The bald and the beautiful take on the world. Our September 2007 road trip!

[reyasmommy]

Hello to all who have decided to stop by.

This is my first trip report and I hope that you will all enjoy.

****Our trip was back in September 2007, so I will do my best to remember everything that I can. I started writing my trip report soon after we got back but was sidetracked and never finished. After day 14 or so I unfortunately lost my notes and don't remember details but I'll post pictures and information on what I do. ((Sorry))

First a few side notes for you all

1. Our vacation was a total of 21 days, so this will be a long trip report and I will try to update it as often as I can.
2. Our trip also consists of a 5 day road trip and some time at universal studios and the beach. (sorry for those of you who hate universal)
3. There are NO pictures of us with the characters because we soon realized after arriving at the parks that our DD was terrified of them.
4. You will see very few pictures of myself because I avoid the camera at almost all cost.

Other then that please sit back and relax.

The cast

Me: I'm a 29 year old stay at home Mom. This is my 5th trip to disney world. My husband and I were married at the Poly in June of 2001. Every trip that I've taken to Disney was for a special occasion of some sort. My first trip was for my high school graduation in 1996, Second trip we took my DH best friend who was sadly dying from cancer,((that was the most memorable trip of course)) , 3rd trip was for my wedding and honeymoon, 4th trip was for my 2 year anniversary, and now this 5th trip is for my DD first visit. I planned every second of this trip myself while my husband worked very hard to pay for it.

DH: 31 years old. Investment Broker. Also his 5th trip to disney World. Best husband and Father in the world.

DD: 18mos old. The most friendly loving baby EVER. This is her first trip to Disney World. Went to DL when she was 6months old and loved it, so I was hopeful she would enjoy Disney even more now that she's one year older. I soon realized that was false and has since then become a big wuss. But ya gotta love her, and she still had a wonderful time

DC: 18years old. First trip to Disney World. Took a week off of school to join us for a week. Only made it because we agreed to pay for his hotel and some park tickets. Really needed him for an extra hand so it was worth it.

DG: (my dad) 47years old. First trip to Disney World. Lives in California so I only get to see him a few times a year. Flew in to meet us for 4 days.




Okay let's begin ~~~~

September 12th

YAY!! Today was finally the day we were going on our worry free 3 week vacation. I woke up around 7:00am so I could try to hurry up and get ready before my DD woke up so there would be little interuption. DH was going to work for part of the day but luckily decided at the last minute to go ahead and take the day off so we could leave a little earlier.

9:30am: house sitter/dog sitter arrived. ((I'm so thankful for her, how many people would agree to watch your home and pets for 3 weeks?!?))

10:45am: All packed up and Ready to GO!

~~~ OKAY REYA ~ READY TO GO TO DISNEY WORLD???!!!~~~~

