"Personally, I think I would make a great stripper!" 8/10 The End

[SRUAlmn]

Underwater Base Jumping! I couldn't even watch it! I'm scared of the dark/deeper parts of the ocean and watching that guy just leap into it absolutely terrified me! He didn't even have any oxygen or anything! I only watched the first minute and then I was too skeeved out

 

[jeni16]

I'm gone for a few days & missed like ten pages....loved the updates!

 

[Dizneydawn]

Chapter Sixteen: Disney Finally Starts! Vero!

We woke up before 6 am that morning and finished packing the last minute stuff and ate breakfast and packed the coolers. We wanted after the last day at the beach in the rain, to have another beach day and enjoy some sun.

It was a 5 hour drive from Marathon to Vero vs 6 straight to WDW. That means only 1 hour farther for the pit stop. At the point you are already driving 50 hours at least, does it really matter?

An awesome way to break up the drive and although it added 1/2 hour onto the entire excursion, our love for Vero made it a must do! We could get there by noon and spend 3 hours at least, soaking up the sun!

The kids crashed as soon as they got in the van and Dan and I chatted and drove through the keys back to the mainland. It was a faster drive being early morning and although I could see some things to stop and see, I am glad we stayed as far south on the island chain as we did. The water was clearer and the color more green than up north.

We got gas as soon as we hit the mainland and Treyner and Taylor drove while we watched "The Ya Ya Sisterhood."

We somehow got on the wrong road as we got closer to Vero and took an exit listing Vero but not the way we ever had gone before. After a few wrong turns and 10 minutes of backtracking, we finally saw our sign!

Some random woman we asked to stand in front of the sign since she was doing nothing.






(okay - I stole it from Google Images. If that random woman is you, ya might want to try adding a splash of color to your wardrobe.)



The guard was very nice, told us we needed to check in at the front desk and just let them know we were day guests. He also let u know the beach was closed!

How in the name of Beelzebub do they close a beach during spring break?

I will tell you how. The city of Vero made the decision that the beaches needed to be fixed and so nobody with resorts had a choice of the "when" their section would be fixed. The pool was open though so we decided to still go forward and make the best of it!

The nice guard, directed us around to the side to park. We literally got the last parking spot and Dan backed into the spot trying not to stick out into the middle of the underground parking lot entrance/exit.

Everybody was starving so pudding, sandwiches and chips were enjoyed, standing by the booger. As soon as food was done, we headed on in to the resort through the building elevator and popping out at the lobby.

Then, after saying hello to the desk manager, we headed toward the beach. I wanted to see what they were doing!

The water still looked beautiful though!

So did the scenery!

Then...it was onto the pool!

It was not a very warm day so plenty of empty chairs!

We swam, played ping pong and sat in the hot tub and then, learned something wonderful!

Sebastian beaches were still open, 5 minutes away!

The boys had liked the keys but really missed the waves and so, we packed up, took a few more pics in the lobby and spent our last hour of each time, actually on the beach!

Just as promised, from exit of Disney's Vero to parking spot in Sebastian, we had an open beach and plenty of waves! The boys were the only ones brave enough to enter the water and I was glad they had a blast. If we had thought The Keys was cold water...this was dunking in icecubes!

Cont'd

 

[Dizneydawn]

Part 2

Then, I had to take some of Baylor because it was one year and 3 months from the date we were here on our first day of vacation celebrating his recovery after his accident. Just 1 1/2 months later. He had lost so much weight and he was not very strong yet.

He has grown up so much since then. I love watching him when he doesn't think I am paying attention, I try to capture mental snapshots always. This time, I was able to take real ones.

I took them just as he was hanging out and although not posed, and he is not looking at me, I love them.

Here is Baylor, Dec. 2008 when just he and I woke up early and walked on the beach by ourselves..

Here is Baylor March, 2010.

Here are some of the kiddos:
Dec 2008

March 2010

The boys Dec 2008

March 2010

After the boys froze off their manly bits, we jumped back in the Booger and were on the way to WDW!

