We’re going to the Tire Factory

[jenseib]

As I walked along the side of the house and towards the back I found the English Garden.


stan223 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


stan224 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


stan225 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


stan226 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


stan227 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


stan228 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


I believe this is the Dell, which is home of the wildflower garden. This is as far as I went there as I knew I had some wimps sitting on a bench waiting for me.


stan229 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


And I believe this is at the very back of the property….


stan230 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


stan231 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


stan209 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


I then headed back to my group.


stan210 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


stan211 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


stan232 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


stan233 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


They are an exciting bunch aren’t they?


stan234 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


stan235 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


Back to the Carriage House to exit…also drinks were needed and a restroom stop as well.


stan236 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


stan237 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


We got some drinks and the girls tried to con Skip into getting them icecream and he said no way. Skip and Claire headed to the car and Haley and I went to the restroom.


Now going off a bit….My b-day is in Feb. For my B-day my Mom bought me a beautiful bright orange Dooney and Bourke purse. I just love this thing. I had seen it at TJ Maxx while we had been shopping one day and my Mom went back and bought it the next day and surprised me with it for my b-day.


Haley comes over to our house quite a bit and after I got the new purse, Claire showed Haley it. Haley told Claire if I ever went to jail I would have the perfect purse to go with my outfit and of course Claire told me and they just giggled and giggled about that. I have been carrying that purse since Feb. and have yet to change it out.


While Haley and I were in the bathroom a lady told me how much she loved my purse. I could see Haley just snickering and of course the first thing she had to tell Claire when we came out was that someone else actually liked my Jail purse as well. Boy they just thought that was so funny!


We got in the car and Skip said we were taking the scenic route to Sandusky. All of us groaned. I knew by looking at maps that it was going to probably be an extra hour on the road (and I was right). I have no idea why he wanted to…but then realized later on that he wanted to drive through some Amish Country. This was a destination we had talked about but I told him it was mainly shopping and he wouldn’t like it and it was confirmed by a friend of his who goes with his wife every so often. His friend says he sucks it up so he can do things he wants to do. LOL.

We take off from Stan Hywet and make our way towards the highway. We are still just amazed at how hilly the roads are. We all start talking about the tour and rubber and tires. I mention something like “I wonder what kind of rubber was used before this for tires?” It then hits Claire. “OOOOOOH! That’s why dad kept saying we’re going to the tire factory!”…Yeah she’s a little slow at times. Hahahaha!


Once we got to the outskirts of town the girls buried their faces in their tablets and we saw a lot of nothingness. After a bit I did see signs that showed buggies may be driving on the road. Aha! I now knew why Skip wanted to come this way. He just laughed when I told him. In truth I think we were really on the outskirts of Amish Country though.


But we did see this and I snapped a horrible picture on my phone.


amish by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


We then started turning North towards Sandusky but our bellies were no rumbling. Skip said once we found a real town with fast food we would stop for lunch. Soon we came into one…I am thinking it was Norwalk, but I might be wrong…and we made a stop at Wendys.


wendys by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


It was nice to get out and stretch our legs but it was apparent the temperature was dropping. I think it had dropped a good 15 degrees since we left Stan Hywet. We knew rain was forecasted for later in the day so we were betting a cold front was moving in.


It wasn’t too much longer and we finally arrived to Castaway Bay in Sandusky. Castaway Bay is Cedar Points waterpark hotel. Sandusky has at least 4 or 5 hotels and this one was the best price, but honestly I would have rather gone to Kalahari.


We pulled up front and the girls and I went in to check in.


cab8 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


Now I mostly took pictures here with my phone and point and shoot and 95% of them are blurry. Sorry!


The lobby was nice and the theming was great.


cab6 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


cab7 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


We were given our wrist bands and told where our room was, which was at the other end of the building so we drove over there and parked and lugged our bags in.


