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

[reyasmommy]

LOL @ your hubby. Poor guy.

I know, he's such a dork sometimes. But I gotta love him.

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

Thank You! Glad to have you aboard!

 

[reyasmommy]

September 14th/Day 3

My alarm went off at 6:30am, but I was so tired I pushed the snooze button for a about a 1/2 hour. Although I had a great night sleep it took some time for me to actually fall into a deep sleep. Once again I was snoring so loud that I would wake myself up, but luckily it didn't seem to phase DD or DH. Even though I woke up a 1/2 hour later then I wanted to we managed to leave the room on time.

Once we packed up the car we headed back into the hotel to eat breakfast. They had an amazing free HOT buffet breakfast. The dinning area was beautiful and they had a huge selection of items to choose from. I had biscuts and gravy, eggs, and sausage. Reya had eggs, a banana and muffins, and DH had the same as me.

~~DD sitting in the Lobby before breakfast~~

~~DD eating breakfast~~

After we were done eating we bid farewell to the Drury Plaza around 9:00am. We ended up hitting extremely heavy traffic once we got on the interstate due to construction. What should have been a 10min drive out of the city turned into 45mins.

Our first stop for the day was at a rest area in Metropolis Illinois. While there DH, DD, and I played at the playground that they had on site. There was this wooden teeter totter there that looked like so much fun, so we decided to hop right on. I sat on one side while DH and DD sat on the other. Oh my goodness it was so much fun. I love being able to act like a kid every once in awhile, that's the best part of being a parent, being able to have an excuse to act like one. Reya absolutely had a ball, she laughed and laughed and laughed.

Our second stop was lunch in a small town in tennesse, where we ate at a Craker Barrel. This was a first for all of us, we only have one or two in the whole state of Colorado. Once we walked into the restaurant there was this really nice old lady there to greet us. DD just smiled at her and walked right up to her to be picked up like she was an old family friend. It was really cute and really scary at the same time. Not because I was worried about the lady, but it makes me realize that I need to start teaching her about stranger danger real soon. She's the most loveable little girl and loves to talk and be held by just about anyone. Anyway, DD and the nice lady talked back and forth for a few minutes then we were seated. Reya and I shared the Chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes, french fries, and corn. Not sure what DH had?!?! I didn't think the food was anything special. I've had better and I've had worse, but you got a lot of food for what you pay for and that was nice.


~~DD posing with the pig in front of the CB, she kept calling it kitty kat~~

~~DD sitting in a rocking chair in fron of the CB~~

Our only other stop for the day was another rest stop in tennesse, somewhere between nashville and chattanooga. No fun teeter totters there.

We arrived at the Hilton Garden Inn in Kennesaw GA around 8:00pm. Once again check in was nice and smooth and the staff was very friendly. Hotel was nice, clean, and felt very cozy. We had a standard king bed room which we were very pleased with. Once we entered the room, Reya went straight over to the tv, found the remote, handed it to me at said "BOB,BOB" aka SPONGE BOB. I told her I was sorry but there would be no "BOB,BOB" tonight. Since it was late we decided to just order room service that night. After we were unpacked and in our pjs we ordered our food. I had a chicken sandwich with fries while Will had the chicken salad. It was really yummy! After our tummies were full we decided to hit the hay. Once again it was difficult getting Reya to sleep, but not as bad as the previous 2 nights. This time I made her fall asleep in her crib instead of bringing her into bed with me, and it seemed to work much better. After watching a little tv I drifted off to sleep.

~~Reya looking for "BOB,BOB"~~

SEE YA REAL SOON! Be back sometime soon with day 4.

 

[tammyd_rn]

I am sorry to say I had to laugh at your husband. Poor guy. I can only imagine the exchange that went on between him and the little old lady. Poor Guy.

Looking forward to more of your report.

 

[maedelken]

Oh no the ladies restroom. He must have been mortified. My DH would never live that mistake down. His two older DD's and DW would make sure of that. Your daughter has the cutest outfits they make her look really tall. Is she tall for her age? Can't wait to read more I am hooked now.

 

[reyasmommy]

Oh no the ladies restroom. He must have been mortified. My DH would never live that mistake down. His two older DD's and DW would make sure of that. Your daughter has the cutest outfits they make her look really tall. Is she tall for her age? Can't wait to read more I am hooked now.

