And we're off to the Mouse!
May 24th, 2021, 03:38 PM
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And we're off to the Mouse!
We were supposed to go to the UK. Again.
BA has canceled our flight, and it looks like there may still be an isolation requirement in July. We're not even trying until things are normal or close.
We're going to Disney. Of course it's not at normal either, but we can get in without isolating, and we're vaccinated. Our traveling party is myself (54), DH (55), and DS (turning 26 with very minor delays).
I've booked almost everything, and our dizzying two week schedule is a follows.
Leave July 9th, stay overnight in Summerville, SC, and pay a flying visit to DH's relative.
July10-Drive the rest of the way to Orlando and stay at Rosen Inn Pointe Orlando
July 11-Move to Gaylord Palms.
July 12-Royal Pacific Club Level (booked for the express pass benefits)
July 13-US/IOA park to park, and Universal's Endless Summer resort
July 14 and 15-Saratoga Springs (one bedroom), booked on all the Avios I got back from BA
July 16, 17, 18-All Star Movies with DHS plus hopping on Saturday, and Animal Kingdom plus hopping on Sunday, which is DS's birthday.
July 19. 20, 21-Grande Villas Resort (with two bedrooms, laundry, and a kitchen!) for Seaworld, Discovery Cove, and Aquatica
The 22nd and 23rd will probably be on Jekyll Island (not booked yet). The 24th we'll stay somewhere on the road.
It's a lot of moving around, but we often travel that way, and a couple of those nights really needed to be balanced with something cheaper.
I had a non-cancellable hot rate for Heathrow with Hotwire, and when I explained the situation, they were kind enough to give me most of it as "Hot Dollars", which went towards the Rosen Inn and the Grande Villas.
I'll post more once we're on the road, and of course if there are any exciting developments.
BA has canceled our flight, and it looks like there may still be an isolation requirement in July. We're not even trying until things are normal or close.
We're going to Disney. Of course it's not at normal either, but we can get in without isolating, and we're vaccinated. Our traveling party is myself (54), DH (55), and DS (turning 26 with very minor delays).
I've booked almost everything, and our dizzying two week schedule is a follows.
Leave July 9th, stay overnight in Summerville, SC, and pay a flying visit to DH's relative.
July10-Drive the rest of the way to Orlando and stay at Rosen Inn Pointe Orlando
July 11-Move to Gaylord Palms.
July 12-Royal Pacific Club Level (booked for the express pass benefits)
July 13-US/IOA park to park, and Universal's Endless Summer resort
July 14 and 15-Saratoga Springs (one bedroom), booked on all the Avios I got back from BA
July 16, 17, 18-All Star Movies with DHS plus hopping on Saturday, and Animal Kingdom plus hopping on Sunday, which is DS's birthday.
July 19. 20, 21-Grande Villas Resort (with two bedrooms, laundry, and a kitchen!) for Seaworld, Discovery Cove, and Aquatica
The 22nd and 23rd will probably be on Jekyll Island (not booked yet). The 24th we'll stay somewhere on the road.
It's a lot of moving around, but we often travel that way, and a couple of those nights really needed to be balanced with something cheaper.
I had a non-cancellable hot rate for Heathrow with Hotwire, and when I explained the situation, they were kind enough to give me most of it as "Hot Dollars", which went towards the Rosen Inn and the Grande Villas.
I'll post more once we're on the road, and of course if there are any exciting developments.
Jun 2nd, 2021, 04:12 PM
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Quick updates.
We're at the Holiday Inn resort on Jekyll Island. We've stayed there once before, and loved it.
We've added some dining reservations, notably for Raglan Road for brunch on the 11th.
Tusker House is reopening, and we're trying to snag that for the 18th for breakfast.
We're at the Holiday Inn resort on Jekyll Island. We've stayed there once before, and loved it.
We've added some dining reservations, notably for Raglan Road for brunch on the 11th.
Tusker House is reopening, and we're trying to snag that for the 18th for breakfast.
Jul 5th, 2021, 09:52 AM
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We're less than a week out now, and we're too excited to sleep!
Not quite, but there's a lot of anticipation. We've added a Disney park day, a little more dining, and a homeward bound hotel near BWI, booked on points. (Yay, points!)
DS broke his glasses last week and we had to get them replaced. Hopefully the new glasses will be in before we leave, since his are duct taped. We also bought a spare pair from Zenni and paid for expedited shipping. We also had to replace our beach towels, since we went to pull them out of the closet and discovered they were nearly rags.
I've also been walking around the house wearing a pair of mouse ears while packing.
Once we're on the road, I'll get this trip report started in earnest.
Not quite, but there's a lot of anticipation. We've added a Disney park day, a little more dining, and a homeward bound hotel near BWI, booked on points. (Yay, points!)
DS broke his glasses last week and we had to get them replaced. Hopefully the new glasses will be in before we leave, since his are duct taped. We also bought a spare pair from Zenni and paid for expedited shipping. We also had to replace our beach towels, since we went to pull them out of the closet and discovered they were nearly rags.