I then went to taking pictures of the room


cb1 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


I reserved a Queen bed room. I paid more for a Queen bed room. They beds did NOT look like queens.


cb2 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


You can see my orange purse on the chair in the above picture and next picture.


cb3 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


cb4 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


cb5 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


cb6 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


cb7 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


cb8 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


cb9 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


I loved these pictures.


cb10 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


The room itself was pretty basic. Not bad, but not great. I was having a fit over the bed size as was Skip. We even laid on it to compare it to what we have at home, which is a queen and this was definitely smaller.

 

[MEK]

Just found your TR Jen. Sounds like a great adventure. I absolutely love the mansion. It is gorgeous and it looks like there was a lot include on the tour. How great that you were able to take inside pictures. SCORE!

I also love the scenery shots.

yay for arriving in Sandusky. sorry the weather is already starting to cooler. Darn fickle spring weather. I hope the girls love the water park!

 

[dolphingirl47]

How could anybody not like the Dooney, but then I am a little biassed. The hotel looks nice.

Corinna

 

[jenseib]

Just found your TR Jen. Sounds like a great adventure. I absolutely love the mansion. It is gorgeous and it looks like there was a lot include on the tour. How great that you were able to take inside pictures. SCORE!

I also love the scenery shots.

yay for arriving in Sandusky. sorry the weather is already starting to cooler. Darn fickle spring weather. I hope the girls love the water park!

This was such a great tour and I am so glad I found the place. It was still decent out but a little sad after such a nice morning.....but it was April and to be expected.

How could anybody not like the Dooney, but then I am a little biassed. The hotel looks nice.

Corinna

I know! Those crazy girls.

 

[jenseib]

We were on the first floor and our room had a screened porch. Sadly it got quite chilly so we never really used it….plus we spent most of our time at the water park.


cb11 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


Yes, the girls are ready to swim.


cb12 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


Skip took the girls down while I put some things away and made order of our suitcase mess.


After I got settled I headed down to the water park entrance.


cb13 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


I was using my waterproof point and shoot and took just lots of really bad pictures


cb14 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


There were in the wave pool.


cb15 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


I sat and watched for a bit.


cb16 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


Took a few blurry pictures.


cb17 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


cb18 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


cb19 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


I jumped in the wave pool with them. Those waves can be pretty strong and the girls just loved them.


The girls did some of the slides and Skip and I went in and out of the hot tub. We did do a tube slide, with Haley riding with me and Skip and Claire together.


It was fun and the theming was really nice, but it was not a very big place and not a lot of options. That being said the girls were having a blast.


Skip and I each took turns taking a break and walked around the area and out to the lobby as well.


Here is the arcade.


cb20 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


cb21 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


cb22 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


cb23 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


cb24 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


cb25 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


cb26 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


If only this was a real palm.


cb27 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


cb28 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


cb29 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


Walking down the hall to the lobby.


cb30 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


cb31 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


cb32 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


cb33 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


cb34 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


cb35 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


cb36 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


cb37 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


cb38 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


cb39 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


cb40 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr

 

[dizneeat]

Looks like a great place, well, even if you mentioned it wasn't too big.
But the girls having a blast is worth more than anything - happy kids!

The resort looks great - thanks for sharing the pics.

When are you off to your cruise? I thought it was around now ..... hm, maybe I am mistaken. Just hoping for a TR.

 

[dolphingirl47]

The waterpark looks really cool.

Corinna

 

[jenseib]

Looks like a great place, well, even if you mentioned it wasn't too big.
But the girls having a blast is worth more than anything - happy kids!

Yes it was good the girls were happy!

The resort looks great - thanks for sharing the pics.

I wish I took some better ones there. I was so disappointed in myself.

When are you off to your cruise? I thought it was around now ..... hm, maybe I am mistaken. Just hoping for a TR.

We fly out Friday. I am almost ready for the most part. We have Gracie spending the night tonight as Paige has a huge exam tomorrow and passing means she can go on to the next semester, so she is studying tonight. I basically have last minute things to do and I have Thursday saved for running around to finish up any lose ends. The weather forecasts look good...knock on wood it stays that way.

