The financially irresponsible WDW trip! [June 25th: p.45, posts 668 & 669]

[team weasel]

Loving the trippie!

 

[Disneyland_Mama]

Just checkin' in.....

 

[DebIreland]

Hee hee. I seriously almost had it finished last week and then I got distracted yet again. I'll be back soon with the job done! Thanks for the support guys!

 

[weezy26nm]

Loving your trip report. Your family looks absolutely wonderful and Alice with those big blue eyes is simply gorgious. And I AM CANADIAN! and your welcome for the maple syrup.

 

[mom2aandj]

Hee hee. I seriously almost had it finished last week and then I got distracted yet again. I'll be back soon with the job done! Thanks for the support guys!

 

[IkeandMike]

Really enjoying your trip report. I wanted to bump you back to the first page, hope this works.

 

[Ricky's Girl]

I came across your trip report two days ago. I'm exhausted and bleary eyed but happy to be caught up. You've certainly inherited the Irish flare for words - I'm eagerly awaiting your next update.

You mentioned Maeve Binchy - have you heard she has a (long awaited) new book coming out in early March?

 

[Lovemy3babes]

I'm still reading and enjoying!!

 

[disneyvacalover]

This is the best report I have ever read. Please tell more!

 

[HappyCamperToo]

Where are you, Deb?

 

[mom2aandj]

would love to read more!!

 

[DebIreland]

Hey everyone! I've only gone and done it again haven't I? Left this hanging for way too long. I wasn't feelng too great for the last week or so but I'm picking up now and really glad that you good folk are still hanging in here with me.

weezy26nm - Cheers!! (Re: Maple Syrup). More on that to follow!!!

IkeandMike - Thanks for the bump and the kind words!!

Ricky's Girl - Welcome!!! Glad to have you here. I hadn't heard about a new Maeve Binchy book! Glad to hear it though!!

Lovemy3babes - Yay!! Thanks!!

disneyvacalover - Such great compliments - THANKS!!! Glad to have you on board!!

Sue - I'm so glad you're still here. Hope things are good with you.

mom2aandj - Thanks so much for the encouragement and for sticking with me.

I have the next couple of chapters done, they just need a bit of tweaking and some pics added so I'll post at least one of them now and the other one will follow shortly.

 

[DebIreland]

Part 12: We finally get to Cocoa Beach

Saturday 28th October, 2006 (still!)

I had read in the Unofficial Guide that we needed to get on the Beeline Expressway to get to Cocoa Beach. We had a couple of crappy maps with us so we looked at those to see how we'd get onto that - normally I'm quite a good navigator. I like reading maps. Yep, I didn't get the 'shoe' gene that most females have but I have the 'map' gene that most females don't have. God help us, I'm a boy!!! Hee hee. Anyway, in this instance, it seems I was too nervous to properly read the map. Why was I nervous? Well I am nervous when we're on the road a lot of the time and then, in a foreign country with different rules and signs, well, that didn't help. DH was the one driving by the way. But also, because he was nervous, which is unusual for him, well that made me worse.

But the other thing is, I felt that this part (the car hire and the driving) was DH's gig. I had planned/booked/researched every other aspect of the holiday. I had asked him repeatedly if he was sure he wanted to hire a car and he said yes each time. I guess I thought he might look at a map himself. But I'm venturing once more into territory better suited to another time and another board. As it was, we just continued on, trying to make the best of the rubbish maps we had with us, and went wrong almost straight away. Now I know I'm not going to remember a lot about the road numbers/names so this will be a bit hazy but I have the general gist. I know that we passed the Caribbean Beach resort on our right about 3 times. Eventually we got onto the I 4 (um, I think it was) and I knew we needed to head north, which we were. But the problem came when we tried to exit off this to get on the Beeline Expressway. We kept seeing the sign for our exit "next right" and we'd take the next right and then, somehow, go around in circles and end up back at Disney World. The gates, in all their glory, would appear before us again and we knew we had to start all over. I lost count of how often this happened but I know it stopped being funny after the first 3 times.