I've also been walking around the house wearing a pair of mouse ears while packing.
Once we're on the road, I'll get this trip report started in earnest.
Jul 10th, 2021, 04:32 AM
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And the adventre begins in earnest.
I'm posting this frrom the Best Western Plus St. Simons Island. That was not in the original plan.
We got everything in the car on Thursday night, went to bed early, and got up a bit after midnight to get onto the road for Summerville, SC, where we were supposed to visit with my husband's cousin A and her family, and staly a Country Inn and Suites.
We got on the rouad a little after 1:30, did run into some rain from the remnants of Elsa, but made fairly good time. We got through DC promptly, and by 6 am we were in the vicinity of Colonial Heights and ready for breakfast. Breakfast wasn't ready for us. Cracker Barrel not open until 7, IHOP not open until 7, and when we tried McDonalds, only the drive through was open. I might add that there was another forlorn and hungry motorist making the same circuit. Just as we were going to give up and settle for the drive through, we spotted a Panera. Open!
After breakfast we got back into the car and headed south. We made good time, and by late morrning were in SC and in the mood for an enertaining stop and stretch of some kind, so DS googled wineries. Which led us to the "Cartersville Family Winery" in/near Timmonsville. It was a little hard to find, but well worth the stop. The lady in the tasting room was friendly and knowledgeable, and $10 each got DS and I twelve tastes, a small taste of wine slushy, and a small plate of cheese and grapes. All varieties are muscadine, including the fruit wines, but they were all good. They have even managed to produce decent drys from muscadine, which is not something I had encountered before.
After that we grabbed some slightly more substantial lunch from Hardees and got back on the road, with the idea that we'd be in Summerville by early afternoon, check in as soon as they were ready for us, swim, possibly take a nap, and go to Cousin A's around 5:30.
We were in Summerville by early afternoon. The hotel wasnt ready for us. Also the pool wasn't open.
I was really cranky about that because I had specifically checked that it was open on the website before I booked. Apparently it was closed sometime after that, I didn't double check because why would I?, and no-one saw fit to email bookings. Apparently the website had been updated, but obviously that did nothing for an existing booking. And there are a lot of circumstances where it wouldnt be a big deal. July in South Carolina when we specifically booked (and paid more for) a hotel with a pool, and scheduled that day with pool time, is not one of them. They didn't give us a hard time about canceling, fortunately.
Unfortunately, all of its neighbors with open pools had no availability, and the hotwire pickings were slim. We went offf to say hello to Cousin A for a few minutes (which was more like an hour and a half), managed to get Hotwire open on a phone, and decided on St. Simons Island, after calling them to check that their pool was open.
Of course it took a little longer to get there than we would have liked. And it rained.
But it's very nice. The pool is lovely, and after we had dinner last night in a local seafood restaurant, Catch 228, it had cleared and we got into the hot tub. We're right now waiting for the pool to open to get in a swim before we check out. Dinner was outstanding, too. Oysters Redfern (not raw, but with shrimp on top and rather like a seafood cocktail), crab legs, a wild Georgia shrimp basket, and a chicken wrap. DH thinks they might be the best shrimp he's ever eaten.
I'm posting this frrom the Best Western Plus St. Simons Island. That was not in the original plan.
We got everything in the car on Thursday night, went to bed early, and got up a bit after midnight to get onto the road for Summerville, SC, where we were supposed to visit with my husband's cousin A and her family, and staly a Country Inn and Suites.
We got on the rouad a little after 1:30, did run into some rain from the remnants of Elsa, but made fairly good time. We got through DC promptly, and by 6 am we were in the vicinity of Colonial Heights and ready for breakfast. Breakfast wasn't ready for us. Cracker Barrel not open until 7, IHOP not open until 7, and when we tried McDonalds, only the drive through was open. I might add that there was another forlorn and hungry motorist making the same circuit. Just as we were going to give up and settle for the drive through, we spotted a Panera. Open!
After breakfast we got back into the car and headed south. We made good time, and by late morrning were in SC and in the mood for an enertaining stop and stretch of some kind, so DS googled wineries. Which led us to the "Cartersville Family Winery" in/near Timmonsville. It was a little hard to find, but well worth the stop. The lady in the tasting room was friendly and knowledgeable, and $10 each got DS and I twelve tastes, a small taste of wine slushy, and a small plate of cheese and grapes. All varieties are muscadine, including the fruit wines, but they were all good. They have even managed to produce decent drys from muscadine, which is not something I had encountered before.
After that we grabbed some slightly more substantial lunch from Hardees and got back on the road, with the idea that we'd be in Summerville by early afternoon, check in as soon as they were ready for us, swim, possibly take a nap, and go to Cousin A's around 5:30.
We were in Summerville by early afternoon. The hotel wasnt ready for us. Also the pool wasn't open.
