Monday, June 27, 2011

Disney World 2011

So, we set out last Saturday morning headed to Florida to take our oldest grandson to Disney World. With us are my brother-in-law and sister-in-law and their 11 year old grandson. Keep in mind that we had only spent one night in the motor home previously and that was at the dealership where we purchased the vehicle.

Headed down the highway we played SkipBo and Uno and the boys watched DVDs and played games on the cell phones and DS. That was truly a live-saver. Having an 8 year old and an 11 year old in a moving vehicle for 10 hours could be ridiculously painful for all concerned. As you can see imagine, the boys were able to entertain themselves with Nintendo DS, movies, iphone games, etc. while Carlene and I enjoyed a glass of wine and conversation. The men were upfront with nonsense stuff like driving and finding a campground in which to spend the night.

One bit of advice if you purchase a motor home or travel trailer...take a couple of short trips in it before attempting a longer trip. Get familiar with your vehicle! As we were traveling through Louisiana toward Alabama the temperature outside the RV was 106 degrees. It was at least that hot in the coach of the RV. Why? Because, the AC went out. We traveled on through the heat until I finally called the service department of Motor Home Specialists (where we bought the RV and 8 minutes before closing time) and talked to my new best friend, Tim. He said, "No big deal! (He wasn't in the sweltering heat to realize how big of a deal it really was!). Easy fix. You've tripped a breaker on the generator." When I explained that we had already checked the breakers he said, "Inside AND OUT?" Oh. Didn't realize there were breakers outside...ON THE GENERATOR. We pulled over, flipped the breaker and were instantly rewarded with cool air flowing through the cabin. That's why Tim is my new best friend. Back on the road, we travelled on to Mobile, Alabama, to spend the night at a little campground called Shady Acres.

Once we set up...which involves turning on the automatic levelers and turning off the engine, we fixed dinner. We had Dover's Delicious Enchiladas (a friend's quickie recipe that starts with taquitos), salsa rice and beans. A quick and easy meal that we put together in about 20 minutes. After that it was showers and off to bed.

Okay...Mobile is not a small town. But at Shady Acres they have a small town mentality. When we got ready to leave Sunday morning we could find NO ONE to tell us our cost of stay or take our money. NO ONE. There was a phone number to call for the manager. He hasn't yet set up his voice mailbox! Finally, Carlene found a cleaning lady who told her, "Chuck is at church. Just leave a check for $24 in the office...or run your own credit card through the machine." LOL!!! We left a check and headed out. In 427 miles we were at Fort Wilderness, the campground on Disney property. That's about 8 or 9 hours of driving. When we stopped for gas the boys conned Aunt Carlene into chips, sour candy and a drink. Back on the road, Trenton called his Dad and Scott to wish them Happy Father's Day...and we were Florida bound.

Once we arrived in Ft. Wilderness we again set up camp and had dinner. This time it was my mother-in-law’s recipe for Mexican Chicken. Showers and off to bed.
Day 1 in Disney World equaled Epcott…quite possibly the best of the parks we visited. Day 2 was Typhoon Lagoon, a great little water park with a wave pool which was too powerful for one-legged me, but Trenton enjoyed it. I enjoyed floating down the Lazy River on an innertube. Afterwards we went to Magic Kingdom for a couple of hours where we had dinner reservations. Typhoon Lagoon was fun but all that sun and water wore us out completely. Day 3 took us to Hollywood Studios which, in my opinion, was boring and a waste of our time. Day 4 found us at Animal Kingdom. It was fun. We had a great “Safari” ride and our guide, young Josh, couldn’t give his speech for laughing at our boys’ ridiculous comments. Trenton claimed to have never seen a black or white rhinoceros…only the regular kind. Then he asked Josh, “Is white the new black?” Josh laughed out loud at that one. Day 5, our last day at Disney World, we went to Magic Kingdom where we had spent virtually no time. We did as much as we could do before the torrential downpour hit. Afterwards, back at the campsite, we went to dinner and another thunderstorm came through. I had to ride the scooter back to the RV in the rain. I was soaked and freezing by the time I got there!
We broke camp this morning and are headed back home. We had a great time at Disney World and will do it again in a few years when Carter is old enough to enjoy it. I got to ride several roller coasters…my favorite ride. Trenton got to ride different rides, trade his collector pins and meet his favorite character, Pluto.
I would call this first outing in the motor home a success!






Saturday, June 18, 2011

Carefree Highway...let me slip away on you

::sigh::
Another early morning blog coming your way after a fitful night with little sleep. Why does sleep hate me? Seriously, it eludes me at every opportunity. That, however, is not the subject of this blog.