~~~ REYA trying to decided whether to take her bunny or Bear~~

~~~ She decided on bunny~~

After an hour and a half of driving we decided to stop and stretch our legs at a rest stop in Arriba Colorado?!?! Reya was so happy to get out of the car! She's an awesome rider and complained very little. The entire road trip we made sure to stop every one to two hours so she could run around and burn some off some energy, plus we made sure to have Sponge Bob playing on the DVD player non-stop while we were driving. ((amen to dvd players))

After using the facilites, walking, and playing tag for about 20mins we headed out on the open road again. After about another hour and half of driving we stopped in a place called Colby Kansas to refuel the car and our tummies. We ate at a McDonalds. I think this was the worst McDonalds EVER! When we walked up to the counter the lady standing there didn't greet us with a hello or even a smile. All she did was yell at the top of her lungs "I NEED SOMEONE UP AT THE COUNTER NOW!!!" Couple of seconds later an older man came up to the counter and took our order. The restaurant didn't seem to be the taken care of , and the food was horrible. Also, during the time we were eating some guy came in and started spraying pesticide on the floors under and around the tables... WHAT THE???? On top of the horrible service and food, Reya threw her bottle on the table and spilled my food all over me. I had mayo, mustard, and ketcup all over my shirt and pants. Geezz, vacation wasn't starting off too well.

After lunch we stopped at the one and only starbucks in town. We didn't see any other signs the entire way until we got into Georgia. ((INSANE))

Drove another hour and a half and stopped at a rest stop somewhere in kansas. The rest stop was icky and had bugs all over the place in the rest-room. Let Reya run around for awhile then headed off to our hotel which was about an hour away.

((to be continued))

 

[DisneyFairy66]

subscribing what a cutie you have...keep it coming

 

[reyasmommy]

subscribing what a cutie you have...keep it coming

Ahhh, thank you so much! I started reading your TR. You and your BF make a cute couple!

 

[reyasmommy]

We arrived at the Courtyard Salina in Kansas around 6:00 PM. Check in was smooth and easy. DH unloaded the car and packed everything onto the luggage cart, looking at it you would have thought we were staying a week.

The hotel was pretty nice except for a hint of odor that smelled like smoke. Luckily the room itself did not smell. The room was spacious with a king sized bed, sofa, fridge, microwave and all the usual stuff. We were also across the street from various fast food restaurants which was really nice so we wouldn't need to get in the car and go somewhere for dinner.

~~Reya testing out the bed and couch for us~~

After we got all of our stuff settled in the room, we went for a walk around the hotel and pondered what we would get to eat.

~~Reya chilling on a bench in front of the hotel~~

Day one to be continued......

 

[maedelken]

Hi
Your daughter is sooo cute. We have four kids and two of them were bald babies. My oldest didn't get a haircut until she was three. At one she was bald except for a little peach fuzz. My youngest is 6 months old and she is heading down the same path as her big sister. Its funny because they all start off with a lot of dark hair but they loose it all and start over again with real blond hair. Two of them just took a little longer. lol Well looking forward to reading more!

 

[reyasmommy]

Hi
Your daughter is sooo cute. We have four kids and two of them were bald babies. My oldest didn't get a haircut until she was three. At one she was bald except for a little peach fuzz. My youngest is 6 months old and she is heading down the same path as her big sister. Its funny because they all start off with a lot of dark hair but they loose it all and start over again with real blond hair. Two of them just took a little longer. lol Well looking forward to reading more!

Thanks….. Those pictures were taken almost 11 months ago, since then she’s grown a little bit of peach fuzz. She’s so blonde that it’s hard to see the hair she actually does have. I’m hoping by the time she turns 3 I’ll be able to put pretty little bows in her hair. That way people will stop mistaking her for a boy.

 

[reyasmommy]

Day 1 continued.....

Popeye’s was situated directly across the street from our hotel, so we decided to pick up some food from there and bring it back to our room to eat for dinner. I've never eaten there before but DH said it was pretty good so I gave it a try. Sorry to say I wasn't all that impressed with the chicken but the mashed potatoes were yummy. After eating we all got ready for bed. We put Reya in her playpen to sleep, but she didn't want ANYTHING to do with that. For the next 3 hours we would play war with her trying to get her to go night- night! I was worried that this was a prelude to the rest of the trip and that we would have to fight with her every night to try to get her to sleep. Finally around 11:00 pm or so, she crashed in our bed with DH.

~~Reya after I put her in her crib~~

Once Reya was fast asleep I got nice and cozy in my plush comfy bed, watched a little tv and drifted off into lala land. Well Sorta!!!….. I couldn't sleep for anything. I was exhausted but I seemed to wake up every 20mins or so. Most the time I would snore so loud that I would wake myself up. ((That's sad)) So between the snoring and my excitement for the trip I didn't get a very peaceful nights sleep. OH WELL! At least DH and DD slept with no problem the rest of the night.


Well, that's it for day One. Be back later with Day two.

 

[chiefdragon]

Your DD is so cute. My DD was almost 18 months old before we saw any hair...she was so blonde that there really was none there for the eye. I did get her a hair cut at 2 and then again at 3 (but it really didn't need it either time - I just wanted it cut at WDW.)

Can not wait to read more.

 

[reyasmommy]

Your DD is so cute. My DD was almost 18 months old before we saw any hair...she was so blonde that there really was none there for the eye. I did get her a hair cut at 2 and then again at 3 (but it really didn't need it either time - I just wanted it cut at WDW.)

Can not wait to read more.

It's so funny that you said that. We wanted soooo bad for her to get her 1st haircut at the magic kingdom, but alas it was just not meant to be. Maybe we'll have to schedule a WDW trip when she turns 3 so it can happen. At this rate she'll be in kindergarten before she needs a haircut.

 