Actually she's always been small for her age. She was in the 5th-10th percentile until she was 18 months, then she shot up to the 27th percentile. I looked back at her records and she was 31" when we were on that trip. Thanks for the comments on the clothes. It seems like if I don't dress her in pink or in dresses everyone mistakes her for a boy. POOR THING!

 

[irky416]

Glad to see you had fun at the playground. It sounds like your DD is handling the trip pretty well. Again, I love the pictures...she's so cute!

 

[reyasmommy]

September 15th/Day 4

Woke up at 7:00am, was excited because today was the day we would finally be in arriving into Florida. After we checked out of the room and got the car packed up we headed back in for breakfast. It wasn't free but a reasonable 7 something for all you can eat. I had pancakes, sausage, and bacon. Will had just about one of everything, and DD had yogart, muffins, and fruit.

~~Reya chilling in the hotel lobby before breakfast~~

After breakfast we headed out and stopped at a Target a couple of miles down the road. I needed to buy a memory card for one of my cameras because I accidentally left it at home. This really irritated me because I had to shell out an unexpected $50.00. On our way out of the store we ordered some yummy Starbucks because we didn't know how far we would have to drive until we hit another one. ((we're Starbucks junkies))

Our first stop was a rest stop somewhere in Georgia!?!?!

** Here’s some photos I snapped while we were there…. Needed to try out my new memory card.

After 20 minutes of relaxing and stretching our legs out we were on the road…..


Our second stop of the day was for lunch. We decided on Arby’s which was located about 5 miles away from the Florida border. Can't think of the name of the town at the top of my head but it didn't seem like the best neighborhood. I actually think we saw a drug deal going on.. The staff was not friendly, and I would not have stayed more then a couple of minutes if it weren't for all the other tourist around. After we left the ghetto we drove about 10miles down the interstate and stopped at the Florida Visitor Center. We let Reya walk around and play for a little while, gathered up some brochures and were on our way.

~~Pictures taken at rest area/visitor center in florida~~

Day 4 to be continued........

 

[Mcbruns]

Subscribing. Very adventurous gang you are (driving to the World)

 

[reyasmommy]

Subscribing. Very adventurous gang you are (driving to the World)

Thanks for stopping by. :Luckily my DD is an amazing traveler. We're taking her on a road trip to DL next month too. Actually this will be her 5th road trip since she's been born.

 

[irky416]

I would be so mad if I left my memory card at home. At least you were able to get another one.

The picture of Reya with her head in that stand thing is so cute!

 

[meloneyb21]

Subscribing ! Reya is such a cutie pie! Her and daddy are such twins ....lol.

 

[chiefdragon]

I love the time you took every day to spend with Reya. That had to make the trip even more special as you were driving down.

 

[reyasmommy]

Day 4 continued.....

It was another 3 hour drive from the visitors center to our hotel we were going to be staying at for the next 2 nights. Once we were 5 miles away our stupid GPS( who had yet to let us down )took us some weird round about way that wasted about 30mins of our time. AHHHHH I was sooo irritated, and poor Reya was about to have her first meltdown.

We finally arrived at the Meridian Palms hotel around 5:00pm. I wasn't all that impressed with the hotel from the moment we arrived, but I had to realize that it was only for a couple of nights and we would survive. I think we got 2 nights for around $150.00 so I guess it wasn't bad for what we paid.

When we checked in the gentleman behind the desk wasn't very professional or extra friendly. ((he looked like an older version of Taylor hicks)) Any who, when I told him that I wanted to pay in cash he seemed irritated and proceeded to tell me that he didn't have any change. This upset me because I didn't want to put the room on my credit card so I went though my wallet and diaper bag and came up with the amount right down to the penny. After he gave us our room key and information on the hotel we proceeded to our room which was on the 3rd floor across from the elevator.

Upon entering we noticed that there was only 1 king sized bed ……. We did ask for a King, but I also asked for a sleeper sofa when I booked the room so when my cousin arrived he would have a place to sleep. The room was rather large so I had assumed that it was a handicapped room. I went back down to the desk and asked for a room with a sleeper sofa or 2 queen beds. They ended up giving us another king room with a sleeper sofa.

