"To Disney & Beyond" ~ Road Trip 2010 ~ Final Drive & Final Thoughts

[Spartangirl]

I just lost my posting by touching some button on this phone . Let me try again.

Glad it worked the 2nd time!

I can't wait to read about your trip! My husband has only two weeks of vacation. Between that and having to watch the finances doesn't give us as many opportunities to travel as we'd like. We've got a couple of little moochers living with us too. For some reason, they want to tag along ; )

So glad you're here to read about my trip!

Be safe, have a wonderful time, and come back and tell us all about it!

Thanks and I will!

i'm here! i'm late, but i'm here!

So glad you're here, Dawn!

i love how you worked disney into the plans. TOTALLY something i would do too!

It HAD to be done! I was bound and determined!

sorry to hear about your grandmother. i'm glad you're still going on the trip - you guys probably need it. my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

Thank you...I think the trip will be a good diversion.

i'm actually looking forward to doing this next trip. we usually have everything planned out too, but we've both agreed that we will make our ADRs and of course have to keep those on schedule, but otherwise just kind of do what we want at that moment. the next trip we take will be the first time we travel with our son who will be around 1 at the time, so it will be a VERY different kind of trip! i bet you guys will enjoy going with the flow and taking those swim breaks!

Traveling with Seth will be a different kind of trip, but so much fun!!!

don't miss those fireworks....they are awesome!

Glad to hear it!

i'm excited to hear all about your trip! sounds like a blast. have fun!!!!

Thanks, Dawn! Can't wait to share it!

BE SAFE AND HAVE FUN!!!!

Thank you!!!

 

[taymacsmom]

Safe travels!

 

[photographymom517]

I've been reading along, but subscribed this evening so I make sure not to miss anything! I can't wait to read about your trip whenever you get back!!! You will love Myrtle Beach & Gettysburg! We went to Myrtle Beach for our honeymoon & it was our first trip there! I love the beaches there!!! If you read this before you leave, make sure to go to the gift shops, especially the Gay Dolphin (I know it has an odd name, but its the best gift shop there!!!). Its a gift shop thats about 5 or 6 stories and there is a TON of variety there! I think its on the main strip of Myrtle Beach, but can't remember where exactly. They also have many DELICIOUS all-you-can-eat seafood buffets down there!!! Yum!!!

Gettysburg is about 6-7 hours away from where I live. My family used to travel there every Thanksgiving when I was younger. Its a very nice place to visit & its always fun to learn new things! I think I learn something new on every trip & I've been there at least 10 times! If you ever have time to visit PA longer, let me know & I can point out some other good travel destinations for you! (Hershey is one of my favorites!!! They have a tour of their chocolate factory & an amusement park!)

I hope the storms don't hit while you are traveling...we actually have storms coming our way as I'm typing this! I just got in and saw lightning & heard the warnings on the radio. I'm hoping you get good weather tomorrow morning!

Can't wait to hear all about your trip whenever you get back!!! Safe travels and have a great time!!!!

 

[disneykiwi]

Hi there

I'm a bit late but have read your previous reports and really enjoyed them. I love travelling to US and seeing all your photos of the different places is wonderful.

Have a great time

 

[Disneygrl36]

Hope you have a marvelous trip! You should be on your way now!!!!

 

[bukosluvswdw]

Safe travels. Can't wait to hear about your trip!

 

[redsox721]

Have a safe and wonderful trip. Can't wait to hear all about it.

 

[Shannon84]

Wishing you safe and fun travels

 

[JJBEAN]

Joining in! I am SO excited to read about your trip!! It's incredible to see all the places you and your husband have visited....I love all the pictures! I can't wait until our kids are old enough to do a trip like this...fun, fun! Hope you are having a GREAT time!

P.S. My daughter is starting 1st grade this Fall...YAY!! Any helpful tips to get her prepared?

 

[SoonerGirl]

Hiya Lynne!!! I'm so excited that you are doing a TR, I've been having Lynne & Chris withdrawls over the past couple of years You've certainly been busy though and gone on some really fabulous trips - I knew about the Hawaii and San Diego ones, but you've done so much more than that!

Your plans look fantastic, I can't wait to hear all about it - you should be in WDW now, hope you're having a fabulous time.

So sorry to hear about your grandmother I lost my last grandparent this year, it's hard knowing they are all gone.

 

[stacikristine]

Hi Lynne!

I'd saved one of your old TRs in my bookmarks tab and found it again today...and then I found your new TR in your signature!

