Ready, Set, Let the Games Begin! - Link to new PTR/TR!

[PrincessInOz]

WOW! I can only dream.

Congrats on getting V&A. Gonna make for an interesting TR post.

 

[Luvchefmic]

WOW! I can only dream.

Congrats on getting V&A. Gonna make for an interesting TR post.

Have to agree with but when oh when will I ever learn I must NOT open your reports on an empty stomach I swear you must hear it growling all the way out there in CA V & A never been probably never will go but so nice to hear and see all about it

 

[rentayenta]

Love the V&A plan. I also really like that photo of you two. The food looks and sounds incredible. What a dining experience to remember.

 

[lisaviolet]

Love the V&A plan. I also really like that photo of you two. The food looks and sounds incredible. What a dining experience to remember.

Look at me Alison - I'm almost speechless. And SO jealous. Oh how I love food.

Great and quite annoying update!!!!!

 

[rentayenta]

I'm going to make a few more passes at it before the end of summer. I have six more in the freezer (two are going to Florida). I've considered marinating, but truthfully I just like the taste of the meat (with some horseradish).

I really like horseradish too. Rare meat with a little S&P too. Yum! I'm sure your roasts will make trip report news again. Michael marinates but not always. He does freeze the steaks for about 20 minutes before cooking.

 

[ACDSNY]

Enjoy your V & A dinner this Fall. I'm in a food coma just looking at your pics!

 

[dolphingirl47]

Just checking in and marking my spot. I will start reading tomorrow.

Corinna

 

[Minniemum]

Oh my. Each V&A dish looks like a work of art. Your photos are equally good. It's easy to see why you're looking forward to your new reservation.

 

[franandaj]

If you ever need company at V&A I'm your girl...especially if its at the Chef's Table. I just ate there last month (4th time!) and booked again in October. Such a fantastic experience!

Jill in CO

Of course Jill, I would love to have you as company at V&A's!

Alison you are making my mouth water with these wonderful meals... I have done V&A once back in 2009.... I need to go back...

Me too! I can't wait to go back!

Just finished reading your last trip report - enjoyed it so much, I'm here for the new one! You two are so lucky to take so many cool trips. I am the mother of 3, not as easy $$ wise for us to take multiple vacations in a given year. I love to read about others experiences, though.

I'm glad you enjoyed the last TR! I can imagine that having kids certainly can cut into your vacation budget. We always say that we love our furkids, but the nice thing is that you don't have to put them through college!

WOW! I can only dream.

Congrats on getting V&A. Gonna make for an interesting TR post.

Hopefully it will be as wonderful as the past meals have been!

Have to agree with but when oh when will I ever learn I must NOT open your reports on an empty stomach I swear you must hear it growling all the way out there in CA V & A never been probably never will go but so nice to hear and see all about it

Yeah, I get that a lot! You can enjoy it vicariously through my report!

Love the V&A plan. I also really like that photo of you two. The food looks and sounds incredible. What a dining experience to remember.

The food is incredible, I just love dining there.

Look at me Alison - I'm almost speechless. And SO jealous. Oh how I love food.

Great and quite annoying update!!!!!

Lisa speechless????

I really like horseradish too. Rare meat with a little S&P too. Yum! I'm sure your roasts will make trip report news again. Michael marinates but not always. He does freeze the steaks for about 20 minutes before cooking.

I think in the next week or two it's time for another test!

Enjoy your V & A dinner this Fall. I'm in a food coma just looking at your pics!

Just checking in and marking my spot. I will start reading tomorrow.

Corinna

I hope you're caught up, an update with you is coming soon!

Oh my. Each V&A dish looks like a work of art. Your photos are equally good. It's easy to see why you're looking forward to your new reservation.

It's a fantastic restaurant!

 

[franandaj]

So this has nothing to do with my trip in October, but it has to do with traveling in general. We have been talking about our next non-Disney trip. Fran told me that she wanted to take a non-Disney related trip before we book our next Disney trip so we have had this one in the works for a while. The folks at the hotel at the crux of the trip told us that they would not be releasing bookings for 2014 until August of this year, but I decided to take a look last night and see if anything was available and what do you know? They had opened up the 2014 bookings!

We wanted the top of the line rooms at this hotel and because they could possibly sell out quickly, I wanted to jump on it. We figured out this itinerary a few months back, it would be a 10 day southwestern road trip, with a stay at the Monument Valley View Inn as the highlight and also staying at the Bryce Canyon Inn, all the other hotels were one night stays en route to the main event which is the five days in the two National Parks.

We found a nice time of year when it is not too hot, but not too cold and before most of the kids are out of school. Our plan is to leave on the day after my Birthday next year and come back on Mother's day. Since it is a road trip there is always room for change as long as it is on the start or end of the trip. Some of these hotels we had to book solid and pay a deposit in advance so no waiver room there, but we can always leave a day early or come back a day late because we have not booked those hotels yet!

Here is the plan as it looks now. We leave on May 2, 2014 from Long Beach.

Day 1 – Drive from Long Beach to Laughlin, NV
Day 2 – Drive from Laughlin, NV to Flagstaff, AZ
Day 3 – Drive from Flagstaff, AZ to Monument Valley
Day 4 – Private Jeep Tour of Monument Valley
Day 5 – Another Private Jeep Tour of Monument Valley
Day 6 – Drive to Bryce Canyon
Day 7 – Auto Tour of Bryce Canyon
Day 8 – Auto tour of Hwy 12 (All American Road), stay in Cedar City
Day 9 – Drive to Jean, NV, stay at Goldstrike Inn
Day 10 – Drive home to Long Beach

Since Fran (and me) have somewhat of mobility problems, we decided that the Jeep tours of Monument Valley would be the best. Neither of us would be well suited to ride horses or hike, so we thought the Jeep tours would be great.

