What Happens at the Beach Club... Travels with Teens, Take Two, (PTR) 4/6 p. 29

[Lalabubbles]

Woohoo!!

 

[MommaPeel]

Looking forward to reading along. Had to cancel my BC reservation and move down but it was for a good reason, deployed and on my R&R I decided to bring my brother, his girl friend, her son, my mom, her boyfriend, my dad and my boyfriend. So things got expensive!

Look forward to reading your adventures! So nice to have everything in the world align so you could have this trip!

 

[kldmom2000]

subscribing! I've been MIA far too long!!! Loved our Beach-Club Dis-Meet in 2011... sadly, we have not been able to go back yet Anxious to see your adventure Dee!

 

[jsbgeo]

Following! We just booked our first ever stay at the Beach Club today - for next year! Wish I could go now

 

[MEK]

Here!!!!!

 

[natebenma]

I, like Mike wish I were there for this one! This just means it has to be done all over again next year!!

Can't wait to read about all the fun!

~N

Not for lack of trying! I know the screws were put to you pretty tightly!

I hope everything is going as smoothly as possible for your move!

Aww Dee, I just love everything about this. Major DISmeet that you're FINALLY attending. Sharing a room with a DISer you hadn't even met in person. Mother's Day gift! Ahhhh, just so wonderful.

Rob, this trip was truly a reflection of all that is right with the DIS and shows just how powerful the friendships we have made here are!

We're here and joining in the fun. Just don't leave us hanging on forever!

So glad you are here!

I'll have an update for you later today or tomorrow.

Woohoo!!

Thanks for joining in!

Looking forward to reading along. Had to cancel my BC reservation and move down but it was for a good reason, deployed and on my R&R I decided to bring my brother, his girl friend, her son, my mom, her boyfriend, my dad and my boyfriend. So things got expensive!

Look forward to reading your adventures! So nice to have everything in the world align so you could have this trip!

and thank you so much for your service!

I'm sorry to hear that you had to change your reservation, but it sounds like you have a wonderful trip with loved ones to look forward to.

Family trumps location!

subscribing! I've been MIA far too long!!! Loved our Beach-Club Dis-Meet in 2011... sadly, we have not been able to go back yet Anxious to see your adventure Dee!

Tracey!

I am hoping you are able to return to your happy place, where you belong, sometime soon!

It was nice looking at the pictures of the previous meets- what a great circle of friends!

Following! We just booked our first ever stay at the Beach Club today - for next year! Wish I could go now

Congrats on your upcoming BC stay. If you haven't been over to the FAQ yet, check it out! Click on the link in my signature.

Here!!!!!

Mary Ellen!

I'm so glad you are here!

 

[mommyrosa2]

Following along

 

[cocoabean1]

Can't wait for more adventures!!!

 

[natebenma]

Following along

and back!!!

It was a pleasure meeting you and spending some time with you!



I sent you a FB message and email (which you probably haven't seen yet) about Memory Maker.

Can't wait for more adventures!!!

Thanks for coming over.

 

[natebenma]

I am so excited to start sharing stories and (mis)adventures with all of you.

 

[natebenma]

It was the morning of my departure. I had a flight at 2:10 to Orlando from Manchester, NH on Southwest. The previous day we were at my family reunion in Newcastle NH when it was time to check-in for my flight. I got boarding number B17. Not bad!

We live about the same distance away from Boston’s Logan Airport and the one in Manchester, NH. We usually fly out of Logan because there are many more choices for flights. But for this solo trip, we knew that Manchester was the best choice. Traffic is light, parking is cheap and the airport is not very busy.

I decided I would leave around 11 for the airport. That means I had some time in the morning to get a few things done. Although my family is perfectly capable (in theory) of doing the laundry and dishes, since I was abandoning them for playtime, I didn’t want them to have to worry about those tasks.

Unfortunately, many of the things that morning went wrong.

I finished packing my carryon suitcase, and as I commented on the FAQ thread, I couldn’t understand how Nate was able to fit in his clothes for a two week vacation but the same piece of luggage was not big enough for me for a 2 ½ day getaway!

I hadn’t called to notify my credit card companies that I would be traveling, so I took care of that.

