My solo birthday trip to EPCOT
I had asked for only one thing for my birthday this year.... a solo trip to the Wine & Food Festival at Disneyworld's EPCOT. I have been to the festival a couple of times in the past. My fist time was the year we had the dining plan and we saved all of our snack credits for the week and then Lil' Bit and I slipped over to the world showcase and spent a wonderful afternoon sampling foods from around the world with our snack credits. Other times I have been there it has been whole family as well but one nice afternoon, I was allowed to break away for a while and stroll around with my friend Craig, a foodie like me. My time alone was limited, though. It was not long before I was called back the the real world of taking daughter's to the bathroom or refereeing arguments about what to ride next.
While I love my kids and have never wanted or needed a vacation away from them, I really needed to get one chance to do what I wanted on this trip. And while I love my husband and have no need to get away from him for even a spa weekend, we have such different opinions about how to spend time in Disney and I knew that bringing him would not work out. Yes, it could be romantic to get away with him for a couple of days. And I could picture he and I strolling around the park arm in arm. But then reality comes crashing into my pretty little dream and I then realize that we would have a little time like that but then he would start bugging me to dot hings that he wants to do. Nope... this trip had to be taken alone.
Did I miss my family?... naw, I was only gone two days. Do I feel guilty about not bringing them?... heck no! Do I want to go without them again?... well, confession time.... yes, I will probably try to get away with it again one day.
There is one little tiny bit of guilt though. When the kids and I vacation, we scrimp and save. We find the cheapest smallest rental cars or rely on public transportation. We bring our own breakfast and lunches and find a cheap dinner. We don't spend more than a few dollars on souvenirs. But on this trip, I splurged. I spent a lot of money on food (which is why I went there to begin with). I felt a little bad about that. Not bad enough to change what I was doing but ad none-the-less.
I love trying new foods. I am an adventurous eater and, as you know from the whole premise of this blog, I love to set a goal for myself and reach it. My goal on this trip was to eat (or drink) one item from each of the Wine & Food Festival's 28 "countries".
Stay tuned to see if I reached this goal......
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Friday, November 16, 2012
Quick update
My mother-in-law came up with a great idea to go to Connecticut this weekend to visit a certain flea market. She loves flea markets, knows my kids love them and also, I think, is intrigued with the idea of being a part of history as we climb to our goal of 50 states visited by June 2014.
But, alas, I had to break her heart. Sorry Mom, I am way behind on blog posts (this blog and my main one) and just cannot go out of town until I get some typing done. OK, you got me , it is not only blogging that needs to get caught up on. I am also working on a lesson pan for a course I will be teaching in a few weeks, have a ton of housework, including two very neglected litter boxes, and have no money left.
So, we will have to plan our trip to the flea market for the spring when the season starts up again. In the mean time, I need to lock myself in the computer room and get caught up on blogging. I owe trip reports from Disney, Colorado and Disney... no that was not a typo. I have been to Disney twice since my last post.
But, alas, I had to break her heart. Sorry Mom, I am way behind on blog posts (this blog and my main one) and just cannot go out of town until I get some typing done. OK, you got me , it is not only blogging that needs to get caught up on. I am also working on a lesson pan for a course I will be teaching in a few weeks, have a ton of housework, including two very neglected litter boxes, and have no money left.
So, we will have to plan our trip to the flea market for the spring when the season starts up again. In the mean time, I need to lock myself in the computer room and get caught up on blogging. I owe trip reports from Disney, Colorado and Disney... no that was not a typo. I have been to Disney twice since my last post.
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Columbus, OH - budget report
Let me give my disclaimer first. Big Boy has a debit card. He has one because I was always forgetting to pay his allowance and he was always forgetting to bring his money so money started to become this magical thing with no real meaning. So, I began depositing his allowance automatically into a checking account for him and he has a debit card attache tot hat account. I hold the card, of course and have final veto over his purchases.
That said, since he had a friend with him, I think he felt the need to show of a little bit and spend some money with his debit card. This is why wewasted spent almost $15 on snacks. $15 is normally my budget for a whole day's food. Also, since we had a guest, I splurged on McDonald's lunch instead of making the kids eat sandwiches. In hindsight, as I mentioned before, I should have had them just order a snack since we would be filling up on ice cream later.
I did not put gas in the rental car because I drove it about 20 miles and the needle never budged.
We broke even on the ice cream since I had planned on buying about #20 worth of ice cream in the store which tthey gave us free. I bought quarts to take home which I probably would not have done if they had not offered them half price. So, the ice cream was a wash.