I was a bit crabby at this point - I'm working on it folks, I really am (New Year's Resolution - control moods!). My nerves about driving, my irritation, my fears all contributed to this mood. I said a few times that we should just turn back and get a room in Disney World for the night. We had 14 day ultimate tickets and could come and go as we pleased. One problem with this though (as well as the obvious factor of missing out on the beach and KSC) was that I had paid for the room at Cocoa Beach in advance in order to save a few bucks so although I was suggesting we get a room in WDW like it was no biggie, it probably would have killed me really.

So on we went. We pulled in at a motel somewhere near the Premium Outlet Stores and asked for directions. I don't remember what they were but they set us on the right track and finally, FINALLY, we're on our way.

The billboards for Ron Jons start in Orlando and appear at regular intervals throughout the journey on the Beeline Expressway. What's with that? It's a shop. Or am I missing something? But more on that later. Our journey was coming together, we paid our tolls whenever required and finally we pass over a huge bridge and we're looking at the sea.

Bad photo *but* note the Disney ship in the distance.

We pulled in to get a drink in a petrol station (er, gas station) and I was kinda shocked by how cheap things were compared to here. Things like coke and ice-cream. I stocked up on coke and water and felt quite pleased that I had shopped in the U.S. (albeit in a tiny shop in a back street somewhere between Orlando and Cocoa Beach, not exactly a spree, lol). We get to Cocoa Beach (yay!!) and drive down North Atlantic Avenue looking for our hotel. After much confusion about the fact that the hotel is entitled 'Doubletree Oceanfront Hotel' whereas the sign outside just says 'Doubletree' we pull in, park and enter the lobby.

We were very pleased with this hotel. The staff were terrific and the place was lovely. Our room was fabulous too with the most comfortable pillows and bed quilts I'd ever come across. The boys and Alice got a warm chocolate chip cookie each which I believe is part of Doubletree's trademark - it's odd how something so small made such a difference. They were thrilled and, my oh my, those cookies were really gorgeous.

Of course, with us, it seems there's always a little drama around the every corner and today was no exception. When we checked in, the woman behind the desk told us there had been a call from DH's mother and she left a message asking that we call her back straight away. Now, remember back a few chapters ago, I mentioned that we had filled in an application form for a school for Wayne and left it with my mother? It was due in on Nov 3rd but there was a chance we wouldn't need to apply to the school at all, so I had told my mother that we would call her before the 2nd and let her know whether or not she was to post it (or 'mail' it as it were). Still with me? Okay! Well, worried that something was wrong (i.e. something *real*), we called MIL from the hotel (a silly costly move but, we still hadn't managed to get credit to top up SIL's mobile) and it turns out she had bumped into my own mother whilst out shopping and my mother told her that she didn't know what was going on about the school application and was really worried because she didn't know whether she should mail it or not and that we had promised we'd call but hadn't.

Bear in mind it's only Saturday and we had said we'd call before the following Thursday. MIL said that my mother was upset and so they had been calling each other back and forth, wondering what to do. Instantly, of course, I'm imagining the calls between them, conversing dramatically about their errant, irresponsible offspring, off sunning themselves in Florida while their poor mothers were trying to pick up the pieces of their son's future education. But what bothered me most of all was that she (MIL) said she had left numerous text messages and voice messages on our mobile phones, as had DH's sister, all telling us to call and sort out the school situation. If I told her once, I told her a hundred times before our trip that our mobile phones do not work in the U.S. **Deep breaths, deep breaths**

Anyway, I immediately called my mother (yet another ridiculously expensive call that we couldn't afford) but got her machine, left a message saying there was no hurry at all with the application, that it wasn't a problem but that she could go ahead and mail it when she got a chance and have it done with.

By now I was too upset and irritated to go to the beach with DH and the boys. I guess the whole getting lost thing earlier didn't help either so I told them to go off to the beach and that I would follow. I lay on the bed and cried my eyes out, wondering why, even when we're more than 3000 miles from home, I can't escape that suffocating family interference. Well also, PMS was still alive and well at this point too so that made things worse. [I promise there won't be many more episodes of my none-too-sane mood swings in this trip report!]

I didn't wait around too long. After that cry and a nice coffee, I had a proper look at the room and had a good look around. It really was lovely. There was quite a large fridge, a microwave, coffee maker, nice bathroom with very generous supplies of toiletries and luscious soft towels and a nice balcony. The view wasn't brilliant as it partly overlooked the lower level roof but you could see the sea so it was okay.....