Only there was a psycho woman standing in our way. Trying to run us off the road.

Not kidding.

We have pictures.

 

[SRUAlmn]

YIPPIE! WDW is coming soon! We leave in a little over a month. I was hoping you'd make it 'there' before we did

 

[Dizneydawn]

YIPPIE! WDW is coming soon! We leave in a little over a month. I was hoping you'd make it 'there' before we did

I should be done in a month!

Need to be ready for our SC trip report!!!

 

[podsnel]

I love Vero, too, Dawn- I think it is TOTALLY worth the detour!! The beach does look like they they made it a whole lot bigger- I was there in September and the beach was pretty narrow at high tide. Sorry it had to be on a day when you were visiting though when they were working on it!!

So happy Baylor has made such a great recovery- I take alot of those mental pics, too- but truth be told, the ones with a camera work much better!

Ellen

 

[Pollito916]

I LOVE this shirt! Gotta shop around on ebay and see if I can find one for my brother!

Just FYI - I saw it in a Kohl's add I got in the mail this week!

It is a riot! All about wearing an apron and having lipstick on when he gets home and how to make sure dinner is still warm if he is late and how to have things in the ice box encase important co-workers need to be entertained at last minute...

I should post some lines from it when I do my next TR.

My granmother was a balls to the wall gal and wrote her commentary in the side on what "Dick" the husband could do to his pot roast "Bettina" made if he didn't like it. She was awesome!

That first part made me gag a little, but then your grandma's quotes made me giggle! She sounds like an awesome lady! Sorry you're getting sick - hope you're feeling better soon!

 

[mousetravel]

Need to be ready for our SC trip report!!!

Yay! SC trip report! Can't wait to see what your adventures were!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Love the Vero pictures -especially your "guest" by the sign!!

Can't believe how much the kids have changed in a couple years. Baylor especially. He looks awesome!

How did you get to be day guests at VB? Is it a DVC perk or something?

OH, and I STINK at that quotes trivia game! I totally ran out of time and have not seen Wall-E, so I lost those right away! I think I got 12. The kids should have helped me. They've seen those movies more than a couple times.

 

[praisehisname]

So glad you had fun at Vero and then were able to get some beach time, too! Can't wait til you arrive at Disney!!!

 

[Duchie]

Great update! Hard to believe how much the kids have changed in such a short time.

And yes, SoccerDogWithEars and Dawn it is Jacques!

 

[Dizneydawn]

Chapter Seventeen: DTD & WPE!

After leaving Sebastian Beach, we went north on A1A to look at beach property and then cut across to the freeway a bit later. It was getting to be early rush hour traffic and we were not going fast. Nobody could or was. It is only a 2 lane highway, no passing most of the way and that fact did not make a woman behind us happy.

Dan was driving and started looking back in his rearview mirror often. This caused me to look back as well and noticed a white car trying to go around Dan non stop. The girls who were in the back, started making comments about the fact they could read her sunglasses brand because she was that close to the bumper.

Then, she tried to pass us on the right, on the shoulder. She was on her cell phone to top off things.

Now if you were in an emergency situation, you would turn on your lights, flash your brights, honk your horn, put your hazards on etc. Something to get attention.

This yahoo was just angry she wanted to pass and could not. I knew even if she could pass, there was nowhere for her to go because there was a car right in front of us and a row in front of that car.

The girls took her picture because it got so bad, she was literally trying to hang back and then gun it to pass on the shoulder, almost, pushing us into oncoming traffic, several times. This went on for almost 5 minutes.

Meanwhile the boys, headphones on, oblivious an @sswhooping was about to commence, enjoyed their game!

It got so bad at a stop light that she was next to the back right tire on the shoulder before she stopped. The girls screamed because they thought she was going to hit us. (Not that it would have done much to the Booger but who knows what the nutjob was going to do next?)