We plan on a sunrise tour, a sunset tour, and some other tours in between. There is even a starlight tour from midnight to 3AM which I am considering. We will see how it all works out.

We love our road trips because we can stop and check things out on the way. Our only problem is that we sometimes get distracted by shiny objects along the way and stop for too long! Everything but the first and last night has been booked, so we will have to keep some sort of schedule. I am looking forward to PIO's TR from her Fall trip as to what the area around Monument Valley holds. From what I gather she is not staying at the View hotel but I could be wrong, she has been very cryptic about her accommodations....

It appears to me that there is nothing really near the hotel as far as restaurants, so we will need to bring our own provisions (ie microwavable meals and such) for anything we want to eat outside of the restaurant. Knowing Fran and myself, we will not want to pay restaurant prices for every meal, so we will want to bring yogurts, sandwich meats, bread, mayo, etc. so that we can have a few meals that don't rival Disney prices!!!!!

Also knowing this is a dry region, I hope they don't search your bags!

At Bryce they have no TVs or wifi, but we have our hot spot and sling box, so we will survive!

This is a definite roughin' it kind of trip for us, but I think it will be really fun!

Our last non Disney trip was to DC in 2011 and I'm so mad that I didn't know Brandi better that we didn't meet up! I'm sure it would have been a blast! We are soul sisters! I'm going to take this as a learning curve, even if you are new to folks on the DIS, perhaps you should give it a chance meeting. Same thing with PIO in 2010. We were both in proximity, but I didn't know her well enough, had we met up, it would have that much cooler!

Anyways, look for a PTR coming to you soon. I know that soon I will have three TR/PTRs going, but this new one will require a lot of planning and hopefully I will get some new folks chiming in. I realized as I looked at the map we will be at a hotel for three nights where the closest alternative restaurant is 20 minutes away. Fast food is over 30 minutes and slow food is like an hour away. This makes me want to plan to just make my own food in case we aren't thrilled with the restaurant! And y'all know I'm ready to do that at the drop of a hat!

So I'll be back with more details when they come and I start a PTR, but until then I'll just be posting here about my daily hopes for each day at WDW when we arrive on 9/29. I already know how that post will go.....TTFN

 

[Luvchefmic]

I used to be the Queen of the Road and loved those kind of trips..stopping along the way when "seeing something shiny" is lots of fun when you can do it

Awesome idea about the jeep tours and I think I would definitely do the midnight to 3 am one too This trip will make for some beautiful photo opportunities

You're right about lesson learned and not to hesitate about meeting someone I met PrincessInOz ( PIO ) our first Dismeet in 2010 How nice it would have been to meet you Alison & Fran then too October will be here before we know it Can't wait

Plans sound really nice looking forward to more VERY anxious to see & hear things about D23 Expo that's fast approaching oh how I WISH I could be there ! Remember always hunt for Pluto

Ruthie

 

[PrincessInOz]

WOW!! What a great roadie. I'll be signing up for vicarious backseat driving for this trip!

I am looking forward to PIO's TR from her Fall trip as to what the area around Monument Valley holds. From what I gather she is not staying at the View hotel but I could be wrong, she has been very cryptic about her accommodations....

It appears to me that there is nothing really near the hotel as far as restaurants, so we will need to bring our own provisions (ie microwavable meals and such) for anything we want to eat outside of the restaurant. Knowing Fran and myself, we will not want to pay restaurant prices for every meal, so we will want to bring yogurts, sandwich meats, bread, mayo, etc. so that we can have a few meals that don't rival Disney prices!!!!!

Wait and see.


And wait till you start researching supermarkets for provisions in the area.

I found Basha's Dine in Kayenta!!

 

[Pinkocto]

This sounds like a great trip! Glad you checked and got the rooms you wanted. Sounds like a cooler full of provisions needs to accompany you on the journey you'll have kitchens or will have to plan on quick fix meals?

 

[dgbg100106]

Alison... The road trip sounds like lots of fun....

I wish we had met up also, but we will, I just know it!

Either I am coming that way or you this way or we will meet int he middle somewhere.

Or we could just plan on meeting up in PIO neck of the woods...

 

[dgbg100106]

This sounds like a great trip! Glad you checked and got the rooms you wanted. Sounds like a cooler full of provisions needs to accompany you on the journey you'll have kitchens or will have to plan on quick fix meals?

Not just food, I see boxes/bags of wine in their trunk also...

 

[PrincessInOz]

Alison... The road trip sounds like lots of fun....

I wish we had met up also, but we will, I just know it!

Either I am coming that way or you this way or we will meet int he middle somewhere.

Or we could just plan on meeting up in PIO neck of the woods...

Sounds like a plan to me.

 

[jedijill]

Wow, that trip sounds awesome! Look forward to hearing about it! I have my own road trip next week....miles and miles of oil wells and wheat through Eastern Colorado and Kansas on my way to Kansas City. Not nearly as interesting as your trip.

Jill in CO

 

[dgbg100106]

Sounds like a plan to me.

you are on my bucket list..

 

[rentayenta]

Fun road trip plans! You'll be in my neck of the woods, about 3 hours away. Utah isn't dry so don't worry about smuggling booze in. We're just repressed.

 

[Pinkocto]

Not just food, I see boxes/bags of wine in their trunk also...

I'm sure that's already on the list