To the left....

To the right...

Before I left to join the others, the phone rang and I thought "dear God, not again" but it was the hotel manager wishing us a pleasant stay and telling me to be sure to call down if I wanted anything. Terrific service!

So I joined the children and DH on the beach and almost immediately I felt uplifted. The sea air, the solitude and the waves at my feet brought much-needed relaxation. The boys adore the water and would stay in the sea all day if they could and it was so nice for them to swim in water that wasn't icy cold which is the way it is here, at our beaches, all year round. It really is almost painfully cold here - the sort of temperature that turns your thighs a nice shade of bluey purple - but, despite that, Garth and Wayne always manage to enjoy it. It was extra special though being in water that was above-freezing temperature (!!). Kudos to the good people of Cocoa Beach for keeping your beaches spotless by the way!

I played with Alice as the boys swam - she had a great time, running all around the sand, picking up shells and braving the water just enough to get her little toes wet at which point she'd squeal with delight and run back to safe territory, next to me, again.

A shell last October.....

Imagine, we live on the other side of that ocean!!!

Wayne in a pensive mood....

After the beach, we went back to the room, in much better spirits and amazed at the effect the beach had on us. Where I live, we're never more than an hour from the coast on 3 sides (south, east and west) but a big regret I have is that I didn't follow my instinct and move to a house right next to the sea years ago. There is something so incredibly calming and beautiful about just being near the sea - as if all our fears and worries become less significant compared to such a giant, powerful force. Anyway, where was I?

Oh yes, back to the room we went. There was a nice walkway leading directly from the beach to the hotel. It couldn't have been nearer!!

We took the elevator up and, to our amazement, yet again (as she does so often amaze us) Alice led the way and remembered the exact room we were in. I don't know how she does that sort of thing. With so many rooms looking the same, she picked out our one!

After some showers and yet more changes of clothes (I dunno about other families but showers and getting dressed seem to take forever with us) we're ready to explore the Cocoa Beach area a little bit. By now it's around 8pm and we're starving so off we go in our rental car (me nervous as hell again with that whole 'wrong' side of the road thing) to find Ron Jons for a quick look around and then off to see about getting food. We'd read about Ron Jons and how a visit to Cocoa Beach wasn't complete without a trip there - we saw the signs from right outside Orlando and saw ads for it in just about every website I'd visited about Cocoa Beach but I couldn't fathom what the big deal was about what is essentially a shop so I reckoned as soon as we went there, we'd know why it was so special But guess what? It really is just a shop. A shop that sells plenty of surfing accessories but just a shop nonetheless.

As it happens, Wayne is interested in water sports, though he hasn't had much of an opportunity to get into them in any major way. One thing he wanted for quite a while is a good wet suit so he tried on a few of them but none of them fitted perfectly and I know they really need to be a proper fit but they were all either too tight or too loose. The staff were didn't seem at all interested in helping us with the sizing issue (I did ask) so, money in hand, we gave up on that. Looks like they didn't need a sale! We had a quick look at the boys clothes and they had some nice brands but nothing (from what I could see) that you can't get plenty of other places and the prices were high so we just bought a few small souvenirs and off we went.

By now it was after 9 and we were quite shocked at how quiet everything was outside. Of course, in retrospect, it makes sense - it was late October, low season. Every restaurant we passed was closed. Finally we spotted a fast food place which was open and we went in there. Unfortunately, as non-meat eaters (except for Wayne) they had nothing but fries so we had a really crappy dinner (our own fault for not eating earlier when everywhere else was open) but it was better than nothing. I felt bad though as all we'd had that day was junk so I vowed that the kids would eat better the next day. Back we went to the hotel, all exhausted and looking forward to KSC in the morning. Here's Alice cuddled up in bed.....

Tonight the clocks were due to go back an hour so we'd be under less pressure the next day to check out and get going, yay!!! So we attempted to settle down and the boys were asleep before their heads hit the pillow. Alice had other plans though and laughed, danced and jumped around in merriment whilst her Daddy and I looked on bleary-eyed, pathetically begging her to settle down. That's the thing about child number three - you have so much pride and a sense of dignified discipline with child number one, you're wearier but still in control with child number two, by child number three, all dignity is gone and you sit there begging the child to go to sleep, knowing somewhere in what's left of the intelligent part of your brain that the child is using and will continue to use this lack of authority against you for the rest of your life.