At this point I was mad. Furious mad and without thinking, unbuckled, jumped out of the car (no I did not tuck and roll like Dukes of Hazzard because we were stopped) and with no plan, walked towards her car and yelled:

"You stupid F.W.(insert a swear word ending with "ing" and a not very nice name for a woman that rhymes with "smore.") I have kids in the back of the van and if you hit me I am going to kick your @ss." I felt very Jersey Shore-ish.

I then got back in the van and was just shaking mad. The boys, took off their headphones, looking around like WTHeck just happened and the entire van was silent.

Then about a minute later the girls bust out laughing at my mouth let alone the fact I just screamed it at the top of my lungs in the middle of some quaint Florida, seaside town while driving a Booger.

Yeah. Go Mom.

Not my most classy moment but it was well executed. I would give it a 7.3 rating. I lost some points for effective use of a naughty noun.

Taylor goes, "Whoa, you were really mad. I think you scared her."

And sure enough, the white car backed off after the rant and even held up for a stoplight she could have easily made to give us more distance.

I was shaking a few minutes later still when we went our separate ways. I know it was dumb to get out of the car. I know I would have been so mad at my kids for doing something to put themselves in danger when the person was already crazy. I also know I must look pretty intimidating with my cat like reflexes, pouncing out of a Booger and approaching a vehicle with chlorine damaged hair and sand in places I did not like.

After that, it was smooth sailing.


We cut across country to go through Kissimmee in order to hit the Nike Clearance Outlet. It is a must for our family and we knew it might be the only time we were there.

I always try and convince myself we can be in and out in an hour and we are always there closer to two. Never fails.

Treyner found cleats, Baylor found cleats, Carsyn found a Clemson sweatshirt and the boys got some athletic shorts. That might not sound like a ton but when you know I have 2 sons who are shoe hoochies, it might make more sense. Literally Treyner will go tennis shoe shopping over almost anything else. I will take responsibility with him. When he was little every sale I stopped at, clearance rack I scoured had little Reebok pumps or Nike Hightops. When you are spending $1 for shoes it is a cute passion.

When they wear size 13, it is a small fortune. He has been known to shove shoes on his feet that are 3 sizes too small if they look good or match an outfit.

They both are particular in shoe styles, color etc. Now, they are more similar and they wear almost the same size so now they converse together and weigh out the pros and cons.

I am betting you Treyner has at least 30 pairs of shoes including cleats. I might have to go count.

Treyner is also a clothes hoarder. He packs more than most girls. When he went to see Taylor for 2 days in February, he packed 4 pairs of shoes and enough clothes for a European vacation.

Then, he will work and landscape and not wash his hands without reminding for lunch. I do not get him.

Baylor will shower 2 times a day and pack one pair of underwear for a 4 day trip. I do not get him either.

Anyway, Taylor, found a Gator's shirt and bought Treyner a Gators shirt too. I think she began to understand that Treyner may be more high maintenance in some areas than she could ever be accused of when she was ready to quit looking and Treyner had 15 boxes of shoes in his reach, still to try on.

We had plans to check into Pop Century and hit DTD for dinner at WPE. We needed to hurry because it was already 7 p.m. and we needed to shower still! So upon leaving Nike and driving to WDW, I tried to call a few numbers to find out when DTD closed that night. It was a weekday so I was not sure how late the shops would be open.

Called the Dining number first and they had no idea what times restaurants closed. Called WDW info and they told me to call dining and I told them I had done that. Literally spent all the drive from the southern most part of Kissimee until we were entering the Welcome to WDW sign and still had no answers. It was a wast of minutes for sure on a cell phone and it gave me reason to think that as much as Disney does have organized, there still is a bunch they do not give to the people on the front line of customer service.

We found Pop and went to check in. There was hardly anyone in front of us and we found out we would be residing in the 90's building. Got our keys and dining plan verification and went to hurry up, shower and change because WPE closed at 10 p.m.! It was now 8 p.m.!