The waterpark looks really cool.

Corinna

The girls had a great time.

 

[jenseib]

There were a few places to get food near the lobby. I know one was a buffet and the others were more counter service. The prices were not reasonable in my opinion and I heard some other families gripe about food prices over the course of our stay. There was a quick serve place in near the water park area as well.


cb41 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


MMMM! Buckeyes!


cb42 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


cb43 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


Back to the water park.


cb44 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


cb45 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


cb46 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


I found them!


cb47 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


ccb1 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


cb48 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


Here’s a little video of the girls in the wave pool.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2U3JWb1kQFw


At some point we headed to the room to figure out what we were doing for dinner. Skip was first to say he wasn’t going to another steak place. LOL! Fine with me. We all agreed pizza sounded good.


Now Skip remembers several years ago…I am thinking before Claire was born..of us going to a Pizza Hut in the area. It was exclusively a buffet and kind of pricey but it was right near the Causeway to Cedar Point. I do not even know if this Pizza Hut is still in existence or not and if it was, my guess is it is only open during the summer. I asked Siri for nearby pizza places and this Pizza Hut did not show up. We probably argued about the fact that it wasn’t there anymore for 10 minutes. He couldn’t get past it for some reason.


Finally I said these are the options to choose from. And then I went to their sites to read menus.


We settled on the Brick Oven Bistro which looked to be about a mile or so down the road.


It was a small place and pretty busy but we got seated right away.


We ordered 2 pizzas and these were the best pizzas I have EVER had. Thin crust, fresh ingredients…..it was like heaven. Haley can be pretty picky and she even said this was the best pizza she had ever had.


We had left overs and we boxed them up but they had cheesecake on the menu too so Skip and I got one to share and Claire and Haley shared a piece as well. Again it was VERY good.


I stupidly did not take a single picture during dinner.


Back at the hotel…


cab9 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


Now I will tell you a little more about our hotel stay. Our room was in a wing that was kind of further away from the main area, which was really no issue…..however it seemed that many of our neighbors were less than desirable. It appeared that many in our hall were there as a family group….or it could have been 2 different family groups. Every time I went in the hall there was one adult gal who would go from door to door knocking to talk to family members. No big deal right? Well she was a loud talker and she just didn’t seem to have a care in the world. Also the kids, when not at the water park had the run of the hall.


When I had walked down to the water park on my own after organizing the room, 3 people walked out of a room and one blew smoke in the others face and they all laughed. The hotel, like most, has a no smoking policy. In fact, Ohio has a no smoking indoors law. I thought at first it could be from an e-cigarette, but it had a smell…if you know what I mean. Now it still could be one of those fancy taste e-cigarettes, but I am thinking it was something a bit stronger.


We also noticed earlier that a wedding reception was going on there in one of the convention type rooms near the water park. Again, I had no issues with that. I do think the wedding party probably got some of the more prime spot rooms, but that’s ok. Really the hotel wasn’t that big.


While we were getting ready for dinner we noticed a lot of thumping of music. Skip commented on how he was surprised we could hear the reception music from where our room was. I wasn’t so sure it was from that. I even questioned if it was one of our neighbors. I also went out to our screened porch and tried to listen to the direction of that hall but didn’t hear anything really. But we could see the back side of the water park area from our room and it had a lot of noises just from that….machine noises…..I assume pumping water and generating the waves for the wave pool.


When we got back from dinner the boom boom thump thump was still going on. I believe I took the girls back for another quick swim before calling it a night.


Once back in the room it was just annoying hearing this music. We could tell the melody of the music, just not the words. I was becoming convinced it was the room next to us. I felt the wall and it even kind of had a thump to it. I went in the bathroom to listen and it seemed even louder.


We all settled in bed and it was getting really annoying. On top of that the bed was lumpy and small. It felt like something was poking in my back and also it had the big dip in the middle.


I had had it and I put some clothes on and said I was going to the desk to complain. I think it was around 10:30 or so at that point. The girls were all excited to see what I was going to say and both decided to walk to the desk with me and they didn’t care that they were in their jammies.