Our sleeping arrangements were never quite the same two nights in a row. Tonight, DH and Wayne shared a bed and Garth and I had decided to share a bed with Alice, with her in the middle and us providing physical barriers on both sides. DH fell asleep eventually and I gave up begging Alice to sleep and gave her a bunch of toys to play with in the middle of the bed and I must have dozed off and at some point, so did Alice.......

Up next: KSC and The Boardwalk............ [It's on Page 13, Post no. 181]

 

[luvhockey]

Thanks for another wonderful installment on a snowy winter day.
I'm enjoying the pictures. Keep going!!
Angela

 

[sharkB8HooHaHa]

DEB!
So glad you are feeling better and up to writing again. We've missed you!

DH and I have decided that Disney has some kind of magnetic pull unlike the rest of the planet and actually LEAVING property is a feat in and of itself. We ALWAYS get sucked back in, so I understand your stress about trying to exit and finding yourself back on property.

And you are too right about child number three. I often find myself throwing up my hands completely. I am outnumbered, and he knows it! Your scene in the hotel room with Alice is EXACTLY what happens every single time we stay someplace other than home. After much teeth gritting on my part, I eventually fall asleep beside a dervish...only to wake feeling like I got no sleep at all. He, of course, is fresh as a daisy the next morning.

Keep it coming!

 

[weezy26nm]

I think the problem is not your map reading, but maybe the maps themselves or the road signage. As I too have inherited the "male gene" of map reading, and every time we tried to get back to our hotel on the Irlo Bronson Memorial Hwy from Disney we always got lost. We honestly took a different route everyday but still managed to get to our hotel. Our kids had a joke about how all roads really did lead to Disney and to our hotel

 

[Kay7979]

It's so nice to find a new installment from you! I especially love the difference in the way you say things compared to us in the U.S. Most of us know what you mean without an explanation, so don't worry about confusing us. It's fun experiencing new places with you, through your eyes. This was a very entertaining installment. I certainly sympathise with your various frustrations, and appreciate your candid comments. You know, sometimes a good cry is the best remedy when you're feeling down. It gets everything out of your system and you feel a lot better afterward.

 

[mom2aandj]

what a wonderful addition to your TR! I'm so glad you're back!

It is funny to read about your attempts to leave Disneyworld...but yet be repeatedly sucked back in (kind of like the Hotel California--you can check out, but you can never leave!) but I'm positive that if it had happened to me I would have been extrememly irritable as well!

eagerly waiting for the rest of the report!

 

[mlill]

So glad you're back! I've missed your TR!!! The beach still looks great - we made the trek there a few years ago when Steve & Conner went to Space Camp at KSC! I'm sorry you had a minor melt-down in the room. Family can do that to you, even from 3000 miles away! I'm glad you were able to get out and enjoy the beach, too.

Still looking foward to the Boardwalk!!!

-Michelle

P.S. That last picture of Alice is ADORABLE!

 

[HappyCamperToo]

It's always so nice to read another installment of your trip report. I was getting worried that you had abandoned the project. I know it will be fun for you to read years down the road.

I can't even imagine how nervous DH is with driving here on the wrong side of the road. I would be a nervous wreck driving in Ireland. In fact, I'll probably never get the chance because my DH would be even MORE of a nervous wreck in the passenger seat!

I'm so glad you've included lots of pictures!!! They are wonderful!

Showers always take forever for us, too. One of the plusses to our last vacation was that we stayed in a timeshare--2 bathrooms!

Because we stayed off site, we also HAD to get real good at navigating the roads around WDW. My personal opinion is that it would a lot easier if they would do a better job of putting up signs with the name of the street that you're on and you're crossing at all intersections. There are a few of those, but mostly it's signs for where to turn if you want to get to a destination. It's extremely hard to follow a map if you don't know the name of the street that you are on!

Just think everybody--she said another post is almost done! Oh boy--let's have it!!!