Once we found our new room we were upset to find out that we were given a smoking room. GRRRR!!! OH WELL!! I was just going to deal with it. The room was also super small and I had then wished that I would have just kept the handicapped room for the extra space and my cousin could have slept on the floor. But I'm not one to cause a problem or make a nuisance of myself so I just let it be.

You can tell that it had recently been renovated but not done very well. The couch and the bed were really uncomfortable and the toilet was coming up off of the floor. But like I said we would only be there for a couple of days so we would make due.

~~Room overlooked the pool~~

~~View from the room~~

~~View of the room~~

After we got all settled and unpacked we gave Reya a quick bath. ((She hates baths)) and walked across the parking lot to eat dinner at IHOP. Dinner wasn't all that great and my husbands pancakes were burnt. Reya was getting pissy and was obviously ready for bed so we hurried up ate and left.

This was the first night that DD actually fell asleep on her own and in her crib with no problem.

End of day 4

 

[reyasmommy]

Subscribing ! Reya is such a cutie pie! Her and daddy are such twins ....lol.

Thanks

They do look a lot alike. For Halloween my husband wanted the two of them to dress up as Doctor Evil and Mini Me. LOL. ((If you've ever watched Austin Powers))

 

[reyasmommy]

I love the time you took every day to spend with Reya. That had to make the trip even more special as you were driving down.

Yeah, I didn't want the poor thing sitting in the car that long without any breaks. Too far to drive with a toddler..... I'm so lucky she's a great travler. We're going to DL next month and it will be her 5th road trip.

 

[meloneyb21]

Thanks

They do look a lot alike. For Halloween my husband wanted the two of them to dress up as Doctor Evil and Mini Me. LOL. ((If you've ever watched Austin Powers))

LOL....that is such a cute idea!

 

[reyasmommy]

September 16th/Day 5

My alarm went off around 7:00am, my goal was to be at the gates of Universal Studios by opening but it didn't happen. As a matter of fact the entire trip I didn't manage to make it too one opening of any park. OH WELL~ Kinda hard with a toddler.

We arrived at Universal Studios around 9:30 am, but actually arrived at the gates around 10:00am. That walk is INSANE from the parking garage, plus I wasn't allowed to use the moving walkways because of the stroller. ..I was already exhausted and I hadn't even started my day yet.

We picked up our tickets at the electronic ticketing booth and we on our way!

My first mistake of the day was actually putting on makeup that morning. What in the world was I thinking?!?!? I soon realized that makeup would be non-existent on the rest of the trip. I looked like a melting wax figure, and the makeup poured into my eyes blinding me until I found some napkins to wipe it off. Wasn't the most attractive thing as my husband pointed out.

We soon realized that there wasn't going to be much to do for the day with it just being DD, DH, and I. Reya couldn't do much of anything and without an extra pair of hands neither could we.

Our first stop was ET. I remember loving this ride and was thinking that DD would too. Who could be scared of ET?!?! There was NO wait for the ride so we hopped right on. We were seated in the back of the car with DD sitting between me and DH. She freaked out most of the ride with her little arms stretched out for DH to pick her up. The ride was just too loud and too dark for her to handle.

OHHHH NOOOO!!!! Is this how the whole trip is going to be I thought?!?!?

Once we got off of ET we went over to the Barney's backyard playground?!?! ((think that's what it's called)) Reya walked and looked around for awhile and it was a nice way for us all to get out of the heat for a bit.

After spending 20mins there we headed over to the curious george water
area.

We stripped Reya down to her diaper, hat, and sandals and let her run amuck. During that time I sat infront of a mister fan in the shade which felt like heaven. ((DW really needs to invest in those--they're everywhere at Universal and were a god-send)) Anyway~~ After a few minutes of sitting in the shade I decided to join Reya for a little while. DH went to get my $1000.00 camera to take a picture of DD and I. Reya and I were standing underneth some kind of deck/awning but my DH was not. A couple of seconds later while he's taking our pictures we hear someone screaming "WATCH OUT!!"" and this massive bucket of water poured on top of my husband, All I could do was stare with my mouth wide open repeating over and over.. (oh my god, oh my god, oh my god)! I thought DH was going to freak out, but he was nice and calm and collected about it. He went over to try to dry off my camera and himself. I was freaked out because I was thinking my camera was a ruined. Well, the thing still takes pictures, but from here on out all of the pictures have a weird little spot in the left hand corner.