Here is where the money went:
That said, since he had a friend with him, I think he felt the need to show of a little bit and spend some money with his debit card. This is why we
I did not put gas in the rental car because I drove it about 20 miles and the needle never budged.
We broke even on the ice cream since I had planned on buying about #20 worth of ice cream in the store which tthey gave us free. I bought quarts to take home which I probably would not have done if they had not offered them half price. So, the ice cream was a wash.
Here is where the money went:
| amount | category | note |
| $ 14.77 | food | snacks for boys |
| $ 21.75 | food | McDonald's |
| $ 5.70 | food | drinks for ride home |
| $ 10.00 | souvenir | box for ice cream |
| $ 7.50 | souvenir | souvenir |
| $ 20.00 | souvenir | ice cream |
| $ 22.42 | transportation | car rental |
| $ 8.00 | transportation | airport parking |
| $ 110.14 | total |
Monday, November 5, 2012
Columbus, OH - the race home
Keeping in mind that we were only going to be in Columbus for a very short time to begin with and we spent too much time at McDonalds, we now had about an hour until it was time to board the plane.
We raced out of Jeni's bowls of ice cream in hand, box in tow and jumped into our rental car. Luckily, the airport was only a short drive away but we still had to return the rental car, make the long walk (jog) though the airport, get our security documents and then get through security.
As we jumped out of the rental car, I yelled an apology to the car rental agent for all of the trash left in the car (drinking cups and our ice cream bowls). We usually leave our rental cars spotless but there was no time to grab everything. The agent shouted out to us that it was OK and to just concenrate on making our flight.
At BWI airport, they have kiosks set away from the ticket agent where you can print your boarding passes (in our case, security docs, since we don't get boarding passes until later) without ever seeing an agent. At the Columbus airport the passengers have to approach the counter to check in. I was juggling carry on bags and my big Styrofoam box so I set the box down a the nearest point.. which happened to be the scale where you put your checked bags. The agent came over to help me check my bag and I explained that it was carry on. Noting the type of box it was, she asked what was in it. When I told her, she responded that it would have to check it. I tried to find out if this was an airline policy or a TSA policy since I had been told earlier by my husband (an airline employee) that this would not be a problem. I could not get a clear answer from her. Having no time left to argue, discuss, research or prove that I could, indeed carry it on. I quickly relented and gave her the box. She charged be an additional $10 for an airline approved box and seemed to take forever to check it. She did assure me that it would make this flight though.
The boys had gone ahead of us through TSA security since one of them needed the bathroom. This left Lil' Bit and I. as we waited to retrieve our bags from the security belt, a TSA officer held up Lil' Bit's bag and asked whose it was. I gave her up in a heartbeat. he then pulled out two water bottles that she had grabbed when we were picking up our rental car. He took the water out and had to send the bag back through screening.
After all this, we made it to the gate, breathless but with a few minutes to spare. We boarded our first choice flight with no problems.
Awesome, wonderful, perfect. everything has fallen into place.
Then.... Big Boy looked at me with an "I'm going to throw up" face. He had just looked in his carry on bag and discovered that he had left his brand new Kindle in the rental car. He had stashed it in the glove box when we went into McDonalds and had forgotten about it when we raced to get out of the car. As upset as I was with him, I had to admit that if we had a few more minutes, we would have done a better job of leaving the car and may have remembered it. I frantically pulled out my cell phone and attempted to call Enterprise before we had to turn off all phones. No answer. I spent the rest of the flight worrying about it.
As soon as we arrived at BWI airport, I called Enterprise back and asked them to look for it. They advised that the car had already been rented again and they would call the person immediately. It took a while to get an answer back but we we retold that the renter had found the kindle and wold bring it back when she returned the car. Several days later, I got another call that they had it back and would mail it. I am happy to report that we do have the Kindle back.
After a quick stop to visit with my husband, who was working at a nearby gate, we headed down to baggage claim. We looked for our box with no luck. I spoke to several employees and Customer Service Agent Levi assisted us in our search. he told us that it looked like our package would be on the next flight in or the one after that. Well, I wasn't about to sit around the airport with three young kids waiting for ice cream so I mentally wrote off my $20 of ice cream and $10 box as a loss. I asked him to keep and eye and if i t came in to let my husband know. My husband got off work before the box arrived.
I realized that if the ice cream was found and if someone put it in the freezer for me, I would still be unsure if it was safe to eat., What if it had melted but then refroze without my knowing how long it sat at room temperature.