I will say that everybody was great being squashed at Pop. It would never happen again if I had a choice but by the time Taylor was coming and then Carsyn at the last minute, there was nothing we could do but make the best of it or not stay on property. The rooms were full!

So everybody knew we would be grinning through 3 nights of being squashed and they still voted to stay there vs off property. With that in mind, we all did our best to be respectful of time and were fast to get in and out of the shower/changing area. I think the fact we knew we would never be in the room helped and also the fact we are campers. Nothing is as small as a Pop Up camper or tent in the rain with 5 people. If you can handle that, a hotel room with 6 is a piece of cake.

Taylor had only been to WDW once when she was young and never remembered being to DTD. She was looking forward to experiencing all of it and Treyner was busting at the seams to show her his love of WDW.

We ran from the lot to WPE and got a seat after ordering pretty quickly. Carsyn again, was taking a lot of pics and thus, she is not in many.

We all had great food. Cesar salad, four cheese pizza, peperoni pizza, fettuccine, spaghetti and brownies/cookies minus Baylor's dessert. I love their creme brule but alas, they were out for the night.

Up next: DTD and WHO WANTS TO BE A STRIPPER!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

OMG Dawn! You are fierce! I would have been screaming and swearing too - but from the safety of my vehicle where she couldn't hear me. But you tell it so funny, I was LOL!!!

 

[GoofyWife]

Dawn - I think I'm shocked at your behavior - not - I too would have been in the safety of my car screaming at her - telling my kids not to listen! If my husband was driving, he would start going as slow as he could and straddle the road to block her - he loves to frustrate rude drivers. I'm glad your finally at WDW - we stayed at POP last summer and loved it. Sorry you couldnt go to the beach at Vero - I grew up on the coast in northern Massachusetts and they used to plow some of the beaches almost every spring, especially if we had bad winter storms. Can't wait to hear more of your adventures.

 

[afwdwfan]

For future reference (and to avoid unnecessary fits of screaming rage along the side of the road) I have 2 words for you...

BRAKE CHECK!

 

[Dizneydawn]

OMG Dawn! You are fierce! I would have been screaming and swearing too - but from the safety of my vehicle where she couldn't hear me. But you tell it so funny, I was LOL!!!

Livid I tell ya and it went on and on. I guess I should start wearing a bump-it!

Dawn - I think I'm shocked at your behavior - not - I too would have been in the safety of my car screaming at her - telling my kids not to listen! If my husband was driving, he would start going as slow as he could and straddle the road to block her - he loves to frustrate rude drivers. Dan was doing all of the above the whole time. I'm glad your finally at WDW - we stayed at POP last summer and loved it. Sorry you couldnt go to the beach at Vero - I grew up on the coast in northern Massachusetts and they used to plow some of the beaches almost every spring, especially if we had bad winter storms. Can't wait to hear more of your adventures.

I am glad they are fixing it and I know it needs to be done. I felt bad I had not thought to call ahead and it might have been in the DVC info they send out I tend not to read. Like details in car loans!

For future reference (and to avoid unnecessary fits of screaming rage along the side of the road) I have 2 words for you...

BRAKE CHECK!

I swear Dan had done that a bunch! That is why she started going to the side trying to pass us!

Busy day here! Baylor's 8th grade grad and now I have my niece here for the weekend! Pics later I am sure!

 

[nutmegg]

"You stupid F.W.(insert a swear word ending with "ing" and a not very nice name for a woman that rhymes with "smore.") I have kids in the back of the van and if you hit me I am going to kick your @ss." I felt very Jersey Shore-ish.

Wow..that's great! You would def survive here at the Jersey Shore!

Also thought you might like this article!

http://www.thestar.com/living/artic...ures-couple-together-15-years-before-they-met

 

[zrhonmar]

I agree with afwdwfan


Brake Check!

Can't stand people like that. You always wish there was a cop around. Of course when you don't one around they are there to catch.


Rhonda

 

[podsnel]

That was HILARIOUS ROTFLMAO funny!!!

Go Dawn!!!!