[DisneyFairy66]

that seems like a really nice hotel. Reya is really soooo cute...
Im glad your reading my TR lol, its my first TR..How is Colorado. My boyfriend and I want to honeymoon there at a ski lodge.

 

[team weasel]

Reya is a cutie!!!!

FYI - I have that same "I'm with Goofy" shirt your DH is wearing. I wear it and make my DH wear a goofy shirt. LOL. It always gets a great reaction from the characters.

Can't wait to read more.

 

[reyasmommy]

that seems like a really nice hotel. Reya is really soooo cute...
Im glad your reading my TR lol, its my first TR..How is Colorado. My boyfriend and I want to honeymoon there at a ski lodge.

I LOVE Colorado!! There are really nice lodges and ski resorts here. Especially in Vail, Telluride and Aspen. ((I've only gone in the summer months though)) I'm a Colorado Native and I've only been skiing once in my life.

 

[reyasmommy]

Reya is a cutie!!!!

FYI - I have that same "I'm with Goofy" shirt your DH is wearing. I wear it and make my DH wear a goofy shirt. LOL. It always gets a great reaction from the characters.

Can't wait to read more.

Thank you!

I know, I LOVE that shirt. I wish I could remember where I bought it, he needs a new one badly. Do you know where you got yours?


Thanks for reading.

P.S. Love your siggie picture.

 

[team weasel]

Thank you!

I know, I LOVE that shirt. I wish I could remember where I bought it, he needs a new one badly. Do you know where you got yours?


Thanks for reading.

P.S. Love your siggie picture.

Target!! I haven't seen it since the year I bought it though b/c mine is wearing down as well, so I have been looking.

I like your siggie too!

 

[maedelken]

okay here is my bald baby

 

[reyasmommy]

okay here is my bald baby

Oh my goodness, she is sooo cute! Bald babies are the best! I have to admit it's nice not having to fuss over the hair, it can be very time consuming.

 

[reyasmommy]

September 13th/Day 2

Alarm went off at 6:30am. I took a shower then went back to sleep until 7:10am. I was so exhausted from the lack of sleep during the night, but needed to get up because we had a 5 hour drive ahead of us and I didn't want to arrive at the hotel too late. Got myself ready and woke DH at 8:15am. After we were both showered, ready, and packed up I woke up DD. Needless to say she was NOT happy about that at all. It's not very often I have to wake her up, she's always the one waking me. We were out of the room at 8:35am. Woo Hoo only 5 minutes off schedule.

As we were passing the lobby on our way out of the hotel, DD was waving bye bye and blowing kisses to everyone. Smiles were plastered on everyone’s face, and every old person was ooohhing and ahhing, it was too cute. I'm hoping she made their day.

After we checked out and loaded up the car we went a couple of miles up the road and stopped at IHOP for breakfast.

~~Reya sitting down before breakfast~~

~~Reya had fresh fruit, while DH and I had the country fried steak. YUMMY!~~

The wait staff left something to be desired, but the food was good. While we were sitting at our table DD continued to be a ham and said "HI" and waved to everybody that walked pass our table.

After breakfast we were on the road again. Had a semi-long drive ahead of us. After about 2 hours we stopped at a rest stop somewhere in Kansas. Reya ran around to burn off some energy, as we ran around after her.

~~DD and DH posing at the rest stop for me~~

Our second stop was about another hour and a half away at some rest stop in MO. DH was the first to use the restroom and came out beet red. Turns out he did his "business" in the womans restroom. When he came out of the stall there was this poor old woman looking at him like he was crazy. I asked him how in the world could he confuse the woman’s restroom with the men’s ? He said he noticed there weren't any urinals right away, but didn't think anything of it, just thought it was a MO thing.

~~DD and ME~~ It was really windy out, that’s why my hair is all messy.

Our third stop was for lunch, we ate at yet another McDonalds. It wasn't my first choice, but there really wasn't much else around. Luckily this one was much better then the one in COLBY KS. People were much friendlier and the food was much better too. Reya got to have some ice cream for dessert, so she was a happy camper.

Day 2 to be continued....

 

[team weasel]

LOL @ your hubby. Poor guy.

 

[reyasmommy]

DAY 2 continued...

We arrived at the Drury Plaza Chesterfield around 4:30pm. Check in was easy and the staff was very friendly. I was surprised and pleased at how beautiful and clean this hotel was.

We took our luggage on up to our room. I was worried when we discovered that our room was right next to the elevator, I was thinking that we would hear a lot of noise through the night, but we never had a problem. The room was nice but pretty small, it had also overlooked the pool and shopping mall across the way.

Upon entering the room Reya went straight for the phone. This became a ritual every single time we entered our hotel rooms on this trip. I had to unplug the phones as soon as we arrived so she wouldn't accidentally make a phone call. It was quite annoying but adorable at the same time.

After we got our luggage put away, DH and I took a quick 20min break, and Reya played peek-a-boo with the curtains. ((Hey whatever makes her happy)) After our brief break we decided to walk over to the mall to see what they had for dinner.

We walked around the mall for a little while and decided on having dinner at a place called Houlihans. We don't have any of these restaurants in Colorado so thought it would be a good place to try out. YUMMY!! I loved this place. Our waitress was a delight and the food was great. We shared the nachos and DD and I shared the chicken alfredo with baked potato soup. Don't remember what DH had.

After dinner we headed back to the hotel room to settle in for the rest of the night. Unfortunately DD was just as difficult to put to sleep as she was the night before. She finally fell asleep around 11:00pm. After she was fast asleep DH went to work out and I tried to fall asleep. The bed was so soft and comfortable and luckily I slept a little better this night.

END OF DAY 2..............

 

[irky416]

I'm enjoying your report so far! Your daughter is cute! Can't wait to read more.