As we walked out our room door I stopped and listened to the room next to us and it was definitely music coming from them. The door was vibrating and it was VERY loud.

We marched to the desk and the staff was very nice. I told them the room number of the music lovers and they said they would tell them to turn it down.


I also told them about the bed and how we had paid for a queen bed and this obviously wasn’t one. She told me it indeed was a queen but I was not the first person to complain about the size. She says she really doesn’t know, but it appears their queen beds are not standard queen bed size. At least I wasn’t alone in this. She did credit our account the difference between a double and queen bed, which wasn’t a lot but was a nice gesture.


With that we headed back to our “rockin” room. About 10 minutes later we heard a knock on the neighbor’s door and the music went down. Then we heard muffled voices and the music went back up for a few minutes then off. AHHHH! 5 minutes later it was back up. Skip started humming the music and we all just laughed. I gave them about another 10 minutes then called down to the front desk again to let them know the music was back up. 5 minutes later it went off for good. At this time it was now about 11:15. I guess they got tired. LOL.


Needless to say we probably won’t be coming back to Castaway Bay in the future. The staff was great and friendly but the beds just won’t cut it for us. And though all the other issues were not the fault of the hotel, we just would rather try something else in the future.

 

[Benchley]

What a shame. After a busy day you don't need a disturbed night

 

[dizneeat]

Yeah, just what you need after a long day of touring and water fun - noisy neighbours.

Pizza sounded good - hm, I guess I am going to have some in three weeks time. Thanks for letting me know about your Alaskan cruise - I can't wait to read all about it.

 

[dolphingirl47]

The pizza sounded great. The lumpy bed and the noisy neighbours less so. What a shame that you had to put up with this.

Corinna

 

[jenseib]

What a shame. After a busy day you don't need a disturbed night

It annoyed me more that they had no respect for anyone else.

Yeah, just what you need after a long day of touring and water fun - noisy neighbours.

It was crazy. How could you be so completely rude.

Pizza sounded good - hm, I guess I am going to have some in three weeks time.

You will the REAL good kind!

Thanks for letting me know about your Alaskan cruise - I can't wait to read all about it.

I am getting pretty excited. I am sure I am going to be a slow writer so not too much will be posted while you are gone most likely.

The pizza sounded great. The lumpy bed and the noisy neighbours less so. What a shame that you had to put up with this.

Corinna

The pizza was just wonderful. If it wasn't almost a 2 hour drive I would go more often. lol

 

[jenseib]

Day 3, April 19, 2015


I was up pretty early…and not only because I normally get up early but because the bed was just awful.


I headed down and got everyone a donut and some milk and brought it back to the room. We promised the girls some swimming time today but I decided I was done. Yesterday was enough for me. Skip had said last night he would go but he changed his mind this morning.


One thing about Skip….on the day we are to leave…if driving…he wants to leave immediately and it drives me crazy!!! I told him we were not leaving early at all.


So I took the girls swimming and I don’t remember what Skip did, probably slept longer.


cab1 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


cab2 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


cab3 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


cab4 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


I was actually just sitting reading my phone and looking up stuff. When Skip came to relieve me I went back and packed the suitcases up and got the girls clothes out for the day. They weren’t too far behind me and said they had done all they wanted and we could go. We got the luggage trolley and hauled all the bags outside. It was much cooler today unfortunately.


cab5 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


And then we made the drive home. We talked about the fun we had and for some reason Haley brought up something she had googled awhile back. It was the worst amusement park ever and she was telling stories about that she read. So I googled it on my phone. It was called Action Park and basically the owner allowed employees to come up with ideas and then build it. It was seriously the funniest thing ever as I read stories from people who visited as kids. People got hurt ALL the time. Now that isn’t funny…but the fact that they kept going back over and over. It totally sounded like something Skip and his brothers would make.