~~Gosh! If only there was a sign there to warn you! ~~

After that DH figured he was soaked anyway, and proceeded to play in the water with Reya!

~~See that bucket of water above reyas head, that's what dumped on DH head~~

Day 5 to be continued.......

 

[irky416]

Sorry to hear about your room trouble. I'm the same as you and wouldn't complain again after we had already been switched once.

I'm glad to hear your camera was still working. That could have wound up really bad.

 

[reyasmommy]

Sorry to hear about your room trouble. I'm the same as you and wouldn't complain again after we had already been switched once.

I'm glad to hear your camera was still working. That could have wound up really bad.

Yeah, I'm still really bummed though. I LOVE that camera and it's ruined forever. I still have it cause it takes great pictures, except for that stupid dot in the left corner. Oh Well! My husband bought me a small digital camera for mothers day, but it's just not the same.

 

[reyasmommy]

Day 5 continuted.....


After playing for about 45mins we decided that we were pretty hungry, we dried Reya off, got her dressed and headed over to Mel's Drive In for lunch. The food was okay, nothing special. I had the Chicken strips with chili fries, DH had a cheese burger, and Reya shared off of our plates as usual.

After we ate lunch we decided that there wasn't much more for us to do at universal until we came back with DC a couple days later. So we headed on over to IOA so we could spend a little time at Suess Landing.

Once we arrived, we went straight to the Cat in the Hat ride. There was No wait so we hopped right on. Reya did well most of the ride but would freak out a little bit when in a dark room, but other then that she did great.

After riding Cat in the hat we headed over to the Caro-suess-el ~~ Once again there was NO wait. I decided to stand up right next to Reya so she could ride by herself and DH rode right next to her. This isn't the first time DD has been on a carousel and she's always seemed to like them so I knew she wouldn't have any problem. WRONG!!!!!!~~ She cried and wiggled pretty much the entire ride.

By this time the weather was pretty much unbearable and we decided to head back to the hotel to wait for my DC to arrive from the airport. On our way out of the park I decided to stop and get myself some moose juice.... Mmmmmm, nice and refreshing!! Now that I had my refreshment we could continue on our 5 mile walk to the car. Grrrrrrr.

On our walk back to the car DD passed out in her stroller and luckily didn't wake as I put her in her car seat. We decided to just drive around for a little while when we left the parking lot so she could sleep because I knew once we stopped she would wake up. After a half hour or so we headed back to the hotel.

We arrived around 3:00pm. But when we entered the room I was highly disappointed because our room had yet to be cleaned. I didn't want to be there when the maid showed up so we went to a cheesy gift shop across the parking lot to kill some time. While there we bought Reya a little stuffed kitty cat and a bag to carry our cameras in. After a half hour or so we headed back hoping that the room would be done, and thank goodness it was. DC called me and told me he was on the shuttle and would be there soon. We laid down and rest for awhile until Mike showed up.

When Mike arrived he wasn't feeling well at all. He proceeded to tell us that the doctor thinks he's coming down with strep throat and gave him some medication to take with him. This worried me because I didn't want any of us to get sick and I didn't want DC to be miserable the entire time he was there.

After Mike got settled in we decided to head out for dinner and stopped at a drug store so Mike could get some OTC meds as well.

After our brief stop we decided on eating at Planet Hollywood in DTD. It was pouring outside so we sat in the car until it stopped. We were seated on the top floor overlooking the rest of the restaurant. Will and I shared the appetizer sampler and Mike got the bacon cheeseburger, everything was pretty yummy.

~~ Mike at Planet Hollywood~~

After eating we walked around DTD for awhile to shop and take in all the sites. We didn't stay too long and headed back to the hotel because Mike was feeling really horrible and wanted to lay down. POOR GUY!!

When we got back to the hotel we put Reya to bed she fell asleep all by herself again, Mike passed out almost right away, and DH and I sat up at watched Mr. and Mrs Smith before we retired for the night.

Well that's it for Day 5....be back later with day 6!