upcoming trip, I really hate "pre-trip reports", especially when they have their own cell block, they aren't allowed to fraternize with the real trip reports, and I don't want to do another "double" like last year, that just get's too unwieldly, and long, and too confusing to new people that might like to read it after they have heard about the great Ponzi and Thumpers and others that can really liven up a trip report.
All righty now, we'll stay right here a tad longer and talk about April/May, then maybe just do a shorty and I'll tell you about the highlights of the trip. But there really won't be time before it would run into the August trip, and as we have said many a time, THAT is the one that we are most excited about, finally going with our grandson,,,, and son and his wife, that we have been wanting to do for what seems like ever!
This may sound maudling, but I don't care:
We never know when someone's last day will be, so love
them with all you've got, and let them know it. Even if you're not the
demonstrative type, tell them anyway. They may be embarrassed, or you may be, at the time, but when they are laying in bed that night they just might remember,,,
and smile.
We lost Grand-daddy while we were gone this trip, and now we
are starting over with Jackson in August, and these pictures from last year just seems so fitting:
And, of course, Jackson with his great grand-daddy.
Well, once again, my brain has gone numb, I guess there's nothing left to say that hasn't been said.
And you know what?
I'm already dreading having to come up with a name for the next trip report!
Yep, true story, I just hate that part cuz it's so important,
at least to me.
Ok, that's it, good night, see ya tomorrow, or soon, and I'll tell you about the next trip coming,
but do me a favor tonight, say a prayer, and mention Diane's dad in it, or better yet, refer to him as Granddaddy, we did miss the funeral, and this talking about him has helped.
And please, don't forget to tell him where you got it!
smidgy and nebo...... steve and diane,,, hugs
I sure am going to miss you guys!
Good words about loving your loved ones while you have them. 
So sad to see the end of another Nebo and Smidgy adventure. Glad you both made it through that last part. That's a huge fear of mine (especially since I had kids). Great driving!! Although, I kept thinking as I was reading of that line in Mater's Tall Tales, when Mater is telling Lightning his "tall tale" about them jumping the Grand Canyon Evil Knievil-style and as their going off the jump Lightning says "Well what happened?" and Mater says to him "You didn't make it." Google "Mater the Greater" and see if you can watch it on You Tube or something, if you haven't seen it.
Even though DW and I are going at the end of the year, I don't think I could be as creative as Nebo and Pkondz. So I doubt I would ever write one. Lady H has the college degree of the house. Maybe I can get her to write it. 
When are going by the way? I know it's in August. Just don't remember the exact dates. Lady H and I will be in DL late August. So if you do happen decide you want to start a pre-trip report, we'll be absent for a while. Possibly. We would be some of those people you would consider, keeping up with the times. We have smartphones, so we can follow along over there. Most likely during the times we're making drinks in fuzzy cups heading down to the pool. We'll get there and say "Hey, lets see how the TR is coming along." Anyways have fun on vacation. Both vacations actually. 
PM me, we are there in August too!
I'm gonna have to Google 
that word before I comment further. 