I do all of the work on our pool. We have been having trouble all summer with it. My neighbor did a great job while we were gone for two weeks, but it is has been so cool that it is not getting much use. The heater was not working because I needed to backwash, so I did that, but I added something to the filter while I was backwashing instead of after, so it all went into the pool, making a previously clear pool cloudy. Dang!

Around 10, I got an email from “Pay Pal” saying that my account was limited and I should click on a link to take care of it. Well, that sounded kind of phishy, and I didn’t have time to deal with it right then, so that would have to wait until I returned home. For the record- according to info I got when googling, Pay Pal does actually limit accounts, but of course when I called Pay Pal independently they confirmed that the email was a scam and requested that I forward it to their fraud dept.

ETA: I remembered one more thing that happened- I went to get a gallon of milk from the spare refrigerator in the basement. I looked at it and I could see layers through the plastic. I thought to myself "That's probably not good!". A couple of weeks ago, we had a gallon of milk that tasted a bit "off". Then last week, we had one with chunks- ick! I thought it was just bad milk karma, but turns out the fridge was not working. The top freezer was ok, but the fridge was room temp. Well, guess that is something Mark will have to deal with.

With all that, I hit the road around 11, and got to the airport a little before noon. Not much traffic at all and no problem with parking in the long-term lot. I got there way too early! There were exactly 3 travelers in the security line. The woman in line in front of me left her boarding pass, and ID in the bin she sent through the scanner, but I was able to call out to her to let her know.

This is what it looked like at Dunkin’ Donuts:





If you fly out of Boston, you know that the DD line is actually where you spend most of your pre-boarding time in the gate area.


There was nobody seated at my gate, and even though people did start showing up, I didn’t see any kids in my gate area until about 45 minutes before the flight.

Am I going to Orlando or what???

Here's the Facebook post I sent out while waiting at the airport


"Headed to Florida to play with my beach and yacht club friends. Thank you to my wonderful husband and awesome buddies for making this happen!"


At some point while I was waiting at the airport, my husband texted this photo to me.








Apparently while the cat is away (visiting the mouse), the mice will play. The boys stopped at Sam's Club to load up on candy.


It was time to board the flight.

I wanted to get a window seat on the plane. As I was walking down the aisle, there was an open window seat next to a couple of women in row 5, so I snagged that.

It was an uneventful flight- we arrived at 5 pm, about 25 minutes earlier than scheduled.

I didn’t check any luggage so I booked it over to faux-no-rail to take me directly to Magical Express in Terminal B.





I was trying to beat a deadline- I knew Teena left her post at the Beach Club at 6:20 pm, so I was hoping the stars would align and I would arrive in time for a hug.

I was one of the first to board the bus (that is not good news!), the very front seats were reserved so I sat in the second row. And waited. And waited. It was after 5:30 when the bus started rolling. The driver said it would be about 25-30 minutes to get to Disney, and that got my hopes up, but I knew we were stopping at Caribbean Beach first.





Around 6:00 we arrived here










As you can see by the windshield, it was raining, but that was all of the rain we got in the 2 ½ days I was in Disney.

I kept glancing down at my watch, and tried to do calculations of how far away we were from the Beach Club and how long it would take to arrive.

We stopped at CBR, and most of the passengers on the bus got out there. The driver told me my suitcase also got out there, but he put it back on the bus when nobody claimed it. PHEW!

I’m home!!!




I jumped out of the bus, grabbed my suitcase and I arrived in the Beach Club lobby at… 6:30.

I had missed Teena by 10 minutes 





But I texted her to let her know I had arrived and that I would see her in the morning.


**************************************************************************
Who is Taunting Me in the ME line?
With friends like these...


Let's go back to the Magical Express line at MCO for a moment, shall we…


About a week before my solo trip, I was practicing taking selfies with my camera. I am not used to taking selfies. For one, I am about 3-4 decades past the prime selfie demographic. The camera on my phone is also really, really bad! So I knew I wouldn’t be taking many with that.

I work part-time as a museum teacher at a 300 year old manor house and farm. I decided I would take some practice selfies with some of my favorite co-workers- Schooner, Big Dave and Roger the Donkey. I posted these on Facebook.









I would end up regretting my selfie practice!

I texted my friend NinjaMom, who had arrived earlier that day, to let her know that I was at the Beach Club.


“I’m home!!!! Hanging in room for about 20 min to charge phone then heading out”

“Did you notice anything in the Magical Express line?