We went to bed that night figuring that we had a good trip despite the rush and the loss of our ice cream. Then, at 11:20 PM, my cell phone rang. It was Levi from the airline. He told me that he found my box, opened it and confirmed that the ice cream was still frozen solid and he was putting it in the employee freezer. My husband found it there safe and sound the next day and brought it home for us. We have been enjoying...no savouring it ever since. A quart is not a lot of ice cream and we only had three (after I delivered J Dog's to his mother). We have rationed it out but enjoyed every bit.
We raced out of Jeni's bowls of ice cream in hand, box in tow and jumped into our rental car. Luckily, the airport was only a short drive away but we still had to return the rental car, make the long walk (jog) though the airport, get our security documents and then get through security.
As we jumped out of the rental car, I yelled an apology to the car rental agent for all of the trash left in the car (drinking cups and our ice cream bowls). We usually leave our rental cars spotless but there was no time to grab everything. The agent shouted out to us that it was OK and to just concenrate on making our flight.
At BWI airport, they have kiosks set away from the ticket agent where you can print your boarding passes (in our case, security docs, since we don't get boarding passes until later) without ever seeing an agent. At the Columbus airport the passengers have to approach the counter to check in. I was juggling carry on bags and my big Styrofoam box so I set the box down a the nearest point.. which happened to be the scale where you put your checked bags. The agent came over to help me check my bag and I explained that it was carry on. Noting the type of box it was, she asked what was in it. When I told her, she responded that it would have to check it. I tried to find out if this was an airline policy or a TSA policy since I had been told earlier by my husband (an airline employee) that this would not be a problem. I could not get a clear answer from her. Having no time left to argue, discuss, research or prove that I could, indeed carry it on. I quickly relented and gave her the box. She charged be an additional $10 for an airline approved box and seemed to take forever to check it. She did assure me that it would make this flight though.
The boys had gone ahead of us through TSA security since one of them needed the bathroom. This left Lil' Bit and I. as we waited to retrieve our bags from the security belt, a TSA officer held up Lil' Bit's bag and asked whose it was. I gave her up in a heartbeat. he then pulled out two water bottles that she had grabbed when we were picking up our rental car. He took the water out and had to send the bag back through screening.
After all this, we made it to the gate, breathless but with a few minutes to spare. We boarded our first choice flight with no problems.
Awesome, wonderful, perfect. everything has fallen into place.
Then.... Big Boy looked at me with an "I'm going to throw up" face. He had just looked in his carry on bag and discovered that he had left his brand new Kindle in the rental car. He had stashed it in the glove box when we went into McDonalds and had forgotten about it when we raced to get out of the car. As upset as I was with him, I had to admit that if we had a few more minutes, we would have done a better job of leaving the car and may have remembered it. I frantically pulled out my cell phone and attempted to call Enterprise before we had to turn off all phones. No answer. I spent the rest of the flight worrying about it.
As soon as we arrived at BWI airport, I called Enterprise back and asked them to look for it. They advised that the car had already been rented again and they would call the person immediately. It took a while to get an answer back but we we retold that the renter had found the kindle and wold bring it back when she returned the car. Several days later, I got another call that they had it back and would mail it. I am happy to report that we do have the Kindle back.
After a quick stop to visit with my husband, who was working at a nearby gate, we headed down to baggage claim. We looked for our box with no luck. I spoke to several employees and Customer Service Agent Levi assisted us in our search. he told us that it looked like our package would be on the next flight in or the one after that. Well, I wasn't about to sit around the airport with three young kids waiting for ice cream so I mentally wrote off my $20 of ice cream and $10 box as a loss. I asked him to keep and eye and if i t came in to let my husband know. My husband got off work before the box arrived.
I realized that if the ice cream was found and if someone put it in the freezer for me, I would still be unsure if it was safe to eat., What if it had melted but then refroze without my knowing how long it sat at room temperature.
We went to bed that night figuring that we had a good trip despite the rush and the loss of our ice cream. Then, at 11:20 PM, my cell phone rang. It was Levi from the airline. He told me that he found my box, opened it and confirmed that the ice cream was still frozen solid and he was putting it in the employee freezer. My husband found it there safe and sound the next day and brought it home for us. We have been enjoying...no savouring it ever since. A quart is not a lot of ice cream and we only had three (after I delivered J Dog's to his mother). We have rationed it out but enjoyed every bit.