I was really cranky about that because I had specifically checked that it was open on the website before I booked. Apparently it was closed sometime after that, I didn't double check because why would I?, and no-one saw fit to email bookings. Apparently the website had been updated, but obviously that did nothing for an existing booking. And there are a lot of circumstances where it wouldnt be a big deal. July in South Carolina when we specifically booked (and paid more for) a hotel with a pool, and scheduled that day with pool time, is not one of them. They didn't give us a hard time about canceling, fortunately.
Unfortunately, all of its neighbors with open pools had no availability, and the hotwire pickings were slim. We went offf to say hello to Cousin A for a few minutes (which was more like an hour and a half), managed to get Hotwire open on a phone, and decided on St. Simons Island, after calling them to check that their pool was open.
Of course it took a little longer to get there than we would have liked. And it rained.
But it's very nice. The pool is lovely, and after we had dinner last night in a local seafood restaurant, Catch 228, it had cleared and we got into the hot tub. We're right now waiting for the pool to open to get in a swim before we check out. Dinner was outstanding, too. Oysters Redfern (not raw, but with shrimp on top and rather like a seafood cocktail), crab legs, a wild Georgia shrimp basket, and a chicken wrap. DH thinks they might be the best shrimp he's ever eaten.
Jul 10th, 2021, 04:25 PM
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Jul 11th, 2021, 03:58 AM
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It's morning, here's the longer post.
We may need those sunshine wishes today from the forecast (Thanks, Macross). Our swim yesterday was nice, although the water was a little on the chilly side.
The drive back out to 95 was beautiful.
We stopped at Kingsland/St. Marys for Malsons, DS's favorite barbecue. We had to wait a little, since they opened half an hour than we thought they did, but he said it was well worth it.
Traffic was on the heavy side, but not awful, even in Jacksonville, where all we encountered was a disabled car in the left shoulder. Also a couple of fender bender on 4.
We're at the Rosen Inn Pointe Orlando, which is fine. They have a reputation for good value and customer service in older properties, and that definitely seems to be so. We went across the street to Maggianos for a bar snack after we arrived around 2:30, and tried to walk around a little, but found it kind of hot for that. The Pointe Orlando mall has clearly not been having a good pandemic. Sharp contrast to our last visit in '17. Some of the restaurants seem to be doing okay, but almost all of the retail is gone.
After that we walked back to the hotel, went swimming, and chilled for a while before going to the hotel's sports bar for dinner. This was a very limited menu, but the food was good (chicken sandwiches and a cheeseburger).
We''re off to Raglan Road for brunch in a little bit, and we're staying at Gaylord Palms tonight.
We may need those sunshine wishes today from the forecast (Thanks, Macross). Our swim yesterday was nice, although the water was a little on the chilly side.
The drive back out to 95 was beautiful.
We stopped at Kingsland/St. Marys for Malsons, DS's favorite barbecue. We had to wait a little, since they opened half an hour than we thought they did, but he said it was well worth it.
Traffic was on the heavy side, but not awful, even in Jacksonville, where all we encountered was a disabled car in the left shoulder. Also a couple of fender bender on 4.
We're at the Rosen Inn Pointe Orlando, which is fine. They have a reputation for good value and customer service in older properties, and that definitely seems to be so. We went across the street to Maggianos for a bar snack after we arrived around 2:30, and tried to walk around a little, but found it kind of hot for that. The Pointe Orlando mall has clearly not been having a good pandemic. Sharp contrast to our last visit in '17. Some of the restaurants seem to be doing okay, but almost all of the retail is gone.
After that we walked back to the hotel, went swimming, and chilled for a while before going to the hotel's sports bar for dinner. This was a very limited menu, but the food was good (chicken sandwiches and a cheeseburger).
We''re off to Raglan Road for brunch in a little bit, and we're staying at Gaylord Palms tonight.
Jul 11th, 2021, 10:14 AM
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Jul 12th, 2021, 12:41 PM
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Maybe not this trip, but eventually.
Jul 12th, 2021, 12:49 PM
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Raglan Road was wonderful.
I had a full Irish DS had Pork Hashtagged, and DH had Pancakes Diaspora with a side of Irish bcon. DS had an old fashioned (very good) and I had a strawberry mimosa (too sweet, and no wine taste), so for my second cocktail I had a PJ's potion (much better).
After that we wandered around, went into World of Disney and virtuously didn't buy anything. Then we wound up in Jock Lindsay's Hangar Bar and had a cargo loaded pretzel and two beer flights, which we shared around. When we left there, we decided we were full and it was hot, so we headed off to Gaylord Palms.
I had a full Irish DS had Pork Hashtagged, and DH had Pancakes Diaspora with a side of Irish bcon. DS had an old fashioned (very good) and I had a strawberry mimosa (too sweet, and no wine taste), so for my second cocktail I had a PJ's potion (much better).
After that we wandered around, went into World of Disney and virtuously didn't buy anything. Then we wound up in Jock Lindsay's Hangar Bar and had a cargo loaded pretzel and two beer flights, which we shared around. When we left there, we decided we were full and it was hot, so we headed off to Gaylord Palms.
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