“No”

“Enlarge to see the pix better”





"Ha! Ha! Dee- We beat you to the Beach Club!!! Love, NinjaMom and JanetMom"


My “friend” had posted two of these in the Magical Express line. One on the first rope line sign and one on the wall by the monitor.

I didn’t see these displays, but apparently JanetMom came along just a little while after Ninja, and was LOL-ing.

I don’t know if they are still posted there in line, but if you happen to see these “Not Wanted Posters”, please take them down and feel free to keep them as a souvenir!

Although I couldn’t wait to meet Ninjamom (anxious might be a better description), our encounter would come earlier than either of us expected.


Next up: Let Us Show You to Our Room (4581)
Click here for next update

.

 

[nannette]

Lol! Classic NM for sure!! LOVE it!

~N

 

[Wood Nymph]

That is too bad that you missed Tina. Those ME buses pull out of MCO on some sort of schedule and it never seems to be when we are ready for it to leave.

I surprised that no one stopped NM from putting up those posters at MCO. And I'm even more amazed that they stayed there for awhile.

 

[heaven2dc]

Fun times so far! Love the selfies - I hate having my pic taken much less taking a selfie but yours are great! too funny about the pics in the ME line -can't wait to read more

 

[Roccosmom]

I'd love to follow along on your big adventure! Can't wait to read more and see some pictures

 

[DIS-OH]

Following along...

Wish I could have been there, but for some reason, the Superintedent and Board of Education expect me to be at work on the first day of school! I'm sure the school would have been fine without a principal on opening day ...

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Good Lord you did have a lot going wrong on departure day. Good on you for checking out that Paypal scam too. I wish my mother wasn't so trusting sometimes, lol. (No, she didn't get scammed, but if the opportunity presents itself, I'm sure she would).

Awww, I was so hoping you would somehow magically arrive just in time to see Teena.

OMG that that picture posting is AWESOME!!!!!!! The only downside is you didn't see them yourself. What a welcome that would have been.

 

[natebenma]

Lol! Classic NM for sure!! LOVE it!

~N

Now I bet you're really upset you weren't there. No telling what she would have done to you!

That is too bad that you missed Tina. Those ME buses pull out of MCO on some sort of schedule and it never seems to be when we are ready for it to leave.

I surprised that no one stopped NM from putting up those posters at MCO. And I'm even more amazed that they stayed there for awhile.

I was so sad!

I think it was even worse that it was so close. Teena got my text as she was walking out to her car in the CM lot.

Yes, I'm sure they came down as soon as they were noticed, but there was a post on the FAQ thread that someone saw the poster on Wednesday morning. Color me skeptical!

Fun times so far! Love the selfies - I hate having my pic taken much less taking a selfie but yours are great! too funny about the pics in the ME line -can't wait to read more

I'm so glad to have you here!

Not bad selfies, but I owe that to the animals joining me in the pictures.

The ME story is unreal, but you can't make this stuff up!

I'd love to follow along on your big adventure! Can't wait to read more and see some pictures

Thanks for following along!

:

Following along...

Wish I could have been there, but for some reason, the Superintedent and Board of Education expect me to be at work on the first day of school! I'm sure the school would have been fine without a principal on opening day ...

Excuses, Excuses!

Thanks for reading. Hope you have a fantastic school year!

Good Lord you did have a lot going wrong on departure day. Good on you for checking out that Paypal scam too. I wish my mother wasn't so trusting sometimes, lol. (No, she didn't get scammed, but if the opportunity presents itself, I'm sure she would).

Awww, I was so hoping you would somehow magically arrive just in time to see Teena.

OMG that that picture posting is AWESOME!!!!!!! The only downside is you didn't see them yourself. What a welcome that would have been.

Amazing how all the troubles go away once you board a plane, though!

I know- so close to seeing Teena. But I did have lots of opportunities to visit with her.



I don't know what I would have done if I saw the pictures! Take them down? Take a selfie with the sign? Probably both!

 

[Pinkgirl]

I'm in

I was totally gutted to arrive a day late for the meet, but did get to meet Ninjamom on more than one occasion!

 

[HockeyMomR]

Dee - you certainly had a busy morning before your flight. Darn DME and missing Teena by just that much. And the selfies and what use was made of them!! Wow, there are some very creative people. ; )

Rebecca