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Columbus, OH - October 20
It is time for the long awaited, greatly anticipated Columbus, Ohio post!
The story actually starts the night before we headed out. While doing my tip preparation, I called a random Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream store and asked them which location would be closest to the airport. I explained why I was asking and what we were doing. The employee on the phone advised me that the Bexley location was the closest and that they thought the whole thing was cool.
As I mentioned previously, Big Boy had arranged for a hang-out day (too old for "play dates") with his friend from school and Cub Scouts. I asked the parents if they minded me taking their son for ice cream and they gave me their blessing.
We picked up the self named "J Dog" at eight o'clock and headed out for the hour long drive to the airport. We made it with plenty of time and breezed through security. We got on our first choice flight with no problem at all. J Dog has flown before so he was a seasoned traveler. No need to worry about nerves with him.
The flight to Columbus was short and sweet. After picking up our rental car, Enterprise again, we headed straight for the nearest fast food joint. It ended up being a McDonalds. Now, in hindsight, I should have just bought the kids a large snack or a small meal, knowing how filling the ice cream wold be. Also, we were very short on time and I should have nagged them to eat and go a little faster.
Luckily, the closest Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream shop was less than fifteen minutes away.
We raced over to Jeni's as I nervously kept my eye on the time. We would have just enough time to grab our ice cream "to go". We parked down the street and raced into the store. I had my camera out and was snapping pictures for the blog. The woman working the counter immediately figured out that we were the travelers she had heard about from the other store. She announced that her manager said to give us free scoops and to also offer us half price on quarts of ice cream.
We each ordered our scoops, stopping to taste several samples each, and we also purchased quarts of ice cream to go. I have to say that I had been told at eh Nashville store that they are very patient and will let you try as many samples as you wish. This is true for the Ohio location as well. They never seemed to tire of us asking for little samples of each flavor. The customer service is as good as the ice cream.
I texted my husband, who was at work at the airport back home, to ask him about carrying on ice cream packed in dry ice. he said it would be no problem at all so we purchased four quarts, three for us and one for J Dog to give his mother. The employee asked us how long we would be traveling and I advised her that with the flight time and commute home, we would need the ice cream to stay cold for four hours. She consulted a chart and weighed out the right amount of dry ice. She packed the ice cream and dry ice in a Styrofoam cooler free of charge.
Sadly, we could not it there and savor the ice cream as we had to race back to the airport. I ate mine with one hand on the bowl and one hand on the spoon and steering with my elbow.
The kids had filled up on McDonalds so they did not have room to finish their bowls. It is a very rich ice cream and three half scoops is plenty to fill you up and satisfy the sweet tooth.
Next: The crazy race to the airport
The story actually starts the night before we headed out. While doing my tip preparation, I called a random Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream store and asked them which location would be closest to the airport. I explained why I was asking and what we were doing. The employee on the phone advised me that the Bexley location was the closest and that they thought the whole thing was cool.
As I mentioned previously, Big Boy had arranged for a hang-out day (too old for "play dates") with his friend from school and Cub Scouts. I asked the parents if they minded me taking their son for ice cream and they gave me their blessing.
We picked up the self named "J Dog" at eight o'clock and headed out for the hour long drive to the airport. We made it with plenty of time and breezed through security. We got on our first choice flight with no problem at all. J Dog has flown before so he was a seasoned traveler. No need to worry about nerves with him.
The flight to Columbus was short and sweet. After picking up our rental car, Enterprise again, we headed straight for the nearest fast food joint. It ended up being a McDonalds. Now, in hindsight, I should have just bought the kids a large snack or a small meal, knowing how filling the ice cream wold be. Also, we were very short on time and I should have nagged them to eat and go a little faster.
We raced over to Jeni's as I nervously kept my eye on the time. We would have just enough time to grab our ice cream "to go". We parked down the street and raced into the store. I had my camera out and was snapping pictures for the blog. The woman working the counter immediately figured out that we were the travelers she had heard about from the other store. She announced that her manager said to give us free scoops and to also offer us half price on quarts of ice cream.
We each ordered our scoops, stopping to taste several samples each, and we also purchased quarts of ice cream to go. I have to say that I had been told at eh Nashville store that they are very patient and will let you try as many samples as you wish. This is true for the Ohio location as well. They never seemed to tire of us asking for little samples of each flavor. The customer service is as good as the ice cream.
Sadly, we could not it there and savor the ice cream as we had to race back to the airport. I ate mine with one hand on the bowl and one hand on the spoon and steering with my elbow.