WHAT A TRIP! All of your plans sound so great! My husband and I want to try to visit all 50 states together, and a big road trip like this sounds like a blast! I can't wait to read about all of your adventures.

I know you're already on your trip, but I hope you have an amazing time!!

 

[Spartangirl]

Hey Everyone! I'm back from a fantastic trip! Chris and I had so many crazy and wonderful adventures and I can't wait to share them with you! Right now I'm playing catch-up from our two weeks away, but I'm hoping to start uploading some of my pictures and video today. I may even try for an update later on!

 

[Spartangirl]

Safe travels!

Thanks, Kelly!

I've been reading along, but subscribed this evening so I make sure not to miss anything! I can't wait to read about your trip whenever you get back!!! You will love Myrtle Beach & Gettysburg! We went to Myrtle Beach for our honeymoon & it was our first trip there! I love the beaches there!!! If you read this before you leave, make sure to go to the gift shops, especially the Gay Dolphin (I know it has an odd name, but its the best gift shop there!!!). Its a gift shop thats about 5 or 6 stories and there is a TON of variety there! I think its on the main strip of Myrtle Beach, but can't remember where exactly. They also have many DELICIOUS all-you-can-eat seafood buffets down there!!! Yum!!!

Gettysburg is about 6-7 hours away from where I live. My family used to travel there every Thanksgiving when I was younger. Its a very nice place to visit & its always fun to learn new things! I think I learn something new on every trip & I've been there at least 10 times! If you ever have time to visit PA longer, let me know & I can point out some other good travel destinations for you! (Hershey is one of my favorites!!! They have a tour of their chocolate factory & an amusement park!)

I hope the storms don't hit while you are traveling...we actually have storms coming our way as I'm typing this! I just got in and saw lightning & heard the warnings on the radio. I'm hoping you get good weather tomorrow morning!

Can't wait to hear all about your trip whenever you get back!!! Safe travels and have a great time!!!!

Thanks so much for joining in! If we visit PA in the future, I may take you up on your offer...I'd love to hear about other good travel destinations there in the future! We actually honeymooned in the Poconos! We were very lucky in avoiding most of the storms while we were traveling. We had some nasty storms the night before we left, but thankfully we didn't encounter too much rain on our drive.

Hi there

I'm a bit late but have read your previous reports and really enjoyed them. I love travelling to US and seeing all your photos of the different places is wonderful.

Have a great time

Hi Tony...welcome! So glad you are here! We had a wonderful time and I can't wait to share it!

Hope you have a marvelous trip! You should be on your way now!!!!

Hi Melanie! We LOVED our trip!!!

Safe travels. Can't wait to hear about your trip!

Thanks...I can't wait to share it either!

Have a safe and wonderful trip. Can't wait to hear all about it.

Thanks so much........I'm hoping to post an update later today!

Wishing you safe and fun travels

Thanks, Shannon!

 

[Spartangirl]

Joining in! I am SO excited to read about your trip!! It's incredible to see all the places you and your husband have visited....I love all the pictures! I can't wait until our kids are old enough to do a trip like this...fun, fun! Hope you are having a GREAT time!

P.S. My daughter is starting 1st grade this Fall...YAY!! Any helpful tips to get her prepared?

Welcome and so glad you're here! Glad you enjoyed some of the pics from our previous trips......we do love to travel! I bet a road trip with your kids (somewhere down the line ) would be so much fun!!! Our trip was incredible and I'm so excited to share the details!

Awww...you have a 1st grader! I just love kids at this age! I would just say READ, READ, READ! If she's not reading yet, make sure that she has her letters and sounds down! You could also have her write down stories......it can be a simple thought or sentence! This may be a string of letters or maybe some of the words will have beginning or ending sounds, or maybe you'll get a full sentence depending on where your daughter is at developmentally. Have your daughter draw a picture to go with her story! Keep it simple and have fun with it! I'm sure your daughter will be a great 1st grader!

Hiya Lynne!!! I'm so excited that you are doing a TR, I've been having Lynne & Chris withdrawls over the past couple of years You've certainly been busy though and gone on some really fabulous trips - I knew about the Hawaii and San Diego ones, but you've done so much more than that!

Your plans look fantastic, I can't wait to hear all about it - you should be in WDW now, hope you're having a fabulous time.

So sorry to hear about your grandmother I lost my last grandparent this year, it's hard knowing they are all gone.