Here is one of the links I found and read from and we were laughing so hard….yes I do feel bad for the people that got hurt and even a few died….but the fact that someone made these rides and it was legal to let people ride them is just amazing.


http://www.buzzfeed.com/danm3/35-horror-stories-that-prove-action-park-was-the-6wr


Go ahead and google this place….story after story will come up.


As we got back into Toledo we did stop and have lunch at Applebees. It really hit the spot but we were all now super tired and couldn’t wait to get back home.



Once we did get home we dropped Skip off and I took Haley home and then Claire and I came home and crashed for a nap. We’re a wild bunch!!



And that’s our Rubber Factory story. It was a really nice little get away and it was so nice to just escape from our normal days for just a weekend.



Thanks for reading.

 

[dolphingirl47]

It looks like a leisurely last day. I am glad that the girls got some more swimming time. I have to check out that theme park when I get some more time.

Corinna

 

[dizneeat]

Looks like a great weekend. Thanks for sharing, Jen. Now going back to follow that link.

 

[Beth D]

Hi Jen,

In the spring it will often be 15 degrees cooler or more close to the lake. It takes so much longer for the water to warm up after the lake being frozen all winter. You could be at Cedar Point, and it would feel 55, drive 10 minutes out to Kalahari, and it would be around 70 degrees!

Also, Skip wasn't quite wrong on the pizza hut. It's just been gone a long time! The Pizza Hut on that road closed at least 15 years ago. I think there's an internet cafe or wireless place there now. There was also an East of Chicago pizza buffet over on the Causeway - in the building that is now the Dairy Queen (across from McDonalds). You definitely made the right pick with Brick Oven. They won several awards at the local pizza challenge. Next time try the S'mores dessert! Just like over the fire!

Your pictures are great as always!

Where are you cruising to? Got a TR started yet?

 

[rndmr2]

Too bad you had to deal with all that noise, but it sounds like you had a nice trip anyway.

Have fun on your cruise, Hope you do a TR for that one too..

 

[jenseib]

It looks like a leisurely last day. I am glad that the girls got some more swimming time. I have to check out that theme park when I get some more time.

Corinna

We had a nice getaway and it took the edge off of needing a vacation

Looks like a great weekend. Thanks for sharing, Jen. Now going back to follow that link.

It really was a nice weekend.

In the spring it will often be 15 degrees cooler or more close to the lake. It takes so much longer for the water to warm up after the lake being frozen all winter. You could be at Cedar Point, and it would feel 55, drive 10 minutes out to Kalahari, and it would be around 70 degrees!

Yes...it's like that here too as you get closer to the lake but this day was just one of those too that started warm...even at home and then cooled way down in the afternoon...but it was still great.

Also, Skip wasn't quite wrong on the pizza hut. It's just been gone a long time! The Pizza Hut on that road closed at least 15 years ago. I think there's an internet cafe or wireless place there now. There was also an East of Chicago pizza buffet over on the Causeway - in the building that is now the Dairy Queen (across from McDonalds). You definitely made the right pick with Brick Oven. They won several awards at the local pizza challenge. Next time try the S'mores dessert! Just like over the fire!

Yes. I do remember it but I figured it was gone. I was so happy with our choice. It was really good. We are such cheesecake suckers that it would be hard to switch to something else but s'mores sounds good too.

Your pictures are great as always!

Thanks

Where are you cruising to? Got a TR started yet?

We fly out super early tomorrow. I am finishing home things but I have something for work to do in 45 minutes so I am checking emails and playing for a bit. I am proud to say most everything is ready...however I have to mow the grass yet and take the chinchillas over to a friends house later today.

Too bad you had to deal with all that noise, but it sounds like you had a nice trip anyway.

Have fun on your cruise, Hope you do a TR for that one too..

I plan to do one. I am so ready to head out!

 

[canyoncam]

I finally got around to reading the last of your trip. Busier than I want doing my TR which is moving at pace.

Castaway Bay does look really small but just what kids love. Your experience with the beds and neighbors sounds all too familiar. What do people think?


Hope you also had a great Alaskan cruise!!!!