The kids had filled up on McDonalds so they did not have room to finish their bowls. It is a very rich ice cream and three half scoops is plenty to fill you up and satisfy the sweet tooth.
Next: The crazy race to the airport
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Oh my, oh my
I am exactly two trips behind on my trip reports and am already on the brink of leaving town again. If I keep this up, I am going to have to invest in a tablet... something light enough to travel with but robust enough to write my blog(s) on.
I am in the middle of putting together our next trip. The kids only have two days of school this upcoming week (Monday and Wednesday - go figure) and my court is only open one day (Thursday) and I don't work when the court is not open. So, I asked for the day off and decided that the kids would not be harmed too much by missing two days of school. The stars aligned even further when we figured noted that we have a rare occasion of my husband being off for two of the dame days as us (Thursday and Friday). We never have overlapping days off. The one rub was that he is on call for jury duty but one phone call later and we discovered that the trial schedule is already set and there are no jury trials scheduled for this week. All he had to do was take a letter tot he courthouse asking to be excused and he is now free and clear.
So, the kids and I are planning on going to Bridgeville, DE on Saturday and then off to a city still to be determined from Sunday through Wednesday. So far, it is looking like that city will be Denver Colorado but don'[t hold me to that. Then the rest of the week will be spent in a surprise location. OK, a surprise for the kids but anyone who know us, knows where I am talking about. The plan is for the kids and I to arrive sometime Wednesday and for my husband to join us first thing Thursday morning. He is hoping that someone will take his shift Saturday evening so that he can stay an extra day. The rest of us will fly back either Saturday afternoon or Sunday morning. Sunday morning is looking a little better flight wise.
So, funny thing about the way this trip is being planned. I literally searched for flights into our destination city of Wednesday and planned our trip backwards based on what flights I could find. I only found a handful of cities with empty enough flights that direction. Now that I have narrowed it down, I am looking for flights to that city on Sunday. Like I said, Denver is looking most likely right now.
I guess you will have to stay tuned to see where we end up.
I am in the middle of putting together our next trip. The kids only have two days of school this upcoming week (Monday and Wednesday - go figure) and my court is only open one day (Thursday) and I don't work when the court is not open. So, I asked for the day off and decided that the kids would not be harmed too much by missing two days of school. The stars aligned even further when we figured noted that we have a rare occasion of my husband being off for two of the dame days as us (Thursday and Friday). We never have overlapping days off. The one rub was that he is on call for jury duty but one phone call later and we discovered that the trial schedule is already set and there are no jury trials scheduled for this week. All he had to do was take a letter tot he courthouse asking to be excused and he is now free and clear.
So, the kids and I are planning on going to Bridgeville, DE on Saturday and then off to a city still to be determined from Sunday through Wednesday. So far, it is looking like that city will be Denver Colorado but don'[t hold me to that. Then the rest of the week will be spent in a surprise location. OK, a surprise for the kids but anyone who know us, knows where I am talking about. The plan is for the kids and I to arrive sometime Wednesday and for my husband to join us first thing Thursday morning. He is hoping that someone will take his shift Saturday evening so that he can stay an extra day. The rest of us will fly back either Saturday afternoon or Sunday morning. Sunday morning is looking a little better flight wise.
So, funny thing about the way this trip is being planned. I literally searched for flights into our destination city of Wednesday and planned our trip backwards based on what flights I could find. I only found a handful of cities with empty enough flights that direction. Now that I have narrowed it down, I am looking for flights to that city on Sunday. Like I said, Denver is looking most likely right now.
I guess you will have to stay tuned to see where we end up.
Friday, November 2, 2012
Buffalo, NY - final thoughts and budget
Before traveling, I did a little research and discovered that you can take a combination of two buses from the airport to the Niagara falls area. from there, you can pretty much walk anywhere you want to, including into Canada. The buses are inexpensive and the walking toll to Canada is somewhere in the neighborhood of a dollar.. I made the decision to rent a car and drive, though because we would be lugging all of our bags and a stroller, on and off buses. Also, while the walks would not be unreasonable, you never know when the kids will conk out on you. As much as I enjoyed Chicago without a rental car, I did realize pretty quickly that despite trying to travel light, we have a lot of stuff. First off, there are the electronics to entertain the kids on the plane. Then there all the power cords for said electronics. Add bathing suits and a change of clothes and, of course, don't forget my cooler full of food and snacks. Well, we can pretty much fill the stroller leaving no room for a tired child.