Hey Michelle.....I'm so glad you're here!!! Lynne & Chris withdrawals...you are too funny! We did have a FABULOUS time...each of the four places we traveled was so different from one another and so much fun!!! Thanks.....I miss my grandma very much and it's still weird thinking about the fact that she's gone. I'm so sorry about your loss too.

Hi Lynne!

I'd saved one of your old TRs in my bookmarks tab and found it again today...and then I found your new TR in your signature!

WHAT A TRIP! All of your plans sound so great! My husband and I want to try to visit all 50 states together, and a big road trip like this sounds like a blast! I can't wait to read about all of your adventures.

I know you're already on your trip, but I hope you have an amazing time!!

Hi Staci!!! Glad you're here! So glad you found me! What a trip was right!!! It was quite an adventure both on and off the road! Wow...visiting all 50 states would be so cool! I'd love to conquer that feat someday too!

 

[emilita423]

Caught up and joining in! Can't wait to hear about the road trip! great start so far, you and your husband sound a lot like my fiance and I . Its funny I looked at your picture in Cancun and we have the same exact picture. Before you even mentioned it was Cancun I said to myself, "gee that really looks familiar like Cancun" hahaha

 

[ScotsMinnie]

Just found your trip report and subbing. So excited to hear about your adventure!

 

[Shannon84]

Hey Everyone! I'm back from a fantastic trip! Chris and I had so many crazy and wonderful adventures and I can't wait to share them with you! Right now I'm playing catch-up from our two weeks away, but I'm hoping to start uploading some of my pictures and video today. I may even try for an update later on!

YAY So excited to hear all about your trip

 

[Spartangirl]

Caught up and joining in! Can't wait to hear about the road trip! great start so far, you and your husband sound a lot like my fiance and I . Its funny I looked at your picture in Cancun and we have the same exact picture. Before you even mentioned it was Cancun I said to myself, "gee that really looks familiar like Cancun" hahaha

Thanks so much for joining in! I love that you figured out that it was Cancun and we have the same pic!

Just found your trip report and subbing. So excited to hear about your adventure!

So glad to have you here, Laura! I can't wait to share!!!

YAY So excited to hear all about your trip

Hey Shannon! I'm getting ready to work on my first update!

 

[Spartangirl]

Saturday, July 24, 2010
Incompetence & Extreme Heat ~ All in a Day's Travel

I opened my eyes and glanced at the clock at 3:57 a.m. The alarm was set for 4:00. My "internal alarm" was kicking and we got up and quickly got ready to go. Here's our ride! By the way, this picture was taken at a different time...obviously it wasn't this light out when we left!

With the car fully loaded, we hit the road by 5:00 a.m............

This was soon followed by the Ohio border by 6:00! Even as raindrops danced off the windshield, we were able to enjoy a gorgeous sunrise.

After the rain cleared and a few hours of driving, we decided to fill up our car and grab some breakfast. We played it simple by stopping at McDonalds for coffee and breakfast sandwiches. However, nothing ever seems "simple" for Chris and I. We have a knack for choosing the place with the most incompetent staff. We got our coffees instantaneously and watched the next ten customers receive their orders and leave, while we patiently waited for our food. Many of those who ordered after us had the same sandwiches as we did and received their orders with no problem. The ONLY thing that kept either one of us from saying anything was the fact that we were "officially" on vacation and not in a hurry.

Even with the "slightly longer than expected" stop at McDonalds, we hit Kentucky before 10:00 and rolled into Tennessee around 12:30 p.m. after a few uneventful, though very scenic hours.

As we were driving along, Chris happened to glance at the Exterior Temperature on the car.

This was his reaction after seeing it!

Have I ever mentioned the fact that Chris DOES NOT like the heat?

All in all, the day's travel couldn't have gone any smoother until we got to Sevierville, TN. What should have taken us 20 minutes to get to Gatlinburg, took us an HOUR! But, we did make our destination by about 3:00 p.m. We checked into the Best Western Zoder's Inn and found ourselves pleasantly surprised. The front office building didn't look like much from the outside, but the rooms were very nice.

The hotel is located right on the main drag, yet it has the feel of being up in the mountains. We loved having a balcony that looked over a quiet stream.

We took some time to explore the property and headed down to the stream. A couple of pictures were snapped and we enjoyed watching the ducks!

After checking out our new "digs," we smiled at each other, knowing that our vacation was off to a great start!

Up Next: Sangria & Our "Hollywood" Encounter

 

[disneydusted]

Exciting to have a new TR to read! We are heading down in a week.... any advice to deal with the heat?