For YEARS my husband has wanted a motor home. For probably 25 of the 32 years we have been married that has been a recurring subject. Years ago my parents had a motor home and we took a few trips in it while the kids were little. Such fun!! Well, my husband's dream of owning a motor home came true this week. We bought one. We drove to Alvarado to look at them because we had seen one on the internet that sounded good. It wasn't. But we found another one instead. It's a 2011 Hurricane manufactured by Thor. It's a 32 ft. class A (means it looks like a bus) that sleeps 6...which is a good thing because 6 of us are leaving for Walt Disney World in just a few short hours. Ron and I are taking our oldest grandson, Trenton, who will be 8 in just a couple of weeks. My BIL and SIL are taking their 10 year old grandson who will be 11 in August. The last time we went to Disney World Trenton's mommy was 6 so it's time to go again!! And this time we are going in style! Check this out...

The Bathroom





The dining table (which doubles as another bed) and kitchen




The driving and living areas





View of the bedroom and then from the front through the bathroom to the bedroom
v


We're going to have a blast traveling the U.S. in this baby. Ronnie already wants to go to Yellowstone and Yosemite and Mt. Rushmore and......you get the idea!

Monday, June 13, 2011

The Simple Things...

Today's blog is being brought to you at 6:49 a.m. after a sleepless night with Restless Leg Syndrome. I don't sleep well anyway, but it just so happens that my doctor's office has not yet given approval to refill the medication that I take for this lovely phenomenon. But that, my friends, is the subject of a whole different blog.

Allow me to begin by saying that ever since my accident on April 20th people have made remarks such as, "You have such a great attitude" or "I just don't know how you do it." Seriously? What choice do I have. I can crawl back into bed (where I can't sleep) and wait 3 or 4 months for my injury to heal sufficiently to face the world again, or I can go on with my life. I chose to get on with the living. In fact, I'm quite happy to still be among the living. Do I get tired? You bet. Do I get frustrated? YOU BET! But I keep on going because that is the thing to do.

Let me give you an example: strap a skateboard to a bar stool, place one knee on the bar stool and refuse to give yourself permission to put any weight or pressure on that leg. That's a rough example of my "wheelie." Without the wheelie my only options would be crutches, a walker, or the aforementioned bed. So, I love my wheelie. Now, imagine that it has been "a while" since your kitchen floor has been swept or mopped. Imagine that it is ridiculously hot and the roly polys surrounding your home have decided that they would like to come in to the air conditioning. They are so overcome with relief that they die. Can't handle the excitement I guess. Now, imagine that some of the said roly polys are choosing to find a corner of your kitchen in which to place their last remains. Get the picture? Look, I'm no clean freak but I can be disgusted pretty easily. My kitchen floor hadn't been mopped in a couple of weeks. Spills had occurred and been wiped up but the floor wasn't "clean." So, this morning (back to the skateboard and bar stool analogy)I swept and mopped my kitchen floor. It took me 45 minutes but I got it done. Big deal you say? Yes, I say, it is! Try doing anything, LITERALLY ANYTHING, with only one working leg and see how hard it is. No, I'm not asking for sympathy or pats on the back. I'm just sayin'...

There are so many things that we take for granted in life until we don't have them or can't do them. So allow me the simple pleasure of wallowing in the joy of a clean kitchen floor. I never...NEVER...thought that I would crave the ability to do housework, but this one-legged mess has kicked me to the curb. All I want is the simple act of WALKING across a room, sweeping a floor, getting in the bathtub, putting on my shoeS (plural), driving myself somewhere I want to go, etc. You know, the things you do everyday without giving it a second thought.

Friday, June 10, 2011

My new beau...make that Beau...

It occurred to me today that I have not given any information on the newest and youngest man in my life...Beau.

Beau is my Yorkie pup...my anniversary gift...my delight. I was already injured and tied to the house when I began my search for my puppy. Ronnie had told me, "You find it, I'll buy it for you." With nothing else to do, I began searching. I found Beau on Craigslist and he was right down the road in Forney. On speaking with his owner at the time, I found that she had gotten him from a neighbor's litter and had him about six weeks. The entire time her 2 year old son was sick. Verdict...he was allergic to dog dander and she had to get rid of "Romeo." Her loss...my gain. She agreed to a price and told me that due to my injury she would bring the puppy to me...along with his crate, his toys, his food, his collar, etc.

It was love at first sight. The seller walked in with Beau and I was immediately in love. What a precious little guy. He has brought me so much joy and companionship in the last few weeks. He can also be a pain in the posterior. He is in the puppy biting phase, he attacks the vacuum cleaner, he dumps his toys all over the floor, he has chewed on one of my new Yellow Box sandals, he has chewed up the lanyard on my flash drive, he has chewed up a pencil....you get the picture. It also takes some arranging when we are going on a trip. My daughter, Kristin, puppysat for us for our trip to Arizona and Vegas. She is going to puppysit again while we take her oldest to Disney World next week. When Beau is a bit older I may feel comfortable boarding him but until then, his older "sister" gets to keep him. Even with the extra considerations and "issues," I am thrilled to have Beau. He is a sweet puppy and I love him fanatically.

Who couldn't love this little guy?

Sadness after the kitty was ugly to him


Riding in the car before the puppy carseat


Helping Nana's hurt foot feel better


Who, me? Not me! I didn't do it...probably...maybe...okay, I did it!