I am very glad we did all of the activities that we did but wish that we had the energy for just one more. I would have liked to do the tunnel behind the falls on the Canadian side. I also regret not seeing the falls at night.
Big Boy said that they had learned about Lake Erie in school and if we were not in such a hurry to get on the earlier flight, we could have driven by the shores of the lake.
Gas was ridiculously priced in the US side (I didn't pay attention in Canada). I saw prices in the $4.16 range and I usually wince when I see our $3.49 per gallon at home.
The car rental was supposed to run me around $75 but a) we returned it a few hours early and b) upon returning he car, I whined about the fact that the cigarette lighter didn't work and it almost left me without a GPS and phone. The guy immediately took the second day off my bill. I love companies that empower their employees to keep the customer happy. I am very loyal to enterprise rental now for that reason and one from our next trip.
As much as we enjoyed our meal at Margaritaville, I wished we had instead dined at the Skylon Tower restaurant. I initially vetoed the idea out of fear that it was cost prohibitive but after it was too late, I discovered that the buffet was comparable to what we paid for dinner at Margaritaville.
And, it goes without saying that I wish I had walked out of IHOP before paying that obscene amount for breakfast.
Here is where the money went.
I am very glad we did all of the activities that we did but wish that we had the energy for just one more. I would have liked to do the tunnel behind the falls on the Canadian side. I also regret not seeing the falls at night.
Big Boy said that they had learned about Lake Erie in school and if we were not in such a hurry to get on the earlier flight, we could have driven by the shores of the lake.
Gas was ridiculously priced in the US side (I didn't pay attention in Canada). I saw prices in the $4.16 range and I usually wince when I see our $3.49 per gallon at home.
The car rental was supposed to run me around $75 but a) we returned it a few hours early and b) upon returning he car, I whined about the fact that the cigarette lighter didn't work and it almost left me without a GPS and phone. The guy immediately took the second day off my bill. I love companies that empower their employees to keep the customer happy. I am very loyal to enterprise rental now for that reason and one from our next trip.
As much as we enjoyed our meal at Margaritaville, I wished we had instead dined at the Skylon Tower restaurant. I initially vetoed the idea out of fear that it was cost prohibitive but after it was too late, I discovered that the buffet was comparable to what we paid for dinner at Margaritaville.
And, it goes without saying that I wish I had walked out of IHOP before paying that obscene amount for breakfast.
Here is where the money went.
| amount | category | note |
| $ 99.24 | accommodations | hotel |
| $ 8.00 | attraction | park entry |
| $ 4.00 | attraction | trolley |
| $ 27.00 | attraction | cave of the winds |
| $ 18.00 | attraction | maid of the mist |
| $ 13.80 | food | lunch at airport |
| $ 11.40 | food | lunch at airport |
| $ 72.62 | food | breakfast IHOP |
| $ 20.20 | food | Chinese buffet |
| $ 8.00 | food | two sodas one milk |
| $ 5.47 | food | milk at airport |
| $ 68.03 | food | margaritaville dinner |
| $ 12.00 | souvenir | souvenir currency |
| $ 14.56 | souvenir | shot glass and ornament |
| $ 6.46 | souvenir | shot glass and bracelet |
| $ 16.00 | transportation | parking |
| $ 37.53 | transportation | car rental |
| $ 3.25 | transportation | toll rainbow bridge |
| $ 1.00 | transportation | toll |
| $ 16.00 | transportation | airport parking |
| $ 462.56 | Total |
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Ontario Canada - the way home
We woke up early and decided to walk to a nearby IHOP for breakfast. They are usually reasonably priced and who doesn't like pancakes? The IHOP was attached to another hotel about half a mile from ours. We were seated and started looking at the menu. I almost had a stroke. They wanted $18 for an omelet... and that is Canadian dollars. Add about 2% to that for the currency exchange. I should have gone with my instinct and walked out but Big Boy had such a great memory of his recent IHOP breakfast with his father and, I don't know, I wasn't thinking straight. We ordered breakfast and endured sub par service. Someone had switched the caps on two of the four flavors of pancake syrup so Big Boy accidentally smothered his pancakes with blueberry syrup - which he hates. We waited a ridiculously long time for our waitress to come by but in her credit she did quickly agree to bring him a new serving of pancakes.
When the bill came, I was sick to my stomach. I could have fed my kids for three days in DisneyWorld for what I paid for breakfast.
And that was before tip!
We walked back to the hotel with a smile pasted on my face, determined to make sure that the kids continued to have a good time. Along the way a cat jumped out from behind a shrub and immediately introduced himself. He ended up following us for a few blocks while the kids made ridiculous pleas to take him home with us.
Although it was a gorgeous sunny day.. and so far, we had only seen the falls when it was overcast, my kids seemed to feel that they had seen enough of the falls. The wanted to spend the morning in the pool. It was still early and the pool was not due to open until 10:00. We were originally scheduled for an evening flight so that we could spend some more time exploring the area but that expensive breakfast was still in my head and the kids had seen enough water so we decide to head back home early. There was a noon flight that was wide open so we decided to try for that.
Crossing back over the border was as uneventful as entering Canada. A quick glance at our passports and a few routine questions and we were back in the USA.
Suddenly and unexpectedly, Lil's Bit mentioned that she was hungry and then immediately segued into a full uncharacteristic meltdown. I don't know where she thought I was going to find food on the middle of the highway. But, we survived the meltdown and went to our rental car return. While returning the car, I mentioned that the cigarette lighter was not working which caused me much angst as I was using my phone for the GPS and was watching my battery slowly dwindle. Now, this is why I am loving Enterprise. Without hesitation, the employee noted that I only had the car for a couple of hours on my second day and he agreed to waive the second day altogether, cutting my bill in half. That is good customer service.
We easily got onto the early flight.
And, it is a good thing we did. Storms later in the day caused delays to our original flight. We would have made it home but is would have been late.
When the bill came, I was sick to my stomach. I could have fed my kids for three days in DisneyWorld for what I paid for breakfast.
And that was before tip!
We walked back to the hotel with a smile pasted on my face, determined to make sure that the kids continued to have a good time. Along the way a cat jumped out from behind a shrub and immediately introduced himself. He ended up following us for a few blocks while the kids made ridiculous pleas to take him home with us.
Although it was a gorgeous sunny day.. and so far, we had only seen the falls when it was overcast, my kids seemed to feel that they had seen enough of the falls. The wanted to spend the morning in the pool. It was still early and the pool was not due to open until 10:00. We were originally scheduled for an evening flight so that we could spend some more time exploring the area but that expensive breakfast was still in my head and the kids had seen enough water so we decide to head back home early. There was a noon flight that was wide open so we decided to try for that.
Crossing back over the border was as uneventful as entering Canada. A quick glance at our passports and a few routine questions and we were back in the USA.
Suddenly and unexpectedly, Lil's Bit mentioned that she was hungry and then immediately segued into a full uncharacteristic meltdown. I don't know where she thought I was going to find food on the middle of the highway. But, we survived the meltdown and went to our rental car return. While returning the car, I mentioned that the cigarette lighter was not working which caused me much angst as I was using my phone for the GPS and was watching my battery slowly dwindle. Now, this is why I am loving Enterprise. Without hesitation, the employee noted that I only had the car for a couple of hours on my second day and he agreed to waive the second day altogether, cutting my bill in half. That is good customer service.
We easily got onto the early flight.
And, it is a good thing we did. Storms later in the day caused delays to our original flight. We would have made it home but is would have been late.
Monday, October 29, 2012
Ontario, Canada - October 18 & 19
After our Maid of the Mist ride, we spent a few minutes on the observation tower and bought a couple of trinkets in the souvenir shop. While waiting for our purchases to be rung up, Lil' Bit played with and subsequently dropped a small glass souvenir. She was so upset that she quickly made a grab for the broken glass in an attempt to pick it up. She cut her thumb on the glass and, after receiving a band aid, posed with her injury.
We caught the trolley back to our car and headed out of the park. This trip, we had brought donuts but had not packed a lunch. We quickly found a cheap Chinese Buffet in the area. It was cheap, very cheap, and not very good. But we are on a budget and it was food so we made do.
Lil' Bit had to go to the bathroom and since the bathrooms were very close and the place was deserted, she set off by herself. After a while, I thought I should go check on her as she was talking a wee bit too long. As I got closer tot he ladies room, I could hear her cries and her desperate pounding on the bathroom door. She had gotten herself stuck in the restroom. Not one to miss an opportunity to laugh at one of my children;'s misfortune, I totally cracked up. But she was none the worse for wear. We finished our meal and set off for Canada.
We quickly found the border crossing at Rainbow Bridge and upon showing our passports and answering a few cursory questions, we were allowed to cross the border. Our first stop was the Holiday Inn where we had made reservations. It was straight up the hill from the American Falls, The hotel did not have a view of the falls but was within walking distance.
The room was nice and clean
The room did not have much of a view though.
What the hotel did have was a pool and a hot tub. On the list of favorite things, a hotel pool and hot tub rank 1 & 2 on my kids' most favorite things.
Attached to our hotel was a Margaritaville. The neon and music caught the kids' eyes so we decided that this was the spot for dinner.
By the time we finished dinner, the kid were tired, we were all just now drying off from our walk in the drizzle, and it had gotten even more chilly out. Despite the fact that everyone says you just haaave to see the falls at night... we headed back to our room and straight to bed.
Here are a couple of pictures of what we missed (stolen from the Internet)
We caught the trolley back to our car and headed out of the park. This trip, we had brought donuts but had not packed a lunch. We quickly found a cheap Chinese Buffet in the area. It was cheap, very cheap, and not very good. But we are on a budget and it was food so we made do.
Lil' Bit had to go to the bathroom and since the bathrooms were very close and the place was deserted, she set off by herself. After a while, I thought I should go check on her as she was talking a wee bit too long. As I got closer tot he ladies room, I could hear her cries and her desperate pounding on the bathroom door. She had gotten herself stuck in the restroom. Not one to miss an opportunity to laugh at one of my children;'s misfortune, I totally cracked up. But she was none the worse for wear. We finished our meal and set off for Canada.
We quickly found the border crossing at Rainbow Bridge and upon showing our passports and answering a few cursory questions, we were allowed to cross the border. Our first stop was the Holiday Inn where we had made reservations. It was straight up the hill from the American Falls, The hotel did not have a view of the falls but was within walking distance.
The room was nice and clean
The room did not have much of a view though.
What the hotel did have was a pool and a hot tub. On the list of favorite things, a hotel pool and hot tub rank 1 & 2 on my kids' most favorite things.
After a quick swim, we headed out on foot in search of inexpensive souvenirs (we struck out) and then off to see the falls from the Canadian side (where the view is best)
The walk was a comfortable downhill walk a little less than a mile. It started getting chilly and drizziling during the walk down but the view was worth it.
By the time we finished dinner, the kid were tired, we were all just now drying off from our walk in the drizzle, and it had gotten even more chilly out. Despite the fact that everyone says you just haaave to see the falls at night... we headed back to our room and straight to bed.
Here are a couple of pictures of what we missed (stolen from the Internet)
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Buffalo, NY The Maid of the Mist
I do have one regret from my childhood trip to Niagara Falls. I remember looking at the passengers of the Maid of the Mist boat tour with envy. I wanted to go on the boat ride so badly but my parents told me that it was too expensive. Traveling with four kids and having to multiply every expense by four did rule out cool things like the boat trip so I do not begrudge my parents for not taking us on it but I was determined to give my kids hat experience.
The Maid of the Mist departs from just off Goat Island but a distance from the lot we had parked in. For $2 for adults and $1 per child, we boarded the trolley on an all day wristband. The trolley runs around Goat Island and to the Maid of the Mist and the observation tower.
The boat cost us $18 and included a second set of decks and stairs at the other side of the American falls and free run of hte observation tower which extends over the river.
We received a second rain poncho and boarded the boat. There is no way to describe the sound of hte falls and give it justice. It was such an impressive roar of water. As we approached the falls, it was like being in the middle of a torrential rainstorm. The water came in gusts and as soon as I got the confidence to pull out my camera, another big gust of water would envelope us. Here are the few pictures I could manage.
I cannot describe how impressed I was with the falls and I strongly recommend that anyone traveling to Niagara falls budget the money for the Maid of the Mist boat trip.
The Maid of the Mist departs from just off Goat Island but a distance from the lot we had parked in. For $2 for adults and $1 per child, we boarded the trolley on an all day wristband. The trolley runs around Goat Island and to the Maid of the Mist and the observation tower.
The boat cost us $18 and included a second set of decks and stairs at the other side of the American falls and free run of hte observation tower which extends over the river.
We received a second rain poncho and boarded the boat. There is no way to describe the sound of hte falls and give it justice. It was such an impressive roar of water. As we approached the falls, it was like being in the middle of a torrential rainstorm. The water came in gusts and as soon as I got the confidence to pull out my camera, another big gust of water would envelope us. Here are the few pictures I could manage.
I cannot describe how impressed I was with the falls and I strongly recommend that anyone traveling to Niagara falls budget the money for the Maid of the Mist boat trip.
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